10.02.2018 Sungai Janggut Revisited

I revisited Sungai Janggut and this time I am quite lucky. I was greeted by a soaring Brahminy Kite, soaring above the mangroves. I take a walk along the mangrove, again heard a series of "laughters" made by some White Collared Kingfishers. Then reached a muddy flat at its end. to my surprise there were many waders where feasting on the mud flat. I found a medium sized flock of Wood Sandpipers busy looking for food. I personally had a thought that waders are boring, but today I changed my mind. They are more approachable and interesting to shot, especially when they are in flight. Plus, a single mud flat will provide you several species of waders in a single frame.

Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)

White Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris humii)

A small flock of Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

I decide to walk along the sandy edge of the mud flat to find more birds. A Whiskered Tern was busy fishing in the shallow waters. I first saw this bird at the Azhapuzha canal, in Kerala, few years back.

Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)

I reached a huge mud flat where I saw a huge flock of waders busy feasting. I had a quite an entry to my birds' list as well. I was followed by a flock of House Crows which were very noisy and scared away the waders which were closer to me. I walked away and found another spot to shot the waders. Some were so small and far, made it difficult for me to focus. One of such bird was the Ruddy Turnstone, which was busy looking for food under the stones from quite a distance. This bird is not found in large number like the other waders. It move in a very small number.

Little Heron (Butorides striata) with its catch, probably a salt water catfish

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Lesser Sand Plovers (Charadrius mongolus) in flight

Curlew Sandpipers (Calidris ferruginea) in flight

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

A Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) busy looking for food

However, I was excited to have my first encounter with the Eurasian Curlew, a large wader with a long beak, built for hunting small crabs and other aquatic crustaceans.

Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) in flight

Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata)

Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) in flight

It is a fruitful visit since I had 5 new entries to my bird list. Its a worthy place to be revisited again for taking the pictures of the waders.