The children are our future (15/03/2015)

It is always good to see the young children developing a love and interest in nature. My latest guest from Singapore, Nigel, has an eleven-year old son, Lucas, who is quite interested in animals. What impressed me the most was he was able to identify some of the commoner birds and is eager to learn and find out more about the wonders of nature. On the first day of their tour, I took them and Nigel's brother, Jimmy, to the swamp forest of Air Hitam Dalam in Penang. This small area of birding delight is the best choice to suit their needs as they are still relatively new to the world of birding.

As soon as we got down from the car, we were greeted by the resident pair of Mangrove Blue Flycatchers. It has been months since my last visit and I am delighted to see that the world's friendliest Mangrove Blue Flycatchers are still upholding the reputation they created for themselves. 

Just so that I will not doubt them again, the male bird put on a memorable performance and it was one that left quite an impression on my guests. Heck, sometimes I myself cannot believe how confiding these flycatchers have become.

The other celebrity flycatcher of this locality, the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, is getting ready for the coming breeding season. He showed off his partial breeding plumage and it will not be long now before he undertakes the journey back north. Safe journey, bud. I hope to see you back here again in winter.

A few Abbott’s Babblers came surprisingly close to the elevated boardwalk as they foraged for food. However, the lighting conditions and active nature of the birds made photography rather challenging.

The resident Olive-winged Bulbuls were in full chorus throughout most of the morning. This individual was more confiding than usual. I guess the anticipation of the breeding season does that to you sometimes.

Another resident that looks set for the breeding season is the resident pair of Crested Serpent-eagles. One of them was enjoying the morning sun on an exposed perch and provided a prolonged and close encounter.

This female Common Iora was also soaking up the rays of the morning sun from the cover of the canopy. She looks rather content except for the occasional glance to see what these humans were up to.

I am a little disappointed with how this shot of the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo turned out. It was a shame because the drongo was foraging so close and at eye level. I even had to reduce my zoom in order to fit it into frame. I guess I underestimated the influence of the dim lighting condition.

I was a little surprise to see this Forest Wagtail foraging nearby the main access road. Most of the time, I see it among the undergrowth of the swamp forest or within the rear car park area. Despite being out in the open, the wagtail was still a difficult subject for photography as it never stops moving.

The bird of the trip was undoubtedly the Spotted Wood-owl. This was my guests’ first wild owl and needless to say, we all know how it felt. Mysterious and beautiful, owls are truly fascinating creatures. It was a good experience for them especially for little Lucas. This is my third posting in a row that ends with owls wrapping things up but you will not hear me complaining.

Second chances (14/03/2015)

I was a man on a mission. During my last excursion, I literally ignored the female Scarlet-breasted Flowerpeckers due to the mesmerizing beauty of the male bird and the time constrain as I had to attend to my Taiwanese guests. So, it was back to the now-famous fruiting tree at Sungai Sedim in Kedah where at least two pairs of Scarlet-breasted Flowerpeckers have been performing well for birders all over Malaysia for the past week and that meant I still had a chance to make things right.

I arrive at the locality just after dawn and I was determined not to let anything distract me from the mission at hand. Just as the flowerpeckers started to gather at the tree, two Rhinoceros Hornbills had to swoop into the other fruiting tree across the river just to show how easily I can be seduced by their magnificence.

The male Scarlet-breasted Flowerpeckers were easily picked out from the rest and it is all because of that piercing red breast patch!

The females, on the other hand, required a little more attention. They were outnumbered by the similar-looking immature Yellow-breasted Flowerpeckers which made my task more difficult.

I had no choice but to use my bins in order to ascertain the identity of the female Scarlet-breasted Flowerpeckers before I put my camera on them. I did manage to obtain their images in the end. Despite the females not showing as well as the males, I am rather please with the results.

I have to admit. I am weak. In between shooting the females, I could not resist taking a few shots of the males. How could I possibly ignore such a wonder of nature whilst keeping my sanity? Truly striking...

