Taman Rimba Kiara is a little green gem located in a corner of the TTDI residential area. The above flowering tree, the firmiana malayana or mata lembu, flashes in testimony to man's care-less-ness - it's one of only two trees in the park that had flowered, since then the tree had been chopped down.

Friday 31 May 2024

Celebrating the goshawks, Part I/III

 The last nesting of the Crested Goshawks in the taman was in March 2020 before the MCO (Movement Control Order) due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Prior to this, the pair was observed to regularly nest here.

After 2020, for reasons unfathomable, presumably the same pair was seen to nest in and around different locations in the neighborhood, so to have the pair returned to nest in the taman was certainly a cause for celebration.

So when this avian couple was seen to display and mate for weeks in late February this year, the inevitable could only happen.



It was to be for almost 2 months before the female was sighted in April brooding for lengthy periods in the nest.  And its labour of love  was very similar to other birds, bearing pained expressions with opened beak.



And then we acknowledge why the crested goshawks carry the IUCN Least Concern status, as the goshawk community welcomed another 2 healthy chicks.

3 weeks later, in the first week of May, the two chicks, looking more than a couple of weeks old now, constantly kept the parents busy with their voracious appetites which, from afar, looked like many meals of Plantain Squirrels (a wise avian choice as far as I'm unapologetically concerned because the healthy squirrel population in the taman has been observed to be a constant threat to avian nestings here).  





A week later, approximately more than 3 weeks old now, we have healthy and alert chicks, kudos to the tireless parents, especially the female seen more than the male feeding!


And as normally occurred, one chick grew faster than the other.



The insatiable appetite of the larger chick ...



Strong, well-developed, sprightly at probably 3 weeks old only ...


... compared to the smaller sibling.



And how well trained to keep the nest clean!




No comments: