Juvenile Black-winged Kite home alone, juveniles at nest.
Another practising it's climbing skills up to the nest where the other juvenile sits. An adults watched closely from a nearby tree.
Armed with a recently purchased SkimmerSack stuffed with probably 5kilos of kacang hijau (at MYR$7.50/kilo), I headed out today to test the outfit in the field.
First stop was Pujut 7 Lakes, MNS Miri Branch members were there last week, you can read about their haul here. Musa revisited the site later that same week and came back with videos and pictures of 2 juvenile Black-winged Kite (aka Black-shouldered Kite) which could be the only 2nd record for Sarawak. So I had to get back and acquire some shots of my own.
The two juveniles were still at nest, when Aisya and I arrived at the location around 0900hrs. It was kinda amazing that the group missed the nest, the nesting tree was standing right in front of the spot where we were last week. Musa has sharper eyes than most of us present.
One juvenile was in the nest; another further down the tree trunk. The rusty wash on the fearhers was barely visible on camera. The adult wasn't too far away on another tree.
On the way back, we saw twelve Wandering Whistling Ducks in one of the lakes, as well as a Purple Heron and three Intermediate Egret. Initially the ducks were swimming in groups out in the open but quickly took refuge in the kangkong as soon as they heard us. I acquired several record shots and a video.
The SkimmerSack was quite nifty albeit the rather heavy 5kilo weight of the beans inside it. It plopped down securely on the rooftop, and sat there the whole time. With the sunroof open shooting standing up in the middle of the car felt kind of novel.
The big lens was placed securely on the sack, and was as stable as it can get. The rubber grip ensures zero opportunity for lens slippage, that was a superb touch. Managed a few seconds of video recording as well without any noticeable shake. The car efficaciously doubled as a hide with leather seats, air-conditioning and music if needed when birding is slow.
After the lakes, I drove the newly discovered "hide" to Lutong beach to see if there were any egrets on show. The tide was rising, there were a few Lesser Sandplover and crabs busy foraging. After locating a suitable spot with three LSP, I decided to shoot from the window this time.
With the engine off, all windows down, beanbag set on the driver's window and the big lens sitting snugly on top, I shot off a few frames with subjects very close by. The waders were curious but weren't afraid. One fella actually walked up right to the car!
I guess I have finally discovered the "right" way to shoot birds for me at least, for now: in the car, with the SkimmerSack nearby. Though shooting would be limited to where I can drive the "hide" to, I guess it's more than sufficient for now. Plenty of places to go to shoot in that fashion here in Miri. There's undoubtedly plenty of waders, egrets, kingfishers and other birds to keep me occupied for a while. The drybox would be missing the big lens soon enough.
Perhaps further down the line is probably a project to revamp the Pajero into a 2 seater 4WD birdhide: take out the backseat, move the right side front seat to the back. Anyone knows a chop shop in Miri who can help me with that?
Twelve Wandering-whistling Duck hiding in the kangkong after taking notice of the commotion we made.
Lesser Sandplover at Lutong Beach today shot from inside the car from the driver's seat using the SkimmerSack as support for the big lens.
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