Holiday blues...(06/07/2106)

I was really looking to this 4-day birding tour with my regular guest Ben as we would be exploring the pristine forest of Taman Negara Sungai Relau in Pahang. It has been 7 years since my last visit to this birding haven and that is an awfully long time. As it was the Malay New Year, the national park will only be opened on the second day of our tour. Since Cameron Highlands was along the way to Sungai Relau, I decided to let Ben experience birding there at the mossy forest of Gunung Brinchang – the highest point in Peninsular Malaysia that is accessible by car. I was expecting a crowd at this popular hill resort during our overnight stay but it cannot be all that bad or so I thought. It was a very long holiday break with Hari Raya, Heritage Day and Penang Governor’s Birthday. My intention of showing some of the montane species to my Singaporean guest could blow up in my face as the hill was overrun with visitors. Traffic congestion is the last thing any birder would want to face during a birding excursion.

This montane forest has been heavily marred by development and agriculture. I am not sure how much more Mother Nature can endure this onslaught. It is truly disheartening to see what has become of this locality.

Fortunately, there is enough left in this old girl to provide a couple of birders with some memorable experiences. The access road up Gunung Brinchang is one of the few places left where the natural environment has barely suffered under the hands of man. And it is along this mossy slope that we had some decent birding.

There are a few montane specialists that find refuge here. Although we missed out on all the rarer species, the commoner Golden-throated Barbet took centre stage and provided one of the main highlights. It was a close encounter but the constant movement of the bird and the harsh lighting made it difficult for me to capture better images.

We came across several birdwaves throughout the day but one particular wave had the birds coming towards us quite low and sometimes below eye level because we were overlooking a ravine. The Grey-chinned Minivet is not an uncommon bird but there is nothing common about the male’s remarkable plumage. His vivid red and black plumage is easily one of the most outstanding in the avian world. I can spend hours ogling at him especially when he is not flitting about his usual domain among the forest canopy. This is the kind of encounter that is responsible for keeping my passion for birding alive after all these years. This is also the kind of encounter that justifies the usage of profanity to describe this fucking incredible moment.

I do not like to see Blue Nuthatches in a bird wave. I get so enthralled with their antics and beauty that I usually miss out on all other species that come along. I have tried for years to get some decent images of this species but their hyperactive nature and preference for the canopy levels have always got in the way. Well, today was my lucky day. Following the minivet’s encounter, this oddly beautiful bird made sure that my adrenalin stayed at this heightened level.

Typical of nuthatches, they like to crawl upside down along tree trunks and branches. Yes, that makes them a delight to observe but a real hassle to photograph. None of my images had the bird right side up in the end. That would have been a killjoy normally. This time, however, I am elated to have finally obtained some reasonably good images.

We are spoilt for choice when it comes to accommodations here in Cameron Highlands. They come in all shapes and sizes – from posh hotels to basic dormitories. De’ Native Guesthouse was highly recommended by Hor Kee and it was not hard to see why. It is located conveniently within Tanah Rata but secluded enough to escape all the activities of the township. The guest house was rather basic but it serves its purpose well enough. And the surrounding environment, serene and lush.

Most of all, birding around the guesthouse was good. The compound will usually have a few of the common birds loitering around. One of them is the Everett’s White-eye. These birds greeted us almost every time we walked around the compound but being small and active, obtaining good images is a tall order.

The distinctive whistle of the Lesser Shortwing filled the vicinity throughout the day. We were fortunate enough to get this adorable species out in the open on one occasion and some of our best images of it were obtained. The Lesser Shortwing is common at most hill stations but their skulking habits among the dark undergrowth make them challenging subjects.

Sharing similar habitats and habits, the White-tailed Robin is another alluring resident of the montane forest here. A lone female foraging along the road leading to the guest house in the late evening wrapped things up for us for the day. Despite the holiday crowd and ongoing habitat destruction works, Cameron Highland turned out to be a good start to the tour. Our next destination is Taman Negara Sungai Relau – the main objective of the tour. That will be covered in my next post. Any visit to Taman Negara deserves a post of its own.

Sometimes great things come in small packages (16/08/2014)

With a couple of months to go before we hit the peak of the migratory season, it was back to the forest again. Since Sungai Sedim in Kedah has been delivering quite consistently of late, I found myself back there again on this fine Saturday morning with Choo Eng as my companion. It was no surprise for us to see a Red-eyed Bulbul performing parental duties because this species is one of the commonest residents here. 

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater occurs only in the northern half of Peninsular Malaysia. Sungai Sedim houses a small population of these aerial hunters but unlike the ones found in open country and scrub habitats back in my home state of Penang, these are a real pain in the neck to shoot - literally. I guess life in the forest edge has taught them to keep to the top most part of the canopy level at the first sign of danger, and birders. 

