Yellow–Rumped Flycatcher

25th September 2010, Kemensah, Selangor

The migrant birds are back.  I saw a few of this species in a bird wave. Just couldn’t get close enough for better shots.

I Like It Raw : Blue-Winged Leafbird

25th September 2010, Kemensah, Selangor

A young female  preparing her  food  ( a leaf insect),  banging it against the  tree branch before swallowing it whole.   I’m wondering why the eyering on this  female Blue-winged Leafbird is so prominent like that of a   female Greater  Green Leafbird?

I see You: Drongo Cuckoo

25th September 2010, Kemensah, Selangor

She was eyeing  every movement that I made from this high perch in case I was a threat.

Hide & Seek: Straw-Headed Bulbul

25th September 2010, Kemensah, Selangor

She wasn’t keen on being seen, tried her very best to hide from the paparazzi.   She won!

I’m Back : Blue-Eared Kingfisher

25th September 2010, Kemensah, Selangor

Today is my first outing after  a month of  being away. Back in Kemensah,  I’m slowly trying to get into the rhythm of things. I thought I’d begin with the Blue- eared Kingfishers- they are always great subjects to shoot. The juvenile seemed happy to oblige,  she kept coming back to the same area to hunt.   I stumbled upon the adult and juvenile birds resting together as I entered the trail at the far end of the pond.

Fly ‘Hakem’ Fly: Whiskered Treeswift

21st August 2010, Kemensah, Selangor

The tree where they nested was covered in new green leaves and the surrounding vegetation looked lush after  the spell of wet weather we’ve had. The nest was still there but the swiftlet and the parent birds were nowhere to be seen. Later I saw  the parents flew to a nearby tree. Still no sign of the swiftlet. Had she fledge or had she become another casualty of our recent unsettled weather?

Dad  resting after  sallying for insects

Mom just looking on.

Still no sign of the swiftlet….. I guess I will never know what had happened to her. 20 minutes had passed when I heard a faint but familiar sound coming from a Rambutan tree behind me, it’s the swiftlet! She had fledged and judging by the rather sluggish way she flew and a few aborted landings she must have fledged  quite recently, maybe yesterday or even today! It’s a  male based on the barely visible rufous ear coverts.    Yes, …….. I will name thee ‘Hakem’.     He  flew onto a dead tree  up the slope   This was the last I  saw ‘Hakem’ when I lost sight of him after he flew further into the orchard. I waited  for another half an hour should  he return to the area…… no luck. Probably he just came  to say goodbye.  In conclusion, the chick fledged after   27-30 days ( my best estimates). Thanks for briefly letting me into their lives,  at least there’s a happy ending to this story. Adios Amigos.    ( Previous post of the chick)

Chick’s Progress 3 : Whiskered Treeswift

14th August 2010, Kemensah, Selangor

We had   heavy thunderstorms and extremely strong winds yesterday. Picked up the morning paper and the headline was ‘ 3 killed  at Ramadhan Bazaar in Jasin, Melaka’  when the temporary structures were carried away by the strong wind-so sad to learn about the tragic loss of lives. I was anxious to find out how the Treeswifts fared after the thunderstorm. When I arrived at the nest I saw that the tree had sprouted new shoots/ leaves so I couldn’t immediately spot the chick.  A long sigh of relief  when I saw the chick basking and spreading her wings in the early morning sunshine. Phew…… ( Previous post of the chick) It was day 20 from when the chick was first sighted (25th July 2010). I think she could be  23 days old today. The white head stripes were clearly visible and she now looked like a ‘mini’ whiskered treeswift. My feeling is that the chick could be a ‘ he’. Judging by the progress I think the chick should fledge in about a week, I certainly hope so!  I only have until 25th August before going  on a long leave. This would make a good Father’s Day card. Any suggestions on the names? I was thinking ‘Hakem’ for a male and ‘Esah’ if it’s a female – she’s from Kemensah! I caught Dad dozing off a few times and was startled when he was  about to  lose his balance  and fall off the tree!  Raising a young is no easy task, it takes a heavy toll on your body.   Working those newly developed wing muscles. It wont be long now before those muscles will have to function for real. Notes: I didn’t know that I had more ‘reach’ stored in my camera bag than  I had realized. My old Kenko 1.4x TC had some problems with the contacts and I had replaced it with the Nikkor 14EII. It looked ridiculous at first when I tried putting the two TCs together on the 300mm f4 lens but I was surprised that I now have  an 882mm reach ( D90 1.5x crop) with  full  working electronics and autofocus , WoW!. You can do this with Kenko TC since the front glass element does not protrude  and touch the rear elements of the Nikkor TC. Image quality is definitely better than the manual 2x TC which I had  used previously and having the autofocus helps tremendously.