Harriers of Sekinchan - 2013

In Peninsular Malaysia, harriers has been sighted from the state of Perlis right down to Melaka and Sungai Balang in Muar, Johor with an odd case in Kelantan since 1988. However i am not sure why there were no data of harrier sightings in East Malaysia todate (i.e. based on B.i.W records).

Over at Sekinchan, there were also numerous reports of harriers been sighted way back in 1996 and the latest was just last year (2012). If you have been to Ulu Dedap, Perak before, you will realised that the harrier numbers here are fewer and located further away. Nevertheless i was delighted to sight not only one but possibly 3 Eastern Marsh Harriers (EMH) at this place on 4 November 2013. We were there at about 8.45am and the first EMH was only sighted at 9.25am. They were seen circling casually around a patch of the rice field before landing on it again. We could only hypothesized that they were probably waiting for the thermal to build up before rising to the sky again. Here are some of the shots i have managed to take:

I presumed this could be a female EMH based on the following diagnosis: pale buff head, bright rufous underparts, thin bars on the tails.

Other EMHs later followed closely behind.

The blotchy marks like a disease bird from the above photos show both are possibly a juvenile EMH.

In addition to the EMH, we had another surprise later on. I had initially reckoned the harrier below (ambitiously) as a juvenile Hen Harrier and AunTiah subsequently thought it could be another juvenile EMH. Have a look at its photos below:

(Broad white rump, darker brown, banded wings, dark patch on secondaries). All those features at a glance point to a juvenile Hen Harrier, right?. But alas, according to the experts the white rump is not a reliable indicator for a hen harrier. Well i have later read that there was one prominent feature which was missing from this harrier i.e the narrow whitish collar. This feature i have noticed was almost presence in all hen harriers. So what can it be then? According to Dr Chaiyan (from Thailand) the above bird was a juvenile Pied Harrier!

If you study Robson's field guide, you will note that the description given for a juvenile Pied Harrier fits the bill - "darkish rufous-brown body, indistinct paler bands across blackish secondaries and more rufous-brown than EMH". You may also noticed that the white rump and the white spot on the nape of the above harrier can also be seen in EMH though less conspicuous.  So there you go again another harrier in the bag.

Birding in Sekinchan Ricefields - Nov 2013

The place is huge alright but unlike Ulu Dedap in Perak, this ricefield is well demarcated with boundaries of land ownership. We reached the place about 8.45am and my aim was to see as many migrants birds as possible. Indeed we saw more migrant birds then local/resident birds. Let me start with some common birds which you might just able to see in a paddyfield.

Little Egret

Some how Little Egrets numbers are significantly higher than any other egrets which you can find in a paddy field. Not sure why this egret species can do so well as compared to other egrets - for example Great Egrets.

Here you could see a mix group of cattle egrets, little egrets and some intermediate egrets.

Great Egret in Flight

It has longer legs, longer bills and neck as compared to Intermediate Egret below

Intermediate Egret in flight

Cinnamon Bittern

Here is another common sight which you might find in most paddy fields - a long neck and beak sticking out among the paddys.

Yellow Bittern in flight

Cinnamon Bittern in flight

Another typical scenario which you could see where a bird suddenly burst out from the undergrowth and glide for a short distance before abruptly dove down into the paddys again.

Cinnamon Bittern?

Another Yellow Bittern or Cinnamon?

Schrenck's Bittern

Experts have confirmed that this was a Von Schrenck's Bittern ! Yahoo! another lifer in the bag. There were probably a healthy population of bitterns here.

Black-Winged Kite

This kite was seen waging its tail non-stop just like a wagtail.  This was the first time i have seen this phenomenon. 

Black-Naped Oriole

Zitting Cisticola

I think this is the only bird which likes to do such a spliting pose.

Here are some of the common and not so common wintering birds. 

A Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater with a huge moth

An unidentified Pond Heron. Got this shot from a car otherwise i would not be able to get so close. It eventually flew off but not until i got this great photo.

In Flight

Common Kingfisher

You can only see this kingfisher in greater numbers during the wintering season.

And here are some of the birds which are reported to be from Siberia, Mongolia and Far Eastern China.

Brown Shrike

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler/Rusty-Rumped Warbler (Locustella certhiola)

This was my other lifer. Most of the time you might just see part of its tail or heard its calls which are reported to be quite similar with the "tik" "tik" "tik' calls of a zititng cisticola.

Here is the same warbler in flight.

This was probably the highlight of this trip. I was scanning the paddys when i saw a big black bird slowly flapping its wings. Immediately i screamed HARRIER ! without realizing that my partner Mr CY Tan was actually looking at another Eastern Marsh Harrier (EMH). He was probably too awe to see the harrier until he has forgotten to open his mouth.

It circled around for awhile before making a land fall. 

Here is another significant discovery - at least to me! The above two photos actually show a different harrier. Want to know what it is?  More of its photos will be put up in my next posting.

For such a huge place you would certainly need a big machine such as this one.

Last but not least we saw a number of Golden Apple Snail eggs. Although its numbers may not be significantly higher than other places like in Penang but who knows one day the Open Bills may just drop in at this place.

Kemensah - 2 Nov 2013

What would you do if you have just 2 hours of birding time? Well i was a bit lucky that my home is near to a secondary forest which was just about 30 minutes drive. Knowing that the day will be full of people due to the festive holiday (Deepavali), i parked my car further down the road and birded along the road. True enough there were lots of "Valentino Rossi" and "Sebastian Vettel" going to & fro the area but the birds can still be seen.

Stripped-Throated Bulbul

Grey-rumped Treeswift

House Swift

A common White-throated Kingfisher on an unusual perch.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker

Drongo Cuckoo

Until today i have not seen the white patch on the nape of this species as described by some field guides.

As the day was quite sunny, the butterflies also did appeared on the trail.

Chocolate Albatross

Yamfly

This was the first time i was able to take a decent photo of a butterfly in flight.

Mapwings - C.nivalis

Here is what a butterfly expert (Mr LiewNL) has to say about this butterfly: "Mapwings are usually found at a certain elevation in the hills in Malaysia and are decidedly insects of the forests - meaning it is unlikely to be seen in a town park or wooded area in a housing estate. That having said, it should be considered a common butterfly and they are most common throughout the months of April - July"

Despite the crowded area, i believe i have heard the calls of a trogon. It has just called twice and then went quiet. This certainly gave me more reasons to visit this place in the near future.