We had a four-day weekend from April 27 to May 1, but due to schoolwork, I only managed to get out one morning. As the Diyasaru Park is very close to my home, I chose to visit this small productive wetland in the morning.
The common water birds, such as Asian Openbill, Grey-headed Swamphen, Lesser Whistling-Duck, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Eastern Cattle Egret and Black-headed Ibis were in evidence and other birds included House Crow, Red-vented Bulbul, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Black-hooded Oriole and Green Imperial Pigeon. A preening White-breasted Waterhen in the early morning light close to the pathway was a great opportunity to watch these common but entertaining rallids. A great situation was when I was about to cross one of the small bridges over the waterways, a Black Bittern rushed away into the thicket, flushing a Ruddy-breasted Crake during the process. The crake landed right next to the bridge again and provided close-up and extended views as it foraged along the muddy edge. This is most likely the same individual that was present in the park for a long time now and attracted many photographers.
A Pale-billed Flowerpecker provided extended views as it hopped around in a bush; quite different from seeing them zipping overhead and giving their piercing calls, which is often the case with these birds. The lookout tower yielded nothing interesting. When I wanted to leave the park, a young man asked me if I wanted to go on a boat ride to go to the small heronry of Purple Herons and Black-crowned Night-Herons, I agreed and after some time we were poled through the channel by two of the park’s staff. We tried several access points, but all of them turned out to be so badly overgrown with water weeds that the boat got stuck.
The heronry was finally reached after using a small raft to cross one of the waterways and the maneuvering through thicket and rubble. It contained two or three Purple Heron nests and some Black-crowned Night-Herons where breeding deeper inside the bushes. A tiny Yellow Bittern was also stalking through the vegetation. Compared to South Africa (Little Bittern there, which is quite similar), these birds are really common here, and some mornings I see up to five different birds in the park.
My Zone Is Birding 