Northward bound

 

The alarm went off at four in the morning. I do not recall it being this difficult to drag myself out of bed at this hour. Another sign of old age perhaps. By the time I don my usual drab-coloured birding attire, anticipation took over the reins. The tiny but fascinating state of Perlis awaits and this seduced my senses with the possibilities of encountering some far from common species. Up here at the northern tip of the peninsular, the climate is usually dry with sunny blue skies. And the cloud formations further enhanced the appeal of the scrublands surrounding Timah Tasoh Lake.

The odd vocalization of the Racket-tailed Treepies instantly took my breath away as this species is one of my targets for the trip. However, only glimpses of the bird with its distinct spatula shaped tail were provided today and that was a bitter pill to swallow. The Orange-breasted Pigeons, another speciality here, did not fare any much better. By mid morning, it looked like it was going to be one of those days when your love for birding will truly be tested. And a preening Streak-eared Bulbul in a position that normally will not be given the time of day, inevitably had my undivided attention.

Perched at the top of a tree stump, a Great Myna proclaimed its territory overlooking a cow shed. As the name implies, it is a proud-looking bird with the dark iris and wicked crest. To an undiscerning layman, it probably looks like any other myna. If memory serves me right, the Great Myna has been upgraded to a natural occurring species in Peninsular Malaysia and that only intensified my captivation for the species.

The Perlis State Park was the next destination and for that we cut across the hilly and beautiful countryside of Wang Kelian. Here, we were scrutinizing bulbuls for one particular species. One which we did not even know occurred within our Malaysian borders until a few years back. Identifying the Olive Bulbul is no walk in the park and neither is photographing them judging from my substandard images despite the prolonged encounter.

Due to time constraints, we did not venture into Perlis State Park proper. Instead, we explored the surrounding vicinity. With lady luck still shying away from us, the results were disappointing. A somewhat confiding Yellow-browed Warbler was the only species I have to show in the end. My best photographic effort of this uncommon migrant may not be an envy of others but the amount of effort required to obtain the image made it a keeper.

Although butterflies are not birds’ equal, they do come close. This striking species is certainly new to me. Regardless of its true identity and status, I was drawn to the iridescent splendour it exhibits. My fascination lasted till it floated away with the butterfly deep into the forest of the park.

We made one last stop which was at the vast agricultural lands of Chuping before calling it a day. It is sad to find this once haven for birding in its present condition. My last visit almost a year ago was a successful twitch for a Malaysian lifer. Today, all that greeted us was an out-of-place hotel, Instaworthy fields of Kenaf blooms and a ridiculous container park destined to be another white elephant project. A juvenile Pied Harrier reminded us just how amazing Chuping used to be. I fear the days when harriers and other raptors serenaded this locality in good numbers with their majestic presence are gone. As my fellow humans strike the final nail in the coffin for the demise of yet another birding location, my thoughts drifted back to the remarkable birding experiences I enjoyed here in the distant past.

It's a fallout!

The state of Perlis is capable of producing birding surprises due to its close proximity with neighbouring Thailand and the fact it houses some of the least explored birding sites in the country. The commencement of the migratory season is always a good time for a trip up to the northernmost tip of the peninsular and together with Hock Kee and Michael, we arrived at the border post of Wang Kelian in good time. I guess it is a blessing that this is not a popular entry point into Thailand. A crowd would have hindered our efforts to try for Malaysia’s first record of the Vernal Hanging-Parrot – a species missing from our checklist despite occurring just beyond the border. There was a healthy numbers of Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrots in the vicinity and every flock was given its due attention. In the end, they were the only parrot species present. The male Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrots are absolutely adorable and striking as well but they hardly provided any good photographic opportunities. And I had to settle for record shots this time.

There is a phrase that I adhere to when it comes to birding and it is known as Murphy’s Law. Out of all the parrots present, a plain juvenile proved to be most confiding and outperformed the better looking adults. Murphy’s Law? You bet it is...

Perlis State Park is not usually part of my birding circuit nowadays as I find the bird activities there relatively low. The revised admission rate for cameras just became another hindrance because it is simply exorbitant. Having said that, this park still has the potential of providing Peninsular Malaysia’s first Fulvous-chested Jungle-Flycatcher as it is found in the forest on the other side of the border. This and the possibility of other interesting passage migrants was good enough a motivation for me to enter the borders of this park again after a lapse of three years.

Luckily, it was a decision I did not live to regret. The number of passage migrants present were overwhelming to say the least. This fallout was like something out of the movies. To be more precise, the movie The Big Year. Although not quite in the same magnitude, it is probably as good as it will get in real life here in Malaysia. Throughout the morning, we saw around 20 individuals of Amur Paradise-Flycatchers. I am quite sure this is the biggest number I have ever seen in a single day and it was almost surreal. On one occasion, we found ourselves surrounded by at least four of these elegant flycatchers. Unfortunately they in turn, were surrounded by branches. It was a vicious cycle. The dense vegetation and the active nature of the birds hampered most of my photographic efforts.

My lucky break came when one Amur Paradise-Flycatcher foraged lower than the others and alighted briefly on an exposed perch. And I obtained, what would be, my best image of this flycatcher phenomenon.

There were a few white-phased males present as well and I have long yearned for a reasonably good photo of one with the long flowing tail and all. To my dismay, all of them were lacking the long streamers.

Even without streamers, the white males are still a feast for the eyes. It is the only passerine with an almost full white plumage that occurs in the forest of Malaysia and it literally floats through the foliage of the forest when in search of prey. Anyway, there was one with the elongated tail feathers but he managed to give me the slip only to be seen by Hor Kee alone.  You guessed it - Murphy’s Law.

