Malaysia — Johor Bahru — Stroll in a local park, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Looking at local wildlife in a park in Johor Bahru

May 2015

Often I will travel miles to see animals, wildlife and views, and sometimes I find them right on my doorstep.

One afternoon I went for a short walk in my local park. I took my camera in case I saw anything of interest, and I was surprised at the amount and variety of wildlife I saw.

The first thing I spotted was a wild bee’s nest. I think these bees are of the genus Trigona (Trigona spp), which are often called Stingless bees. The bees do have stingers, but they are rarely used for defence.

The bird below is a Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus).

And then I saw a stunning red dragonfly down near the water.

Further along the path, I saw a baby Monitor Lizard (Varanus spp). This lizard shot across the path in front of me and went straight into a small stream. I was hoping to get a shot of it swimming, but it dived.

Next, I saw some Common Goldenback Woodpecker (Dinopium javanense), sometimes called the Common Flameback.

At first, I thought the bird below was a Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirosta), but, having spoken to a ‘card-carrying twitcher’ (bird-spotter), I now think it is a female Brown-throated (or Plain-throated) Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis). The information that convinced me it was a Brown-throated Sunbird was a book which said that the Little Spiderhunter prefers dense undergrowth, the bird I saw was up high in the tree canopy.

A short walk in the park and so much wildlife. I was surprised.

Sometimes it pays to go local and to keep your eyes open.