26/03/2011: Bukit Palong (Kedah)

Despite the current wet spell, Choo Eng and I headed towards for this locality for hopefully, a few hour of birding. The weather held up and the discovery of a fruiting tree was an added bonus. A fruiting tree usually becomes a bird-magnet and several different species can be seen feeding on the fruits together. Although this tree was not too far away from the access road but the angle was a little too steep to produce any really great shots. The majority of the patrons here were Bulbuls consisting of the Black-headed, Red-eyed, Buff-vented, Streaked, Grey-bellied and Scaly-breasted. Unfortunately, only the Streaked Bulbul stayed put long enough for me to obtain a few reasonable shots.

The Blue-eared Barbet is always a welcome sight as it is seldom seen away from the dense foliage of the canopy levels. Its persistent and distinctive calls are normally the only tell tale sign of its presence. This fellow was seen foraging along a huge tree trunk and only the distance hampered my efforts of obtaining better images.

Most of the winter visitors have started their spring migrations but I guess a few are a little reluctant to end their tropical vacation just yet like this Dark-sided Flycatcher.

If ever there is a tree called the Fireball Tree, this would definitely be it.

Sultan Tits are simply just awesome birds. I have been trying in vain to obtain good images of them ever since I took up photography. This forest jewel is not really common anywhere and possesses a striking colour combination of black and bright yellow. To top it all off, it wears a wicked yellow crest on its crown. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the Sultan Tit. However, the distant record shots I managed to obtain does it no justice at all.

Although Parrots are poorly represented here in Malaysia, we certainly have one of the most adorable and charming species around – the Blue-crowned Hanging-parrot. Like the Sultan Tit, I hardly had any good photographic opportunities with this species as well. This trip’s record shots of a female bird will just have to do – for now.