For this trip, I had the luxury of time. The sun finally hit the foliage of the fruiting tree around mid morning. And I now also have images of this forest jewel glittering in the sun. 

But to be fair, the commoner male Crimson-breasted Flowerpeckers gave a memorable performance as well. Totally unperturbed by the presence of birders (naturally I was join by a few other birders within the first hour of daylight), they foraged right to the lowest and nearest branches.

Even the much larger bulbuls were not as confiding as these flowerpeckers but this Buff-vented Bulbul came close to matching their bravery or should I say gluttony?

The Grey-bellied Bulbuls kept to the top most part of the tree throughout the morning...

The Hairy-backed Bulbuls foraged along the lower part of the tree but never once in full unobstructed view...

When it comes to identifying brownish bulbuls, the eyes say it all most of the time. This would have made a good shot of the Spectacled Bulbul if not for the darn leaves. 

A young Blue-winged Leafbird provided some variety to the feast dominated by bulbuls and flowerpeckers. The slight presence of blue on the plumage made my task of identifying it a little easier.

When all the birds have had their fill, the activity level at the fruiting tree dropped significantly and I decided to try my luck along the Gunung Bintang access trail. Am I seeing things because of late I have been seeing a lot of scarlet breast patches in Sungai Sedim. For example, this male Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker foraging on another fruiting tree way up in the canopy. He is probably the same individual as the one I encountered last month. It was very near the vicinity of the very first fruiting that drew out this elusive species and till now, he was still shy as hell. But nevertheless, he is the prelude to the Scarlet-breasted phenomenon at Sungai Sedim.

One month ago, I would have been happy as a lark with a shot like the above of the Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker. But now, nothing less than this will do. But seriously, we humans have a tendency to take things for granted once we “have” them. The fruits are not going to last forever. Once they are depleted, these flowerpeckers will disappear back into the cover of the forest. I may have to wait another fifteen years or so for another opportunity like this if I am lucky. That is why I made sure I took as many shots as possible and enjoy this phenomenon while it lasts.

The call of the Red-naped Trogon that sounded really close made me freeze immediately. Surprisingly, it did not take much effort this time to locate the trogon. It was a male bird calling persistently along the canopy level but with his back towards me.

When he finally shifted position, I could see his underparts that suggested that he was still an immature bird. However, his new position was beyond the comfort zone of my gear.

While making my way back home, I made a little detour to check on the roosting Barred Eagle-owls. I only managed to locate one this time but it was perched much lower and closer to the access road. So close that I actually feel a little uneasy as the owl was looking at me intently. And to make things worse, I used my bike for this trip so I was not surrounded by steel and glass.

All of a sudden, the cries of a Changeable Hawk-eagle got both owl and birder looking towards the direction of the eagle. It turned out to be a juvenile taking full advantage of the blistering heat to ride the thermals. Interestingly, the owl seemed to feel that I was the lesser of the two evils and stared at the eagle until the latter gradually circled away. Then it was back to me again. Anyway, I live to 'blog' the tale and the owl was certainly a great way to wrap things up this time. 

The one that didn't get away (07/03/2015)

We took up the task to guide a big group of Taiwanese birders that were interested in doing a morning's birding at Sungai Sedim in Kedah but had a few hours to spare in the morning before the group's arrival. To kill time, we did some scouting around to prepare for the group’s tour later. At the main car park, our intentions to have a better look at a male Blue-banded Kingfisher led us to a fruiting tree by the river. Two weeks ago, I came so painfully close to photographing a male Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker and in birding, you rarely get second chances especially when it comes to rarities. But when you do, you better make sure to make the best of it - even if the lighting was less than desirable!

Unbelievably, there were three males and one female feasting this tree. I was not aware there so many males around initially. I guess I was just lost in the moment. After all this Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker is one of the most beautiful and rarest of our forest birds. It is one of those birds that I have wanted to shoot since the day I took up photography and only after more than decade, I finally got the opportunity. But the long wait made this moment all the sweeter. As the lighting condition improved so did my images.

