A flock of Asian Openbill Storks spotted in a padi field in Teluk Rimba, Muar, Johor, on Sunday. Pic courtesy of Vincent Chow
FIND OF A LIFETIME: Nature society chairman chances upon rare storks in padi field
MUAR: A MALAYSIAN Nature Society (MNS) Johor member who has been on the trail of the Asian Openbill Storks since a pair was spotted in Johor Baru recently, scored big when he came across more than 140 of the rare bird species at Teluk Rimba here on Sunday.
MNS Johor chairman Vincent Chow said he was on the way to the Johor National Park in Gunung Ledang when his instincts prompted him to make a left turn instead of right at the junction to Gunung Ledang.
The detour led him to Teluk Rimba, where Chow said he saw a group of Asian Openbill storks frolicking at a padi field there.
Chow said he had been carrying out research on the birds (Anastomus oscitans) since the first pair of Asian Openbill was spotted in Johor Baru.
"Hundreds of the species had been spotted in Kuala Gula, near Taiping, and Penanti, Penang, on Jan 8 and the Batang Tiga padi fields in Malacca the following day.
"The species was first sighted in Ulu Dedap, Perlis, in March 2008.
"I knew there would be more of the birds in Johor. Since there are numerous padi fields in Muar, I decided to check the place out.
"True enough, the birds have found their natural habitat which included lakes, marshes and padi fields," Chow told the New Straits Times yesterday.
He said the Asian Openbill was the smallest of the nine species of storks found in Southeast Asia.
"In Peninsular Malaysia, we have the Lesser Adjutant, Milky Stork, Painted Stork and the rarer Storm's Stork. Sightings of the Asian Openbill in such a large group is unprecedented and a very important entry for the record of our local natural history as it is not found here," said Chow.
He estimated the flock in Muar to number more than 140.
"To a regular person, they may just be a flock of birds. But birders will drop everything in an instant to come here because they know that it is a rare occurrence and once these migratory birds fly off, birders would have missed the opportunity of a lifetime."
He said the Asian Openbill was so named as the beak was arranged in such a way that a gap was seen in the closed mandibles in adult birds. This feature was not developed while at the juvenile stage.
"They serve to accommodate the snails that they feed on and this rather usual feature gave them the name of 'openbill'.
"The bird ranges from India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and are occasionally seen as a vagrant in Malaysia as records indicate.
"I spent an hour watching the Asian Openbill here and confirmed that they were the real McCoys.
"I also talked to the farmers in the area and they confirmed that they have never seen these birds at the padi field before.
"I don't know what the birds are doing here, but let us welcome them with open arms as their presence will certainly boost the tourism sector."
Avitourism is a multi-billion industry, with birders from Singapore willing to pay as much as RM16,000 to local guides who can help them find a particular species of bird.
However, MNS Johor has called on the relevant authorities to step up efforts to train more nature guides if the Iskandar Regional Development Authority was serious in developing the lucrative niche market.