islandhippy

Last weekend I followed a dozen Nature Society of Singapore (NSS) birders, led by Sutari bin Supari (aka Malay pot-bellied laughing thrush), to Tanjung Tuan on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia to witness the annual raptor migration from Sumatra to Malaysia.

This being my first overseas NSS trip, I was somewhat anxious to find myself standing alone in the carpark of Newton Circus hawker centre at 5.30am on a Saturday morning with no obvious NSS birders in sight. Had the trip been cancelled last minute or were the birders enjoying a quick breakfast in the hawker centre? The eatery was surprisingly busy for such an early hour but most patrons appeared to be drinking beer and were dressed in tight-fitting mini-skirts and platforms. I had heard the NSS birders were a wild bunch but it all looked rather implausible. A quick check of the trip itinerary revealed, of course, that I was an hour early so I sat back and watched the late-night revellers and other kupu-kupu malam (butterflies of the night).

At 6.30am sharp, an MPV pulled into the carpark and several birders emerged from the shadows and converged upon the vehicle. Our driver for the weekend, Mr Siva, turned out to be a TV star from Vasantham channel’s “Uncle, Taxi Engae Pogudhu”. However there was room for only one star in the car and that would always be Sutari, our ever jocular, knowledgeable and loquacious guide.

Following stops for breakfast, coffee, lunch, petrol then more snacks we finally rolled into Port Dickson, 15km north of Tanjung Tuan, in the early afternoon and checked into our … hotel would be giving the establishment too much credit … block of flats. After a few grumbles to the staff, extra mattresses were delivered, seats were installed on toilets, loo paper was unearthed and bathroom towels were graciously provided.

Unfortunately, by the time we made it to Tanjung Tuan the birds had already crossed the Strait of Malacca from Sumatra and were probably halfway home to Siberia. According the charts, over 1,700 raptors had crossed that day. We did spot a lone resident sea eagle that had flown in to enjoy the fun but the rest of the day was decidedly raptor free. However, there was plenty of fun to be had as our Malaysian counterparts, the MNS, had organized a whole festival around the Raptor Watch with vendors and exhibitors from Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. There was a fantastic family carnival atmosphere and it was lovely to see friends from both sides of the Causeway hook up and share birding, and other, gossip. I immediately felt at home at the festival and would encourage all birders to make the trip up next year. I spoke to vendors selling binoculars, telescopes, cameras, tripods, organic cotton T-shirts and bird books. There was a kid’s corner with face painting, a makan corner to keep Sutari in cendol, and a live band to scare away the birds.

Phil birdwatching in his sleep©Sutari Supari

A little disappointed that we hadn’t seen much wildlife on the first afternoon, we set out to eat some for dinner at a local Chinese seafood restaurant that came highly recommended by members of MNS. With the rain bucketing down, we sat under canvass awnings and feasted on fish, squid, crab, fishcakes, lamb and chicken. Everybody was in high spirits and we almost heeded Sutari’s call to do a runner without paying when the restaurant experienced several blackouts.

Wildlife for dinner©Sutari Supari

We rose early the following day only to find our hotel didn’t actually serve breakfast as promised so we drove out to a nearby wanton mee restaurant. Much to the amusement of the locals, we knocked back the noodles and ran outside to watch a coppersmith barbet delivering insects to its young, and to marvel at a colony of baya weaver bird nests hanging from a tree. With such a promising start to the day we just knew we would be in for a treat at Tanjung Tuan.

Watching Coppersmith Barbets and Baya Weaver nests©Sutari Supari

Tanjung Tuan is the closest landmass on Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra and is therefore the ideal place for raptors to cross the strait of Malacca on their Spring migration back home to their breeding grounds in North Asia and Siberia. The raptors would not be able to fly the 45 kms across the sea without first riding the thermals in Sumatra to gain sufficient height before gliding over the water, always losing height, to once again reach land (and therefore more thermals). It has been noted in previous years that juvenile birds, inexperienced in the sea crossing, arrive at Tanjung Tuan very low over the water, flapping their wings and expending precious energy in a furious bid to reach the thermals over the Tanjung Tuan promontory. Sadly some birds have even been seen to fall short and perish in the sea.

After walking up through the Tanjung Tuan Forest Reserve, our group of NSS birders finally reached Malaysia’s oldest lighthouse, which is the best vantage point for viewing the raptors. Only official MNS bird counters are allowed inside the lighthouse grounds so everybody else perched on the cliff edge and trained binoculars, telescopes and telephoto lenses out to sea. While waiting for the first wave of raptors to appear in the sky we watched the resident swiftlets, dollarbirds, egrets and turtles. Eagle-eyed YouTubers will know that one lucky group of birders on a previous trip caught on film a large estuarine crocodile swimming down below from this very spot.

Well over a hundred pairs of eyes were trained on the horizon and there was a palpable sense of anticipation as people strained to be the first to spot the incoming birds. Suddenly one, two then three people called out and from far out to sea emerged over the horizon a small group of birds of prey. Half a dozen Oriental Honey Buzzards (OHBs), the vanguard of the squadrons to follow, glided towards us, some flapping to stay airborne, others high enough to safely reach land and hit the thermals. As soon as these magnificent birds reached land they were launched skywards by the warm thermals. Before long another then another wave of raptors, all OHBs, flew in, circled up and took off to the north. The experience was incredible to watch; I have been waiting a decade to view this spectacle and I was not disappointed. In total, 243 OHBs made the crossing to the Tanjung Tuan lighthouse that afternoon and another 1,500 arrived slightly to the south due to stronger than usual winds blowing them slightly off course. Since mid-February of this year, when the birds began their Spring migration over the Strait of Malacca, over 30,000 OHBs have been counted. Other birds spotted include the Grey Faced Buzzard, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Peregrine Falcon and Osprey. Another migrant, the Black Baza, is still expected to make the crossing.

By 2pm only the most optimistic of birders was left at the lighthouse while the rest of us had returned to the Raptor Watch Festival in the grounds of the Ilham Resort and Training Centre at the foothill of the forest reserve. Our contended group of birders then piled into the MPV and headed south. In an effort to break the landspeed record for the slowest drive from Port Dickson to Singapore we took the scenic route, experiencing kampung Malaysia, and eight hours later arrived in the carpark of Newton Circus hawker centre.

NSS and MNS birders©Sutari Supari