Greater Painted Snipe rescue and release

I had 1 day off to settle my water account matter with AirSelangor and was busy shopping for groceries when I saw messages from my Sarawak friend about a lost wild bird. Her friend had found a wild snipe species in her house in Shah Alam. With some time to spare in the afternoon, I volunteered to drop by her house in Bukit Rimau, Shah Alam to assist. Elian (Julianna's friend) found the bird, dazed with feathers scattered all over her room early in the morning. It was caught by one of her cats, survived that encounter and Elian placed it safely in a cage (for her pet dog) away from her two dogs and cat. She had fed it some water and when I reached her house from KL, the snipe was frozen still inside the cage. It was still spooked and was trying to wriggle itself free when I held it for a few seconds to look for any injuries. It had a slightly swollen left eye. Other than that, it looked healthy and had pooped a bit in the cage. I held it for a second time whilst transferring it into a 1.5 ft x 1.5 ft box, whilst Elian hugged her cat, keeping it at a safe distance away from the snipe. We covered the top of box with a piece of matting giving the snipe enough breathing space. I could hear it moving about in box whilst I was driving from Bukit Rimau Residential area to Shah Alam Botanical Gardens, which had a patch of paddyfields (for educational/recreational purpose). Driving to the nearest agricultural paddyfields would take more than 1 hour. That was a long journey in a box for a snipe which was not worth the risk.

The Snipe was spreading its wings and looked restless inside the box. I placed the box on the ground in an area with tallest grasses at the Botanical Gardens, with paddyfield behind and a big pond nearby. The Snipe walked straight into the grasses and disappeared in a matter of minutes. After checking with friends and looking through Craig Robson's Field Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia (2000 edition), the rescued Snipe was a male Greater Painted Snipe. Wetlands such as paddyfields are its usual habitat. Greater Painted Snipe (male) with its chick were seen walking in the paddyfields of Batang Tiga, Malacca during a 2016 trip which you can read HERE. A short video of the Greater Painted Snipe below (before it was released). It was an unexpected and incidental bird for me that afternoon. May Mother Nature extend its life for a long time to come, until it reaches its final (paddyfield? or other wetlands?) destination.      

Rail Good Time in Malacca

 

Sungai Rambai (borders two States namely Malacca and Johor) and Batang Tiga are well-known for their birdlife particularly waterbirds such as ducks, rails, snipes and waders like the Wood Sandpiper. I had the rare Sunday afternoon to spare in looking out for some of these. The Slaty-breasted Rail was the last waterbird sighted in Malacca. Slaty-breasted Rail was also spotted before in Sungai Rambai, when Wild Bird Club Malaysia made a trip to Malacca back in 2016. More about this trip can be read HERE. I've also seen the White-browed Crake in Sungai Rambai, and this crake was smaller than the White-breasted Waterhen. Both crake and waterhen occupied the same ditch, with the latter chasing the smaller crake away from its territory.  

 Seeing this Slaty-breasted Rail reminded me of the Okinawa Rail (illustration above is sourced from IUCN website, with Copyright under Del Hoyo), which unlike the former, has a much gloomier future in terms of its survival. The Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus Okinawae) is categorized as an Endangered Species under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) List. The Okinawa Rail is described as below in eBird portal, with calls that are termed as "terrifying":-

A candy-red bill, curving white head stripe, and lacey black-and-white striping make this a unique and attractive species. Found only in and around the Yanbaru Forest on Okinawa Island, where it forages on the forest floor, often in pairs or small flocks. Most frequently seen as it crosses roads, trails, and clearings. Gives a variety of different calls, typically given during dusk, dawn, or nighttime hours. All are somewhat terrifying, a medley of shrill yelps, high-pitched squeals, and a laughter-like clattering.

More information about this endemic Rail species of Okinawa is available HERE. The Yanbaru forest of Okinawa Island in Japan, is home to this special Rail. This Okinawa Rail, known locally as "Agashi" prefers to roost in gently sloping branches of forest trees. A total of 111 bird species including the endemics such as this Rail, Okinawa Woodpecker, Amami Woodcock are described in a pamphlet on Birds of Yanbaru Forest, Okinawa. It is currently one of my bedtime reading material, with the hope that all 111 birds will appear in my dreams. Visiting Japan and the Yanbaru forests of Okinawa to see these birds would definitely be a dream come true for me.  

