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French Birders - May 2018

Wednesday, May 23, 2018
"I had the opportunity to come to Malaysia for a second time around mid-May 2018 as a side-trip to a professional visit to Singapore for a conference.  My daughter Pauline (22 yo) came along, she was finished with her exams and was glad to seize this opportunity to try her new Nikkor 18-300 mm lens on exotic wildlife.  We choose Cheong Weng Chun as a guide because we knew him from our previous visit to Taman Negara back in 2013.  I provided Weng Chun with the list of regional birds that I had missed on other occasions and he built a trip to maximize our possibilities to fill up the “gaps”.  I must say that he did an outstanding job, succeeding in finding a great number of my missing species, including some difficult ones.  He worked relentlessly from early morning (before dawn!) until late at night, making sure that not a single minute was wasted.  His talents to detect bird calls (even while driving!) and his knowledge of the places where he took us were impressive. He was also very helpful for the identification of mammals (monkeys, squirrels, palm civets, otters…) and reptiles. He provided Pauline with excellent photographic opportunities. As every “twitcher”, I appreciated very much this dedication to make sure that my bird list would be as good as possible in the end.  If you are an avid birdwatcher, I highly recommend relying on Weng Chun as a guide to optimize your chances to find the greatest possible number of species during your trip."

For 1 week, together with father-daughter from France, we covered Fraser's Hill, Lanchang / Krau, Bukit Tinggi and Hulu Langat to look for specific target species. We did not manage to cover all species due to limited time to cover all birding sites in Peninsular Malaysia, however, we did a pretty awesome job covering some of the difficult birds as well seeing some unexpected species too!

From the airport at night, we drove up to the highland for overnight. Early morning, as we were walking towards the stake out, we nailed the first target in Silver-breasted Broadbill. I heard the call nearby and whistled a few times. It responded and showed up well, not eye level but still pretty good view. Next, we waited for the Mountain Peacock Pheasant which took some waiting time but we still managed to see but dipped on Ferruginous Partridge. Met another small photography tour group at site (and which we met again at a lowland forest and in Fraser's Hill). After lunch, we headed to the lowland forest and track down a few more targets. We came back to the same forest the following morning to add a few more into our trip checklist. Simply wonderful session! Babbler, trogon and woodpecker! We continued our birding in Fraser's Hill where we stayed for 3 nights. More woodpecker and trogon. We spent another night in Kuala Lumpur and finally got them their first ever frogmouth! Both were extremely happy and we finished the trip with short stop at Putrajaya. Nothing new but they were still amazed with the number of nesting birds in the heronry.


Admiring the nesting birds in Putrajaya Heronry


One of the many photos from their camera


Violet Cuckoo with iPhone SE + Kowa TSN-501


I stepped on many ant trails and yes, I got bitten by the ants alot on both legs. For the past few days, the bites were very itchy and still are (at the time of writing this post).



Weather in Fraser's Hill wasn't perfect all the time, we experienced rain during our stay. no problem...we still able to get most of the targets.


If it still rains, then no choice, just watch the birds at the feeder


Waiting patiently for an elusive bird under the light shower


It is usual to see bird waves in the hill station while going out birding


Yes, everyone is required to look up the tree canopy for birds sometimes


Just wait and wait calmly......and at the end rewarded with a family of partridge


Its not just about birds. We also stopped the car by the roadside for primates. Here in particular, we saw a family of Siamang. Amazing!


What was behind the leaf? It was perching so low to the ground, we had to kneel down to see it!


We walked through the dense forest to hunt down a Diard's Trogon


Wait and more waiting....that's part of the game isn't it?


A rewarding morning session! Mountain Peacock Pheasant!!!!



Licensed Tourist Guide specialized in birdwatching and photography tour in Peninsular Malaysia. BSc Forestry (Parks & Recreation Management).

