Penang's birding ambassadors (21/06/2015)

Whenever I have a foreign guest with me, a visit to the swamp forest of Air Hitam Dalam is usually inevitable. Reliable and rewarding, I cannot think of a better place to introduce Penang's birding experiences to visiting birders. Darren is a British birder who has been working in Singapore for the past couple of years and this birding hotspot provided yet another memorable trip for both me and my guest.

The Mangrove Blue Flycatchers had another successful nesting season - as expected. And the young ones are following their parents' footsteps to becoming the next generation of ambassadors for this little birding paradise.

Now that I think of it, it was silly for me to ask Darren if he wanted to photograph a Stork-billed Kingfisher resting in the shade nearby. I mean who doesn't? The massive bill and striking colours certainly make it a great subject for photography.

The Lineated Barbets did not provide much photographic opportunities and this lone individual that was resting on an exposed perch was just a little too far for any great images.

The best image of the day for me was probably this Greater Racket-tailed Drongo that was following a troop of Long-tailed Macaques around the swamp forest. Unfortunately, the vegetation is quite dense and completely unobstructed views were difficult to obtain. 

To wrap things up for this time's tour was this confiding Common Sun Skink. This reptile is also thriving at this locality. Despite constantly getting on the nerves of birder as it has a tendency of scaring away the birds, it is still a beautiful animal to photograph.