Bird Watching Near Bidor

Blackwinged Kites

I have not participated in any MNS (Malaysian Nature Society) activities since 2008. In January 2013 MNS newsletter, one item caught my interest. It was a bird-watching activity near Bidor organized by the Selangor Branch. It was to be a half-day bird watching at Chikus, near Bidor and I decided to join this trip. The meeting point was at Bidor exit from the North-South Highway, time 7.30 AM.

That Sunday morning (Thaipusam Day), I got up at 4.00 AM, bathed and got ready. By 5.00 AM, I started my drive to Bidor. Along the way, I stopped at a Shell station to buy a canned coffee and some buns for breakfast. The journey to Bidor was a pleasant one, with a bright full moon in sight.

I arrived at Bidor exit just about 7.40 AM and already there were several cars parked by the roadside after the toll plaza. After I parked my car, I went to look for the organizer, Andy Lee. When I found Andy, I introduced myself since this was our first meeting. After registering, I got to know a few other participants. Most came from KL/PJ while a few were from Perak branch. Most are members of MNS while a few are friends of members. By 8.10 AM, we began our drive to Chikus, which was about 9 KM away along the Bidor-Teluk Intan road.

As we neared the birding site, some of us were to leave our cars by the inlet road and to car pooled inwards. I went in with another car, driven by Mahes. We introduced each other and I got to know that Mahes is from India. He is an engineer working in Subang Jaya. The inlet road was sandy and uneven.

When we reached the birding site (it was a former tin mine, converted to small buffalo or cow farms, surround by palm oil plantation), we got out of the cars and began to walk. I admired Mahes’ camera when he took it out from its case. It was a Canon 50D with a medium telephoto lens, mounted on a tripod. Compared to mine, an entry level 600D equipped with a basic telephoto lens (50-250mm), Mahes’ 50D was a superb camera.

Off we went into two groups, guided by our experienced bird-watchers (or birders as they are normally called). At this first site, we noted several flocks of Blackwing Kites and Golden Plovers. We also spotted a few Lesser Whistling Ducks and Purple Heron, White Cattle Egret (Burung Bangau), Kingfisher, Herons, Tekukur, Swifts and Merbah. There were two raptors, one a Sparrow Hawk and a Hawk Eagle, flying quite high gliding on the thermals. The sun was shining bright and fortunate for us, there were some trees that gave us some shade.

By 11.10 AM, we drove back to the inlet road, boarded our own cars and went to the second site, about 1 KM away. The second site was near the FRIM Station Bidor. There were several ponds grown with water-lilies near a cow farm. Here, we spotted 5 small wild ducks, several green bee-eaters, two purple herons, water fowl and 3 cattle egrets. The day was bright and sunny and most of us gathered under the shade of a tree to observe the birds. A few others braved the hot sun to walk some distance way.

By 12.15, there was a debrief to compare notes of all the birds spotted for the day. Andy and Liung, the main organisers, thanked us for participating and encouraged us to participate in the next birding activity.