Thursday, November 21, 2019

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.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

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

Tropicbird versus Frigatebirds