Common Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper

Sometimes you will find that some birds might resemble another bird species based on its photo images.  One of those bird species which may caught you off guard if not for closer observation is the similarity between Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) and Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis). How close are their similarities? - have a look at the photo below:

For an expert who is familiar with the differences between the two bird species, he/she could have easily identify the Marsh Sandpiper and the Common Greenshank from the above photo. According to Dave Bakewell, "Marsh Sandpiper is rarely mistaken for a Common Greenshank. It is usually the other way around when a Common Greenshank contrives to make itself look thinner and more elegant than usual"

I was lucky recently to be able to watch the two bird species close to each other on the mudflats. For a start i will first show you the photos of some Common Greenshank.

A trio of Common Greenshank

which was later joined by a Little Egret

Common Greenshank in flight

Now here are some photos of the Marsh Sandpiper.

A Marsh Sandpiper strolling beside a Common Greenshank

Marsh Sandpiper

Marsh Sandpiper in flight

From the first photo of the Marsh Sandpiper above, you could clearly see that its size is smaller than a Common Greenshank. You could have also noticed that its bill is thinner than a Common Greenshank. If you are in the mudflats quite often you will also noticed that the Marsh Sandpiper's movement is quicker than a Common Greenshank. In addition i have also observed that when they (the Marsh Sandpipers) are wading for food in the mudflats they tend to move their bill from side to side. 

So as you can see, photography can play the role of both educating as well as confusing people but like most experts would advise you, the best way to observe/study the birds is to look at them in the field or rather in the mudflats in this case.

Birding at Permatang Nibong and nearby Ricefields - Feb 2014

Finally i had the opportunity to bird at Permatang Nibong, Penang recently. Thanks to Wai Mun for the earlier directions i did find the location with ease. As i was rushing for time on this occasion so i have only covered an area about 400 meter radius behind the Shell station - more like an incidental birding session if you may call it. Some of the ricefields were bone dry while the un-cropped ones were the home of the zitting cisticolas and snipes. Here are some of the birds seen:

White-Vented Myna

Its all jet-black plumage here with just a white patch on its wing were quite diagnostic. Another feature to look for is probably the color of its iris which is different than the jungle mynas as shown below.

Jungle Myna

Wood Sandpiper

Always a nice bird to photograph.

After Permatang Nibong, i went further north to survey the ricefields along the highway leading to the town of Semeling, Kedah. Besides a lone Red Collared Dove flying by, other birds seen here were quite common though.

A Black Shouldered Kite / Black Winged Kite with a prey. The first thing it would do is to "dismantle" the head of its prey and then slowly tearing off its meat.

Brown Shrike

Looks like it was saying: "Hi! finally you have spotted me".

In the ricefields especially during the dry months from January to March, the birds which you would most likely not to miss out are swallows and swifts.

Red-Rumped Swallow

The bird above was actually doing a flight routine akin to a rocket on a vertical takeoff -  ain't no photo tricks or any optical illusion or manipulation here.

A Germain's Swiftlet or an Edible Swiftlet?

House Swift

BEST WISHES AND HAPPY BIRDING!

Raptor's Watch - 28 Feb 2014

I decided to volunteer myself for one day in this year's raptor watch at Tanjung Tuan. The spring migration of raptors to their northern breeding grounds had already begun in early February but things look a bit slower in this initial stage. Perhaps the migration might just peak from mid March to early April this year.

Setting up the tents before the incoming raptors. 

Without the tents one might probably be "roasted" up there as the mercury went up to 35 Celsius in the afternoon. Perhaps the sun worshipers might love this occasion for a good tanned. We also have Cik Nur Atiqa a Conservation Officer from MNS to assist in the count for the first time.

On a clear day you could see Tanjung Rupat in Indonesia across the Straits of Malacca from this point.

We have only two scopes this time but it was more than sufficient in the absence of many raptors.

Purple-Naped Sunbird

On my way up i saw this sunbird. Decided to take its photo as this was the first time i have seen it at this location.

Pink-Necked Green Pigeon (Treron Vernans) - Male

Javan Myna

A flock of Javan Mynas and a lone Common Myna congregating on a dead tree.

Asian Dollar Bird

They were seen communicating with each other which then ended up with one chasing the other. A lovey dovey pair indeed.

Common Myna

A pair of residence Common Myna

A sail boat with a British flag on board - Ahoy there !

Swallowtail Moth  (Lyssa Zampa)

Barn Swallow

At about 10.30am, came the first migrating raptor - a falcon to be exact.

Peregrine Falcon (Japonensis)

It did not stay too long as it headed straight north. Apparently this Peregrine Falcon could have been the same falcon which appeared and seen by other counters on 25 Feb 2014. Experts are currently comparing its photos. (note: experts have confirmed that this falcon was different than the one seen on 25 Feb) !

After the appearance of the Peregrine Falcon, things just went back to slow mode. This was a Germain's Swiflet i think.

Another sail boat passing by

Changeable Hawk Eagle

Occasionally one or two brahminy kites and a white bellied sea eagle would appear. We have also seen both the white morph as well as the dark morph CHE. The above photos show a white morph and the photos below was another white morph seen.

Here you can see the upper and lower wings of the same CHE. Its upper parts were brownish in color when in direct contact with the sun.

Things only got exciting at about 3.00pm onwards when we spotted a group of  30 Oriental Honey Buzzards (OHB) thermalling behind the lighthouse in a distance. We suspected that they might probably have used the Linggi passage to head North instead of the light house route. One hypothesis was that it might have been due to the different wind direction. 

These OHBs appeared close to the light house just before we pack up. This phenomenon (i.e. appearing just before the humans decided to leave), according to the regular raptor counters have been going on for some time. The third photo here looks like an adult male OHB while the other two were juvenile OHBs.

Happy Raptor Watching !