A tale of two twitches

 

Before my birding tour in central Thailand ended, it came to my attention that Yellow-breasted Buntings were also seen and photographed at the Bluethroat site back in Penang. To have two mega rarities literally together of which one is critically endangered and a global lifer for me was too good to be true surely. But the images surfacing in social media say otherwise. Well, my pending visit to the locality escalated from gradually to urgently. I had ample time at the airport when I waited for my flight back to Penang. Normal folks would be homesick and all that but I am a birder and we are a breed apart. As I sipped my over-priced coffee at one the cafes, there was only one mind on my mind – Yellow-breasted Buntings. A plan was formed before I boarded the plane. By the time I climbed onto bed, it was midnight. At the break of dawn, I found myself at the grasslands of Kubang Semang in mainland Penang for my first twitch in years. I have not had so much excitement in my birding life for a long time and it was invigorating to say the least.

It was a Monday and the chosen day was also part of the plan. A mega like the Bluethroat will have any place in Peninsular Malaysia crowded especially when the bird is stable and regular. Add another mega into the mix and you do the math. It was empty when James and I arrived at the site. Just as I was about to pat myself on the back, other like-minded ‘bird’ people started pouring in. And I guess a working Monday is not much of a hindrance after all. The male Bluethroat, as expected, did not take long to reveal his stunning presence. Having just experienced a similar encounter less than twenty-four hours ago, the usual thrill of a successful twitch was a little lacking.

All my years of birding has taught me quite a number of things and taking birds for granted is not one of them. I continued to shower the Bluethroat with attention while James and a few others who have spent enough time with the Bluethroat last week, were on the lookout for the Yellow-breasted Buntings.

An Oriental Reed-Warbler wandered into view and this common but at times elusive migrant, warranted some attention as well.

When anxiety set in, I set everything aside and focused all my attention in finding the main reason behind this rare weekday excursion. It was a hive of bird activities at this patch of grasslands. As fate would have it, I have the Baya Weavers to thank for this bustling atmosphere. And I do not mean it in a good way. The similarities between a female Baya Weaver and the buntings were undeniable. Inevitably, every movement by the former will have my bins locked onto them and there were about a dozen of them around.

The Munias can never to be mistaken for the buntings but their movement will occasionally distract me from my quest. The majority of these adorable birds were White-headed Munias. On any other day I would have invested some time and effort to document them but today is not the day.

The same can be said about the Black-headed Munias.

As the day grew hotter, fatigue and frustration heightened. I was distracted by the Baya Weavers so often that I can now recognise their jizz in an instance. And a lone bird foraging at a short distance do not strike me as one of them. Before I could switch to my camera, my lifer took off but I alerted the rest of its presence nevertheless. Soon after, a Yellow-breasted Bunting popped into view and there was no denying its identity now. However, there was no icing to the cake. I can blame it on my gear or even old age but it will not change the fact that this horrible image was all I have to show at the end of the encounter.

The outcome of the twitch was a bitter pill to swallow. I am well aware I could have just as easily missed the Yellow-breasted Bunting altogether. I refuse to believe that my experience with this species will be nothing more than a case of so close and yet so far. No, there has got to be more and I have to make sure of that. Four gruelling work days had to pass before a re-visit was possible. The resident Bronze-winged Jacana which used to be a rarity, was the first to greet me during my second attempt at the critically endangered Yellow-breasted Buntings.

The present status of this vagrant is a sad tale indeed. It used to be common where it naturally occurs but common does not mean invincible if share your home with humans. Rampant trapping and hunting have driven the Yellow-breasted Bunting to the brink of extinction. The world does not need another example like the Passenger Pigeon to show just how fragile the wellbeing of wildlife can be. And now, there are at least three individuals wintering in my neck of woods. It will be a shame if I do not give it my all to connect with this species before it is too late. Minutes turned to hours and still no signs of the celebrity birds despite the number of eyes looking for them. Naturally, I was not alone as it was the weekend after all.

Nothing is ever a sure thing when it comes to birding. It does not matter how skilled you are or how meticulous is your planning and strategies. If the bird does not want to be seen or photographed, there is nothing you can do about it. Fortunately, luck was on my side and a Yellow-breasted Bunting suddenly decided to alight in front of me. There is a God after all.

