A week ago I had not seen any Buteo buzzards in Malaysia. Now, just a few days after having photographed a Himalayan Buzzard in Penang, I received news that there was a probable Long-legged x Upland Buzzard hybrid in Chuping, so I decided it would be good to try to see this bird to compare it with the Himalayan. I never need much of an excuse to go to Chuping anyway!
I drove north predawn and as it got light it was obvious that the weather was perfect. My first stop was the Manchurian Reed Warbler spot, and I managed to get better views and photos than the first trip.
Manchurian Reed Warbler – almost in the open!
From there I made my way slowly along the network of tracks which run between the fields, scanning both the sky and the fields for any sign of the buzzard. In the course of my meanderings I took in the ‘pipit field’, which again had large flocks of Eastern Yellow wagtails and Red-throated Pipits.
Flight views of Red-throated Pipits were all I was able to get here!
For some rea
son all my sharp shots were of birds with their wings closed!
Walking through the long grass produced ‘clouds’ of wagtails and pipits!
A couple of Eastern Yellows.
And I suppose this must be one too, though it does look odd.
No wonder Pied Harriers regularly hunted over this field – in this case a juvenile and an adult female together.
As the day wore on, raptors frequently came into view, but none ticked the Buteo boxes.
This juvenile Eastern Marsh Harrier initially raised hopes that it might be a Western, or at least have some Western genes, but I guess it’s just a dark Eastern.
A juvenile Pied Harrier.
I did spot a pale-headed raptor sitting in a ploughed field, but it turned out to be this female Osprey feeding on a fresh catch. She decided I was too close for comfort, and flew off to finish her meal on top of a pylon.
There were countless thousands of Eastern Yellow Wagtails in the fields, and I spent quite a bit of time searching for something different among them, to no avail.
This female or first winter Stonechat (variously termed Common, Siberian or Stejneger’s!) was one of several seen.
I confess I actually felt disappointed when a new raptor proved to be ‘only’ a Short-toed Snake-eagle! I wouldn’t have felt that way a month ago! This is the moulting bird I saw very distantly on 19 November.
It obligiingly hovered not far from me, and was then taken to task by a resident Black-shouldered Kite!
As afternoon became evening, there was still no sign of the buzzard, but perfect lighting conditions and an abundance of other raptors made the second half of the day especially memorable.
A male Eastern Marsh Harrier just as it noticed me and veered away in alarm!
Mesmerizing point-blank views of a hunting female Pied Harrier! I think the bill was open because she was panting in the heat.
Another fly-past. 
The light was so perfect I just wanted to stop the clock!
The Short-toed Snake-eagle reappeared, giving even better views this time round.
Best of all, I had superb views of several stunning male Pied Harriers.
A male Pied getting chased by a juv female Eastern Marsh – quite a size difference!
I came across a field where Red-throated Pipits were gathering before going to roost, and I could actually view them on the deck – a nice change!
I think the last pic shows a first winter, while the others are adults. My reasoning is that the last bird shows no hint of pinkish on the head, and the median coverts, which are in active moult, seem rather worn and white-tipped, while the other birds show varying intensity of pink on the head and have fresh pale greyish-buff-tipped median coverts.
As dusk fell I witnessed an amazing spectacle of a different kind. I noticed one or two Grey Wagtails walking around in some burnt stubble by the track. These were the first I had seen all day.
How many can you see? I counted seven in this photo.
At first, there were just a few, but as I waited, more and more started dropping out of the sky.
I was astounded to see that they were ALL Grey Wagtails! The largest flock I had seen previously was about 5!
More and more arrived. At one point a couple of Eurasian Kestrels flew over and they all flew up. I estimated there were about 400!
Eventually the birds took off and flew into the patch of sugar cane to the left of the track.
Another view of the roost site (on the left).
Despite the lack of buzzards, I ended the day on an absolute high, having witnessed something I would not have believed had someone else told me! Later I checked for other records of communal roosting Grey Wagtails. Wells states that the species does not roost communally, and past records seem to bear this out (the largest flock I could find was 20 birds). Well, they do at Chuping!
I made the decision to stay the night and try again for the buzzard tomorrow.
Dig deep 
What a day! Those Pied Harriers are stunning birds. It must have been amazing to see all those Wagtails too.
All the Harrier shots are interesting, and the male Pied ones have that “Whoo Hoo!” factor. Four hundred Grey Wags ? amazing.
In the Philippines I sometimes find flocks of several hundred Grey Wagtails gathered on recently ploughed fields on migration. I too had not heard of this behaviour before, but I see it regularly every autumn…
Interesting Paul. Have you ever observed them roosting?