tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-236549072024-03-14T00:03:54.474+08:00Dig deepdigdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.comBlogger610125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-64437446861320989282012-10-16T23:07:00.002+08:002012-10-16T23:07:16.394+08:00Dig Deep has moved!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGJoD5mCXQQfhXslaJFDTNsSWhvwpvKC2z-iv6A5-Wo2JBWW6x2ILJOwxdMtv-EMuqmnjweHz8ImRDZAQcRIoA37wE3wCa6pgFrL04KtWpyzyE0XHAfH-gGErCypmqsLndeiC/s1600/Ruddy+Turnstone_Mantanani_091012_IMG_0753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGJoD5mCXQQfhXslaJFDTNsSWhvwpvKC2z-iv6A5-Wo2JBWW6x2ILJOwxdMtv-EMuqmnjweHz8ImRDZAQcRIoA37wE3wCa6pgFrL04KtWpyzyE0XHAfH-gGErCypmqsLndeiC/s400/Ruddy+Turnstone_Mantanani_091012_IMG_0753.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Deep Deep has migrated to:</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://digdeep1962.wordpress.com/">http://digdeep1962.wordpress.com/</a></span></div>
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Please check out my new site - see you there!</div>
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digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-47378945521870928482012-08-09T10:37:00.003+08:002012-08-09T10:37:50.340+08:00Swinhoe's Plovers: new leg-flagged birds to look for!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_FnA-I5ke4D6wuRsba6GkcbEeDIHftxeXG1w4c-VZPqfP-vewPDxHFeKB93hsB8dvtHXLp87OzH4SscuIf_h7FUhnpN_tioBZg8zYcO_tBELjxfU_P09XyAPyyDbkw89rEYt/s1600/Female06LegsIMG_0082Xitou20120322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_FnA-I5ke4D6wuRsba6GkcbEeDIHftxeXG1w4c-VZPqfP-vewPDxHFeKB93hsB8dvtHXLp87OzH4SscuIf_h7FUhnpN_tioBZg8zYcO_tBELjxfU_P09XyAPyyDbkw89rEYt/s400/Female06LegsIMG_0082Xitou20120322.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5Ui4pABniLIUueuclN2-7Riz9pqIcB7zTJM0BuuD9R2JpQf2yNnRsKrtt648Wvz199WOIIg4YSVnH9fbJ-b3hqgkE8Jdi6mfQmy8tF_dM4Ro7xqbl13R47nrszZNLZvCYaGb/s1600/Male04DSCN6290Xitou20120524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5Ui4pABniLIUueuclN2-7Riz9pqIcB7zTJM0BuuD9R2JpQf2yNnRsKrtt648Wvz199WOIIg4YSVnH9fbJ-b3hqgkE8Jdi6mfQmy8tF_dM4Ro7xqbl13R47nrszZNLZvCYaGb/s400/Male04DSCN6290Xitou20120524.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Coming to a sandbar or mudflat near you? In addition to the one Thai flagged bird (black over green)and one flagged in Sumatra (orange over black), there are now 19 Swinhoe's Plovers sporting white over yellow flags to look out for this coming migratory season!<br />
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The birds were trapped and flagged by Jonathan Martinez and Professor Fasheng Zou at Xitou beach, Guandong Province, China. The flags are on the left leg - the white flag is plain and triangular; the yellow flag is square-ended and engraved with 2 numbers.<br />
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If you are lucky enough to see one, please send the details - number, location with Google Earth ref, date - Jonathan at <b>jonathmartinezATgmailDOTcom</b>.<br />
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There's a very nice summary of the Swinhoe's Plover story to-date on Terry Townshend's 'mouthwateringly good' blog, <a href="http://birdingbeijing.com/2012/08/07/swinhoes-white-faced-plovers/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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Photos courtesy of Jonathan Martinez.</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-79192379778753694722012-07-01T18:20:00.002+08:002012-07-01T18:24:28.460+08:00Joining the dots: the Peninsular Malaysia marine boundary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With more and more interest in and information on pelagic birds in Malaysian waters, sooner or later, I thought, we will need to work out exactly where Malaysia ends and neighbouring territories begin!<br />
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So I spent a few hours this afternoon doing a complicated dot-to-dot exercise, mapping the coordinates from this site: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_of_Malaysia">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_of_Malaysia</a> onto a Google Earth map. I've only managed to finish Peninsular Malaysia so far - East Malaysia will have to wait for another Sunday afternoon!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ccZj8N1LAwbB_ypjhQCqCbROl-BFD24kkc0ZDqGxskxomTtP3xEYTtPXjY6RT2PXXsx0MBKLsdvmGXBkVvcNP8IeL740LJOLhkktiCpfdjDRiVnEFi1qh8jB-1xzwrQE1Vky/s1600/Pen+Mal+marine+border.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ccZj8N1LAwbB_ypjhQCqCbROl-BFD24kkc0ZDqGxskxomTtP3xEYTtPXjY6RT2PXXsx0MBKLsdvmGXBkVvcNP8IeL740LJOLhkktiCpfdjDRiVnEFi1qh8jB-1xzwrQE1Vky/s400/Pen+Mal+marine+border.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Here are the results of my labours! The entire peninsula sits on a continental shelf of relatively shallow water, meaning that we are unlikely ever to ever see any of the deep ocean pelagics (e.g. albatrosses!). Nevertheless, there are exciting possibilities for the adventurous to get reasonably far offshore and into the Andaman and South China Seas, especially off the northern state coasts.<br />
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The reason I was especially motivated to draw this map is that there have been, not one, but TWO Red-footed Boobies off the coast of Malaysia in May and June, and I was eager so see whether either qualified as a 'Malaysian bird'!<br />
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The first was seen during a pelagic survey from Singapore on 13 May. It was first sighted here:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwln6a0FRovkgOYHcGS_6rJPs36WIM0WFlul8SoB_9yUoL3270pHsKRSBp01TeYSk3d8sJhcErGJMVk2Li-7lW0apVI0NvmYlNB7-Z38nNRxq5KeLydEhiKheJvP0e0V6up26/s1600/May+2012+R-f+Booby+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwln6a0FRovkgOYHcGS_6rJPs36WIM0WFlul8SoB_9yUoL3270pHsKRSBp01TeYSk3d8sJhcErGJMVk2Li-7lW0apVI0NvmYlNB7-Z38nNRxq5KeLydEhiKheJvP0e0V6up26/s400/May+2012+R-f+Booby+map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Definitely in Malaysian waters! Happily for the Singaporean observers, the cooperative bird flew over into Singapore waters too, so they could add to their national list! <br />
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The second was seen on 14 June by Peter Ryan on board the RV Marion Dufresne in the Straits of Malacca, just here:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XDsXnZwXCl3DxsM_9sJLdoSLRLhQJXPoywPoJ-bOUFNETztH0A9vcR7e6ItGyLAU-0Jq5WbqBT3ae2o6TZT6IVlJY1CUtNb0SV7-vipt3zQGBOO2h_Pda3lf-4-Od-5xd0eI/s1600/June+2012++R-f+Booby+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XDsXnZwXCl3DxsM_9sJLdoSLRLhQJXPoywPoJ-bOUFNETztH0A9vcR7e6ItGyLAU-0Jq5WbqBT3ae2o6TZT6IVlJY1CUtNb0SV7-vipt3zQGBOO2h_Pda3lf-4-Od-5xd0eI/s400/June+2012++R-f+Booby+map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%;"><span style="font-size: small;">So close! Just the 'wrong' side of the border, as far as Malaysia is concerned! Peter has generously allowed me to reproduce some of his amazing photos here</span>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNqSXN8AQSesgLcWcrwlG9qx7ezb4BA0vuFT5V5657arXmQzfJylcxdzyj1FQAHwbkaJDhIaZoojUQ4R2fhme6hFvIGZYSbxOuWB3R-ochpApOxdlpD6Xlq2ARzKb_CZq3Q_P/s1600/RedFootedBooby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNqSXN8AQSesgLcWcrwlG9qx7ezb4BA0vuFT5V5657arXmQzfJylcxdzyj1FQAHwbkaJDhIaZoojUQ4R2fhme6hFvIGZYSbxOuWB3R-ochpApOxdlpD6Xlq2ARzKb_CZq3Q_P/s400/RedFootedBooby.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiArjWR0bm0RIYGtcMQ-DDhlmHwSIGXmmVoUATMUm1HcXpRo_i-yItp8GXU-yOOMJ7kCDwB5v3oF0PAZ2xrToAPvbM8AfuUxOACiAmrebsuWxHlx0qzwcSxqQpd-aDgXB_nWC/s1600/Redfoot1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiArjWR0bm0RIYGtcMQ-DDhlmHwSIGXmmVoUATMUm1HcXpRo_i-yItp8GXU-yOOMJ7kCDwB5v3oF0PAZ2xrToAPvbM8AfuUxOACiAmrebsuWxHlx0qzwcSxqQpd-aDgXB_nWC/s400/Redfoot1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you were expecting a dot on the horizon, you'd be wrong!</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%;"><span style="font-size: small;">This bird is a little older than the Straits of Singapore bird, and is safely identifiable as a different individual. Peter also got some enviable opportunities to photograph frigatebirds in the Straits of Malacca too (also just outside Malaysian territory).</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQL32cw-CcuAY9vuyo9LZrxULsM4Xkio8hG7h0mtK5BmYv_L8i2sLLsp-vXFF-UcdAnTleBISF4x_mrWLfhRir91LLx6WyG0-OB3ax6f-QxpPtS7WjhAT8zPTvrigWkpE3xuEY/s1600/Frigate1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQL32cw-CcuAY9vuyo9LZrxULsM4Xkio8hG7h0mtK5BmYv_L8i2sLLsp-vXFF-UcdAnTleBISF4x_mrWLfhRir91LLx6WyG0-OB3ax6f-QxpPtS7WjhAT8zPTvrigWkpE3xuEY/s400/Frigate1a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A juvenile Christmas Island Frigatebird<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1341135898413153" style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 11pt;">,, <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">identified by <i>the ‘hexagonal’ shape of
the belly patch and the white axilliary spurs pointing forward from
around the middle/front of the belly patch. The small white spot on the
upperwing is also supposed to be diagnostic. </i>(thanks to Nick Brickle for supplying these helpful notes).</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqNN5RVOjFR3mntWy5sUvfdBcv3hJYuhTTv5vxuZRi_IDPuWKDil22fh4QuvaHdogekgamtskaiHo1LiGMEmS4IPh8jq1iSNgh6iQzfwoZAgBP6yFNyu8Zb4cjK3zUTG4o0PO/s1600/Frigate3b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqNN5RVOjFR3mntWy5sUvfdBcv3hJYuhTTv5vxuZRi_IDPuWKDil22fh4QuvaHdogekgamtskaiHo1LiGMEmS4IPh8jq1iSNgh6iQzfwoZAgBP6yFNyu8Zb4cjK3zUTG4o0PO/s400/Frigate3b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%;"><span style="font-size: small;">A third year female Lesser Frigatebird. Details again from Nick: </span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1341135898413182">a
third-year female Lesser with plumage that is somewhat transitional
between a Juv and an Ad female Lesser. The belly patch is heavily
mottled in a way that is consistent with it becoming the shape of an Ad
Fem Lesser. The axilliary spurs are prominent, white and triangular. The
breast band seems to have faded and the black feathering around the
bill is probably a hint of the black hood to come.</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%;"><span style="font-size: small;">SO...an intriguing taster of what is out there. Next step - a pelagic west of Langkawi, or - the Holy Grail - out to Pulau Perak...anyone?? </span></span></div>
</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-40078176902407532132012-06-29T17:05:00.000+08:002012-06-29T17:05:29.903+08:0028 June 2012: Pelagic off Tanjung Dawai, Kedah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I wasn't expecting much today, and was pleasantly surprised to have my expectations exceeded!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtEldK_YFtuDn9hJgfo5m3Bck1_o_3OfLmm1JssvnW3FncXNKz2VMZlJsww0AtbpilQnfAuwNmE8QWlyoBgi2BeYC_OLOQuX6MwM1p441UYvnzqRoHszJVnec3wIG_wG1fgt1/s1600/Long-tailed+Skua_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_9017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtEldK_YFtuDn9hJgfo5m3Bck1_o_3OfLmm1JssvnW3FncXNKz2VMZlJsww0AtbpilQnfAuwNmE8QWlyoBgi2BeYC_OLOQuX6MwM1p441UYvnzqRoHszJVnec3wIG_wG1fgt1/s400/Long-tailed+Skua_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_9017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
These two Long-tailed Skuas were flushed by the boat before 8 a.m., an unusually early start to proceedings.<br />
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A brisk southerly wind built up during the day, and a succession of thundery squalls interrupted the bright sunshine.<br />
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This made for interesting lighting and a cool breeze throughout the day - very pleasant.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgALcLcoGa73boHyahsArQAB6i5lsQqqcv4dqainMTg2nkG-EGNmjKKhFOHsStpCH7BSD_6S9j1uGXJ3omu_QAi5bEpJljG2AwqByGeOKaV-VLzqRFGLURDh5_WaE8wiJrChf/s1600/Bridled+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_9082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgALcLcoGa73boHyahsArQAB6i5lsQqqcv4dqainMTg2nkG-EGNmjKKhFOHsStpCH7BSD_6S9j1uGXJ3omu_QAi5bEpJljG2AwqByGeOKaV-VLzqRFGLURDh5_WaE8wiJrChf/s400/Bridled+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_9082.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHW9V7jEdo92UQrV75fBzf1CuSkQ8LnwTBw7bl43aCSGBKZNeUoveFoEb_MC_lbmJyx3pfSoikFlR7ZS9qP7MHCVbFnhlm1Q4VnbpkuI9hOqLwfCMNgIKu8sBe5beRMfAVJUJ/s1600/Bridled+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_9088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHW9V7jEdo92UQrV75fBzf1CuSkQ8LnwTBw7bl43aCSGBKZNeUoveFoEb_MC_lbmJyx3pfSoikFlR7ZS9qP7MHCVbFnhlm1Q4VnbpkuI9hOqLwfCMNgIKu8sBe5beRMfAVJUJ/s400/Bridled+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_9088.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
What a difference a ray makes! Two Bridled Terns taken within three minutes of each other! Bridled were the predominant tern on show today - about 120 or so.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXK5hZjcnkx1OjiSmAvHLw2cH8tlt6e5ZpwQs9mVsuJT5SbrXyWG60vK8Q0ilbOEaQCTeXtvNLeM28kufHjka2y4fNIHfF4ftc2wKold9QbsArzDJcv6HxJzHutMeIsYKxhyphenhyphena/s1600/Sooty+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_9036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXK5hZjcnkx1OjiSmAvHLw2cH8tlt6e5ZpwQs9mVsuJT5SbrXyWG60vK8Q0ilbOEaQCTeXtvNLeM28kufHjka2y4fNIHfF4ftc2wKold9QbsArzDJcv6HxJzHutMeIsYKxhyphenhyphena/s400/Sooty+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_9036.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Two juvenile Sooty Terns. The first is still in complete juvenile plumage; the lower two photos show the second bird, already in moult. The patches of white are caused by feather bases being exposed by missing feathers above.<br />
