Waders of Kapar - Sept 2012

This is the time of the year where waders are said to make travel arrangments to escape the blistering cold at their breeding site. Although a bit sceptical initially but a seasoned birder (AngTH) affirmed that this is the best time to see waders (both Winter Visitors and Passage Migrants) in their breeding plumage. So off we went to look for waders at the Selangor coast with the hope that we were lucky enough to spot a wader with a coloured tag on its leg. The afternoon weather was nice for bird watching but certaintly not for photography.

Eurasian Curlew



Sometimes the waders do fly in as an individual.

or in a loose formation like the above group.



Or in a tight formation like this one.

At its peak, they can literally fill up the sky.

If they are spooked by raptors, they can produce the following phenomenon:

This formation which is quite similar as those "applied" by sardins in the ocean and some munias is meant to confuse the raptors as they will most unlikely to be able to identify any weak/juvenile ones among those flock of waders.

After going thru frame by frame, i was finally able to spot  a wader with flags on it 

The above images show a Bar-Tailed Godwit with a tag on its left leg. From the scope we could see clearly that the tag was black at the top and green at the bottom which was presumely originated from Thailand. We did also saw (with a scope)  another wader (a Great Knot) with a tag of black on the top and white at the bottom which was said to be originated from Chongming Dao, China.

We also saw many terns such as these ones:

Aleutian Tern?





Nope its was just a Common Tern due to lack of dark band on its secondaries :(

Gull-Billed Tern

Caspian Tern

Common Greenshank

Whimbrel (right) with a Godwit

Lesser Sand Plover (still at breeding plumage)

Lesser Sand Plover



Eurasian Curlew

Bar-tailed Godwit

Red-Necked Stint?

Painted Stork

Locals said this fellow has made his home here.

A Great Knot - resting

 There were also redshanks (in thousands), ruddy turnstones, black-tailed godwit, pacific golden plovers, grey plovers, common sandpipers, grey herons, a white bellied sea eagle flying by, brahminy kites, and probably many more in between these thousands of waders.





Kuala Selangor Nature Park (KSNP) - Sept 2012

We did a trip down to KSNP again but this time we brought along a great Canadian couple with us. Most of the birds seen were lifers to them but on this trip there was also one or two surprises.

Surprise #1

Barred-Eagle Owl

 This wise ol Owl could usually be seen during dawn and dusk but this time it was at the side of the trail way past 10.00am.

Surprise # 2

Yellow-Rumped Flycatcher (Male)

Although not unusual, this is the first time i have seen this flycatcher at this place. Its bright yellow color certaintly lit up the mangroves. We also saw the Mangrove Blue Flycatcher but this time it prefered to stay in the background.

Here are some of the other more "common" resident and migrant birds:

Copper-Smith Barbet

Brown Shrike

Common Sandpiper

Common Redshank

This fellow has caught a fish. We saw a total of 7 of this wader - mostly after the water has resided which was close to 13.00hrs.

Little Egret

Grey Heron

Instead of foraging on the mudflats, this heron choose to hide in the mangroves.

Grey Heron (in Flight)



Unlike its relatives which would usually extend or retract their necks during flight, this heron's neck was held upright.

Common Flameback (Female)

Common Flameback (Male)

Golden Bellied Gerygone

After having discussed with the experts, i believe this is a sub-adult.

Laced Woodpecker (Female)

She was drenched after an overnight shower.

Common Iora

Great Tit

This is another common resident of KSNP but this is a Silver Leaf Monkey.

A happy couple I am sure.



Other Birds of Bukit Tinggi - Sept 2012

Here are some of the birds which you may find at Bukit Tinggi area. Most of them were spotted at the lower range before the Japanese Garden and most of them were resident birds.



Black-Crested Bulbul

Crested Serpent Eagle

Same CSE seen circling just above the tree top.

Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker

Large-Billed Crow

Spectacle Bulbul

Whiskered-Tree Swift

Blue-Winged Leafbird (Male)

Red-Eyed Bulbul



Other Birds of Sungai Tekala FR - Sept 2012

Here are some of other birds which can be seen here:

Buff-Vented Bulbul



Can be differentiated from Cream-vented from its slightly less whitish iris color as well as the more brownish forehead

 

White-Rumped Munia



Hill Mynah

Most of the time they can only be heard but today this fellow came quite close.

Changeable-Hawk Eagle (Pale Morph) - Sub-adult



Birding in Semenyih - Sept 2012

This time I drove straight to the location where i have earlier seen the Black-and-White Bulbuls, hoping to see them again after slightly more than a month from our previous encounter. Most of the birds seen previously were still there today except for the banded kingfisher, violet cuckoo and unfortunately the Black & White Bulbuls. Here are some of the new birds seen:

Rusty-Breasted Cuckoo

This was the first bird seen in the early morning at this location.

This Eastern-Crowned Warbler was also seen here. Looks like the migrants are back.

Verditer Flycatcher

Green Iora

Its dark olive green plumage indicates a male bird

  



Lesser Cuckoo Shrike

The last time i saw this bird was at Old Pump Hse near Awana.

Here are some of the previously seen birds:

Hairy-Backed Bulbul

Lesser Green Leafbird (Female)

Lesser Green Leafbird (Male)

This image was taken a few days later. Can be differentiated from Greater Green leafbird from its smaller bill and its more yellowish head.



Black-Winged Flycatcher Shrike



Whiskered Treeswift (Female)



Whiskered Treeswift (Male)

Scarlet Minivet

No this is not a bird but a common flying lizard

The birding site.

The left side of the road was where the Black & White Bulbul was spotted. Certaintly no chance to sit near the road side unless you wish to be mauled down by speeding cars and bikes. Although the small berries which the Black & White Bulbuls feasted on were still there albeit in fewer numbers but they were certaintly not around in the entire morning. Well i guess i will just return at the same time again next year. Here is what a Thai birder has said in one of his field trips:

"Birding has so many aspects to it and besides chasing lifers i wanted to do photography, learn the bird calls and behaviors and let it slowly come to me"