Glen, Helen
and Nikki chalked up another year this month which has seen a lot of water fall
from the sky in Northern Malaysia. It is the peak of the nesting season and
there should be plenty of action but the weather and fate as determined
otherwise (more later).
Helen continues
her teaching with a fair turnover but mostly replacements arriving regularly.
Dani and
Rob have been on holiday in Crete while Nikki was given a huge box of chocolates
by a grateful patient for her kind attention.
We have had
some reasonable action on the house in April and the first part of May but
nothing in the last two weeks. We were told 3 weeks ago that one punter had
accepted the asking price and was going for a bank loan. Two weeks ago we had a
couple who seemed rally interested. The husband said ‘give me two weeks’ which
is up today....but no word.
The weather
has been uncharacteristically wet and this has limited photography. Coco
benefits by getting more beach walks....she is always so excited when she knows
where she is going. I like getting there as the sun comes up.
My main
bee-eater location was compromised progressively from its heyday as a motocross
track. The Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters did not return this year and my
kingfisher mate has gone to the big tree in the sky.
The good old days
The nesting grounds were compromised last year when the front half was cleared of vegetation and ploughed. I could access the rear section, which was the main nesting field.
 |
| The front section in 2012 |
Now
 |
| The front part flattened to the road in 2019 |
The
Blue-throated Bee-eaters came in in the first weeks of March and have provided
action ever since. They are there still there but in less numbers than before....perhaps around
30. Currently, many are feeding nests...which are often cryptically concealed in
the vegetation. The Chestnuts use muddy banks and the Blue-throated can do the
same but also drill straight into the flat ground
 |
| Notice the bird on the right is deploying 'slats' the appendages on the front of the wing. These were only recent additions to aeroplane wings to increase flight performance. |
Last Monday
a lot of locals arrived on the scene bearing plans. My enquiry revealed the
back part will be cleared in a few months and the whole area used for vegetable
plots. This field has been so good to me....half my competition images derive
from this place.
At Air
Hitam the owls are still around but no sign of a nest. It was quiet there this
week with lizards and macaques ending up on the card.
During the down-time as a consequence of the inclement weather. I have set-up a new website. There are two major reasons for this; This one is easily readable on iPhones, it is well supported and connected to Google searches.
Elsewhere I saw the Comedy Wildlife finalists for this year. I did not enter as I could not match farting penguins.
The quiz has gone well when we have had our full team with 3 wins and a third when our numbers were down.
