trip Report - visit to Bidor open country

Fruiting :- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+ 10 [Full flowers+]	Weather:- Wet 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Dry [cloudy+]

Overall Situation :- This much talked destination recommended by Anthony Lau was frequently visited by birders in the last weeks with positive results. We, too, should not miss out the opportunity but to check the place. True enough, the place was more lively than I had imagined. I am well versed with this forest but have never noticed such a thriving bird community here. For that matter, any part of the Selangor's coastline.

What was not highlighted in reports, is life in the mangrove forest where the bund of a couple of kilometers borders. This patch too, had a diversity I have never encountered previously.

For that day, bird numbers on the mudflats was above average. Diversity, I would rate it as moderate. Diversity in the forest on the other hand was very good when compared with Kuala Selangor Nature Park. Up till the time when the sun was overhead, we could still spot birds going about their routine, although, chances of sighting birds had thinned down tremendously.

What happened this day :-We had planned for the trip early in the week. At the eleventh hour only 3 of us made the trip. When we left Petaling Jaya at 7.00 am, the weather was dull and dark grey clouds threatened the going-on for the day. I decided to skip Ijok as our breakfast stop. We were heading for Sungei Buloh which I know for a fact is a fair size township.

Upon arrival, eh! Why so quiet? The market along the trunk, the focal point of the town, was closed for refurbishing. This was the meeting point where the people, the activities and where our breakfast shop should be. The whole place looks deserted and shops closed. Then I thought we should go round the corner as alternative. Try our luck at another settlement, the traditional village of Sarsaran.

OK, this was where the morning crowd had gathered, the make shift market was there. Breakfast was a "Nothing-to shout-about affair". After filling our stomach and returning to town, I remembered a sketch with the MNS and the mention of BP Petrol station. However trying to be "one-up", I took the junction opposite a Petronas Station and into some farm. Straight away, I ran into landmark that was all wrong. Back trekked and into the road that I knew which was running beside the river bank. As expected the jetty came into sight. We stopped and beyond the jetty, we could see that both banks of the river of mudflats were dotted with white birds - Egret. Big and small. Oh! there were a couple of grey ones and smaller ones. Then a flock of silvery Sandpipers scuttling from one bank to another. Soon as the birds were ID-ed, the excitement of having such a birds scene also died down as quickly as we searched. Overall it was a sight to behold

The jetty at the apex of a sharp bend on the river, was situated some hundreds meters from the town. The main road passes over the river that now split the new and old township. Equidistant to the left of where we stood -the estuary Right - The view of town from the jetty

The scene here was one of the river meandering. Down stream from jetty, the river went into another sharp bend. The forest near the jetty was also filled with birds' life. There were the usual Ashy Tailorbird, Collared Kingfishers and Common Flameback.

Picture her shows bird life on the mudflats.

Satisfied with feasting our eyes at the mudflats, we moved on. Out from the jetty and onto the bund. It was very straight running track stretching for just over a kilometer. Coming from Sungei Buloh the low lying land on the right, cultivated, slope away from the raised bund, separated by an irrigation canal. On the left, a tiny band of forested mangrove trees. During the couple of hours we spent there, there was hardly a quiet moment. We were surprised to see the Straw-headed Bulbul in the mangrove forest, trying to ascertain whether it was the Grey-capped or the Sunda Pgymy Woodpecker. Waiting for the Chestnut-winged Cuckoo to make a re-appearance. Running after the Drongo Cuckoo. The Ashy Drongo, Great Tit and the Flycatcher were all there, motionless for a while. In total we counted the sighting 8 pairs of Collared Kingfishers and 7 Black-capped all by itself.

We left the bund road just as the clock struck 12 noon. Off we went to Pasir Penanpang for lunch. The crowd was thin and we had a good meal. After that, I suggested that we check on the status of the rice fields. Harvesting was over and now it is the "wait" to do the next planting in January. We were there looking for Snipes and also what the field has to offer at this time of the year. The usual Bee-eaters and Wood Swallows were there. This time around there were the Little-ringed Plover and a passage migrant, the Marsh Sandpiper. A Cinnamon Bittern flew into the bund just meters away from us and that was one of my lifers for the day.

Both destinations were rated as above average. It was one of the more successful days of birding for some time to come.

Other highlights for the day:- Of special mention today, should be the Great Egret and Great Tit. Standing alone, it was difficult by gauging the kink on its neck, to establish whether the bird was an Intermediate or Great Egret.

Now that we had gone into greater details, we could share this experiences with you. The Great Egret is most easily ID through the "S" kink made by the long neck. Next is to guess the size of the bird and lastly to differentiate, check the bill and also shape of the head. That morning we only had the Chinese Egret for comparison and the "Kink" was sporadically displayed. So we looked for the eye. The area behind the eye should extend beyond the eye ball.

Next look at the picture above, the tibia is of a lighter colour. All these diagnostic features can be used when comparing this bird with the Intermediate Egret.

For a long time, I had marveled at the fact that some House Crow are not entirely black. Here is one, having an obviously brown patch at its neck. That morning, this scavenger turned thief flew in front of me. Now I confirmed that there is this sub-species of House Crow.

It not everyday that we get to hear sweet whistling tune. That day, we heard a continuous call of what sounds like a Sunbird, but sweeter and each tune ended with a louder melodic note. There at 12 o'clock was this Great Tit. This was the second time, I had followed through an unfamiliar tune to spot a lifer. The last time was the Mangrove Whistler. In this respect, Mangrove Birds, less exposed to human stayed on longer, enabling us to spot them.

Oblivion to our presence the few

Herons	Kingfisher	Woodpecker	Sandpipers	Others
Little Heron	Collared Kingfisher	Common Flameback	Common Sandpiper	Great Tit
Grey Heron	Black-capped Kingfisher	Grey-capped Woodpecker	Marsh Sandpiper	White-breasted Wood-Swallow
Chinese Pond Heron	White-throated Kingfisher	Rufous Woodpecker	Terek Sandpiper	<32sungei_buloh.htm">Cinnamon Bittern
Egret	Egret	Drongo	Wood Sandpiper	Chestnut-winged Cuckoo?
Little Egret	Chinese Egret	Cuckoo Drongo	Little-ringed Plover	Straw-headed Bulbul
Intermediate Egret	Great Egret	Ashy Drongo		<32sungei_buloh.htm">Asian Brown Flycatcher