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.

Pied lifers...

 

Birders share a common passion which is of course the birds. However, everyone has their own preferences and tastes. For me, it has always been water birds. I find it difficult to explain how a dull water bird is able to complete with a dazzling forest bird but that is how I am built. Anyway, not all water birds are boring. Some are unique and striking like the Pied Avocet. Even before the first Malaysian record was discovered a few years back in Borneo, it has been one of my dream birds. When Peninsular Malaysia’s first Pied Avocet popped up in Batu Kawan, my home state was back in the limelight again.

I managed to squeeze out thirty minutes on the eve of Chinese New Year to tick this mega lifer but a second trip was inevitable because a few seconds of watching this elegant wader in flight left much to be desired. For my second attempt, I had the luxury of time and was greeted by the ever-conspicuous flocks of Black-winged Stilts. It did not take long to locate the distinguished guest but the early morning light and distance was far from ideal for photography.

The Pied Avocet appeared to have settled in well at this wintering ground. It sported a plumage colouration that lack the intensity of a typical adult bird and I can only assume it is a youngster. The lighting gradually improved but unfortunately, not the distance. However, it did not deter me from relishing this encounter. It is a remarkable bird despite its common status elsewhere in the world. And the record shots obtained today will just have to do.

Feeding alongside the Pied Avocet was another rarity but unlike the former, the Pied Stilt is gradually becoming commoner.

I have had relatively few encounters with this species and this individual was given its due attention despite the presence of a much rarer bird.

Sounds unbelievable but there is a third rarity in the vicinity. The Common Ringed Plover is a rare migrant to our shores but caution is needed to distinguish it from the commoner Little Ringed Plover which were present in good numbers. When I finally had the target in my binoculars, both bird and birder were flushed by an over-zealous lorry driver. And there are still those who find it hard to understand why I am not much of a people person. This birding hotspot is slated for development and we actually have to go through an active construction site to reach the locality. Anyway, here is an image of a Little Ringed Plover probably thinking serve me right for ignoring it in the first place.

The Pied Avocet remained in view throughout my time here but not once reducing the distance between us. And I started paying attention to the other commoner birds that were present like this Wood Sandpiper before calling it a day.

Up in the north western tip of Peninsular Malaysia, there is yet another rare water bird waiting to be added into my Malaysian life list. The Eurasian Coot was discovered last year around Christmas and like the Pied Avocet, has found Malaysian hospitality very accommodating. Exactly one week after my Pied Avocet chapter, I found myself at the agricultural lands of Chuping scanning the aquatic vegetation of a big pond for any signs of my would-be lifer. I have recorded the Eurasian Coot before elsewhere in Asia where it is common but nothing is comparable to home soil experience.

It has been showing relatively well since its discovery. I tried to convince myself there should not be any complications and the chances of dipping out is low. But one thing I have learned from my years of birding is never to count your lifers before they are twitched. I searched this pond and the other two adjacent ones as well and all I could find were Eurasian Moorhens and Little Grebes. I guess this pair of Little Grebes was just as surprised as I was that I took the time to capture this mediocre image instead of continuing my search for the Eurasian Coot.

Shortly after, what appeared to be a Eurasian Moorhen with a pale frontal shield smugly swam into view and my life list gets another nudge in the right direction.

Unfortunately, distance again prevented me from obtaining any improvement shots despite the star bird showing long and well for the birder in me.

Chuping is now a pale shadow of its former self. It could be due to a number of reasons but I can bet my bottom dollar it is all caused by humans. A female Pied Harrier floating above the fields was a solemn reminder of the good old days. Another thing birding has taught me is to enjoy whatever it is while it lasts. Sad to say, I have now grown numb to losing good birding locations.

Having said that, this locality remains to be one of the best places to see the beautiful male Red Collared Dove and it has been quite a long time since my last encounter. There will be no reason for this species to stop thriving here as it can readily adapt to living alongside man.

Another species that will not be affected by all the human activities is the migratory Blue-tailed Bee-eater. It is common in open country habitat throughout the length of the peninsular and it is no different here in the vast open landscape of Chuping.

It has been an exhilarating couple of weeks for me and hopefully all this will get me back into the field more frequently. As a conclusion to this post, here is an image of my new ride taken at the Coot Pond and my maiden interstate travel with this beast of a bike was quite an experience as well. I guess motorcycles and the sense of freedom and thrill they provide are a close second to my birding adventures.

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. 

Raptors still reign supreme

I have not been back to the grasslands of Chuping since the last migratory season and there is always a sense of anxiety whenever I revisit this unique birding site after a lapse. The landscape constantly changes and it is not because of Mother Nature but man. For years, they have been trying out different crops all over this former sugarcane plantation. The worst of the crops is rubber which unfortunately has covered vast areas. The ongoing construction of an industrial park provides no help at all to the dying landscape. But the one thing that has not change so far are the limestone hills imposing their artistic presence.

