A couple of updates

First, an update of the Brown Needletail sketch,as the consensus was that it needed both wingtips blurring!



Second, an update of the hybrid myna sketch to make it more in line with my recent photos.


My last post on hybrids has generated some interesting feedback. Firstly, from KL, our capital city, Banard Lau wrote:

"You wrote in your interesting educational blog, "So, the question is, is this an isolated case, or does this spell bad news for the island population of Common Mynas? Only time will tell!"

Is it possible for the situation to be the other way round?

In Kuala Lumpur, I have observed casually that the Common Myna seems to be 'diluting' the small population of handsome/beautiful jet-black White-Vented Mynas (Acridotheres grandis) with their long black crests. One year, there will be about half a half dozen or so White-vented Mynas. The next year, there will be one or two pairs of half-breeds and only a single pair of pure breed White-Vented Mynas with their long crests."

Then, from Taiwan, Jo Ann MacKenzie wrote: "Taiwan’s native Crested Mynas are being swamped by introduced Javan Mynas much as your native Common Mynas are being swamped by introduced Cresteds."

Those of us who were fortunate to attend the recent talks by Dr David Wells heard how Jungle Mynas have been wiped out wherever the Javan has moved in (from the south), at least partly through hybridization.

So it seems there's a kind of interspecies hierarchy amongst mynas, and that the introduction of an alien species is bad news for those already in the area.

The Pleasure of God in His Creation

Every once in a while I hear something that resonates so deeply that I feel it's worth passing on.

You can read the text of this message, but if you have time, I would really recommend listening to it!

A Major Myna Mix-up!

The mynas around where I live have been up to things they shouldn't have, and at last I have the evidence!

After many months of trying (not too hard mind you), I finally managed to capture the hybrid Crested x Common Myna on ... whatever it is you capture digital images on. I saw the bird near the road as I drove my daughter home from school, dropped her off at home, grabbed my camera, and drove back to the site. This wasn't the first time I've done this, but this time the bird was still there!

As soon as I arrived the sun left, and the sky clouded over, which meant I had to push up my ISO to 800, so the photos weren't of the best quality. At first it sat in a tree preening. Then it flew down into a carpark the other side of a fence, which meant I had to contend with blurry fence in the foreground, but at least I got some pics!



Common Mynas were indeed the 'common' mynas in the area until recently. However, Crested Mynas, which were originally introduced here either deliberately or accidentally, have been aggressively expanding their feral population.



Common Mynas are very distinctive. They have a rich yellow patch of skin around the eye, and an orange-yellow bill. The iris is pale greyish-yellow, and the legs are orange-yellow. Note also the clear white vent. They have no tuft on the forehead, and the body, especially the underparts, is a maroonish-brown.




Crested on the other hand have a pale ivory-coloured bill, with some pinkish colouring at the base of the lower mandible, and a rich orange-yellow eye. The legs are pinkish-yellow. The vent is black with white tips to the feathers. There is a prominent tuft at the base of the bill, and the body is dark grey.



The other myna that occurs on the island, although in more rural areas, is Jungle Myna. This is somewhat intermediate between the other two. It has a smaller tuft at the base of the bill, dark grey underparts but somewhat browner upperparts. The bill is rich yellow, with a pale bluish base to the lower mandible, and the eye is also a rich yellow.



The hybrid shows a yellow bill which is paler toward the tip, and has a faint pinkish tinge to the base of the lower mandible. The iris is quite a rich golden yellow. The facial skin is more restricted than on Common, and is greyish-pink. The underparts are grey, like Crested, but the belly is white, like Common. The vent feathers are black with broad white fringes. Curiously, it has a whitish spot on the upper throat which is not shown by either species.




There is a vestigial tuft above the bill and the upper wing coverts are brownish. The flank feathers have fine pale edges, like Crested.

The bird bears a superficial resemblance to Jungle Myna, but the dark feathering on the vent rule out Jungle from the bird's parentage.

So, the question is, is this an isolated case, or does this spell bad news for the island population of Common Mynas? Only time will tell!

