My confirmed and paid for birthday beach holiday didn’t happen. Although initially disappointed and a little peeved, the alternative was so much better.

Mangala Estate (ME) Boutique Resort in Gambang, Pahang was not a consideration, this time, only because my husband and I were there in January. Yes, just over two months ago. That said, it was the better choice, albeit by default, as it made my birthday much more special and meaningful.   

Like I said, we were at ME in January, and we’ve been visiting the resort/estate every year for the last seven years or so. We like it. And, we especially like Sara Villa, which sits on and overlooks a wetland. The wetland in this instance is really a swamp – a murky watery area with plants, shrubs, and trees. And, a plethora of birds, depending on the time of year. Migration, rainy weather and all that.

Birds fly, swoop, chirp and feed on the vegetation, fish and insects that live in the wetland. Sitting on the veranda and watching bird life go-by is akin to several episodes of National Geographic. So much activity. So much to see.

This visit was nicer and different. Birds presented themselves to us. Seriously, we didn’t seek them out. They came to us. So many new birds that we’ve never seen before. Admittedly, we’re not the most observant of people. The birds may have always been there in the wetland, and in and around the resort but we hadn’t noticed them before. Not sure.

The highlight for me was hearing the tweets or the birdsong of the ‘pakke-sitte’ or ‘betel sparrow.’ For context, this is the bird my mum had purposely dispatched to me while I was at university many moons ago. It was her way of letting me know she was thinking of me and that she was with me.

I kid you not. Regularly, from Sunday to Wednesday while we were at ME, the ‘pakke-sitte’ tweeted and chirped. Not just near and around our room/villa but wherever/whenever we were out walking. This was the first time I’ve heard this close-to-my-heart familiar tweet at the resort. I recorded them – a wonderful present from my mum. We think, as Google did not produce any results on ‘betel sparrow,’ it might belong to the flycatcher bird family. A tiny brown-backed, yellow chested bird with strong lungs

The second highlight for me was the obvious presence of kingfishers. My husband and I have seen kingfishers before. But not quite like this. They were visible, forthcoming, almost in our faces. One flew directly towards us as we were standing on the veranda, and veered at the last minute. Almost like it suddenly realised it shouldn’t be flying so close to humans. Another sat in a tree, some 50 metres from our villa, swooped down into the water, caught something, possibly a fish, it’s a kingfisher after all; ate, dried off and after a while swooped and did the same thing. Thrice. We heard and saw them emerge all over the resort.

For context, sister number 3 had bought my mum a tray of ‘The Birds of Norfolk and the Broads.’ The tray had pictures of birds like the Kingfisher, Avocet, Sandpiper. I used that tray to serve my mum her breakfast. Every time, I asked my mum which bird represented her best. Every time, without fail, she pointed and said aloud the Kingfisher. Hmm.

The bird spotting continued. In recent years, my husband and I have come to enjoy bird spotting. We walk. We talk. We look out for birds. We are happy when we see them but we are not serious birders. We don’t sit and stalk birds with large binoculars or zoom cameras, for hours on end. No patience for all of that, at least, not yet.

Which was why it was a treat when we came upon two woodpeckers, not listed on ME’s bird boards, up in some tall trees. We saw them as we were walking around looking left, right, and mostly up. A big change from always looking down at our mobile screens. I think woodpeckers have rather unusual shaped heads with very beautiful, rich plumage. And, they invariably remind me of Woody Woodpecker and his distinctive laugh – Hahaha HA ha, hahaha HA ha, hahaha HA ha, hehehehehehehe!

We were also fortunate to see Weaver birds transporting long blades of green grass/leaves and building two fresh nests. One had a front door. Clever. Other equally insta-worthy birds were a flock of Chestnut Munia, attractive black headed, brown bodied little birds that we never saw before; Oriental magpie-robin, heron, Asian glossy starling and Myna.

Apart from birds, we ate the most delicious cakes at Kula Cakes, a cafe/bakery in Kuantan. A real find. It served the yummiest mango cheesecake and hazelnut chocolate pavlova.

Birds, bird calls, and cakes. Celebrating my birthday at ME was serendipitous.