Painted Bunting

During my time home at Christmas, I bought a birding magazine. The main article listed 10 birds that the author thought were the best to see in America. Amongst those 10 was the painted bunting. Also, my granny is a bit of a bird watcher and really wants to see one and has never lain eyes on one at the age of 79.

So, the other day, I dragged my mom out bird watching. As we walked along a bund, she spotted something red in a nearby tree. I checked it out and then handed the binoculars to her, breathlessly exclaiming, "It's a painted bunting!" It sat there for about thirty seconds, then flew on to a place where two weirdos weren't disturbing his peace. I think this event almost converted my mother to the ranks of ornithology because later that night I was cooking dinner and asked my dad where mom had gone. "She outside watching birds", he replied.

Later in the week, I went to stay at my childhood home. As I stopped the car, I saw something in the top of a dead tree. I got out my binoculars and was stunned to see yet another painted bunting! Were they under my nose all those years growing up?

I was sitting in the living room later and saw Mr. and Mrs. Painted Bunting catching insects in our old firewood pile so I got a book and drove the car down next to the wood pile. After about 12 chapters, they got brave enough to come back and I got a decent picture of the female and a couple blurry ones of the male. Needless to say, it made my week.

Bird of myth and legend

A less flattering, chicken-like pose

The female is less spectacularly coloured but still nice in her greenish plumage

More wildflowers

Scissor-tailed flycatcher

The long tail looks like a "v" or scissors when flying.

The scissor-tailed flycatcher is the state bird of Oklahoma really a spectacular bird to watch. Most of the time photographers hate to take pictures of birds on unnatural perches such as wires but honestly, 8 out of 10 times you will see the scissor-tailed flycatcher on a barb wire fence catching flying insects and returning to its perch on the wire. So, the question is: Is it really an unnatural perch?

Wildflower-Indian Blanket/Fire Wheel

Hackberry Flat birdwatching

I went to Hackberry Flat today, which I last visited when I was home in December for Christmas. There were mozzies galore along with some waders, such as the black-necked stilt and American avocet, for them I have created separate posts. The weather was great and I had good views of many birds.

Green-winged teal

Green-winged teal

Red-winged blackbird

American avocet

The American avocet is a large wader with a very slender bill that has a slight upturn at the end. I enjoyed watching them foraging for food in the shallow waters of the flats.

Black-necked stilt

Black-necked stilts were also on the flats. They are lanky birds but very smart looking in their black and white plumage. They remind me of basketball players at a very posh party.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

I'm now at home in Oklahoma. I'll be in the US a couple of months visiting friends and family. I love the fact that being away changes how you see things when you return. My parents were both teaching school today, so I spent the day out photographing. The wild flowers this year are amazing and I'm sure I would have overlooked them if I were still living here. The views today were absolutely stunning!

A rocky outcropping.

Wheat harvest is just around the corner.

Why are my allergies going haywire?

Oklahoma's state bird: the scissor-tailed flycatcher.

Prickly pear blossom.

A purple thistle.

One Tree Hill.

A scrumptious snack-pollen.

Scrumptious but a bit stringy.

Killdeer.

A prickly pear in bloom.

Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve

On my way back to the US, I had a day layover in Singapore. Now, Singapore is an ultra-modern city with every convenience you can imagine, in fact, it is probably in the top five most developed cities in the world. If you know me or read this blog somewhat regularly, you know or can guess I am not the sort of chap who enjoys a good afternoon shopping on Orchard Road.

I headed out to Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, which is on the north end of the island. It is a large preserve which encompasses some prawn ponds, some freshwater ponds and an area of mangroves. The reserve is well laid out with many kilometers of trails. There are several hides that overlook muddy areas that probably teem with shorebirds during the peak migration months, the northern hemisphere winter months. Being as it was mid-May, there were just a few common redshanks, egrets and herons on the mud flats when I visited.

