Winter Visitors

October 24 2010. This morning I shifted my attention from the forest birds. I explored the marshes at the Pulau Burung area to look for the common winter visitors such as waders and Kingfisher. I arrived at the location at about 8 in the morning. It was low tide period. I scanned the vast low-lying waterlogged area with the binocular. I was excited to spot some waders. However, it was not easy to photograph the targeted birds. They were relatively far away from my shooting location. I had to use the 1.4 TC with my EF 800mm IS in order to get the maximum reach. With this set-up, I retained only the center point AF.

The first target that got my attention was the Common Redshank. It was easily identified by its orange color leg.

Common Redshank

Common Redshank

The next species that draw my attention was the Lesser sand Plover (non-bleeding plumage). 

Lesser Sand Plover

Lesser sand Plover

As I drove further, I saw waders with very long and curved bill. After careful checked with my binocular, it turned out to be a Whimbrel. Yahoo !!! another lifer to my photo lifer list. Unfortunately it was difficult to get sharp photos of the subject due to the heat-waved generated from the ground.

My Photo Lifer of the day
Whimbrel

Pacific Golden Plover (non-breeding plumage)

In addition to waders, I saw the Common and Black-capped Kingfisher while I was driving along the trail. They were quite skittish, it either flew away while it saw my vehicle coming or perched far away from my shooting location. Anyway, here are two record shots of the species.

Common Kingfisher

Black-capped Kingfisher

Thanks for reading.