Sarawak - Land of Hornbills AND Orangutan

Stork-billed Kingfisher, Sarawak Cultural Village

The Asian Bird Fair 2019 was held in Kuching, Sarawak from 27th October to 1st November 2019. The Kuching Birdwatching Club had invited members from Wild Bird Club Malaysia to the Fair as volunteers.  More information about KBC can be read HERE 
It was the 10th Asian Bird Fair, and I joined to help out on garden birdwatching sessions with schoolchildren and their teachers from schools around Kuching district. I enjoyed guiding and birdwatching with a very well-behaved group of schoolchildren who were accompanied by their 2 teachers from Chung Hua No. 5 primary school, along Kuching Waterfront that Saturday morning. It was good to see the Pied Triller showing up as we started our birdwatching in the garden area quite late at around 10.30am. We ended at around 11.15am, then sat down with all schoolchildren to recap all the birds that we saw. One of the schoolchildren diligently wrote down the names of each of the garden bird species seen. Some of them visited WBCM's booth at the Fair, and bought the notebook (with Malayan Rail Babbler sketch by Tang Tuck Hong). The Rhinoceros Hornbill was the official mascot of the 10th Asian Bird Fair and this mascot was a hit amongst the crowd, particularly the schoolchildren. It was with a heavy heart that I had to miss the trip to see the Far Eastern Curlews at the Sejingkat Power Station Ash Ponds, which was nearby Kuching. Work-related matter intervened crushing my hopes of seeing Far Eastern Curlews for the first time in my life. However, the Gods were kind to me and gifted me with a Black Bittern the very next day at the Sarawak Cultural Village. An added bonus was the Hooded Pitta which perched for less than 1 minute, on a low branch before it disappeared into the marshlands in fast flight mode. This pitta species has a very special zig-zag way of flying low and we only heard its distinct calls thereafter.
The eBird Checklists for Semenggoh Wildlife Centre can be viewed HERE and Sarawak Cultural Village can be viewed HERE.  
Sarawak is also home to Semi-wild Orangutans, according to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre website HERE. We were lucky to see one of the Orangutans that morning. The young adult was busy trying to split a coconut into two against the tree (as shown in picture below).

The Orangutan came down from the tree, lured by the ripened bananas laid out on the wooden platform by the Park Wardens.

The orangutan started to stuff as many bananas as it could in its mouth, as demonstrated by the pictures below:)  With a mouthful of bananas, it started to climb back up to tree to enjoy its meal in private far from the prying eyes of us humans who were delighted to have seen it in its (almost) natural environment.

 This Centre serves as a sanctuary for rescued orangutans which are trained on how to fend for themselves before they are released to into the forest. Fascinating to learn that the Orangutans share almost 97% of the same DNA as us, humans. Unfortunately whilst human beings have the United Nations Conventions to protect the rights of minorities such as women and children, the orangutans rely on human beings to ensure their right to live in forests without being captured as pets.

Talang Forest on a Hazy Day

Peninsular Malaysia was again hit by haze from Indonesia. Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley area were not spared from the rampant smoke being blown towards our homes from the burn and slash ancient method of clearing vast swathes of land in Sumatra, Indonesia. The Talang-Langkap forest was also not spared although visibility in the forest was much better compared to that in KL. Charred smell of ash was an unwelcome reminder that the haze was present in the state of Negeri Sembilan as well. After a hearty breakfast in the town of Tanjung Ipoh with Ang, Mr Liew, Raj, JJ, Vincent and Agnes, we headed straight into the forest to look for as many of our avian friends as possible, in a forest on a hazy Sunday morning. Day trip outing to Talang forest with my friends from Malacca and Negeri Sembilan can be read HERE. 

White-rumped Munia (whitish part not visible in this pic above)

Scarlet Minivet (male)

Leafbird species

Flower, the petals of which work as a natural antiseptic, when rubbed against cuts and bruises.

