Waders in April 2022

According to a research, birds in the order Charadriiformes are commonly called shorebirds which include plovers (Charadriidae). Meanwhile birds in the family Scolopacidea are commonly known as sandpipers or snipes. Over here we call shorebirds as waders and they are mostly migratory birds. The month of April and May is the best time to see them before they leave for their "summer camp". This is when the males will dress to their nines. 

In April recently, I had the opportunity to visit my local waders' patch which is just a 30 minutes drive away. Upon arriving, I was surprised to see a couple of Selangor birders (Bryan and Yen Yi) already gearing up for the waders. Later more birders joined us including Dr Nur Munira, her husband and Hor Kee from Penang. It was already 2pm when we reach there and the tide has already receded quite a bit.

Birders from Penang and Selangor waiting for action.

The waders could be seen resting at a nearby mangroves about 150 meters away from us but with a scope the birders can easily identify each of them.

Dr Nur Munira and her husband discussing on the possible waders which can be seen. 

Waiting for the waders to disembark from their roosting area or perhaps new arrivals.

We started with just a few waders. These Kentish Plovers were just one of them. 

 

                            Kentish Plover                                         Kentish Plover                                           
                                                                   

Lesser Sand Plover

Occasionally we could see a large flock such as these Great Knots taking off. 

That's a Red Knot there.

There were also some Pacific Golden Plovers

Pacific Golden Plovers and a Great Knot 

Pacific Golden Plovers, Great Knot and two Red Knots

Asian Dowitchers

Great Knots and a Lesser Sand Plover

Red Knots

Since most of the waders were resting and hiding behind the mangroves, I decided to return to the same site the following day. This time I arrived just when the tide is rising.

Most waders were seen looking for a suitable landing site like these Black-bellied Plovers - previously known as Grey Plovers. There is also a Nordmann's Grenshank in the above photo (the bird above the Black-bellied plover in the bottom middle of the photo) according to our resident expert Dave Bakewell.

 They can be seen flying to and fro.

 More and more waders can be seen as the tide receded.  

These are mainly Pacific Golden Plover which make up the 2nd largest group among the several thousands waders observed during my 2nd trip. The ones below them were Red Knots.

 

Pacific Golden Plovers - they numbered a few hundreds.

Bar-tailed Godwits flying in a formation like some plane squadron.

As the tide receded further more and more waders came - these are knots I believe.

They came like a swarm of bees.

If they can't find a suitable landing spot, they will fly off again and return later.

All of a sudden, a huge flock of waders emerge from the mangroves on the left from where I stood.

The flock was so thick at one time that it block the view of Penang island. What a sight !

The wave headed towards my direction.

They are mainly Lesser Sand Plover which formed the largest waders' group observed. 

You can see three Ruddy Turnstones among them. 

Not many Gulls were seen this time.

These are Brown-headed Gulls I believe. They are the most common gull species seen here.

Well well ! looks who's there ? it's a Kentish Plover !

Wonder where they would go while waiting for the tide to recede?

Not all waders takes off immediately to the skies. Some of them prefers to fly under the radar.

These are Common Redshanks. They formed the third largest group in this latest survey. 

A late departure.

Common Redshank.

I noticed that some waders will return to check how far has the tide receded before the main flock returns. These Common Redshanks were seen doing just that.

Then more and more waders follow suit. 

There were 16 Red Knots alone in the above photo as identified by Dave Bakewell.

The Ruddy Turnstones have returned too.

They were probably looking for a place to land further up.

They came back in batches most of the time.

Part of the big flock which has returned to the same spot which they have disembarked earlier. Note the tide was still high at that time but Hor Kee has told us earlier that the tides in this region will recede as fast as they rises.

Another huge wave of waders returning. Note how the tide has gone down quickly.

The waders will be leaving again soon. And by late July you can expect them to return to our shore again. Some still with their smartly adorned summer dress.  

These are RNS I believe.

Here are some other birds seen around the vicinity besides the waders.

A Pacific Reef Egret has just arrived.

Looks like it has got itself a shell. 

Stuck between two coconuts and a log?

We saw a number of Indian Pond Herons this time.

They criss-crossed like the waders too.

A Great Egret having no difficulty wading during high tide.

A handicapped Common Tern.

These are what the waders will take to refuel themself before departing home.

They are sea worms and they appear in hundreds. I guess that could explain why there were so many waders here although not all of them eat these worm species.

They can break up easily which makes them an easy meal for some waders.

AS THE WADERS SAY "WE WILL BE BACK SOON" SO AM I ! 

Birds in April 2022

For the month of April, there are fewer birds seen because less birding trips. Kena marah from wife lah! So have to kwai kwai stay at home. Here are just a few interesting ones.

Blue-throated Bee Eater

They certainly look stunning in their breeding plumage.

