Birds of Pulau Burung - Pt 1 (22 Oct 2011)

Recently on my way back to my hometown, i dropped by at a birding site named as "Pulau Burung" (or "Island of Birds"). It is a reasonable size marshland located in Penang mainland about the length of 4 - 5 soccer/football fields. This time my two daughters came with me to see for themselves the different types birds in a marshland. Indeed we saw quite a number of interesting birds. Most of them are either wintering birds or common migrants. Here are some of the birds we saw:

These are Blue-Tailed Bee-Eaters. Said to be migrants but some do breed here as well. A sort after bird for bird photographers.

This is a common Pacific Swallow - saw plenty of them.

Looks like this water monitor lizard is trying to catch a Wagtail/Warbler.  Fortunately he did not get the bird !

This is a White-Browed Crake. Said to be common but i hardly see one nowadays.

These are Whiskered Terns. Said to be a "common" migrant at this site.

These are also common migrants to marshland areas - a Wood Sandpiper. We saw plenty of them here i.e. close to about 10 - 15 birds.

A pair of Black-Winged Stilts - we actually saw 4 today and a common wintering bird to this site as well.

This is a Little Egret - also a common migrant but most have become residents and breeding successfully here.

A group of Cattle Egrets - a common resident here.

A lone Common Sandpiper - said to be a common migrant which has become a permanent resident here.

This looks like a Little Ringed Plover - also a wintering visitor here.

This is a Yellow Wagtail.  - a migrant as well.

This is a White Throated Kingfisher (a local resident) basking in the morning sun.

A pair of Lesser Whistling Ducks swimming leasuirely

This is a Little Grebe. We saw two today.

This is a very common bird - a White-Breasted Waterhen crossing the road. Can also be found in edges of golf fields and oil palm plantations.

This is a small part of how the place looks like. Certaintly a beautiful place which needs to be preserved by the Goverment and Local Authorities !

Birds of Gunung Nuang, Hulu Selangor

Recently I had the opportunity to join the SBBG to Gunung Nuang (Sept 2011) for a half-day birding trip. We saw quite a number of wintering birds and here are some of them:

A Yellow-Rumped Flycatcher

This bird is said to breed as far as Mongolia, China and Korea. Certaintly a remarkable bird !

Another winter visitor which is more common - a juvenile Tiger Shrike.

This is a tiny Rufous Piculet spotted amongst the dark and thick bamboo trunks.

This is a more common Spectacle Bulbul.

Another winter visitor which is only abundant during its migrating season - an Asian Paradise Flycatcher - this is a female version.

This is a common but yet not so easy to spot Grey-Breasted Spiderhunter

An inquisitive Black & Red Broadbill. Looks like a sub-adult.

This is another common winter visitor - A Grey Wagtail.

This is a Black-Crested Bulbul with its majestic crest upright.

A more common Red-Eyed Bulbul.

Birds of Fraser's Hill, Malaysia

Fraser's Hill is one of the famous tourist destinations in Malaysia. It is famous because it hosts the renowned Annual International Bird Race and its a very Important Bird Area (IBA). Situated in the state of Pahang, West Peninsular Malaysia, it has an altitude of about 1500m above sea level and close to about 270 species of local and migratory birds. Its like a huge bird park up there. If travelling from KL from the old trunk road, the journey would take you about two hours, passing through several small towns namely Rawang, Serendah, Ulu Yam, Rasa, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Bharu. As you reached Kuala Kubu Bharu town, you will turn right and use the Kuala Lipis old road whizzing through some scenic mountain roads before reaching the foot of Fraser's Hill. The roads in Fraser's Hill are narrow and winding so precautions are needed when driving as there could be on-coming cars and land slides. Although the roads going up and coming down from Fraser's Hill are one way streets the recommended driving speed up there should be about 30 - 40km. Here are some of its pictures and birds seen:

One of the best place to watch birds up-close is to head to Jelai Highlands Resort. One can see lots of Silver-Eared Mesia, Long-Tailed Sibia and Chestnut-Capped Laughingthrush eating pieces of bread placed by the resort's staff. 

This is a Long-Tailed Sibia

This is a colorful male Silver-Eared Mesia. It can be found almost at every corner of Fraser's Hill.

This male Oriental Magpie Robin looks really well fed as compared to its friends in KL.

The first trail i entered was Hemmant's Trail. Today this trail was really quiet. Saw only a pair of White-Throated Fantail and one Asian Brown Flycatcher.

An Asian Brown Flycatcher. The color of its primary coverts are more intense.

Today (Oct 2011) this is the happening trail. It is located just about 100m away from Hemmant's trail. Saw my first Malayan Hill Partridge (3 of them) running around. Not a single shot turn up clear even with flash.

A Streaked Spiderhunter. Saw quite a lot of them in this trail.

This is another common bird in Fraser's Hill - a Long-Tailed Sibia.

A lovely Black & Crimson Oriole.

The next stop after a quick lunch is Jeriau Waterfall. The waterfall is about 8km from the town and it yielded more birds along the road side. Here are some of them:

This is an illusive Black Laughingthrush.

This is a female Grey-Chinned Minivet.

...and this is a male Grey-Chinned Minivet.

A beautiful Mountain Bulbul.

This is a female Asian Paradise Flycatcher.

This was a Lesser Yellownape - Male

After having visited Jeriau Waterfall, i headed to my final destination, the Telekom Loop. Since it was just a 30 minutes pit-stop, there were only a few birds seen which among others was a Black-Browed Barbet appearing along the road side together with a female Black-Throated Sunbird. Then finally i had a lone "Rufous-Browed Flycatcher seen foraging as well.