It has been quite a while
since my last twitch. Lifers are now a very rare commodity for me. The sighting
of the fourth Grey-tailed Tattler in Penang by Hor Kee (and the Hums earlier
last month) at Sungai Burung certainly caught my attention. Enough to make me
embark on a quick visit for this scarce wader before work. Even though I have
seen this species once before, I do not have any images yet. It was an overcast
morning when I arrived at the river mouth where my quarry was last seen but the
weather could not dampened my spirits. I was on the hunt for a Grey-tailed
Tattler and hopefully, with some photos to show this time round.
I scanned along the water’s
edge and it did not take long to locate the Grey-tailed Tattler. The absence of
the sun on this cold morning was of no significance because I found my
sunshine. I could not recall the last time I was so excited at a locality in
Penang Island. Looks like the Pearl of the Orient still has what it takes to
light up my life.
The tattler was rather
confiding and my intrusion did not seem to interfere with its morning ritual of
crab hunting. However due to the lighting conditions, its constant movement was
a real test for my photography gear. Those few occasions that it was stationary
were the highlights of this morning’s short excursion. The Grey-tailed Tattler
is a drab looking bird in winter but to a birder that has a thing for waders,
it is one of the most exhilarating species to encounter in this part of
Peninsular Malaysia.
My presence did not go
unnoticed by one of the residents of the nearby fishing village. From the
expression on its face, life is easy and good here in this more rural part of
Penang Island away from all the hustle and bustle of Georgetown City. Anyway,
this feline kept me company throughout my visit and it received a deservingly prolonged
pat on the head before I head to work a happy man. I wish this was my first
experience with the Grey-tailed Tattler as my first encounter a few years back
at Batu Kawan was only a brief one. But this one was just incredible.
As my working day drew to a
close, I could not suppress my yearning for better images of the confiding
tattler. So I found myself at the faithful river mouth again in the evening and
as expected, the lighting was much better. The Grey-tailed Tattler was almost
at the same spot as this morning and with a little effort, I got relatively
close to it.
On one occasion, it wandered
towards me and that took my breath away literally. When it comes to photographing
waders, distance is always an issue – especially for the rare ones. Murphy will
usually make sure of that. Anyway there I was, at a birding site I usually
ignore, gawking at a Grey-tailed Tattler strolling right in front of me in good
light. Perfect moments usually do not exist in birding but this one came pretty
damn close.
Whenever I could pull away
from the spell the tattler had on me, I will have a quick look at what other birds
were about. A muddied Common Redshank almost fooled me into thinking it was
something else.
The Common Sandpiper is
somewhat a smaller version of the Grey-tailed Tattler but by now, I had enough
field experience to differentiate the two by jizz alone. The latter usually has
a lower posture but the main characteristic is the longer and slenderer
appearance.
There must be something in
the air today as another wader wandered towards me instead of the other way
round and this time it was a Terek Sandpiper. This coastline has always being a
refuge for this adorable species and I have encountered it on numerous
occasions. However, today was by far the closest I have ever been to one and
the following images reflect my good fortune.
There is probably at least
one Striated Heron in every stretch mudflats throughout the state or even the
country. It comes as no surprise when I counted at least half a dozen present in
the vicinity.
The light was disappearing
fast from the evening sky. I took advantage of the last rays of the sun to
capture a few more images of the Grey-tailed Tattler before calling it the day.
The setting sun cast a golden hue on my subject and set my heart aflutter. I
have probably taken enough photos of this bird to last me a lifetime. But
judging from its confiding, I will probably be back again before it flies back
north.
A small group of shutterbugs had
gathered at the river mouth as I was making my way out. They had no intentions
of shooting the scarce Grey-tailed Tattler. The sunset was what they were
after. To each his own but I will take a rare migrant over a landscape anytime.
I began the post with a view of the river mouth at Sungai Burung at the break
of dawn and it is only fitting that I should end it with a view at dusk.
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