A Visit To The Kuala Baram Wetlands

I finally made a visit to Kuala Baram Wetlands at about 11am this morning with my wife after much procrastination. I have read about the wetlands being a bird-watching sanctuary as it is a haven for winter migrating birds.

From Senadin, we drove to the Asean Bridge. After passing the Asean Bridge, we took the left exit at the roundabout, travelling along the old road to the Kuala Baram Wetlands. Along the road, there were oil palm estates on the left and large tracts of marshlands on the right.

The now seldom-used old road used to be quite busy in the old days when the Kuala Baram ferry was still operating. Bruneians would drive down to Miri for shopping and leisure activities while Sarawakians would commute to Brunei to work every day. The queue at the ferry used to be very long during weekends and public holidays. In those days, I often got angry with people who jumped queue near the ferry point.

As we drove along the road, we saw a few squatter huts dotting the roadside just ahead of Kampung Masjid. An old man was making fishing net outside his squatter hut. It gave me a deep sense of tranquility.

We alighted from the car at a few places to take photos and to just enjoy the fresh air and relax away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Some of the trees are so pretty!

Many trees in the wetlands had died, giving the area a desolate feel. The placid water in the marshland gives me a sense of peace and gazing across the marshland at the distant trees and plants is soothing to my often-stressed eyes.

Maybe our timing for the visit was wrong. We only saw many egrets and small swiftlets and a couple of wild ducks but I am unable to identify the ducks. Moreover, as soon as we alighted from our car, the birds took flight, denying us the opportunity to take photos of them. The only birds we could photograph were egrets and even then, I had to use my zoom lens as they were quite far away sitting on trees. My zoom lens is not powerful enough to capture a close-up of the birds.

According to latest Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) data based on its bird-watching activities since 2006, it has recorded 123 species of birds across the wetlands, comprising some 600 hectares of marshland near the former ferry point and the mouth of the 400km long Baram River, the second longest in Sarawak.. Even endangered Crested Chinese Tern had been sighted at the wetlands. Based on global statistics on birds, there are only 30 Chinese Tern tail-birds left in the world.
Plans are afoot to gazette this wetlands as a nature reserve as this could very well put Miri on the world’s bird-watching map, giving it a push to become a truly successful resort city.

The abolishment of the RM10 toll for Malaysian cars for using the Asean Bridge is a boon to people who wish to visit the wetlands. So Mirians, instead of going to the shopping malls this weekend, make a visit to the wetlands. And remember to bring your camera!