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Birds of Peninsular Malaysia

Birds of Peninsular Malaysia
Birds of Peninsular Malaysia

Wildlife in Peninsular Malaysia

Wildlife in Peninsular Malaysia
A collection of wildlife photographs in Peninsular Malaysia that includes mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Some photographs are taken with camera while some are taken with mobile phone whenever I get the opportunities to shoot while on a guiding assignment.

Insects

Insects
You will see other interesting insects during your birding adventure with me. Here are some of the photos I have extracted from my hard drives..

Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia

Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia
Collection of photographs for reference.

Notable Plants While Birding

Notable Plants While Birding
There will be some interesting flora that will definitely catch your attention while going out on a birdwatching trip with me. I am in the midst of compiling all the plants, please return to this website for updates. Thank you.

Southeast Asia Birding

Southeast Asia Birding
Sometimes I accompany my regular guests for birding trips out of Peninsular Malaysia. Check out what we found.
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Birds & Wildlife in Malaysia

About Me

I'm a bird watcher, digiscoper, photographer and a licensed nature guide. Welcome to my 'A Malaysian Birder' blog. I will post my bird sightings and photographs on this blog. I started bird watching while studying in university. After graduating with a degree in forestry specializing in parks and recreation management, I have been attached to the parks and gardens industry. My past work experiences involve conducting environmental education program, bird watching and many more. When I go out to the field, I will usually have my Leica Ultravid 10x32 binocular and Kowa TSN-501 spotting scope with me. This is the lightest setup for me as I prefer to go light these days. There are times, I will have my parabolic microphone in the field for recording bird calls.

In the past, I will have my Kowa BDXD 8x32 binocular, Zoom H2N recorder, Kowa TSN-501 and my favorite Nikon1 V1 with a 70-300mm lens. This is the lightest setup I have tried.

Bird Watching Tours

There are quite a number of birding groups from Australia, United States and United Kingdom that come over to Malaysia annually visiting the traditional key sites that include Kuala Selangor, Fraser's Hill and Taman Negara. There is not doubt that the 3 sites are the preferred birding sites in Peninsular Malaysia. So if you are coming over for birding and intend to hire a guide, you can send me an email at nature2pixel@gmail.com and go over to posting section to view photos and summary of trip reports with testimonials from past clients.

Besides following the traditional route, I also customized trip according to clients needs, preference and interests. So there are some local patches that I can introduce to all bird watchers, digiscopers and photographers.

Here are a few of my favorite birding spots around Kuala Lumpur.

• Kuala Selangor - the habitats include mangrove forest. Good for woodpecker and kingfisher. Some amount of walking is required on flat terrain.

• Fraser's Hill - one of the traditional key sites for birding in Peninsular Malaysia and still the best place to visit. Elevation between 900 - 1200m above sea level. The species found here are different from the city of Kuala Lumpur. Targets may include Trogon, Woodpecker, Partridge, Laughingthrush, Leafbird, Spiderhunter and Sunbird.

• Hulu Langat - one of the most visited birding spot due to its proximity from the city centre. Walking is required but on easy terrain in this lowland forest. Sometimes need to wait at fruiting trees. Generally a good spot for Broadbill, Kingfisher, and Babbler.

• Bukit Tinggi - An alternative spot if you do not want to spend too long hours travelling to Fraser's Hill. It's about 900m to 1,000m above sea level and you get a combination of lowland and highland species at this elevation. Walking is required but just a short distance. Traditional known for Broadbill, Hornbill, Partridge and Pheasant.

• Gombak-Ampang - Generally recommended for photographers targeting Blue-eared Kingfisher and at times during fruiting season, it attracts many species of Bulbul and Barbet. Located in urban area.

My Artwork Products

Bird Video

I am also interested to take video of birds. Here are some of my favorite videos for your viewing. Video taken with Nikon1 V1 attached to a Sigma 500mm f4.5 and most of the time iPhone SE through the spotting scope. Editing is done on smartphone Power Director for Android device and I also like the iMovie on iPhone. Enjoy.

Recommended Field Guides

If you are interested to get a copy of field guides to assist you to learn and identify birds in Malaysia. Click the followings to find out more.