That magic moment

I have been blogging for slightly more than a decade now but at the start, I was not sure anyone would be interested in what a bald bloke has to share about his passion for a peculiar pastime called birding. Apparently, there are and it warms the heart to receive a compliment or two through online interactions and in real life. The best compliment will be the ones where readers thank me for enlightening them about birds and birding. I always believe that birding is sharing and through my blog, I get to do exactly that. Anyway Kieron is one of my regular readers and when I was given the chance to guide this British birder, I was both excited and anxious. Excited because I finally get to meet the person who has been quite a source of encouragement for my blogging endeavour. But what if the Penang Birder does not live up to expectations and I unintentionally sugar coat my blog post to such a degree that it is far from reality? That was my reason for the anxiety.

The Mangrove Pitta of Sungai Batu, my saviour on so many of my birding excursions, was one of his main targets. Naturally, we found ourselves at the swampy domain of this remarkable bird at first light. Early is the hour and most of the feathered denizens found here have only started to stir like this Abbott’s Babbler puffing up and preening away before commencing on its morning foray for food.

The bubbly call of the Yellow-vented Bulbul will always be a part of the dawn chorus here and throughout most built-up areas in the country. This common species is new to neither of us. Not even to my British guest because Kieron is married to a local lass and spends a couple of months here in my home state annually. However the bulbul was performing so well, it certainly deserved a little recognition.

Hopping leisurely along the muddy terrain, the Mangrove Pitta made its grand appearance finally. When in full view, few can rival the charisma and beauty of the Mangrove Pitta. And judging from Kieron’s reaction, I can safely say my blog is not all sugar coating. In fact, experiencing it real life is incomparable and way beyond any words and digital images. All five sensory organs will be exposed to the exhilaration of the encounters and your emotions, at times, will you leave breathless. However, it is not always sunshine and roses. There will be times when your patience and sanity are tested. You will undergo the same sensations but for all the wrong reasons.

Luckily, Sod’s Law had no role to play today and the celebrity bird lingered in the vicinity for a long time but one can never get enough of a pitta especially a pitta lifer.

There was one bird that I wanted to show before we headed to the next locality and it was the migratory Forest Wagtail. The adorable sway of the wagtail has a way to keep you mesmerized on its every move and today, it provided yet another memorable encounter.

At the Bukit Wang forest reserve in Kedah state, we headed straight to the active fruiting tree I discovered yesterday. My intention of obtaining better images of the Red-crowned Barbet was shattered as the subject was no where to seen near the fruiting tree today. The only sure thing about birding is there is no such thing as a sure thing. I had to settle for bulbuls like this Cream-vented Bulbul. My guest, on the other hand, was elated with the number of bulbul species present at this one single tree. The Cream-vented Bulbul is the most prominent species at the tree today and we had more opportunities to capture this common resident of the forest.

Usually in flocks and behaving more like babblers, the Hairy-backed Bulbuls are an intriguing species. But like all bulbuls, it cannot resist the temptation of the tantalizing fruits and will abandon its natural fear for humans at the feast. The dense foliage remained our main nemesis. It was not easy trying to follow their movements on that tree let alone photograph the birds. But sometimes in birding, a magic moment will come when the subject, after all the swearing and struggles it made you go through, alights on an open perch. That magic moment when everything seems to work in your favour.

Making only brief visits, we did not really have a good chance to observe the Spectacled Bulbul. Its unflattering plumage probably enable it to go unnoticed at times.

The same applies to the Red-eyed Bulbul and the absence of the thin yellow eye ring is one of the main field identification marks that separates the two quite similar looking species.

I know being birders we are naturally more observant than others. However, if there are stunning denizens like the Grey-bellied Bulbuls around, we are often distracted. And duller species can and will get ignored. Birders are humans after all.

A pair of Lesser Green Leafbirds swooped down from the safety of the forest canopy to join in the feast. Initially, I thought the male was a Greater Green Leafbird. But the more I look at his images back home, the more uncertain I became. The smallish bill and indistinct yellow tinge to the lower border of the black face mask were my concerns. Anyway after consulting my birding mates, we came to a conclusion that he was indeed a Lesser Green Leafbird. It may come as a surprise but the females of these two species are much easier to identify (this is a self-preservation thing).

When we could finally pulled ourselves away from the fruiting tree, we were greeted by other residents of this birding paradise. A foraging flock of White-bellied Erpornis will rarely be overlooked due to their vocal and confiding nature. I find these birds to be quite appealing despite the lack of any vibrant plumage colourations. I guess it must be the wicked crest and personality.

Well, the male Green-backed Flycatcher certainly does not lack vibrant colours even when observed in the dim lighting of the forest understorey.

