Birds, butterflies and golden babies...

 

The eBird Global Big Day is an annual event with a worthy cause as the data collected will be used for bird conservation research. Unfortunately, I usually cannot fully commit to this endeavour but I do try my best. For this year, time constraint and unfavourable weather conditions are some of the obstacles I faced. I did put in a couple hours at a local patch and the forest around the Air Itam Dam was the selected site this year.

There are relatively few babblers surviving here in Penang Island. Trapped on an island that is developing at a rapid pace, these birds are truly put to the test. However in the central hilly region, one species has endured – the Grey-throated Babbler. Being vocal by nature, it is recorded on most visits here. It will take some effort to actually see the bird well and even more so to obtain a decent photograph. And I have no qualms about today’s result.

A male Orange-bellied Flowerpecker provided some vibrance and colours to this short birding endeavour. And a lucky capture when he briefly alighted on an exposed perch elevated the encounter to another level.

The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo is rather spectacular for a common species. My obsession with its namesake has been a lifelong affair and it should come as no surprise that the bird had my undivided attention. It has a habit of following tree dwelling mammals around as the movement of the latter will usually flush out prey for the former. In return, the former acts as sentry. An effective partnership to say the least.

I knew that the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo was following a troop of Dusky Langurs on this occasion but I did not pay much attention these common but beautiful primates until I was done with the former. And to my delight, there were at least two babies present. Many species of langurs have golden babies and the Dusky Langur is one of them.

I hate to admit it but the little ones, oozing with cuteness, overshadowed their feathered associate this time.

Another forest denizen that still calls the Pearl of the Orient home is the Asian Fairy Bluebird. A name like that will have a lot to live up to and the striking male bird does fail in that aspect.

I often find it difficult to obtain good views and decent photographs of this beautiful bird. I cannot recall the last time I had such a memorable encounter with the Asian Fairy Bluebird. So, it was another significant record for today. His duller mate was somewhere around but human nature had me focusing only on the handsome male.

A stunning Malayan Lacewing also had my attention briefly. There is more to life than only birds, you know. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

When the sun finally decided to show itself, it added a soaring White-bellied Sea-Eagle into my so-called Big Day checklist.

The final bird of this post is the Crested Myna. Penang Island has been a stronghold for this previously introduced species and at this particular site, it is the commonest myna species. A local speciality wrapped things up for this time and hopefully, this re-ignition of my birding blog will continue its course.

Festival of Lights

Rain has been a constant feature for the past week here in northern Peninsular Malaysia. Each evening, just like clockwork, the heavens will open up and drench the lands below. Without rain, there will be no life and I really should not be complaining. However for a bird guide hosting birders from overseas, rain is one of the things I dread the most. My weekend birding for this time started off close to home. One seldom sees mist here in Penang Island and to be engulfed by thick mist is certainly new to me. The slopes of Bukit Penara were exceptionally misty due to the rainfall of late and as I walked along the access road, it momentarily deceived me into feeling that I was at some far, exotic hill resort in search of birds.

I rarely get swept away by the landscape I wander into when birding. However, things were off to a slow start and the rays of the sun piercing through one spot of the secondary forest captured my immediate attention. Deepavali happened to fall on the next day and this year in conjunction with the Festival of Lights, Mother Nature decided to provide an exclusive show of her own.

The soft but persistent calls of the Grey-throated Babbler finally got the ball rolling and I took the effort to locate and observe a flock that was foraging along the forest understorey. It is better known as a bird of the montane forest but up here in the north, the Grey-throated Babbler occurs even at sea level. It is also one of the few babblers to be able to endure the rate of development here in the Pearl of the Orient.

Typical of babblers, it is not often seen well. It takes perseverance and luck. The former is a compulsory trait for all birders and today, I had just enough of the latter to capture some unobstructed images of this plain but interesting resident of the forest.

A male Orange-bellied Flowerpecker was particularly obliging today. The winds occasionally blew in rain clouds and blocked out the sun during the encounter. A certain degree of colour intensity was lost due to the lighting but he was still a striking and remarkable bird.

Here in Penang Island where birders are not blessed with a whole lot of spectacular birds, the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker is up there among the best any birder can hope to encounter in the field.

The wind and rain caused some havoc along the access road leading up to Gunung Bintang in Kedah state but it will take a lot more than some minor landslides to keep birders away from their objectives. Birding was not exceptional this time and there were hardly any good photographic opportunities. Luckily my Australian guests are old school birders and there was just enough bird activities to keep them reasonably happy.

It was hot and sunny when we entered the mangroves of Sungai Batu. Sometimes too much of a good thing may not be good anymore and I struggled with shadows and harsh lighting when trying to obtain some images from this visit. It was good to see the return of the wintering Forest Wagtails to this locality but their constant movements added more woe to my photographic efforts.

The ever-present Abbott’s Babbler may not stir much excitement in me but for my guests, this common species did its part to help improve the quality of the trip.