Compared to Kota Kinabalu Wetlands Reserve, Sungei Buloh is much larger. In KK the walks were almost strictly on raised boardwalks, while Sungei Buloh most of the walks are graveled paths on bunds. There is a boardwalk and it is actually longer than the one in KK. The whole reserve is well done and was great to see how some of the wild places in Singapore are being preserved.

A flower growing in a freshwater pond.

This lizard made an excellent model, posing for me for several minutes.

Oriental magpie-robin. Note the leg band.

This pink-necked pigeon was near the visitors centre.

This group of school kids were excited about seeing a little heron on the riverbank.

I just liked the symmetry of this plant.

Kota Kinabalu Wetlands Centre--formerly Kota Kinabalu Centre Bird Sanctuary

Let me explain something about myself: I get crazy ideas.

A couple of years ago, I was lying in bed thinking about things when I got an idea for "Penang Mangrove Centre". I spent the next three days drawing plans and diagrams and even went out to Balik Pulau to take some pictures and scout out a place for the centre. Then I realised I was looking at around a $300,000 USD investment and I put away my research and idea.

What I envisioned looks something like the Wetlands Centre in Kota Kinabalu. This is a place where the public can go and walk through the mangroves that line the coastlines of Malaysia and other southeast Asian countries. These mangroves are also disappearing at an alarming rate, to make room for seaside resorts and posh condominiums. However, these mangroves are a vital ecological feature that prevent erosion and provide other valuable services. One of these was serving as a barrier during the tsunami.

Here, just outside of KK, you can walk along a raised boardwalk. Below you fiddler crabs scurry left and right, back to their holes, seeking shelter from your presence. Kingfishers call in the distance and green pigeons sweep past looking for new perches. Mangroves form islands in the shallow, brackish water, their twisting and knobby roots reminding one of the Ents that inhabited Middle-Earth.

At the end of one of the raised boardwalks is a bird hide. From the hide we were able to see the activities of a nesting colony of purple egrets. These large birds would glide in carrying beaks stuffed with grasses for their nests. By my count over 20 of these graceful birds were in the distant nesting area.

Just behind the main building was a small pond. Here white-breasted waterhens were guarding their three newly hatched chicks. The waterhens were semi-domesticated, used to being fed by the workers at the Wetlands Centre.

Malaysia is rich in ecological treasures such as this one. Sadly, eco-tourism in Malaysia does not mean tourism which protects the environment. It means people invading the environment en masse. An example is Sungai Sedim, which I did a post on earlier. They built the world's longest canopy walk there which was not sensitive to the environment. It is built now, and as Malays say, 'nasi sudah menjadi bubur' or 'why cry over spilt milk'.

For me, places like the Kota Kinabalu Wetlands Centre should exist all over Malaysia. They should be visited by families and scores of school children. Mangrove trees should be planted (and they were in KK) by science classes.

As you can see, I loved my visit to the Wetlands Centre and hope we see many more of these springing up across Malaysia, bringing us a better understanding and appreciation of the wild places we must work to protect.

White-breasted waterhen

Boardwalk through the mangroves.

Fiddler crab--More information here.

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu or KK is the capital of Sabah. After two nights on the mountain, we spent the better part of three days puttering around KK and having a thoroughly enjoyable time.

One of our first stops was the Sabah State Museum. First, let me state that I used to work in a museum and secondly I can sometimes be a bit critical. The museum was interesting and informative but needs updating badly. I don't think the main exihibit, "History Tunnel" had been changed since the mid-70's. It had lots of good information but like most things in Malaysia they spent a ton of money building it and allocated no budget to maintain it. The secondary exhibit was on the "Kaamantan" or harvest festival and all the pictures showed the date as 1996, nearly 11 years ago. Don't even get me started on the lighting!

