Mumbo jumbo...

I finally found myself out birding again and this time, I hosted a couple of Singaporean birders. We arrived at the lush evergreen forest of Bukit Wang in the state of Kedah at the break of dawn. Lighting was still relatively poor but the drumming of the resident White-bellied Woodpecker was a great way to start off the tour. The forests of Peninsular Malaysia are teeming with fascinating bird species. That is a known fact. But to see them well, often takes as much luck as anything else. The Chestnut-breasted Malkoha is a fine example. Big and beautiful, this non-parasitic cuckoo can be frustratingly difficult at times. And my best photographic effort of the encounter says it all.

The Chinese Blue Flycatchers that have been showing well at this location of late provided only glimpses despite all my efforts. The Green-backed Flycatcher is another uncommon migrant and this lone male certainly performed much better. Hawking well away from the access road, a record shot was all I could muster but there are no complaints from me.

The distinct call of the Orange-breasted Trogon had me combing every inch of the spot where the bird was vocalizing. It is not a small bird nor is it dully coloured. But when a forest bird is determined to hide from you, there is nothing you can do about it. A stroke of good luck had the bird shift and alighted on an exposed perch and despite the less than ideal photographic opportunity, it was still a treasured encounter.

The sight of a Crested Goshawk may not evoked much of a reaction from birders in the southern half of the peninsular. Up here in the north, this striking raptor is not as common as I would like it to be. And a distant individual performing its courtship display certainly had my attention.

The mangroves of Sungai Batu was rather uneventful. Reports have been coming in of the return of the Mangrove Pitta, which has been missing for months. Unfortunately, I failed to locate the star bird and we had to settle for the delightful antics of the Abbott’s Babbler.

This migratory season brought in what should be the biggest number of Asian Openbills ever. Huge flocks on migration was seen at several localities throughout the peninsular. The numbers were so overwhelming that they darkened the skies. To the birding community, these were true spectacles of nature. Yet, there are people who frown upon these migrating flocks and calling them bad omens associated with natural disasters like landslides. When a similar view was posted in an established Facebook birding group, it definitely struck a nerve. Being superstitious is one thing but this is coming from a member of a birding group. And this is not even the first time this phenomenon has happened. A similar “invasion” took place a few years back only not quite in this magnitude.  At the time of writing these gaping, bi-coloured angels of death have journeyed all the way to Singapore. God have mercy on his poor, frightened soul.

Naturally, we encountered Asian Openbills at several places throughout the day and I do not recall recording this species before at some of the said places. One particular flock numbering about 100 birds was resting and foraging at a flooded patch of paddy field just next to the road and houses in Kedah state. The presence of the storks and birders certainly had the attention of the locals. The most notable thing about this flock was its confiding nature and I suspect the storks could be recent arrivals.

All the way from northern Kedah to mainland Penang, almost every stretch of paddy fields had Asian Openbills in them. I know these storks are nothing new but they still do it for me after all these years. Today’s birding excursion was slightly below expectations. But the performance of a few interesting species, the enjoyable companionship, being out in the field again and the invasion of the Openbills still made it a memorable one in the end.