From the images posted on social media, one of the birds was an adult male and the other two were either first winter or female birds in different stages of moult. The individual that I was staring was not the adult male and that was the only thing I can be sure of at that time. Opinions from knowledgeable friends and resources online indicated that it was a female. Although not as striking as a male bird, she has more than enough captivation to leave a lasting impressive.

Best of all, she was obliging enough to allow all those present to obtain photographic memories of the encounter. And all the earlier ill feelings she and her kin caused, was forgiven.

Almost immediately after she retreated, a second bird was spotted. However, it could not live up to the first encounter due to the distance. The second bird also turned out to be a female but her underparts are more heavily streaked and lacking the colour intensity.

When she took flight, another individual followed and I can only assume was the first female. And that concluded my observation of the Yellow-breasted Buntings. I found my closure in the end and the world is a beautiful place once again.

Just in case you are wondering, the handsome male Bluethroat was still around and performing for a number of admirers since morning. However, it was the female Bluethroat that caught my eye today. It is common knowledge that the duller female was the shyer of the two at this location. Anyway, it was a record shot more than anything else but completed my observation of the rare Bluethroats as well.

A surprisingly confiding Yellow-bellied Prinia held me back from my making my journey home. Like what I mentioned earlier, nothing in birding should ever be taken for granted and even the commonest species deserve some attention especially if they are performing well like this.

Tit watching...

This post is not as provocative as what the title may imply. It has got absolutely nothing to do with a revered part of the female human’s anatomy but a family of small and colourful birds which despite being confiding are often difficult to photograph because of their active nature. The ryokan accommodation that we stayed at Kyoto was located near a wooded park that even had a pond – the type of place that I can sneak off to at dawn for a couple of hours of birding.  So, I decided to swing by Maruyama Park with my wife in tow after our sight seeing itinerary to satisfy my curiosity for the place. It does have all the potential of a good local patch. Lush green landscaping with a small stream running into a pond.

The pond had a few Grey Herons resting on the ornamental rocks and they seemed to be oblivious of all human presence and activities all around them. Grey Herons are common back home but never have I ever seen them at such close proximity. They were so tame that initially I thought they were captive birds with clipped wings.

This is one of the few rare occasions where I could have my photo taken together with my beloved birds. One more thing, semi-military attire is not a requirement when birding in green areas within the cities of Japan as most of the birds are confiding. You will probably get the same results wearing a fluorescent pink shirt (not that I own one).

From the pond, I followed a trail upstream. I made a mental note not to lose track of time even if the birding was good. There is a limit how long the Cherry Blossoms and blissful atmosphere near the pond can keep my better half occupied. After only a few strides into the trail, I came across a small birdwave. This is my first trip to Japan. The few hours of birding experience in Japan that I have gained prior to this moment could not have prepared me for this. It was a birdwave for God’s sake and overwhelmed is the word. I am sure I missed out on a few species. Most were small and hyperactive birds. But the one that got my undivided attention were the Varied Tits. Here comes the part where I watched tits with my mouth slightly ajar. As soon as I saw the striking black and white head, I was transfixed with the bird. Nothing else could take my eyes off it. Not even the other birds in the birdwave. But the Varied Tits were a difficult bunch of birds to follow. They hardly stood still and the fading light was not much help either.

I may be new to birding in this part of the world but I seen enough photos and documentaries on the Long-tailed Tit to know how it looks like. And that cute-looking bird right in front of me that has just caught a caterpillar was definitely a Long-tailed Tit. Again I could only managed only one reasonable shot as it was extremely active. It was about then that the land of the rising sun had to endure a stream of profanity from a frustrated Malaysian birder.

One thing I noticed during my site recce of Maruyama Park was the number of Jungle Crows present near the pond area. Here, they appeared to be even bolder than the ones I encountered in the capital. I guess crows worldwide have a bad reputation but if one can look beyond that, you will see an intelligent and sleek member of the avian family.