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A sight often searched for - the diminutive form of a petrel skimming the waves!<br />
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A Swinhoe's Storm-petrel - the first of 3, though technically, the other two were too far away to go down as anything but <i>"dark-rumped storm-petrel - probably Swinhoe's"</i>. These are my first in the area, and over a month after I would expect the main passage period to be. Perhaps the southerly winds and fog-like haze of the last few weeks have held some up.<br />
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Another
surprise - two Short-tailed Shearwaters. It doesn't look as though
these two are going to make it to the Bering Sea! Most Short-tailed
Shearwaters undergo a full moult in the far north, becoming flightless
for a time. I don't know if that is what is happening to the lower bird,
it doesn't look too healthy, and may have picked up some feather
pollution leading to waterlogging. For a moment as we caught sight of it
swimming past, I thought we had found our first auklet!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHRPIaDIzK3uH-Q8jsWs0mRYFiWKTqvSvJCnAFvlGjSAoXD9QpMoWxMneywoUF52eptCFCaCSNlPLJVjytlP0NYEEqb7ylgQ0nRP_7cat2F7urzUmoQ0PzUCq8kP1GHMXLBTe/s1600/Boat_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_8618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHRPIaDIzK3uH-Q8jsWs0mRYFiWKTqvSvJCnAFvlGjSAoXD9QpMoWxMneywoUF52eptCFCaCSNlPLJVjytlP0NYEEqb7ylgQ0nRP_7cat2F7urzUmoQ0PzUCq8kP1GHMXLBTe/s400/Boat_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_8618.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Gd3JlzGZuIMWvQAYpgEVky6mV9lXVz3EJ5MAiHCn6CynD6shCc2_0R0qCmE6aTiMJirAiWDh7Oh93Mc2cL_zSQoAWVzBL5U5g0LVUJjU7OaGYAHgHG26h-HkNe4HVuidgVKs/s1600/Boat_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_8631.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Gd3JlzGZuIMWvQAYpgEVky6mV9lXVz3EJ5MAiHCn6CynD6shCc2_0R0qCmE6aTiMJirAiWDh7Oh93Mc2cL_zSQoAWVzBL5U5g0LVUJjU7OaGYAHgHG26h-HkNe4HVuidgVKs/s400/Boat_Tanjung+Dawai_280612_IMG_8631.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Haze? What haze? This was the weather by the time we came back in - the wind change and rain have thankfully cleared the air.</div>
<br />
</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-17760198651134715662012-06-26T13:26:00.001+08:002012-06-26T13:29:41.238+08:00Learning Bird Songs with Doctor Warbler<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is just brilliant!<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DoOuPHtDaA&feature=player_embedded" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7DoOuPHtDaA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage">
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<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7DoOuPHtDaA?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object></a><br />
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After watching, check the date it was uploaded!<br />
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</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-16464746690437074902012-06-25T15:56:00.000+08:002012-06-26T10:15:54.590+08:00Book Review: The Jewel Hunter, Chris Gooddie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5D04246A81086AU362ZIiAQ11BLFXyrXdOBFFUtCrHoDA-aFXlajOP7OZpacYyYmeaiBSPqLhzZWxC_PmR4az1M8GYa94HkhTMck7vY8VtdcjdPrFPx079Z_TqrtqzZ8gw17o/s1600/JH%2520cov%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5D04246A81086AU362ZIiAQ11BLFXyrXdOBFFUtCrHoDA-aFXlajOP7OZpacYyYmeaiBSPqLhzZWxC_PmR4az1M8GYa94HkhTMck7vY8VtdcjdPrFPx079Z_TqrtqzZ8gw17o/s320/JH%2520cov%5B1%5D.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
The nice people from <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9786.html" target="_blank">Princeton University Press</a> popped this book through my letterbox (metaphorically - it's too big to go in my letterbox and too thick for even my postman to fold in two, though I suspect he tried) the other day. It's been out a while of course, long enough for a good number of 'proper' reviews to be written, to which I refer you if that's what you're looking for.<br />
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In case you don't already know, the 'jewel' in the title refers to pittas - all 32 currently recognized species, and a few other races besides, in the world, and the 'hunt' was the quest to see them all in a year. The author, Chris Gooddie, describes in the opening chapter how this hunt was conceived as the solution to a serious bout of mid-life crisis. You may have followed the blog <i>Pittasworld</i> (now defunct) which outlined his plan and brought together a scintillating collection of photos and art. You may even have met Chris and friends as they trawled the forests of Fraser's Hill, Taman Negara, Danum Valley or Sepilok during his "Year of the Pitta" a couple of years ago. He evidently lived to tell the tale, and kudos to him for following up on his promise to write it all down - hence, <i>The Jewel Hunter</i>.<br />
<br />
First and foremost, I was glad to get this book so I could work out where the bird was on the cover - I'd spend quite a bit of time squinting at small images (like the one above) of it, trying to make out what the picture was. Now, I can reveal that it is actually a ... well, get yourself a copy if you can't figure it out!<br />
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I'd read quite a few reviews of the book before reading it, some of which were less than glowing, so I can't say I came to it with great expectations. However, by the middle of the first chapter I was thoroughly hooked! The book is an absorbing account of Chris's many and various experiences, not only of birds but also of the people and places he encountered along the way. The content is at times witty, at others sobering, often quirky, and always identifiably British!<br />
<br />
There are a number of reasons why I really enjoyed this book:<br />
1. I got a real feeling of being there (minus the many and considerable discomforts of <i>actually</i> being there!)<br />
2. By the time I was halfway through, I knew that this was a book I would be urging my wife and daughter to read "so you can understand me". Actually, I'm hoping that it might make my birding extravagances look reasonable by way of contrast, thereby gaining me a bit more 'licence to bird' ("at least you're not as mad as that Chris Gooddie nutter.").<br />
3. I learned a lot. Although probably quite a lot of us have our own theories about how to go about seeing pittas, I would wager that, having read this book, there'll be a few new techniques you'll want to try out - there certainly are for me.<br />
4. Linked to 3, reading the book made me feel like going out and finding pittas. Any book that makes you want to go out into the field has got to be good.<br />
5. Some of the pitta photos make mine look <i>really</i> good! Mind you, that's because they are all by the author, all taken within the aforementioned yearlong period, and often taken while he was either suffering from dysentery, soaked to the skin, several days up treacherously muddy mountain trails, seriously bleeding from leech bites and falls, or all of the above (not to give too much of the story away!)<br />
6. It has lots of lists -from why pittas are the best things in the world, to how to make a propah cup of English tea (not that I ever make lists you understand).<br />
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So - did he succeed in seeing all 32 species of pitta? You'll have to buy the book to find out. I would lend you mine, but you'll need to take your place in the queue!<br />
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Finally, to whet your appetite a little further, I decided this was as good an excuse as I need to present my own humble collection of pitta photos - only Malaysian ones in my case!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFgeyvYFyx72m9SVk80vVzXMvyzP_VUTPR3T1mAbSfVzlygQZSypWet7zQKqjcknwJbAVzwJqrjE9Y-0Kp978OZH5aqvQvR0TBi4w5aGAwNVwoQpljg1c4jJh5Qtu-sRzegiO/s1600/Pitta,+Blue-winged21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFgeyvYFyx72m9SVk80vVzXMvyzP_VUTPR3T1mAbSfVzlygQZSypWet7zQKqjcknwJbAVzwJqrjE9Y-0Kp978OZH5aqvQvR0TBi4w5aGAwNVwoQpljg1c4jJh5Qtu-sRzegiO/s400/Pitta,+Blue-winged21.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Blue-winged Pitta, Kedah. </div>
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Mangrove Pitta, Pulau Pinang. </div>
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Hooded Pitta, Kedah.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGF6cTH4MV6RWomqLn1Tqpj4DOa9vDqkvvYMPCMEaauGRgULHA1jzRaluaxFhLU5YarIQpvceONYm6QB4pARXZUpzBtrrizEVRaSTICVfIMp1PhyphenhypheneFmEvE-5ZV5e1Y666oL9j/s1600/Garnet+Pitta_Merapoh_130809_IMG_8007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGF6cTH4MV6RWomqLn1Tqpj4DOa9vDqkvvYMPCMEaauGRgULHA1jzRaluaxFhLU5YarIQpvceONYm6QB4pARXZUpzBtrrizEVRaSTICVfIMp1PhyphenhypheneFmEvE-5ZV5e1Y666oL9j/s400/Garnet+Pitta_Merapoh_130809_IMG_8007.jpg" width="400" /></a>-</div>
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Garnet Pitta, Pahang. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAwcCpWR3gQzlu3tjJy93BdFm6F7SKLEdoVtVoizForLV_1KitfcLfPrWVo4E2EvRr1Pjj5KU8Zf4Ys6vk_sfgXBP0WXi8gLuJMsDlRy-YguftCvjpRYgd9zh6V1DBRVyJ-fg/s1600/Black-headed+Pitta_Sepilok_171010_IMG_9062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAwcCpWR3gQzlu3tjJy93BdFm6F7SKLEdoVtVoizForLV_1KitfcLfPrWVo4E2EvRr1Pjj5KU8Zf4Ys6vk_sfgXBP0WXi8gLuJMsDlRy-YguftCvjpRYgd9zh6V1DBRVyJ-fg/s400/Black-headed+Pitta_Sepilok_171010_IMG_9062.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Black-headed Pitta, Sabah.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApzEHyOfIPrcpgi-7jVyE1SueQC4s3aaNvH4tetdHKCi6QJ0Joszmu3KjjXduw2JQNNT2GX-rZlERBPEaYc-oTWCvG7pzwvkgzl_3IqImx8O5uLHaRZz5VPemnTTl9eAzXf7X/s1600/Blue-banded+Pitta_Kubah_250810_IMG_5663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApzEHyOfIPrcpgi-7jVyE1SueQC4s3aaNvH4tetdHKCi6QJ0Joszmu3KjjXduw2JQNNT2GX-rZlERBPEaYc-oTWCvG7pzwvkgzl_3IqImx8O5uLHaRZz5VPemnTTl9eAzXf7X/s400/Blue-banded+Pitta_Kubah_250810_IMG_5663.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Blue-banded Pitta, Sarawak.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbOyLI55ilpCZwQr7oy6zW-wwP8dG-ssIRzrJ0b0geyjfFXx-qzhk-RRFSjWHaZhjzWgrY3uYYh7GT37zkhLBVA_UQMrduP-WAHMl_PwoipVxLApYmiTmcv3EjGf76XB70WN6/s1600/Blue-headed+Pitta_Danum+Valley+BRL_211010_IMG_9873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbOyLI55ilpCZwQr7oy6zW-wwP8dG-ssIRzrJ0b0geyjfFXx-qzhk-RRFSjWHaZhjzWgrY3uYYh7GT37zkhLBVA_UQMrduP-WAHMl_PwoipVxLApYmiTmcv3EjGf76XB70WN6/s400/Blue-headed+Pitta_Danum+Valley+BRL_211010_IMG_9873.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Blue-headed Pitta, Sabah.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSH37ROEVVaDqQjPdLLK0kFIt01q8RJRLHP1qPiauotIzgtEvMPd3ukuiS-9ZWO4YZvC_RHiKHiZ867m5Mbgjaq-qxssSH1SLa2vj5S-P6KmHT7v8uFgco7bXmhfEAjCCvA8z/s1600/Giant+Pitta_Danum+Valley+BRL_191010_IMG_9527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSH37ROEVVaDqQjPdLLK0kFIt01q8RJRLHP1qPiauotIzgtEvMPd3ukuiS-9ZWO4YZvC_RHiKHiZ867m5Mbgjaq-qxssSH1SLa2vj5S-P6KmHT7v8uFgco7bXmhfEAjCCvA8z/s400/Giant+Pitta_Danum+Valley+BRL_191010_IMG_9527.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Giant Pitta, Sabah. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwK2AxmtMoUnUKLLmlYhbfB3O_-ATM-0z_SOLVB3HpYAU7VVJTO7kE4SC-ofuF99M1ZWdCEFpBJHymOqefJTEMc72HXg4tWQ5du4zG9jk0r8Bdy4gktYWc_Y37arWz-6dE59p/s1600/Rusty-naped+Pitta4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwK2AxmtMoUnUKLLmlYhbfB3O_-ATM-0z_SOLVB3HpYAU7VVJTO7kE4SC-ofuF99M1ZWdCEFpBJHymOqefJTEMc72HXg4tWQ5du4zG9jk0r8Bdy4gktYWc_Y37arWz-6dE59p/s400/Rusty-naped+Pitta4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Rusty-naped Pitta, Pahang.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_vT9e2JQTw5IjH6SK4F_lA4HuhgoQT-8QZQUj-mQanZh24FYw4j4Jdey6ZXOE7enon0XoVR8cDIuHbpUtBFzkme_uY4XJFJ-PBw82o8RJWwBw0d-Z-qnKu5aMb-cKjZXrf45/s1600/female+Bornean+and+Malayan+BP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_vT9e2JQTw5IjH6SK4F_lA4HuhgoQT-8QZQUj-mQanZh24FYw4j4Jdey6ZXOE7enon0XoVR8cDIuHbpUtBFzkme_uY4XJFJ-PBw82o8RJWwBw0d-Z-qnKu5aMb-cKjZXrf45/s400/female+Bornean+and+Malayan+BP.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Bornean (left) and Malayan Banded Pittas.<br />
<br /></div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-15905985540905850712012-06-22T22:36:00.000+08:002012-06-22T22:36:08.718+08:0020 June 2012: Penanti<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Having left the folly of flycatcher-hunting, I dropped into Penanti en route home to check on the Oriental Pratincoles.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Y1s1nTDpnM3485G1yM6jZnmCLWc7RtmsZwynJS372v3GQCn2DOFkxNlXPoSQRei9exXFpTd_FGKYAEr6r5L5dnnV7uBpR5n9DARPDpHBJ7WRZq8yC7LPCjJNpDuXMtiP3RQ4/s1600/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Y1s1nTDpnM3485G1yM6jZnmCLWc7RtmsZwynJS372v3GQCn2DOFkxNlXPoSQRei9exXFpTd_FGKYAEr6r5L5dnnV7uBpR5n9DARPDpHBJ7WRZq8yC7LPCjJNpDuXMtiP3RQ4/s400/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8629.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