The Green Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Rufous-collared Kingfisher and Red-naped Trogon provided us with tantalizing glimpses for a good part of the morning. Sometimes, I swear these guys are just doing this out of fun. Just as frustration started to set in, hope came quite discreetly and restored my faith in forest birds. The Velvet-fronted Nuthatch is charming, adorable and striking. However, it is also active and fast - traits that do not go down well with photography in the forest. I guess it is also these traits that make the nuthatches such fascinating birds. We came across foraging parties a few times throughout the day but this is the only photo that is good enough to see the light of day. 

The drumming of woodpeckers are very much part of the sights and sounds of the tropical rain forest. However, the birds themselves can prove to be quite a challenging to photograph. The Buff-necked Woodpecker that we came across today makes a fine example of this claim. 

This male Checker-throated Woodpecker showed off the bold markings on his throat from which his name is derived from before disappearing into the dense foliage of forest.

There are a couple of woodpeckers in this region that are small in size but remarkably rich in character and appeal. Because of their small size, they are usually hidden from the human eye. The Rufous Piculet is one of them. We followed a pair of these adorable birds for a quite a long period as they went about their business. They seemed unperturbed by our presence and we took full advantage of this rare situation to shoot and observe them. However, I only managed to photograph the female, told by the absence of yellow on fore crown. 

Despite their minute size, they also have the ability to create a surprisingly loud racket whenever they drum. On a few occasions we had to rely on their calls and drumming to relocate when they move and fly about the middle storey of the forest. This is certainly my best encounter with the species and it was a great way to wrap things up for another rewarding day at this recreational forest. 

It can't rain everyday...(28/06/2014)

Motivated by Adolph's excellent post, I was back again at the forest of Sungai Sedim in Kedah. The first half of the morning was relatively quiet and I was beginning to brace myself for yet another barren outing. And then, all of a sudden, I found myself smacked in the middle of a big birdwave. The wave was like a ray of sunlight on a gloomy day and I could certainly do with a little sunshine right about then. In between trying to record every species that were present, I managed to capture a few record shots as well like this young Grey-breasted Spiderhunter taking a breather from the feasting. 

Velvet-fronted Nuthatches are adorable little birds that scamper around branches and tree trunks like miniature squirrels. They are a joy to observe but a pain to photograph. Their constant movement and the harsh lighting condition really tested my gear. These are probably some of the better shots that I managed to obtain in the end.

 

The Great Iora is the rarest of the 3 Ioras found in Malaysia. It has been quite a while since my last sighting of this species. This female was too preoccupied with the wave that she did not take much notice of my presence and came relatively close. However, the dense foliage that provides her food and sanctuary keeps her well hidden most of the time from me. 

During bird waves, some birds can go into a feeding frenzy and become exceptionally bold and just simply disregard human presence. This male Dark-necked Tailorbird came really close but it also moved off really fast. 

I caught a flash of brilliant green from the corner of my eye and soon found myself looking at the all too familiar shape of a Green Broadbill flying directly towards me. It landed almost directly overhead and allowed me to press the shutter a couple of times before it disappeared into the vegetation. I could not be certain if it was participating in the wave or just curious of all the action that was going down. It was most unfortunately that it alighted against the sun and I did not have the luxury of time to adjust my exposure accordingly. As expected, it was a striking male bird - Murphy's Law at its best. 

It seems like I keep on bumping into Green Broadbills of late (not that I'm complaining) and my second encounter for this trip was this relatively confiding female bird. However, the lighting conditions and distance prevented me from obtaining better images. 

Sungai Sedim offers sanctuary to a few species of Trogon and the commonest of them all is the Scarlet-rumped. Common it may be but dull it certainly is not. A male Scarlet-rumped Trogon (on second thoughts any male trogon) is a sight that will overwhelm the retinal receptors to a level rarely achievable in normal everyday living. Naturally, I gave him the attention and admiration he truly deserves.  

Feed me!! Looks like the resident Pacific Swallows have their ‘hands’ full with the next generation of swallows…

Despite missing out on photographing a flying Helmeted Hornbill, my spirit was still high as I made my way to the canopy walk. How could I miss a bird that has a 3-foot long tail? Well, there were hardly any breaks in the dense canopy where the big guy took flight and by the time I ran to an open area, the hornbill was nowhere to be seen. Despite its enormous size, the Helmeted Hornbill is extremely elusive and shy. In my lifetime, I have only seen it a handful of times in which I only had my camera with on two occasions. The photo below is my best effort so far. A bird in full view just after dawn in Merapoh Taman Negara a few years back. Unfortunately, I still had my camera's exposure at yesterday's setting and the shot turned out terribly underexposed. It was a careless mistake - one that has continued to haunt me till this very day. 