It is always a challenge to spot the Lesser Green and Greater Green Leafbird species whenever the pair appears, and this particular Green Leafbird species was part of a bird wave that we encountered during the later part of the morning. The Greater Green Leafbird has been classified as a sensitive species on a global scale by eBird, with more about this classification explained HERE. Briefly, this leafbird species is identified as one of the 83 species of Asian birds at risk from commercial trade, in parts of Southeast Asia (particularly Indonesia). We stopped birding around noontime, and headed back to town for lunch. EBird Checklist for Talang can be read HERE

Return of the Black Hornbills

Pair of Black Hornbills, Male on top of tree and Female just below

It was a hot Sunday morning and the White-Bellied Sea-Eagle that soared above the coffeeshop in Segamat, Johor near a freshwater canal, was an incidental raptor that signaled a possibility that the wild birds that I had seen many years ago near the marshlands of my hometown, could be making a comeback. My parents have been in and out of hospitals for the past few months, so birdwatching for me had to be put on hold during the public holidays and even on weekends. However, 45 minutes was all I had to explore the riverside area where I used to bird when I was working in Johor, many years ago. I didn't waste a single minute as I drove like mad to squeeze in as much birdwatching as I could and it was a blissful 45 minutes indeed. Just as I was about to hop back into my car and head back home to ferry my parents out for dinner, a pair of Black Hornbills (Anthracoceros malayanus) flew across the bridge and perched on this bare tree (see picture above). The Oriental Pied Hornbill was heard calling out earlier, and to see the Black Hornbills instead of the Oriental Pied was a pleasant surprise that evening for me. Need to spend some time learning the calls of Black Hornbills which are available through Xeno-Canto website.
More about this riverside area near Segamat, Johor can be read HERE. White-bellied Woodpecker was the first wild bird I encountered when I had stumbled across this riverside in early 2000. I had never seen a White-bellied before so that Woodie really brought endless happiness to me. Not everyday one gets to see one of the largest woodpecker species in the world, here in Malaysia and nearby my hometown.   

Looking for Birds in the Highlands with friends from Taiwan

Bukit Tinggi Japanese Gardens

Friends from Taiwan visited Peninsular Malaysia recently and I was lucky enough to be able to accompany them on the last remaining 2.5 days of their 1-week birdwatching trip. It was a rainy Wednesday evening when I left office at Cyberjaya as I headed towards Bukit Tinggi. Heavy rain in Kuala Lumpur delayed my arrival by half an hour but thank goodness I could skip heavy traffic jams by exiting KL via Duke Highway. Andy Lee had led our Taiwanese friends towards Bukit Tinggi from Fraser Hill and Bentong, Pahang. They had just arrived at Selesa Hillhomes Resort and Mark Ng was getting ready to bring our friends for dinner at Kampung Bukit Tinggi. Mountain Peacock-Pheasant at Japanese Gardens did not disappoint our guests. However, the Ferruginous Partridge did not turn up that morning. Awana Biosphere park was our final birdwatching stop for the day. Just as we were driving downhill towards Genting Sempah, for dinner on the 2nd day of birdwatching session, two White-Crowned Hornbills flew over the road and perched on trees in the opposite hills. Our Taiwanese friends jumped out of the cars that were parked at the safest side of the curb. They stood safely on top of mound of grass in the middle of the road whilst we the drivers sat in our cars observing the hornbills (and the oncoming cars that were driving down from Genting Highlands). White-crowned hornbills' appearance at the end of our birdwatching session before Thursday night dinner at Genting Sempah capped off a good day of birding.
The checklists submitted to eBird Malaysia portal can be viewed below:-
https://ebird.org/malaysia/view/checklist/S57990883
https://ebird.org/malaysia/view/checklist/S57990956
Our Taiwanese friends had a precocious 7 year old girl, Elsa (Mr and Mrs Schumi Wu's daughter) with them throughout their trip. She was all bubbly and energetic at dinnertime. The trail was not suitable for her but the rosewater apple (jambu air) trees and fields surrounding Awana Biopark were just as interesting to her. Little cuckoo doves flew around us at Awana grounds. Some of the birds seen during the full day birdwatching session at Bukit Tinggi and Awana, Genting Highlands were...

