Kota Damansara Urban Wetland In The News



Preserving habitat of waterbirds
By TAN KARR WEI

RESIDENTS of Tropicana Indah in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, are working with the developers of the Cova project to conserve the habitat of migratory birds at a lake located in the PJU 5 area.

According to Tropicana Indah Residents Association deputy chairman Michael Foong, there are flocks of migratory birds like egrets and herons at the lake that they call Lake Cova.


New use: The concrete structure at the edge of the lake was supposed to be used for boating facilities but residents would rather use it as a viewing platform as boating activities would drive the birds away

The Cova project consisted of a six-storey commercial square, a condominium block and an apartment block.

The lake is a retention pond and now has two small islands within the lake which provide shallow waters for the birds.

Malaysian Nature Society waterbirds group member John Howes, who visited the site recently, said urban wetland habitats in Malaysia were scarce and they did not attract as many varieties and numbers of waterbirds that Lake Cova did.

“Lake Cova provides a unique, urban setting for large numbers of resident, breeding waterbird species and those that migrate to Malaysia during their non-breeding period,” said Howes.

He said the lake provided a safe habitat and had ample food supply for the birds.

“The islands and surrounding tall trees and bushes provide a safe resting area for many waterbird species. The lake has an abundance of fish, with many shoals of small fish fry. It also has aquatic insects such as dragonflies that provide food for waterbirds,” he said.

Foong said in a 2005 plan presented by the developer, the islands were supposed to remain while the landscaping was to be improved.


Toxic: Residents are also worried that the effluent from the nearby Indah Water sewage treatment facility would contaminate the lake.

“However, we saw the final plan approved by MBPJ (Petaling Jaya City Council) where the lake would be deepened and the islands were missing from the plans,” said Foong.

This led to several meetings with the developer and the MBPJ where residents voiced their concerns.

A spokesman for the developer said the pond had to be deepened in accordance with requirements set by the Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS).

“We are landscaping the area around the lake and there will even be a jogging track around it,” he said.

However, after listening to the input by residents and Howes, they put on hold the lake deepening work and their engineers will work out a way to maintain the islands for the sake of the birds.

“Residents initially wanted boating facilities on the lake and we built the platform for that purpose. Now that they are saying that boating activities would threaten the birds, they can use the structure as a viewing platform,” he said.

Because the lake would eventually be handed back to the council, all parties involved have agreed to change the name of the lake to the Kota Damansara Urban Wetland.

Foong said they would continue to meet the developers to work out other issues like the lack of parking facilities for visitors to the lake.


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The Star Metro - Central
17th July 2009

Painted storks at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland

The following photos were taken on Saturday, 18 July 2009 between 8:30am - 9:30am.

CICONIIDAE (Storks)

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) (Burung Botak Padi - Malay): This Globally Near-threatened species is a regular visitor to Kota Damansara Urban Wetland, seen feeding in the wetland and perched (roosting) on nearby house roofs and lamp posts.

In Malaysia, this species was formerly only known from Langkawi, where three birds were collected in 1912 (Wells, 1999). Since that time it was believed “extinct in the wild” in Malaysia. In recent years, a free-flying, breeding flock has been established within Zoo Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

This flock regularly flies out to feed at selected wetland localities within the Klang Valley, including Kota Damansara Urban Wetland, and it is probable that at some stage this species may breed elsewhere in Selangor.

(Click on photo to enlarge)






















Kota Damansara Urban Wetland

At a meeting on 2nd July 2009 between Cova developer, MBPJ, Tropicana Indah RA and YB Dr Nasir, ADUN Kota Damansara, it was unanimously agreed that Lake Cova shall be renamed as Kota Damansara Urban Wetland with immediate effect.


The explanation below is extracted from "Rapid Assessment Report on Kota Damansara Urban Wetland" by Mr John Howes, a professional wetland and waterbirds ecologist from Luscinia Consulting Sdn Bhd, subsequent to his visit to Kota Damansara Urban Wetland on 30th June 2009.

John is also a member of the Malaysian Nature Society Waterbirds Group.

QUOTE

Urban wetland habitats in Malaysia are relatively scarce and few attract the numbers or variety of waterbirds that have been recorded at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland in recent years.

Kota Damansara Urban Wetland provides a unique, urban setting for large numbers of waterbirds – both resident, breeding species and those that migrate to Malaysia during their non-breeding periods.

