Change is the only constant in life (10/05/2014)

It has been more than a year since my last visit to the Bintang Hijau Forest Reserve along the Kupang-Grik Highway in northern Perak. This must be one of the most remote and wildest locations in the list of birding spots that I do my Saturday birding. Access to the forest is via the network of both active and inactive logging trails. That means you will not find any picnickers or day-trippers here. And inevitably, it is one of the best localities for forest birding.

So, you can imagine my dismay when I discovered that parts of this forest reserve (reserved for logging that is) are being converted into rubber plantations. And I thought the scheduled logging (sections of the reserve will be logged and then allowed to recover as other sections are logged) activities was bad. This is even worse. Rubber trees will be the only trees left in these areas from now on. Welcome to my world. 

Anyway, change has always been a part of life. May it be in work, relationships and yes, birding. You either deal with it or let it put you down. So, we dealt with it and made the best of whatever that is left - which is still quite a vast area of pristine tropical rainforest.

I have always lamented on the difficulty of obtaining great shots of forest birds and today, is certainly one of those days. Do not get me wrong. I love forest birding also and we had a great trip today. We recorded about 70 species in 6 hours. It is just that I wish I was able to obtain more images to show at the end of the day. I guess that is why this post is rather wordy - to make up for the lack of images.

The Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike is an adorable and striking little bird that tends to be quite restless when foraging. Coupled with the fact that the lighting was not on my side, this was the best I could conjure.

A male Orange-backed Woodpecker on an exposed trunk and in good light...but way up in the canopy and well beyond the comfort zone of my gear. 

The same goes for this Grey-bellied Bulbul...

Choo Eng lifted my spirit when he found a male Rufous-collared Kingfisher just next to the logging trail. This forest kingfisher is not that uncommon but it is more often heard than seen. Its mournful, persistent call gets even the most experienced birder excited. Relatively confiding, he performed well enough given the habitat he was in.

Here is the habitat. All you need to do now is to trace the call back to the source; find an angle that is not blocked to shoot the subject; make sure you do not accidentally step on a snake or any deadly creature that may be lurking while you are at it; and all this time try to be as silent and inconspicuous as possible so as not to spook the subject to disappear into the vegetation and never to be seen again for the rest of your life. Maybe I should take up an easier hobby like skydiving. 

We also recorded a few raptors today including this Oriental Honey-buzzard circling above the forest. It does appear to be the migratory subspecies and by right should have taken the spring passage back north.

The resident race of the Striated Swallow is the best looker among all swallows and martins that occur in Malaysia. Here are a few of them taking a breather at the top of a sparsely crowned tree. Unfortunately, this stunning species does not occur in my home state of Penang and I have not really had any good photo opportunities with it. 

Another noteworthy find for this trip was the tracks of a Malayan Tapir. This unique but endangered mammal is active at night like most large mammals found here in Malaysia. The tracks were quite recent and the animal had most probably crossed this trail the night before. 

Since we are on the subject of Tapirs, we saw a new set of traffic signs depicting tapir crossing on the way back. This is new to me because the usual signs that we see on Malaysian highways are deer and elephant crossings. But this is a good thing. The forest here is home to the tapir long before we humans built a highway right across it. A little respect and caution when you drive here at night is not too much to ask I reckon.

A walk on the wild side (12/01/2013)

We entered one of the logging trails within the Gunung Bintang Forest Reserve in Gerik, Perak just as it started to get bright.  The first birds to welcome our group of three to one of the wildest regions in Peninsular Malaysia were a flock of extremely vocal Dusky Broadbills. Although not as brilliantly coloured as the others in its family but what it lacks in colour, it sure makes it up in personality and size.

We had the good fortune to glimpse into the courtship ritual of a pair of Red-bearded Bee-eaters. Perched next to each other among the foliage of the highest canopy, the loving pair was quite oblivious of all the attention they had attracted from all their sensual swaying and tail extensions. Yup, love is certainly in the air.

The melodious calls of the Dark-throated Orioles echoed through the vicinity during our visit. However, there were no close encounters and all my images were taken from a distance. That is a real shame because the male is truly handsome. 

We came across quite a number of bird waves today and as usual, I had to face the dilemma of deciding whether to use my bins or my camera. Most of the time, I will opt for the former because you risk missing out on quite a few species if you focus too much on photography. Secondly, good photographic opportunities are far and few during bird waves. But once in a blue moon it does happen - just like this Brown Fulvetta that decided to take a breather from the feeding frenzy right in front of me. 

The Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes stood out from most of the other species that were participating in the waves due to their striking plumage. This is, of course, the duller female. It would have been too good to be true if the male was to be so obliging.

The range of species in a bird wave can be quite varied and not only small birds are involved. Sometimes, you will get giants like the Chestnut-breasted Malkoha following the waves. Apparently, this big fellow is a little camera-shy.

Off-road enthusiasts enjoying the spills and thrills of the logging trail. Not my cup of tea but I guess to each, his own. I mean who am I to judge? Trekking along a soggy trail infested with leeches and God knows what else for hours in the middle of a tropical rain forest to observe birds is certainly not most folks’ cup of tea either. And as much as I love water birds, I have to admit that the forest is still where you will find the most fascinating and dazzling of bird species.

