July 12, 2017
Melaka: Birding at Ayer Keroh
After a few days of thundershowers in the morning, we had a mostly dry start to the day. This suited us well because we had planned to cycle up to the botanic gardens at Ayer Keroh to do some birdwatching and we wanted to leave as soon as it was light which is some time after seven o'clock here on the west coast of peninsular Malayisa.
The ride up to Ayer Keroh was pretty busy but the traffic was no fuss at all. We stopped off for a couple of tasty rotis and kari for breakfast a couple of kilometers from Ayer Keroh. It's impossible to eat in a local plastic chair eatery without being drawn into a conversation and this morning was no different.
The small patch of forest at Ayer Keroh is mostly Dipeterocarpus kerrii which grows up to 30 meters tall. Dipterocarpae is the common family of tall deciduous tree in SE Asia and we have mostly found it in drier areas. The forest at Ayer Keroh was quite moist and although it is an important bit of forest because Dipterocarpus kerrii is critically endangered, it was not particularly productive from a birding point of view. However, we did manage to pick up a couple of lifers in Black-thighed Falconet and Olive-winged Bulbul.
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We also managed to pick up a few special mammals - Yellow-throated Marten and Dusky Leaf Monkey - apart from the more usual Long-tailed Macaques.
The cycle back to Melaka was pretty easy. The traffic had quietened down and it was pretty cloudy and cool. The lunch stop was some rice with kari ayam (chicken curry) at plastic chair along the way and included the usual friendly conversations.
Today's ride: 34 km (21 miles)
Total: 2,781 km (1,727 miles)
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