Within minutes, a big squadron of painted storks flew in. The giant birds put up an amazing aerial display above the old Setapak Mosque. They circled overhead and flew in formation for a good 5 minutes in this special Maal Hijrah Airshow.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 1/1600 sec.
I was looking at the beautiful century-old Setapak Mosque this Awal Muharram morning when a single painted stork flew by. They are magnificent birds with a wing span of about 4 to five feet. The solo flight turned out to be the precursor to one of the most amazing sights… See next pic.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 1/640 sec.
So there I was, dreaming of an African safari earlier today. On the way to the Magnum (lottery) shop in Taman Melawati, I saw this wonderful sight. The setting sun was gorgeous and a huge stork was perched near me. OK. So the lamp post is not your typical canopy tree and the ground below isn’t exactly grassy African Savanna. There are no charging rhinos but plenty of crazy, charging vehicles instead. In fact, I was photographing from one of the busiest and nosiest roads in the Klang Valley. The Middle Ring Road 2.
The fascinating colony of Painted Storks are free-flying inhabitants of nearby Zoo Negara. They hang around mostly in the Taman Melawati and Ulu Klang area. I have been following them for years and have seen them as far as the Wetlands of Putrajaya, Sepang and Kapar. They make day trips and return to roost in the evenings.
It will be both an awasome and bizzare sight for anyone seeing them for the first time. The average stork stands at about 3 to 4 feet tall, when not hunched. Their wingspan is at least 5 to 6 feet during flight. We are lucky to have these magnificent birds in the city. Besides, it is much cheaper photographing wildlife this way 🙂
