Paddy-fields and a Promise from the Heavens above

Sungai Balang on a rainy Sunday morning. Seeing a Rainbow as I arrived on a very wet and drizzly day reminded me of God's promise to Noah that mankind will not be wiped off the face of the earth by floods. In this day and age, getting vaccinated and taking safety & health precautions against covid-19 and its subvariants remain imperative to reduce the effects of an infection. The list of birds seen on that short morning at the paddy fields has been entered in Ebird Malaysia for Sungai Balang and for Pantai Penyengat. 2016 trip in conjunction with Asian Waterbird Census was a very fruitful outing to record the waders in Sungai Balang with the star bird being the Small Pratincole, with all three of these migratory birds making a surprise transit through Peninsular Malaysia that year. 2018 was my last trip there with my Wader Sifu Ang before the Covid pandemic hit Malaysia, the lockdown disrupting all travel plans for two years. Seeing the blue skies of Parit Jawa and the rows of fishing boats at the jetty (pictured as below) post-birdwatching in the paddy fields calmed my heart and soul. It was very low tide mid-morning so no waders were in sight at Parit Jawa. I headed for Parit Penyengat to try and find waders, the list of what I could spot has been reported through Ebird Malaysia. This included Tern species, one of which was observed hovering just above the seawater before it dived towards the water and skimmed off the surface with or without a fish I couldn't tell as I had observed it from a scope. Three of those tern species were seen perched on top of poles in the seawater. Learn more about terns at the end of my blog. I headed back to Streetview Hotel, Muar as it was almost lunchtime and I needed to check out before 1pm. It was a three-star hotel with a dedicated parking lot, and they had allowed me to continue parking there as I chose to walk to Fung Seng Confectionary & Bakery for my lunch.      

My room had a view of some of the shophouses alongside the street. The window view as pictured below:- 

The year 1930 was etched on the facade of this shophouse that had ornate & colourful artworks, floor tiles, wooden door & windows. It looks well-preserved from the outside.       

I had a refreshing glass of iced lemon tea and cafe latte at Fung Seng. The kitchen was closed as I was informed that they were under renovations and would reopen soon with a proper lunch menu. I had to make do with otak buns and a chiffon cake for lunch that day before I headed back to Kuala Lumpur. 

2022 is the Year of the Terns with the EAAF Partnership launching the Webinar Series on World Seabird Day which can be viewed in this YouTube video below:-