Anyway, the Tree Top Walk at Sungai Sedim is the longest canopy walk in the world. It is almost a kilometer in length and the highest section is over 200 meters above the forest floor. It is no doubt an impressive structure but it has yet to give me any truly memorable encounters. But the view is always breathtaking…

Since today is my day in the sun, I did not end up totally empty handed from my tree top walk. Here are some of the birds that I managed to shoot and despite being on their 'level' for a change, they were sometimes still beyond the comfortable reach of my gear.

Red-eyed Bulbul...

Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike...

Ruby-cheeked Sunbird...

22-23/09/2009: Sungai Sedim Project (Kedah)

The Malaysian Nature Society of Penang is conducting a fauna project with the help of the Kedah Tourism Department at Sungai Sedim Recreational Forest. Basically, it is to produce to book to describe the local variety of wildlife found here. The project is managed by Choo Eng and Muin. When they requested for volunteers over the email forum, I was more than happy to obliged. Naturally, I was to help out in the birds' division. This first survey was conducted over the weekend and the Bintang Sedim Villa was the choice accommodation (in fact, it is the only accommodation available here).

The team comprise of members from the Penang, Kedah and Perak MNS with a head count of about 15. The guys had to use the dormitory, while the ladies and a family group had the rooms.

This is the team getting ready to start the survey at the break of dawn. However, the weather wasn't that permitting as it rained frequently throughout our survey. I had little photographic opportunities due to the weather and the birds were quite reluctant to pose for me. However, the birds' division did quite well as we managed to record more that 80 species over the 2 days.

The ever-present Whiskered Treeswifts were hunting just above the main car park. However, they did not perch low enough for me to obtain any good shots.

Choo Eng and I came across this rather confiding Red-bearded Bee-eater that was hunting just below the canopy of the forest. Despite the close distance, the poor lighting conditions prevented me from obtaining very sharp images.

And true to its name, it was feeding on bees...

My jinx with hornbills was finally broken thanks to Choo Eng. A male Rhinoceros Hornbill resting and preening at the canopy level. Although this handsome fellow was quite a distance away, I am quite satisfied with the shots. I, for one, is in no position to complain - especially when it concerns this magnificent genus of birds.

A foraging Spectacled Bulbul provided a little excitement to the day in terms of bird photography. The yellow eye ring is not that pronounced as this bird could be an immature.

My godfather always remind me that birds are not the only living things worth shooting. Well, I certainly had more than enough time to photograph other wonders of nature found at this locality like this Oriental Whipsnake...

This tiny frog also had my full attention. I hate to break it to you buddy but I can see you...

I thought this was a wild Pig-tailed Macaque initially - until I saw the chain around its neck. It must be a pet of the caretaker at the camp site.

A rather large Water Monitor Lizard foraging around the picnic grounds...

Here birdy-birdy...come out...come out...wherever you are...

The absence of birds for long periods of time allowed me to capture some of the interesting flora that occurs here as well...

I also took a few shots of the mighty Sungai Sedim. It is no wonder that this is a quite a popular area for white water rafting...

During the night, we had a fair share of excitement at our accommodations. There were the normal insects that were attracted to the lights like these moths...

And Praying Mantis...

The insects will in turn attract predators like this splendid Kuhl's Gliding Gecko...

And the formidable Giant Forest Gecko...

About a month back, I came across a flying lizard taking a glide from one tree to another along one of the forest trails in the vicinity. Once it alights, the camouflage was quite amazing...

I also had the chance to photograph this beautiful Atlas Moth the next morning...

There is a rather big fish pond in the backyard where they keep Tilapias. The pond must be over-crowded as the fish frequently stay near the surface to "breath"...

This attractive Reticulated Python was a real handful to photograph...

Literally...It is a pet snake of the accommodation caretaker.

I took a few trips up the canopy walk as we have made an arrangement with the management for a flat rate.

Although I did not get to photograph any birds up there, the view is simply breathtaking and certainly not for the faint-hearted...

Large mammals are even harder to spot than birds here in Malaysia. Once in a while, one will get lucky. For instance, I managed to photograph a decent shot of an Agile Gibbon traveling along the forest canopy about a month ago here as well.

This Grey-bellied Squirrel made my presence felt with its loud alarm calls. I can't recall observing this species in the wild before...

There are quite a number of new chalets and facilities sprouting up in this forest reserve. If it is managed properly, I don't really have an issue about it - if...

A few raptors were seen during the survey like this Oriental Honey-buzzard...

And this Blyth's Hawk-eagle...

The team discovered a fruiting tree that was quite productive in terms of birds. Quite a variety of species came and feed on the tiny fruits. In between taking down notes, I managed to capture a few reasonable shots like this Brown Fulvetta...

I also managed to capture a few shots of the adorable Velvet-fronted Nuthatch...