Unforgettable - Part 2

One of the reasons I do birding from a hide is for the opportunities to experience intimate encounters that would otherwise be near impossible to obtain any other way. However, one still needs to endure long periods in a confined space and occasional boredom from waiting for the magic to begin. The penetrating call of the Black-capped Babbler is very much a part of the sights and sounds of Taman Negara Sungai Relau. However, this terrestrial passerine with its signature walking gait, does not provide good views very often. For this trip, it was one of the most obliging species and I obtained some of my best photos of the species to date – with the aid of a hide that is.

It may not be brilliantly coloured but the boldly marked head region makes it a striking species especially when seen well like this. And the walk never gets old despite all my previous encounters with this babbler.

On most occasions, we saw them in pairs and that further compounded my sense of exhilaration...

Another babbler that helped keep us entertained while we were waiting in our hides for our target birds was the Ferruginous Babbler. Like most babblers, it is more often heard than seen and that is a shame for it is an elegant beauty.

I am sure all of us are familiar with the saying it is not the size of the dog in the fight. The small but feisty Short-tailed Babbler is a very good example. It can get crowded at a stake out sometimes but the Short-tailed Babblers are able to stand their ground while in the presence of larger species. The personality and adorable appearance makes this babbler a delight to observe and photograph.

The White-rumped Shama is another famed songster that has found refuge in this park. The population is doing so well that we managed to capture at least four different individuals that included males and a single drabber female.

As for our target birds, the Garnet and Banded Pitta, the quest did not start off well at all. On the first day, there were no signs of even the commoner Garnet Pitta. We bumped into Dr Chan and his group of Perak birders and he confirmed my worst fear – the Garnet Pitta has not been seen for the past two days. Memories of my failure with this very pitta during my last visit here started coming back to haunt me. We did hear a pair of Banded Pittas on the first day though. They came very close to our hides. In fact, a row of dense undergrowth was all that prevented us from savouring our first pitta of the trip but it offered very little consolation. Luckily, we still had more than 2 days here and it is never over till the fat lady sings, right?

The next morning, we tried for the pittas again. Minutes turned into hours before I heard a distinct melancholy whistle from the undergrowth that could only belong to a Garnet Pitta. Then appeared a glowing red crown from out of the gloom of the forest undergrowth and it hopped among the leaf litter towards our hides. The lighting was far from perfect but it did not matter. What did matter was we were now gawking at a Garnet Pitta in all its glory and it was a spectacular sight indeed.

After our first encounter, there was like a sudden influx of Garnet Pittas. For the remainder of our visit, we recorded no less than 3 individuals. This is the unpredictable factor in birding that I always mention. Two days ago, the Garnet Pitta was nowhere to be seen or heard and now, they were everywhere. We continued to stake out in our hides at strategic locations for our second target the Banded Pitta. Inevitably, we experienced even more encounters with the Garnet Pitta. When seen in gloomy conditions, the brighter the crown of this pitta glows.

However on those occasions when the Garnet Pitta was in good light, it was simply magical. When I photographed my first Garnet Pitta from this location, a whirlwind of emotions ran through my body then. Now 11 years down the road, I was again overwhelmed with emotions when in the presence of this feathered gem of the tropical rainforest. I thought by now I would be better prepared to face the seductive splendour of this pitta but I should have known better. There are still times when I get smitten by even a common species. And the Garnet Pitta (in fact, any pitta) is no common or ordinary species in my book. No, pittas are extraordinary creatures put here on Earth to enrich the lives for those who take the effort to appreciate their existence.

On the final day of our visit to Taman Negara Sungai Relau, we tried one last time for the Banded Pitta that proved elusive thus far. In between appearances by the Garnet Pitta, we saw a male Banded Pitta hopped across our field of view from the hide and disappeared back into his lush domain. There was hardly any time for photography but Kuan, got his second pitta lifer for the trip. Birding can truly test your mental strength at times. The Banded Pittas toyed with our emotions on more than one occasion and in the end, the star bird of this trip was undoubtedly the Garnet Pitta.

To commemorate his double pitta lifer, we had a feast at a local restaurant in Gua Musang. Now, there are fishes and there is the Empurau (also known as the Malayan Mahseer). It is the most expensive edible fish in Malaysia. So exquisite is the meat that the fish is known as “The Unforgettable” (wang bu liao) in Chinese – hence the title of this blog post. Well, the fish was certainly incredible and so was the price. True to its Chinese name, it was a memorable culinary experience. But for me, the memories of the Garnet Pitta and its glowing red crown will probably outlive The Unforgettable.

On the way back from Taman Negara Sungai Relau, we made a little detour to the Kek Lok Tong Temple in Perak state to try our luck with the temple thrushes. Although we missed out on the Blue Whistling-Thrush, the ever-present Blue Rock-Thrush provided a flawless performance.

The females are equally as stunning and helped to welcome my guest for his maiden visit to this famed (birding) temple.

