Year end delights - Part 2

The Muda Resort situated just outside the forest of Pedu Lake in Kedah state was our accommodation of choice for the night. I woke to my alarm an hour before dawn and I was about to conclude my simple breakfast when an all-too-familiar call filled the predawn sky. The call belonged to the Great Eared-Nightjar and it sounded really close. After rounding up my Singaporean guests, we watched in awe as a pair of these impressive night birds floated around just above our chalet. It was too dark for photography but for Seng Beng, his passion for sound recording kept him busy. For the two us, we soaked in the sight and it was surreal. I cannot find the words to describe the experience but these Great Eared-Nightjars provided one of the best moments in birding for me this year. The day was certainly off to a good start.

As soon as it got bright enough, we were back at the access road of Pedu Lake where we had an eventful outing just last night. The weather was again favourable but the true blessing was the level of bird activity and it was exceptionally high. A Black-bellied Malkoha glided into view and got the ball rolling. Despite their large size, malkohas can be difficult to photograph as they tend to scurry about hidden among the vegetation.

With a little patience and luck, eventually we were presented with a handful of opportunities to capture this lovely cuckoo in full view.

The Raffles’s Malkoha should be the commonest malkoha in the country but that does not make it any less appealing. Sexes are dimorphic and today, the female was much more obliging than the male. And lucky for us, she is just as striking as the male.

She came surprisingly close to our position on one occasion. Unfortunately, the dense foliage obscured parts of her beautiful plumage. It was frustrating but to be in such close proximity with an attractive female certainly set our hearts aflutter.

The male, told by his almost completely rufous plumage, revealed himself briefly before disappearing into the lush landscape where he remained for the rest of our visit here.

The Red-crowned Barbet may not be all that common throughout the country but here, it is one of the most conspicuous barbets. Good views are hard to come by and although this individual was resting and preening slightly lower than usual, it made sure that the chosen perch will not give too much of itself away to the eager birders present. I guess it was Mother Nature’s way of keeping us birders in check with reality.

A Crested Goshawk flew past overhead with such velocity neither birds (that form its prey) nor birders (that form its fan base) could react accordingly fast enough. I managed to press the shutter a few times before the raptor vanished and luckily, one shot came out relatively well given the circumstances.

The long grass area failed to deliver any White-bellied Munias as I had hoped for but a pair of vocal Rufescent Prinias provided some compensation.

A flutter of wings flying across the road turned out to be a male Scarlet-rumped Trogon and it would be a sin not to acknowledge his splendid colouration just because he can be more easily encountered than the others of his kind.

We had a surprisingly sumptuous lunch at a local eatery before proceeding to the next destination. I could not help but to be drawn to one of the pet cats found there. Birding trips naturally is all about the birds but sometimes, little things here and there do help to make it complete.

The sun was scorching down from the heavens above today and mid afternoon was probably the best time to wander around the paddy fields from the comforts of our vehicle. Initially, only the usual congregations of egrets were present today. However towards the end of the fields, we came across flocks of Grey-headed Lapwings. It has been about 10 years since this species was last recorded in Singapore and a few confiding individuals certainly had the attention of my guests. This locality is one of the main wintering grounds for this lapwing in Malaysia and despite my numerous encounters with it, this locally common migrant still has my attention especially well-behaved ones like these.

Our final destination for the tour was my local patch of Air Hitam Dalam. The birding scene here has trickled back to normal now that all the exciting passage migrants have continued their journey down south. Some of the migrants will stay for the entire winter and this Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo looked quite at home here in this freshwater swamp forest. Resting unobtrusively along the forest edge, it could have been overlooked if not for my vigilance at this particular area of the reserve.  

The Asian Koels are starting to make their presence felt with their characteristic territorial calls as the breeding season drawing near.  More often heard than seen, we were lucky today to have a female in full view as she gorged on a low fruiting tree.

The skies above this little piece of birding haven is usually not void of bird life. As evening approaches, the migratory Black Kites will start to return to their roosting site across the river. Often enough, they will provide an aerial display of elegance and agility before retiring for the day. With the light hitting the raptors from a favourable direction and my subjects in a showboating mood, my photographic attempts were well rewarded.

It has been a rewarding two days of birding here in northern Peninsular Malaysia. The weather was ideal, the birds were up and about and the companionship thoroughly enjoyable – all the right ingredients for a memorable birding adventure. As the three of us gazed at the Black Kites twist and twirl in the brilliant blue sky overlooking the Perai River, the feeling of contentment was undeniable. I could not have asked for a better way to conclude this trip.