Sunday, March 27, 2016

Tanjung Tuan Raptor Watch & Lesser Adjutant nesting at Muar

Oriental Honey Buzzard
Our first visit to Tanjung Tuan for the Raptor Watch was 5 years ago when it was held in the grounds of the PNB Ilham Resort.  It was an exciting experience seeing the kettles of raptors using the hot afternoon air gliding with the rising updraft.   This year we decided to revisit but found the event had moved to the hill at the base of the Rachado Lighthouse. During the walk uphill we stopped to check out the various booths that had been set up about recycling, health products and nature conservation.   At the base of the steps to the lighthouse there were exhibitors of optical instruments - binoculars, scopes, event t-shirts, mementos, crafts, etc and drinks.  

        




There were lots of visitors enjoying this fun event.
Oriental Honey Buzzard
By 11 am the day was getting hot and the raptors started flying in. Oriental Honey Buzzards seem to be the main raptors that day. The Raptor Watch (https://mnsraptorwatch.wordpress.com/) had organised volunteers to do the counting of the raptors at the lighthouse.  On normal days the Lighthouse will be off-limit to the public but this day, one could enter and enjoy the view of the cape.  Some other volunteers were busy guiding members of the public on forest trails below the hill. It was a good day checking out the exhibitors’ products and meeting up with friends.
The drive from Singapore to Tanjung Tuan near Port Dickson took 4 hours and some friends we met had come for a day-trip, while we stayed a night at Port Dickson. One of booths was gathering signatures for a petition to save the trees in Muar town where colonies of Lesser Adjutants had been nesting for years.  On our way home we went to check out the nests.

Lesser Adjutant

On 13th March we drove early and as we approached the area we could see the Lesser Adjutants in the sky. The tall tree was behind a row of terrace houses at Jalan Hj Yunos and their nests high in the branches were at staggered levels almost like an apartment block of 5 or 6 stories in the sky.


Lesser Adjutant Nesting







                        



                     Here’s the link to the petition for more information






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