A Malaysian Birder: 2014

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Another Blue-eared Kingfisher Shot

Posted by wengchun Thursday, July 10, 2014

Finally, managed to get a decent shot of the Blue-eared Kingfisher. Within this morning birding, there list of birds is not long since I spent most of the time observing this kingfisher. Several species spotted include Yellow-bellied Prinia, Common Myna, Javan Myna, Peaceful (Zebra) Dove, Spotted Dove, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Black-naped Oriole, and House Crow.

Silver-eared Mesia

Posted by wengchun Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Lovely and colorful. This is the unofficial mascot for Little England (Fraser's Hill, Malaysia).

Silver-eared Mesia

Nikon D7000 + Sigma 500mm f4.5

Silver-eared Mesia

Nikon D7000 + Sigma 500mm f4.5

Shrike-babbler from Fraser's Hill

Posted by wengchun

At my favorite spot, I waited for the White-browed Shrike-babbler. A pair came after a short wait but they were rather shy and moving about up in the canopy. No choice, had to wait longer and for a short moment, they came lower just for some record shots.

White-browed Shrike-babbler (Male)

Nikon D7000 + Sigma 500mm f4.5

White-browed Shrike-babbler (female)

Nikon D7000 + Sigma 500mm f4.5

Ashy Tailorbird

Posted by wengchun

Unexpectedly, the Ashy Tailorbird appeared infront of me. Although it was some distance away from where I was sitting, I could not resist shooting this lovely and cooperative bird.

Ashy Tailorbird

Nikon D7000 + Sigma 500mm f4.5

Ashy Tailorbird

Nikon D7000 + Sigma 500mm f4.5

Greater Yellownape

Posted by wengchun Thursday, June 26, 2014

One of the woodpeckers from Fraser's Hill - Greater Yellownape. The other woodpeckers in this hill station (above upper gate) include Lesser Yellownape, Bay Woodpecker, and Speckled Piculet.

Nikon V1 + Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 (June 2014)

Nokia Lumia 920 phonescoping (June 2014)

Blue Jewel by the Drain

Posted by wengchun Saturday, May 31, 2014

It was a typical morning, as I waited by the drain. Yes, a drain. Anyway, 2 Blue-eared Kingfisher were spotted from afar! Parental feeding just above the water. However, it was just too far away from where I was standing. I repositioned myself towards the other end and waited for the birds to perch on somewhere more open. After 30 minutes or so, the juvenile appeared a little far away from where it was spotted. Adult came for a while and fed it, then flew away. Oh well, a good sighting.

I will post more photos on this individual at http://sigma500mmf45.blogspot.com

Click here for more videos in my youtube video channel

Laughingthrushes and co.

Posted by wengchun Sunday, May 18, 2014

Up in Fraser's Hill, you can surely expect the 2 of the 3 laughingthrushes - Chestnut-capped (Spectacled) and Chestnut-crowned (Malayan) Laughingthrush.

Chesnut-crowned (Malayan) Laughingthrush

Chestnut-capped (Spectacled) Laughingthrush

The other birds that comes along in a regular birding trip include the Lesser Shortwing, Silver-eared Mesia, Fire-tufted Barbet, Mountain Fulvetta, Long-tailed Sibia and the list goes on and on.....

Long-tailed Sibia

Lesser Shortwing

Silver-eared Mesia

Another Day Spent with Rufous-collared Kingfisher

Posted by wengchun Thursday, May 15, 2014

So today was another typical day just like yesterday. Of course, the Rufous-collared Kingfisher has been a regular to the site, there were several other birds spotted in the vicinity. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, White-rumped Shama, Buff-vented Bulbul, Black-headed Bulbul, Pin-tailed Parrotfinch (what a surprise!), Horsfield's Babbler, Little Spiderhunter and many more.

Another shot of the Rufous-collared Kingfisher < --- click here

Rufous-collared Kingfisher and Trogons

Posted by wengchun Wednesday, May 14, 2014

I was planning to go up to Cameron Highlands today. But unfortunately, I woke up late and when I drove out from the house, the traffic was already bad so I decided to cancel the plan and head towards the nearby forest. When I reached the site, there were 2 photographers standing there. I supposed they also looking for the same target.

So we waited for a while and as soon as I heard the kingfisher called, one of the photographers already spotted the bird.

Nikon V1, Sigma 500mm f/4.5

Another view on this link

Darn it. the Nikon D7000 does not provide enough reach. Even after adding the 1.4x TC, I was not able to get a decent AF. So I switched to the V1.

When I managed to get closer, I switched back to D7000.

Holy!!! There is a Rufous-backed in front of us, too close for any of us to get a shot. Then there was also a pair of Scarlet-rumped Trogon. But I only managed to shoot the female.

Nikon V1, Sigma 500mm f/4.5, ISO3200, 1/200sec,

The hunt is not over yet. We were later rewarded with a pair of Diard's Trogon. Initially we had it very high up the canopy, no clear view with many leaves blocking the birds. In the end, a decent view.

