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.

Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

Black Kite (Milvus migrans) is said to be an uncommon winter visitor in West Peninsular Malaysia. It can also be found in Europe, Africa, India, South East Asia right to Australia. Its from the same family group of Accipitridae just like the black shouldered kite but much bigger (55-60cm) as compared to black shouldered kite (31cm - 35cm).

I had the opportunity to see some Black Kites in the recent trip to Ulu Dedap and here are some of its photos:

This could be a sub-adult as its still has whithish streaks at its belly.

Looks like this bird's primary feathers (left side) and its tails have been ripped off.

Here you can see the slightly forked tail frequently associated with this kite.

View from below.

Its feathers certaintly look black from the top.

Lang Bahu Hitam (Black-Shouldered Kite / Black-Winged Kite)

Lang Bahu Hitam ataupun nama saintifiknya, Elanus caeruleus daripada keluarga Accipitridae adalah satu-satu helang yang boleh ditemui di kawasan pinggir hutan dan tanah lapang khususnya berhampiran dengan sawah padi/bendang (kalau ikut loghat utara) sehingga ke 500 meter dari aras laut. Lang Bahu Hitam boleh di jumpai di negara Afrika sehingga ke Australia termasuk Malaysia. Jadi distribusi helang ini agak luas. Saiz burung dewasa adalah antara 31cm - 35cm dan makanan kegemarannya adalah tikus. Atas sebab ini kadang kala helang ini juga dipanggil sebagai Lang Tikus !

Bahagian atas badan lang ini berwarna kelabu pudar manakala bahagian sayap sekundernya berwarna hitam. Matanya berwarna merah dan bahagian bawah badannya berwarna putih.

Burung betina akan bertelur sebanyak 3-5 biji di mana sarangnya dibina atas pokok yang tidak setinggi seperti helang-helang yang lain. Musim pembiakannya dikatakan sepanjang tahun.

Salah satu ciri istimewa burung pemangsa ini ialah tabiatnya yang memerhati mangsa dari atas sambil mengipas-gipas sayapnya sebelum menjunam ke arah mangsa. Tabiat ini tidak ditonjolkan oleh mana-mana helang yang lain.

Lang Bahu Hitam juga mencari mangsanya dari tempat yang statik seperti dari tiang kayu atau dawai telepon. Lang Bahu Hitam adalah satu-satunya burung lindungan di negara Malaysia di bawah akta 76/72. Kalau senang jom pi memburung!

Birds @ Chikus

While on the way back from Ulu Dedap, Mr Rafi was kind enough to show me the roosting site of the uncommon Grey-Headed Lapwings which is located at a place called Chikus.

Here is a Grey-Headed Lapwing foraging at a patch of land covered with some kind of white substance discarded by the villages. The birds don't seem to be bothered about it.

A flock of Grey Headed Lapwings about to land.

This was one of a few Red-Wattled Lapwings spotted at this place.

We also saw a lone Purple Swamphen.

This place has a lot more birds then seen here. It was probably due to the fact that we reached the place close to 10.00am. Nevertheless i have managed to tick one more lifer here.

Other Birds of Ulu Dedap Rice Fields

In between the harrier surveys, we also took the opportunity to do bird watching. You will be amazed to find out that there were more than harriers in this huge rice field. Here are some of them:

There were probably hundreds of these egrets - mostly cattle and little egrets

There were also plenty of this Barn Swallow

A Grey Heron was also presence in this rice field

A juvenile Brahminy Kite.

This Black Kite was also presence here.

A lone Common Sandpiper was also sighted.

Pond Herons can also be found here though not in abundance.

This is a juvenile Lesser Coucal

It took less than a minute for Yang Chong to id this White-Winged Tern. He explained that all you need to look out for is the "headphones"

A common bird at this rice field, a Water Cock.

A Yellow-bellied Prinia singing in the morning sun.

A common Paddyfield Pipit living to its name sake.

A recent post by Dave Bakewell on pipits in his blog has got eveyone excited. So i decided to post more pictures of the pipits here:

I believe these are Paddyfield Pipits. 

This White-breasted Waterhen can also be found here.

This is a Zitting Cisticola - a common bird at rice fields.

According to Yang Chong, the cotton like thing in this Z. Cisticola's beak was actually a display for attracting females ! 

Yang Chong pointed to Mr Rafi to look for his lifer amongst this group of swallows...after searching he found his Sand Martin ! (second bird from the left, showing a brown breast band)

A closer look at the Sand Martin

Another Sand Martin? (or a juv Barn Swallow?).

Before the sun sets in this rice field, we managed to see a few more birds such as lesser adjutant, stonechat, purple swamphen, purple herons etc. This place is certaintly worth to be considered the next IBA.