One was standing sentinel on the access road and wasn't that interested in giving way to my vehicle!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi670HHBBCrSjxnN4xbJ9liWVSk_qvv3wKB4Vkx8j7DwbQhZryaey_qHA2RC_N-3Ztwf9YyLNmwHs984oyEFJqIyfP1PUcdpIBwtj0PlWkp70D7D9sRThOSMYiwpW8QmCABgogj/s1600/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi670HHBBCrSjxnN4xbJ9liWVSk_qvv3wKB4Vkx8j7DwbQhZryaey_qHA2RC_N-3Ztwf9YyLNmwHs984oyEFJqIyfP1PUcdpIBwtj0PlWkp70D7D9sRThOSMYiwpW8QmCABgogj/s400/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8763.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gss12I24TmPNzOESci23i3XF6dBLbKoWcoKY7acE1RNghXaHB34X8mnFT8Dw_nPndcnN-V2rvFvXGWGQe2SxX9z73G_UMw1hbVBV2K22KsvWVL0qqUdYDIVUi229jeeA2a2L/s1600/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gss12I24TmPNzOESci23i3XF6dBLbKoWcoKY7acE1RNghXaHB34X8mnFT8Dw_nPndcnN-V2rvFvXGWGQe2SxX9z73G_UMw1hbVBV2K22KsvWVL0qqUdYDIVUi229jeeA2a2L/s400/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8764.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Interesting to see that post-breeding moult has already begun - those
slightly greeny-glossed scapulars, wing coverts and tertials are new, as
are the darker feathers on the head. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUHSLbTPLvQk3GyJKPnfmRJq3cfjE2SXfqrcrlUquvOd19EZiy6eKExz826969rO8obcQrLJhW5Lxcpcrmx7dEFBey7Jcp5nD-SfzW-SqUHyxndYLk0MUiM31abxvuBn2Ti7Ke/s1600/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUHSLbTPLvQk3GyJKPnfmRJq3cfjE2SXfqrcrlUquvOd19EZiy6eKExz826969rO8obcQrLJhW5Lxcpcrmx7dEFBey7Jcp5nD-SfzW-SqUHyxndYLk0MUiM31abxvuBn2Ti7Ke/s400/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8708.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSR0rZooU-qkWx9D5As7BZlBnttNlLQxc9jgIKY-n-5dyDytu9RU3ydeGwVbR_G6DI46tqV37cnWqB-G85gceSOcp4DjUSkqWiMJ-cEuJYnQD-4P4rSpVYUKrgaogu-GlIZ_k0/s1600/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSR0rZooU-qkWx9D5As7BZlBnttNlLQxc9jgIKY-n-5dyDytu9RU3ydeGwVbR_G6DI46tqV37cnWqB-G85gceSOcp4DjUSkqWiMJ-cEuJYnQD-4P4rSpVYUKrgaogu-GlIZ_k0/s400/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8798.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ep2o2dnNNoqy-xE9Tl5UyQJ-40vJY24j9uFuMf_hUOmtuCn-sXQI0FbvHw4tS_taUPhmUE-_leExvLNChWz3FZ7F0uU8UuD9dtxpOZnJLXfBgmrsdCNQCJUrba8q-ndL_M0y/s1600/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ep2o2dnNNoqy-xE9Tl5UyQJ-40vJY24j9uFuMf_hUOmtuCn-sXQI0FbvHw4tS_taUPhmUE-_leExvLNChWz3FZ7F0uU8UuD9dtxpOZnJLXfBgmrsdCNQCJUrba8q-ndL_M0y/s400/Oriental+Pratincole_Penanti_200612_IMG_8800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The adults were all just starting wing moult - the inner four or five primaries and their respective coverts had been replaced.</div>
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I could only see two juveniles - suggesting that the season hasn't been a good one. Both were just fledged. Sometimes pratincoles will raise a second brood after the first is fledged - wonder if this may happen here?<br />
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The inevitable Red-wattled Lapwings making their disapproval of my presence known! I was surprised to hear a Blue-winged Pitta calling not that far away in the scrub. However, it didn't want to play, and I was unsuccessful in luring it into view. While searching, I did spook a Red Junglefowl - another species I was surprised to find at this rather open location.</div>
<br /></div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-65634473219833699462012-06-22T22:16:00.002+08:002012-06-30T11:14:08.974+08:0020 June 2012: Lata Bukit Hijau, Kedah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With Grey-and-Buff Woodpecker having finally fallen, I have been badly in need of a new bogey bird to give me something to complain about! Well, the search is over and I can proudly announce that my new <i>bird-I-should-have-seen-by-now-but-haven't</i> is...<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">White-tailed Flycatcher</span><br />
<br />
Although not in the same league as the woodie (which drew astonished gasps from even novice birders when I let slip that I hadn't yet seen one) - the flycatcher is a genuinely difficult bird to see in Peninsular Malaysia - it does have the essential 'bogey bird qualification' of having been repeatedly searched for and not seen. I've searched for it at the Gap and Ulu Gombak, and more recently Penang Hill, where rumours of a pair tempted me to scale a fiendish set of steps in the forlorn hope of seeing them.<br />
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My latest failure was today, when I set off pre-dawn to Lata Bukit Hijau, Kedah - a once-scenic series of waterfalls cascading through some secondary forest.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptospirosis" target="_blank">Leptospirosis</a> anyone? Another ecotourism success!<br />
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Sadly, no sight or sound of the aforementioned flycatcher, or indeed, almost any other birds - just two male Rufous-winged Philentomas chasing each other round the forest.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgil2TSQE7UbzVOfEMN5XnSAZTh-mgLG3SAg6cTakG5FPHS6daQWU8vTvtvhyphenhyphen_SCfaX_TC7h-XDnFWm70Yxl8E50gUfHssuWqzRycEw2Tj9kG0Y1LNfE0H1lHzGDgZEusxEzspK/s1600/Butterflies_Lata+Bukit+Hijau_200612_IMG_8599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgil2TSQE7UbzVOfEMN5XnSAZTh-mgLG3SAg6cTakG5FPHS6daQWU8vTvtvhyphenhyphen_SCfaX_TC7h-XDnFWm70Yxl8E50gUfHssuWqzRycEw2Tj9kG0Y1LNfE0H1lHzGDgZEusxEzspK/s400/Butterflies_Lata+Bukit+Hijau_200612_IMG_8599.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The highlight of the morning was this gathering of butterflies on a pile of ... er, poop. I love the little guy with the red wings and funky blue topknot - if anyone knows what it is, please do tell! [This helpful reply is from Tou Jing Yi:<br />
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"The large ones should be <i>Amathusia phidippus</i> (Palm King).<br /><br />The
lovely small ones are some skippers, but being so colorful, should
belong to the subfamily that are collectively known as "Awls", this
particular one I believed is the <i>Burara etelka</i><br />(Great Orange Awlet), I should have seen these once.... <br /><br />The
yellow ones are actually moths, but being colorful and day flying,
could easily be confused as butterflies, a few similar species occurs
together, this one should be <i>Dysphania subrepleta</i>, hard to be certain
from this angle but the wings seemed to be reasonably well marked, at
least 2 other similar species occurs in the same habitat." Thanks, Tou!</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-3052211931122256082012-06-18T11:59:00.001+08:002012-06-18T11:59:41.658+08:00Apologies!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As the Editor of <i>Suara Enggang, </i>I apologize for the very late appearance of 2012 issues to date. This has been due to "unavoidable circumstances" which we hope have now been fully resolved. As you can see, the first proofs of the March issue are now in circulation. The cover photo of a Plaintive Cuckoo by Ingo Waschkies raises the bar yet again, and the contents will, we hope, offer something of interest to Malaysian birders from both East and West.</div>
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The Editorial Team and Designer are working extra hard to try to get both the March and June issues distributed by Aug 31. Thereafter, we'll be doing our best to get the final two issues of the year nearer to schedule.</div>
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Thanks for your patience and understanding! </div>
<br /></div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-23269989510255391362012-06-14T22:11:00.000+08:002012-06-14T22:17:30.366+08:0013-14th June: Pedu Lake, Kedah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I stole a couple of days off work to accompany Choo Eng, Angie and James to the access road to Pedu Lake up on the Malaysia/Thailand border. Warning: there follow some of the worst photos you are ever likely to find on a bird blog!<br />
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A male Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker. </div>
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A typical view of a Raffles's Malkoha! </div>
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These two Red Junglefowl looked like a couple of old dears out for a morning stroll! </div>
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At last!! A flock of noisy, broad-winged and apparently tailless birds chasing each other around the treetops turned out to be...</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">GREY-AND-BUFF WOODPECKERS!</span> Not the greatest views, but my #1 "Bogey Bird" laid to rest at last! </div>
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If you have one of the older versions of Robson, you'll see that Whiskered Treeswift is illustrated with all dark wings. The 2008 edition corrected this oversight, but the rather obvious broad white trailing edge to the wing is still absent in other field guides. Odd how something so obvious can go unnoticed - but then - how many people really look at flying swifts/swiftlets/treeswifts?! </div>
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The sun setting beyond Pedu Lake. </div>
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Early morning Blyth's (Javan) Frogmouths were very active. Above is the female - plainer and more rufous; below is the male.</div>
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Hooded Pittas were rather numerous, easy to hear but difficult to see!</div>
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We watched a displaying Great Iora briefly. It's many, many years since I last saw one. When it was doing its fluttering parachute display, the bird showed a very obvious white rump (see lower picture). The photo shows that the 'rump' appears domed, as if fluffed out. When I got home and checked the books I was rather puzzled to find that Great Iora doesn't have a white rump! Further reading solved the mystery. The nominate race which we get here has "long, silky, white upper flank feathers" (Wells 2008), and it seems that it puffs these up when displaying, giving the impression of a white rump. Well - you learn something new everyday!</div>
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</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-49419572119225684982012-06-01T19:35:00.000+08:002012-06-01T19:35:18.561+08:0026-30 May: Cameron Highlands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The idea was a few days of peaceful family holiday; the reality was that this was school holidays, when <i>peace</i> and <i>Cameron Highland</i>s are not words easily associated with one another!<br />
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A few photos from the four days away.<br />
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A couple of shots of not-so-easy-to-see Bay Woodpeckers - these were very vocal at the summit of Brinchang at dawn. <br />
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Snowy-browed Flycatchers are typical denizens of the shady mossy upper montane forest. They're completely fearless, and often the first indication of their presence is an awareness of a pair of beetling white eyebrows glowering at you from the side of the road as you walk past!<br />
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Lesser Shortwings are very common at the summit too, and come out onto the road to feed at first light.<br />
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I set up my hide at the roadside one day, and soon realized I was in the vale of the dinosaurs! First I found myself eyeball to eyeball with this juvenile Robinson's Anglehead Lizard.<br />
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Quite a fearsome-looking beast!<br />
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Then the Daddy dino turned up. Check out those teeth - enough to give a nasty nip!<br />
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This third one was missing the end of its tail - a subadult male I think. They all foraged a few feet in front of my hide quite amiably.<br />
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I also discovered I had parked myself near the home of a Three-striped Ground Squirrel. It provided me with regular entertainment as it darted in and out of the undergrowth collecting stuff.<br />
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Avian visitors were limited to a male Large Niltava (briefly) and a female White-tailed Robin (regularly).<br />
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Another day was spent in the hide at my favourite cuckoo-dove watering hole. Here are both species - Little on the left, a male Barred on the right.<br />
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A male Little.<br />
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And a female I think.<br />
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Male (top) and female Barred Cuckoo-doves. This is one of my favourite pigeon species - dunno why - perhaps it's because it took me so many years to see my first!<br />
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The female back-on.<br />
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Males of both species appear much larger than females, and are much bigger around the head and neck - perhaps the better to coo with!<br />
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A female (front) and male.<br />
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The green gloss against the greys and browns of the rest of the plumage is one of the best colour combinations I've seen in nature.<br />
