Birding brothers

It was surprisingly busy along the coastal boulevard of Bayan Baru as I was waiting for my latest guests outside their resort. If you are not an early morning person, birding is definitely not for you. Normally at this hour, I hardly see another soul except for the security guards stationed at the pick up locations for my tours. Anyway, they were groups of runners gathering up before they carry on with their weekend predawn runs. To each his own. And mine was about to begin as I caught sight of the Chapman brothers, avid birders from England, approaching my vehicle. Our day out took flight at the mangroves of Sungai Batu in Kedah state and the resident male Mangrove Blue Flycatcher drew the usual admiration from the human observers.

For visiting birders, the Yellow-vented Bulbul can be equally as intriguing. The Mohawk hairdo and charming personality is often obscured by its abundant nature. Practically every garden in Penang has a pair of Yellow-vented Bulbuls and its bubbly song is one of the most commonly heard bird songs.

However, at this locality, none can overshadow the electrifying presence of the Mangrove Pitta. It was a much anticipated lifer for the brothers and when the pitta finally hopped into the view, the rest, as they say, was history.

It is nice to see the Grey Heron start being a regular feature here at the marshlands of Sungai Batu. Not all that uncommon but for a water bird lover like me, this elegant and beautiful heron still has my attention whenever our paths crossed.

Although the Jungle Myna is facing stiff competition from other myna species, it is still a common sight in rural areas like this. I generally do not spend much time photographing mynas but it has been a long time since I last had a Jungle Myna in my memory card.

From the mangroves, we headed north to the forest of Bukit Wang. Much to our delight, we came across an active fruiting tree. Unfortunately, the tree was densely foliaged and the patrons were zipping in and out with much velocity. But I did managed to show my guests a good number of bulbuls and leafbirds. But for me, the star bird present at the fruiting today was the Red-crowned Barbet. Here in the north, it is probably the least common barbet species. Typical of this family of birds, it often keeps itself concealed from view in the cover of the canopy.  It was frustrating to have the bird so close and yet, I was unable to capture any unobstructed images. For the barbet, it was too preoccupied with gorging to be bothered by my photographic struggles.

It took a long time for the barbet to finally take a breather from feeding and rested on an exposed perch at the top of the tree. The wait was not tedious as I was kept occupied with the task of pointing out every bulbul patronizing the fruiting tree to my British guests. The bulbuls were not cooperative today and at the end, I only have images of the barbet to show. Although this individual was somehow not quite in prime condition, its striking beauty was still undeniable.

The brothers soaking in the sights and sounds of this birding haven...

I may not have luck shooting bulbuls at the fruiting tree but a lone Buff-vented Bulbul foraging in the lower storey of the forest provided some compensation. There was just enough illumination to follow and capture the movement of this common forest resident and the image turned out better than I had anticipated.

The bulbul may not feel all that comfortable among the undergrowth but for the Short-tailed Babbler, it is in its element. Long limbed and feisty, it is perfectly adapted to life at the forest floor.

Hoping about the leaf litter, it sometimes appear more like a rodent than a bird...

The forest floor of Bukit Wang is also home to another species of bird and it is truly a remarkable creature. The Chestnut-necklaced Partridge is one of the rarest resident birds in Peninsular Malaysia and it is heartening to know it can still find sanctuary in this forest reserve.

Being small and skittish, the migratory Green-backed Flycatcher can be at times difficult to photograph well. Today, it was a little more confiding than usual.

As for the migratory Chinese Blue Flycatcher, it is not the bird that you need to overcome but the shooting conditions. The forest undergrowth can be unkind to photography at times and I am pleased with what we managed to obtain this time.

The hottest part of the of the day is usually a good time to catch raptors soaring on their mighty wings and today, it was the Crested Serpent-Eagle's turn to provide the excitement...

I usually shun crowded places when I am out birding but there is a small park in Bukit Mertajam (one of the biggest towns in mainland Penang) I often visit with my foreign guests. Most of the time, it is crowded with people doing what people do in a recreational area. And in the midst of all the clapping walkers and the occasional party music blasting from one of them dance groups, there is one particular bird just waiting to be discovered – the Barred Eagle-Owl. The mere sight of this roosting nocturnal hunter can knock the socks off any visiting birder and speaking from personal experience, local and seasoned birders as well.

We have been going through a spell dry for the past few months and although the sunny weather is ideal for birding, it can be taxing at times. The paddy fields of mainland Penang were dry and dusty today as expected. Birding was frustratingly slow. I constantly kept a look out for any watery patches where birds might congregate to escape the heat and I found one that had four different species of egrets with a couple of Pond-Herons and Asian Openbills thrown in the mix. A moment to appreciate the view was the right thing to do despite the lack of any uncommon species present.

For most of my guests, the Intermediate Egret is the most sought after freshwater habitat egret here in Peninsular Malaysia. And there is usually enough of them around for me to point them out.

It is now much easier to come across the Red Collared-Dove here. The origins of this stunning dove may be in question but there is no doubt that the male is a cracking bird to encounter.

At the Air Hitam Dalam Educational Forest, we bagged our second owl of the day. Roosting comfortably aloft a shady perch, it was a distant observation of this impressive owl but the exhilarating experience helped us look past all that.

During our observation of the owl, we were pleasantly interrupted by a Green-billed Malkoha that just happened to pass through the forest in front us. This beautiful cuckoo moved off as rapidly as it appeared but not before I managed this lucky shot of if contemplating which branch to alight to escape our prying eyes.

The Black Kites were still a prominent feature at this locality despite the spring migration drawing ever closer. The good lighting enabled their elegant flight pattern to be admired and even captured quite nicely by my modest setup. This raptor is not new for my guests but most of the birds we encountered throughout the day certainly were and it was another memorable birding excursion around Penang and beyond.