Bay Woodpecker & Red–Throated Barbet, Bukit Tinggi, Pahang 30 May 2009

Shots of a male Bay Woodpecker (Blythipicus rubiginosus) taken handheld. Lifer 1

Red-Throated Barbet (Megalaima mystacophanos). Lifer 2

Silver-Breasted Broadbills, Bukit Tinggi, Pahang, 30 May 2009

I have posted a few photos of Silver-Breasted Broadbills after my previous trip to Bukit Tinggi. These new photos do these beautiful birds better justice, showing the full glory of their colours .
In the process of building a nest. Flying tower cranes! A mouth full of nest material.

Trogon of Bukit Tinggi, Pahang, 30 May 2009

Bird photography is a combination of technique, being at the right place at the right time and most of all ‘luck’. Went looking for Trogons at Bukit Tinggi and luck was surely on my side today! Immediately after parking the car near the gate to the Japanese Garden I was greeted by the sight of a pair of Trogons.
	A female Orange-Breasted Trogon (Harpactes oreskios). The male was somewhere nearby but not clearly visible. I love the beautiful combination of striking colours and the vermiculations on the wings.

Awesome colours. This is a lifer.

Bukit Tinggi, Pahang, 16th May 2009

Went to Bukit Tinggi on Saturday 16/05/2009 with my brother ,Rosman, and my son Ilyas to try out an new birding location. It wasn't very far ( approx. 35 min) from my place in Tmn. Melawati.
Tongue-licking good! This Streaked Spiderhunter ( local name: Kelicap Jantung Pisang) was really enjoying her fresh supply of nectar. Photographs taken in the Botanical Garden.
	She relishes publicity. She just sat there while the cameras were snapping .

 

	Silver–Breasted Broadbill. She was flying in and out bringing food to her chicks.

Orchaceous Bulbul looking for insects in between the flower petals. (Japanese Garden).

I’m quite satisfied with the results of the outing. All species were lifers to me.

Nesting Black & Red Broadbill, Kemensah 24th May 2009-madibirder

Went to check out a nest of a Black & Red Broadbill (Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos) local name : Burung Rakit. Hid myself behind some bushes hoping that the birds wouldn’t see me. One bird came back and perched about 6 ft away from the nest. Carefully scrutinizing the area she then flew to a tree about 100 ft away. She probably sensed danger, that the area was not safe and would not go anywhere that would reveal her nest. That was a clear signal for me to move away from there as not to stress the bird and her chicks (unsure if there were any).

Institut Budaya Baru Melayu, Kemensah, 17 May 2009

MUNIAS- all for one, one for all

Near the Goat shed was a small stream with beautiful clear water flowing down from the hill. A flock of Munias were cooling themselves near the water’s edge. They were Scaly-Breasted Munias and White-Rumped Munias The Black-Headed Munias which I normally observed hanging out with this bunch were absent. I haven’t had much success in getting good photos of Munias but this time round the Munias were not on edge probably because of the water. In the searing heat, I managed to get close enough for some decent shots.

	Looking out for any signs of danger. It’s OK, just a wierd looking character holding a wierd looking light-emitting contraption!
	Care to join me for a dip?

Queue up please! Nice cool drink.

Hey, I caught something.

One Malaysia! Learning from the birds.

Kemensah : 10 May 2009

This Raffle’s Malkoha landed for less than 5 seconds and then she was gone.	View from the birding area . Kemensah’s version of Gorilla Mountain. No gorillas here, George!
Startled a Rufous Piculet ( local name: Belatuk Kecil ). Nearly dropped her catch. . . . . . . . . Just discovered that my son Ilyas had taken a photo (partly hidden) of a female Rufous-Collared Kingfisher in Kemensah a week ago which I earlier thought was a Common Kingfisher. I intend to get better photos of the Blue-Eared Kingfisher as well so maybe Mission Kingfisher is next on the agenda.	Seeing a Rufous Piculet for the first time, it struck me as to how small the bird was. It’s really tiny!

Fraser’s Hill 1st May 2009

Black-Browed Barbet near the Smokehouse

Went to Fraser's Hill on Labour Day. It wasn’t meant to be a birding outing but somehow it finally ended up as such. It was quite a revelation to me to experience the difference between taking photos of birds at this Hill station and the Kemensah Forest (my local turf). The birds were so used to people that one could easily get very close without spooking them away, a contrast to Kemensah whereby any sudden movement would mean bye bye birdie! It's pretty amazing that we managed to photograph 5 different birds in a relatively short time. Met a birder, Redzlan A.R who was firing away with his Cannon (or was it.... Canon). Insya Allah, this would be a start to many other trips to Fraser’s Hill.

Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) , Kepong 23rd May 2009

Regular birders t0 FRIM have been telling me how it is a place full of surprises. We (myself and two elder brothers) went there to see if it’s true. With a constant flow of joggers and a loudspeaker blaring loud music at a nearby Family Day function we were not expecting this to be a good trip. Things began to pick up when we saw a pair of hanging parrot (my first snap of the day which didn’t turn out well). There was a tree in front of the Malay Tea House which was fruiting ( the only one), and it was a magnet for birds as we saw wave after wave of different types of birds flying in. We stationed ourselves beside the tree until it was time to pack up.

We were welcomed by a Black Giant Squirrel

A female Thick-Billed Green-Pigeon (Treron pharei)

We missed the male pigeon while concentrating on the female.
A Brown Barbet (Calorhamphus fuliginosus) joining the feast of delicious fruits
A few noisy Common Hill-Mynas (Gracula religiosa) (local name: Tiong Mas) flew onto a nearby tree.
Asian Fairy Bluebird (Irena puella) on the same fruiting tree.	Gold-Whiskered Barbet (Megalaima chrysopogon)

The call of the Shama was too tempting; I had to go and check out the bird. A male White-Rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus). He surveys the area from a higher perch before swooping down to catch his prey on the forest floor.

 

The female has slightly duller colours and shorter tail than the male.

Beautiful tail feathers of the male.

FRIM, yes there will be other trips there.