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Later I moved my hide down to the stream to try to photograph the doves coming down. I wasn't successful - they were too wary I think - but I was rewarded by this juv Slaty-backed Forktail and male White-tailed Robin.</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-39586300216313691282012-05-30T22:57:00.000+08:002012-05-30T23:30:21.164+08:0022-26 May 2012: Krau, Pahang<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Krau Biodiversity Centre, set in Krau Game Reserve, isn't a bad place to be if you have to attend a training course! Even though the course kept us busy for most of the daylight hours, I still managed to squeeze a couple of hours in here and there at the beginning and ending of each day.<br />
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Early morning walks were productive for frogmouths, with this confiding Gould's perched about 5 feet off the ground...<br />
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And a splendid pair of Large Frogmouths put on a fantastic show. This was the brighter-plumaged and more aggressive of the pair, so I assumed he was the male. This rear view shows faint "ear tufts" and a prominent nape line.<br />
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This is him reacting strongly when I played his call back. <br />
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The second bird was greyer and much less strongly marked. I judged this to be the female of the pair. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwTFPLi1EOlyWg7OJt1att1CLbcp-XcS6V6V_lf5UbabYmcKQ6MzptL4wwMK6Zyb5q5Q507uszRLNRVfEkzW6ScYVk8OQl4IPtu-4spOi9pFtca2xZe1Y0wVwT0pOaGXxdtGU/s1600/Large+Frogmouth_Krau_250512_IMG_7913.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwTFPLi1EOlyWg7OJt1att1CLbcp-XcS6V6V_lf5UbabYmcKQ6MzptL4wwMK6Zyb5q5Q507uszRLNRVfEkzW6ScYVk8OQl4IPtu-4spOi9pFtca2xZe1Y0wVwT0pOaGXxdtGU/s400/Large+Frogmouth_Krau_250512_IMG_7913.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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A comparison with the other bird. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7wGmH-6wsmHEvvWl6kIjL45h86YjDz-PTvEu46iNt4ASPomncKSa50ST9ak9fuIyC-wigSy8snGYaslQUV0ErEYeS7CvwTcDULPXxWDh3I9RxCs4BsEHNq-g_vHNnphXOPH4/s1600/Large+Frogmouth_Krau_240512_IMG_7856.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7wGmH-6wsmHEvvWl6kIjL45h86YjDz-PTvEu46iNt4ASPomncKSa50ST9ak9fuIyC-wigSy8snGYaslQUV0ErEYeS7CvwTcDULPXxWDh3I9RxCs4BsEHNq-g_vHNnphXOPH4/s400/Large+Frogmouth_Krau_240512_IMG_7856.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>
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In <a href="http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/birdingasia/14.html" target="_blank">BirdingASIA 14</a>, Tan Gim Cheong and Yong Ding Li mention the following plumage differences in a breeding pair:<br />
1. The well-marked bird (presumed male) showed white traingular marks on the wing coverts with little or no black edging. The other (duller) bird showed more tear-drop shaped covert spots, edged with more black.<br />
2. The scapulars were tipped black on the duller bird, but had black subterminal spots and buff tips on the brighter bird<br />
3. The brighter bird had more well-defined pale buff brows than the other.<br />
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All three of these differences can be discerned in the two photos above, suggesting that these may be consistent plumage differences between the sexes.<br />
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Apart from the typical growling calls, both birds gave chicken-like clucks, which appeared to be alarm or threat calls uttered in response to my playback.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9VM7eYnX9iJ0HITqDUxSdpwQ9jDdjuWYTRi_GIpfd-wj0zF-QRSjoz8eZWOwGNRg52S7SvXi7eTDQpHveUBVEHQtUvzHDgg4yBdiMeYJwkXbKl4NKAveM8gzACnYN2M9pbAJ/s1600/Black-nest+Swiftlet_Krau_250512_IMG_7943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9VM7eYnX9iJ0HITqDUxSdpwQ9jDdjuWYTRi_GIpfd-wj0zF-QRSjoz8eZWOwGNRg52S7SvXi7eTDQpHveUBVEHQtUvzHDgg4yBdiMeYJwkXbKl4NKAveM8gzACnYN2M9pbAJ/s400/Black-nest+Swiftlet_Krau_250512_IMG_7943.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ai0_eYiepQlf0wVqDsvFxtS07DNRBNQWqnaPhj3T1NufLfC0K9eGlQE9EKGMtCMV5zkZXie3_0K0yVzqzAcrQ4ElafmHaRoYmj6cXajwWQicN5QHvoDV9n-jbdOpC2FcdLrT/s1600/Black-nest+Swiftlet_Krau_250512_IMG_7952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ai0_eYiepQlf0wVqDsvFxtS07DNRBNQWqnaPhj3T1NufLfC0K9eGlQE9EKGMtCMV5zkZXie3_0K0yVzqzAcrQ4ElafmHaRoYmj6cXajwWQicN5QHvoDV9n-jbdOpC2FcdLrT/s400/Black-nest+Swiftlet_Krau_250512_IMG_7952.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Also out and about early were swiftlets which were clearly different from the familiar pale-rumped Germain's which I see regularly at sea and around swiftlet farms. I assume that these were Black-nest Swiftlets. </div>
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These birds were greyer overall (notwithstanding the lack of light), with barely notched tails. The wings appeared to be set slightly further forward on the body, with a longer tail projection (very thin when in profile) and a shorter head projection than on Germain's. The head was noticeably larger than Germain's - an impression in the field borne out by comparison of photos:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TpNnzHIEbNttkDohFPQ_du3mIqI2IlcbCF3HSxUSi3quuKfSrdJ2Kvu-gmAuxMvpi7sHOpofNQnMaBgjiLhsPZ7h5_110TsE4bgWgDexwxamZYTbxbZ4WAh6yQgP5XNppm05/s1600/Black-nest+Swiftlet_Krau_250512_IMG_7950.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TpNnzHIEbNttkDohFPQ_du3mIqI2IlcbCF3HSxUSi3quuKfSrdJ2Kvu-gmAuxMvpi7sHOpofNQnMaBgjiLhsPZ7h5_110TsE4bgWgDexwxamZYTbxbZ4WAh6yQgP5XNppm05/s400/Black-nest+Swiftlet_Krau_250512_IMG_7950.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>
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Black-nest Swiftlet. Note the neckless appearance and large domed head profile. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjropOh56tPChEZJ74DVPCKwwsiLY5JRoxFTykElreo3O4NGS6o5JQ70uRIGO3ZMcmAKWw1wDfLNYGvdavBdVPaWs4csU2rjBx-1OE_VHl4O9_Z0Q9rSDXRnHey_XmloG0tyxhI/s1600/Germain's+Swiftlet_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_6705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjropOh56tPChEZJ74DVPCKwwsiLY5JRoxFTykElreo3O4NGS6o5JQ70uRIGO3ZMcmAKWw1wDfLNYGvdavBdVPaWs4csU2rjBx-1OE_VHl4O9_Z0Q9rSDXRnHey_XmloG0tyxhI/s400/Germain's+Swiftlet_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_6705.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Germain's Swiftlet seen off Tanjung Dawai on 10th May. The wings seem more central, there seems to be more neck, and the head is small, typically with a flat head profile.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmX1Q4D2xjjEDJmH4mucTxHJekuIcQOjMIZaNPKLilh8X7OfcPUWfIbsYs4Hv5i8gxVAzP6yT3KF5X9mrTySgkj8QNubcKeyKWBlXTbWSmmqujhrzwHI5hCOdFZqN6d-MmPWUt/s1600/Rufous-winged+Philentoma_Krau_250512_IMG_8009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmX1Q4D2xjjEDJmH4mucTxHJekuIcQOjMIZaNPKLilh8X7OfcPUWfIbsYs4Hv5i8gxVAzP6yT3KF5X9mrTySgkj8QNubcKeyKWBlXTbWSmmqujhrzwHI5hCOdFZqN6d-MmPWUt/s400/Rufous-winged+Philentoma_Krau_250512_IMG_8009.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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A few more birds of note - a blue morph Rufous-winged Philentoma. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7C4dpikyX-ON5Q46WAw78Jol8cDAM2RPPUuc4aGW_RpO_MSW04O-ggULhRVyZq5OE-34tWydeDn5NuIFYxMh65PRol-ggR4JZbmF5kJ7jc4Cwlv8jYNZe_Nbxr40ikudvfCQ/s1600/Olive-winged+Bulbul_Krau_260512_IMG_8068.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7C4dpikyX-ON5Q46WAw78Jol8cDAM2RPPUuc4aGW_RpO_MSW04O-ggULhRVyZq5OE-34tWydeDn5NuIFYxMh65PRol-ggR4JZbmF5kJ7jc4Cwlv8jYNZe_Nbxr40ikudvfCQ/s400/Olive-winged+Bulbul_Krau_260512_IMG_8068.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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An Olive-winged Bulbul. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXLVRegMLIZFGPek5IZhw5xqTbDn6YOYweefR-h3y5LLaTTnzYR-pi2GYP-CwOeo6aTienDd-3fmJcZ8T4Ie7FdlEF6Ix806BX8nHJL9CCnjDmNqGzq8bpAJu2M-eDefmvVb-/s1600/Large+Green-pigeon_Krau_220512_IMG_7654.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXLVRegMLIZFGPek5IZhw5xqTbDn6YOYweefR-h3y5LLaTTnzYR-pi2GYP-CwOeo6aTienDd-3fmJcZ8T4Ie7FdlEF6Ix806BX8nHJL9CCnjDmNqGzq8bpAJu2M-eDefmvVb-/s400/Large+Green-pigeon_Krau_220512_IMG_7654.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And an overflying Large Green-pigeon at dusk.</div>
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I enjoyed a few days catching up with my old birding friend Mike Chong. On the morning after the course, we spent a fruitful morning birding along the road. After an hour's separation, I returned to find that Mike had been watching a family party of Grey-and-buff Woodpeckers over his head for five minutes! In case you don't know, G and B W is (and remains) my No. 1 bogey bird in Malaysia!</div>
</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-33410586142791691162012-05-18T17:20:00.001+08:002012-05-18T17:23:30.436+08:00Coming soon to a garden near YOU!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Don't forget - June 2-3 are the dates!</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-12223908754061440802012-05-17T21:48:00.000+08:002012-05-17T21:55:18.383+08:0016th May 2012: Pelagic off Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Having sent out the challenge for people to get out on the water at the southern end of the Straits of Melaka to look for Swinhoe's Storm-petrel and Aleutian Tern <a href="http://digdeep1962.blogspot.com/2012/05/want-to-see-swinhoes-storm-petrel-and.html" target="_blank">last week</a>, the opportunity arose for me to go and test my own theory this week, courtesy of John Howes organizing the very first pelagic charter out from Port Dickson on Wednesday.<br />
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The pioneering team consisted of John, myself, Rafi, Swee Seng and Carol, and Merijn, and John was anxious to set expectation low to minimize any potential disappointments! It was impossible not to feel a slight twinge of eager anticipation as we set out however, not to say trepidation, once we saw the size of the boat!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8I6vN0_FTqj4mEblZrusyu4dVlErMJZQNS00rSeO1qyvAxInQtZoG7MedS_mjRQGVuZtN76knL673FMcpNByuFbF9_xZxlT6WWmi7td2IJgdbSxPXmJVXdzzDwybD7u8Gn6m/s1600/boat_Port+Dickson_160512_IMG_8542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8I6vN0_FTqj4mEblZrusyu4dVlErMJZQNS00rSeO1qyvAxInQtZoG7MedS_mjRQGVuZtN76knL673FMcpNByuFbF9_xZxlT6WWmi7td2IJgdbSxPXmJVXdzzDwybD7u8Gn6m/s400/boat_Port+Dickson_160512_IMG_8542.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Big boat, small boat! We were heading out into the most congested shipping lanes in the world in a 30-footer - but hey - that's what pioneers do...isn't it??<br />
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The bow-wave alone of this behemoth was about 4 times the height of our boat. We actually got the full horn treatment just before taking this picture - I guess it was easier for us to move out of the way than for him!<br />
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There goes a forest. Mind-boggling to imagine the number of trees which are on this ship alone. But did you notice that little bird skimming the waves this side of the ship? A case of a lot of fuel and a little petrel (groan)!<br />
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I can't remember how many times I've watched Germain's Swiftlets skimming across the waves at sea and wished they were Swinhoe's Storm-petrels. At last, this was the real thing, looking surprisingly like Germain's Swiftlets!</div>
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Fortunately, the birds pitched down on the sea and we were able to
approach them slowly. Being very near the water surface ourselves, it
was difficult to get a clear view of the birds as they frequently dipped out of sight beneath the wave-tops. Getting the birds in focus was another challenge, as both we and they were moving up and down asynchronously!<br />
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Not a sharp shot, but it gives a clear view of the tail shape.<br />
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The birds were in pristine plumage, with nice clear upper wing covert bars and white flashes at the primary bases. Their flight style was languid, keeping very low (following the wave troughs) and banking from side to side as they went. Sadly, this time they kept going, and we didn't see any more. Still, I was more than chuffed. Mission accomplished!</div>
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Being in such a small boat, spray was a real problem, so I mostly kept my camera well under wraps. I did risk taking a few shots of this first year Arctic Skua as it flew over, and a few were sharp. Compared to the Tanjung Dawai boat, this one was much less stable, making photography much more of a challenge. </div>
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Other than these, we saw a single 1st year Long-tailed Skua, a Short-tailed Shearwater and 121 Bridled Terns. Though relatively modest totals, they more than met expectations, with everyone on the boat getting at least one 'lifer' (and one got an absurd FIVE new birds in just half a day!).</div>
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It did get hot though!<br />
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A couple of pirates? Oh no - Seng and Carol doing a good impression!</div>
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Cape Rachado, Tanjung Tuan lighthouse from the sea. This is where we do the <a href="http://digdeep1962.blogspot.com/search/label/Tamjung%20Tuan" target="_blank">Raptor Watch </a>from every March. The gap between Sumatra and Malaysia which the OHBs fly across looks very much wider from sea level!</div>
