It started out like any ordinary
weekday morning. After checking my emails and messages, I decided to have a
quick look at my Facebook. A photo posted by a friend caught my immediate
attention. It was a photo of an Oriental Plover – a rare migrant to our shores
and a would-be lifer. After obtaining the necessary information, the open
country of Kamunting will be my next birding destination two days from now.
Dave was about to make a trip to Ipoh on that day and Kamunting was
conveniently along the way. Later in the afternoon, I received news from him. Not
one but two Oriental Plovers in the bag. And thus began the agonizing wait for
the weekend. Two vehicles, four birders, one very plain-looking but rare objective
and a vast grassland. Not as vast as the grasslands of Chuping in Perlis but Hor
Kee, Nelson, Beng Yean and yours truly still had our work cut out for us.
The most prominent species
present were undoubtedly the Oriental Pratincoles. These peculiar but beautiful
waders were nesting there and caution had to be taken not too stress them out
too much during our search for the Oriental Plovers. The sight of the nesting pratincoles
brought back memories of the nesting ground in my home state. Sadly, the site
is now nothing but a distant memory.
The next generation of
Oriental Pratincoles which in time will grace our world with their graceful aerial
agilities…
Normally, where the Oriental
Pratincole nests so will the Red-wattled Lapwing. Although not in such high
numbers, there were enough of this common but stunning waders around to grab my
attention. Come to think of it these birds are natural born attention grabbers
with their loud and distinct alarm call and the numbers present does not
matter.
I think by now you have more
or less have guessed the outcome for my twitch for the Oriental Plovers. If
something as rare as this is not mentioned by the second paragraph, it can only
spell dip out. Despite a careful sweep for more than 3 hours, we just could not
locate the plovers. The trip was not without its highlights and one of them is
certainly this – my first ever photo of the Small Buttonquail after all these years.
I was not too disappointed for
being too slow to photograph a Barred Buttonquail. The reason being I almost
got a clear shot of a male Blue-breasted Quail. Now the latter deserves a
lengthy paragraph not only to make up for the crappy image but the bird truly
deserves it. Adorable and striking, the male Blue-breasted Quail is one of the
most attractive gamebirds in Malaysia. Looking more like a plush soft toy than
a real bird, this quail is naturally much sought after. It is not rare.
However, to actually see a bird well in the field is often difficult. After
all, both quails and buttonquails are the Houdinis of the natural world and
their vanishing acts are just as remarkable as the great man’s.
One is bound to come across a
Paddyfield Pipit in such a habitat and there were certainly a fair number
present. Most were seen in pairs and that saved us the time and headache of
trying to determine if they could be some other migratory pipit species.
Common Mynas are one of the
most aggressive birds I know. I have witnessed numerous fights between birds of
the same species and the majority of these fights involved the Common Myna. These
bouts can last for a long time and that can be exhausting. This one lasted
about 10 minutes and the loser retreated from the vicinity leaving the victor
to enjoy his triumphant moment.
White-headed Munias are not
as numerous as some of the other species. However, they seemed to outnumber the
rest at this locality. While observing a flock grazing near our position, one
of the birds got a little carried away with the feast and wandered very close
to our stationary vehicle. But the munia was constantly on the move and photographing
the little guy was harder than expected.
Once we were gripped by the
possibility of dipping out, desperation set in. We widened our search to beyond
the four corners of the grasslands. There are a few former mining pools in the
vicinity and these man made wetlands are now home to the local wildlife
including birds. It always nice to see an adult Purple Heron although it is not
uncommon. The size and colouration makes it attractive species that I still
cannot ignore to this day.
The Black-backed Swamphen, on
the other hand, is a waterfowl that I do not come across often enough. It is
most probably extinct from my home state and this site is probably the closest one
to home that I can admire the beauty of the swamphen. It has a preference for
the invasive Hyacinth plant and the colouration of this water plant does help
to bring out the radiance of the bird. I guess I did not go home empty handed
in the end. Of course it would have been great to get the Oriental Plover but things
do not always go according to plan. Hopefully, my time will come in the near
future and until then, flocks of Pacific Golden Plover will be scrutinized as
usual for a chance of an Oriental Plover.
