The Royal Belum
State Park is part of the
Belum-Temenggor forest landscape located at the northern-most corner of Perak state and is one of the largest forested areas in Malaysia.
This was my third only visit to this particular area and every single one of
them concluded quite satisfactory.
Unlike Taman Negara, it has managed to
maintain accessibility by boat only and this helps to keep the park relatively
as wild as it should be. Anyway, the four of us chartered a small boat for the
day to explore this pristine birding locality and most of the birding and photography
from this trip were done from the boat.
The
Lesser Fish-eagle is rather scarce everywhere and the Temenggor Lake
is probably one of its last strongholds where it can still be seen quite
regularly. Unfortunately, it is rather shy and I was only able to obtain record
shots despite crossing paths with this eagle a couple of times throughout the
trip. And the constant movement of the boat did not help much in improving my
photographs.
If
you are a big fan of hornbills, and to be totally honest who isn’t, Royal Belum
is one of the best places to observe these majestic and regal birds. It is the only place
in Malaysia
where all the 10 species of hornbills have been recorded. On this trip, we
managed to record 3 species and obtained record shots of 2 of them – a flying
male Wreathed Hornbill…
And
a resting Black Hornbill.
We
had our lunch at Sungai Kejar base camp. It is one of the few basic
accommodations can be found within the park. There are no big resorts here and I
sincerely hope it will stay that way.
Anyway,
the base camp was quite rich in bird life and a nearby fruiting tree was really
luring in the forest birds – much to our delight. Unfortunately, the tree was
quite tall and good photographic opportunities were rare. A rather confiding
male Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher eventually prevented me from leaving the base
camp empty handed.
The
indigenous people of Belum-Temenggor are also one of the attractions for
visitors to the park but not quite so for a quartet of birders from Penang. We are solely here for the feathered residents
only.
The
star performer of the trip is a species of bulbul that I have not seen in more
than 17 years and one of the main targets for this trip – the Straw-headed Bulbul. By the way, the local name is Barau and hence, the title of this post. It may be the largest of all the bulbuls
in Malaysia
but sadly, it is also one of the rarest as well. Being a highly-prized songbird
in the illegal bird trade is the main reason for its scarcity. And that is a
real shame because not only does it sing beautifully but it is also visually
stunning. This bulbul favours riverside vegetation and it is not particularly
shy as we were able to approach it reasonably close by boat.
Despite
all the threats that this bulbul is facing, we discovered that there is still
hope…
Like
all young birds, this fledgling had a ravenous appetite and the parents had to
work hard to keep it happy.
A
Praying Mantis is certainly not beyond their means.
Before
I end this post, I would to share this image of a family of Black-thighed
Falconets taken along the Kupang-Gerik highway a few days before our trip to
Royal Belum. The birds were having some quality time together as the day draws
to a close but like all loving families, occasionally there may be one that is
just not in the mood to cuddle up.
10 comments:
Lovely series & write up Choy..looking fwd for my first visit to Belum..but still donno when..keep it up
Glad to know that one more addition has been added to the Barau's survival stats.
Straw-headed Bulbul! You have no idea how much I want to see this bird. I went to look for it once in Malaysia but couldn't find any. Seems like a really good place for birding.
Thanks all for your comments.
Great pics Choy, especially that rare
Bulbul. I hope there is as you say hope for it. Looks like a wonderful place to visit, away from hordes of people.
Thanks, Phil. This park is one of the last wild frontiers in Malaysia.
There used to be a pair of these large bulbuls in Kemensah but I've not seen any for more than a year. Btw great write up Mun.
Thanks, Madi. This bulbul is certainly getting quite rare nowadays.
Love the falconets. A superb photo. Would be great to see them.
Thank you, Russell.
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