What have I goat?

Plaintive Cuckoo - Cacomantis merlinus
Photoshoot on 19 February,2015. 1st day of Chinese New Year (Year of the Goat)
Location : Cempedak Hill, Zone G.

Plaintive Cuckoo at the Cempedak tree, Zone G.

Today is special.  Today after years of living at the park I have the rare opportunity of catching a glimpse of the Plaintive Cuckoo.  This is not to say that it is seldom or very rarely heard at the park.  On the contrary its call is heard everyday in the park especially during early morning hours and around sunset.  After years of birdwatching here and becoming very familiar with its call the moment of truth arrived today when I saw it perching on top of the Cempedak tree broadcasting its familiar call. The sight of it and hearing it making the calls verified to me that it is the bird that has been in my hunting list since the first time I heard the call here.  On this first day of the Chinese  New Year of the Goat at long last I sighted the Plaintive Cuckoo  in clear view.  More importantly it is the confirmation of the bearer of that  familiar call that makes my day.  Yes, I've goat it !!

A lovely pair of Little Green Pigeon

Little Green Pigeon (Treron olax) - male is at top with maroon wing-coverts while female has greyish-green body.  Both have white iris.  Feet and claws are a light red.
Location: Cempedak lookout point
Zone G

The time was just about right.  The early morning sun rays had cast its brilliance on the Cemepdak tree.  Unnoticed but later seen was a pair of Little Green Pigeon or "Punai Daun" in Malay.  There seems to be two certain moments in the park when you'll not be disappointed to watch these darlings of the wild and free.  In the morning between 7 - 8 am and in the late afternoon between 5 - 6 pm.  At both times the sun rays are there to provide the appropriate lighting for a good photoshoot.  Early this morning I managed to get a clearer shot of this beautiful pair perching at the very top of the Cempedak tree.

After the bees

A Blue-throated Bee-eater having a brief rest in a thrilling moment of hunting for the bees
Location : Cempedak Hill, Zone G

Blue-throated bee-eater
Merops virilis

 I have always waited for this moment.  The time when a swarm  of bees would occasionally be blown by a fair wind over the park.  The bees will get the best attention from the passing Blue-throated bee-eaters and the more permanent residents of the park - the Yellow-vented Bulbul.  It is always a delight to see their playful and acrobatic acts as they take-off from the perches and rising vertically to snatch the bees in between their beaks.  The Bee-eaters are always passing the park early in the morning as they fly in flocks in a southerly direction.  They would before sunset fly above the trees in a northerly route taken years now while returning with satisfied appetites. It is a routine no doubt and nature has planned well for the bee-eaters.  To see them thrive in my lifetime is an experience I treasure most.  They should be left like what they used to be - free and a timeless beauty.

Yellow-vented Bulbul with a bee in between its beak.
Location : Cempedak Hill, Zone G.

There are birds on the hill

Birds on the Cempedak Hill....

There are birds on the hill,
But I never heard them singing,
No I never heard them at all
Till there was you.....

These verses kept ringing in my head when I saw many birds at the Cempedak Hill early this morning.  As is customary between 6.30 - 7.00 am I would do a little bit of morning climb up the Cempedak Hill.  At this commanding locality there will always be birds that take turns to perch and welcome the new day with their sweet melodies.  Today's line-up included the Pink-necked Green Pigeon, The Spotted-necked Dove ( Tekukur - Malay) and the Blue-throated Bee-eater. Very soon they'll fly off in search for food but I know they'll be back again tomorrow morning  before the sun rises up for they too would like to see the beautiful flushes and many shades of green that the sun smiles on another day.  Let the sun shines on me .....

Pink-necked Green Pigeon, male at bottom and female at top of picture.

Spotted-necked Dove

Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis)

View of the park from Cempedak Hill, looking north

Flushing at the park now...orange-red young leaves of the Eugenia oleina
Location : Provinsi Carpentaria, Zone F

Blue-throated Bee-eaters after the bees

Blue-throated Bee-eaters at the Cempedak tree
Location : Cempedak Hill, Zone G

 It was just yesterday that the bulbuls were seen having a field day chasing and catching the bees at Botanic Island Two.  Today early in the morning (8.00 -8.30 am) I went to do a little bit of birding at Cempedak point.  On top of the Cempedak hill stands a few cempedak trees (Artocarpus integer) that provide perches for the Blue-throated Bee-eaters to rest and enjoy their catch.  From the perches the bee-eaters organised many sorties.  They came back to the perches to batter the bees before consuming them. The park is a passageway for the bee-eaters to go southerly every morning to hunt for food and use the same route to return home in a northerly direction  in the late afternoon. The calls of the bee-eaters are everyday music heard at the park.

More green pigeons at Cempedak point

A small party of Little Green Pigeon
Location: Cempedak point, Zone G

Male (below) and female (above)

 The Cempedak Hill is named after the group of Cempedak trees that are planted on top of the hill.  The trees provided convenient perches for many birds such as the pigeons, doves,magpie-robins, bulbuls etc.  The Cempedak point is one of the tallest spot for birdwatching at the park and provides a scenic view of the landscape and topography of the area.  This morning I observed a small party of Little Green Pigeons comprising of two males and two females trying to out do one another on the perches.  They were later joined by a threesome of Spotted-necked Dove called 'Tekukur' locally.

Spotted-necked Dove