Hundreds of bird-watchers converged on Port Dickson during Raptor Watch Week. Dont miss to scan the skies

The white-bellied sea eagle circled over Ilham Resort with a metre-long fish in its talons.

Raptors need thermals to soar hundreds and even thousands of metres up in the sky and glide across the Straits Of Malacca to Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson, where the birds congregate yearly before continuing their journey to north Asia.
 the thermals were missing and so were the big birds of prey. there are thousands of raptors in Pulau Rupat, Indonesia, waiting to soar over here. "Pulau Rupat, which is where the raptors will launch from Sumatra before heading to Tanjung Tuan, has had some of its forest cleared for plantations. This is a cause for worry, as the development could interrupt the usual route of the raptors,"

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One year, more than 10,000 birds soared over the straits to Tanjung Tuan in a single day. MNS members who have been counting the raptors for the last 13 years.
Raptor Watch is a huge event in Port Dickson, drawing tourists from all over the country, and even from abroad. The birds fly here not over one weekend but over a period of about four months, from late January.
The migratory raptors flee the winter in Siberia, China, Korea and Japan towards the end of the year before returning in spring. Raptor Watch Week is also one of Malaysia’s premier eco-tourism events.
Although there was a near no-show by the raptors on Saturday, Raptor Watch week was by no means a washout.
Playing host for the 13th consecutive time, the MNS had lined up many nature-related activities, including talks, to promote eco-tourism. These included Nature Walk, Seashore Walk and Mangrove Walk.
Since February, more than 23,000 raptors had been spotted by counters stationed at the Tanjung Tuan lighthouse. The counters will continue their labour of love until April 1, for a total of 42 days. Last year, 58,000 raptors were spotted over 43 days flying over Port Dickson.

The number of raptors spotted during their annual crossing over the Straits of Malacca has seen a decrease over the years, mainly due to habitat loss and environmental changes, such as global warming.

From the hundreds of thousands during the Raptor Watch, one of the biggest bird-watching events in the region, from Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson, in the 1960s, the migratory birds now number in the tens of thousands.
In 2010, counters spotted more than 73,000 raptors, and the following year saw the number drop to 57,000. It is anyone's guess just how many will be seen during this year's Raptor Watch on March 10 and 11. "These birds of prey are good indicators of the health of the environment and food chain. For example, the decline in the population of the Brahminy Kite has been linked to the disappearance of the mangrove habitat in Indonesia. By monitoring raptor populations, we can keep an eye on the state of our environment and prevent it from reaching critical conditions."

Read more: Raptors begin annual migration - Holiday - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/holiday/raptors-begin-annual-migration-1.53893#ixzz2MsLjes6B