Urbanized Owls

My first tour of the year brought to the hilly forest of Sungai Sedim in Kedah state. With the fruiting trees coming into season again as expected, my American client Michael was in for a treat but was not aware of it yet as I picked him from a hotel in the middle of Georgetown City. It was his maiden birding trip to my Malaysia and nearly every bird that came to the fruiting tree was a lifer including the common Cream-vented Bulbuls.

Red-eyed Bulbuls are another common species of the forest here and as expected, a few were gorging on the fruits available.

Uncommon would best describe the Ashy Bulbul and the black mask undoubtedly enhances its appeal. It is seen sporadically at fruiting trees here and its presence today was well appreciated.

With some many varieties of bulbuls sharing the same home, some are bound to evolve and fill up niches that are not so typical of bulbuls like the Yellow-bellied Bulbul. The dim lighted lower storey of the forest is where it frequents and patronizing fruiting trees is about the only time where it reveals itself more than usual.

The star bird at the fruiting tree today was the splendid Grey-bellied Bulbul. It stood out from the rest for its vibrant colouration. Naturally, it had Michael’s undivided attention.

There were a number of flowerpeckers present at the fruiting tree as well. Due to their minute size, good photographic opportunities were far and few. For some unknown reason, they seemed to be particularly restless today. Anyway, the only image that was decent enough to be posted here is of a handsome male Orange-bellied Flowerpecker.

The only sunbird you will usually find patronizing fruiting trees in Sungai Sedim is the Plain Sunbird. The common names of some birds can be misleading but not for this species. The only sign of splendour, present on all male sunbird species, is a small patch of iridescent green on the forecrown. This shot, despite all its flaws, shows that patch well enough.

While we were entertained by the feeding frenzy at the fruiting tree, the territorial calls of gibbons echoed through the vicinity. Captivated, Michael was disappointed when we could not locate a single one of them despite being in such close proximity. Then, like an answered prayer, a lone individual suddenly swung into view and it was an Agile Gibbon.

Shortly after, the reason for the boldness exhibited by this usually wary animal was known. There was another fruiting tree in bloom and like I always say, gluttony is a deadly sin few can resist. And the encounter with this amazing primate was one of the highlights of the trip.

There was one more mission I need to accomplish before concluding this half day excursion. My guest expressed his desire to see a Barred Eagle-Owl and lucky for him, I knew exactly where to fulfil his desire. The location is a modest suburban park but it is home to pair of these intriguing night birds. It did not take long to locate the owls this time as they were roosting on a smaller tree. As usual, it was an exciting lifer for my foreign guest.   

The second owl appeared smaller and I assume should be the male bird. However, his roosting perch was more concealed and there was no way to obtain any better images without the risk of disturbing the roosting pair. Anyway, the Barred Eagle-Owls did more than enough to provide the ideal end to this short excursion and a good start to hopefully another year of hopefully rewarding tour excursions.