31 May, 2011

Dark-Necked Tailorbird: Up Close & Personal

22nd May 2011, Kemensah, Selangor

 

What can I say about this guy……. he’s a happy chap. He was calling and calling and calling……

DSC_0875

 

DSC_0877

 

DSC_0880

 

DSC_0886

 

 

29 May, 2011

The Quickest Way To Her Heart Is Through Her Stomach: Blue-Eared Kingfishers

22nd May 2011, Kemensah, Selangor

 

These birds have been receiving a lot of attention lately. At last I found a bit of time to actually sit down and  observe their behavior in their natural habitat. This is what I saw….

A young female resting  on her favourite perch…a bamboo overhanging a pond.

DSC_1289

The male came with a small fish  and  started moving closer and closer towards the female.

DSC_1269

 

DSC_1271

He gestured with his head indicating that he was offering  the fish to her.

DSC_1274

She took the fish .  The shutter speed  ( 1/125s) was not fast enough to freeze the movement of the heads at the moment when the fish was passed to the female.

DSC_1275

Gulp.

DSC_1278

The male was probably  thinking ‘Ok,  was that fish enough to get her undivided attention?’.

DSC_1281

 

Both birds started diving into the pond below to clean themselves. The male flew off after igniting the booster rocket!

The young female left but she  came back  later with a sizeable fish between her bill and… she had the whole fish for herself !

DSC_1216

28 May, 2011

Little Spiderhunter

2nd May 2011, Kemensah, Selangor

 

A confiding Spiderhunter making her round of the banana trees, getting her supply of fresh juicy nectar.

DSC_0505

 

25 May, 2011

Female Bamboo Woodpecker

2nd May 2011, Kemensah, Selangor

 

A female Bamboo Woodpecker boring a hole in a young macaranga tree.( see the male). This particular area has yielded a few reasonable shots of this shy  woodpeckers.

DSC_0191

23 May, 2011

Male Brown-Throated Sunbird

2nd May 2011, Kemensah, Selangor

 

It’s been some time since this species receive it’s due attention from me. He was there on the branch… just begging to have his pictures taken.

DSC_0491

 

22 May, 2011

Black & Red Broadbills

2nd May 2011, Kemensah, Selangor

 

The pair  of  resident Black & Red Broadbills were very active now that it is breeding season.

DSC_0294

No, it is not a new subspecies endemic to Kemensah! She’s had just caught an insect with long feelers.

DSC_0399

 

DSC_9840

 

DSC_9846

 

21 May, 2011

Bronze Drongo

7th May 2011, Old Pump House Road, Gohtong Jaya, Pahang

Scientific name: (Dicrurus aeneus)

It may look like a bronze statuette of a bird but I can assure you that this is the real deal.

There is no clear distinction between the sexes in this species so I’m not sure if  it’s a male or a female. She was sunning herself in the morning light and the side lighting accentuated her beautiful bronze like  feathers around her throat and breast.

 

DSC_0096

DSC_0106

 

18 May, 2011

Hill Blue-Flycatcher

7th May 2011, Old Pump House Road, Gohtong Jaya, Pahang

Scientific name: (Cyornis banyumas)

They were calling loud and clear. Managed to locate the pair after a brief scan of the area. My previous sighting of this species was at Awana on a foggy morning so these are my improvement shots.

The male

DSC_0058

 

DSC_0059

The female

DSC_9952

17 May, 2011

Blue Nuthatch

7th May 2011, Old Pump House Road, Gohtong Jaya, Pahang

 

Blue Nuthatches were out in numbers, moving up and down the tree branches. Most of the time you would see them  with their heads towards the ground.

DSC_0033

 

DSC_0047

 

DSC_9994

 

16 May, 2011

Pygmy Wren-Babbler

7th May 2011, Old Pump House Road, Gohtong Jaya, Pahang

Scientific name: Pnoepyga pusilla

It was semi-darkness;  that’s how I would describe the condition I was shooting in. This tiny bird loves this dimly lit  and moist environment. When she finally emerged  I could only see a dark object ( the bird) moving around in the dark. Most of the time I wasn’t sure what the camera  was focusing on, it was a case of  fire & hope that at the end of the session there would be something ‘useable’ on the card.

After an hour long wait, these are the results. Out of 40 odd photos, only  4 are worth posting. The exposures have been adjusted substantially  so that the bird would  actually be visible!

This is a pale morph adult, she measures between 7.5-9.5cm.

DSC_9913

Exif data: ISO 1600, f/4, 1/40s ( no flash)

DSC_9927

 

DSC_9897

Focus was  a real issue since I found out later that the camera was selecting anything  that was brighter than the bird. I got lucky with the first two photos when the focus was spot on.

DSC_9898

15 May, 2011

Adult Male Tiger Shrike

30th April 2011, Gunung Ulu Kali, Genting Highlands, Pahang

 

Most Tiger Shrikes that we see here are the first-winter birds and there’s always some excitement out  in the field when an adult is sighted.

DSC_9224

 

DSC_9207

 

DSC_9251

 

14 May, 2011

White-Browed Shrike-Babblers

30th April 2011, Gunung Ulu Kali, Genting Highlands, Pahang

 

I have seen these birds on many occasions but  never an opportunity for  any photographs.

The male has darker plumage, more pronounced eyebrows and more colourful than the female.

DSC_9531_thumb11_thumb

 

DSC_9240_thumb1_thumb

 

DSC_9235_thumb_thumb

 

Not a very good shot of the female bird.

DSC_9478_thumb

 

Rufous-Winged Fulvetta: Again

30th April 2011, Gunung Ulu Kali, Genting Highlands, Pahang

 

I only managed one shot of this bird during my previous visit to Ulu Kali. This time she was more sympathetic and allowed me to have a few more  improvement shots.

DSC_9365

 

DSC_9387

 

The colours look paler in the last photo, I  wonder if it’s a different bird.

DSC_9383

 

11 May, 2011

Parenthood : Mountain Bulbul

30th April 2011, Gunung Ulu Kali, Genting Highlands, Pahang

 

An adult Mountain Bulbul feeding a juvenile. Birds are created to be  responsible  towards their young…. sadly we can’t say the same about us human.

DSC_9295

 

DSC_9297

08 May, 2011

24 Carat: Golden Babbler

30th April 2011, Gunung Ulu Kali, Genting Highlands, Pahang

 

The birds may not be that rare but to me these are precious! The reason being, they are so difficult to  obtain, like gold dust……. well almost ! Hyperactive these birds would give you a tough time before they surrender their images

 

DSC_9466

 

DSC_9489

 

DSC_9501

 

07 May, 2011

Streaked Wren-Babbler: Can never get enough

23rd April 2011, Gunung Ulu Kali, Genting Highlands, Pahang

 

I just love Wren-Babblers, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of shooting  this little bird. They look like some prehistoric bird with the scaly feathers on their back.. Most of the time you would only see them when they  suddenly jump out from the bushes/ ferns . This time I managed to capture them before they start hopping on the ground like kangaroos.

DSC_8604

 

DSC_9312

As usual, picking moths which had fallen to the ground.

DSC_9342

06 May, 2011

Female Lesser Shortwing

23rd April 2011, Gunung Ulu Kali, Genting Highlands, Pahang

 

I know that there’s a pair of this Lesser Shortwing in the area but unfortunately only the female was seen after an hour long stakeout.

DSC_8662

 

DSC_8664