A morning with five kings

 

The breaking of dawn saw flocks of Asian Openbills emerging from their roosts to forage within nearby vicinities and beyond. A few decided to try their luck along the river skirting the Air Hitam Dalam Educational Forest. The Malaysian government has loosened the movement control order allowing me travel within my home state and I found myself back at this locality for a few hours of much-needed birding. Of late, I am feeling somewhat like a caged bird with all the restrictions in placed.

When I turned around to let the Openbills carry on with their daily routine, I found that the storks were not the only ones being watched. A village cat has taken a keen interest in my presence. A friendly gesture of clicking my tongue was all it took to have the feline rushing over and showering with me affection.

The morning, as expected, was sunny and beautiful. I decided to try my luck along the river trail with my new companion in toll. The walk, however refreshing it may be, failed to produce any unexpected species.

I cannot recall ever seeing the migratory Whiskered Tern hunt above the murky water here before but one was certainly at it today.

A dead tree on the river bank must be to its liking as the elegant water fowl frequently returned to rest and preen in between forays.

Two pairs of Collared Kingfishers were proclaiming territories along this short stretch of riverside forest and between them, particularly drowned out all other sounds with their raucous vocalizations. Unfortunately, good views were hard to come by. The birds were restless probably due to the presence of rival birds.

I could also hear a pair of Stork-billed Kingfishers calling persistently nearby. For a change it was not too hard to trace the call back to the source this time and the massive Stork-billed Kingfisher, is always a sight to behold. By the end of the trip, I managed to rack up 3 more species of Kingfishers (Black-capped, White-throated and Common Kingfisher) making these striking birds one of the main highlights.

A Crested Serpent-Eagle surveyed its domain from a lofty perch. Looking quite majestic against the clear blue sky, I naturally took the time to enjoy the view. At this hour, food was probably on its mind. Reptiles mainly form its diet but I suppose anything it can overpower will be in the menu as well.

With the migratory season coming to an end, the Black Kites that grace this locality with their presence will soon undergo the long journey back to their breeding grounds. A flock of 7 birds flew towards my direction before dispersing to the nearby paddy fields to hunt. I suppose this would be my last sighting for this season.

The commercial fish ponds next to the reserve attract water birds like egrets and herons for obvious reasons. It is a private property but the owner do not usually mind my intrusion. Of all the species present today, the smallest one outshined the others with its lovely breeding plumage. In fact, the Cattle Egret is the only one found here in Malaysia that develops some plumage colouration when it is time to breed.

The Cattle Egret shared the limelight with a few Chinese Pond-Herons that were also looking their best in breeding colours. The Herons were more suspicious of my presence and it took effort to gain enough of their trust in order to obtain some images.

A banana leaf was somehow able to provide this non-breeding plumaged Pond-Heron with a sense of security. The partial concealment and angle of the Heron did not make it an appealing capture despite my close proximity.

Waders do not occur in good numbers at this location and even this Wood Sandpiper, one of the commonest species, might actually be a new site record for me.

The tendency to burst out alarm calls of the Red-wattled Lapwing will often reveal its presence. But not this one. It stood briefly on the embankment and just coolly strolled away upon my approach. When the Lapwing was finally out of sight, I decided to take my leave before I outstay my welcome here at the ponds.

In the freshwater swamp forest proper, there was not many opportunities for photography. A Mangrove Blue Flycatcher was singing from the darkest part of the undergrowth and when I eventually obtained full view of the bird, a handsome male, he had my undivided attention.

And he was not alone. The sole Indochinese Blue Flycatcher was also in the vicinity and it is always heartening to see her still doing well after all these years.

As I made my way to the car park area, I was surprise to see a pair of Greater Coucals confidingly loitering about the rubbish dump area. They were in search of food and I do not think this species scavenges. They were probably after scavengers there.

I do not come across this beautiful bird so close and in the open like this often enough and this opportunity was much welcomed. I made myself as unintimidating to the pair as possible nearby and savoured the moment. On this occasion, both the birder and photographer in me were utterly satisfied.

The Greater Coucals provided glimpses of this site’s former glory days and just about enough to keep me hopeful that one day the Air Hitam Dalam Educational Forest that I love so deeply at one point in time will rise up once again.