Old school birding...

 

There was a time when December was a month I look forward to. The holiday season, the magic of Christmas and so forth. It is also a good time for birding as well. However, for the past few years, horrendous traffic congestions and overwhelming crowds leave very little reason to celebrate. And this season, the recent loss of a loved one compounded the situation. Thankfully, an invitation from an old friend to join him for a day of birding provided some Christmas cheer and we found ourselves at the paddy planting district of Kubang Semang in mainland Penang at first light. Waterbirds are our main objective as Dave has a soft spot for this fascinating group of birds - a sentiment that I share. A stunning adult Purple Heron was certainly a good start to our endeavour.

We came across a number of Purple Herons throughout the locality and this is a juvenile on the hunt for breakfast.

Grey-headed Lapwings are a regular sight here each migratory season but it was one of my companion’s target birds as he now resides in East Malaysia where it is rare. A couple of birds in flight caught our attention and it did not take long for us to find the first flock of this lovely bird.

I have not been out in the field as often as I used to and the Grey-headed Lapwings made me realize how much I miss birding. So, two seasoned birders who undoubtedly have a fair share of experience with this species, took the effort and time to document the encounter.

The Red-wattled Lapwing is just as attractive or even more so but it did not evoke as much emotions. In this locality, it is outnumbered and overshadowed by the former.

Talking about beauty, the weather condition was near perfect for birding this morning and the lighting brought out the true appeal of this agricultural landscape.

At this time of the year, the Amur Stonechat is a rather drab-looking grassland bird. It would be a sin not to capture some images of this individual posing in front of a sea of green.

One does not usually get to see a Slaty-breasted Rail in the open at this locality and the reason behind this bold behaviour soon revealed itself. Another rail was present and I can only presume they were having a dispute.

Reed beds can be a gold mine during the migratory season as they are favoured by open country warblers. Certain patches could harbour more than five different species and one of the most sought after here would be the Manchurian Reed-Warbler. It is not that rare. However, it looks very much like the commoner Black-browed Reed-Warbler. We had at least 2 Manchurians today and I only have a photo of its commoner cousin for show in the end.

This Yellow Bittern had the utmost confidence in its ability blend into the surrounding environment. And we just played along...

Little Cormorants are now a common sight in my home state. Despite its status, most of them are skittish and normally do not allow close approach. And whenever I come across a confiding individual, it deserves some space in my memory card. Regardless of the less-than-ideal lighting.

Lines of trees scattered around the paddy fields provide shade and refuge for the birds. For fruiting trees like this one, it is a great source of food and a small flock of Daurian Starlings took full advantage of it. When food-drunk, birds tend to be more accommodating towards birders but on this occasion the foliage was an obstacle we could not avoid.

A little patience and luck later, one Starling did wander into the open. Even though it was a female, we could not have requested for a better candidate to conclude the first part of our day out.

Along the way to our second destination, we stopped by the paddy fields of Penaga where the rare Black-headed Ibis turned up a few weeks back. I guess there is a limit to the magic of Christmas and this confiding Whiskered Tern was the only bird worth mentioning.

While waiting for the right timing to start our wader watch by boat, the jetty area along Sungai Tembus in northern mainland Penang provided enough attractions to help pass the time like this elegant Great Egret.

The colony of Black-crowned Night-herons continue to thrive here and are as confiding as usual.

A storm looms in a distance as we finally set out to sea. We were joined Afiq and Xian from Kuala Lumpur as well as Munira and her husband of the Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project.

The worries immediately vanished when we were greeted by thousands of shorebirds. And a big flock flying in unison is a true spectacle of nature. Photographs and videos cannot capture the true essence of this marvel. I guess it is one of those things you have to experience in the flesh.

Asian Openbills have formed nesting colonies along the coast and huge numbers were recorded as expected. Most of the local birders are now accustomed to mass congregations of this interesting stork but it is still quite a sight.

Good photographic opportunities were far and few due to the lighting condition and distance of the birds from our boat. One of the more notable records of the trip is the presence of more than 1,000 Asian Dowitchers.

Flocks of gulls are rather conspicuous out here in the mudflats due to their size and white colouration. The majority of them were Brown-headed Gulls but we did positively identify a Black-headed Gull among them.The poles of the mussel farms are a great place to photograph resting terns and gulls and there was no exception for this trip.

Greater Crested Terns were in their usual numbers but the absence of Lesser Crested Terns was a little disappointing.

Whiskered Terns tried to distract our attention from the its larger cousins by performing admirably…

To end this post, is a dedication to my late Godfather who was the one responsible for introducing me to the world of birding. The memories I shared with Lim Ban Beng are priceless and he will be missed. This is a photo taken back in 1989 when birding was so much different. Digital cameras were not invented yet, photography “ports” were non-existent and no social media. We were on the summit of Bukit Larut and have just observed a pair of Great Hornbills flying across the valley below. A pair of newbie binoculars captured the encounter into memory and a pen and notebook immortalized it. Now, nearly 4 decades down the road, it remains to be one of the main highlights of my birding life.