Birding at Kampung Siam

After having seen too many mudflats and padifields, we visited a place which i have not been for the past 25 years. Kampung Siam is a village located on the same road to Bukit Hijau Recreational Forest where the occupants were generally Malaysian of Siamese origins. The village is located right in a middle of an oil palm plantation surrounded by matured rubber trees and fruit trees. There were plenty of bird calls here and certaintly this place is worth a visit.

This is a White-Rumped Munia.

A Scaly-Breasted Munia was also spotted.

This place was full of this bird - a Lineated Barbet and its sound of "poo-poh" was loud and clear !

Here is a Lineated Barbet excavating a hole on a tree.

This bird looks like a Brown-Throated Sunbird - female - id from its yellowish breast.

This Rufous Woodpecker (female) was presence here.

....and so as this Common Flameback (male).

  

This Greater Racket Tail Drongo was heard mimicking the calls of a black-naped oriole.

This is a group of Jungle Mynas. 

From my observations, Jungle Mynas seem to be more sensitive to human presence than javan mynas.

This is an Asian Brown Flycatcher - id from its pale grey wash across breast,  broad base to bill, whitish lores and a prominent whitish eye ring.

Saw this Changeable Hawk Eagle (dark morph) circling around a high tension electricity tower which was located close to the oil palm plantation.

On our way back we were sent off by this Dollar Bird.

Penaga, Tanjung Dawai and Yan

After visiting Teluk Air Tawar, we went searching for harriers in Penaga, Tanjung Dawai and then to a district named Yan. These places have huge ricefields but unfortunately there were no harriers.

At Penaga we only saw this Black-Capped Kingfisher and heard a few Zitting Cisticolas calling - that was all we had. 

This forest reserve is really huge, stretching from Sungai Petani right up to Tanjung Dawai. As indicated in the sign board its size is about 3,076 hectares. Although this location is a mangrove area but not many birds were seen here.

First bird seen was this Common Iora.

Next was this Collared Kingfisher.

When we reached Tanjung Dawai it was already late noon. As the tide was still high and covering the mudflats, we turned into a place called Kampung Nelayan and saw this Striated Heron.

The next bird seen was a Collared Kingfisher again.

When reaching Yan, i could see a huge mudflat area but unfortunately not many waders were present there. What a pity ! First bird seen was this Common Sandpiper.

Then we saw a couple of Pond Herons and a lone Little Egret.

Then a Striated Heron was spotted catching a cat fish.

Before we call it a day, this White-Bellied Sea Eagle was seen flying back from the sea towards its roosting place in the mainland.

Teluk Air Tawar, IBA - Jan 2012

During the recent long CNY holidays, i went for a bird watching spree, beginning with a morning trip to Teluk Air Tawar, IBA. Although this time the number of waders observed were fewer than in November 2011, but the photos are much clearer - probably due to the timing of the day.

                     The first bird that greeted me was this lone Common Sandpiper.

Then i saw this crow (looks like a Slender-Billed or perhaps just a Common Crow) following closely a Brahminy Kite.

The Brahminy Kite was constantly looking up at the crow to ensure that it does not do anything mischievous.

This is a juvenile Striated Heron identified thru its brownish colors 

This is a Common Redshank with a clean bill and legs.

This Common Redshank has got its feet and bill in the mud!

Saw a Black-Capped Kingfisher flying across the mudflats and landed on a dead tree trunk.

At one glance this could have been a spotted redshank but its bill is shorter and there is no subtle droop near its tip. So this was just a Common Redshank.

 

This Intermediate Egret certaintly dwarfs the common redshank.

Saw a few of this Terek Sandpiper. Said to occur in some parts of Europe as well.

I saw more Red-Necked Stints this time.

A closer look at the Red-Necked Stint.

A Little Egret with its long breast-plumes- getting ready for breeding?

Today i saw three Brown-Headed Gulls. Yang Chong saw 21 a few days later. Although gulls are abundant in Britain and Europe but not this one which is said to be only common in Central Asia region.

Here you could see the white spots on its primaries which characterized this gull.

It actually has web feets and with a fish in its beak.

This is certaintly a large gull and territorial as well. Saw him chasing some waders away which came close to its comfort zone.

Also saw these Collared Kingfishers.

This Greater Coucal certaintly took its time to cross the road.