“Came across a rather barren pond i.e. no vegetation. But had 6 Lesser Whistling Ducks and a number of Intermediate Egrets, implying that there must be foraging potential here. Was surprised to find a pair of Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei) nesting at this site.
“Usually seen their nest where there is a lot of water vegetation. Here they had used some drowned branches for a semblance of protection at the edge of the large pond. They had obtained water lily and other leaves possibly from adjacent ponds (many in the areas, some with other Little Grebes). They have eggs and I noted the behaviour of covering the eggs with leaves when the adult bird leaves the nest.
“As I had startled them initially, I backed off for an hour and came back to watch from a distance. Was
interesting to note both parents incubating on the nest.”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ex-mining pools Ipoh to Parit Road, Perak, Malaysia
20th July 2011