Slaty-legged Crake

I went all the way to Penang just to see this uncommon crake. It was the first time this swampy area received such as interesting bird. At first it appeared at 7.30am and I missed it because I have just arrived at 8.00am. More and more birders came later as well.

Most crakes are illusive birds as they are mainly shy and cryptic. So to see such an uncommon crake out in the open its a wonderful sight to behold. 

After enjoying the fleeting views of the crake, one kind birder told me that he spotted an owl nearby. So my next question was "Where"? and off I went looking for it.

Spotted Wood Owl

After a short walk, I saw something dark at the same location as pointed out by the earlier birder. Luckily it was still fast asleep. So it ain't going anywhere.

 

As there were some noises below, it kept one eye open. After while I left the sleeping owl alone and went on to look for other birds. 

Cattle Egret

I usually see humans chewing a twig in the mouth but not a bird. This Cattle Egret was shot from inside my car which was stationed just beside it.

Later that day I went back to my kampung to search for more birds. As I was driving slowly along the gravel road (which was very smooth after someone has repaired it), I spotted a black object dropping on the road from a distance.

Afterwards I saw a big black bird came out from a nearby bush taking away the object. Immediately I knew it was a Greater Coucal. The above photo was taken inside my car. Not an easy shot as I need to shoot while the car is moving.

It went straight back to the roadside bush from where it came from. 

I was curious to know what was the thing which it has taken. So I drove slowly and stop right beside it. Then I realise that it was a mutilated squirrel. I came down and started looking up at the trees thinking it could be the work of a musang or a macaque. 

From where I stood I saw a raptor circling above.

Its a Changeable Hawk Eagle (Dark Morph)

It kept circling above the tree where the 'dark object' had fallen earlier.

Hence I believe the earlier squirrel could have been dropped by this same raptor. It was probably checking whether there is a possibility that it could retrieve its incomplete meal.

After awhile, I guess it gave up and flew further away.

Oops! Initially I thought this could be a Dark-necked Tailorbird but another birder informed me that it is a breeding male Common Tailorbird instead - ID from its long tail streamers !! It was actually looking at the circling raptor above.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW. NEXT POST WILL BE ALL ABOUT WADERS !

Birds with red underwear !

Pittas are probably one of the most sort after birds by birders. They are attractive yet elusive. Their cryptic habits require tons of patience from birders but when they really show up in the open, there's where the adrenalin of happiness starts to flow. Even the not so colourful Rusty-naped Pitta would created a storm of excitement among the birders. 

Recently I had the chance to see a Hooded Pitta which happened to visit my local patch.

While other birders were waiting patiently at the birding port, this pitta decided to explore us from behind. How it managed to escape our eyes is beyond explanation as we have earlier seen it in front of us.

This one was actually playing hide-and-seek with us. Knowing its sneaky ways, I decided to leave the birding port momentarily and went searching for it. From under the thick undergrowth, finally I was able to spot it. 

It was happily hopping away in the undergrowth.

The above photo was the last shot before it flew off to another location.

Since I heard that this Hooded Pitta was very confiding and probably will be staying longer, I decided to look for it again. Nowadays I have behaved like a twitcher - only goes out for uncommon birds when other birders have reported them first. This time I reached the port a little over 8.00am - already quite late according to birding standards. There were already three birders at the same port ready to blast their "bazookas" away. 

Just a few minutes later, it hopped silently out from its hideout. I believe it was the same Hooded Pitta I have seen a few days back.

It came out one hopp at a time.

Instead of hopping onto the log, it decided to go sideways.

It then stopped momentarily. At this time the camera shutters are already working non-stop.

Only its head was moving - first left, then front.

After a few minutes appearing in the open, it decided to hopped back into the bushes again. This time at the opposite side from where it first appear. Later I heard that it did not appear again until about 11.00am. By then I have already went off with a big smile on my face having captured my lifer for the first time.

My next twitcher adventure was slightly further away - this time at a swampy area in Penang mainland. I have actually came to this location to see the more uncommon / scarce Slaty-legged Crake (Rallina eurizonoides) which has made its maiden appearance here. It did not disappoint the many birders here including yours truly. Again I reach this location at about 8.30am and there were already two birders sitting patiently for their quarry. As time past more and more birders came. 

Before the main target came out (i.e the Crake), we were entertained by other birds. First appeared was a Mangrove Blue Flycatcher then a couple of Abbot Babblers and then this magnificent Blue-winged Pitta.

Like typical pitta style, it slowly hopped out in the open.

I have seen Blue-winged Pitta at this location before but not as open like this one.

This pitta seem quite confiding despite that the birders were just about 5 meters away from it.

After a few minutes of doing some catwalk on a concrete slab, it went off to where it came from. Yours truly also went off to look for another lifer - the Spotted Wood Owl. 

ADIOUS! FOR NOW !