When
Graeme told us that the marshlands at Pulau Burung, Penang
are being developed, I can only fear for the worst. I finally had the time to
see for myself the magnitude of the damage and it was a sight I hoped that I
will never have to see. All unprotected
birding sites in my beloved home state usually will not be able to stand the test of time and it would be very foolish
of me to believe that would be any different here at Pulau Burung. According to Dave, the
extension of the landfill into the marshlands was always part of the plan and
it was only a matter of time.
With
a heavy heart I bid farewell to one of my favourite birding sites. Not only is
it the best and easiest place for bird photography,
it also gave the birding community
rarities like the Red-necked Phalarope, Garganey, Little Stint and Pheasant-tailed
Jacana. And it is not always about rarities. Even the commoner species provided
hours of priceless birding memories – to me anyway.
With
the ongoing "works", most parts of the marshlands are now inaccessible unless you are willing to thread on soggy and muddy grounds.
Photographing Wood Sandpipers will require more work from now on. I guess it
will never be the same without the aid of my car as a mobile hide.
There was quite a number of wintering Whiskered Terns present here today and this pair was taking a breather after a hearty breakfast.
I
will certainly miss the flocks of Lesser Whistling-ducks that are thriving here
if the marshes are completely destroyed in future.
And
how can I forget all those close-up shots I managed to obtain here of the
stunning Blue-tailed Bee-eaters. No, things will certainly never be the same again.
I
then decided to try my luck along the surrounding mangroves and that is
something that I must admit, have neglected in the past. I did not have to drive far before
I came across this lone Stork-billed Kingfisher hunting from a shaded perch.
A
small flock of Black Bazas were also seen circling above the mangroves. Despite
the distance, these striking birds of prey were reasonably wary of my presence.
But
I guess it would take something really rare or really big to cheer me up today.
And it was the latter - an adult White-bellied Sea-eagle resting at the edge of
the mangroves. The distance and angle of this majestic raptor from my
stationery car was just within the reach of my camera and this was something
that I have been waiting for because all of my past encounters were
either from a distance or in flight. Much to my delight, this individual was
quite confiding and totally ignored my intrusion. I took quite a number of
shots as an opportunity like this is pretty rare even though this eagle is not.
I
was dumbfounded as soon as I turned into the gravel access road of the paddy
fields at Bandar PERDA Penang – my second locality of the day. A huge eagle
glided overhead and it only took one look to identify the species. I finally unblock the last of the Aquila eagles from my
life list. It was a juvenile Steppe Eagle in all its glory. As fate would have
it there was another car behind me and I had to frantically drive to the
nearest lay by to let the car pass. Unfortunately, when I got out
of my car with my gear in hand, I had lost the eagle. How can one possibly lose sight of
an eagle that has a wing span the size of a door? Apparently you can because I did.
Streams
of profanity were immediately replaced by phrases of joy when I managed to locate a large
flying raptor being
harassed by a
smaller one shortly after. My happiness was short lived when the
large raptor turned out to be, no disrespect intended, only a Greater Spotted
Eagle. The smaller raptor was a juvenile Brahminy Kite and it must have struck
a nerve of the big guy causing it to retaliate quite aggressively.
I could
hardly believe my luck when a second eagle came into view. This must be the
Steppe Eagle or so I thought. But it turned out
to be another Greater Spotted Eagle. So much for luck. Judging from its much streakier
underparts, it could be a younger bird than the first one. Why I am so adamant
of obtaining the image of this lifer? Well,
let's just put it as a photo is worth a thousand words. Especially
if it is as rare as a Steppe Eagle and you have no one else with you at the
time to back up the sighting.
Anyway,
the second Greater Spotted Eagle must have felt my disappointment because it
decided to give quite a performance by gliding very low directly where I was
standing and it came close. Pretty darn close I might add.
The
migratory Black-winged Stilts are starting to build up in number and they will
always be a welcome sight to me.
Wrapping things up for the day was this handsome Brown Shrike looking perfectly at home at his wintering ground.
11 comments:
Sad pictures of Pulau Burung, but great shots of the eagles!
There goes Bye-byeram. So i guess the Nyram bird book is a story of the past when it get to be published... Anyway, Nice Shots Mun..must spend some time for the Aquillas this year...!
Thanks, Dave and Muin. Yeah, it's quite sad what is happening to Pulau Burung.
Stunning set of pictures, especially the White-bellied Sea-eagle.
It must be heartbreaking to see the damage at Pulau Burung.
Great shots of the spotted eagle. Looks like only the entrance area of Bryam has been destroyed but not the inner parts i guess.
Thanks, Keith & Ronnie.
Ronnie, there are ongoing works on the other end of the marshlands as well.
Wai Mun
I can greatly sympathize with you knowing that splendid area for so many years. I visited regularly for a year and as you say there was no other place like it for variety and getting close to the subject.
Keep up your informative blogs.
Cheers
Graeme
It is shocking and sad to see the development underway and your beautiful photos remind us of what we're losing. Absolutely love you eagle photos and the stork-billed Kingfisher.
Thanks, Graeme and Russell.
I guess we all get the same feelings of loss when a favorite site gets trashed.....
Great raptor shots.
Thanks, John.
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