The anticipation of my second day of birding in central Peninsular
Malaysia got me all worked up and I made my way downstairs full of zeal and excitement.
Like the first morning, breakfast was all ready and waiting for me – courtesy
of Foo’s wife, Connie. I must admit I was truly being pampered on this trip. The drive to Bukit Tinggi in Pahang took
slightly more than an hour but the winding journey was made shorter by Foo’s
excellent driving and his awesome ride.
Bukit Tinggi is yet another tourist destination and is usually
crowded on weekends like today. However through his connections, Foo managed to
get us in way before the permitted entry time. This is the second time I have
been to this hill resort but the first visit was a casual trip. Today, was a different
story. I was on a mission and a remarkable gamebird was my target.
A short trek from the Botanical Gardens and we reached the spot
where the renowned Mountain Peacock-Pheasants of Bukit Tinggi frequent. It
looks like any ordinary patch of montane forest but the memories and
experiences that birders far and wide obtained here are anything but ordinary.
This pheasant is only found in the main range of Peninsular Malaysia and no
where else in the world. Prior to the discovery of the pheasants here, this endemic
has an almost mythical status. Elusive and scarce, it is rarely encountered in
the field. I have seen it on two occasions in the past and they were only
glimpses of its true splendour. It has been three years since the discovery and
one of the reasons I chose to finally have a go at the pheasants now is to avoid
a crowd when shooting. But fate would have it that I had to share the location with
a group of half a dozen mainland Chinese birders and their local guide. They came
shortly after we had settled down and waiting for my second target bird of the
trip to start its performance. I may sound selfish and perhaps I am but I would
very much preferred to enjoy my moment with the pheasants at total ease and
solitude. Anyway, we did our best to accommodate the group.
A couple of hours later, a stream of continuous shutter clicks from
the direction of my new found companions broke the silence. I knew that the
pheasant has finally decided to show itself but from where we had positioned
our hides, I could not see a thing. It is a good thing the pheasants here are
accustomed to all this attention. Any other gamebird would have turned tail and
disappear right back into the forest. Slowly, I could almost make out the shape
of the pheasant foraging just behind the undergrowth. There was nothing I could
do but wait. And it was one of the longest minutes I had to endure in my life.
The intensity of the moment was unbelievable. If my heart were to beat any
faster, I fear it would have broke through my rib cage. When this amazing
creature finally showed itself completely to us, I took a few seconds to awe at
this magnificent creature before commencing with the photo shoot.
It was a handsome male. The blue-green ocelli sparkled like jewels whenever
they caught the few rays of the sun that have managed to pierce through the
dense canopy. The chestnut colouration interwoven with intricate fine markings make
this bird a true wonder of the natural world. Its near mythical status is no
exaggeration. It is so beautiful that at times, it seemed unreal. It was like a
secret passageway to a fantasy world was breached once upon a time allowing the
Mountain Peacock-Pheasants to cross into our world and grace us with their poise
and beauty for all eternity.
The mere presence of the pheasant drowned out everything else. The
hide I was in became my own little private world and at that moment in time, it
was just me and the pheasant. And all these astronomical feelings was the
doings of a single male bird. Other birders have encountered pairs and even
families of this pheasant here but I can only dream of such good fortune and
privilege.
The whole encounter lasted about 5 minutes. During that time, the
pheasant hardly stood still. The dim lighting offered very little reprieve for
my modest photographic gear. The long tail that had me spell-bounded proved to
be a double-edged sword as it was challenging to keep the entire bird in the
frame. Naturally, I wanted more. The group left immediately after the
performance. I decided to stay and wait for the pheasant to return.
While waiting, the other species present finally had my attention
like this male Oriental Magpie Robin. For the second consecutive day, this
species has appeared at my target birds’ location.
The Buff-breasted Babbler occurs in hilly forest and is not often
seen as it tends to keep itself well hidden among the undergrowth. I have
several failed attempts to obtain its image in the past. This confiding
individual changed all that. In terms of appearance, there is not much I can
elaborate on this non-descript species but that does not mean I did not relish
the encounter. I finally managed to obtain some reasonably good images of this
little brown job.
Active and small, it was a tough subject to photograph despite its
confiding nature...
I was disappointed when the pheasant did not return after a couple
of hours. On the other hand, that made the earlier encounter even more precious
to me. As I was about to pack up, this Common Treeshrew scurried into view and
was just asking to be photographed. Naturally, I obliged...
From Bukit Tinggi, we travelled to the adjacent hill of Genting Highlands.
Well known for its casinos and theme parks, this hill resort is naturally another
popular tourist destination. However, those attractions are of no concern to
me. The Important Bird Area (IBA) of Awana along the lower slopes is. IBAs here
in Malaysia are not given their due protection. Awana, as many other IBAs, is
under threat by human activities. That is a real shame because it is certainly
a very beautiful and a regular birding site for birders in this region
including Foo.
The Collared Owlet here has performed well on numerous occasions in
the past but not today. Today it was quite adamant of taunting us from the
dense foliage of the forest canopy with its diagnostic calls. No amount of
pleading will get it show itself and a flying Great Hornbill finally diverted
our attention away.
A fruiting tree only yielded a pair of Fire-tufted Barbets. This
species is undoubtedly the most impressive of all our barbets. The challenging
lighting condition and the height of the tree robbed us of any great images
despite the confiding nature of our subjects.
After such an exhilarating morning with the pheasant, it would take something
truly spectacular to reignite my excitement. A small flycatcher hawking along
the forest edge awakened my senses but after further scrutiny, it turned out to
be only an Asian Brown Flycatcher – the commonest of our migratory flycatchers.
Not quite the spectacle I was hoping for.
Foo was a little puzzled as to why we have yet to come across the Orange-bellied
Leafbird. This beautiful forest jewel is a common sight here. I have been to
this site only once before a few years back and I obtained one of my images of
this species courtesy of an exceptionally confiding individual. I know what it
feels like when you fail to show a regular species at your local patch to a visiting
birder. A handsome male on our way back saved Foo the agony. And Foo’s pet bird
was a great way to wrapped up things up for this weekend of outstanding birding
and great companionship in the heart of Peninsular Malaysia. I owe the success
and rewards of this trip to Foo. Without him, photographing a certain migratory
ground bird and an endemic game bird will still be very much in my bucket list.
