Birding in Semenyih - July 2012

Today (Sun) i decided to do some birding at Sungai Tekala Forest Reserve in Semenyih. The last time i came here was a few years back with the MNS bird group. It was a bright sunny day and i was right at the entrance by 8.00am but unfortunately the forest reserve area today was rather quiet. It may be because of the continous firecrackers played by a group of youngsters or probably due to the sound of the leave blower operated by the forest reserve worker. But the birds outside the area was really fantastico ! Found a "lubuk" (or a location) before the waterfall area which was full of star birds. Never have i seen so many star birds congregating in one area in my many years of birding experience. Here are some of its better photos.

Stripped Tit Babbler

This stripped tit babbler did not utter its usual "chuck - chuck" calls. Could not id the bird from the calls until it came out after 10 minutes of waiting for it.

Blue-Throated Bee-Eater

The next bird was this blue-throated bee eater which was seen picking up insects from a nearby pond.

Black-Bellied Malkoha

This malkoha flew in silently and allowed me to take only two shots before it flew deeper into the jungle.

Hairy-Backed Bulbul

Scarlet Minivet

Black-and-Yellow-Broadbill

This is one of the star broadbills which many avian photographers would not mind filling up their SD cards with its photos.

Banded Kingfisher (Female)

Heard it calling above my head and that was how i managed to locate it.

Whiskered Treeswift (in flight)

Black Headed Bulbul

Black-Winged Flycatcher Shrike

Violet Cuckoo (Juvenile?)

This is an uncommon and small size cuckoo (about 17 cm only). You can see a patch of purple colour on its wings which may suggest that it could be a juvenile male as females are browner. Its the only cuckoo in this region with an orange bill. (Note: the expert says it was an immature/sub adult male - yup it looks more like it )

Black-and-White Bulbul

This bulbul has got to be my lifer for this year. Must really count my blessing as there are people who went all the way to Taman Negara or Panti or even East Malaysia  just to get a glimpse of this uncommon / scarce bird. A separate posting just on this unique bird will be up in due course.

Lesser Green Leafbird (female)

This new found place certaintly shows a lot of potential. Birding was easy as it was all done by the road side. Just a word of caution: there are a lot of monkeys (i mean real monkeys) along the road leading to the forest reserve. If you wish to stop your car to see them, just remember not to wind down the car window because these monkeys can jump right up to your window. Yes they are that desperate and aggressive - i guess it is more for food.