The degradation of nature photography sites in Penang
When I came to Penang 7 plus years ago I was given 5 GPS locations of recommended nature photographic sites. They were at Juru, Batu Kawan, Penanti motocross track, Byram and Air Hitam Danum. A number of my nature photography colleagues are interested in recording as many species as possible. I do this too but my prime interest is in the behaviour of a species, recording action and if possible I spend longer periods with one species. I dismissed Juru and Batu Kawan fairly quickly. I went to Juru once and have not returned as there was little material there. I think I ended up photographing mudskippers. I went to Batu Kawan three times in 2012 and have not been back. There were some interesting species, including the elusive Black-capped Kingfisher but already locals from nearby houses were netting fish in the shallow lagoons in direct competition with Kingfishers. In the following headings I will show what was recorded at the location at the