Malaysia Eco-Tourism takes centre stage at Raptor Watch

TravelMole’s Paul Chern takes a look at the fascination with Malaysia’s feathered friends.

On 14 Mar 2015 a record 4,000 participants came – birders, nature lovers, photographers, families on holiday and the rest mainly student groups thronged  the decorated booths for games and quizzes. Many had faces painted in happy colours, who then joined the forest walk to a hilltop facing Sumatra across the Straits of Malacca.

Built in the 15th century, Cape Rachado Lighthouse stands in timeless isolation, a splash of white against cloudless blue skies. By night, it sends out a beam of light so bright you see it from 20 nautical miles at sea. This historic structure sits above Tanjong Tuan Forest Reserve, an important raptor migration stopover as well as a cross-over site for tens of thousands of raptors.

These raptors are birds of prey which include hawks, eagles, falcons, vultures, owls and honey buzzards among others whose habitats span six continents. Migratory raptors at Tanjung Tuan originate from breeding grounds in North Asia, Eastern Siberia Kamchatka, Northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula and Japan. To escape the icy desolation of winter, they make the perilous journey south in September into continental Southeast Asia through the East Asian Flyway – migratory routes taken by raptors. From mid February to mid April, they return to breeding grounds sprouting green in the flush of spring. This return crossing was celebrated at Raptor Watch 2015, organized by the Malaysian Nature Society, which this year celebrates 75 years.

As the sun races east to west, cooler air heats up to form thermals – rising columns of hot air currents on which Raptors glide across this narrowest 42 km stretch of water from Sumatra. Flapping wings tire them out and only the fittest survive. In less perfect weather conditions, some stragglers drop like stones into watery graves. A fortunate handful hitch rides on passing ships all the way to Singapore, then fly north again. For one very fortunate juvenile osprey, MNS came to the rescue.

At the launch, MNS President Henry Goh said.  “In this 75th anniversary celebration of MNS’ formation, events like Raptor Watch bring about more awareness and more people gather to understand and protect our natural heritage. MNS is heartened the State governments of Melaka and Negeri Sembilan, with support from Tourism Malaysia are coming together to promote Malaysia’s biggest ecotourism event.”

Started in 2000 with just one tent and 100 participants; Raptor Watch has grown in size and popularity attracting local and foreign visitors. Birders make it a point to visit while hotels, resorts and restaurants benefit. Some add Raptor Watch as a tourism package for staff and guests.

With eyes glued to binoculars, some cameras with telephoto lenses trained on the skies, participants are content to spend hours catching a suntan. It’s almost always a suntan, because Raptors need sunny Thermals to ride on. Now and again a murmur goes up to indicate new sightings Monosyllabic grunts are heard as they squint into afternoon skies for birds flying in from the west. By 4pm we called it quits as th bird arrivals tailed off.

By 8pm, we read the MNS bird count update for 14th March: 2,255 Oriental Honey Buzzards, 2 Grey Faced Buzzards, 2 Black Bazas. Birding is now a leading niche tourism product for Tourism Malaysia with the hosting of “Malaysia, a Preferred Birding Destination” conference last month.

MNS has also identified 55 Important Bird Areas in Malaysia, internationally recognized for biodiversity conservation with 795 species of birds recorded. Over 60 species are endemic – found here and nowhere else on the planet.

Malaysia’s diverse bird population, beautiful tropical scenery and friendly people makes any visit memorable for seasoned or first time birders.

Paul was a guest of the Malaysia Nature Society