August 2015

This month as roving siblings return to their roosts we have been quite busy with guests in the house. There have been various events in George Town during the month….which brings in locals from KL etc.

As of today Helen and I have chalked up 4 years in the house and in Penang.

August is the month where I chalk up another year on planet earth and I can assure you all are appreciated. Helen and I have both have chesty coughs, which can be bloody annoying especially when all dogs in a three mile radius answer back and the Muslim prayer callers complain of unfair competition.

On the home front we had two leaks in the house. One has been dried and the reason for it ascertained and preventative measures put in place. The other leak is a combination of bad design and ignorance by the gardeners who put decorative plants on top of the drainage system. That too is hopefully under control…the garden has been removed and the roof on the third floor extended. We are still getting leaking into our bedroom but this should stop in a month or two when the concrete gives up its contained water.

More interesting on the home front we have got a new sofa for the living room. We had constant problems with the old, fabric-covered one. Initially we were sent one that was white and not cream-coloured. The material also went all blotchy when washed. This was replaced by brown covered sofa. This also discoloured over a short time and was looking quite scruffy. The material was starting to break up so we decided to give it the boot. Some carrier took it away free to use how he wanted.

Herbs have been hard to grow in this environment and I am struggling at the moment. Helen brought a local-made mushroom kit and this was very productive……only rivalling Jack’s beanstalk for overnight growth. It is currently resting and will go again in 10 days.

Around the house we have been on top of planting and watering as the haze from Indonesian forest clearing strikes again. I had some mealworms for various reasons but kept a Bulbul family fed as the chicks fledged. 

I need to apologise to Bob for calling him a Squirrel. I was suspicious for some time because of his long snout and lack of whiskers. He is in fact a Common Treeshrew.

Helen is steady with her teaching duties currently. She will go up to see Nikki in Okinawa in September and then go to South Korea with Nikki and Neal. I would like to go too but have an obligation in Australia in October.

Photographically August is usually very quiet but this year there have been various occurrences. During my morning walks I can locate where the Otters have been denning by their smell. I staked out one location and had a good view of a pair of them. 

At Air Hitam Dalam I have seen and heard a pair of Blue-winged Pittas. Last year they were unafraid and often wandered around the car park with various people around. They have been much more cautious this year and only came out to feed when they were feeding chicks…..as soon as the chicks fledged they disappeared again.

It was reported that a pair of Red-throated Barbets were nesting near Maxwell Hill in Taiping…about 75km away. I made three trips down there to record the feedings. On the first trip there was no sign of any chicks although feedings were regular and poop was being removed from the nest hole. The male seemed to feed more but the female was the only one removing the poop. A week later chick(s) were apparent and looking out at the world. I ascertained there were two chicks (the normal brood size for this species) and one was 3-4 days older than the sibling. There were some locals also viewing the nest although somewhat superficially mostly. I went down again this week and the older chick was quite mature-looking and again the other chick was about 4 days behind. This time the male fed the nest regularly and there was no sign of the female. Although the male went into the nest cavity 3 times he did not carry any poop …so there is good reason to fledge soon. There is quite a lot of bush around and in the various visits there have been Pig-tailed macaques and Dusky Langurs in the vicinity.

The nest hole is circled in red below

First week (female first) then the male

 Second week...male and more mature chick

Third week (mature chick) first.

There is a bit of a lull on the rugby scene at the moment as the RWC looms in September. I did not get to see the first Bledisloe game due to weather intervention but I joined up with some Kiwis and Aussies to watch the second game. My own view of the All Blacks chances are that things must go in their favour with injuries and their mental attitude is all-important. They have not been great away from home this year. The team was announced yesterday, no real surprises but as the scribes say some holes are apparent.

The only thing really bothering me is the RWC coincides with the wettest two months here and I am worried about blank screens at crucial times