March
has been a busy month in Penang. On the homefront Helen has had some relief from teaching with Japanese school
holidays. Helen also had three days in Bali with some friends from Singapore. It was
a sort of nostalgic trip with two of the long-term friends departing soon for
England and Australia. During that time I had constant furry slippers and an
appreciative friend when we went to the beach together.
Even
earlier in the month I flew to Singapore for 2 nights. I was invited to give a
talk which was held in Canon’s auditorium at Fusionopolis. There were over 100 people present
(2 speakers) and the talk went very well. I met up with old friends and marveled
at further changes that have occurred in once familiar territory. Tanglin
school is now surrounded and dwarfed by impressive surrounding buildings.
We
have had a good month with the pub quiz with 2 firsts and two seconds (April
does not read well so far). We have lost one member permanently so we must find
other inspiration.
The
weather has continued to be wet and as this is heading to the peak photographic
time we may have a compromised year. We had an orchid plant in the garden that struggled for
several years but it has burst into bloom and the two flowers have so far
survived the tempests and UV rays thrown at it.
We
have been only moderately busy with the BnB. Most young couples are from KL or
Singapore and are pleasant guests...while others have misplaced expectations.
As
mentioned it is usually busy on the photographic front-in March and April. There has been a lack
of Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters turning up at their usual nesting spot. One pair
have soldiered on and aggressively chase off the larger Blue-throated
Bee-eaters who have come in at the start of the month.
The Blue-throated Bee-eaters have been there previously in numbers over 100 but they too seem to have reduced the population this year.
I
have spent most time following my favourite Kingfisher. He is now on this third
partner since I started photographing him. I really liked his last partner who
was exceedingly pretty. I am wondering if he has been robbing the cradle
because the current squeeze has white eye-brows similar to those adorning newly
fledged chicks. Anyhow they progressed through the romancing phase and he was
most attentive. He fed her often when she was laying eggs. Three chicks hatched
and they were progressing well being fed by both parents. Then alas the female
went missing. The male soldiered on being a very good provider and scouring the neighbourhood for protein. One morning
after heavy rain I checked their progress and was alarmed to see only one chick
in the nest hole. The male kept feeding it regularly like nothing had happened. I did fine one dead chick out of the nest. When I checked again after being away for two nights I was further dismayed the
see that the outer nest had collapsed and if the chick had been still there it
would have had a prolonged end. This is nature I guess and only the second time
in six seasons that young have not fledged.
The image below showed a dilemma faced by the Kingfisher. As he grabbed the bug a piece of grass got caught. He solved the problem by feeding the bug to the chicks and spitting the grass out. It would have been difficult if he was feeding himself.
There
are other birds besides the Kingfisher and the Bee-eaters at the nesting location.
Paddyfield Pipits feed nests precariously hidden in the grass…..a risky
business on a motocross track. Red-wattled lapwings also do the same. I had
seen elusive Chestnut-winged Cuckoos before and managed to get an image of one.
While Green-billed Malkohas (another cuckoo) are around often but difficult to photograph.
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| Paddyfield Pipit |
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| Displaying Red-wattled Lapwing |
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| Green-billed Malkoha |
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| Chestnut-winged Cuckoo |
The Pacific Swallows are hyperactive in chasing down flying insects. They need a break however at some point.
At
the end of the month my friend Nick from Singapore arrived for a weeks shooting. One project we embarked upon was to investigate a colony of
Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters that were often seen around the large Buddhist
temple on the foot of Penang Hill. We explored tracks in the forest above the
temple looking for nesting holes in the clay banks. We found small temples and
a Dusky Langur carrying a teenager but there were no Bee-eaters.
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| Kek Lok Si Temple |
We
were preparing to go home when we saw some Bee-eaters fly across a road that bisects
the temple complex. We stopped the car and soon worked out where they were nesting…..in
the PVC drainage pipes built in retaining wall. We returned the next morning to
get incoming flight shots of adults carrying insects for their respective
broods. There were well over 50 birds around the temple and possibly 100 or
more altogether. While disappearing from a natural nesting site they have
adapted very well to a man-made structure. I have written a blog on this occurrence HERE.
The nesting schedule at the temple seems several months behind the site I was
observing in the mainland.
Quite
a while back I entered some images in a holiday photograph competition in the
on-line Stuff newspaper in New Zealand. You get a bit of a jolt to see an image featured (Crimson Rosella) when
you have given up the venture…even if they get their citations wrong.
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