As for our quest for the Fulvous-chested Jungle-Flycatcher, it was another futile attempt just like the Vernal Hanging-Parrots in the morning. But the encounters with not one but three Brown-chested Jungle-Flycatchers minutes apart fully compensated our disappointment or mine at least. This would be my third ever encounter after all these years of birding because I do not have much luck with this uncommon migrant. It has a preference for the darkest parts of the forest understorey and inevitably, both my gear and I were put to the test. Judging from the quality of the photo, I do not see the need to elaborate more on the matter.

I managed slightly better images from our second encounter but they were still nothing to shout about. When we encountered the third individual in almost identical conditions, I gave up shooting altogether and enjoyed the moment old school way - through binoculars.

The fallout was not all flycatchers though. We saw a number of Tiger Shrikes as well. The majority seen were juveniles and the absence of the eye mask literally make their eyes pop out. 

There was one adult male and he was still sporting some of his stunning summer plumage. Like all the other passage migrants, these stopovers is where the Tiger Shrike refuel for the remaining part of their migration. And a juicy Katydid will certainly do.

Brown Shrikes were plentiful too and for some of these common migrants, they have reached their wintering ground here in Perlis state.

I did not expect much from the resident species found here in the park as they are far and few. The appearance of male Lesser Cuckooshrike during one of the few small birdwaves certainly had our attention. After all, the almost similar-looking Black-winged Cuckooshrike has yet to cross the border into Malaysia.

On the way back, we swung by the vast open country of Chuping. It was still a little early in the year for this location but we were hoping to catch some passage migrants there as well. The landscape has not changed much from last season and I am most grateful for that.

It was good to see the local population of Little Grebes making a comeback at the lake area. At one time, it was difficult just even to see one here. Now, you can find dozens paddling about without much effort.

It comes as no surprise that to wrap things up for the day was another migrant flycatcher. The Asian Brown Flycatcher may be the commonest flycatcher of all the migrants but we still had to put it under scrutiny to avoid mistaking a rarer species for it because these flycatchers can look frustratingly similar. 

Where raptors roam (Part II)

We were back at the grasslands the next morning after a hearty breakfast at one of the local eateries just outside our lodging. Convenience is the reason why I chose to spend the night in Changlun which is about 15 minutes' drive from Chuping. No harm for an occasional indulgence during a birding trip.

As far as swallows go, the Rufous-bellied Swallow is probably the one that will get my adrenalin pumping the most. The contrasting colours of the body plumage and long forked tail do it for me every time.

Quite a number were resting in between sallies for breakfast on a recently ploughed field and as long as there were not too much movement from inside the car, the swallows were quite accommodating. Expecting a car full of bird photographers to remain still in the presence of these swallows is a very tall order. Luckily, the swallows will come back to the same perch time after time.

The Brahminy Starling is back for the second consecutive season as reported by Dave and Hor Kee a few days before our trip. Despite a careful sweep of the area, the only starlings we had were Asian Pied Starlings. A whole lot of them I might add.

The guys also came across a family of Bronze-winged Jacanas during their visit here and relocating the jacanas took some effort because they were quite wary of our presence. We managed only distanced shots and any attempt to stalk closer will put these peculiar but striking waterbirds into flight mode.

The juvenile does resemble a Pheasant-tailed Jacana at first glance. I saved myself the blushes when I corrected the mistaken identification of the youngster almost immediately.

While attempting to regain the trust of the jacanas, this Rusty-rumped Warbler decided to hop out of its hidden world among the undergrowth and showed off its rarely-seen cryptic plumage. This is my first photograph of this species that has a complete view of the torso and the softness of the image, was never a concern.

The Pied Harriers were encountered more frequently at this section of the grassland. This juvenile, typical of youngsters, was showing off his aerial agilities in the presence of a group of overseas birders.

Very few raptors can match the beauty of a male Pied Harrier. The striking colours and buoyant flight pattern is certainly a sight to behold. Unfortunately, the lighting and distant of the bird in this photograph could not capture the true essence of the encounter.

After lunch, we headed towards Perlis State Park which is about an hour's drive away. I wanted to give my guests a fuller experience by spending some time in the forest. It was a decision I live to regret. There were hardly any birds present and the forest was exceptionally silent. A lone Dark-sided Flycatcher soaking in the soothing rays of the evening sun is probably the only bird that is even worth posting here.

A pre-dawn birding session the next day produced at least 3 Blyth's Frogmouth from which not even one made itself visible. At times, these stealthy nightbirds were reasonably close but we just could not trace the eerie call back to the source. Evolution has made the frogmouth perfectly adapted in its nocturnal domain and I guess the only time we can see it is when it wants us to. A dawn chorus of only two species of birds was the last straw and we were back at Chuping in time to watch an elegant Black-shouldered Kite hunt above the grassland.

By the time we saw a Short-toed Eagle riding the thermals on its impressive wingspan, the washout at Perlis State Park became a very distant memory.

When the scorching sun was at its zenith, more raptors came out for our admiration. A second Greater Spotted Eagle for the trip would have been a much sweeter experience if it was slightly lower.

Before we could completely recover from the Greater Spotted Eagle encounter, a large raptor glided very low overhead and it was our second Short-toed Eagle of the day. At this distance, even the harsh midday sun could not deny us some outstanding shots from the encounter with this rare raptor.

We saw this Osprey at the same pylon for the second time this trip. The pylon was an ideal perch to rest as it is located well beyond the reach of any harm. A distant flight shot was the only thing that ever came out of that encounter.

A Common Kestrel shunning away from all the attention it was receiving us wrapped things up for our 3-day birding adventure at the northern tip of Peninsular Malaysia. My guests managed to record 3 raptor species at Air Hitam Dalam and an additional 10 more at Chuping. Now, that is something that exceeded even my own expectations.