13 February 2011: Kampung Permatang Nibong, mainland Penang

A short pre-dusk visit yielded the 'usual suspects'.





This Eastern Marsh Harrier has pale eyes. Note also the new grey feathers emerging at the base of the tail. Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, renowned regional raptor expert, sent me the following comment on this bird. "This is a 1st winter male. In juvenile (w/o trace of wing/body molt) or first-winter w/o a clear view of plumage, the color of iris is the best sexing tool using photographs. In both Eastern Marsh and Pied, juvenile/first winter male attains the pale yellow/cream (depending on light) iris as early as December whereas juvenile or 1st winter females have a dark brown iris, only changing to pale or yellow color later on in their second year." Chaiyan has also kindly commented on the birds I photographed at Ulu Dedap. Go back to that post to read his comments.



Prey sighted...



...I couldn't see whether the 'pounce' was successful or not.



A poor picture of a juv Pied, which nevertheless shows how different they are structurally from Eastern Marsh with their round head and small bill.



At 6.30pm the 'resident' adult Greater Spotted Eagle appeared high overhead.





It rapidly lost height and glided into its roost site on top of the pylon.



Near dusk a Watercock ventured out to feed.



And quite a number of Common Snipe also emerged from cover. This year the weather was very wet early on in the winter to the north of us. Freshwater waders have been much scarcer than usual - possibly because they have found more suitable habitat to the north than usual. The floods are probably also responsible for the higher than usual numbers of Aquilas and other migratory raptors in Peninsular Malaysia this season.



Firebird! A swiftlet in front of the setting sun.



Sunspots.

14 January 2011: Pulau Burung, mainland Penang

Couldn't resist an early morning foray to have another go with the new camera! The light was perfect, but I got the image size wrong, so my efforts were not the best. Here are three examples, both taken at high magnification (about 40x for the grebe and 60x for the Watercock).







A Wood Sandpiper, taken at 20x and 60x:



The background looks as if it's been 'cloned' in Photoshop, but honestly, it's all natural!







































Having had a look at White-headed Stilts recently in Sydney, I paid a bit more attention to a pair of Black-winged Stilts which were close by today. Here's the female.






















And this is the male. I got a recording of the call too, so when I get round to it, I'll make sonograms of the two.





I noticed he had a pale grey, rather than white, tail. I didn't notice this on the White-headed Stilts I saw in Sydney.

The light was ideal for flight photography, so I was a bit disappointed not to get better results (with my DSLR!).





Common Sandpiper.







Wood Sandpiper.



Lesser Whistling-duck.





Highlight of the morning was these five Smooth Otters.



The birds were nervous of the otter, but I think the otter was more worried (or curious?) about me!



This Eastern Yellow Wagtail's sharp eyes meant curtains for the bug hiding under the leaf!



'Tschutschensis' I presume!



And a typical view of a flushed Pintail/Swinhoe's Snipe!

12th August 2010: Think like a wader Part 2!

Today was the second day in a row with a 3m hide tide, so I decided to survey the possible wader roost sites south of the port.

Last month I had found several potential sites which might be suitable as wader roosts, so now it was time to see whether the birds agreed with my assessment!

First stop was the prawn ponds south of Pulau Burung. There are a number of newly created ponds which are still empty, but they were also empty of birds!

Next I checked the landfill at Pulau Burung itself. The top of the disused landfill area is now a plateau covered with red earth and some rainwater pools. It looked perfect as a wader roost...







This place is crowded with roosting Savanna Nightjars, and it's impossible to walk across it without disturbing half a dozen or more.



Somewhere I also crossed an invisible line into a pair of Black-winged Stilts' territory, and was told in no uncertain terms to clear off!

Apart from these and a few Wood Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers and resident Red-wattled Lapwings, however, there were no waders.

Next stop, Batu Kawan. There's a canal and an area of cleared back-mangroves which runs for several kilometers along the coast here. The trouble is that it is so extensive that birds are widely scattered over it and so only small numbers are visible in any one scan. Initially I bypassed this area, heading for a large area of recently cleared land which will soon become the approach road for the second Penang Bridge. Again, it looks perfect (to me!) for waders - wide open space and lots of freshwater pools - but no birds except a few Black-winged Stilts.

So back I went to the canal, and, thanks to the exceptional height of the tide, most of the area was underwater, concentrating the waders on a few islands still above the water-line.



Space at a premium!

There weren't that many birds - perhaps 400 or so - which bore out my theory that there aren't many rich feeding areas this side of the port. Still, among the Redshanks and other waders, I did spy a lone adult Asian Dowitcher.







The pics aren't great due to the phenomenal heat haze.

Last stop of the day was the paddyfields at Kampung Permatang Nibong. I was hoping to see the 5 Asian Openbills that have recently returned there, but there was no sign of them.



But what's this flying over at great height? A duck? A goose??



Or just an adventurous Watercock! You don't normally see them flying this high up!



A Cinnamon Bittern against a peachy sunset to end the day.