The Chestnut-necklaced Partridge is rare, spectacular and charismatic. I will be doing a article for the Malaysian Naturalist magazine about proposing this birding site to be gazetted as an Important Bird Area. The partridge is classified as globally vulnerable and I am certain it will be featured in the article.

For the rest of day, we spent time birding back in mainland Penang. Daytime sightings of nocturnal birds are a class of their own and if it is a huge owl like this Spotted Wood-Owl, it is an incredible experience. The owl was roosting on its favourite spot at the edge of the freshwater swamp forest of Air Hitam Dalam and despite the distance and lighting, it still made our day to come across such a fascinating species.

A first winter male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, told by his blackish uppertail coverts, was seen hunting in the undergrowth within the borders of the park.

No doubt I wished it was a mature male with his striking beauty but in life, we do not always get what we want. But the confiding nature of the youngster certainly earned him a place among the highlights of the trip.

I have been waiting for the opportunity to revisit the marshlands of Batu Kawan since my recent visit there for the first time in years. It was a memorable visit and I hope to have the same good fortune today.

If this male Yellow Bittern was a little more hidden, there is a big possibility that the both of us could have missed him altogether. But Lady Luck was on our side and the hunting bittern tolerated our intrusion into his semi-aquatic domain.

About a stone’s throw away, we came across a second male Yellow Bittern. Although this bittern was closer, he chose to hunt among a bunch of dried branches making it a photographic nightmare for us.

While we were preoccupied with the Yellow Bittern, I caught sight of a stalking dark shape in the corner of my eye. Like a burglar making a hasty escape, it was a male Black Bittern and he certainly did not appreciate our presence. Luckily, he paused just long enough for this image to be taken before disappearing among the tall reeds – for the rest of our visit here. I have not come across this beauty of a bittern for ages and this is my first ever photograph of this elusive water bird. For me this encounter, however brief it may be, was the highlight of the day.

Now for something much easier to spot and photograph – an Asian Openbill. A number of these unique storks have taken refuge here and it comes as no surprise as we found plenty of Golden Apple Snail eggs within the marshlands. With food aplenty and habitat ideal, the storks have found their paradise. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be a permanent home. With the rapid pace of development in the surrounding areas, I am afraid it is just a matter of time before this haven joins the long list of former birding sites in the country. Anyway, I will be enjoying it while it lasts. And enjoy I did with this absolutely confiding young Asian Openbill taking breather after feeding.

One of the reasons I am drawn to this locality is the presence of Ruddy-breasted Crakes. Here, they seem to be a little less elusive and we did manage to come across one. But as fate would have it, the crake remained partially hidden most of the time despite a prolonged observation.

Today, it was the White-browed Crake that rose to the occasion. Strutting about the marsh in search of food, this little crake allowed us to peer into its often secretive world and it was quite a show.

Its diminutive size and the heat wave occasionally made photography challenging. Constantly on the move, it was not an easy subject to follow either. But there were those magic moments when things just fell into place for my guest and I.

Snipes may not be as secretive as crakes but they have frustrated me often enough. Furthermore, there is the identification dilemma between the Swinhoe’s Snipe and Pin-tailed Snipe where everything boils down to what the outer tail feathers revealed when tail is fanned out. And that honestly, is just too complicated for me. I am a simple man and I like to keep things simple – even in birding.

Nevertheless, it was exhilarating to observe a ‘Swintail’ Snipe for such a prolonged period of time and at such close proximity. I am not sure if it is just me but in recent years, I found that the number of wintering snipes in Penang state are on the decrease and I rarely come across them as frequently as I used to.

Apart from the water birds, some of the other residents did play a part to make our visit to this birding hotspot complete. The most memorable for me was this confiding Chestnut Munia resting in a sea of green. Munias, due to their numbers and habits, are considered as pest by farmers. The birds are also targeted by trappers for the bird trade where they will be sold for the so-called merit releasing practices. Life is tough for these seed-eaters and inevitably some species like Chestnut Munia are becoming uncommon. That is most unfortunate because I find it to be a rather stunning bird.

It was a good day of birding and I am glad to be able to share quite a number of magic moments with Kieron. With the COVID-19 pandemic tightening its deadly grip around the globe, Kieron will be my last foreign birding guest for now. But the birding I suppose, will still go on for me but with less frequency as the entire country came under a 14-day movement control order at the time of writing. Social distancing is a term that is constantly being used nowadays due to the pandemic. Venturing into some wild and Godforsaken locality in search of birds far away from most human populations to me is a good form of social distancing and one that I have been practicing most of my life.