Advancing into Kruak wetlands

Red Dragonflies are a common sight at the Kruak Wetlands

Thickets over the Kruak wetlands

 'Kruak' in Malay refers to the White-breasted Waterhen.  The Kruak wetlands is situated between Zone B and Zone C and is a low-lying basin between two hills.  This wetland area is covered with thickets of the Shrubby Dillenia, heliconia plants,bamboos, palms, ferns, creepers, grasses and small trees, while the surrounding hills are covered with lowland dipterocarp forest species.  Often the Sambar deers will leave trails of disturbed grasses after they have combed the wetlands areas during their nightly visits.  Today I worked hard on draining some of the water from the wetlands area by manually digging more drain outlets into the areas frequented by the Sambar deers.  It is a satisfying feeling to see the  many deer trails abound in the area.  The Kruak wetlands is also home to many birds, small mammals and insects.  It is the best area to photograph dragonflies.  The birds that regularly visit the wetlands area are like the Little Spiderhunter, Browh-throated Sunbirds, Prinias, Bubuls, Crimson Sunbird and the shy and fast running Kruak or White-breasted Waterhen. 

Thickets of Heliconia plants are attractive to many birds species

Typical lowland dipterocarp forest ecology surrounding  the low-lying  wetlands.
The palm at the center of the picture is the 'Nibong' (Oncosperma tigillarium)