Saturday, March 27, 2021

New Little Bird In The Garden

 

There is a new bird that flew in my yard this week. It usually drops in within an hour after i've watered my plants in the morning.

I figured that it comes in to take its morning rub-down. It's a small bird approximately 3cm wide and 6cm in length and fits snugly as it sits on the pandan leaves.

It selects a leaf and shakes off all the water unto its feathers ……

.. then proceeds to clean itself


After the cleaning it contemplates whether to ……..shall I?

…and proceeds to part 2 of the morning ritual ??????

Make Yourself At Home… Little Bird 

JAG

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Bird- Kidnapping Incident Brings Birders And Simee Community Together

Junior with Mummy.... Oriental / Honey Crested Buzzard Torquatus race.

 A baby bird-kidnapping incident has brought the community of bird watchers and Simee residents together. 

Their close co-operation had enabled them to locate the baby Oriental / Honey Crested Buzzard expediently and enabling the young chick to be returned to its nest 3 hours after it was abducted.

The incident occurred on Sunday 14 March at the cross roads of the abandoned Silver Star Cinema in Simee Ipoh.

On a tree in front of the cinema perched approximately 30 meter atop on the upper branches a pair of Oriental / Crested Honey Buzzards Torquatos morph had built a nest to have their little Junior.

Daddy and Mummy. Oriental / Honey Crested Buzzard Torquatus race. Mummy is a Tweedale morph whose fur and feathers make her an exceptional beauty.

Setting up nest ..an early photos taken in January. Above photos by Gilbert Chin 

Nesting location in Simee .. on the upper branches in front of an abandoned cinema


Junior was born around February 25 and was 3 weeks old at the time of the abduction.

Junior Bird-napped 

On that Sunday at approximately 2.20pm 4 men showed up with gondola crane. When asked what was going on by Sam Chu a photographer the reply was they wanted to photograph the bird.

The gondola went up with one of the abductors and came down with the bird in a basket. The whole incident lasted no more than ten minutes and the abductors gone.

Up went the gondola crane ....

 .. and came down with baby Junior in a basket 

When the crane first arrived a nearby resident named Angela Ng was observing out of curiosity. When the abductor entered the gondola Angela called to Jek Yap a regular birder photographer. Jek in turn called to Yvonne Blake also a birder/ photographer who was updating the OHB nesting on her FB page Perak Natural Heritage.

Just then another photographer, Sam Chu together with his wife Veron, showed up. It was Sam who inquired what was going on while Veron had been busy shooting a video of the abduction.

With the abductors gone Jek took the witnesses Angela and Veron to the police station to make a report. Meanwhile another witness who was familiar with the crane operator approached them to return baby-bird.

 The abductors agreed but only upon withdrawal of the police. A heated negotiation between the birders and the abductors ensured. Ultimately the birders relented in order that Junior be returned but set conditions such as (1) only if junior is alive and well (2) the crane to be at their disposal to take baby up to nest and (3) if parents reject it to bring junior down.   

The entire drama lasted three hours from abduction till its returning to the nest. But the drama was far from over. 

Would Mummy and Daddy accept Junior back. Oriental Honey Buzzards diet is honey and meat. The abductors said they had fed Junior fish so it was skeptical whether the parents would unite with Junior.

Every evening Mummy Buzzard returned home to nest with Junior but on the night after the abduction it was left all alone.

The day after .. Mummy with a 'honeycomb for Junior ..

...while Daddy watched from a nearby tree.   Pic: Irwan Fahmy Darwis

However the birders fear was unfounded as Mummy was seen entering the nest at approximately 930am the next morning with a chunky honeycomb for Junior while Daddy watched from a nearby tree. 

Several hours later it was Daddy’s turn to drop by with ‘meat’ all for Junior. From then onwards life had returned to normal.

Setting Up Nest

“The pair of Buzzards set up nest towards the end of December 2020” said Gilbert Chin one of the group of birders who had noted their presence in December.  According to residents this was not the first year that these birds had nested here.

He had alerted other enthusiasts and they could be seen with their long-lense cameras especially at weekends.

Photographers aplenty everyday

The location of the nest at traffic light cross road and the attendance of photographers further publicized the presence of birds.

The birds had also brought luck when its number won first prize and subsequently a consolation prize further endearing it to the community.

Junior only arrived two months later on the 25 February.

The end of February saw the presence of Yvonne Blake. a birding enthusiast who administers the Fb page Perak Natural Heritage, about everything natural to Perak, birds, otters even butterflies. 

She was told by her friends there were people ‘shooting up a tree’ when on their way to Simee market.

