I found myself with a
couple of hours to spare last Saturday afternoon and a quick check online of
the tidal forecast revealed that it was a good time for waders. So, off I went
to the nearest coastal mudflats to my home which is alongside the coastal road
on the southeastern side of Penang Island now known as the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu
Expressway. I soon found myself a spot slightly hidden by vegetation and not
too far from the water's edge. As the tide was still moderately low at that
time, I made myself comfortable and waited for the rising tide to push waders
closer. There were also a few egrets present at the location as well - Great
and Little Egrets to be more precise.
After about half an
hour, the waders started to move in closer. Only a handful of species were
present and the one that caught my immediate attention were the Whimbrels.
Three of them were
present within the vicinity but one was extremely aggressive and chased away
the others whenever they wandered close. But the aggressor was quite accommodating
to my presence and this was the closest I have been with this beautiful but shy
wader.
In the absence of any
other more notable species, I devoted most of the time to the Whimbrels. It is
not easy to gain their trust. In fact, most waders that I know of are rather
difficult to approach. Sadly in Penang, there
are hardly any birding sites now where you can have easy access to waders. And
wader watching is something that I relish. Anyway, the blue waters of the sea
provided a soothing effect to some of the images taken today.
The Whimbrel, despite
its size advantage, was rather tolerant towards the flocks of Common Redshanks.
There was the occasional barging-through-the-center-of-the-flock incident but
other than that, they seemed to get along pretty well.
The Common Redshanks
formed the majority of the waders present here today and numbered about eighty
individuals. Like the Whimbrel, this species is also usually quite wary of
human presence and is easily spooked. Lucky for me, they were quite adamant of
making this a memorable afternoon by the beach for me.
Some of them were really
making themselves comfortable just beyond the tide's reach.
With the sun really
scorching down on the mudflats, bathing is certainly one way to keep cool. As
for me, the spot that I have chosen was in the shade and that itself, was a
luxury one rarely gets to enjoy during a wader watch. In fact, it would have
been perfect if I did not have to endure the onslaught of mosquitoes. Funny
thing though that after a while it seemed like the bloodsuckers have left me
alone. Maybe they have had their fill or I have just gone numb from the
constant biting.
When the tide finally
came up all the way, the waders were forced to take flight and roost among the
nearby mangroves. So, a spontaneous excursion turned out to be quite enjoyable
in the end. Despite the ever encroaching blocks of luxury condominiums and
bungalows, this degrading local patch still has some (bird) life left in it to
keep a local birder happy.
4 comments:
Fantastic shots.
Whimbrels are a bird I seldom see here; usually I see their cousins Curlews.
Both beautiful birds.
It's quite the opposite here in Penang and Whimbrels are the commoner of the two.
Nice to see that there are still a few birds about, despite man's incursions !
I'm so glad I came back to your blog since December 2012 .. Your Whimbrel reminds me of those guys I saw at Singapore's Sungai Buloh Mangroves.
And the best news from your latest post is the hopeful turnaround of Pulau Burung .. that left me grinning !
Thank you!
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