Another year has passed by, and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2021 from Bird Watching Asia. The past year has been hard for most of us, and we have managed to go through these hard times.
Let us now focus on 2021 to let it be a much better year for everyone, especially bird watching. Throughout Covid19, many borders closed and lock-down restrictions throughout Malaysia, which did not allow much bird watching.
Happy New Year 2021 from Bird Watching Asia
We would also like to wish everyone lots of abundance, joy, happiness, luck, prosperity, and love for the new year. This goes out to you and your families, and hoping that we all stay positive for 2021.
Bird watching locally is now possible since lifting the border restrictions around Malaysia, but we must be cautious about where we go or who we go with. The standard operating procedures or SOP’s must be followed, especially in public areas.
When you are in the rainforest and alone, you need not wear your face mask, but when you are around strangers, please do so as part of the nationwide SOP.
Certain states around Malaysia are still observing the Conditional Movement Control Order or CMCO, and one has to be careful at these states. You can still visit these states to do bird watching, and most of the forest reserves and parks are already opened up.
On my side, I am still a little cautious about going to busy areas like commercial forest reserves; therefore, I will probably start bird watching again after March. With the current Covid19 cases rising in Selangor since December, it is quite alarming.
We also do not know if the government will impose another border crossing restriction in mid-January, affecting Chinese New Year 2021 on Feb 12 and 13. If this happens, we will probably need to wait for it out before we can comfortably do some bird watching around Malaysia.
Bird Watching Destinations for 2021
For the last 10 months in 2020, many people, including myself, have been doing a lot of thinking and possibly planning on where to go bird watching in 2021. Well, some have been ambitions while others are a little more realistic.
I mean, bird watching at the Galapagos or Antarctica is totally out of the question and a little difficult but destinations around Malaysia or nearby would be more practical. Why? Because if there is an outbreak of Covid19, we can quickly get back to our country.
So, on my side, I have come up with a list of bird watching destinations for 2021 that I would like to visit, and they include;
- Deramakot Forest Reserve in Sabah
- Ba’kelalan in Sarawak
- Bario in Sarawak
- Danum Valley in Sabah
- Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah
- Kinabatangan River in Sabah
- Taman Negara in Pahang
- Darulaman Sanctuary in Langkawi
The above are the places that I would love to visit for 2021, and it also depends on how the Covid19 pandemic turns out this year. And also, if the Covid19 vaccine is available and that cross-border travel is easier without many restrictions.
Conclusion
To conclude, let us all hope that 2021 will be a much better year and the Covid19 pandemic gets better in Malaysia and around the world. I am also hoping that the vaccine comes out by the first quarter of the year so that majority of the population can get vaccinated.
Again, wishing all birders, bird watchers and bird photographers in Malaysia a wonderful Happy New Year 2021 and may this year make a positive comeback for everyone.
