THERE'S nothing quite like seeing the skies filled with majestic birds spreading their wings and soaring in the heat of the day over Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson.
Raising my binoculars to my eyes, the sight of Black bazas, Oriental honey buzzards and Japanese sparrowhawks swirling up the lighthouse is a sight I've been so privileged to observe.
Birds are an education to watch, and a liberation that never ends.
It's a cliche but in this case, it's true to say that I felt my soul soar in the heat thermals above at Tanjung Tuan when a group of majestic Oriental honey buzzards arrived, soaring and whooping in the blue skies, gyring freedom in the air.
Fast-forward a few months later: I'm seated on a chugging boat making its way through the brackish lake water of Temengor, my eyes trained upwards as our group searched for the globally-threatened Plain-pouched hornbills.
The chugging of the boat lulled me into a near stupor but before I could nod off to sleep, there's a cry: "Plain-pouched hornbills ahead!"
The boat rocked as we moved around, fumbling for our cameras and binoculars to capture flocks of migrating Plain-pouched hornbills in classic V-formation that suddenly fill the skies.
In the interminable space between each slow, forceful cut of air made by the birds' great wingbeats — a whoomp strong enough that you can, if close, feel it as a draught — a deep silence opens out into the end of time itself.
From majestic raptors to hornbills; from waders and water birds, to the little blue Siberian blue robin that I was completely entranced with at Batang Kali, migratory birds are a common occurrence in Malaysia due to her enviable location in the crossroads of Southeast Asia.
For a novice birdwatcher like me, observing these visitors has undoubtedly been among some of my favourite birdwatching expeditions.
Amidst the global pandemic, World Migratory Bird Day was celebrated on May 9 and formed part of a global campaign dedicated to raising awareness of migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.
This year, the theme of World Migratory Bird Day is "Birds Connect Our World" and was chosen to highlight the importance of conserving and restoring the ecological connectivity and integrity of ecosystems that support the natural cycles that are essential for the survival and well-being of migratory birds.
Migratory birds fly across Malaysia — and over thousands of kilometres annually — to escape the cold winter or to reach breeding grounds.
They follow the same path each year with little deviation; they're biologically equipped with an internal compass which allows them to sense the earth's magnetic field to navigate.
"Malaysia is located on the path of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway that provides strategic and important resting sites for migratory birds flying between wintering sites in Southeast Asia and Australia and the breeding sites in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Siberia," points out noted ornithologist Dave Bakewell, whose extensive knowledge of Malaysian avifauna has been developed over 25 years of field experience in the country.
I knew of Bakewell's expertise ever since I'd been inducted into the birdwatching world a few years ago.
Seen a bird you can't identify? Can't tell the difference between swifts and swallows? Chances are he's the man you'd want to ask.
Bakewell, the chief editor of the Malaysian Checklist of Birds since 2010 and a member of the Malaysian Birds Records Committee, would draw upon his vast encyclopaedic knowledge of birds and generously give you a helping hand.
MIGRATORY BIRDS
It's no surprise that he's my go-to expert on migratory birds, but I can't help but feel slightly intimidated as we chat over a video call.
"I've not gone bird-watching for a long time," I confess almost immediately.
I'm afraid if I didn't tell him that, he might pick up the telling cues as we converse further. Birdwatchers are an observant lot, after all. "You could always take it up again," he replies, smiling.
I breathe a sigh of relief. This makes it easier for me to ask him even the most basic of questions concerning migratory birds. I'm a novice after all, and Bakewell is a great teacher.
So, what are migratory birds? I ask the affable expert.
He leans back into his chair and smiles. It's simple really, he begins. "A migratory bird, I suppose, a simplest definition is any bird that breeds in one area and then spends some of the rest of its life in another geographically-distinct area."
There are many different migration patterns. Altitudinal migrants are those who breed on top of a mountain and spend the rest of the year at the bottom of the same mountain.
There are also short, medium and long-distance migrants. "But when we think about migratory birds, we usually think about the long-distance migrants that may breed in Siberia or Northern Asia and then they spend long periods of time in Southern Asia or somewhere near the Equator," he explains.
Whether they're going a few miles or a quarter of the way across the world, birds migrate to escape conditions that threaten their survival.
Bird migration, Bakewell adds, is a natural process, whereby different birds fly over distances of hundreds and thousands of kilometres in order to find the best ecological conditions and habitats for feeding, breeding and raising their young.
When the conditions at breeding sites become unfavourable due to low temperatures, migratory birds fly to regions where conditions are better.
Migratory birds have the perfect structure and body functions that enable them to fly fast and across long distances. However, their journey is often an exhausting one during which they go to their limits.
For example, travelling long distances costs raptors a lot of energy. Before migrating, some raptors gain as much as 10 to 20 per cent of their body weight in fat as a high-density fuel for migration.