Juvenile White-rumped Shama

Red-Billed Malkoha

Red-Billed Malkoha amused us at close range hopping around two trees

Solitary Black-thighed Falconet 

Changeable Hawk-Eagle perched on a rainy day as we were leaving Bukit Tinggi

Paddyfield Pipit perched high on a cable

White-Crowned Hornbill of Genting Sempah

Group photo at Awana Biopark photo credit to Low Kok Hen

Hunt for Green Pigeon species post Global Big Day 2019

Pink-necked Green Pigeon

Pigeons and Doves, there are around 300 species being recognised globally, of which more than 50 species are likely to occur in Southeast Asia according to Ecology Asia's website. A particular Green Pigeon species in Malaysia sparked some excitement for me post Global Big Day 2019. A flock of this Green pigeon species was seen feeding on a fruiting tree in Perdana Botanical Garden (Lake Gardens) in Kuala Lumpur as I ended my Global Big Day birdwatch count there on a hot Saturday morning. The second count site at Paya Indah Wetlands in the afternoon was in the pipeline, so I couldn't stay on to observe the flock of Green Pigeons for a longer period of time.     

The possibility of the Orange-breasted Green Pigeon was there and in order to reconfirm my earlier observation as the Pink-necked OR the Orange-breasted, I made a second trip to Perdana Botanical Gardens on Sunday afternoon. I miscalculated the traffic jam and ended up being stuck for half and hour at the Merdeka Square roundabout. As I made my way to the exact spot where I had seen the flock of green pigeons feeding in the fruiting tree the day before, I was lucky enough to encounter a pair of Golden-fronted Leafbird. This pair were most likely to be escapees from KL bird park which is adjacent to the Lake Gardens. Glad to see this pair flitting about freely within the Botanical Garden grounds. The Golden-fronted Leafbird was the "golden" find for me that Sunday afternoon and all frustration from the horrible and unexpected traffic jam encountered earlier melted away at the sight of this leafbird species. Melodious calls of this Golden-fronted leafbird species were different from the Orange-bellied leafbird that can be found in the montane forests of Peninsular Malaysia.     

Golden-fronted Leafbird

The flock of Green Pigeons flew into the same fruiting tree later in the evening and after observing them for a longer period of time, the pinkish tinges on the neck of the juvenile were visible so it was the Pink-necked species indeed. My checklists submitted for eBird's Global Big Day 2019 initiated by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, for Perdana Botanical Gardens is available HERE, and HERE for outskirts of Paya Indah wetlands and HERE for Cyberjaya, with the final bird heard being the Large-tailed Nightjar.     

Montane Birds of Malaysian Highland

Streaked Spiderhunter

Selangor Bird Fair 2019 was held over two days from 20th to 21st April 2019 at Kuala Kubu Bahru, a quaint town at the foothills of the Titiwangsa range. The town is also popular for its kaya pastries, muffin cakes and there is a shoplot hidden at the end of the corner of the town, which is quite well-known for its curry wantan mee, yong tau foo and claypot mee. The district council of Hulu Selangor hosted this annual event to promote birdwatching amongst the local community, including schoolchildren, college and university students. The closing ceremony was held at Mini Stadium in Kuala Kubu Bahru, which started quite late. I needed to drive back up to Fraser Hill, since I needed to check in at Puncak Inn by 6pm. Luckily I manage to reach the Gap, Selangor in time to birdwatch a bit. My checklist from eBird Malaysia is available HERE. Some of the birds sighted at Fraser Hill included the Streaked Spiderhunter above from the early morning walk near the entrance to Gap Road at Selangor-Pahang border (see checklist HERE), the Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo (don't think I've seen this species yet at Fraser Hill - see checklist HERE), Long-tailed Broadbill, the Malaysian Hill-Partridge (only 1 turned up that day as I sat quietly from across the road - see checklist HERE). Final birdwatching stop was back at the Gap Selangor as I drove down from Fraser Hill. A Gold-Whiskered Barbet was perched out in the open in a bare tree nearby the public toilets and I observed it for a few minutes in the hot mid-day sun. The checklist submitted through eBird Malaysia for this Barbet is available HERE.   

Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo

Malaysian Hill-Partridge (Arborophila campbelli) 

The police station at the Pahang border of Fraser Hill reminds us all of the hills' 100th year anniversary - the Little England of Malaysia celebration of a century in 2019! 

