Thursday, February 12, 2009

Waders photography at Kapar Power station




A group of us went to Kapar power station to do waders photography. The trip was organized by Rahmah of KBD (thanks for the arrangements Rahmah) and the group consisted of myself, Sugawara, Miss Lim, Sam, Nosrat, Suzi, Shidah, Mariani, Dr. Abraham and Lilia, and of course Rahmah. We left KL in the afternoon around 2 pm and would assemble outside the Kapar power station around 4:00 pm. After getting our visitor pass from the security, we were met by Mr. Nagaraju(if I am not mistaken) from the PR section who later took us to the briefing room where the temporary pass valid for a year were prepared and given to us. With the pass, we should be able to visit the ash pond in the power station without much hassle in the future. This was my first waders trip to the ash pond as my previous trips covered other areas in Port Klang, Pulau Ketam, Pulau Angsa etc. We finally arrived at the ash pond around 5:30 pm. Luckily it was sunny and we saw groups of waders resting near the water edge. We quickly set up our equipments and soon were engrossed in waders watching. Abraham and Lilia decided to go near the water edge as his camera lens didn't permit him to take close-up shots of the birds. Sugawara brought his 800mm nikon lens and have no problem. Nevertheless, the temptation of photographing waders up close took him and Miss Lim into the ash pond behind Abraham and Lilia. By the time I realized it, everyone was inside the pond except me. So I set up my 400mm lens and decided to photograph the waders from the pond perimeter. The sight of waders taking off was too awsome for me to describe. I could hear the wings flapping as the flocks flew above me. Waterfowl watching has always been my passion eversince I was in the states during the late 80s. We travelled all the way to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland to survey waterfowl in winter. It was an unforgetable experience for me and the love for waterfowl grew in me. But alas, we don't have waterfowl in the country and waders provide the same opportunity to me. I also enjoyed watching belibis on several occasions in Paya Indah, Sungai Dusun and Kampar. Ta Le Noi in Southern Thailand is another superb location for watching waterbirds. Went there on several occasions in the 90s and the waterbirds population in the lake is much higher compared here. And the lake is also temporary home to commorants. You should try to visit Ta Le Noi if you have the opportunity. Best time to be there is December when migration is at its peak. Perhaps Rahmah can arrange the trip to Ta Le Noi end of this year?

Looking outside the perimeter fence around the ash pond, I saw debris washed up behind the row of mangroves. Truly a sad scenario. Wonder what it takes before all the dumping will finally stop.....Time really flies whenever you enjoy doing something that you like. Before long, it was already 7:30 pm and too dark for photography. So we finally packed up our equipments and left the ash pond. Nosrat and the gang went to Subang Jaya to try out the ayam pepek while Sugawara, Miss Lim and went back to KL. We hope to go to Tasik Bera on our next trip next month. It was a day well spent for me.

No comments:

Post a Comment