Raptor Watch - the Holy Grail of Bird Watching?

Would you consider watching raptors as the holy grail of bird watching? Some say yes, while some would say no. That really depends on your interest. Speaking of interest, bird watching is like being a doctor in a hospital. In a hospital most doctors are General Practitioners or "GPs" as they are commonly called. These are the doctors who could tell the type of sickness or where they came from by just looking/checking at your general physical features. Then there are also specialist who dig deep into a specific areas of an organ or disease. Likewise in birding, there are also "GPs" i.e birders who can generally tell you that this is a red-eyed bulbul and not a cream-vented bulbul by looking at the bird's eye etc etc. On the other hand there are also birders who would only indulged in a specific bird species, for example raptors or hornbills. Similarly in other countries you have people who researched solely on penguins, hummingbird, Bali mynah, albatross and Californian condor to name you a few. These are the people who would surely know the inside and outside of the bird species so to speak. Nonetheless wherever they have came from, most birders i believe would have started as 'GPs' and slowly progressing into a specialist birder.

The recent calls from the birds of prey at Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson has tempted me to sojourned the place again especially with the reported appearance of an Eurasian Hobby by a group of raptor counters. Unfortunately i failed to see it but i did saw a few other interesting birds of prey and other common birds. All the birds of prey shown here were seen between 12.15pm to 14.25 hrs. Weather was hot but bearable with occasional gust of wind blowing from northwest. Here are some of their photos:

Changeable Hawk Eagle - Dark Morph

A local resident raptor. Everyday sure can get one!

Oriental Honey Buzzard (OHB)

I am not sure whether it was screaming or panting but i am pretty sure that this is an orientalis and not the resident Crested Honey Buzzard.

Oriental Honey Buzzard (male)

At a glance it would look like a Crested Serpent Eagle (CSE) but the above raptor was just another OHB. However it really sounded like a CSE when we heard its calls.

In addition to eagles we (i.e. me and a few other bird photographers) have glimpses of accipiters as well - mostly Chinese Goshawk (formerly known as Chinese Sparrowhawk) and Japanese Sparrowhawk.

I will start with Japanese Sparrowhawk

(Some clues: yellow orbital ring, lack of mesial stripe, red eye) - you can go a notch further such as to check whether its a male/female, adult/juvenile, first year, 2nd year bird etc.

According to Robert DeCandido et al in "Birding Asia" magazine (21) 2014, accipiters posed the greatest identification challenge when raptor counting began in Southern Thailand back in September 2003. Do you know what that means? It means that expert sometimes can get it wrong as well and you too can be a great specialist birder if you could master the features of a raptor.   

All the above photos show a single Japanese Sparrowhawk in different flight sequence.

The one below shows another individual.

This one flew much higher.


The Chinese Goshawk were more abundant (about 30 - 50 birds) but they flew much higher than the  Japanese Sparrowhawks. Their identification was mainly referred to its wing tips. Although Shikra would have some black tip at its primaries but they were more faint then those of Chinese Goshawk. Have a look below:

Looks a bit like a male Pied Harrier from a distance.

What do you think about the bird below?

Shikra? No lah ! i believe it was just a Chinese Goshawk.  

If you have read what Robert DeCandido et al have reported in "Birding Asia" magazine (21) 2014, it was said that "readers wishing to improve their identification skills are urged to photograph as many accipiters in flight as possible. It is amazing how much detail can be captured even with a short telephoto lens.....". They further added that "there can be a big difference between what was 'seen' on a moving raptor as compared with what is later revealed in an enlarged image" ! So apa tunggu lagi? Go and grab a 600mm or 800mm now but make sure you have all the necessary abs and biceps to carry them first of all.

In addition to the accipiters, i did saw some Peregrine Falcon and Black Baza too:

A bird of prey with an unmistakable body and wing pattern.

They were all heading eastwards.

Peregrine Falcon (Japonensis)

I saw two but the raptor counters on that day reported three. Their stats should be more accurate as they were at the site from dusk to dawn.

Aside from the above migrant raptors, i did saw a few passerine migrants as well. 

Could this be a Brown Breasted Flycatcher instead of an Asian Brown Flycatcher? It looks like the tail is less notch than an Asian Brown Flycatcher. The Brown Breasted Flycatcher is currently called 'Brown Chested Jungle Flycatcher'. It seems that it is also called Layard's flycatcher. Current status: vulnerable! 

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Black-Winged Flycatcher Shrike

I have placed this bird under the migrant list as i could only see them occasionally (that was based on my personal experience). From a far and under a shade, it looks like a black and white bird but a closer look at the bird appears that it has some bluish feathers.