MINDEF accommodation for government staff only

Beautiful yellow moth - food for the montane birds

Talang Forest - Hidden Green Gem in Negeri Sembilan

Black-Bellied Malkoha

Meeting up with my friends from Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to birdwatch on a Sunday morning at a forest in Talang really brings back fond memories. I was a workaholic and due to work travel commitments from 2007 to 2013, I didn't go birdwatching regularly. It was a workshop on waders in 2014 (which you can read about HERE) and helping a dazed Black-backed Kingfisher (which is on the cover of my blog) that led me slowly back to the birdwatching community of Malaysia. I started out birdwatching with my friends from Negeri Sembilan and Malacca, not all of whom are as crazy about birds though since some of them are more into macro-photography, and just enjoying the flora and fauna in the forest. These were my friends whom I joined during a trip to Cambodia in 2014. It was not strictly speaking a birdwatching trip but more of a leisurely group trip to explore Siem Reap, Cambodia. However it was during some stops along forest and paddyfields that some of us could not resist whipping out our binoculars to look for birds. The Blue Rock Thrush even showed up outside our bedroom window where we stayed at Siem Reap almost on the dot every morning at 6.45am. I still remember that rock thrush hopping up onto the tip of the rooftops. The Trips to Tonle Sap and a bird sanctuary within the edges of the lake can be read HERE and the visit to Angkor Wat temple HERE.

Bug in the forest that looks like a firefly

Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher

Blue-winged Leafbird in thick green foliage

Cream-vented Bulbul extracting nectar from these ball-like flowers

(Photo Credit: Vuthy Taing)

We were greeted by Asian Openbills flying over and above us as they glided gracefully above us and across town when we stopped for breakfast at the sleepy town before Talang. Checklists submitted through eBird Malaysia portal for incidental birding can be viewed HERE and for Talang forest HERE. It grew blisteringly hot by noontime and we bade farewell to each other after having our lunch at town. By chance, I stumbled across a Cendol and Iced Shakes stall in Senawang as I stopped for a quick break at Petronas Station. The Mango Ice-cream Shake was a refreshing cool drink on a blisteringly hot afternoon. The cendol jagung was so-so. Worth checking out this stall when there are traffic jams along North-South Plus Highway.  

Asian Pied Starling and Incidental Birding

Asian Pied Starling, a lone bird was first spotted foraging on the lawn behind Palace of Golden Horses as I was leaving my office which is nearby this iconic hotel in Mines Resort area. Then a pair showed up and I got my camera ready. This Starling is considered a feral species, and was introduced into Peninsular Malaysia. How so remains a mystery to me. It was described as an invasive species in Japan, the impact on which is unknown and apparently this species has a record of breeding in Tokyo. Read more from National Institute for Environmental Studies website HERE.   

The sighting and more pictures of this Starling species recorded in my checklist through eBird Malaysia, and that checklist is available HERE.
Mangrove Pitta (Learn more about this pitta species via eBird HERE) is one bird I'd like to encounter and it would be such a treat to find it when I least expect to. 

Chinese New Year 2019 Springtime in a Tropical country

Pacific Swallow pair roosting for the night outside my family house

Chinese New Year 2019, Year of the Earth Boar/Pig has arrived and we bade farewell to the Dog. Plus Highway Travel Time Advisory was only covered in Paul Tan's blog HERE. Was on the lookout for Plus Highway's 10% discounts for 10 of their highways but no further information about this in Plus highway website at all. The pair of Pacific Swallows came home to roost in the evenings on this nest which their predecessors have built over the course of a few years. Thank goodness this pair of swallows were not frightened by the fireworks set off at my neighbourhood in Johor on the eve of Chinese New Year  - they were seen every night resting on this mud nest which was built on top of our electricity meter. Quite a deep nest and any hatchlings would be having a tough time climbing out of it. The parent bird would have to lift the chick out from base of this nest. Have never seen adult swallows lift their baby chicks out of this nest before. Have seen baby chicks before in the car park of my sister's former condominium residence in Bukit Jalil, and that nest was much smaller since the babies extend their necks and could peek out of it. Swallows were the theme behind Ben Independent Grocer's Chinese New Year 2019 decor in Publika mall. The giant-sized swallows "flying" in mid-air near the giant-sized nest and eggs decor with tagline "Home is where the Heart is", had me all  homesick this time of the year. The Pacific Swallows showing up when I was back home in Johor during Chinese New Year week, was a real bonus for me:) My 2018 blog on this species of swallows can be read HERE. The 2019 Plus Highway Advisory below was confusing!  