Raptors conserve precious energy on migration by soaring — using rising currents and columns of air currents to gain lift and fly without flapping their wings.
Migratory birds rarely fly to their destination non-stop but interrupt their journey frequently to rest and feed, or to sit out a spell of bad weather. Exactly how migrating birds find their flyways is still not fully understood.
MALAYSIA'S MIGRANTS
Approximately 1,800 of the world's 10,000 bird species are long-distance migrants.
In Malaysia, 285 out of 711 species in Peninsular Malaysia are migrants (40 per cent), and 224 out of 632 species are migrants in Bornean Malaysia (35 per cent).
"Just over 800 species have been recorded in Malaysia in total (both residents and migrants)," shares Bakewell.
Malaysia is one of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway countries, with millions of migratory birds crossing over on their way from Siberia to Australia, to overwinter.
Many of these birds depend on the coastal wetlands for food and shelter during their migration.
Most birds migrate through Malaysia after the breeding season at the end of July. This, Bakewell says, would reach its peak around September to October. By November, they would've reached their destination down south.
Then, during the Spring or North migration, they return to Malaysia around end-February right through the middle of May before heading back to their breeding grounds up north.
One of the most famous migrations on the Malaysian calendar occurs around March, at Tanjung Tuan Melaka where birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts gather at Cape Rachado to observe birds of prey or raptors fly across Pulau Rupat in Sumatera to mainland Malaysia.
Another important migrant visitor, Bakewell continues, would be the waders or water birds (birds that live on or around water) that arrive in Malaysia to roost.
During their migratory journeys, water birds stop over at various "staging sites" along the flyway to refuel before moving on.
The North-Central Selangor Coast (NCSC) and the Teluk Air Tawar-Kuala Muda coast of Pulau Pinang on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia are two such important sites. The annual Asian Waterbird Census records such birds including globally-threatened species like the Spoon-billed sandpiper, Far Eastern curlew and the Great Knot.
The Asian Waterbird Census is an international programme that focuses on monitoring the status of water birds and wetlands. It also aims to increase public awareness on issues related to wetlands and water bird conservation.
Bird migration is linked with the history of people over many thousands of years. It's a topic that's relevant because everybody can see the arrival of migratory birds, and this is interpreted in many different ways.
In almost all cultures, flocks of birds have announced the arrival of spring for centuries, and the yearly rebirth of nature associated with it.
The social acceptance of birds as messengers of life was accompanied by the knowledge that migration had an important role to play in ecosystem functioning.
In recent times, says Bakewell, the presence of the Asian Openbill in large numbers had astounded rural communities as they'd never come across this stork before.
"Some thought that this bird was a harbinger of bad omens!" recalls Bakewell, chuckling. In some cases, the presence of migrant water birds has helped fishermen out at sea to locate areas where the catches are plentiful.
JOY OF BIRDWATCHING
As Bakewell schools me on migratory birds, it's no wonder that a lot of people think of birdwatching — or "birding", as we usually refer to it — as geeky.
Bakewell prefers to think of it as an interesting obsession; one that he's been doing for as long as he can remember. His father, confides, was an enthusiastic bird watcher.
"My earliest memories of birding would be following him going out looking for birds when I was six or seven," the Briton recalls.
As a teenager, Bakewell realised he was not the only "weirdo on the planet" but there were other people like him who also liked birds.
"I spent most of my free time birding with friends, initially at my local 'patch' at Alton Water in Suffolk, and increasingly further afield," he recalls.
Academically, Bakewell pursued languages and was qualified as a linguist and a language teacher.
"At various parts of my life, I was a language teacher, director of studies but I've also been a tour leader, an environmental consultant and I've written books!" says Bakewell, chuckling.
Whether he's explaining to someone over our birding group WhatsApp on how to identify a raptor, or talking to me about migratory birds, it's evident that he's in his element, combining his passion for birds and his teaching credentials.
"I've tried to mix and match those two different interests. The way it comes together for me is I love to educate people about birds and the environment so I think that I get a chance to combine my love for education and the environment. It's probably where I'm happiest," he admits.
"Birds are such fascinating creatures," he continues.
I'm inclined to agree. Catching sight of my bird guide that's slowly gathering dust at the corner of my bookshelf, I recall having stood in the heat of the day up at Cape Rachado, adjusting my binoculars to follow the raptors as they made a rapid ascent first in a jumble and eventually sorting into a V-formation. I watched them until they faded into the pale blue sky.
Although migrations by birds have been a source of wonder for centuries, new scientific findings are helping to demystify them while adding to our appreciation of these incredible feats.
At the same time, scientists are discovering how human activity and climate change are disrupting and possibly imperilling these ancient journeys.
World Migratory Bird Day not only reminds us of the amazing journeys these small travellers make every year. It also points out the fact that their continued migrations are an important indicator of the health of our planet.