19th September 2008: Bagan Nyior and Sungai Semilang, mainland Penang

The area collectively known as Juru is a promising little area comprising several coastal habitats just a few kilometers south of Penang island on the mainland. There's a small forest reserve there where both Orange-breasted and Cinnamon-headed Pigeons have been recorded in recent years. The enormous mudflats off Sungai Semilang are not easily watched, but at high tide, reasonable numbers of Redshanks roost, with a few other species mixed in. Nordmann's Greenshank and Chinese Egret have been seen there in the last few years.


Just inland, at Bagan Nyior, there's a large expanse of flooded fields, slated for development as a school but currently used only by cattle. In winter it can hold over 100 Grey-headed Lapwings, and there have been some intriguing sightings of small pipits and buntings there too. It's an unusual habitat type in this area, and I hope to be able to visit a few times over the coming migration season.


Today was probably a wee bit early for migrant passerines - just a few Yellow Wagtails about, but there were a few waders, including a flock of about 70 Pacific Golden Plovers.


I reckon this is a better place than most for an Oriental Plover or Little Whimbrel to drop by some day.



Plovers whiffling! Amazing how they can turn their bodies and wings upside down and keep their head the right way up, and keep flying!


While tramping around for passerines I flushed this Crested Serpent Eagle, living up to its name. Can anyone identify the 'serpent'?




There were snipe aplenty, all Pintail or Swinhoe's for sure, and Pintail probably, judging by the feet extending beyond the tail tip, call and habitat.







I'd like to go back to try to improve my snipe flight shots. The light could have been better this morning.


It was good to see that the first Grey-headed Lapwing has already arrived. The flight is much more leisurely than the similar Red-wattled Lapwing (seen on the ground below the Grey-headed) and it is much quieter!

I didn't take any pictures of pipits but saw loads of Paddyfield Pipits. They make various calls, including some quite explosive ones - which I described as 'chIp!' or even 'chEEp!', as well as a quieter 'chup'. None however, have the loud, drawn out quality of Richard's, which is well-described as 'schreep!' I saw several Paddyfields hover before landing, which some say is diagnostic of Richard's. I suspect the way they land has more to do with the kind of place they're landing in.





At Sungai Semilang I saw this very interesting Collared Kingfisher. Orange flanks are a distinguishing mark of Sacred Kingfisher. However, Sacred should be smaller, have a darker head and a peach wash at the base of the nape, so I concluded that this was just an exceptionally bright Collared.



In flight this bird could almost have been passed off as a Black-capped.


This is what Collared Kingfishers are supposed to look like!

15th September 2008: Kapar Power Station ashponds

I made my monthly visit to Kapar today with David Lai, Nina Cheung and Yang Chong.

The number of birds had grown massively since the last visit, and there were several roosts within the ashponds, making a total count challenging.


Different roosts tended to be composed of different species. This one was made up of Great Knots, Bar-tailed Godwits and Whimbrels.


This one is composed of smaller calidrids and plovers, while another was made up almost entirely of curlews

Most flocks were rather distant. However, the plover and sandpiper flock allowed closer approach, so that was where we focused our attention.


When scanning a closely-packed roosting flock, more often than not the whole bird is not visible, so you have to try to identify parts of birds! I find that repeated scanning is what yields results. Click on this picture and try to find the odd bird.


Here it is, a Red Knot in non-breeding plumage.

Finding rarities in amongst wader flocks this size is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack, only there's no guarantee that the needle is there!

Of course, if the needle is white, it helps! This leucistic Redshank has now been around for over a month.


Another lone bird that eventually revealed itself was this adult Sanderling.

















Best of all was this Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.


Despite being common on passage in Hong Kong and in the northern winter in Australia, they are an extreme rarity in the Peninsula. This is only the second record in recent years.


Superficially similar to the equally scarce Pectoral Sandpiper, Sharpies can be identified by a combination of features. They tend to look rather capped, and the supercilium flares obviously behind the eye. The breast band is not so densely streaked and clearly demarcated as on Pectoral, and the streaks or chevrons extend down the flanks and onto the vent.


The ventral streaks can just about be seen on this appalling digiscoped photo! Also the pale eye-ring, which is more prominent on Sharp-tailed than Pectoral. Structurally, Sharpies are distinctively short-billed and deep-chested, and look rather portly birds.

This is an adult moulting to non-breeding plumage, as can be seen by the paler-edged scapulars. Here's a bit of video footage.



