Top 50 for 2012 - # - Graeme Guy's Nature Photography

I considered these the best, or they have a story to tell, from shooting locally in Northern Malaysia for the first half of 2012

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A lot of time was spent observing mating, digging, and feeding the nest cavities. Both the Chestnut-headed and Blue-throated have an extended family nesting roster. Four to six eggs are laid and on hatching the chicks are fed by 3-5 birds that consist of the biological parents, older birds without mates and, quite commonly, juveniles from the last nesting. As the chicks grow big there is a constant stream of insects being escorted into the cavities.

A Southern Royal Albatross landing. This species has the second biggest wingspan in the bird world after the Wandering Albatross.
Most pairs of this large species breeds on Campbell Island. The Southern Royal Albatross has a length of 112–123 cm (44–48 in) and a mean weight of 8.5 kg (19 lb). Males are about 2 to 3 kg (4.4 to 6.6 lb) heavier than females. Average wingspan has been reported from 2.9 to 3.28 m (9.5 to 10.8 ft), with an upper limit of about 3.51 m (11.5 ft)

At Byram I came across a family of Smooth-coated Otters. It was great to see them hunt, frolic, mark and play games. They were extremely adept at finding large fish in over-fished waters.

A tribute to the flying ability of Bee-eaters. They can apparently see insects 60 meters away and strike with amazing speed and precision. They appear to rarely miss their targets and what is more amazing is that they close their nictitating membranes over their eyes just before impact.....essentially hitting blind.

The pair of White-throated Kingfishers did a lot of things together and talked regularly across a distance. When one arrived in the vicinity of the other a 'wings-out' greeting occurred.

I had wanted to get close and photograph Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters for some while. Their territory does not extend to the Southern end of Peninsular Malaysia. This was one of the first encounters with this colorful species.

A White-throated Kingfisher flies to its nest.

The Bee-eater fraternity constantly 'talk' to each other and seem to have a good system for spotting and tracking raptors when they fly over and provide a likely threat.

A lot of time was spent observing mating, digging, and feeding the nest cavities. Both the Chestnut-headed and Blue-throated have an extended family nesting roster. Four to six eggs are laid and on hatching the chicks are fed by 3-5 birds that consist of the biological parents, older birds without mates and, quite commonly, juveniles from the last nesting. As the chicks grow big there is a constant stream of insects being escorted into the cavities.