20/11/2010: Bukit Palong (Kedah)

While making our way this locality, we came across a Changeable Hawk-eagle perched rather comfortably on a tree just next to the main road. Lucky for us, traffic was still at a minimum and we took our time to capture a few images of this magnificent raptor.

It was rather confiding and practically ignored our presence and all the vehicles passing below it. Well, except when we got a little too close and it gave us the “stare”. If looks could kill, I’d be dead already.

One of the main reasons we decided to do our birding here was the recent sighting of a White-throated Rock-thrush - a rather scarce migrant. Unfortunately, we dipped out on the thrush but a few other migrants like this stunning Ferruginous Flycather provided the highlights and magic for this trip.

We also came across three rather confiding Dark-sided Flycatchers on different occasions throughout the trip. This is the first individual we encountered and it hawked for insects a little too high up in the canopy for any really great images.

The second individual had a much paler underside colouration and its choice of a vantage point to hunt was much more favourable for photography than the first bird.

I’m saving the best for last as the third individual gave us a most memorable performance. It frequently returned to the same few perches that were just in front of us. We just needed to position ourselves and wait for the little fellow to pose for us.

A flock of Scarlet Minivets foraging through the forest canopy is always a breathtaking sight but attempting to capture their images is never easy due to their active nature and their preference for the upper canopy levels. Anyway, this is my best effort of a young male taking a breather along a slightly lower level.

5-7/11/2010: Lenggong Archeological Site Bird Survey (Perak)

A group of Penang birders including yours truly offered our services to help Universiti Sains Malaysia do a biodiversity survey on birds for their application of a Heritage Site status for the area. We conducted our survey in two major areas that is Gua Kepala Gajah and Gua Gunung Runtuh. This is the area where the remains of the prehistoric Perak Man were discovered back in the 1990’s.

A foraging Long-billed Spiderhunter was tame enough to allow us to enjoy good views and of course, photographic opportunities as well.

We came across Oriental Honey-buzzards on a few occasions and this is the best image that I managed to capture.

This is a young Red-eyed Bulbul resting momentarily under the shadows of the canopy.

Although this Common Iora was resting right out on the open, there was no angle for me to capture a single image that was not blocked.

The Grey-and-buff Woodpecker is always a welcomed sight. However this tiny forest jewel got the better of me and left me without any good images to show - again.

At the other end of the scale, the magnificent Rhinoceros Hornbill was also camera-shy. At least I managed to obtain a record shot which was more than I could say about the pair of Great Hornbills that passed through the same locality minutes later.

This Changeable Hawk-eagle was returning home with supper in the form of a Tree Shrew. There was not much I could do about the quality of the image as it was almost dark at the time. Anyway, the sighting got the whole group excited as well as a few locals that were keeping us company and find out more about what these strangers are up to in their backyard.

We also bumped into a group of USM researchers conducting a biodiversity survey on bats. This Lesser Bamboo Bat was more than a handful for the researcher despite its diminutive size.

Our accommodations were provided by USM and we stayed at their field station just outside Lenggong town.

A pair of Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers frequented the fruiting bush behind the station and whenever we took breathers from the survey, I stationed myself nearby the bush and for my efforts, obtained one of my best images of this common but striking garden bird.

A pair of Large-tailed Nightjars took shelter from the rain by alighting on the gravel compound of the station. The birds rested rather close to the building and we managed to photograph them in the relative comfort of the station.

As it was a 2-day survey, we did our own birding on the final day. We scouted around the shores of Tasik Raban, which was quite close to the station. The scenery and habitat was certainly breathtaking and looks good for water birds.

However, we did not come across anything much except maybe for this foraging immature Purple Heron.

The open areas did provide some good images like this resting Lesser Coucal.

White-headed Munias are quite attractive due to its contrasting colours. When a flock decided to alight and forage quite close to our stationery vehicle, it would have been a sin not to take the time to appreciate them.

This image of the Asian Glossy Starling somehow did not turn out as good as I had hoped for.

Jungle Mynas certainly outnumber the Common Myna in this vicinity.

A short detour to the nearby Lata Kuak waterfalls produced a rather confiding female Black-and-yellow Broadbill at the edge of the forest.

A pair of Giant River Toads resting on a rock along a fast moving stream concluded our visit to this archeological town of Malaysia.

04/11/2010: Batu Kawan (Penang)

I have not visited this area for quite a few years and one of the reasons for that is the rapid development that was sweeping through the area. However when a Lesser Adjutant was seen and photographed, that was as good a reason as for a visit. This particular area is made up of mudflats as well as marshlands and does have all the potential to spring some unexpected birding surprises.

The Lesser Adjutant was absent today but the area is no means not short of large water birds like this immature Grey Heron…

And Great Egret.

There quite a number of waders out on the mudflats but well beyond the reach of my camera. All was not lost as a few species did come close enough to keep me entertained like this confiding Lesser Sand-plover.

The Little Ringed Plover also provided some photographic opportunities.

This unfortunately Common Redshank has a deformed upper mandible.

It was the Pacific Golden Plover that really stood out from the rest of the waders today. Although this is not an uncommon species, it can be extremely shy and difficult to approach. But not today…

It is always a delight to observe waders pulling worms from the mud as portrayed by this individual.

When there’s an "input", there’s bound to be an "output" as well...

There were also a fair number of Wood Sandpipers but they still fall short in numbers and tameness when compared to their counterparts at Pulau Burung.

A total of 5 different species of kingfishers were recorded but I only managed to capture 3 of them. I missed out on the White-throated and Stork-billed Kingfisher. This is the ever-present Collared Kingfisher…

The ever-wary Black-capped Kingfisher…

And the ever-adorable Common Kingfisher…

A foraging Greater Coucal stroll across the access road and gave me a few seconds to capture some images before it disappeared into the vegetation.

A juvenile White-bellied Sea-eagle wrapped things up for this short reconnaissance trip and from the looks of things, I will definitely not wait a few years before my next visit.