There are no other sites within Petaling Jaya that are known to attract such numbers.

What makes Kota Damansara Urban Wetland such a magnet for waterbirds? The simple answers are that it provides safe “habitats” and ample “food supply”.

This can be summarized as:

>> Habitat “islands” and fringes of aquatic and emergent vegetation at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland provide safe nesting habitats for resident waterbirds such as Cinnamon Bittern, and probably Little Heron, White-breasted Waterhen and Yellow Bittern.
>> Shallow water habitats provide suitable feeding grounds for flocks of non-breeding Little Egrets, Grey Herons and Painted Storks (NOTE: Deep water (> 1m) areas are unused by most waterbirds as they need to stand on the bottom),

>> The vegetated islands and surrounding tall trees and bushes provide a safe resting (roosting) area for many waterbird species,

>> The lake has a super-abundance of fish (Nile Tilapea, Oreochromis nilotica) with many shoals of small fish fry. It also has aquatic insects such as dragonflies (Odonata) that provide food for waterbirds.

Waterbirds using Kota Damansara Urban Wetland


Two main groups of waterbirds were observed at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland on 30th June 2009, four species of Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets and Bitterns) and one species of Ciconiidae (Storks). This included one species considered Globally Near-threatened by IUCN – The World Conservation Union.

The site is undoubtedly used by other types of waterbirds during other periods of the year – most notably during the southward (Sept-Oct) and northward (March-April) migration periods. There will also be other waterbird species using the site during the “winter” period (Nov-Feb). These periods require assessment and monitoring.

The current assessment was based on a single 2 hour visit on 30th June 2009 and therefore focuses on birds that are either non-breeding summer visitors or resident breeding birds at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland:

ARDEIDAE (Herons, Egrets and Bitterns)

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) (Burung Pucong Seriap - Malay): This large heron is a regular visitor in small numbers to Kota Damansara Urban Wetland. One was observed on 30th June 2009, but more have been recorded previously.

It is a locally common resident species along the West coast of Malaysia, where in the past it was more or less confined to mangrove habitats along the west coast of Selangor and Perak. However, in recent years there appears to have been an expansion inland with a small breeding colony in Shah Alam. The Kota Damansara Urban Wetland birds may be flying in from the Shah Alam colony to feed at this site.

Little Heron (Butorides striatus) (Burung Pucong Keladi - Malay): A common waterbird at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland, with up to 10 observed on 30th June 2009. This species is a common resident in Malaysia with most breeding populations in mangrove habitats along the west coast. Wells (1999) states that there are no breeding records more than 3km from the coast, although birds observed in June at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland showed some territoriality, and breeding may be taking place.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) (Bangau Kecil – Malay): The most common and obvious waterbird at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland. A flock of more than 100 were observed on June 30th 2009. This species is a non-breeding summer visitor to Malaysia, migrating from its breeding grounds to the north (central Thailand and southern China). Kota Damansara Urban Wetland appears to be a significant “over-summering” site for this species in Malaysia. Wells (1999) mentions small numbers in Summer southwards to Singapore, and a significant over-summering flock of 10 birds in June. The Kota Damansara Urban Wetland flock is much larger than this.

Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) (Burung Pucong Bendang – Malay): Two birds observed at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland on 30th June 2009. This species is highly likely to breed at Kota Damansara Urban Wetland in the fringing vegetation around the lake edges. This is a common, resident waterbird in Malaysia.

CICONIIDAE (Storks)

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) (Burung Botak Padi - Malay): This Globally Near-threatened species is a regular visitor to Kota Damansara Urban Wetland, seen feeding in the lake and perched (roosting) on nearby house roofs and lamp posts.

In Malaysia, this species was formerly only known from Langkawi, where three birds were collected in 1912 (Wells, 1999). Since that time it was believed “extinct in the wild” in Malaysia. In recent years, a free-flying, breeding flock has been established within Zoo Negara, Kuala Lumpur. This flock regularly flies out to feed at selected wetland localities within the Klang Valley, including Kota Damansara Urban Wetland, and it is probable that at some stage this species may breed elsewhere in Selangor.

UNQUOTE







(Click on photo to enlarge)

Photos below were taken on Monday, 22 June 09 at about 12:00pm. Guess, these are painted storks.

(Click on photo to enlarge)




Egrets and storks



22nd June 2009 about 2:00pm
More Egrets ...










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of these awesome waterbirds.