For this trip, I had a birding couple from neighbouring Singapore. It only made sense that I took them as far away from home as possible and Chuping, being at the northern tip of the peninsular, would be the ideal choice. It was good to find suitable habitats for birds still in existence here. A pond that was the only regular site in Malaysia to house the scarce Bronze-winged Jacana now houses Asian Openbills instead and a fair number of them were present today.

Barn Swallows are common winter visitors to the grasslands here and a confiding individual resting just next be the access road had our attention despite their abundant nature.

The Rufous-bellied Swallow, on the other hand, is a species that will always have my attention. Locally common only in certain parts of the country, this large and vividly coloured swallow stood out from the Barn Swallows that it was resting alongside. The encounter with the Rufous-bellied Swallow was a much appreciated one as it has been a relatively slow morning so far.

The swallows may be beautiful and graceful in flight but we did not drive all the way here for them. We were after something more majestic which are the true rulers of the skies. The vast open landscape has always been the realm of raptors. Overcast skies almost drowned out our plans. Luckily, the first rays of the sun managed to pierce through the rain clouds later in the morning. And with the available thermal, our quarries started swooping into view. Flocks of migrating Black Bazas were a sight to behold. I find these little raptors to be one of the most striking raptors to occur on our shores and naturally, ample time was allocated to witness this spectacle of nature unfold.

The Oriental Honey-Buzzards, like the bazas, are migrants to this land. As always, the plumage variations that this species is infamous for caused some hesitance from me during identification.

One of the most sought after raptors here in Chuping is undoubtedly the gorgeous male Pied Harrier. I was a little to slow to capture his image this but luckily, my guests were not. The female Pied Harrier is often overshadowed by the former but today, she was all I got to show for harriers.

The sight of this pale harrier floating above the grasslands kicked my imagination into overdrive. And for a minute there, he looked almost like the mythical Short-eared Owl that has eluded me all these years. Almost...

A huge silhouette gliding overhead brought me back down to Earth with a thump. My trusted bins quickly revealed my first Greater Spotted Eagle of the season. I have nothing but total admiration for this majestic predatory bird. Being one of the largest raptors in Malaysian skies certainly has a lot to do with it.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Common Kestrel. It is diminutive but still deadly in its own way. Hovering is a trait few raptors possess and the kestrel has mastered the art of dropping down on its prey in mid flight. Lighting was not on our side but it was the only opportunity we had of capturing of this female bird.

Every raptor that crossed our path was given its due attention for this locality has a tendency to spring a surprise or two. Even a juvenile Brahminy Kite has the potential of being something rare.

However, not all birds with immense wingspans were raptors. Purple Herons are a common sight here as well. These water birds also find food in this vast landscape and this individual lazily flew past overhead during our visit here.

From the open grasslands of Chuping, we made our way to the pristine forest of Bukit Wang. It was not the best of weathers as we were greeted by a light drizzle upon arrival. But it would take than a drizzle and a broken bridge to deny these three visiting birders the chance to observe the alluring bird life found here.

The Dark-sided Flycatcher is truly a creature of habit and I found it on almost the same perch as last week.

And it even invited a friend along this time and we were looking at two Dark-sided Flycatchers at the same spot. I now know that this species is omnivorous as it occasionally fed on the fruits.

The Sooty Barbets would have been a lifer for my guests but unfortunately, the flock did not make an appearance. Surprisingly, a male Pale Blue Flycatcher did and it was a lifer for them as well. I could not be certain if the flycatcher was attracted by the fruits as it did not stay long. And it was frustrating that I could not obtain a better image as I seldom come across this flycatcher.

You can pretty much guess how brief this scarce Puff-backed Bulbul visited the fruiting tree by this image alone. Like the flycatcher, I do not have many encounters with this species and its behaviour today only compounded my frustrations.

The other patrons were much more obliging and I was something I should be grateful for. Armed to the core in birding gear, we made the best of situation and captured some memorable images at the fruiting tree. 

The Grey-bellied Bulbul with its lovely colouration was well received as usual. And even the slight drizzle could not drown out its exquisite beauty.

The Buff-vented Bulbuls were present at the fruiting tree for the longest periods today. They certainly made themselves at home despite the gloomy weather.

Another species of bulbuls that took part in the feast were the Cream-vented Bulbuls. Another drab species, this common bird could not do much to raise the level of excitement.

Only one species of flowerpecker was present at the tree and it was the Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker. It may not be as striking as some of the other species but it presence was a welcomed addition of colours and flair.

There are a few birds that depend on forest streams for their survival. The most noteworthy one is the striking Chestnut-naped Forktail but it managed to elude my efforts to photographing it again. The Grey Wagtail is another attractive species often found in habitats like these during the migratory season and this commoner stream dweller at least provider some photographic opportunities before we finally called it a day and made our way back to Penang.