Total numbers were impressive, as follows:

Pacific Golden Plover 80
Grey Plover 320
Lesser Sand Plover 3800
Greater Sand Plover 400
Black-tailed Godwit 26
Bar-tailed Godwit 1220
Whimbrel 1500
Eurasian Curlew 3800
Common Redshank 3500
Marsh Sandpiper 30
Common Greenshank 640
Terek Sandpiper 110
Common Sandpiper 2
Ruddy Turnstone 12
Great Knot 1280
Red Knot 6
Sanderling 1
Red-necked Stint 200
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 1
Curlew Sandpiper 500
Broad-billed Sandpiper 20
TOTAL 17448

Lesser Adjutant 1
Striated Heron 4
Cattle Egret 7
Grey Heron 10
Little Egret 47
Gull-billed Tern 250
Caspian Tern 1
Little Tern 500
White-winged Tern 1

TOTAL 821



Little and large! The lone Caspian and White-winged Terns at the roost fly out to the mudflats together.

9th Sept 2008: Tanjung Tokong, Penang

Decided to go back and try to get some more pics of Little Stints today. I wanted to set up a 'coffin'-type hide, but, after scouting around on the beach, couldn't find enough driftwood to put one together. Instead I set up a standing structure as a kind of 'proto-hide' out of whatever I could find, just to get the birds used to the idea of an odd shape out there on the mud. Then I went off for lunch. By the time I came back, birds were happily feeding around the structure, so I replaced it with my hide and the birds soon came back.



With the weather still overcast and quite breezy, it wasn't too hot in there today!

One thing I have wanted to try to photograph for a while is the territorial fighting that Lesser Sand Plovers often indulge in on the mud. I got my chance today.



First the two contestants: in the blue corner, this fine adult...


And in the red corner, the contender, this rather scruffy 1st winter.



The 1st winter has crossed an invisible line


And is put to flight




It still hasn't backed off far enough for the adult's liking



The adult brings the bout to an end by giving the vanquished young bird a final earful - "Now clear orf and don't let me see you around here again!"


This adult Greater Sand Plover strides through the Lesser's territory without molestation.






















Likewise this adult Pacific Golden Plover.



Even though it is definitely a competitor for the same food the Lesser Sand Plover hunts



Oddly, this plover didn't have to strain to pull the worm out of its hole as the Lesser Sands always seem to have to. Is it that much stronger, or was it just faster, pulling the prey out before it had chance to anchor itself?

A Ruddy Turnstone doing what it does best.


The latest in my series of distant Terek Sandpiper shots. I think this is a juvenile. Incidentally, do you know why a Terek Sandpiper is so named? According to Wikipedia, it's either named after a river in Georgia and Russia or a character in the Flash Gordon TV series.


It was interesting to note the different species' tolerance of my presence. The sand plovers and stints took it all in their stride. The Terek and Pacific Golden Plover were clearly suspicious, while a Whimbrel which landed fairly distantly took one look and fled, yelping in alarm.


Don't they grow up quickly? This juvenile Redshank has already begun moulting into 1st winter plumage.


What to do with 500 Red-necked Stint photographs? I suppose I could try auctioning them on E-Bay? My wife and kids' perennial question when I come home from a day like this is, why do you need so many photos of the same bird? Only a photographer would understand! Here's a selection.



















Here's a couple playing leapfrog!







I have a confession! Two days ago I photographed one of the Little Stints from a fair distance. I was sure it was a Little Stint, but when I looked at the photograph after I got home, doubts started to creep in. Was it really a Little Stint? Had I pointed the camera at the wrong bird?


This is the photo. Surely the sides of the breast are just to red for a Little? And they look unstreaked.



Fortunately I saw the bird again today, somewhat closer, and it was indeed a Little Stint, albeit a very bright one!

In fact, I photographed 2 different Little Stints today, both different from the ones I put on my blog on 7th, so that makes a minimum of 4 birds.



Here's a view of the birds' right side. The two birds on the left are those I photographed today; the other two were taken two days ago. The main difference in the two birds today was in the amount of fringing left on the wing coverts, and also in the colour of the crown. The left hand bird had relatively unworn coverts with bright fringes, and a grey crown (moulted), while the second from left had worn, unfringed coverts and a darker, brighter crown. Both birds had already moulted most scapulars and mantle feathers, so were quite similar in overall appearance.



I didn't get more pics of the non-breeding bird, so only three are shown from the left side. Again, the difference in covert wear is striking between the two left hand birds.


The left hand bird has moulted both crown and mantle, the middle one has moulted mantle but not crown, while the one on the right has moulted neither!




Though it is usually true that worn breeding Little Stints are yellower than Red-neckeds at the same stage, it isn't always, as these pics show! Structural differences are the key. Of plumage features, the difference in the colour of the greater (and sometimes other) covert fringes is one of the more reliable differences between them.



Of course, if the coverts are as fresh as this, there's no problem!


I've heard it said that Little has more of a white flash on the primaries than Red-necked, but haven't seen any photographic evidence to bear this out. I think chestnut fringes to the rump, uppertail coverts and tail feathers may be diagnostic of Little.