And one rainy morning…

…on Lake Temengor, within the Royal Belum State Park…
…Perak, Malaysia…

…we pulled the boat into the shore…

…near this dead rainforest tree…

…drowned when the dam was built…
…which has bamboo lashed to the trunk…
…by the indigenous people of the forest area…
…to form a ladder…

 …to raid a nest (probably of a Hill Myna)…

…and there we waited…

…and watched from 6.40 a.m. until 8.10 a.m…

…and the birds came.

 1,617 of them.

I know because I counted every one.
Their wings whoosh audibly as they fly…
… and their voices call: Kok-ok! …
…as they keep in touch with one another…

Every one a hornbill.
A Plain-pouched Hornbill.
…flying from overnight roost to food source.
Endangered.
Perhaps the last flocks on earth…

Comments

And one rainy morning… — 6 Comments

  1. Wow! That was quite a view!
    Any chance of seeing the same in late April this year?
    Do you think it would worth to camp for 4 or 5 days in Sungai Tiang in April this year?
    All the best,
    Reinaldo
    uirapururei@gmail.com

  2. Best you contact the Malaysian Nature Society for details, Reinaldo. Certainly there are ways you can maximise the chances of seeing the birds and the people with the best up-to-date info are with the MNS. Best of luck — it's an astonishing sight, and the photos don't do it justice.

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