Memorable Farewell from Northern Lapwings of Taiwan

Northern Lapwing, Yunlin County, Taiwan

Northern Lapwings were stunning and this particular species was one of the migratory birds featured in Roald Dahl's book "Boy", in which he recollected the days of his childhood growing up in the rural countryside of England. Wadertales blog described a study on the Northern Lapwings of Buckinghamshire by David W.Snow and Barbara Snow in 1976, and the strangeness of these lapwings, can be read HERE. It was truly astonishing to see this species of Lapwing flourishing in the ricefields of southwestern Taiwan. The lapwings' emerald green plumage were particularly striking especially when the afternoon sun shone on this flock. EBird Checklist for Yunlin County, Taiwan can be viewed HERE. Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vallenus) is listed as Near Threatened by IUCN. Northern Lapwings were a birding dream come true for me. This flock of Northern Lapwings are very different from the Grey-Headed and Red-Wattled Lapwings that I've seen in Peninsular Malaysia. The former's "Pee-Wit" high-pitch calls are hauntingly melodious.    

Star Bird of Yunlin County, Taiwan
pop-up cardboard was visible throughout the Asian Bird Fair 2018
at High Heels Park exhibition venue 

It was truly a memorable farewell gift to see and hear this flock of Northern Lapwings as we departed Yunlin and headed to the High Speed Rail station to catch our night flight back to Kuala Lumpur from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. Special thanks to Schumi Wu and his friends, for such a memorable birdwatching adventure in Taiwan. The food was amazing and the lifers were extraordinary.

Beautiful video by Taiwanese birdwatcher below features a flock of these beautiful Northern Lapwings in flight and congregating in the rice-fields of Taiwan below. Brings back good memories of our time with friends and Lapwings:)

 

Masked Lapwing of Australia is one of the shortlisted pictures featured in Birdlife Australia Photo Awards website at https://www.birdlifephotoaward.org.au/gallery-shortlist-2021

Lone Wild Goose - Lesser White-fronted Goose

Lesser White-Fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) looked slightly smaller compared with the ducks in the farm. This endangered goose is considered a rare winter visitor/vagrant to Taiwan and we were very lucky to see it early that morning as we entered the last day of birdwatching in southwestern coast of Taiwan. We had a night flight to catch at the Taoyuan International Airport. This species of Goose is classified as Vulnerable in IUCN redlist HERE. 

This Lesser White-Fronted looked like it was trying to mingle with the ducks. The ducks looked bigger than this Goose - I wonder whether this could be due to hormone injections. Have read that such injections are common practice in industrial duck farming to expedite the growth rate and  subsequent supply of duck meat for the hungry hordes of humans. Hopefully this is not the case for the ducks in this farm, and that there would be agricultural grains fed to the ducks, with some to spare for this endangered goose as it looked to be spending its winter with the ducks in the farm. How this Goose ended up in this farm remains a mystery. Nevertheless, the Lesser White-Fronted Goose was indeed a sight to behold, its greyish plumage standing out amongst the snow white plumages of the ducks. It had such a slim neck, pink beak and such pink webbed feet! Its occasional honks almost drowned out by the noisy quacking of the ducks which were in the hundreds.    

Lesser White-Fronted Goose "honk-ing" to the ducks

Wild Goose trying hard to mingle with ducks

Lone Goose figuring out where it stands......

Lesser White-Fronted attempts to mingle again with the ducks

The ducks seem bewildered by this individual Goose 

LWF Goose lowers it neck and appears to be looking for food

Ducks are moving away from the LWF Goose 

LWF Goose looks lonely and hungry

Off it goes in search of food on the sandy soil

LWF Goose facing us neck down in quite a threatening-looking pose...

But it was actually poking its beak into sandy soil looking for food 

LWF Goose waddles daintily forward... 

In search again of tasty morsels hidden in the sand

World Wide Fund for Nature in Finland has a Project known as the Lesser White-Fronted Goose Life Project which you can read about HERE.

This Lesser White-fronted Goose, alone, hungry and trying its best to mingle with the domesticated ducks in the wind-swept coast of Taiwan, was the subject of a poem written by a Chinese scholar centuries ago. The poem, in English as below:-   

Lone Wild Goose (Du Fu, Chinese poet)

Alone, the wild goose refuses food and drink,

his calls searching for the flock.

Who feels compassion for that single shadow

Vanishing in a thousand distant clouds?

You watch, as it vanishes from sight,

Its plaintive calls cutting through you

The noisy crows ignore it:

the bickering squabbling multitudes