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This wasn't at sea! I spent the night at Rafi's place, and was rewarded by great views of a female Little Green-pigeon in his back garden this morning! Thanks Rafi, and thanks to the PD Pioneers, including Raja, our enthusiastic and sharp-eyed boatman (he got us several birds), especially John for organizing everything. </div>
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PD Pelagics have great potential I think, especially if we can get a bigger, higher boat. That, and a chum bucket in September should be quite something I would think.</div>
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Oh - and congrats to John on reaching 550 for Peninsular Malaysia with the addition of Arctic Skua and Short-tailed Shearwater!</div>
</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-57578238541180055072012-05-17T18:16:00.001+08:002012-05-17T20:52:31.104+08:0010th May 2012: Pelagic off Tanjung Dawai, Kedah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikz4fgENLjURj4WzSbCRScQxIt-d23i6j47YWFFCxNt0AhrFyUigclFwO46j0L1iFOcXACaIYF1iis02OHX6-DO9gmpDfNz-wdGiPJ_7Btrgp_2g-WWF3FAdR4XljjGOzaxhBs/s1600/boat_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_8511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikz4fgENLjURj4WzSbCRScQxIt-d23i6j47YWFFCxNt0AhrFyUigclFwO46j0L1iFOcXACaIYF1iis02OHX6-DO9gmpDfNz-wdGiPJ_7Btrgp_2g-WWF3FAdR4XljjGOzaxhBs/s400/boat_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_8511.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Pelagics from Tanjung Dawai start at 7 a.m., which means we had to be on the boat before that. This is the boat we used to go on - with the twin dolphins. The new boat is much more spacious and better for observing birds. Just Hakim and I were on board to enjoy the ride today.<br />
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The dock just before casting off.<br />
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Heading out to the mouth of the River Merbok, with the sun behind us and who knows what goodies before us! It's always a great feeling - heading out of the estuary as the sun breaks the horizon.<br />
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Behind us, Gunung Jerai is an unmistakable landmark. This view probably hasn't changed much in the last hundred years!<br />
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Within a few hours it was obvious we were going to be in for a hot day.<br />
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Not many fish, and not much wind. Between 8 and 9 am we watched about 400 Bridled Terns steadily heading north, but after that, not many birds either - just the odd distant Lesser Crested, Common and Sooty Tern. <br />
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Birds started to appear once we finally put the net out. There were very few Common Terns about. This one had a largely reddish bill, so was presumably 'tibetana'. The Lesser Crested was stunning in its full breeding plumage.<br />
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It struck me that this is a more likely bird to mistake for Chinese Crested than Greater is.<br />
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We got our first proper looks of the year at Short-tailed Shearwaters today. There seem fewer around than this time last year, but this one put on a virtuoso display! The plumage has a velveteen quality, so appears in a wide variation of colour tones depending on how it reflects or absorbs light - from near white to black, and every shade of brown in between!<br />
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Note how the secondaries appear white at some angles. This impression was given frequently as the birds banked in strong light.<br />
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It's also interesting how the light can have an effect on the apparent thickness of the bill. In strong light it can look quite fine, while in shade it looks distinctly chunky.<br />
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I had my first ever 'three-skua day' - with this adult breeding plumaged Arctic being the only representative of the species today.<br />
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One of two Long-tailed I photographed. I reckon this is a second winter, aged by the adult-like upperparts (but not well-developed cap) and limited underwing barring. Unlike other <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsL6it_YBe4GeOgrNJNnAzBnvzR6nzfaZX7zz4P8NNxyt6dh3oXheqzPK-NJQwEuwZdIDzfjz7kRav3DKp268RDoauHCgdjuZ3PmzypU-qKO7ifzhnOdtAtExWit5E25FMQIV/s1600/Long-tailed+Skua+3_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.55.jpg" target="_blank">2nd year</a> birds I've photographed this spring, this one doesn't have well-grown central tail feathers.<br />
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And this one must be in either retarded moult into1st winter plumage or in mid-moult into 1st summer plumage. <a href="http://scillypelagics.com/jaegers_1.html" target="_blank">Howel</a>l states that it isn't clear whether skuas undergo one or two complete moults between juvenile and 2nd pre-basic moult, so... it's complicated!<br />
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At last, our first undoubted 'Pom' of the year, and incidentally, our first ever not to be in adult breeding plumage. The fact that we are getting non-breeders coming through suggests we have missed the main passage completely this year. After looking at so many Long-taileds and Arctics, this stood out a mile, and made me sure that, whatever it was, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0j0C0VuoMYYDfzWKom34-xVvx5MQQvNrhyDAqYCHmKDGkolj5WyipNBbUKVu1TCxzd4a1ecVB3e8V26s3WcJFJwPctkWJVa-5J13Qsv7sckhyphenhyphenKcpKc3xnuXRorb_GzUuy5eF/s1600/prob+Long-tailed+Skua_+Tanjung+Dawai_210412_11.55.jpg" target="_blank">the bird I saw on 21 April</a> was not a Pomarine!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEJP04qjO_M9G-avwWhdr9fF4Td_GAQE3JnZ8nUaoboZbMN7FD7sEiafDYpMTDuMto_nkQpSca6jNddXH-QH7VRw08hwOuCHup0WVuKOd94T4KZrbxVUAo6BEV6PB1Pw2t1yi/s1600/Pomarine+Skua_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEJP04qjO_M9G-avwWhdr9fF4Td_GAQE3JnZ8nUaoboZbMN7FD7sEiafDYpMTDuMto_nkQpSca6jNddXH-QH7VRw08hwOuCHup0WVuKOd94T4KZrbxVUAo6BEV6PB1Pw2t1yi/s400/Pomarine+Skua_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_b5LkVtaKSGTvAfhpTgyCX0XhZ_hGuTU6qcfgQUuzg4wfzFPq9YYSDD8xKMlV5PpJxoo8BZ8FfHlK0pflNle1djWYn4Cz_m0S060S4IHjb8TS9TYFKr6F9QZJ4npQww6JAO1i/s1600/Pomarine+Skua_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_b5LkVtaKSGTvAfhpTgyCX0XhZ_hGuTU6qcfgQUuzg4wfzFPq9YYSDD8xKMlV5PpJxoo8BZ8FfHlK0pflNle1djWYn4Cz_m0S060S4IHjb8TS9TYFKr6F9QZJ4npQww6JAO1i/s400/Pomarine+Skua_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7018.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
A classic 'bruiser' of a Pomarine, with nice double flashes on the under primaries. I would say a first winter, going, as always, by <a href="http://scillypelagics.com/jaegers_1.html" target="_blank">Howell's article</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqqA-thivInGVGzjdTi3sYGXxez9mOKIpVlhVzAAefHhLFxjr6b4zgfTgN2bSGH9UPtJAkPtZHGYoIRYRawvMD6VIONsFH_5Y_rYA1pwPv0nBpzeLW0Tyc2N4IIcJXKeXWzi5/s1600/Sooty+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqqA-thivInGVGzjdTi3sYGXxez9mOKIpVlhVzAAefHhLFxjr6b4zgfTgN2bSGH9UPtJAkPtZHGYoIRYRawvMD6VIONsFH_5Y_rYA1pwPv0nBpzeLW0Tyc2N4IIcJXKeXWzi5/s400/Sooty+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7076.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YgPrE6ElyVLKRN-cRmuYgbepXz2H6qFOdHn2mnR1uQ9OKRUAXdJ_K51sbj0MaydiP905R4FC8Xe4_62hrQ-ssBiGqzeN9P4D3dnRO7xLcWWVgV0jXMbjMcSq7kK-ieNlin-G/s1600/Sooty+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YgPrE6ElyVLKRN-cRmuYgbepXz2H6qFOdHn2mnR1uQ9OKRUAXdJ_K51sbj0MaydiP905R4FC8Xe4_62hrQ-ssBiGqzeN9P4D3dnRO7xLcWWVgV0jXMbjMcSq7kK-ieNlin-G/s400/Sooty+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7081.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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This brief fly-by Sooty Tern was a nice surprise. A juvenile which has not yet begun wing moult, this is clearly a different bird from the ones seen on <a href="http://digdeep1962.blogspot.com/2012/05/21-april-2012-pelagic-off-tanjung-dawai.html" target="_blank">21 April</a> and <a href="http://digdeep1962.blogspot.com/2012/03/7-march-2012-pelagic-off-tanjung-dawai.html" target="_blank">7 March</a>. I had my attention drawn to it by Harom, eagle-eyed fisherman and budding pelagic bird expert, who identified it without the aid of bins as it flew by with several Bridled Terns! Nice one! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCCAH7dtmGBMPSnQN10GvyTQNKFji86QEYM6YqILqeBhDB0mA499XJLumMkvbghxdqZ8z00_3X-MbZjfiE3zFTnJJxxr-p9Mu_PZ8zYZUSUlhuh_Gp5xDlJT365364TMRFcHx/s1600/Indopacific+Bottlenosed+Dolphin_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCCAH7dtmGBMPSnQN10GvyTQNKFji86QEYM6YqILqeBhDB0mA499XJLumMkvbghxdqZ8z00_3X-MbZjfiE3zFTnJJxxr-p9Mu_PZ8zYZUSUlhuh_Gp5xDlJT365364TMRFcHx/s320/Indopacific+Bottlenosed+Dolphin_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7485.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-dZgwTC9qfwZcz0_kk0WXnIf8dLOB1JBdY8zkkvtUmR03y1uab0TCK2_4W7P_4oqCRMoKA_cVxolT-IJbFbMMxP18ejU2ki8HjRVz651MNyp54vz8RrxITktUsrLqB7bo3OW/s1600/Indopacific+Humpbacked+Dolphin_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-dZgwTC9qfwZcz0_kk0WXnIf8dLOB1JBdY8zkkvtUmR03y1uab0TCK2_4W7P_4oqCRMoKA_cVxolT-IJbFbMMxP18ejU2ki8HjRVz651MNyp54vz8RrxITktUsrLqB7bo3OW/s320/Indopacific+Humpbacked+Dolphin_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_7503.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Also courtesy of the crew, a mixed pod of 2 Indopacific Bottle-nosed (top) and 7 Indopacific Humbacked (below) Dolphins, as we made an early return to port. <br />
<br /></div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-3011045098782172462012-05-11T10:31:00.002+08:002012-05-11T10:31:27.646+08:00Quiz: Your tern!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSximXLvmvADUwngTr6wo3sKhlZd4PVNS5lBkgHfUH4NWLWVJ4Yx_cYVwd6wG1uheZ8lx2ZPUMBywEtYnpWAnCrfzonA_grto0UJKL4SYlIJ5q3hwpdu6KjfF_m59E20cg1725/s1600/tern+quiz_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_6917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSximXLvmvADUwngTr6wo3sKhlZd4PVNS5lBkgHfUH4NWLWVJ4Yx_cYVwd6wG1uheZ8lx2ZPUMBywEtYnpWAnCrfzonA_grto0UJKL4SYlIJ5q3hwpdu6KjfF_m59E20cg1725/s400/tern+quiz_Tanjung+Dawai_100512_IMG_6917.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Taken at sea yesterday off the Kedah coast - let me know what you think these are!</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-74371487903175713192012-05-08T15:24:00.000+08:002012-05-08T15:27:15.279+08:00Want to see Swinhoe's Storm-petrel and Aleutian Tern in Peninsular Malaysia?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Anyone out there with a day to spare, some sunblock and a pioneering spirit? Then here's a suggestion!<br />
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First, let me draw your attention to Con Foley's wonderful account of a pioneering trip out from Parit Jawa, Johor he made last November with Danny Lau and Lau Jia Sheng: <a href="http://confoley.com/trip-to-parit-jawa">http://confoley.com/trip-to-parit-jawa</a><br />
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In just three hours, they saw a dozen Aleutian Terns (they were the commonest tern out there!) and Jia Sheng had tantalising views of an all-dark storm-petrel - probably Swinhoe's. <i>They saw more off Parit Jawa </i><i>in three hours </i><i>than they typically do all day on a Singapore pelagic outing.</i><br />
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Fast forward to last weekend, and the monthly pelagic trip in Singapore waters. For Con's account and scintillating photos, go to: <a href="http://confoley.com/pelagic-outing-may-2012">http://confoley.com/pelagic-outing-may-2012</a>. <b>Almost a hundred Swinhoe's Storm-petrels!</b><br />
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So, my suggestion is, take the plunge, dive in, get your feet wet (all metaphorically speaking of course!), get down to Parit Jawa, get onto one of those little fishing boats, and get Swinhoe's Storm-petrel (and quite possibly Aleutian Tern, Short-tailed Shearwater and a few jaegers) on your Pen Mal list THIS WEEKEND!<br />
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Lastly - let me know how you get on!</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-61677975371940200612012-05-05T17:09:00.001+08:002012-05-17T20:51:41.541+08:00Peninsular Malaysia 500 Club: Is 600 possible?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For a while now I've been wondering whether it is feasible to see 600 species in Peninsular Malaysia - that's 91% of the total list ever recorded (currently <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/mnsbccrc/Home/malaysia-bird-checklist-2010">661</a>). I have <b>37</b> species more to go to hit that magic number. In case you want to help me get there, I'd be especially glad to receive any <i>up-to date</i> information on the following species <i>in Peninsular Malaysia</i>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU23x531qKQMQ4_bC8dnl4CuRxK5D2T0Vd9xOYpEnv7SGmKMhTVpgSfFDNCuxG2jKrGIepwCugVCmB6txAJSDnNQjvlRCiK7gYaNiTMlF4trUl3EAphMBRHP-V_vq1aSEfTlsJ/s1600/Clipboard01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU23x531qKQMQ4_bC8dnl4CuRxK5D2T0Vd9xOYpEnv7SGmKMhTVpgSfFDNCuxG2jKrGIepwCugVCmB6txAJSDnNQjvlRCiK7gYaNiTMlF4trUl3EAphMBRHP-V_vq1aSEfTlsJ/s320/Clipboard01.jpg" width="320" /></a><u>Phasianidae</u><br />