Nikon V1, Sigma 500mm f/4.5

Garnet Pitta

Posted by wengchun Friday, May 9, 2014

One of many bird watcher's and photographer's favorites and target birds is Garnet Pitta. Never grow tired of seeing Pitta. Although it is consider easy to see this pitta, it is by no means that I see it everyday or every time I arrive at this spot. Sometimes I can only hear faint calls. Whenever I heard 2 calls close to each other, that means I will definitely not able to see it.

Here is a Garnet Pitta at our favorite stakeout. This stakeout is also good for White-rumped Shama and Short-tailed Babbler. There are also several different babblers and the most common is the Chestnut-winged Babbler.

What's in Paya Indah these days?

Posted by wengchun

During my guided birding trips, I usually bring the guests to this site as a finale to a long trip. The recent was 3 bitterns at 1 spot within 30 seconds. So which 3 bitterns? Of course, the Yellow Bittern, Cinnamon and Black Bittern. Nope...no Von Schrenk Bittern sighted here yet, at least not in my record.

So I headed back to the wetland hoping a get another shot at the Black Bittern. No luck today except for the White-throated Kingfisher, Baya Weaver, Olive-backed Sunbird, Scaly-breasted Munia, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Asian Koel, Red-wattled Lapwing, Coppersmith Barbet, Pied Triller, Black-shouldered Kite.

Revisit the Limestone Ground

Posted by wengchun

Today, it is time to revisit the old playground of Ipoh. My first visit could be almost 10 years ago, so it is always nice to do a trip down memory lane. There were several familiar birds around including White-throated Kingfisher, Cattle Egrets, Grey Heron, Little Heron, Common Myna, Javan Myna, Asian Glossy Starling, Java Sparrow, Blue Rock Thrush, Brown Shrike, Germain's Swiftlet, Pacific Swallow, Banded Bay Cuckoo and many more.

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Posted by wengchun

On another personal trip after a long time, I managed to locate a new spot for the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater. I could have probably seen it nearby this spot, but that could be long long time ago. Anyway, Based on the habitat, I suspected the bee-eater could be around. I was right!

Several Blue-throated Bee-eater were also spotted just before I reach the spot. To my surprise, there is even a Blue-eared Kingfisher!!! It caught me by surprise. As soon as I had a good look, the bird flew away from the small pond.

Bill was up in the highland

Posted by wengchun Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Hello Bill! This is the 2nd time in 1 week at 2 different location. Just lucky enough that it went up high on the tree otherwise I will not be able to get a clear shot of it. Ok. it's a him. Look at the red eye. If Bill is a she, then it will have a white eye. :D

Red Junglefowl at the Heronry - what else?

Posted by wengchun

Seeing a Red Junglefowl is not easy these days. Usually I get to hear them in more natural surrounding and if luckier, a distant view of it. But I was really fortunate to get a junglefowl in the heronry. I was stunned for a while when it crossed the path in front of me. I can only hope it will come closer. My prayer was answered. It did came closer until it finally realized I was in front of him. And so it turned back and went into the bush. Ok...there was a previous case when I spotted it at the coastal with a birding friend. It just perched next to the car.

The following photos were taken from the heronry - Grey Heron, Little Egret, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker and Oriental Magpie Robin.

Asian Openbill - Will it Grow Up here in the Heronry?

Posted by wengchun

The above photo was shot last year in the heronry. The highest number I have counted then was 6 birds. The openbill invasion started early last year when dozens or even hundred were spotted further up north and also in Melaka.

Above photo shows a flock flying in the sky of Melaka. Then, I was revisiting the heronry last week hoping to test the Sigma 500mm f4.5 telephoto lens with the Nikon D7000 on the herons and egrets. To my surprise, the openbill just flew infront of me. Here are 3 shots of the openbill.

About Me

Hi! I love watching birds, taking photographs (and video), and guiding people through nature. Welcome to my blog, A Malaysian Birder. I'll be sharing all the great birds I see and the photos I take right here on this blog. I got into bird watching when I was in university studying parks and recreation management. I used to work in parks and gardens, teaching people about the environment and organizing birding walks. Whenever I go out to look for birds, I always bring my binoculars and spotting scope to help me see them up close. Sometimes, I even bring a microphone to record their calls. It's always an adventure out in the field!

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 and owned. From then onwards, I have used Omicron 8x26 binocular (and i bought 4 units), Leica Ultravid 8x32 binocular, Kowa Spotting Scope TSN773 with 20-60x eyepiece, Panasonic Lumix G7, Panasonic Lumix G9 with a 100-300mm lens and currently experimenting with Sony ILCE-A6700 and Sony SEL 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens.

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.

• Putrajaya - If you are staying in any hotel in Putrajaya, it's a good place to look for herons, egrets, bittern and storks.