Birds, Nature & Me - 2 (Hlawga)

Last a few years ago, one fine and pleasant day in Yangon, we planned a birding trip to Hlawga Wildlife Park, just about 50 km from the city but it took us almost 2 hours to reach there. I went there for quiet a couple of times with different friends and different meeting points. It is a bit blurred for me now to remember everything in order. But I always remember that I have got good moments with my friends and mates for every trip there.

On the way to there, I was sitting close to Ko Thaung Htut (Operations Manager, A & K Myanmar) and everyone was shouting each other on the car (in fact they were trying to make a conversation but there were big noise from the car driving). Anyway we were happy and eager for the trip. It was just normal trip by car (if I am not mistaken, the car is light truck modified with roof and seats at the back).


Hlawga Wildlife Park
Established 0n 30 September 1982, Hlawga Wildlife Park is 1540 acres in total including, wildlife park (818 acres), buffer zone (660 acres) and mini zoo (62 acres). It is located in Mingalardon Township, Yangon Division just on the west of Yangon - Pyay Highway Road. The vegetation types there are Semi-evergreen forests type, Swamp forests type and Mixed deciduous forests types.

The wildlife there are mainly for Golden Thamin (Cervus eldi) which is endemic to Myanmar, hog deer, barking deer, sambar deer, rhesus monkey, boa, Burmese Pythons, pangolin and mythun are in nature spread in the park.. The management said they could not even count how many of pythons are there since the local people free these very often for the sake of astrological belief. (A staff from the park said a couple saw a python preying and swallowing a big deer, behind the bushes). Now the management do not allow to free the pythons there anymore for ecosystem and nature balance.

There is a bird museum where various models of resident and migrate birds are displayed. It is major study site for local birders. Occasionally, birding courses are opened for everyone which is conducted by Myanmar Bird & Nature Society (MBNS), eventually in conjunction with foreign experts like Mr. Joost Van Der Ven.

Birdwatching
A few hours in the park for trekking and following to the attracted birds. Since the park is slightly thick forest, it was cool and charm, definitely a small world of nature. There are abundant of resident and migrate birds inside the park, preying at the meadows, flying through the clovers, swimming in the lake, singing on the trees, hiding in the bushes. The specialties comprising:- Jungle fowl (Gallusgallus), Red-vented bulbul (Pycronotus cafer), lesser tree duck (Dedrocygna Javanica), Asian Open-billed Stork (Anastonmus oscitans) and nocturnal animals such as owls, black-crowned night herons (Nycticonax nycticorax) and white-throated babbler (Turdoides gularis).

Below is my list of birds spotted in Hlawga National Wildlife Park (perhaps it could be varied with others' as I usually see very obvious ones and as well as someone points on it).

Hlawga Park 29th April (Sunday) 2006

1. Black Drongo
2. Open Bill
3. Common Ioa
4. Puff-throated Babbler
5. Olive back Sunbird
6. Scaly-breasted Munia
7. White-rumped Shama
8. Black-crested Bulbul
9. Red-whiskered Bulbul
10. Black-naped Oriole
11. Common Tailorbird
12. Dark-necked Tailorbird
13. Black-headed Bulbul
14. Red-vented Bulbul
15. Pied Kingfisher
16. Cormorant
17. Little Egret
18. Cattle Egret
19. White-throated Kingfisher
20. Greater racket tail Drongo
21. Lesser Whistling Duck
22. Red Wattlet Capwing
23. Common Myna
24. Plain Tive Cuckoo
25. Green Billed Malkoha
26. Green Peafowl
27. Green Bee Eater
28. Barn Swallow
29. Asian Palm Swift
30. Large Billed Crow
31. Ashy Wood Swallow
32. Racket tailed Treepie

* the tallest guy from the last row is AATO

We had a nice rest at the rest house of the lake. We took some pictures which make unforgettable memories.


Ref:
- Wildlife Department / Ministry of Forestry
- Wikipedia

*Photos courtesy of MBNS