Other Than Odonata!

It's been a great morning! 

And such a beautiful day for the outdoors!

I couldn't help myself and kept looking up to gaze at the beautiful blue sky!

I had wanted to look for dragonflies but apart from the Orthetrum sabina and two other species of damselflies, there weren't too many others about.  Instead of hanging out at the ponds, I took a stroll through the park to enjoy a bit of nature.

Getting to the park early in the morning had been a bonus. 
Not that I was so early and I caught the sunrise but early enough to be listening to a lot of bird songs.  A myriad of tunes from the Bulbuls, Orioles, Kingfishers and, of course, the Common Mynas.  The Starlings started their choruses a bit later.

This Collared Kingfisher has its hunting grounds in the ponds at the park.

 It took a while to finally get this photo of the Kingfisher.
Quite an elusive little bird!

As I walked along, a few Tree Squirrels were scrambling around on the branches overhead and stopping here and there to feed.  Then a pair of Tree Squirrels were playing peek-a-boo as they chased each other round and round and up and down a tree.
Playful and cheeky!

That was when I caught the movement of an insect flying smack into a tree.
I had to look quite hard to find it, but that was how I spotted this Cicada!

This large, brownish Cicada is quite well camouflaged against the tree bark!

It is usually difficult to find the Cicada inspite of their loud, high-pitched songs. 

Looking at the above photo, you can understand why.

This is not the sharpest shot, but it's the best photo of the two that I managed to take before it flew away!

Heading towards the shoreline, here's a view of Kuah Bay.

I was not alone on the beach though.

These crabs were busily feeding away!

The longer I sat there, the more crabs came out to feed once they realise I am not a threat.

A lot of these crabs faced away from me as they moved along to feed nearby.

Their mottled brown, algae coated carapace giving them a good camouflage on the rocky, muddy shores and making it difficult to see them.

After a while, some of the crabs turned around to look at me too!

The ones feeding a few meters away were not too bothered.

Even then, any sudden, abrupt movement will send all the crabs scurrying into their burrows and hiding under rocks.

Almost as if a predator was swooping down at them.

These crabs were not the only creatures feeding here at low tide.

A Little Heron was perched on the rocks at the edge of the water, standing still and motionless, while it stared intently into the turquoise blue water and waited for a catch.

The Great Egret was also out here catching fish.

It waded to and fro in the shallow waters, stepping carefully, stretching out its long neck to look into the surf.  From time to time, this Great Egret would retract its neck, then striking out into the water to catch a fish!

I sat there, enjoying the sun and sea breeze as I watched.

I watched the birds wading about and I watched the boats bobbing in the water.

Time stood still.

Eventually, hunger calls signalled lunch hour.

As I was walking back, I spotted this little brown bird perched on one of the branches.

The Asian Brown Flycatcher!

I think!

I hope I've got the id correct for this little birdie.

An awesome morning indeed!