CY@CY Says Welcome to my dreamscape. Where a Lim is also a Ling.
Bird watching and photography is a great source of happiness for me. The joy of photographing a bird that I have never photographed before gives me a sense of thrill and joyful glee.
On my January 1 2022 trip to the Kuala Baram Wetlands, I was able to capture sharp images of a lesser adjutant and a stork-billed kingfisher. The joy I experienced is priceless.
While I assume I am unique in feeling that moment of joyfulness, that “feel good” emotion is actually thought to be universal. I googled about bird watching and found out that studies suggest bird watching make many people happy and their happiness correlates to their proximity to birds and the amount of birds in their vicinity. Birding is a great antidote to our stress.
Birding helps to distract me from the stress that is thrown at me. It helps me connect with nature. I marvel at the different shapes, colours, and the intricate weave of a bird’s feathers as well as their calls that range from screeches, whistles, chirps and caws. Birds have an astounding diversity of design, colour, flight patterns and grace. They are truly ambassadors of the natural habitat they depend upon.
I have seen the mating of many species of birds, enabling me to experience the wonder of nature. I have seen male birds perched on top of female birds, engaging in some fast and furious action. Sometimes I feel like I am watching an acrobatic show as the male balances itself on top of the female. I often find it funny that male birds are usually the more colorful and decorative of the species and the females are generally more bland looking.
Bird watching is part visual and part auditory. Once you have been bird watching for some length of time, you can easily identify birds by their calls.
The best part about bird watching is that no matter where I go, I can enjoy an activity that gives me pleasure and relaxation, adding quality to my life. Whenever I go travellling, especially to foreign countries, bird photography sits right at the top of my priorities.
Birding helps you connect with people with similiar interest. I have personally made a few new friends because of birding. These are people that I met while out on the field pursuing my bird photography. They include Ting Soo Ping, Morilee Mahar, Tok Ki Pungut, APlus Lee, Sherman Bourke, Duncan Yip and Patrice Maurice.
I am also a member of some birding groups on Facebook and WhatsApp. From my association with these groups, I have increased my knowledge about birds and bird identification. I also actively participate by sharing my own photos or videos.
I store my better bird photos on a portable harddisk, with a folder for each type of bird. On my photography outings, I am always striving to increase my “life list,” referring to the number of unique species I have photographed in my life so far. It is like a treasure hunt, something akin to searching for monsters on Pokemon Go.
I take pride in knowing that the photos in my harddisk are all taken by me. I have even have a photobook printed, featuring about 50 different types of birds that I have photographed. I know my photos will never win any photography awards but that is perfectly fine with me. The photos give me a sense of accomplishment.
When I am out doing bird photography, I do a fair amount of walking and sometimes even a bit of runnning as I chase after birds in flight, giving my body some exercise. It is killing two birds with one stone.
In Miri, Kuala Baram Wetlands is my top favourite place to go for bird photography as there are more bird species there and if you are lucky, you may encounter some rare migratory birds. I have photographed a wide variety of birds there, including black-shouldered kites, peregrine falcons, lesser fish eagles, ospreys, Japanese sparrowhawk, grey-faced buzzard, egrets, brahminy kites , white-bellied sea eagles, terns, a variety of shore birds, wandering whistling ducks, black hornbills, oriental pied hornbills, oriental darters, lesser coucals, kingfishers, blue-throated bee-eaters, lesser adjutants, crows, herons, brown-capped woodpeckers, pigeons, dollar birds, white-browed crake and lots of other smaller birds.
Second on my list is Piasau Nature Reserve, the place to go if you want to see oriental pied hornbills. I have also encountered brahminy kites, white-bellied sea eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys, oriental honey buzzards, lesser coucals, common mynas, pigeons, dollar birds, yellow-vented bulbuls, Asian glossy starlings, sunbirds, pied trillers and many other smaller birds at Piasau Nature Reserve.
Other places that I go for bird photography are Coco Cabana, Miri Central Park, Bulatan Park, Taman Awam, Miri City Fan, Parkcity Everly Hotel area and Miri Septic Sludge Treament Plant area. At these places, there are less varieties of birds. But I have photographed a sulphur crested cockatoo and a bird that I think is a budgerigar at Coco Cabana and a pink bubul at Miri Central Park.
I initially thought my interest in bird photography was a transitory flirtation. But the more birds I photograph, the more addicted I become. I used to think that eagles are just eagles but now I know there are so many different types of eagles, each with its own uniqueness. It provides me with exhilarating moments of discovery. It makes me wonder what else I have been missing. Is there anything more fulfilling?