Around this time of the year,
Chinese folks will be celebrating their Lunar New Year and feasting is one of
main components of the celebration. At the Sungai Sedim Recreational Forest in
Kedah, the birds will rejoice in celebrations too. It is not their new year but
a time when they will get to feast on a number of fruiting trees. I
unexpectedly found myself with some free time the morning after the celebration
of the Jade Emperor’s birthday. The birthday celebration ended late as expected
but I still managed to crawl out of bed and reach the base of one of the fruiting
trees of Sungai Sedim in time to catch the first wave of feathered patrons to
this annual banquet.
The weather ought to be
bright and sunny typical of the Chinese New Year period here in Malaysia.
However with everything we have done to the environment, I guess Mother Nature
does not play by the rules anymore. The gloomy weather made it difficult for me
to capture the true splendid of the male Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker.
All dull coloured flowerpeckers were given extra attention to ensure I do not miss out on any surprises. Today, they were all female Crimson-breasted Flowerpeckers.
It was also a struggle to
obtain a decent image of the Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker. This individual
gorging on the fruits was constantly on the move and the photo I obtained
reflected the scene at the fruiting tree quite accurately. It was a true feast for
the birds.
A single female Greater Green
Leafbird also made an appearance and her present certainly did not go
unnoticed. In fact it was hard to miss her as she took no effort at all to
conceal her brilliant green plumage.
As always, bulbuls made up
the majority of the bird species patronizing the fruiting tree. Today, I
recorded only eight species but it was still a good number. The best photo of
the day inevitably came from this family of birds. The Spectacled Bulbul is not
exactly a striking species but every bird is beautiful in its own way –
especially when it alights on an open perch long enough for you to capture
numerous images.
The brown jobs are outstanding
today. Like the Spectacled Bulbul, the Cream-vented Bulbul is basically a brown
bird. Both species are quite similar but one look at the eyes and they become
quite distinct from each other.
Another brown bulbul that
joined in the feast was the Buff-vented Bulbul. Subtle differences distinguish
it from the other two bulbuls and brown was certainly the colour of the day.
Occasionally, flashes of grey
and yellow will emerge from the foliage to feed on the succulent fruits and the
beautiful Grey-bellied Bulbul is always a welcomed sight. Unfortunately, this
species kept to the top most part of tree and rarely provided any close up
shots.
It was more than I say about
the Grey-cheeked Bulbul. A pair swung by briefly a few times but kept themselves
mostly hidden. For some unknown reason, the activity of the fruiting tree died
down sooner than usual and by mid morning, the only movement on the tree was
the occasional swaying of the leaves in the breeze. Although I had expected
more, the trip here was not a total disappointment. The fruits have brought out
some species that are usually difficult to observe and photograph. In nature,
nothing is ever a sure thing and to continue to wait would yield no better
results.
A Crested Serpent-Eagle certainly
appreciated the change of weather. It was hot and sunny now and this common but
impressive raptor took full advantage of the hot air thermals to survey its
territory. The soaring eagle concluded my excursion this time and I hope to
make a return trip before the fruiting season concludes.
2 comments:
Despite the gloom there's some great pictures once again and thank goodness for those bird attracting fruiting trees. Nice post once again Wai Mun!
Thanks, Keiron. These fruiting trees are certainly God-sent.
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