Yellow-Bellied Warbler

25 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

A lifer: A Yellow-Bellied Warbler (Abroscopus superciliaris albogularis). A quick moving small bird, so difficult to spot in the Bamboo tree.

Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher

25 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

No way that you could have missed this female Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae). He was calling so loudly you could hear him from quite a distance. My first encounter with this flycatcher was about 6 months ago so this was a lovely surprise.

Kemensah - the ‘Hulu’ Lifestyle and Loving it.

25 July, Kemensah, Selangor

My two sons, leather-clad Ihsan (8yr) and Ilyas (13yr) bathing in the stream at the Kemensah Waterfalls after catching the Rufous-Collared Kingfisher. Upstream the water is still clean and clear. Who would have imagined, living in Kuala Lumpur and still able to enjoy the kampong (provincial) environment every week! These two boys are growing up as Hulu children………………………………………………………………………..Hulu Klang.

(hulu): the hinterland, back country, upriver waters; orang hulu: back country dwellers

Rufous-Collared Kingfisher: Mission Accomplished

25 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

I was  on the lookout for this bird ever since my son took a blurry photo back in April. Last Saturday we thought maybe we would just have a half an hour of birding before going to the waterfalls. Went to the area around 6.00pm where she was last spotted and there she was, 15ft from us on a clear perch. A female Rufous-Collared Kingfisher (Actenoides concretus).     Mission Kingfisher (Rufous Collared and Blue-eared Kingfishers) I would say 'Mission accomplished'.

Common Hill Myna- Mind Your Language

26 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor This Common Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa), local name: Tiong Mas was part of a flock of nine birds making loud calls in the area. We tried calling with the hope that they would come closer but somehow they all flew away! Perhaps they misunderstood us because of the different dialect. A Kelantanese birder calling KL birds! Sadly, these birds are very popular and are kept and trained as talking birds. I don’t think that they should be talking a foreign language in captivity when they have their own and should be flying free.

Blue-Eared Kingfishers 2

26 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor They probably got the news that Tabib was coming all the way from Raub so the reception party was out in full. To start the ball rolling we were greeted by not 1, not 2 but 3 Blue-Eared Kingfishers. An adult, an advanced juvenile and a young juvenile. Had Yen been there they would probably have sent a whole squadron of Blue-Eared Kingfishers! This adult male is quite well nourished judging by the tummy. The young juvenile was quite aggressive in diving for fish with poor success rate.

The advanced juvenile diving head first towards a prey and the reward was an unfortunate little molly.

Gold-Whiskered Barbet

23 July 2009, Sekolah Menengah Taman Melawati, Selangor

This Gold-Whiskered Barbet (Megalaima chrysopogon) was starting to  build a hole in the dead tree trunk.  I came here about four months ago and saw two birds on the same tree trunk, could be the same birds. They were sharing the tree with a pair of Coppersmith Barbets.

Black-Winged Flycatcher-Shrike of Kemensah

18 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

A male Black-Winged Flycatcher-Shrike (Hemipus hirundinaceus)

Large Woodshrike of Kemensah

19 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

Large Woodshrikes (Tephrodornis gularis) are fairly common in Kemensah. Usually they can be spotted making fast aerobatics in between the trees, chasing other Woodshrikes. I think this could be a female.

Red-Bearded Bee-Eater

19 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

Trekking back down the hill we heard the familiar sound of a bee-eater. Looking up we saw the bird but couldn’t make out exactly what it was because of the back light. Took one shot and out popped a blurry image of a Bearded Bee-Eater on the screen. The first few shots were terrible and we were disappointed to see the bird fly away and were left without any decent photo. We decided to wait knowing the behaviour of a bee-eater. We were given a second chance when she came back to the same tree. Phew.. A juvenile Red-Bearded Bee-Eater (Nyctyornis amictus): local name Berek-berek Janggut Merah . She’s almost entirely green and lacks the red colour at the throat.

Blue-Eared Kingfisher- my little blue diamond

19 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

We knew from the previous trip that there was a small kingfisher in the area but wasn’t sure of the species. Just as we were approaching the area a dozen or so mountain bikers went past us and stopped to rest next to the pond. We thought ‘there goes our chance of a Kingfisher’. Without pinning any high hopes we scouted along the banks. Then we saw a tiny bird on a dead tree trunk over on the other side of the pond. Yes! A Blue-Eared Kingfisher (Alcedo meninting) local name: Pekaka Bintik-bintik , doing what it does ever so well, hunting for fish. She’s a juvenile. Finally after almost eight months of staring at a blurry picture from my first encounter with this Kingfisher, these are better photos for us to enjoy.

The cheeks and ear coverts of this juvenile haven’t turned blue of the adult bird. This is the only photo showing the blue colour on the back. Based on the colour of the crown bars it could be a male.                   Soaking wet after a series of diving attacks into the disused fish pond.

Observing the fish below.

Asian Fairy Bluebirds of Kemensah

18 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

A pair of Asian Fairy Bluebirds (Irena puella) were calling loudly. I saw the female lower down by the stream and had mistook her for a Thrush until the more recognizable male landed on a branch above my head.

Male Dark-Necked Tailorbird.

19 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

Managed to snap  a few photos of the male Dark-Necked Tailorbird (Orthotomus atrogularis)  today. Compare these to yesterday’s post of the female. The dark grey colour around the throat is more prominent than the female.

Itchy Dark-Necked Tailorbird

18 July 2009, Kemensah, Selangor What would you do if you were in her position? A cute female Dark-Necked Tailorbird ,( local name: Perenjak Pisang) was trying to relieve herself from a terrible itch by rubbing her neck against a branch.

		The fruits of  the wild  fig tree  she was rubbing herself against.

Raffles Malkoha- hahahahaaaaa

Bukit Rengit, Pahang

I was attracted to the call of a pair of Raffles Malkoha (Rhinortha chlorophaeus). They are very shy birds.  Difficult to get a full view of the birds which preferred the security of the dense foliage. Makes me chuckle every time I see these photos. The sound that they make resemble the moaning sound  made by my son  urging me to stop the car in the middle of the Karak Highway. He had a tummy ache that morning and had to go…… . I was doing 180 just to reach the next  Pump station!  Lewis Hamilton, you need Ilyas in your car to win the next Grand Prix.

The female with the greyish head.