I set my alarm for 4:30am the next day as it is already bright by then. Other than a lone Great Cormorant that flew off as soon as I reached the site, the pond was void of any life. No sight of even the Grey Herons that looked so comfortable here last evening. I did not have to walk far into the trail to get my first lifer of the day. Finches can be confusing and I must admit I did not do my homework well enough to be able to identify this Black-faced Bunting immediately. I knew it was a finch and hoped that the three shots that I fired (from the same angle) will be good enough for me or my friends to identify later. And they were – thanks, Dave.

Before the Black-faced Bunting, the only finch-like bird I encountered were the ever-abundant Eurasian Tree-Sparrows. But here at Maruyama Park there are quite a lot of finch-like birds and not all of them were sparrows – that much I was sure. I do not seem to have much luck with these birds and like the Black-faced Bunting, I could only muster one shot of this Oriental Greenfinch (thanks, Masahiko San for the identity of this lifer) before it vanished from sight.

I have seen enough Pale Thrushes to recognise this species by jizz alone. This time, it was foraging on a grassy patch.

Later in the morning, I think I came across a second individual as it looked slightly different. I followed its movements until we came to dry riverbed. It was gloomy but the thrush was rather receptive of my presence and went about its business and that made the encounter a moment to be treasured.

Then came the tits – much to my delight as I have a chance to improve on my images. Unlike that evening, there was no birdwave. For that I am truly grateful as I can focus on one species at a time. Maybe I did not stress how stunning the Varied Tit truly is. Kyoto is full of fair maidens clayed in kimonos and looking absolutely lovely but I, will rather have a cooperative Varied Tit any day.

Although I managed more photos this time, I had to work hard to obtain them. These images with the tit foraging on a flowering tree are among the multitude of little treasures that I managed to bring back home digitally to be enjoy for many years to come.

The Long-tailed Tit also made me sing for my supper. I was constantly on the move as I tried to keep up with the bird’s rapid movements. I stumbled over steps, ignored the stares of curious morning walkers, trying to focus my camera on tiny bird that never ever stops moving and all that time, be aware of the direction of the light. People say you tend to appreciate something more if it took a whole lot of effort to obtain it and they are right. The Long-tailed Tit together with the Varied Tit are some of the main highlights of my trip to Japan.

As I was recovering from all the excitement from the tit watching endeavours, a small woodpecker alighted briefly in front of me. Lucky for me, my reflex action was quick enough to ensure that I did not come out empty-handed from this short but sweet encounter. It was a Pygmy Japanese Woodpecker and describing it as adorable would be an understatement.

When the birding pace dropped a gear, I decided to head back to the pond and I found myself in the company of four Mallards. The thing was each of them sported a different plumage. Since there was only one female, she will be given the honour to start off the encounter...

This rather dull looking individual is an eclipsed male...

The third is a male moulting into breeding plumage...

I saved the best for last – a male in full breeding plumage and he is a stunning specimen. I know that this species is common here and some other parts of the world but it does not occur naturally in my homeland. I am a sucker for waterbirds and the Mallard is one beautiful and confiding waterbird. That makes it irresistible to me.

As I was making my way out, I finally spent some time observing the Jungle Crows. Just like last evening, they were loitering around the entrance to the park.

In Japan, there are two species of crows. One is the Jungle Crow which I have come to know quite well as it occurs everywhere in the capital city and the other is the Carrion Crow which supposedly only occurs in more rural areas. Effort is required to distinguish the two just like the Large-billed and Slender-billed Crows back home. It also boils down to habitat, shape of the bill and head and the overall size for the crows here in Japan as well. Except for the first factor, it can be a bit of a challenge to pick out a Carrion Crow and that is the reason why I try to scrutinize every crow I see outside the city. The last crow I photographed before calling it a day here certainly fits the bill – literally. Thanks to Dave and Masahiko, I could tick Carrion Crow in my life list without any sense of guilt.

This city park has provided me with a rewarding and memorable birding experience that honestly, was not expected. I am grateful I stumbled upon this little piece of birding paradise and I should have known it was one. People do not erect tall statues of a bird next to a park for no reason. Thank you for the memories, Kyoto City.