Enthusiastic birders Yvonne Blake, Sam Chu and Veron and Jek Yap 

What she saw the next day was a subject close to her heart, two Oriental / Honey-cested Buzzards nesting and awaiting the arrival of their newborn.

“From the look they are both Oriental/Crested Honey Buzzard Torquatus race. However the mother is rare. It is an Oriental /Crested Honey Buzzard torquatus race Tweedale morph- resident which is exceptional.

She is black and white and the coloring of her fur and feathers makes her beauty exceptional like the Blyte hawk–eagle something that a lot of old time birders have never seen a morph like that”

Yvonne’s goal is to document the birds and the growth of Junior until it fledges (when a baby gets its wing and takes flight)

This was posted on her page ” Raptors are hard enough to see close up let alone nesting. The Oriental Honey Buzzard Torquatus race is Malaysia's resident and the female Tweedle morph is a rare find. ..We shall be observing them until the babies fly... once in a lifetime chance BUT we are all praying they will come back to nest in the same place next year and following years to come. Hoping MBI does not cut down this tree in the future”

Since February 23 when her first post of the buzzards she has continued till today making daily posts until Junior fledges.

Simee residents dismayed

Residents of Simee could not understand why the crane operators would want to bird-nap Junior. S.Sundram  who lives just two blocks from the nest was dismayed when he saw the commotion on the evening but was glad when the bird was returned later.

Assemblyman Jenny Choy asked authorities to investigate the persons involved. Pic:Sin Chew 


State assemblyman Jenny Choy said that the bird was a protected species and was incensed about the incident and made a press statement that the authorities should “investigate the persons involved in order to avoid similar incidents from happening again."

By the time this report is out Junior will have grown feathers and his wings would be stronger and getting ready to fledge.

February 24 .. Nesting 

February 24
March 21.. getting ready ??


March 21


March 21

March 21


Soon the nest will be empty and photographers gone, until next year when maybe, the Oriental / Honey Buzzard decides to Nest at Simee once again. 

JAG


Monday, March 22, 2021

“Eccentric” - Retired Lorry Driver Keeps Recreational Park Clean

 By Jerry Francis 

Retiree Yeoh at 'work' from 6.30am to 9.30am for the last ten years

IPOH: While scores of residents are jogging, walking or participating in various forms of exercises in the morning on a small recreational park in Ipoh, retired lorry driver Yeoh Say Bah pressed himself into providing community service by cleaning the park.

He can be seen in the park at Taman One Pertama from 6.30am to 9.30am everyday for the last ten years.

With a cangkul and a rack, he would be trimming the grass or just generally cleaning up the jogging track and children’s playing ground.

Yeoh Say Bah, 81, ..'I will continue..'
  “As long as my body can take it, I will continue to carry out this task,” said 81-year-old Yeoh when I met him in the park recently.

 It is indeed rare to come across a person, who had imposed upon himself a community service and had been carrying it out with full determination for a long time.

 It all began in 2010, when he was frustrated by the failure of the Ipoh City Council to maintain the recreational park.  There was then overgrown grass and clogged drains.

 So he decided to do something. Ever since he has been single-handedly keeping the park clean.

 “At first, some residents would tease me by saying that I was being paid by the city council or that I was an eccentric. Whatever they said did not bother me,” he said.

“I just carry on with the task, which I had voluntarily committed. After all it is also a form of exercise for me,” added Yeoh, who is already hunched and bowed legged.

Obviously he is contended with the task of keeping the park clean, but the actions of some youths who often gathered in the park and threw bottles and cans around are making his job difficult.

He has to clear the litter and pieces of broken bottles before those joggers and children who frequent the park could get hurt.

“Look at the drains around the park too. They are clogged up with dried leaves and dirt but the city council is yet to clear them. In the past I even got into the deep drains to clear them, but now I can no longer do so,” he said.

The effort of this unsung hero is being greatly appreciated by the residents in the taman and those in the surrounding housing estates. They would often stop and talk to him. Some had even offered to raise funds to help him purchase weed-killers and other items to carry out his task.

“I don’t need donations,” he stressed. “All I asked is for them to bring in their used plastic containers and bottles, which I can sell to raise some money to buy what I need for the task. They could deliver them to my house or bring them to the park.”       

Although he has become somewhat like a celebrity among the residents, but not so with the city council, which had so far not shown any appreciation to him for doing a job that the council should be doing.

And that is not all, a man claiming to be an employee of the city council recently threatened to issue a fine to him for carrying out a controlled open burning of dried leaves at the park.

