Sungai Balang
Last Updated on 30 October 2022
Having heard so much about Sungai Balang and seen many pictures of the wonderful birds that live here, we decided to stop by during our drive back to Singapore from Genting Highlands.
As the Sungai Balang rice fields is a sanctuary for migratory birds, the best time for bird watching is during the winter migratory season from October to March. A trip to Sungai Balang can also be combined with a visit to the nearby Parit Jawa.
The moment we entered the dirt track leading us into the rice fields, we were immediately awed by the number of birds flying in the sky as well as feeding in the fields.
There in the water-logged rice fields, we were amazed to see not only numerous egrets, but also flocks of Lesser Adjutants, foraging and lounging around.
The Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus) is rare in Singapore, but a common sight in Malaysia especially in the mangrove and coastal areas. One of our favourite stork species, we endearingly refer to them as “ugly ol’ fellow”.
The many ditches – known as “parit” in Malay – and the tall grass lining them made for good cover for the many water birds to roam around undetected.
Once in a while, a bird or two might pop their heads up for a peek, to the delight of birders like us. We were ecstatic to see a family of Grey-headed Swamphens (Porphyrio poliocephalus) – even if just their heads – because they are a rarity in Singapore.
Other elusive water birds that we managed to catch glimpses of included the Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)…
…the Lesser Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna javanica)…
…the Wood Sandpipers (Tringa glareola)…
…and the Red-wattled Lapwings (Vanellus indicus).
Very well camouflaged amongst the grass are the tiny grass birds, such as the Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus rufulus)…
…the Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis)…
…and the Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata).
Also trying to blend in but unintentionally looking conspicuous are the Purple Herons (Ardea purpurea)…
…and the Striated Herons (Butorides striata), both of which can be found quite commonly here and back in Singapore.
At one point, we blundered right up to a skulking Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus), who looked kinda shocked for a second before hastily taking off, leaving me with no time to fit all of him into my frame.
We also unwittingly managed to flush a Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) right out of a bush.
Some of the migratory birds that we spotted here were the Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus)…
…the Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)…
…the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)…
…the Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus)…
…and the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).
A resident kingfisher that can be seen not just in Sungai Balang but all over Malaysia (and Singapore) is the White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis). We managed to encounter several individuals during our drive around the rice fields.
Sungai Balang is a good place for raptor watch, especially during the raptor migratory season from October to March. As we were too engrossed with the numerous water and grass birds, we only managed to catch one resident Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) hunting in the fields.
Just as we were about to make our way out…
…we were delighted to drive right into a party of White-winged Terns perched on the electrical wire in the midst of their mid-morning break!
So this is where they go to chill out!
While driving around, we would constantly see the terns swooping and skimming the water-logged rice fields for insects.
Hawking insects all day long can be tiring business, so it’s a good idea to take frequent breaks.
We did not manage to cover the entire area in one trip. So we will most certainly come back to Sungai Balang again some day – perhaps to look for raptors.
