The Flycatchers of Air Itam Dalam Forest Reserve, Sg Dua - Jan 2014

Air Itam Dalam FR is located in Sungai Dua which is in the district of Seberang Jaya, Penang. Kubang Semang (which is another favourite birding area among the Penang birders) is also located not too far away from this place. Although this FR was not too big a place to explore but it certainly has an enriching ecosystem supporting various avifauna. In this recent trip which was on the eve of the Chinese New Year celebration, i saw four types of flycatchers i.e Asian Brown Flycatcher, Dark-Sided Flycatcher, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher and the illusive Green-Backed Flycatcher at this location alone.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

According to David Wells (1999 - Vol. 1), besides Arctic Warbler, Asian Browns are also one of the non-breeding migrants in this part of the world.

Dark-Sided Flycatcher

Here is an expert's affirmation: "Note wing-tip to tail-tip length. Always longer in Dark-Sided as your pictures appear to show. The Asian Browns have shorter wings making the tail looks longer. Note also dusky side of breast and flanks indicating Dark-Sided".

Mangrove Blue Flycatcher - Male

Mangrove Blue Flycatcher - Female

Both the Mangrove Blue Flycatchers were seen not too far away from each other. They were silent and foraging below the concrete pathway which was probably due to the presence of Black Kites around the vicinity at that time. Really smart couple !

Here is the biggest catch of the day: "Green-Backed Flycatcher"

Green-Backed Flycatcher (F. elisae)

After tired of walking i sat on the stairs facing the car park area watching some Ashy Minivets foraging when i heard a familiar "trrt" calls of a flycatcher.  I decided to look for the bird even though thinking initially that it could had just been a mangrove blue.  In the thick dark foliage on top of a low tree there it was foraging alone. Apparently this flycatcher is an adult male ! I did not thought of recording its calls as i was more anxious of getting its photos at that moment. Its calls were quite similar to other flycatchers except that it did not end with a "tac".  According to IUCN records this flycatcher is currently under the "stable" status in the absence of evidence for declines or substantial threats. Nevertheless based on B.i.W record and at "press time" this was the only second recorded sighting at this location after Tan Choo Eng's in Apr 2013.

In addition to the above flycatchers, here were the other birds seen in and around the area:

Black Kites

Saw three of them this time. They were all thermaling above and one of the kites was seen teaching another kite (probably a junior) on how to fly - see above photo. After awhile one of them decided to fly down and perched on a tree near the river side. 

This was how it looks like when it was about to perch.

Forest Wagtail

It was foraging at the car park area and i did not notice it until it moved.

These were Ashy Minivets. Saw five of them this time. Quite a friendly bird species.

Olive-Winged Bulbul

A bulbul which had always gave me her best posture.

Green-Billed Malkoha

Despite its size and long tail, it could easily maneuver up a tree and among the vines.

White-Breasted Waterhen

Although this waterhen species were said to be common but it has been reported that some folks have been "deep-frying" and making "soup" out of it ! Very soon this bird might just go under the "vulnerable" status as well.

Asian Openbills

As i was driving out from the FR i stopped at the road side to see a bunch of Asian Openbills thermaling up in the sky. I counted 12 of them and they were thermalling quite high up together with other swallows/swifts. That was about 4.15pm and i reckoned that they might probably be looking for a suitable site to roost. I did not stay on to see whether they were join further by their own clan as i was rushing to another birding site but i believe that these soon to be "fairly common" stork in Peninsular Malaysia will eventually make this place their second home.   

Bird Wave in Perdik - Jan 2014

Year 2014 started on a disappointing note for me but life goes on. Once normalcy resumed i headed to the nearest birding spot which i could think off - Sungai Perdik ! For the initial track, the jungle was rather quiet.

Changeable Hawk Eagle - Dark Morph

Saw this eagle on my way into the track.

White-Throated Kingfisher

Besides this kingfisher, other common birds seen in the initial part were Red-Eyed Bulbuls and Spiderhunters. Also in this trip there were a few "tricky" birds. Here is what i meant as "tricky":

At a glance this could have been mistakenly id as a "Common Tailor" bird.

Dark -Necked Tailor Bird - juvenile

Until you managed to see its vent that you will know it should be a "Dark-Necked Tailor Bird". Learnt this trick from the veterans.

Here is another tricky situation.

It would be rather difficult to positively identify this female minivet from this position.

Fiery Minivet - Female

Not until you could see the color on her rump.

After some quiet moments then came the big bird wave. One thing i have noticed from this bird wave was that most of the birds were too engrossed in their hunt for insects. Hence they were not too bothered about human presence at that time. Here are some of the birds seen:

Yellow-Breasted Flowerpecker

It came in silently and was foraging quite low among the bushes.

I believe this is a male Lesser Cuckooshrike

This cuckooshrike was silent through out the bird wave. I believed most of the calls in the bird wave probably came from warblers, blue-winged leafbirds, Iora, a grey-throated babbler etc.

Purple-Naped Sunbird

This was the same bird viewed from the back. Most likely a female Purple-Naped as the purple patch was not presence on its nape.

Black-Winged Flycatcher Shrike

I think not many photos in the field guides have shown the small hook-liked feature at the tip of its bill except perhaps Craig Robson's field guide.

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Green Iora

Rufous Piculet

This piculet came in with the bird wave and flew quite low to some bushes which was just beside the trail.

In this bird wave  i have also the opportunity to see two most commonly seen wintering warblers i.e Arctic Warbler and Great Eastern Warbler quite close to each other. From the various discussion groups and forums including Facebook, i have gathered here some of the most commonly described comparison features of these two warblers.

     ARCTIC WARBLER (P. borealis)

• dark tip at lower mandible (a feature most likely to be seen)
• white vent (a feature most likely to be seen)
• slender body shape (possible provided that the Eastern Crown is nearby)
• no mid crown stripe (possible to see if you are sitting on top of a tualang tree)
• sharp bill (not so prominent and difficult to distinguish)
• single wing bar (not a prominent feature)

     EASTERN CROWNED WARBLER (P. Coronatus)

• yellow color on wings ( a feature most likely to be seen)
• yellow vent (a feature most likely to be seen)
• greyish head (really ?)
• pale median crown stripe (possible but probably a difficult feature to distinguish)

Arctic Warbler

Eastern Crowned Warbler

Chestnut-Breasted Malkoha - female

Saw two of them in the bird wave but could not spot the gender of the other bird.

Dark-Throated Oriole - female

Dark-Throated Oriole - male

Both came in with the bird wave but only the male uttered some soft calls.

Checker-throated Woodpecker

That was the only woodpecker seen in the bird wave.

Whiskered Treeswift

There were also lots of swifts in the vicinity which somehow coincide with the bird wave. After having been informed by Yang Chong, most of the swifts seen were most likely Grey-Rumped and only a handful were whiskered.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

 Not sure whether this flycatcher was in the same party but it was seen near to the bird wave site. Other birds in the bird wave which was also seen were a verditer flycatcher and two greater racket-tailed drongos.

Yellow-Eared Spiderhunter

This spiderhunter was seen before and during bird wave.

These were the flowers which the sunbirds and spiderhunter were foraging.

After the bird wave which lasted probably between 10-15 minutes, i ventured out from the trail and saw this Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo. I believe it was not part of the foraging troop.

Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo

I was also lucky to see a pair of Raffles's Malkoha foraging together.

Raffles's Malkoha - female

And here is its male counter part.

Raffles's Malkoha - male

There were also lots of butterflies at that time but only one or two which stayed long enough for me to get a clear shot of them.

Malay Yeoman

Horsfield's Baron