Nice colors right?

Now how about this one?

Look Ma i could turn my head 180 degrees, No sweat !

From the field guide explanation, the above bird is most likely a female or a juvenile Black-Winged Flycatcher Shrike.

Local birds did not disappoint me either.

Wreathed Hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus)

Not kidding you ! This is a Wreathed Hornbill which flew in front of us and i believe everyone on that day was awed by its presence. Mainly reported in the forest and there were only a few reports of it been sighted near the coastline eg Pulau Langkawi.

Note: although this hornbill is under the category of 'least concern' (at the moment) but according to Bird Life International data its population is declining due to habitat destruction and poaching.

This was the second Wreathed Hornbill which flew by an hour after the first one. From the field guide explanation, the above two birds should be a male Wreathed Hornbill as a female would have a pale blue gular pouch instead. According to Khoo Swee Seng who has been a regular raptor watch coordinator here, wreathed hornbill has been spotted on several occasions at this location. So it looks like they have embraced this place as their home as well.

Javan Mynah

According to a survey done by the Singapore Bird Group, Javan Mynah has been the most sighted bird in Singapore so far in 2015.

I believe the above two photos may have been a Germaine Swiflet. There were lots of Barn Swallow flying around too but they were too fast for my lens.

How about this one - a House Swift?

Van Hasselt's Sunbird (formerly known as "Purple-Throated Sunbird")

This is actually an awesomely colorful bird if you can just get it on the right exposure.

Dusky Langur (Trachypithecus obscurus)

It looks quite sad to see me leaving but no worries i will be back !

A point to note: local researchers should be encouraged to publish or share more of their research works or survey findings in international magazines such as forktail, stilt or even in social media etc. Knowledge is meant to be shared as you know. If you are selfish or too exclusive you can imagine how the world would be now if Thomas Edison refuses to disclose his invention (i could only be typing this under a bright moonlight) or Alexander Flemming only injects himself with the antibiotic called Penicillin.    

Brown-Headed Gull of Peninsular Malaysia

Unlike the Black-Headed Gull which are quite common in Europe, Brown-Headed Gull (Larus brunnicephalus) is reported to breed in Central Asia and winters in South East Asia. At one time Brown-Headed Gulls are quire rare in Malaysia but their regular presence here since in the early 1990s has made them quite a common winter migrant. Recently they have decided to venture closer to the mainland than their usual resting areas along the tide line. So i have had a rare opportunity to view them up close and obtained several interesting photos.

Unlike some waders (eg plovers and sandpipers) which can zig-zagged on the mudflats at incredible speed, Brown-Headed Gulls can be considered a graceful flyer.

Here you can see the typical features of a gull - pronounced gonys and a stubby bill. However not all gulls have a white iris - Black-Headed, Kittiwake and Common Gulls for example have black irises.

A typical pose from a gull.

Their wings can appear quite long when fully stretched

From the above photo you can see the white patches at the tip of its primaries which is a distinct feature for this species.

It appears that a juvenile Brown-Headed Gull is slightly different in some features. See its photos below:

Assuming that the above photos indeed refer to a juvenile Brown Headed Gull then you can see that their bill and leg colors appear orangey, its iris are black and, there is an absence of white patches at its primaries. Also can be seen are the broad black trailing edges on its secondary and primary flight feathers as well as the appearance of a partial black terminal tail band.

As they moved towards summer, their head color will changed into brownish.

From the above two photos you can see that the coloration of their head has began to changed into its brown summer plumage. Other features which you can see here are the emergence of white patches at the tip of its primaries, the legs are more reddish while the black terminal tail band has disappeared as well as the black edges at its primary and secondary feathers. The local name for this gull is: "Camar Topeng Coklat" (Allen J & Pearson, 2012) which literally means a "Brown Masked Gull". It is a protected bird in Malaysia: Akta Pemuliharaan Hidupan Liar 2010 (Act 716) - Schedule 2, Appendix 1(CITES).

From the recent trip, i have also manage to observed the food it takes which were mainly fishes.

However according to the "Handbook of the Birds of the World" (HBW), their diet also consisted of shrimps, insects, worms, rodents, plant shoots and winged termites. One important thing to note here is that the fishes caught near factories which allow its effluents to flow into the sea would taste differently than those caught/eaten away from those factories (info was noted from my conversation with the folks who lives near the river mouth). I just wonder whether these birds would felt the same !

Until we meet again in the next winter break, i said adieus to them!

Have a pleasant trip back to your breeding grounds!