The
Asian Raptor Research and Conservation Network organizes a yearly
Collaborative Research Project of Migratory Raptors and this year, the two
sites in Malaysia
that was selected to join the research was Pulau Tioman (Pahang) and Bedong
(Kedah). At the Bedong site, which is still ongoing, it is a 35-day survey and
volunteers are coming in from as far as Selangor. Choo Eng is the coordinator
as this site was discovered by him a few years back. The site is basically a
small hillock overlooking palm oil and rubber estates. Here, the price birders
have to pay for the unobstructed view is the scorching heat of the sun and
sometimes, the conditions can come close to being unbearable. Due to my
workload these days, I could not commit myself to help out until I found myself
a free Saturday. So, here I was, counting raptors, under the hot tropical sun
with three other birders – Choo Eng, Phang and Tan.
A
flock of forty Oriental Honey-buzzards started things off for the day…
While
we were observing the flock, a handsome male Chinese Goshawk came into view and
put on a really good show. It has been a long while since the last time I
managed to observe this raptor from close range and I guess I must have forgotten
how beautiful this species truly is because I was momentarily spell-bounded by
this male bird. And to top it all off, this time I finally managed to capture a
few reasonable shots.
The
majority of raptors passing through today were Oriental Honey-buzzards.
However, most of them did not come enough for my camera’s sweet spot except for
this pale morph individual. We were also keeping an eye out for the four
satellite-tracked Oriental Honey-buzzards that are part of the Hachikuma Project. The main purpose for this project by Keio University
is to make available the real time status of these raptors’ migration online
not only for scientific researchers but the general public as well. Anyway at
the time of writing, one of the buzzards has reached the northern tip of
Peninsular Malaysia.
The
sighting of a migrating Osprey caused much excitement among the group. This
fish-loving raptor is not a rare winter visitor to Malaysia but it is a new record for
the site. I did miss out on a migrating falcon as it was simply too far and
fast for me to confirm its identity. I can only hope that it was only a
Peregrine Falcon (as seen by other counters a few days back) and not something
rare - like a Eurasian Hobby.
White-bellied
Sea-eagles do not migrate, right? Well, try telling that to this big fellow
that decided to join the migrating flocks. The
far-fetched thought of an Egyptian Vulture did cross our minds but as soon as
the distinctive honking of the Sea-eagle filled the vicinity, we fell back to
Earth with a loud thump.
The
resident raptors, like this Crested Serpent-eagle, must have felt slightly
neglected and decided to try and divert our attention from the passing
migrants. Passing low overhead was certainly one fail safe way of doing it.
The
resident Changeable Hawk-eagle also made its presence felt when it scouted
around the vicinity a few times hunting for food.
There
were times when we were staring at empty blue skies for long periods because
the migrating raptors do not passed through non stop – not here in Malaysia
anyway. So, what better way to help pass the time than to observe and try to
photograph whatever migrants that are passing through like this Blue-tailed
Bee-eater. I personally look forward to passing Bee-eaters during a raptor
count. Bee-eaters are extremely vocal when migrating and I take their
distinctive calls as a sign that the raptors are coming because on most
occasions, this is all so true.
Swiftlets
are notoriously difficult to photograph in flight but this time I had plenty of
time and opportunity to try. At the end of the day, after numerous attempts,
this is the only reasonable image I have to show. Photographing a Swiftlet is
only half the battle. Positive identification is the other half. Who am I
kidding – positive identification is a whole new battle and one that I rarely
experience the sweet taste of victory. Apart from the Glossy Swiftlet with its
distinctive whitish belly, all Swiftlets look remarkably alike and to make
matters worse, have varied plumages. Anyway, I'm putting my money on Germain's Swiftlet in this case.
The
Brown-backed Needletail is not only the largest of the Swifts found in Malaysia but they are also one of the fastest bird in the world - in direct flight that
is. Naturally, their images are far and few for me and this one, despite the
poor quality, is certainly a keeper.
Below
is the result of our count for the day. Click here for past results and as well
as results from other participating sites.
Oriental
Honey-buzzard 150
Chinese
Goshawk 16
Japanese
Sparrowhawk 15
Black
Kite 3
Grey-faced
Buzzard 2
Osprey 1
Unidentified
Accipiters 227
Unidentified
Falcon 1
Unidentified
Raptors 35
Total 450
3 comments:
What a great way to spend some time; watching such magnificent birds.
Great to see the flying migrants, especially the raptors - can't get enough of those !
Your Saturday was well spent !
Wow, that's some count and good shots of many of the birds you saw. Nice to see the features of the Oriental Honey Buzzard so well, also the Chinese Goshawk. The size of the White-bellied Sea Eagle shows up when seen with smaller raptors too. I remember watching a Sea Eagle at Langkawi capture a feeding Little Egret - awesome.
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