February 2018

February has been the month of the Bee-eaters and the start of the Year of the Dog.

February is a short month and together with Chinese New Year celebrations the time has passed quickly.

Two Guygirlz

Nikki and Neil arrived back for several more weeks with us. They headed off in different directions and both have big years. They did have an interlude in Laos during this time. While they were here the four of us formed a separate quiz team…..we got one second and an also ran…the latter evening saw a record number of teams taking place. Nikki was elated to collect the prize because the beer in the fridge at home had already evaporated.

The year of the Dog started in February (I am a Dog). When the Chinese were having their reunion dinners we went to Kek Lok Si temple to see the light up. It was spectacular and must take a lot of preparation.

Earlier Neil and I had checked out the colony of Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters around the temple. It is a large colony and the colourful birds blend in with the decorations for the new year.

Another type of Bee-eater migrates along the shoreline and several Blue-tailed Bee-eaters fed on local dragonflies not far from our house.

Birds seem to dominate my activities this month. Our resident crow, Russell or Cheryl, appears to have left home. There were days where we did not see ‘him’ and the gaps between visits seem to be getting longer. As I write this he has not been around for 10 days. It is bitter/sweet as I miss the interaction with him, but it was my main intention that he integrate into local crow society and not be in any way dependent. Fly free my friend.

Another bird that has been a great ‘friend’ was the male Kingfisher at Penanti. He is not there this year. I have photographed him and his partners for 6 years…..and I read that this is about the life-span of the species.

At Penanti it is much quieter this year….there is a Kingfisher pair but they are very wary. There are two pairs of Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters in the process of nesting and they have provided some good action shots this month. I took Neil there for a session as well.

While trying mainly for front-lit action shots....I also try back-lit shots with rim lighting.

One of the nesting pairs of Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters has decided to dig out a new nest. They are very industrious and have large pick beaks for digging tunnels but their dainty little feet are not meant for shifting the excavated dirt.

In the last week of February (26th) I spotted the first of the Blue-throated Bee-eaters to arrive at their nesting site.

Towards the end of the morning shoot......all the Bee-eaters disappeared and the resident Red-wattled Lapwings were agitated. I waited patiently for some action then I spotted a large object in the central tree......it was a relatively rare Dark Morph Changeable Hawk Eagle.

This is a Light Morph Changeable Hawk eagle...with a large rat...so you can see why the Bee-eaters left.

Penanti is a disused motocross track….it is accessed by a rather cryptic driveway and I generally have the place to myself. I was intent on shooting one day when I heard a cough behind me. There were two policemen there. They were actually good fun and we took pictures of each other. This is about the 6^th time I have interacted with police at this location. WHY? They go there to have a sleep while on patrol.

I have noticed a number of times when you are in a location, shooting a specific target, something interesting wanders into view.  While waiting for some Bee-eater antics I shot some of the local lizards that appeared from burrows.

These lizards can be quite large and are a species of Butterfly Lizard (Leiolepis triploida). There are 9 similar species centred around SE Asia and this is one species restricted to a small pocket in Penang mainland. The interesting fact is that of the nine species 5 reproduce in the normal way but this species is parthenogenetic. There are only females and they multiply by cloning themselves. Parthenogenesis has some advantages in propagating species in that pairs are not necessary but whereas sexual reproduction is more energy requiring but produced variation that allows for species difference that is vital when survival pressures are applied to a population

My last shoot for the month was at Byram...on the mainland. Byram is where the State Rubbish dump is located. It has been an amazing place at times for the diversity of wildlife.....but like many other places it is becoming degraded and over-crowded.  At one location, where a canal joins a waterway that flows into the Straits of Malacca,  there are 5 species of Kingfisher present amongst other species. 

Long-tailed Macaques scour the shore and rivulets for food. I noticed many were eating horseshoe crabs.

Long-tailed Macaques are also known as Crab-eating Macaques but they are omnivorous and often associated with human habitation. In Singapore we have had them stealing toothpaste and sunscreen lotion for a second-floor bathroom.  Horseshoe  Crabs are marine arthropods and are considered living fossils as they originated at least 450 million years ago. The descriptor of crab is a misnomer as they are more related to spiders than crabs. Locally Horseshoe crabs inhabit shallow water often in a mangrove habitat. They are considered critically endangered due to habitat loss. The species has blue blood as haemocyanin is the oxygen-carrying protein rather than haemoglobin. A component of their blood is used in detecting bacterial endotoxins and in certain locations they are ‘bled for science’. They are very difficult to grow on ‘farms’.

My main mission at was to photograph the Black-capped Kingfisher, an elusive migrant who seems to know the focal length of your lens......and sits just beyond that. I managed tio get a sequence of one taking off on a hunting mission.

With Chinese New Year intervening there has been no activity on the house sale. We have also not been impressed by the work ethic of the agents.

All bird interactions are not so memorable.....or perhaps they are. There is a species of cuckoo....the Koel that is a bird around the same size as a crow. The males have this insistent call...K-o-e-l....as they are named....and it is long and insistent and usually outside your bedroom window. We have one currently who has claimed a tree at the front of the house.

The island-building offshore seems to be progressing quite slowly. They don't appear to be dumping sand at the moment. The final product should look somewhat like this.

The artist's perspective is somewhat misleading as the island will be bigger than it looks. They claim it will house 40,000 people. There will not be an exotic blue see in the foreground....much smaller and mudflats a lot of the time.
Currently they are pumping wet sand and driving in metal retaining walls.

The other major event has been more celestial with a lunar eclipse together with a Blood and a Super Moon. Helen and I observed the eclipse but scudding clouds interrupting the viewing. I took a shot of the full moon the next morning while out early and compared it with a shot I took from Kakadu last year.

We have enjoyed watching events at the Winter Olympics in South Korea...although I won't be volunteering for the duo luge in a hurry. It is also pleasing that the Super Rugby has now started for this year, although with the Six nations also .....there is a need to be selective in the viewing to avoid overload. 

....and finally...all the best for the year of the Dog