EGRETS IN KOTA KINABALU, SABAH.

 Location: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia

Date: 6th September 2023

It has been a long time since my last post in 2020. I have been trying to catch up to normality after Covid19 restriction was lifted in September 2021. Birding became the second priority as work and personal life have become more of a survival.

In the early September this year i had the chance to travel to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to attend my daughter's graduation at UITM about 30 minutes drive outside Kota Kinabalu. On the way there along the coast drive i noticed a swampy area or a lagoon opposite a beautiful Mosque , full of Egrets and some Cormorants. You see, i had been to Kota Kinabalu on two occasions before, both without my camera gear which i regretted. This time i brought with me my faithful Canon 5D3 paired with Canon 70-300L lens, not the most powerful combination but weight was an issue when traveling by plane.

The swampy area was quite large and most of the birds were like 50 to 100 plus meters away. There was a grassy area between the edge of the road to the edge of the water, but since there was a sign warning of crocodiles' presence, i did not dare to go closer to the edge of the water to get better shots of the Egrets. So, you have to forgive me that most of the shots were heavily cropped.

This photo shows the area of the swamp/lagoon/wetland. On the right behind the row of trees is where the coastal road located. The main Kota Kinabalu city centre is like a few kilometers behind those buildings.

There was a sign warning the presence of crocodiles in this area. I think i could take better shots

if i could stand near the sign.

Egrets were all over the area, Cormorants too.

A group of Cormorants can be seen on the left side of this photo.

A Cormorant having issues with an Egret.

An Egret looking for fish.

She managed to catch a small fish.

She happily flew away with her catch for lunch.

This Egret was still looking for her lunch

I was quite happy that i managed to do a bit of birding for the first time in Sabah after three trips including this one. Sabah is a big state in East Malaysia along with Sarawak. It is just not possible to cover such a vast area with just three visits. Maybe one day i will come back and cover the islands.

Until then, thanks for reading, happy birding to you all.

Tomorrow i might go to the Frasers Hills after 9 months absence! Lets see if there is anything i can shoot and post here,

Bye.