A short aside: Possibly due to its reputation as "wild" it was easy to find interesting books on flora and fauna in Sabah. The museum store had several volumes I would love to have on my shelves. I keep resisting that dragonfly book but I don't know if I can keep up the will much longer. Still holding out for the nudibranch book. :)

On the hill below the museum were several traditional houses. The Murut longhouse was the coolest. It has rooms for the families and then a big common area. In the centre was a trampoline-like mat, slightly sunken. Maybe someday the museum will add signage to explain the purpose of the trampoline. Pictures in the longhouse make me guess it was used for traditional ceremonies.

KK is not a big city. The main area is about 1 km wide and 2 km long. There are backpacker hotels galore. We stayed at Tourist Hotel by Wisma Merdeka. If you are looking for a clean, newly remodeled hotel for cheap, stay there. I highly recommend it.

Down by the docks there are two areas of interest, the first being the handicraft market and the second the esplanade. The handicraft market reminded me of a tiny Chatachuk Market (which is in Bangkok). My question was why every stall in the market was selling the same goods? This often happens in Malaysia. You will find six stands selling pineapple right in the same area. Or pomelo. Or corn. Or handphones. You get the idea. How do you choose one stall over the others?

The esplanade is right on the water and a great place to see a sunset. You can get the typical "ikan bakar" there (barbecued fish) but there are other places such as English pubs, trendy bistros and karaoke bars.

KK is a great town and the people, in my estimation, were friendlier than those I typically encounter in peninsular Malaysia. You don't need a week to explore the town, because it isn't that big, but it can occupy your interest for two or three, especially if you venture out to Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, which we didn't have time to do. Next time!

An unshaven TopCat is master of his domain, Kota Kinabalu. Taken from Bukit Bendera (Flag Hill)

A water lily outside the Sabah State Museum.

Even closer to the water lily.

I call this one "thornberry".

Have I mentioned I like bugs? Spiders are so cool. Check out his eyes.

Mount Kinabalu / Gunung Kinabalu

Let it never be said that Malaysia does not have enough public holidays. In the last week we celebrated the installation of a new sultan, Labour Day and Wesak Day, a Buddhist holiday. Ahhh, perfect time to get away and have a tour around Malaysia.

In East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan) is the highest mountain in Malaysia, Mount Kinabalu. In February, when I began planning this trip, I found out it was impossible to get a permit to summit the mountain, so I had to be content to just go there and hike around the base. I still want to summit the mountain, which is 4,095 meters (13,435 ft.) tall and the third tallest in Southeast Asia.

The area around Kinabalu National Park is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is (I think) the highest honor an area can receive. Here is the list of world heritage sites. It is an important area culturally, to the Kadazandusun tribes and other tribes, geologically and diverse in flora and fauna. Even if you don't have time to summit the mountain, there are many things to see just around the base.

My only regret is that we didn't book 3 nights at the mountain. After arriving from Kota Kinabalu in a 4x4 taxi (RM15 from the bus station at Padang Merdeka) we didn't have much time to explore before nightfall. The weather was cool and rainy. Several of the lodges at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges even have fireplaces! The next morning we hiked all over the lower area, including to the power station where you start the trail that leads to the summit. We also hiked the Liwagu river trail which was very nice and not so demanding, but of course we were headed down.

If we had more time, there is Poring Hot Springs nearby which would be interesting to explore. If you are interested in going to Mount Kinabalu, especially to the summit, book well in advance. Secondarily, don't take the shuttle bus down, which is RM40 per person, just walk to the road below and wait for a bus or taxi. Soon after we stood by the road, a taxi stopped and we were able to get back to K.K. for RM20 per person.

The summit of Mount Kinabalu. Actually, as you can see, there are multiple peaks. The tallest is called Low's Peak.

I call this one 'spiny flower'.

Indigo flycatcher

Mount Kinabalu is renowned for its orchids. Just to maintain honesty, I took this picture in the botanical gardens at the base of the mountain, not in the wild. :)

On the hike we found this waterfall which originated from a pipe. I thought it looked cool so I took a picture.