I hope when the council celebrates “City Day” in May, some recognition can be accorded to Yeoh for his community service. A show of appreciation from the city council will inspire others to play a part towards achieving the “Cleanest City” status for Ipoh by 2023.

 Ends


Thursday, March 11, 2021

Ancient route connecting two villages discovered in Ipoh

Published on: Sunday, March 07, 2021, By: Bernama


IPOH: A study by a heritage association has found that there was an ancient route that connected two villages in the southern part of Gunung Lanno, Simpang Pulai near here, which is believed to have been last used by the villagers more than 100 years ago.

Persatuan Jurupandu Pelancong Geopark Warisan Alam Semulajadi Perak (GEONAT) chairman Mohd Fadly Md Noor said a GEONAT team explored the area after receiving information from locals about this three months ago.

“We were asked to conduct a study and after the exploration based on an old topographic map published in 1916, we discovered traces of a route that had been used in ancient times.

"Among our findings were a long tunnel and a stair-shaped stone structure in a cave," he said when met by reporters in the area.

He said the route was also believed to have been used for connecting two villages namely Teluk Kangor and Serba Jadi during the days of the British colonial era in Malaya at the time of the First World War (1914-1918), but most of the villages there had now been turned into an industrial area.

He said the findings would be relayed to the relevant parties to enable further studies to be conducted in more detail at the location gazetted as a quarry zone under the administration of the Batu Gajah District Council.

"Besides that, the area is unique and we believe has the potential to be developed into a conservation centre and even suitable as a location for activities such as kayaking or tourism because there is a pool about two metres (m) deep with a size of  200mx200m.

"Further research can be carried out by historians or institutes of higher learning because we found that there is a unique H-shaped water pool in the hill area," he said.

Mohd Fadly said if the cave there could be developed as a tourist attraction, it would be the first to offer water activities, especially kayaking, in Perak.

He said GEONAT was still conducting further studies on the rock structure and environment of the cave area as well as safety aspects including identifying suitable times to visit based on water level and weather factors together with diving and waterfall experts and nurses.

GEONAT  was established in August last year with its mission and vision to develop ecotourism, specifically in Perak.

The 78-member association is active in exploration-related activities in cave areas, nature, heritage sites and geoparks.

End

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Ipoh Garden East Residents Disgruntled Due To Disrupted Water Supply


.............   Second time in a fortnight

Residents of Ipoh Garden East saw red yesterday when their taps ran dry.

A fuming resident, Ms Lim said she came home in the evening and there was no water.  er grouse HeShe was infuriated because this was the second time in a fortnight this has happened.

“On the 23rd of February when it happened it lasted almost a whole day”.

A call to LAP (Lembage Air Perak) Operations Centre confirmed there was a broken pipe at Ipoh Garden East area on 9 March. Water was disrupted between the times of 4pm till 8pm when the pipe was repaired and flow restored.

The spokesman also confirmed the disruption on February 23. He added that the pipes in Ipoh Garden East were using AC pipes and were old and residents could experience disruptions in future.

He suggested that a minimum of 20 residents should make a request that the pipes in the area be changed.

KC


Monday, March 8, 2021

Covid-19 Kept Me From Church For A Year


It’s been one year since i stepped into church..CHURCH not a church hall. There is a different feeling somehow. Today was the morning mass at 7am.


Even entering thru this gate after a year felt like nostalgia.


Taking the 20 steps to the front of the church.


Then the reality that the new normal is still upon us ....


.....where we have to ‘check in' and scan / record ...........


..... before entry.


The morning congregation .. looked the same after a year ..


Father Phillip Lai said the mass.



Communion in the new normal … everyone received communion on the palm

Everything else was status quo


JAG































Friday, March 5, 2021

A Hopeful Day Begins March 5th 2021

 


A different morning was evident everywhere when I rode out this morning.

The corner coffee shop which had been closed for many months was open at 7.15am though with different stall owners.

The school bus parked around the corner for equally many months had its engine running and its operator wiping down his bus .

Why ?? …. All because today March 5th 2021 is when Malaysian authorities will ease restrictions in most localities….due to lower COVID-19 activity.

…..”officials will allow inter-district travel nationwide, markets, shopping centers, retail stores, and food establishments can open daily. ..social gatherings, meetings, workshops, and seminars can occur with up to half the venue capacity”.

No doubt it will improve the economy a bit BUT will we see a spike of Covid-19 thereafter?

Let’s keep our fingers crossed and remain vigilant and hope that doesn’t happen so that we can continue towards ‘the new normalcy’.

KC