White-Bellied Woodpecker

16th September 2011, Kemensah, Selangor

I heard her low intermittent drumming from across the stream. In my mind it could the Bamboo Woodpecker doing her morning round in the clusters of bamboo trees. Somehow it sounded different.It wasn’t the typical ‘machine gun burst’ of the Bamboo Woodpecker. And then  this black bird flew from the edge of the forest onto a  dead tree trunk  and made her way upwards. It was a male White-bellied Woodpecker, a large woodpecker almost the size of the Great Slaty- the biggest woodpecker in this region . This was my first sighting of this species in Kemensah.

Early Surprise: Black Hornbills

16th September  2011, Kemensah, Selangor

I haven’t been to Kemensah for over a month  and this visit yielded a big surprise, a Black Hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus). There were three birds,  two males and a female, perched high on  a large tree  against strong backlighting. Took this shot from a distance for fear of missing the chance of recording my first Hornbill in Kemensah. This is a variant species with the white supercillium.

Early Waders in Sabak

11th September 2011, Kg Tok Lukot, Sabak, Kelantan

I wasn’t able to go back to my hometown during  the Hari Raya break. Made a trip back to see my parents and in-laws in Kota Bharu  last weekend. A  few hours late Sunday afternoon was spent in Sabak to photograph early migrants in the area. Shooting in Sabak  always leaves me wishing how I had more reach with my gear, 300mm is a severe handicap  when it comes to waterbirds. Overall it was good day  with some of the  birds coming in quite close to my position  in the middle of the swamp area.     A few  Greater Sand Plovers were scattered over the area. (correction: juvenile Lesser Sand PLovers)                     A few Terek Sandpipers One of a few  Common Sandpipers in the area. A colony of  6 Oriental Pranticoles A few Common Redshanks   Black-winged Stilts     My lifer- a White Wagtail.   Unsure- looks like a Whimbrel (ID: Greater Painted Snipe) Plenty of House Swallows (correction: Barn Swallows, I should have got this one correctly identified the first time!)           A White-browed Crake picking up courage to leave the  safety of the reeds

Juvenile Male : Scarlet-Rumped Trogon

9th  July 2011, Ulu Perdik, Selangor

He looks  very similar to an adult female but this is a  juvenile male. The red feathers on the rump is just  barely visible. See the adults here