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Tanjong Karang ricefields - 11th
December I visited these
fields in the last planting season. That was when I was
seeking out the Wood Swallows and Drongos for my Video collections.
That time I remembered seeing the wet and new fields were filled with Waders. Yak! I was
influenced to exclude Waders in birding trips. They are dull colored
and had so little marginal differences that makes identification
dubious. That was even last year, come to think about it. This year,
by chance I saw this season's harvesting by a stroke of luck. Then I
followed up and had
earlier made a trip with Jan. On this day, I came alone once more trying to
get more and better pictures of the Green Sandpiper.
I did not have the chance, the fields
were left bare and parched. Waiting for the planting season. The
usual residents birds were present. Wood Swallows and Blue-tailed B. But
at last I saw a lifer - a Common Snipe.
27th December -This
trip Uncle Foo was involved. His regular birding sites was some 30
kilometer further north in Kampong Haji ???. He had just returned
over the Christmas Holiday from Parit Java and Sungei Balong. There
he had
sighted the Marsh Harrier and the Pranticole. Just wondering whether
"My" field would yield the same diversity.
Upon arrival and just
before going off the Main Road, we were greeted by an Oriental Pied
Hornbill, a good start. Then we turned in. Very timely indeed. The farmer, that day
was performing the tillage. We stopped. There on the far end was a
Eastern Marsh Harrier crowded by a group Brahminy Kites. This day, I learned
to identify the juvenile of the Kite which all the while I mistook as having the
same plumage as the parents. There were the Egrets, the full range
- Little to the Great. Another member of the group was the Chinese
Pond Heron.
It was a successful
trip, as it was long time ago since Uncle Foo had seen the Wood Swallow and I
learn a thing about the Black vis-a-vis Ashy Drongo.
30th December -There
was not much opportunity to do photography with the group around in
my last trip. Once again, confirmed that birding and photography do
not get on that well. This day I made a beeline for the fields
together with Henry. The weather was fine. Almost immediately upon
arrival, a couple of Chinese Pond H. were waiting, one in breeding
plumage too. Then after that followed by the Marsh Harrier, some 200
meters further up the road. I did not had much luck with the Harrier
as they were some 300 meters away. At the limit of my scope's
capacity. A promising good day outing that started good, didn't look that
enterprising after all.
We couldn't find a single Sandpiper in sight. Just as were about to
give up, another field yielded me a lifer. A Little ring Plover. The
farmer informed us that the bird life would be more intense when the
fields are flooded. That is on 22nd January 2004. Chinese New Year's
Day.
After that, we drove
around the area with no further result. On the way, we passed a
prepared field with a couple of birds. Almost giving up hope of
finding more birds, we were not aware that the field was filled with a few groups of Sandpiper. Well,
upon discovering, we waited for them to get use with our presence. I got a good comparison between the Green and the Wood Sandpiper.
Both properly scoped.
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