The plumage of the male is just gorgeous. The red breast patch is so vivid that sometimes all you see is a spot of red moving about the foliages. And the red patch was so mesmerizing that I could hardly focus on the drabber female and all the other birds that were feeding on the fruiting tree.

In between shooting the Scarlet-breasted Flowerpeckers, I had to force myself to pay some attention to the other birds. My fascination with this species had already cost me a Thick-billed Flowerpecker. Not quite as rare as the former and certainly not as aesthetically appealing but it is still a species that I have no images of to date. Anyway, the latter made a brief appearance was not seen again for the rest of the morning. I did manage to capture a few shots of the male Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker and he was another stunning representative of this family of birds.

The Yellow-vented Flowerpecker was lost among the sea of colours that were present on the fruiting tree.

The variety of Bulbuls was just as rich as the other fruiting tree I was observing at this locality a couple of weeks back. Due to the time constraint and the Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker phenomenon, I neglected them longer than I really should. The stunning Grey-bellied Bulbul was among the dozen or so bulbul species present.

I did not notice this Finsch's Bulbul until it was literally at my face. Sorry, bud. You know I still love you, right?

Our guests were scheduled to arrive mid morning and we waited for them at the open space of the 'bus park'. The Grey-rumped Treeswifts were present in good numbers here but they tend to perch and rest much higher up and good photographic opportunities are rare. This lone female rested on a slightly lower perch than the others and I showered her with the admiration that she so truly deserves.

When we could see the bus coming down the road, a pair of a Crested Goshawks decided to put on an aerial display. This goshawk is not uncommon but I have been struggling to obtain reasonable good images of it. I quickly took a few shots before we greeted our Taiwanese guests. And what better way to be greeted than having the first words said to you as you get down from the bus were "Crested Goshawk".

Chin Hock was the tour leader for this group. Dave, Hor Kee and I were assisting him for the group's visit to this birding site. The reason why this site was chosen was because it was along the way to Royal Belum in northern Perak where a few days of delightful birding will be waiting for the convoy. They could not have chosen a better site because having Scarlet-breasted Flowerpeckers at such close proximity is nothing short of a miracle at the time for me. 

Apart from this, we also managed to find another fruiting tree that had barbets and pigeons for the group's birding pleasure. Quite a number of the other denizens of this recreational forest including male Asian Emerald and Violet Cuckoos did their part to welcome all 36 of our Taiwanese guests. There was also a flock of possible Swinhoe's Minivets, a recent addition to the Malaysian checklist, but since we are on tour, we could not spend too much time chasing rarities.

This male Orange-backed Woodpecker was foraging a little beyond the range of my photography setup and was not performing well but he certainly got our foreign guests all excited. I guess it is only natural for local birders to sometimes take the local birds for granted - even if is something as splendid as a male Orange-backed Woodpecker.

The tour ended on a high note, naturally. After a heavy lunch we bid them farewell and all the best at Belum. The three of us then decided to make a little detour to look for roosting Barred Eagle-owls on the way back to Penang and were not disappointed. The resident pair was roosting on a huge Rain Tree just outside the perimeter fencing of a power station.

It was most unfortunate that the afternoon sun was in front of us and our gear was pushed to the limit in order to obtain some slightly reasonable shots. The owls were giving us the evil throughout the encounter and we kept it to a minimum.

We made one last stop before Penang and it was the small area of wetlands within the Kulim Hi-Tech Park that played host to a wintering Green Sandpiper two seasons ago. The sandpiper was no where to be seen but during the search, we came across a female Greater Painted-snipe. Unlike most other bird species, the female is the one that has the looks.

There must be some leftover luck from last week's "Red-backed Shrike" encounter as the resident Long-tailed Shrike that terrorizes small wildlife of the wetlands here was a lot more confiding than usual. So far, this year has been an absolute blast and my only worry is whatever that goes up must come down. But I sincerely hope it will not be someday soon.