Brown Needletail painting

I felt inspired to paint this last night. I wanted to give the impression of power and speed, so experimented by blurring the near wingtip.

Brown Needletails are always spectacular. They often appear 'out of the blue' in advance of storm clouds, when presumably they are forced to come down low enough for us to see them to avoid the storm. Often the first indication of their presence is the audible whoosh of their wings as they zoom overhead.

Another sketch from Aug 29th

Another pose from the same Curlew Sandpiper sketched on the 29th and finished off this evening!

August 29, Landfill Site, Nibong Tebal, southern mainland Penang

I arrived at the site at dawn today to be in the hide well before the high tide pushed the birds onto the roost. Yesterday's constant rain had caused the water level to rise considerably. The result was that my hide was in the water, so my first task was to move it back a few metres onto dry land.

Thankfully today was dry and the morning started clear. From about 8 o'clock to 10, the "native" waders (ie those that are at the site all the time) were quite actively feeding. Once the sun began to get hot, there was a noticeable lull in activity, as birds rested and preened.



The early morning light and the reflection of the red earth behind the pool made for some colourful images. This Wood Sandpiper was my first catch of the day.



Another view of the same bird.



This juvenile Greater Sand Plover's legs positively shone in the low sun!




Across the other side of the pond, this Grey Heron indulged in a bit of sunbathing!

At 10.50, about two and half hours before high tide was due, suddenly the air was full of the rush of wings, as the first wader flock flew low over my hide and settled on a sand bar some way away. It was an exhilirating spectacle!



A flock of Little Terns drops in to join the Lesser Sand Plovers.

After this, things became quite hectic, as succeeding waves of birds arrived, landing all around my hide! It was difficult to know where to direct my attention with flocks behind, to the side and in front of me. I had to move very slowly to avoid spooking the birds, which resulted in some agonizing leg cramps!




Juvenile Lesser (front) and Greater (right rear) Sand Plovers resting on the sand just behind my hide.



Quite a few of the Lesser Sand Plovers were still in summer plumage, unlike the Greaters, which have all moulted into winter dress.




There were about 40 Terek Sandpipers today, with slightly fewer Lesser Sand Plovers than on the 27th.

Among the 120 or so Redshanks were a number of juveniles - arriving a lot earlier than last year. One of these sported black and green leg flags on the right tibia, indicating that it had been ringed in Thailand.



As I was scanning the Redshanks for more leg flags I came across a nice surprise - a juvenile Asian Dowitcher! A bit distant, but hopefully there will be more!



Finally, a sketch of one of the three Curlew Sandpipers present today. This one spent quite some time feeding just behind my hide.

August 27, Landfill Site, Nibong Tebal, southern mainland Penang

I went to get a hide put up today at Site A. It was quite an experience! First I got a lift with a JCB driver up to the dump, where we held our noses and pulled four pallets out of the mountain of rubbish. We loaded these on the JCB and then drove out onto the site, where the driver helped me put up the hide. Another JCB came out to see what we were up to! I was frequently asked if I was making a movie for Discovery Channel!

Siting the hide was quite difficult, since the water level is constantly changing. Each day a pump forces water out, but, at the moment, the frequent rain more than makes up for whatever is pumped out.



A view of my hide. At high tide I was happy to see good numbers of birds arriving. This was the first time I was able to confirm that the area is used as a high tide roost.



About a thousand waders and terns roosted at the site today. The commonest species by far was Lesser Sand Plover, with about 650 present. It's still early in the season, so the diversity of species is still quite low.



Long-toed Stints are quite common, and very aggressive! This one is seeing off a Red-necked Stint.



There were a few Greater Sand Plovers about; this one is in nice fresh winter plumage.



Here's a composite of both Sand Plover species in flight (Lesser on the left).

The Greater Painted Snipe's nest was empty, and there was no sign of chicks, so it may have been predated. I found another nest with one egg, so presumably there are more to come. Again, good numbers of painted snipe were in evidence today.