A mass of wings and feathers greeted us above the swamp forest of Air Hitam Dalam in mainland Penang. Even without any optical aid, there can be no mistaking the Asian Openbills at this locality. After all this time, I still marvel at these peculiar storks. Not only because of the sheer number often present but for their beauty as well.

Luck or perhaps divine intervention diverted part of the flock towards our direction and some descended upon the nearby paddy fields either to rest or to feed. And the better views did not go unappreciated.

The sky was providing more action than the forest proper this time and the migratory Black Kites again graced the vicinity with their presence for another season. With whatever thermals available, they soared with such ease that it was a truly captivating sight indeed.

As we made our way to the nearby paddy fields, the weather turned for the worse drastically. Thunder rumbled at a distance and the approaching storm transformed the sky into a surprisingly mesmerizing sight. There was no point fighting the inevitable and we decided to turn back and head for home. The storm lashed the earth with such fury that it even made driving difficult. It may be the worst possible condition for birding but a flock of Grey-headed Lapwings desperately trying to evade the downpour provided one last highlight for the trip.

A fluffy weekend indeed

The access road up the Air Itam Dam in Penang Island was recently reopened after a major landslide. Although I do not expect anything out of the ordinary here, I still decided to pay the locality a visit when I found myself with a few hours to kill on a Saturday morning. As my iron steed took me up the ascending windy road, I was greeted by huge concrete retaining walls where once were patches of secondary forest. Thankfully, the repair works were confined to the lower reaches of the hill. The access trail up Bukit Penara looked almost like how I remembered it and I started my trek up with rejuvenated spirit.

The frantic call of the Malaysian Hawk-Cuckoo is rather distinct and it stopped me in my tracks when I heard it calling from the ravine below. A brief view was all it offered this time and as I was still recovering from the disappointment, another distinct call gained my undivided attention. It took some effort as the Green Broadbill is small and blends in well with its surroundings. But as soon as I spotted the female, her mate started to call from the adjacent tree. The morning just got a lot more interesting.

The Green Broadbill is the last remaining broadbill species to occur on the island and that makes it a distinguished species for me. Unfortunately, the male was reluctant to show himself well and all my efforts were in vain. The drabber female, on the other hand, was quite showy.

There are many amazing songsters in the avian world and the White-rumped Shama is undoubtedly one of them. Cursed with both good looks and voice, it is heavily trapped for the bird trade and the population here in Penang is dwindling. This pair was checking a dead tree trunk for a nest site and hopefully, they will find a more suitable one that is not so exposed.

Babblers are not that well represented on the island. The one species that stands out for me here is the Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler. For today, this stunning species turned out to be the main highlight. There is nothing not to be liked about this babbler except for its preference for the dense undergrowth which can be a major hindrance to observation and photography. But it is a visit to a local patch on my own and time was not a restriction. I patiently followed the babbler and took whatever photographic opportunity that was provided.

The saying good things come to those who wait could not have made any more sense than in this moment. The Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler is a loud, adorable and striking species and I am truly grateful it has managed to endure living here in Penang Island despite all the looming threats.

When vocalizing, the blue skin on the neck was quite obvious and together with its body movements made it quite a performance indeed. In fact, the entire encounter was incredible. Looks like the Pearl of the Orient has not lost all its glitter just yet.

The next day, I had a half-day excursion with a Singaporean guest and our first destination was the mangroves of Sungai Batu in Kedah state. It has been weeks since my last visit to the locality and it warms my heart to be greeted by the territorial call of the Mangrove Pitta upon our arrival. It did not take long for the star bird to reveal itself and my guest could not have asked for a better way to start off the tour than with a Pitta as a lifer.

The inquisitive Abbott’s Babblers further improved the quality of the visit with their adorable presence.

For most, the Crested Serpent-Eagle is a common raptor that is usually taken for granted. But when seen well, it is still a beautiful and majestic bird of prey. A lone individual was perched in good light at the edge of the mangroves and since it was confiding, the raptor was given its due attention.

At the freshwater swamp forest of Air Hitam Dalam, it was disappointingly quiet despite the favourable weather. The only encounter worth mentioning from this site was a Crested Serpent-Eagle looking fluffy and adorable as unbelievable as it may sound. Anyway, this sighting helped prove my earlier statement of it being a common raptor.

The last destination of the day was the paddy fields of mainland Penang. With the breeding season almost in full swing for most of the water birds, some of the egrets were looking gorgeous in breeding plumages like these Cattle Egrets.

This is the only species that sports some colouration on its plumage and that makes this smallest of the egrets truly stand out from the crowd.

A full breeding plumaged Intermediate Egret will sport blood red eyes. I guess this individual is still considered to be in partial breeding plumage despite the presence of the body plumes.

The final bird of the day is another water bird but is far more enigmatic than any egret. The Asian Openbill is a common sight nowadays around mainland Penang but my fascination for this peculiar stork is far from over. A couple of birds resting on a bund was confiding enough this time to allow our vehicle to make a close approach. For my guest, it was a much-anticipated lifer. As for me, the Asian Openbill was a great way to finish off this short excursion around my usual birding haunts.