Birding in FRIM, Kepong - May 2015

I decided to detour at this location after a massive home going motorists have slowed down the traffic on all major roads heading out from KL. After three years of absence, the first place i went was no other than this well known lake area.

There were no star birds this time except for a few common birds such as oriental magpie, white throated kingfisher, spotted dove and some red-eyed bulbul.

Red-Eyed Bulbul

Oriental Magpie Robin

After spending just about 5 minutes at the lake, i went straight into the forest trails. 

Although birding alone can be boring at times but with the sound of cicadas, insects and birds around you, it kinda lift up your battered spirit.

A potential great place to do some herping.

The forest area was much more "livelier" - lots of people and just a few common birds.

Orange-backed Woodpecker

This male Orange-Backed was playing hide n seek with me for quite awhile - going around the tree trunk just like some bollywood movie scenes.

Unlike the male, the female Orange-Backed was more vocal and obliging at the same time.

At one time the male foraged quite low to the ground as depicted by the above photo.

Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo

This GRT Drongo has the most impressive repertoire of calls i have ever heard. I have recorded at least four different calls it has produced and one of those was a mimicked of calls from a Pin Stripped Tit Babbler. You just need to listen to them to believe it ! 

This male Buff-Necked Woodpecker flew in silently and forage in a dense and dark area of the forest hence its blur photo.

By noon most of the birds were silent. You could still see them but without their vocal cords switched on it will be harder to spot them. One of those were these broadbills.

Banded Broadbill

Black-and-Yellow Broadbill

Dark-Necked Tailorbird

Check out its tail feathers. The pattern certainly looks the same as the previous one i photographed elsewhere.

Velvet-Fronted Nuthatch (male)

This is one of those birds which could challenge Issac Newton's law of gravity.

See what i meant?

Yellow-Breasted Flowerpecker (female)

She stayed on the branch for quite some time for me to produce these images. Thank you birdy.

Up next was this flycatcher.

Grey-Headed Canary Flycatcher

The bird certainly looks quite thin. Fortunately there were lots of butterflies at that time so i believe it should have no problems finding some caterpillars to eat. Note: according to most field guides, Grey-Headed Canary Flycatcher is a common resident bird. The only problem is that you could only find them occasionally.

On this occasion i did came across a migrant bird which has yet to return home.

Looks a bit like a Red-backed Shrike ? Not until you see its back.

Brown Shrike

This Brown Shrike was certainly busy filling up its stomach. Seen here with a large grasshopper.

Asian Fairy Bluebird

Sometimes in the jungle trails you can hear people converse a few miles away from you and you could't blame these people as both of them were over 80 years old. They would appear screaming at each other but actually they were just having a friendly chat. The folks using the jungle trails were quite friendly to this birder as some nice remarks such as "nice hobby", "got any nice birds?", "keep it up" etc were mentioned. There was an elderly lady who even told me that she saw a "lam cheok" (a blue bird) and pointed towards its direction. Lo and behold the bird she saw was the above female Asian Fairy Blue bird. Thanks folks! You all have certainty encouraged me to visit this place again!