On the way back, we decided to make a detour to the paddy fields at Permatang Nibong, Penang. It was decision based on two important reasons. Earlier this week, there was a large influx of Asian Openbills migrating into Malaysia with about 1,000 seen in Kuala Gula, Perak and 200 in Batang Tiga, Melaka. Back in Penang, Graeme saw about 300 passing through our home state and I initially thought none will be wintering here this season. With so many passing through, I am pretty sure that those wintering in this particular locality in Penang for the past few seasons would surely do so again. Penang may be a tiny state but you once you get to know her, she is not so easily forgettable but we still had to be sure. The other reason for the detour is because this enigmatic stork will be a lifer for James, one of my companions on this trip. If ever he is to see his first Asian Openbill in Malaysia, it would be now. When we finally reached their favourite roosting site, we discovered that the storks were indeed back for the fourth consecutive season. Not only that, they managed to convince and brought along about 40 other compatriots. Looks like Penang has not lost her charm yet. And James got his lifer.

The reason for the sudden influx is yet to be determined. But whatever the reason, it was a certainly a sight to behold. It was simply fantastic. Welcome back, guys!

Kupang-Gerik, Perak (01/10/11)

It has been more than a year since my last visit to this logging trail which is sadly the only way we have access to this pristine area of tropical rainforest. The day started off on a quite positive note when a Peregrine Falcon flew overhead. Every other bird that was up and about in the area immediately took cover from the mere sight of this deadly predator. Unfortunately, the falcon alighted on the canopy level of the tallest tree around and well beyond my gear’s comfort zone.

The locality was also filled the loud and distinctive calls of the Hill Mynas. After putting in some effort to locate the birds, I was slightly disappointed with the results. Although my subjects were rather close, the only way I could obtain a slightly clear image was to shoot between small gaps of the tree’s foliage. This species is a highly-prized cage bird because of its ability to mimic human speech and other sounds. And it is because of this talent that its population has been greatly reduced from many of its former strongholds.

A pair of foraging Scaly-crowned Babblers provided the main highlight for the trip. My preference for non-flash photography always made it quite a challenge for forest photography especially when it comes to babblers and their active nature. I had to rely heavily on continuous shooting and with a whole lot of luck, hopefully a few shots will turned out good. Anyway, this is the best shot out of the whole lot.

A pair of Red-bearded Bee-eater tantalizingly hawked for insects along the logging track and provided some colours and excitement to the trip. This pair of forest gems was the last birds we managed to photograph for the trip.

There was another encounter worth mentioning during the trip and it involved a snake. All three of us could have sworn that it was a cobra as the meter-long serpent raised its hood before slithering into the undergrowth. Choo Eng’s quick action resulted in a few record shots and a herpetologist researcher back home thinks it could be a juvenile King Cobra or an Indo-Chinese Rat Snake after reviewing the images. And I thought reptiles would be easier to identify...

12/06/2010: Kupang-Gerik (Perak)

The entrance to this locality has changed tremendously since my last visit. The Bat Hawks’ nesting tree now stands alone as most of the other big trees have been logged away. There is a new rest stop facility near the entrance as well. As this is an active logging area, the change in habitat is expected but not the rest stop - not to me anyway. As Choo Eng and I gradually move deeper into the logging trail, the piercing rays of the early morning sun started sending the mist back into the heavens.

The timing was just nice as a flock of 6 Blue-rumped Parrots filled the vicinity with the distinctive metallic calls as they flew about the vicinity. When the flock decided to alight on a nearby tree, I had a feeling that today is going to be a good one and it was because we managed to record over 70 species in the end. I have numerous encounters with this species in the past but this is my first good opportunity for photography.

As they bask in the sun and preen to their hearts content, we were delighted to find them rather confiding as well. We had ample time to go about the bottom of the tree to find the best angle for our photograph session. I don’t see myself as the kind of guy that will easily fall for cute little animals but for these adorable parrots, I’ll make an exception. The red bill and absence of blue on the head region suggest that this is fellow is an immature male.

Here an adult male sporting the diagnostic bluish head for comparison…

The Little Cuckoo-dove is not an uncommon species but it is very difficult to get close to them. I managed to capture this lone individual when it alighted on distant tree to rest. I reckon this is a male bird as females tend to have more barrings on the breast.

A male Whiskered Treeswift taking a break from its aerial sallies for insects.

This time, we recorded an unusually high number of Streaked Bulbuls around. In fact, I think this is the most I have seen from a single locality. We counted no less than 20 birds throughout the day.

The Scaly-breasted Bulbul is one of the most stunning representatives of this usually drab-looking family of birds. Unfortunately, this flock kept to the top most part of the forest canopy.

Photographing small active birds foraging among the forest vegetation is a challenge to any bird photographer. For instance, you are bound to come across the Dark-necked Tailorbird in any forest and yet, I still do not have an image I can truly be proud of.

This Large Woodshrike gave me no chance at all to obtain reasonable images…

This Crested Serpent-eagle, on the other hand, was not the least bothered by our intrusion.

All these years of birding has made all my senses especially heightened towards flying objects. However, birds are not the only things that fly about. There are also dragonflies. This individual had exceptional striking colours and was quite co-operative to my camera.

As we made our way back to civilization, a trio of crows caught my attention as the thought of Slender-billed Crows crossed my mind. In the end, they turned to be just the commoner Large-billed Crows. Overall, I am quite pleased with the outcome of the trip and some of the more notable species recorded include a Wallace Hawk-eagle and Rufous-tailed Shama.