Kuala Selangor Nature Park - 2012

Kuala Selangor Nature Park (KSNP) is about one(1) hour's drive from KL. Not only it is famous as a tourist spot but its also an important research area for scientists like ornithologist, herpetologist, botanist etc. I decided to re-visit the place to see its birding activities at this time of the year. The sky was clear but the temperature got a bit more humid towards late morning. Greeted me at the entrance was a group of these Common Flameback Woodies.

Just love to see its bushy red crown.

Pecking nearby was his mate - a female Common Flameback.

These two ladies were seen squabbling over something - it could probably be over some domestic matters. As you enter the park compound you will come across these message boards. The entrance to the trail is at the right side of the photo below.

There were ample spots and directions provided to assist you in your exploration as depicted in the image below.

The first bird seen inside the trail was this Barred Eagle Owl. This bird was not easy to be photographed not because it is an uncommon bird but it was more due to the hundreds of mozzies trying to grab me for their breakfast. This owl was seen at about 7.50am, preening itself probably after an overnight rain. Initially it was quite alert of my presence but later it went about its own business.

Look Ma no head !

As expected, there were no visiting herons or egrets except for this lone Collared Kingfisher at this time of the year.

A view from one watch tower to another.

You will not be wronged if you thought that this bird was some kind of a nuthatch.

Yup it was a Great Tit - a common resident bird at this place.

This Oriental White-Eye is also common here.

This male Ruby-cheeked Sunbird certaintly has some fantastic colors. Unfortunately my camera went out of focus at the crucial mo.

Initially i was curious on why this Pacific Swallow was on the ground instead of flying around which it would usually does. When i went thru the photo then i realised that it was actually beside an egg. Not sure how the egg got there but it must have tried to protect it. Nevertheless i did not see the bird on my way back. Hopefully i did not step on it, oops!

You can find this Ashy Tailorbird at almost every location here.

This Brahminy Kite has a rather peculiar wing shape. I guess the secondary feathers were just growing after a successful moulting.

The images above show a Changeable Hawk Eagle - immature as confirmed by the experts. Its standing posture indicates that it is ready to fly off or just perhaps getting ready to swoop down on its first prey.

Nearby the raptor i could see a female Scally-Breasted Munia feeding its chicks.

Watching closely the surrounding area was this adult scally-breasted munia.

This is another common bird at this place - a Pink-necked Green Pigeon.

This Blue-Throated Bee Eater was also seen perched instead of flying around.

Here is a lone Little Egret and a Striated Heron/Little Heron foraging nearby each other. In addition to the birds, KSNP has a variety of crustaceans to complete its eco-system. Here are some miniature but lovely crabs or crabbies as i call them. Sounds like a famous resort area in Thailand isn't ?

 

I ain't no crab expert but i believe the crab with the huge claw could be a dominant male - probably a type of fiddler crabs.

Female Sunbird

When i first started bird watching, all female sunbirds will look the same to me ! After going several times in the fields, you can learn how to differentiate them accurately.

Here are some of my own diagnostic breakdown: i) Eyes - the color of its eyes is not a good field mark to look at. I believe most female sunbirds have red color eyes if seen from certain angle. ii) Tip of the tail - the tip of a purple-throated sunbird-female's tail has white tips and so as a female olive-backed sunbird. So this bird is neither a female purple-throated sunbird or a female olive-backed. iii) Throat & Breast colors - these are two good field marks to look at. A female ruby-cheeked has a pale rufous or pale orange throat while the breast color of a female red-throated sunbird is more greenish. As for the images above you could see that its throat and breast are more yellowish in color. iv) Eye rings - this field mark can be a bit more tricky to observe. According to field guides, a brown-throated female sunbird has a pale yellowish eyering but not as denser as a red-throated which is slightly on a greyish-tinged side. So therefore i believe the images above point to a female brown-throated sunbird. It does not have white tail tips, its throat and breast are more yellowish and it has a pale yellowish eyering. Male sunbirds are however easier to identify. These are brown-throated sunbird (images below) - juvenile.

Olive-Backed Sunbird (Female)

Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker

Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker is a rather small flowerpecker measuring at just 9cm from head-to-tail. Despite its small size it is colorful and quite common around the edge of a forest. To get its images one would need to either pray that the bird stay still for 5 minutes or otherwise you need a rather fast lens.

This is a male which has just emerged itself in the morning sunlight.

This is a juvenile male.

Adult males have bright orange on its belly as well as its rump and back. Wonder why experts do not call them orange-backed flowerpecker instead.

A juvenile Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker

Asian Glossy Starling

There were a few trees near my residential park which are currently fruiting. So i had the opportunity to observe three generations of Asian Glossy Starlings enjoying the fruits from just one area.

These are juvenile Asian Glossy Starlings (images above). That's the first generation.

This fellow is an almost adult bird or a sub-adult as what birders calls them. Second generation. All the images below show adult birds. The 3rd generation.

 

This is an adult bird on a "Nona" tree.

 

Lentang Forest Reserve - Apr 2012

Lentang Forest Reserve is situated in the state of Pahang and this was only my second visit to the place. It is more famous for its beautiful waterfalls and rapids than birds.

This is a deeper part of the rapids which is located near the entrance of the forest reserve area. In terms of birds, there were quite a number of bulbuls seen here - red-eyed, stripped-throated, yellow-bellied etc. Here are some of them:

These are Red-eyed Bulbul. Saw quite a number of them here.

This Pin-Striped Tit Babbler was also seen foraging nearby.

This Blue-Winged Leafbird (Female) was seen collecting nesting materials to her nest.

This lone Grey-Headed Canary Flycatcher is a permanent resident here.

To get an opportunity to look at this majestic Rhinoceros Hornbill in the wild will certaintly take away all kinds of misery or disappointment in life. This bird (a male) was really silent. If not for its colorful and bright casque i would have miss it. Even when it flew off the typical sound of its wings flapping was missing - this bird was probably employing some stealth tactics.

Finally this Red-Bearded Beeater was seen resting on the top of a thick canopy.

At the end of the trail you will come across this sign. There is actually another smaller trail beyond this but it looks like it has not been used for awhile. So its advisable to just turn back.

Kemensah - April 2012

I had wanted to go to Ulu Langat earlier but a massive traffic congestion before Batu 14 town makes me detoured to Kemensah. So when i finally reached the place it was already close to 9.30am. Although i had only birded until 11.30am, but the birds seen was worthwhile to share here.

The first bird seen at the start of the trail was this Greater Racket-Tail Drongo which was calling out loudly.

This could be a potential lifer - have sent the photos for experts verification. Pending their comments, this bird looks more like a warbler than a flycatcher as its bill and legs are not black which are usually associated with a flycatcher. It could just have been one of those "Phylloscopus" Sp.

Foraging nearby was these Grey-Bellied Bulbuls.

This was certaintly the find of the day - a Black-Capped Babbler. Said to be common but certaintly not easy to locate and certaintly even harder to photograph. This bird was heard calling and it was just few inches above ground in a dark undergrowth. I did also managed to record its continous nasal call of nwit nwit or puip puip as some books id them. My lifer for today of course.

This is another beautiful bird to see - a Ruby-Cheeked Sunbird (male).

Finally this Rufescent Prinia was also presence here. Looks like they are everywhere at this time (April) - also saw them at Serendah and Taman Rimba Ampang earlier.