Long-billed Partridge<br />
Black Partridge<br />
Chestnut-necklaced Partridge <br />
Ferruginous Partridge<br />
Crestless Fireback<br />
Crested Argus<br />
<br />
<u>Anatidae</u><br />
Northern Pintail<br />
<br />
<u>Procellaridae</u><br />
<strike>Swinhoe's Storm-petrel </strike>16 May 2012<strike><br /></strike><br />
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<u>Threskiornithidae</u><br />
Black-headed Ibis<br />
<u> </u><br />
<u>Fregatidae</u><br />
Greater Frigatebird<br />
Christmas Island Frigatebird <br />
<br />
<u>Falconidae</u><br />
Amur Falcon<br />
Eurasian Hobby <br />
<br />
<u>Accipitridae</u><br />
Jerdon's Baza<br />
Eurasian Sparrowhawk<br />
Common Buzzard<br />
Mountain Hawk-eagle <br />
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<u>Rallidae</u><br />
Slaty-legged Crake<br />
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<u>Heliornithidae</u><br />
Masked Finfoot<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUrkWEF3T6JgSSA869v-K5xMciYn_6wDXs9rWFJdOJ1Hk-sS7PDwy7IDNGnj16TLEdyLmrqxntmWTghjNDQ0KEp5diNn3dAv5gb8TgSZhX53_SYfhxUW9X4bNOwyId2bHxwbW/s1600/Oriental+Plover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUrkWEF3T6JgSSA869v-K5xMciYn_6wDXs9rWFJdOJ1Hk-sS7PDwy7IDNGnj16TLEdyLmrqxntmWTghjNDQ0KEp5diNn3dAv5gb8TgSZhX53_SYfhxUW9X4bNOwyId2bHxwbW/s320/Oriental+Plover.jpg" width="320" /></a><u>Charadriidae</u><br />
Oriental Plover<br />
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<u>Jacanidae</u><br />
Bronze-winged Jacana <br />
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<u>Scolopacidae</u><br />
Spotted Redshank<br />
Green Sandpiper<br />
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<u>Columbidae</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimzp6ppbceRabINyqwVOIveiI4NbEmMRPdRpofEXFPx3M3FeJlPJKypKBwxD_BdPiB06YRpSwvNlhigKDxPizUapPZI-1OM6Gqc7Ylb2OUjjVn-C3Yr8xji067ZhBFNh6djAF/s1600/CHGP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimzp6ppbceRabINyqwVOIveiI4NbEmMRPdRpofEXFPx3M3FeJlPJKypKBwxD_BdPiB06YRpSwvNlhigKDxPizUapPZI-1OM6Gqc7Ylb2OUjjVn-C3Yr8xji067ZhBFNh6djAF/s320/CHGP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Cinnamon-headed Green-pigeon<u> </u><br />
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<u>Cuculidae</u><br />
Hodgson's Hawk-cuckoo<br />
Himalayan Cuckoo<br />
Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo <br />
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<u>Strigidae</u><br />
White-fronted Scops-owl<br />
Oriantal Scops-owl<br />
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<u>Upupidae</u><br />
Eurasian Hoopoe<br />
<u> </u><br />
<u>Picidae</u><br />
Grey-and-buff Woodpecker<br />
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<u>Pittidae</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jWNyuZczROYhrxHKN0jHa42qMHvA18Z_BnllD7Pm1wX5jTMuuO2UMLnCwcnHDvXixxL47_TlYf1fdup9GwZ_GLx4QdQpJu3wi5cbzTCyK4l8achIl7JomHLZ7G4RuIBOdr3L/s1600/GP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jWNyuZczROYhrxHKN0jHa42qMHvA18Z_BnllD7Pm1wX5jTMuuO2UMLnCwcnHDvXixxL47_TlYf1fdup9GwZ_GLx4QdQpJu3wi5cbzTCyK4l8achIl7JomHLZ7G4RuIBOdr3L/s320/GP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Giant Pitta<u> </u><br />
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<u>Oriolidae</u><br />
Black-hooded Oriole<br />
<u> </u><br />
<u>Monarchidae</u><br />
Japanese Paradise-flycatcher<br />
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<u>Timaliidae</u><br />
Grey-breasted Babbler<br />
Eyebrowed Wren-babbler<br />
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<u>Sturnidae</u><br />
Chestnut-cheeked Starling<br />
White-shouldered Starling<br />
Rosy Starling <br />
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<u>Turdidae</u><br />
Chestnut-capped Thrush<br />
Eurasian Scaly Thrush<br />
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<u>Muscicapidae</u><br />
Brown-streaked Flycatcher<br />
<u> </u>White-tailed Flycatcher<br />
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<u>Dicaeidae</u><br />
Brown-backed Flowerpacker<br />
<u> </u><br />
<u>Estrildidae</u><br />
Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch<br />
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<u>Motacillidae</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLmb-mwgiDrCdzP2hiwVu3puGhG_syVV1-nSpZHKDeFv6L4ppz1h4G3hC91WWG_Ab6Flq8RTD-oDHAD6OBPnbG0plP43AcODGnZk_yPdPdJNJro9sFugZoJgL_yPTB2peAkre/s1600/RP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLmb-mwgiDrCdzP2hiwVu3puGhG_syVV1-nSpZHKDeFv6L4ppz1h4G3hC91WWG_Ab6Flq8RTD-oDHAD6OBPnbG0plP43AcODGnZk_yPdPdJNJro9sFugZoJgL_yPTB2peAkre/s320/RP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Richard's Pipit<u> </u><br />
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This is a selection, not every bird on the Peninsular Malaysian list I haven't seen. The photos were all taken outside Pen Mal (obviously!), in Singapore, East Malaysia and Thailand. The list includes a few embarrassing misses, but most resident species on the list read like a who's who of the most difficult ones to see in the Peninsula these days.<br />
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So - can anyone help me plan my itinerary over the next twelve months?!</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-31760718278213157982012-05-05T16:17:00.002+08:002012-05-05T16:18:47.283+08:001 May 2012: Long-tailed Skuas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I often remind myself during the long, hot, birdless hours of a typical pelagic trip that it only takes one bird to turn a dull day into a great one. On our Labour Day pelagic, this third year Long-tailed Skua was that bird!<br />
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The hunting strategy is mesmerizing to watch. The skua will 'breeze into town' all innocent and casual, mingling among the terns as if it has nothing on its mind other than enjoying the breeze.<br />
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Cruising back and forth in a relaxed manner, it's actually casing the joint, checking out the locals, seeing who's 'loaded'.<br />
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Suddenly, it drops a shoulder and launches into top gear. One unfortunate tern is about to suffer skua-induced seasickness!<br />
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Like a guided missile, the skua 'locks on' to one Bridled Tern. <br />
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From now one, it's as though they are connected by an invisible wire. No matter how the tern twists and turns, the skua is always there, relentless.<br />
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There's only one way for the tern to cut the wire, and it knows it's about to lose its lunch! </div>
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The skua's eye never leaves the tern for an instant.</div>
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Finally, the tern delivers, and you can almost hear the 'twang' as the tension between skua and tern is released. <br />
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The skua uses its webbed feet as brakes.<br />
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Now that the prey is no longer mobile, the final descent is leisurely.<br />
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The prize - fish marinaded in tern saliva - mmmmm! </div>
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Most of these tern ambushes take place in the far distance, but we got lucky with this one!<br />
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This is a more usual scenario. Reminds me of a certain painting in Michael Warren's epic 1984 book, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shorelines-Birds-at-Waters-Edge/dp/0517630036"><i>Shorelines</i></a>.</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-19666793408488125822012-05-04T21:52:00.000+08:002012-05-04T22:02:32.796+08:001 May 2012: Pelagic off Tanjung Dawai, Kedah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Labour Day, but the fishermen weren't taking a day off, so Choo Eng, Hakim and I decided we shouldn't either! (Hakim's account of the day is <a href="http://motorbird.blogspot.com/2012/05/labours-day-pelagic-off-tanjung-dawai.html">here</a>.)<br />
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First thing in the monring as we left the estuary, we passed these two fishermen in their cheerfully-coloured boat.<br />
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Two Indo-pacific Humpbacked Dolphins raced us right under the bows as we left the river. Taking these pics involved hanging over the prow of the boat and staring at the water surface rushing past about 2 metres away! Not good for the stomach! The pink-nosed one has a dorsal that looks remarkably similar to<a href="http://digdeep1962.blogspot.com/2011/10/sept-21-2011-at-sea-off-tanjung-dawai.html"> the one I photographed last September</a>. I guess there's a good chance it is the same animal.<br />
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The sea was completely windless, a sure sign of approaching rain (and those clouds were an extra clue!). A lone Great Egret migrating north was trying to get ahead of the storm.<br />
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A rare waterspout - only partial and momentary, but a remarkable sight while it lasted.<br />
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And then the inevitable! Rain on the sea's surface transforms its appearance totally!<br />
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Just before the storm, this 'flock' of Long-tailed Skuas flew past. Rather neatly, they were a first year, a second year and an adult!<br />
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After the storm, the weather brightened considerably, but there was still no wind and... what's wrong with this picture?? The nets are out, but ... NO BIRDS! This was the first time in all my trips that I had experienced completely bird-free nets! So - very hot, no wind and no birds - wonderful! Oh well, the crew still seemed to be having fun!</div>
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I've never met a nicer bunch of hard-working, happy blokes as the crew of this boat. In all my time on the boat I can't remember an angry word being spoken, and there's always lots of laughter, joking around and singing.<br />
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Maybe they're laughing at each other's choice of headgear! But at least it keeps the fish-scales out of your hair!<br />
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Control centre. This is where the captain sits, 'drives' the boat and detects the fish, using a combination of high-tech equipment and experience.</div>
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There were a few Short-tailed Shearwaters about, always distant. It was amazing what a difference lighting conditions made to the colours. I do think the bird in the water was genuinely pale - whether as a result of bleaching or pigment aberration I couldn't say.</div>
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An Aleutian Tern put in a typically fleeting appearance in the heat of the day. I'm thinking of renaming the species Aloof Tern - it seems they never hang around the boats. Even when seen distantly, there's something very distinctive about the shape - short head and long tail projection, coupled with a more bouyant flight style than <i>Sterna</i> terns. </div>
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OK, so a few terns did start showing up around the nets later in the day. Numbers of Bridled Terns are starting to build up. The majority are 1 and 2 year old birds, but there were a few smart breeding plumaged adults, like this one.</div>
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Long-tailed Skuas put in appearances throughout the day, mostly distant. I'm beginning to think that a strangely pale vent (and a prominent breastband) is a feature of 2cy birds, after seeing <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsL6it_YBe4GeOgrNJNnAzBnvzR6nzfaZX7zz4P8NNxyt6dh3oXheqzPK-NJQwEuwZdIDzfjz7kRav3DKp268RDoauHCgdjuZ3PmzypU-qKO7ifzhnOdtAtExWit5E25FMQIV/s1600/Long-tailed+Skua+3_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.55.jpg">a similar bird</a> on the last visit.One Long-tailed Skua did come a bit closer, and in doing so, made the day worthwhile, but I'll save that for another post.</div>
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At least someone found fish! Our boat only let the net out twice today, and headed back to port early.<br />
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Tanjung Dawai in the late afternoon sun. It's not often we come back in daylight, but today <i>was</i> a public holiday!<br />
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As we came into the estuary, there was the same colourful boat and the same men we'd seen on the way out that morning! Good to see they'd changed their shirts! We saw the dolphins again too. A strangely symmetrical day!</div>
</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-90177963587815837382012-05-03T13:19:00.000+08:002012-05-03T13:23:08.425+08:0021 April 2012: Pelagic off Tanjung Dawai, Kedah - the rest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Terrible weather we've been having!</div>
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Pulling in the nets.</div>
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The first few Short-tailed Shearwaters of the season. As always, it was difficult to estimate numbers, but, as seems to be the case annually, the first few birds of the migration period keep their distance from the boats. Later on, they approach much more closely.<br />
