When there's a nest

 The months of February and March have been exceptional in terms of nesting sightings.  However there have been both success and failure, ie, successful fledging, avian loss and nest abandonment.

There's always a dilemma when it comes to sharing news of nesting, to share or not to share.  Not sharing will be tantamount to being selfish whereas sharing could run the risk of exposing the nest and eventually the chicks to both avian and human predators. 

We forget why birds choose a particular nest location.  It is safe to assume that they do so because they thought their nest is well hidden and the location is secure and quiet.  For example, I believe the recent nesting of the rufous woodpeckers along the busy road up to Bukit Kiara was initiated during the period of Movement Control Order which meant less people were out and about the area.  When nests are well hidden among branches, these are safe but when these branches are removed, the unfortunate could happen.

I have come across birds abandoning their potential nests simply because of heavy human traffic or interference with their location.

One observation was with the White-throated Kingfishers that were trying to build their nest but eventually gave up because it was too close to the walking path and exposed to constant human traffic.

When I first came upon their attempt to build, I had a foreboding it would gave up its nest and true enough, it was hardly a week past before they did, but fortunately, not before I had the privilege to observe them, from afar.

Within 30 minutes one of the birds had made no less than 15 trips into the hole to exit within seconds.  It provided some stunning flight patterns into and out of the hole.

On this occasion one was keeping watch whilst the other one was doing all the work.

It even had time to take a break, dive into the water for a catch.

However, when it spotted me, it picked up a leaf to spew it out immediately.  A distraction strategy?

And I did play along, moving sideward, and looking the other way before I stealthily moved back.  And it worked, the work on the new nest resumed.

It was quite mesmerising watching the same bird repeatedly entering and exiting the hole.

 

Again ....

... and again.

I was so tempted to approach nearer the nest for better shots but knowing how sensitive and alert the kingfisher was, I had to content to observe from afar.

A natural circus of flights.

My last observation before the nest was abandoned, which was just as well because the subsequent wet weather eventually raised the water level of the pond.

Last farewell!