08/05/2010: Bukit Gambir (Penang)

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My baby is finally back after spending 2 months at the Sigma service center.

I decided to swing by this local patch to test out my lens and the agonizing wait was worth it because the guys at Sigma did a rather good job and it is almost as good as new now.

The Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher can be heard at almost every visit to this locality. However, it tends to keep to the dense and dim area of the forest – making it quite difficult to capture good images. Anyway, this is the female…

And this is the male….

The persistent territorial call of a Plaintive Cuckoo lead me to a dead tree at the edge of the fruit orchard. Although this male bird was rather confiding, I just could not find an angle where I could capture a clean shot.

A male Thick-billed Green-pigeon alighted on a nearby tree while I was still admiring the cuckoo and once I diverted my attention to him, it did not take long for him to fly for cover.

A pair of White-crested Laughingthrushes made their presence known with their loud calls filling the vicinity. Although this species originated from escaped cage birds, it is rather wary and shy. Their active nature also contributed to the difficulty of getting good images.

Anyway, I did better this time than the previous encounter where I could only managed to capture a single decent shot.

As I made my way to the car to start off another weekend at work, I came across this Scaly-breasted Munia foraging right next to car. Anyway, I let it had its fill before I got too close.

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