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Today's birds were the earliest on record (this is only the third year we have had records!). There are still a couple of weeks before peak season, and there's still time to make plans if you want to charter a boat!</div>
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The other bird of note was a first winter Sooty Tern. It's easy to see why they're so called from this shot! The fishermen call them 'black terns'.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbqID4U30ccOrgQnIdoafRGL24I3rK414azMRlKlnpev01bayPmtz0w_yf1CuqA7mzjY2d8hSSUkYhfGi7FREc55AbNVULp-EiCGIDqh5oa-rxlc5epLfIhmfUSFB1MNnWhCC/s1600/Sooty+Tern_+Tanjung+Dawai_210412_IMG_5550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbqID4U30ccOrgQnIdoafRGL24I3rK414azMRlKlnpev01bayPmtz0w_yf1CuqA7mzjY2d8hSSUkYhfGi7FREc55AbNVULp-EiCGIDqh5oa-rxlc5epLfIhmfUSFB1MNnWhCC/s400/Sooty+Tern_+Tanjung+Dawai_210412_IMG_5550.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This photo shows the distinctive forward-tilting flight shape these birds often show. It reminds me of the way skimmers fly.<br />
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Sooty Tern differs from Bridled in that its first moult (post-juvenile) is complete. This bird already has fresh outer tail feathers, inner primaries and greater coverts.</div>
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This Bridled was just beginning its first full moult as it enters its second moult cycle (the moults into 'first winter' and 'first summer' plumages are only partial moults).</div>
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White-winged Terns are stunning at this time of year!</div>
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Black-naped Terns are always good value!</div>
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There are not so many Common Terns around now, but a few adults in smart breeding plumage remain.</div>
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The scene at the back of the boat as we headed back to port. </div>
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This gave a good opportunity to test my flight photography skills in the rapidly declining light!</div>
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There was still a bit of a swell even in late afternoon. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3JYfYxgyIIBydkrj7SlYRsDc4H7QMhUtrgkZDAFXORG02YB-grCW2EIm83mCf49ongeyufgAL_FpNu4qEB7b_4XTag-w6QBRL_GybP_21l8ZOXg4a7O3iA9TnHiULDf_MrkH/s1600/Common+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_IMG_6024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3JYfYxgyIIBydkrj7SlYRsDc4H7QMhUtrgkZDAFXORG02YB-grCW2EIm83mCf49ongeyufgAL_FpNu4qEB7b_4XTag-w6QBRL_GybP_21l8ZOXg4a7O3iA9TnHiULDf_MrkH/s400/Common+Tern_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_IMG_6024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Time to reflect on a good day out and the wonder of God's infinitely varied handiwork!</div>
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</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com0at sea, off Tanjung Dawai, Kedah, Malaysia5.7444412938706213 100.2282714843755.4917112938706216 99.912414484375 5.997171293870621 100.544128484375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-21335915975079953722012-04-26T16:40:00.002+08:002012-04-26T22:28:58.832+08:0021 April 2012: Pelagic off Tanjung Dawai, Kedah - Skuas/Jaegers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This was a long and difficult trip. 14 hours on the boat, and constant swell from the storm that passed through the previous day made it difficult to stay upright. My back was in pain at the end of the day from all that swaying about!<br />
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I'm still sorting through the 800+ pics I took, but have managed to edit all the skua/jaeger pics. Birds were on view from about 10am till 6.30pm, and since we were in the same broad area the whole day, it was difficult to work out how many birds were involved. I decided to get photographs of every sighting and then try to compare plumage features when I got home.<br />
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Right click on the images and select 'Open link in new tab' to see an enlarged version.<br />
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These two adult breeding plumaged Arctic Skuas/Parasitic Jaegers can be distinguished from each other by the missing primary in the left wing of Arctic Skua 1. It's only visible when the outer 'hand' of the wing is pushed well forward, but, when the wing is in a comparable position on Arctic Skua 3, there is no gap apparent. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6Yg902_aHRz4qNzkTenCCowofCOBGyTjTm3XfcvSo37bO28rQHpYZfjWfEbCswUF-4Gk8eyCCxEfguMUSApqHKNBYBeWqH628VkQpko7J3DDH6j-B-PgLx32Lt3TyGZ0Z7oe/s1600/Arctic+Skua+2_+Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6Yg902_aHRz4qNzkTenCCowofCOBGyTjTm3XfcvSo37bO28rQHpYZfjWfEbCswUF-4Gk8eyCCxEfguMUSApqHKNBYBeWqH628VkQpko7J3DDH6j-B-PgLx32Lt3TyGZ0Z7oe/s400/Arctic+Skua+2_+Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.36.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This moulting first summer Arctic/Parasitic is a challenging bird as it shows several characteristics of a Pomarine.<br />
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The heavy-looking body, apparently broad wings and pale bases to the under primary coverts are all good pointers to Pomarine. However...<br />
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The fresh pointed central tail feathers tell a different story!<br />
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This close-up shows that the points are not caused by feather shafts of abraded feathers, but by pristine, fresh feathers. The central 2 pairs are fresh and the 3rd pair is still growing.<br />
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So it's an Arctic, but how can the anomalous features be explained?<br />
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1. The pale primary covert bases. The Collins Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe states that 1 out of 20 Arctics show this feature, so it is not such a "cast-iron Pom indicator: as I had realized.<br />
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2. The broad winged appearance. The bird is in wing moult, with P9-10 (the outermost primaries) and the inner secondaries still unmoulted. These old secondaries project well beyond the trailing edge outline of the rest of the wing. I don't know why this is - is it just that they look long compared to the still-growing newer feathers, or are they pushed out as new feathers emerge? In either case, these 'longer' secondaries perhaps exaggerate the apparent breadth of the wing.<br />
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3. The heavy-bodied appearance. Perhaps this bird is extraordinarily fat! Not a frivolous remark - birds are feeding up to facilitate further migration, and food is in plentiful supply here. You can see the difference in waders between freshly arrived migrants and well-fed birds - so why not in skuas too?<br />
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To me, neither the head nor the bill look heavy enough for Pom, though I can only say that with the benefit of the photos! If I'm honest, had I not snapped clear pictures of the tail, I'd be happily putting this down as a Pomarine Skua, which goes to show I should be more careful!<br />
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Compared to previous years, three Parasitic Jaegers is an exceptional day-count, and especially this early in the migration season. Most sightings are from late May into June.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITaMtUcAiQgOqi1bWCNKMMEX8Xm97Bu585YLenccXXR6kE-UHDhKXp-x7BApKDGe1YyqdGMhbE8ulrOkQlzDNetUTU8-YVc-DHqtlrrQ4VVzN8hbAxdacM00ZxZfmYF-A6qfL/s1600/Long-tailed+Skua+1_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITaMtUcAiQgOqi1bWCNKMMEX8Xm97Bu585YLenccXXR6kE-UHDhKXp-x7BApKDGe1YyqdGMhbE8ulrOkQlzDNetUTU8-YVc-DHqtlrrQ4VVzN8hbAxdacM00ZxZfmYF-A6qfL/s400/Long-tailed+Skua+1_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.44.jpg" width="358" /></a></div>
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A classic pale-backed adult breeding plumaged Long-tailed. The lower 3 pics were taken almost 3 hours after the first 6, but I couldn't discern any differences in plumage, so I counted them as referring to one bird. The apparent difference in upper wing covert colour is almost certainly a product of the different lighting conditions.<br />
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The barred underwing coverts suggest that this might be a 3rd summer bird.<br />
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An intermediate morph breeding adult. <br />
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Another breeding adult. I think the smudging on the underparts might be the vestiges of non-breeding plumage.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9AySvzFVaC5pNRwOJQRw8vOT4HZj202FKI8vCcRt9BSz-T8LBxJ8Yn3OV1kR7Aqz7hEPc8B3Wvfxo2OE6LLIVj0J4B6jNquC8Q7k10ZeAq7BLUhvPaWM_0xXABVAKpu4spF5/s1600/Long-tailed+Skua+2_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9AySvzFVaC5pNRwOJQRw8vOT4HZj202FKI8vCcRt9BSz-T8LBxJ8Yn3OV1kR7Aqz7hEPc8B3Wvfxo2OE6LLIVj0J4B6jNquC8Q7k10ZeAq7BLUhvPaWM_0xXABVAKpu4spF5/s400/Long-tailed+Skua+2_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.44.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This seems to be an adult in non-breeding plumage<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsL6it_YBe4GeOgrNJNnAzBnvzR6nzfaZX7zz4P8NNxyt6dh3oXheqzPK-NJQwEuwZdIDzfjz7kRav3DKp268RDoauHCgdjuZ3PmzypU-qKO7ifzhnOdtAtExWit5E25FMQIV/s1600/Long-tailed+Skua+3_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsL6it_YBe4GeOgrNJNnAzBnvzR6nzfaZX7zz4P8NNxyt6dh3oXheqzPK-NJQwEuwZdIDzfjz7kRav3DKp268RDoauHCgdjuZ3PmzypU-qKO7ifzhnOdtAtExWit5E25FMQIV/s640/Long-tailed+Skua+3_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.55.jpg" width="428" /> </a></div>
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I think this is a 2nd summer bird. The white vent is an unusual feature for Long-tailed. On the other hand, a breastband seems to be quite a common feature of subadult Long-tailed - more so than I had realized.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28EKgzvWmEc3xOSSqGexu5gifRbzVew-LUADBSdlxY_75e5g6X8jZc5fKghHWlvJNdHKI-pLpa_6i5WmZYxY8chBMkNnkDmGjzJPZEpkjZth5cadoXajVOHq0fTNkOQbDG10G/s1600/Long-tailed+Skua+4_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28EKgzvWmEc3xOSSqGexu5gifRbzVew-LUADBSdlxY_75e5g6X8jZc5fKghHWlvJNdHKI-pLpa_6i5WmZYxY8chBMkNnkDmGjzJPZEpkjZth5cadoXajVOHq0fTNkOQbDG10G/s400/Long-tailed+Skua+4_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_14.58.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There was almost a 4 hour gap between the first four and the last five photos, but I think they are all of the same bird, which I think (!) is a first summer. Better views would have been appreciated!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TqCNsj8cNRWTaPk1rmgzbua1mklKmZI9speQ5b7Ld5pc_8Ok93TcNV2iq02Af9box4-rAV-b9e09uwt4rLkB3m-DhsbTil1e-xywbQDW9WXozF2P63sbegsEBwAigO3Kwrxe/s1600/Long-tailed+Skua+7_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_17.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TqCNsj8cNRWTaPk1rmgzbua1mklKmZI9speQ5b7Ld5pc_8Ok93TcNV2iq02Af9box4-rAV-b9e09uwt4rLkB3m-DhsbTil1e-xywbQDW9WXozF2P63sbegsEBwAigO3Kwrxe/s640/Long-tailed+Skua+7_Tanjung+Dawai_210412_17.27.jpg" width="433" /></a></div>
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Finally, a bird which came reasonably close - an adult moulting into breeding plumage.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0j0C0VuoMYYDfzWKom34-xVvx5MQQvNrhyDAqYCHmKDGkolj5WyipNBbUKVu1TCxzd4a1ecVB3e8V26s3WcJFJwPctkWJVa-5J13Qsv7sckhyphenhyphenKcpKc3xnuXRorb_GzUuy5eF/s1600/prob+Long-tailed+Skua_+Tanjung+Dawai_210412_11.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0j0C0VuoMYYDfzWKom34-xVvx5MQQvNrhyDAqYCHmKDGkolj5WyipNBbUKVu1TCxzd4a1ecVB3e8V26s3WcJFJwPctkWJVa-5J13Qsv7sckhyphenhyphenKcpKc3xnuXRorb_GzUuy5eF/s400/prob+Long-tailed+Skua_+Tanjung+Dawai_210412_11.55.jpg" width="398" /></a></div>
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Finally, a bird I just can't pin down! I thought at the time it was a Pomarine, but some of the photos, especially in row 3, make me feel that it was another Long-tailed. The rounded central tail feathers reveal that it can't have been an Arctic. All in all, I can't be sure, given the distance and quality of the photos. Learning from the experience of the 1st w Arctic earlier, it seems wisest to put this in the unidentified column!</div>
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So, at least 12 skuas/jaegers in all, with 3 Arctic/Parasitic and 8 Long-tailed. An instructive bunch!</div>
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Throughout my 'dissection' of the birds in this post, I've found an online article <a href="http://scillypelagics.com/jaegers_1.html"><i>A Review of Moult and Ageing in Jaegers</i></a> by Steve Howell extremely helpful ... and challenging!</div>
.</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-7371866256167808262012-04-26T15:25:00.002+08:002012-04-26T15:25:35.560+08:00New Template Chaos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tsk tsk! Trust me to want to tinker with things! I just decided to change the appearance of my blog by updating the template. Now the text and photo arrangements have gone haywire and there appears to be no way to undo the mess.<br />
