Balik Kampung: Sabak revisited

5th February 2011, Kampung Sabak , Kelantan

I was in Kota Bharu during the recent Chinese New Year  holidays,visiting  friends and families. It also provided the opportunity to check out Kampung Sabak’s birdlife. The water level had risen  considerably  since my last visit and the place looks  very different. Lush green grass covered  most of the exposed mudflats and tall reeds had grown along  most parts of the river bank. (shot with a Nokia N900) It is now rainy season  and most of  the mudflats were under water. Intermediate Egrets flying in only to land on the opposite bank, too far  any usable shots. Collared Kingfisher waiting patiently for an opportunity to dive in for fish. Resting after  the morning hunt. I’m not sure whether these are Greater or Lesser Sand Plovers. The one on the right seems bigger than the other two, could this be a Greater SP. A  lone  Pacific Golden Plover hanging around with the Sand Plovers A beautiful multi-coloured crab caught my attention while shooting the Plovers. A dead tree instead of the water for a change! A Yellow-Bittern hiding among the reed.   A White-Browed Crake  feeding cautiously, never  venturing too far from the safety of the reeds An Intermediate Egret Plenty of  Chinese Pond-Herons in the area A Black-Shouldered Kite came to perch on a dead tree by the river bank This female Asian Koel was in a real  hurry to get as far away from the Kite which was on the branch above her. Common Sandpipers I moved  to check out the nearby ponds during the later part of the morning, they used to be paddy fields  but  farming had stopped ever since they were flooded by seawater. (shot with a Nokia N900) I was able to drive around in my car.  As usual the birds were more tolerant to  motor vehicles and I was able to get very close. This White-Throated Kingfisher drying off after an intensive diving session. A  busy Paddy field Pipit  making its way along the sandy ground. White Browed Crake Time to get awa…y Another White Throated Kingfisher. A pair of Blue-Tailed Bee-Eaters My only shot of this beauty, the Common Kingfisher.

Black & Red Broadbills

23rd January 2011, Kemensah , Selangor

	A pair of Black & Red Broadbill attracted my attention with their duck-like call. Shooting a black bird in the shade can be very tricky, especially on  focusing.

She’s Not Camera Shy: Brown Shrike

23rd January 2011, Kemensah , Selangor

She just wanted her pictures taken, went through the various poses like a beautiful model would. She even let me  in really really close.

Collared Kingfishers

20th January 2011,  Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan

These are two different birds. The first photo was taken at Cape Rochado with the D7000 + 300mm f4  on tripod (RAW) The second bird was shot at Pantai Cahaya Negeri  (Telok Kemang)  during low tide using D90+ 70-300mm VR handheld (jpeg)