A critical stopover for shorebirds awaits protection in Malaysia

A critical stopover for shorebirds awaits protection in Malaysia

TELUK AIR TAWAR, Malaysia — The tide is rising. On the Teluk Air Tawar-Kuala Muda coast (TAT-KM) of Penang state in Peninsular Malaysia, fishers are boating out to the sea for their morning catch. From afar, small brownish birds walk on the mudflat outside the mangrove-lined coast. When a boat gets closer, a flock of about 100 birds soars at once, swirls in unison, and lands farther away. It’s early July when Mongabay visits, the quieter time of…