Asian Openbills

 And then there were four.

A juvenile Asian Openbill sunning up a tree by the river, and fleeing upon spotting me.

And another inside the taman foraging, and taking off for the opposite side of the pond, perhaps for better prey luck.  Unfortunately the few minutes it was under observation, it was not seen to have caught anything.

Does it mean this taman soon would not be worth staying on?

Leaving to join another at the edge of another pond, again I did not observe any catch.

Asian Openbills typically feed on large snails or mollusks found in wetlands and paddy fields.  They go too for worms, crabs, frogs, fish and large insects.  All unfortunately seem alacking in this taman.

The last one spotted was by the river which I believe was the one that repeatedly eluded me days before.

Asian Openbill

 The river by the taman has received more than its fair share of water bird and perching raptor visitors despite being narrow and shallow, and the latest visitor being the Asian Openbill.  Yet the Asian Openbill is known to frequent wetlands, flooded agricultural fields like paddy fields, and lakes.

It was a pleasant discovery when I first sighted it, flying off right over me as I descended the concrete ramp, and I thought I should attempt to spot it again later, so descending the ramp an hour later, it was by the river bank again, and again made a hasty retreat before I could get a proper capture of its presence, so for record sake, the following images 😒😒😒 ....

Or was it the Crested Serpent-Eagle  that had silently flown in to perch above that spooked it?

Unfortunately under the blazing noon sun, I was not inclined at all to await the return of the stork.