It is good to see the population of Java Sparrows thriving here in the temple grounds. It did not take long to locate them and we found a flock taking refuge in a clump of bamboo. Although our presence did not cause them any alarm, the dense vegetation made it difficult to obtain unobstructed images. 

Thankfully, it was nothing a little determination and luck could not overcome...

There were a few juveniles in the flock as well and I guess it was another successful breeding season. These adorable sparrows concluded this 4-day birding adventure and although all the targets were met, I feel Taman Negara may be starting to lose its lustre and that is a scary feeling. The extraordinary encounters I obtained from the Garnet Pittas this time offer hope still for this location to remain as one of the best birding sites in the country.

Living colours (Part 2)

Some of the birds found here in Fraser’s Hill find it hard to respect personal space of others. But for birders, it is a trait that is most welcomed. Rufous-browed Flycatchers can be ridiculously tame at times and this individual came close enough for me to give a pat on the head. I guess this is the magic of Fraser’s Hill.

No visit here is ever complete without feasting your eyes on the splendid colouration of the Silver-eared Mesia. No doubt it is common and conspicuous here but I do not get to see it often enough. And after all these years, it can still get me excited.  

This trip the Silver-eared Mesias outdid themselves and provided several intimate encounters and photographic opportunities that were simply amazing.

I am well aware of the sexual dimorphism found in this species. Perhaps both sexes are just as spectacular that I do not even bother to take notice of the differences all that often. Here, the male in front exhibits a slightly more intense colouration to the throat and nape area compared to his mate.

However, not all avian residents of Fraser’s Hill are confiding and this resting Mountain Imperial-Pigeon reminded us that we are dealing with completely wild birds here and occasionally may not adhere to the will of man.

With its preference for the canopy levels, the Large Cuckoo-shrike usually does not provide close encounters. But it is not uncommon here. Its vocal nature especially in flight makes it rather conspicuous in a way.

It took some persistence to finally obtained great views of the Fiery-tufted Barbet this trip. This remarkable resident of the montane forest is a pure delight to photograph and it certainly left a lasting impression on my guest.

The larger than life personality with eye lashes that are the envy of women everywhere and as well as vivid coloration makes the Fiery-tufted Barbet one of the most distinct species of birds found here.

On the last day of our birding adventure, we have not forgotten about the Red-headed Trogon. We spent the morning along Hemmant’s Trail as there was where we came the closest to tasting success. A male bird offered a brief view at a distance and that only compounded our frustrations. After checking out from the hotel, we decided to give it a final try. It was almost noon and with each passing minute, our chance grew ever slimmer. Just as we about to give up hope, I spotted the trogon resting just next to the forest trail. Finally, after more than six attempts along this isolated stretch of the hill resort, we got the Red-headed Trogon. It would have been perfect had it been the male but the all the anxiety leading up to this moment and the confiding nature of this female bird made the encounter as good as it is ever going to get.

We took our time to savour the moment and this girl was more than happy to oblige. I am not sure about my guest but I was feeling a little out of breath as we positioned ourselves the best we could to capture her images. It could have been the sight of the trogon perched so elegantly on this curvy vine or the suspense of the hunt. She did shift position once during our observation before flying deeper into the forest to join her mate. The male, yet again, taunted us from a distance. I guess in life, sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

Here is Paul, on his knees, in the presence of a startling beauty. He added one more trogon for his lifetime gold and yours truly, an overwhelming sense of satisfaction (and relieve) for helping him achieve his targets for the trip. Just in case you are wondering why I am taking photos of a human instead of a trogon, the latter was so cooperative I had ample time to do basically anything I want.

Shortly after mist began crawl up from the valley below and rain clouds darkened the sky. It could well be only a coincidence but I like to take it as divine intervention. A soft word of gratitude was uttered to a higher power before we start our descent from the birding haven. Fraser’s Hill proved once again why it is one of the best birding locations in Malaysia. And for both of us, it was certainly a memorable visit. It is routine for me to stopover at the Kek Lok Tong cave temple in Ipoh for my drives back to Penang. The temple with its impressive and artistic limestone formations is quite a sight to behold. Although Paul did give this natural phenomenon its due attention, it was not our main reason for the visit here. The temple grounds were rather devoid of interesting birds this time with the exception of a Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo hunting along the boundary of the temple.

At the car park area, we encountered one of the reasons birders flock to this place of worship – the resident Blue Rock-Thrushes. Accustomed to human presence, these limestone dwellers usually provide great photographic opportunities. The female although slightly less intense in colouration put on a memorable performance for a couple of weary visiting birders.

But once the radiant male makes an appearance, all eyes and lenses were on him. The Blue Rock-Thrush was a fitting end to another fantastic road trip and his vivid colouration certainly went well with my guest’s taste for luscious colours of the avian world. The drive back was smooth although there intermittent showers along the way. But one thing is for sure. Both of us, had one particular bird in our thoughts and it was the Red-headed Trogon that almost got the better of us.