Banded Woodpecker on one of the MCO days

One of the pictures I took of the Banded Woodpecker (Chrysophlegma miniaceum), was featured in eBird Malaysia portal. It is such a thrill to know that my picture was of value to eBird and that I could contribute in some small way towards science and conservation. The Explore Species tool in eBird, helps anyone who is interested in birds and birdwatching, to quickly find any bird species in Malaysia and worldwide, learn about the particular species, its features and calls. You can also listen to the audio, view the statistics, more photographs , audios and even video recordings for the Banded Woodpecker and hundreds more species! Just above the right-hand corner of the page, I could continue to learn about the Iberian Green Woodpecker or the Greater Yellownape.

Armchair birdwatching [through online resources, books and articles] is now more important than ever as Malaysia undergoes Movement Restriction Order from 18^th March to 31^st March 2020. This unprecedented time calls for a change in lifestyle which includes halting journeys to remote geographical corners of Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo Malaysia to look for the rare birds, and halting even that short trip to neighbourhood parks and gardens (which sometimes rare birds turn up probably “once in a blue moon” – I am still yearning for my Blue-winged Pitta). Birdwatching outside our residences is of course, acceptable. For me, I can birdwatch outside my condo over the treetops, even though my distant views are of other apartment blocks, a mosque and other industrial buildings though I do get to see a green hill on clear and sunny days.

Working from home is something I can get used to, since I no longer have  to face the daily traffic jams from Cyberjaya to Kuala Lumpur and vice versa. However, with this covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc across the globe, I’m still staying tune to updates at our national TV news station 

The Oriental Bird Club is another website that I stumbled across recently. Their database at Oriental Bird Images is worth exploring post working hours.