I wish to share my experiences on the Ulu Dedap birding trip on 7th April 1998, having read the article in the most recent newsletter. After a long absence from the MNS, I decided go on a birding trip. That morning I was travelling with Dr Ananda and his son.

The most impressive sight was that of the long-tailed parakeets which could be seen munching away at the durian flowers. They were easily detected by observing the falling petals of the durian flowers. Initially, I thought that it was the wind which was blowing the petals but upon closer examination, I saw a gang of 6 or 7 green birds, partly camouflaged by the green leaves of the tree but their contrasting crimson red faces gave them away. These birds were having a feast though I am not sure whether they play any role in fertilising the flowers. I also noticed that they often flew to old tree stumps where I believe they are nesting. While watching these birds, I felt so lucky to be able to behold such a wonderful sight, just along the kampong roadside at Pasir Salak. This is the first time that I have seen parrots in the wild. Previously, I had thought that parrots could only be seen in captivity or else deep in the Amazon jungle.

Other interesting observations were that of the rare Black-winged Stilts and the Northern Harrier. The appearance of such rare visitors made me wonder if this had got anything to do with the El Nino effect and the unusual weather patterns which is affecting nearly the whole world.

A list of birds spotted by me during the birding trip to Ulu Dedap on Tuesday 7th April 1998 (9am � 1 pm) are as follows:-

Habitat: Paddy fields (wet with rice shoots) and roadside kampungs with durian and other mature fruit trees

Stork-Billed Kingfishers, 5
Yellow Bittern, 2
Chinese Egret, > 20
Long Tailed Parakeet, groups of up to 7 munching durian flowers
Gold Whiskered Barbet, 1
Pied Hornbill, 3
Dollar Bird, 1
Black Bellied Malkoha, 2
Black Thighed Falconet, 3
Common Sand Piper, 2 (no spots)
Wood Sandpiper, 3 (with spots)
Great Egret, 1Barn Swallow, >100 (forked-tail)
Pacific Swallow, > 100
Chinese Pond Heron, 6 (5 with breeding plumage)
Cattle Egret, > 50 (black feet) some with breeding plumage (brown)
Black-winged Stilts, > 50+ Rare
Purple Heron, > 30
Grey Heron, >10
Zitting Cisticola, > 10
Cinnamon Bittern, 5
Northern Harrier, 3 (rare winter visitor)
Grey-faced Buzzard (?)

In conclusion it was a great experience for me and one of my more memorable birding trips. I am sure everyone else in the group would agree with that. Till then

Best regards,
L S Yeoh