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So - if you use Blogger and Google suggests you might want to modernize your blog, don't be tempted!</div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-41197642218238926822012-04-20T19:34:00.000+08:002012-04-26T15:16:19.584+08:009 and 17 April 2012: Teluk Air Tawar, mainland Penang<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I made a couple of trips to the mainland this past week to try to catch up with the Brown-headed Gull flock before they leave. The first visit was in the afternoon - forgot that the sun would be in my eyes, and the tide was too high to boot, so only saw half a dozen birds distantly.</div>
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The next trip, the light and tide were perfect, but the birds forgot to show up - perhaps they're already on their way north. Below are some bits and pieces from the two visits.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwP22xXApsBbTGwnVBcHJ8xkdY3sr_B8LOZnGdTH9t_yyyNPCU9O3BlWVz6p9lYDtIa454J8_YHRkZlWKGNM2Yu-7iup_5tQU69qpJcUNzJjKK8lcnf3xYqG9SdPx5Ta0JNFqr/s1600/Common+Redshank_Bagan+Belat_170412_IMG_4935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwP22xXApsBbTGwnVBcHJ8xkdY3sr_B8LOZnGdTH9t_yyyNPCU9O3BlWVz6p9lYDtIa454J8_YHRkZlWKGNM2Yu-7iup_5tQU69qpJcUNzJjKK8lcnf3xYqG9SdPx5Ta0JNFqr/s400/Common+Redshank_Bagan+Belat_170412_IMG_4935.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>
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<i>There were around a hundred Common Redshanks at the mouth of the river - this was one of the few in any semblance of breeding plumage. Most of the breeders are gone by now.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgENrXBbl1V5mjU-Dm7ivkYuDpDraS8p99gmmXXJHHoNuojIiLxhq_BtyrH_5FipFKXxTh7ieQwJ9P4xzVtLCDvuuuITCzi3hoVlM2cy4PQCnP6drYdUeQ14lsc7VHd_whowFhg/s1600/Common+Redshank_Bagan+Belat_170412_IMG_8334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgENrXBbl1V5mjU-Dm7ivkYuDpDraS8p99gmmXXJHHoNuojIiLxhq_BtyrH_5FipFKXxTh7ieQwJ9P4xzVtLCDvuuuITCzi3hoVlM2cy4PQCnP6drYdUeQ14lsc7VHd_whowFhg/s400/Common+Redshank_Bagan+Belat_170412_IMG_8334.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Most birds look like this - very washed out colours. These are immature birds that won't be breeding this year. Check out the leg colour!</i><br />
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<i>Great Egret at full stretch!</i><br />
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I'm taking more of an interest in these since Chris Kehoe pointed out a possible '<i>alba</i>' Great Egret in Wong Tsu Shi's blog <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YscVAjl2V1kseRy0_UnorYq1Huk4sLR_Lv0cRlMRTzDNg3b5yAkaZTmmOhyphenhyphenF8FfnMnPwqbLayOUoSCfITbhg7ZsHF92s-fjOi8QwqdIFuIaqEgalkXN12SxCr1YyO8IuXQRe/s1600/_D700671.jpg">here</a> (the gigantic one!). This is potentially a new taxon for Malaysia. In <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birds-East-Asia-Field-Guides/dp/0713670401"><i>Birds of East Asia</i></a>, Mark Brazil notes that <i>alba</i> is perhaps specifically distinct from<i> modesta</i> (which is the one we get here in large numbers) and is an increasingly observed winterer in Japan and Korea, while <i>modesta</i> winters further south. <i>Alba</i> is larger than <i>modesta</i> and, in the non-breeding season, has pale or bright yellow tarsi and toes, as opposed to the all black legs and feet of <i>modesta</i>. So a bigger-than-usual Great Egret in these parts should be scrutinised, and if possible, photographed alongside others.<br />
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<i>A Little Egret sporting groovy pink lores!</i> This is a breeding condition feature, interesting, given that the bird lacked head plumes.<br />
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And an Intermediate Egret with breeding-coloured black bill. This species is Malaysia's most recently discovered breeding species. Take a look at Amar's fantastic series of photos documenting this extraordinary find on OBI (<a href="http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=1&Bird_ID=1109&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1">here</a> and following).<br />
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<i>This is the best time of year to tick off the pond-herons, and the Teluk Air Tawar area is one of the best places to do so in Malaysia. Top to bottom - Chinese, Javan and Indian Pond-herons.</i><br />
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<i>The latter was only recorded for the first time in the country in 1999, but now it's a regular, and has appeared in west coast states as far south as Selangor. Something is definitely afoot with these herons!</i><br />
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<i>This lone Red-wattled Lapwing is probably a sick bird, as they rarely occur singly, and it's largely lacking the vibrant colours, including the beautiful purple and green iridescence on the scapulars and coverts, of a healthy bird</i>. <br />
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I<i> think</i> this is a male <i>'confusus'</i> Brown Shrike. '<i>Confusus' </i>is apparently an intergrade between <i>cristatus</i> and <i>lucionensis</i>. Anyway, it's a good description of my state of mind after reading <a href="http://www.dutchbirding.nl/content/journal/pdf/2000-6.pdf">Tim Worfolk's 2006 paper</a>! I recently came across this extraordinary record of <a href="http://www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Birdnews/BK-BN-Review-2005.shtml">Brown and Tiger Shrike hybridizing in Korea</a> (scroll about half way down). No wonder they confuse us! <br />
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Talking of confusing polytypic taxa, here's a stunning male Eastern Yellow Wagtail - <i>tschutschensis. </i>It positively glowed in the low evening sunlight, and made my otherwise abortive afternoon visit worthwhile.<br />
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It's interesting to see that there are old unmoulted marginal coverts on the leading edge of the wing, and that only the inner 'half' of the greater coverts are fresh feathers. However, I'm not sure what this means, and am hoping that someone can enlighten me! <br />
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Where the wagtail was - sunlight under thunder clouds over paddyfields - a visual treat!<br />
<br /></div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com4P213, Pekan Baru, 13100 Penaga, Penang, Malaysia5.4987796403895279 100.377273559570315.3723356403895277 100.21934505957032 5.6252236403895282 100.53520205957031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23654907.post-21678169221783305982012-04-08T16:15:00.009+08:002012-06-11T21:26:08.741+08:0031 March - 1 April: Gunung Telapa Buruk, Negeri Sembilan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I took a 'slight' detour on my trip back from KL to Penang to visit Rafi at his dream-home near Gunung Telapa Buruk. Though I didn't really need an excuse to pay him a visit, the offer was 'sweetened' by the frequent presence of a Grey-and-Buff Woodpecker in his garden, which is my No 1 'Bogey Bird' in Malaysia, as well as regular sightings of Eyebrowed Wren-babblers at nearby Telapa Buruk.<br />
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To cut a long story short, I didn't see either of them, but we did enjoy some very pleasant 'armchair birding' from his verandah!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6nVN3mM8yDwAueDIKijxqd7llOfQ-fOqXy6xqqQMbacoIY_iTvhlzh7c-inTIbXXz7lUsVLe9mBrORCnVIWjA7HTo0xl-Ny4Jld9D5fA0crqBECpd2i1EpTEZ7Sz_tEerRd5/s1600/Wreathed+Hornbill_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8255.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="322" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728942001134353698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6nVN3mM8yDwAueDIKijxqd7llOfQ-fOqXy6xqqQMbacoIY_iTvhlzh7c-inTIbXXz7lUsVLe9mBrORCnVIWjA7HTo0xl-Ny4Jld9D5fA0crqBECpd2i1EpTEZ7Sz_tEerRd5/s400/Wreathed+Hornbill_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8255.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Not close, but then how many of us can boast any kind of views of Wreathed Hornbill from our back garden?!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3ZSsSTAo0yJgszkNOwEntqeRxQoXw7-65-9aFzRZAwpxr0yRZq5Qd2VEU3VxRB10GItpDWwR_892AXPpfzpqmdPvHZQtzXhxiMpkEiEwjEwgfmPtHI-6ZsvfqLGwriHRUvMR/s1600/Brown+Shrike_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8289.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728942315443111362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3ZSsSTAo0yJgszkNOwEntqeRxQoXw7-65-9aFzRZAwpxr0yRZq5Qd2VEU3VxRB10GItpDWwR_892AXPpfzpqmdPvHZQtzXhxiMpkEiEwjEwgfmPtHI-6ZsvfqLGwriHRUvMR/s400/Brown+Shrike_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8289.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="397" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Brown Shrike - a commoner garden visitor, but not to be sniffed at, especially when acquiring really smart breeding plumage.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnh4bGREgW9ErEpLaD4iT02Y4GasFEDiL7BuAIp1lf6KV3HCbzQBkz-xy7_My5YSeFsrY9UmyKpyOB3QFA6fOd5UQvpxoh4eg_0a4NG5nxOEx8UGgGfPLxOKpTHMLfx6dqAW3F/s1600/Thick-billed+Flowerpecker_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8301.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="293" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728942815225673250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnh4bGREgW9ErEpLaD4iT02Y4GasFEDiL7BuAIp1lf6KV3HCbzQBkz-xy7_My5YSeFsrY9UmyKpyOB3QFA6fOd5UQvpxoh4eg_0a4NG5nxOEx8UGgGfPLxOKpTHMLfx6dqAW3F/s400/Thick-billed+Flowerpecker_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8301.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">While staking out the top of his woodpecker tree, I was amazed to see this flowerpecker land at eye-level. I'd only ever seen one Thick-billed Flowerpecker before, and that certainly wasn't at eye-level, so I was initially a bit puzzled by this bird.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1V03oT0_zNpa7taiFKVYDXwKJ9EVHyVx6hyphenhypheng84s4BtgoRUjwtq7pELQlzFXDFiroWYuQPoLPSOr1Y1WeNs0akitJ8XNaMzRJTqtLOUT6i7fiG0ajNDKFqm_J02dpmylBTv51/s1600/Thick-billed+Flowerpecker_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8299.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="323" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728944101983523362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1V03oT0_zNpa7taiFKVYDXwKJ9EVHyVx6hyphenhypheng84s4BtgoRUjwtq7pELQlzFXDFiroWYuQPoLPSOr1Y1WeNs0akitJ8XNaMzRJTqtLOUT6i7fiG0ajNDKFqm_J02dpmylBTv51/s400/Thick-billed+Flowerpecker_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8299.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">For one thing, the bill didn't seem that thick, certainly not compared to the illustration in Robson. It also seemed deformed, as if the upper mandible had overgrown the lower. Later digging around revealed that the race 'remotum' that occurs in Peninsular Malaysia has a bill "no thicker than Yellow-vented, Yellow-throated [sic] and Crimson-breasted Flowerpeckers" (Wells 2007). Furthermore, by looking at photos in OBI, I realized that the bill is always this rather unique shape, with the lower mandible fitting inside the upper. This must be an adaptation to facilitate piercing of fruits. <a href="http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=5&Bird_ID=2163&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1">Con Foley's recent amazing photos</a> of Brown-backed Flowerpecker show that Brown-backed shares this bill characteristic.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJtPcLw8CWTJ3hoR79_EAxmFEiqAubRYppzJxMCi0bfqmj_-hVhyphenhyphen2Xnq_mqvnS7GAgYFeVwzQLfo0eN0csXeDaxRq5jRP9aUR6rxNSc8nSiCkf9Fg51XAHvD4bk2BXVRfOQZj/s1600/Thick-billed+Flowerpecker_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8300.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="315" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728946017359831026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJtPcLw8CWTJ3hoR79_EAxmFEiqAubRYppzJxMCi0bfqmj_-hVhyphenhyphen2Xnq_mqvnS7GAgYFeVwzQLfo0eN0csXeDaxRq5jRP9aUR6rxNSc8nSiCkf9Fg51XAHvD4bk2BXVRfOQZj/s400/Thick-billed+Flowerpecker_Awanmulan_310312_IMG_8300.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">The streaks on this bird were rather less-well demarcated than those apparent on photos of nominate and 'modestum' races, and that olive wing patch really does stand out! Unfortunately, this was a fleeting view, as the bird was chased out of the tree by a Yellow-vented Flowerpecker! Still, it was a new 'garden tick' for Rafi!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaiVB1xh3CmbKmCtiQ68LG5hmUJHL90GSAGpGRO_Vnhksz2JLX5SyV2JSIs7_sDTgzXGB42iP0MKWQcRb47ue8Qg-fbhggeyeww-umYicBxlybpWny4fOLbZ_SlEVmeBZvCZv/s1600/Silver-breasted+Broadbill_Telapa+Buruk_010412_IMG_4711.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="375" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728946709742668914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaiVB1xh3CmbKmCtiQ68LG5hmUJHL90GSAGpGRO_Vnhksz2JLX5SyV2JSIs7_sDTgzXGB42iP0MKWQcRb47ue8Qg-fbhggeyeww-umYicBxlybpWny4fOLbZ_SlEVmeBZvCZv/s400/Silver-breasted+Broadbill_Telapa+Buruk_010412_IMG_4711.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">This pic of an obliging Silver-breasted Broadbill was my only fruit from our early morning trip up Gunung Telapa Buruk. The place seems pretty 'birdy', but both Eyebrowed and Marbled Wren-babblers remained resolutely silent and invisible!</span></div>digdeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476936736306373644noreply@blogger.com6