Black-Capped Kingfisher

28th November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

I saw this bird last week but  had limited time to sit and wait for her. This week  Mission Blackcap is on .  We knew that she’s very wary of  people and will fly off  at the slightest movement or noise. We waited for her  near a dead tree where we last saw her  . She didn’t come to that tree, instead she landed on a rock in the middle of a pond, quite some distance away from our position. Afraid that we might lose her if we moved in closer ,  we  took the shots . True enough , she disappeared after I momentarily popped my head up from behind the bushes. A Lifer: Black-Capped Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) local name: Pekaka Kopiah Hitam. She’s a migratory species  to Malaysia.       Mission Blackcap II will be underway soon to improve on these photos.

Common Kingfisher of Kemensah

28th November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

This is the first time that I see this bird in Kemensah. We were on  ‘Mission BlackCap’ this morning when we stumbled upon this Common Kingfisher hunting beside our primary target. She was later chased away by the other bird.

Black-Thighed Falconet: going solo

21st  November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

I was surprised to see this lone Black-Thighed Falconet (Microhierax fringillarius) local name: Helang Belalang . Usually they go in pairs. Probably a youngster looking for a mate.

Monsoon: It’s raining cats and dogs

14th  November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor                               

It is  monsoon season now and  a few States have been inundated  by flood water . What about the Birds and the Bees, are they enjoying this?   This Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater was sitting out  waiting for the rain to subside.  Usually there will be plenty of bees , wasps and other insects after the rain.

Ashy Minivets

22nd  November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor Ashy Minivets (Pericrocotus divaricatus) have arrived in great numbers in Kemensah now.  I’ve seen many females but the male birds are quite scarce. Managed to get one shot of the male and he was the only male in a flock of 4 birds.

A big fat caterpillar for a meal The male is whiter and has black lores, crown and nape.

Scarlet-Backed Flowerpecker: fire in the bush

22nd  November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

Photographing a  tiny, quick moving Flowerpecker  is always a challenge and  this one is no exception. He was constantly  flying  from one branch to another which made waiting for a clean shot  not good for your blood pressure! .   This is a male   Scarlet-Backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum) local name: Sepah Puteri Merah

Flowerpeckers love this hairy but succulent fruit                               Ferrari always comes to mind whenever the word scarlet is mentioned . Well, they may not be loud and quick  as the ‘prancing horse’ but to me they  are in a category of their own in terms of beauty.

Blue-Throated Bee-Eater

22nd  November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

I haven’t seen  Blue-Throated Bee-Eaters in Kemensah for a couple of months so today’s encounter was a pleasant surprise. This is a female.

Little Spiderhunter, Yellow-Bellied Warbler

21st November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor A Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra) cleaning her beak after  her rounds of collecting nectar. Maintenance has to be tip-top.

This Yellow-Bellied Warbler (Abroscopus superciliaris) was on the same Bamboo tree as the Spiderhunter. Maybe I’ll get a better shot next time round.

Crimson-Winged Woodpecker

21st November 2009, Kemensah, Selangor

Last Saturday and Sunday were spent birding at Taman Rimba Ampang so this week I’m back at the local turf, Kemensah. This is our prized catch from Saturday. 3 Crimson-Winged Woodpeckers (Picus puniceus)  local name : Belatuk Dusun, were foraging for food along a tree trunk . This  is a male with the red  patch on the cheek. The colours are  so intense that he doesn’t look real. Believe me it’s not a stuffed toy, he‘s real!

Grey Wagtail: clean shots!

15th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor At last, these are photos of the Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) in a cleaner surrounding. The ones taken in Kemensah had too much rubbish,  which was rather distracting.

 

 

Verditer Flycatchers

15th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor   A pair of Verditer Flycatchers (Eumyias thalassinus) . The male

The female

Japanese Sparrowhawk

15th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor Lifer: A lone Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis)  . I was concentrating on the Common Kingfisher at the time and  was lucky to spot her. She could be a juvenile judging by the pronounced eyebrow.

Scarlet-Rumped Trogon

14th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor Lifer:  A male Scarlet-Rumped Trogon (Harpactes duvaucelii)  was resting on a tree across the stream from where we were. No way to get closer, this long range shot is the only decent photo of this beautiful bird.

Brown Barbet: The Bouncer

14th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor

A Brown Barbet (Calorhamphus fuliginosus)  making her presence known. Aggressive in looks as well as attitude she  was trying to hog all the fruits to herself by chasing away  the other birds.

Gold –Whiskered Barbets: 24 carats!

15th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor

Gold –Whiskered Barbets (Megalaima chrysopogon) were out in numbers and we saw at least 4 feeding on  one tree.   I was pointing my camera at the birds across the stream  and didn’t realise she was  less than 10 feet  away from me above my head. This is the closest I’ve got to this barbet.

Blue-Tailed Bee-Eaters

14th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor

Several Blue-tailed Bee-eaters (Merops philippinus)  were making their hunting passes  catching insects in their long curved beaks. The branch  was overhanging a stream which provided an ideal open space for these birds to make their fast diving attacks to catch their prey.           She’s eyeing something.                 An unfortunate little wasp is now food.                           Showing off her colours in the morning sun                       Seen here are the female birds. No males  present                         Just waiting for their opportunity to dive at any flying insects

Asian Fairy Bluebird

14th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor The male   The female

We counted at least 5 Asian Fairy Bluebirds on one tree. Their striking blue made them stand out from the greens of the forest .

Grey –Breasted Spiderhunter

14th November 2009, Taman Rimba Ampang, Selangor

Lifer: A Grey-Breasted Spiderhunter (Arachnothera affinis) made frequent visits to this flowering tree for her  nectar . It was quite dark and it started to rain so avoiding motion blur with quite low shutter speeds was a challenge in itself.   Insects  were competing for the nectar