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Central Route Birding - July 2018

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Starting off from KL, we drove towards the coastal open field with patches of Mangroves in the early morning. Found most of the birds we wanted but missed a few. In the afternoon, we went up to Fraser's Hill which we spent 3 days. The hill station proved to be a challenge with the low birding activities throughout the day and night. We managed to find 2 out of 3 targeted owls, but again, the Collared Owlet is rather quiet just like any of my previous trips. Brown Wood Owl was difficult, we only managed to find it on our last owling session up here. The Mountain Scops Owl was not easy either, many birders would agree that even though you may got near to a Mountain Scops Owl, does not necessary mean you will get even a split second look at it. But luckily we did pretty well. The scops owl stayed long enough for record shots with the camera. Red-headed Trogon requires 2 days of searching and waiting but we finally got 1 female and 2 male. Lots of Common Green Magpie, we saw them every day while we were there. Other highlights from the hill station include Malayan Laughingthrush, Malayan Partridge (7 of them), Malayan Whistling Thrush (heard only), Slaty-backed Forktail and Bushy-crested Hornbill (we saw 4 flying by).  After Fraser's Hill, we covered a nearby lowland forest in the late afternoon and morning the following day. The highlights from this forest were (but not limited to) Black-throated Babbler, Black-capped Babbler, Short-tailed Babbler, Ferruginous Babbler, Chestnut-rumped Babbler, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Rufous-backed Kingfisher, Banded Woodpecker, Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Buff-rumped Woodpecker, Buff-necked Woodpecker, Hairy-backed Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Spectacled Bulbul, Cream-vented Bulbul, Buff-vented Bulbul, Red-eyed Bulbul, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Black-and-Red Broadbill, Black-naped Monarch and not forgetting the most tricky of all, a Chestnut-backed Scimitar-Babbler. Next, we drove up to the hill of Bukit Tinggi for overnight. The next morning, we waited for our targets but only one appeared while the other target is no where to be found. However, we saw a star bird of the trip. We also found Scaly-breasted Bulbul, Blue-eared Barbet, Yellow-vented Pigeon, and Large Woodshrike. For our final destination, we covered the lowland forest near KL where we managed to include Rufous-backed Kingfisher, Pale Blue Flycatcher, White-chested Flycatcher, Banded Kingfisher, Red-bearded Bee-eater and few others.
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Weekend Birding with Mike and Claire - July 2018

Monday, July 16, 2018


Another good weekend trip with Michael and Claire. I have guided both of them before, this time we spent more time in the lowland forest of Pahang focusing on the just the "missing" or target species that Michael needed.

From KL, we set off to Pahang and arrived at our destination right on time! We spent the whole day until it gets dark. By the end of the day, we nailed White-bellied Woodpecker, Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Long-tailed Parakeet, Black-thighed Falconet, Black-throated Babbler and others.

The following day, we returned to the forest for more targets (but due to limited time, we only spent less than half day here) which includes Great Slaty Woodpecker, Rufous-collared Kingfisher and others. Next we drove to Hulu Langat for a very quick birding session for Rufous-backed Kingfisher, Orange-backed Woodpecker and a few others. 

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Birders from Brazil visiting Fraser's Hill 12 July 2018

Thursday, July 12, 2018


This is my 2nd time guiding birders from South America. Last year, I had Hugo based in Ecuador and today, I had this couple from Brazil with me in Fraser's Hill. So, now I have guests coming from almost all continents. Before they come over to Peninsular, both of them spent a few days in Sarawak and Sabah. So, they already had a taste of birding in this part of the world.

We start looking for birds once we arrived at the hill station, and the first bird we saw is a Black-throated Sunbird. Then, we added Long-tailed Sibia, Silver-eared Mesia, Spectacled Laughingthrush, Large Niltava, Fire-tufted Barbet, Orange-bellied Leafbird and Streaked Spiderhunter. We were only focusing on specific birding spots in the hill station to ensure we get higher chance to see more species. We were unlucky with the Red-headed Trogon, but we still managed to locate Common Green Magpie, Blue Nuthatch, Black-browed Barbet, Pygmy Cupwing, Buff-breasted Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Rufous-browed Flycatcher, White-tailed Robin, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Mountain Bulbul, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Malayan Laughingthrush, Malaysian Partridge, Mountain Tailorbird, and few others great species! All new birds (lifers!) except Oriental Magpie Robin for the couple.

We waited for about an hour to get this species of partridge. Photo taken with iPhone through the binocular.
















Sent them back to their overnight accommodation at the end of the day, bid them farewell before I make my way home to KL.


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Singapore Birders in Taman Negara June-July 2018

Monday, July 9, 2018















Nice to meet this team of birders from Singapore again. One didn't come and replaced by another birder. But still lots of laughter and jokes, just like the previous outing.

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UK Birders June 2018


I arranged an 8 day birding trip with Weng Chun in June 2018 for my wife and myself. Weng Chun provided alternative itineraries and we decided to go with a tour that encompassed Kuala Selangor, Fraser’s Hill, Taman Negara and Bukit Tinggi but in fact was much more as Weng incorporated stops between locations that gave us opportunities to see many more species. Weng Chun’s enthusiasm and determination that we see as much as possible was brilliant. If one of us missed a bird he would persevere until we had both seen it. Accommodation was good throughout and he ensured we had water, rest breaks and meals throughout the trip. He would sort out the hotel check-ins, help with luggage and was a joy to spend time with, helping us get the most from the trip. He was interested in our previous birding experiences and other wildlife interests and was delighted whenever we achieved a good sighting or obtained a good photograph of a particular or difficult species. We had early starts and night time excursions for owls and nightjars and by the end of the trip had amassed 240 species. I would not hesitate in recommending Weng Chun as a guide when visiting the Malaysian Peninsular. - Graham & Christine

This is another great trip! 😄 Love to share the birding activity with enthusiastic birders. I've just realized I took more than 500 shots with my iPhone on this trip. There was an unfortunate incident, my compact spotting scope fell and joint was opened, had to send it back to the manufacturer for repair. 😢





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Singapore Family birding in Fraser's Hill 13 June 2018

Just about a month ago, I received an enquiry from Kenny based in Singapore. I suggested to him that it would be better to go up to the hill station because that will provide him with many new species rather than going to Kuala Selangor which he will be seeing almost the same species back home. We met early in the morning in KL city centre and drove up to Fraser's Hill with a breakfast stop in Kuala Kubu Bahru. We start birding upon reach the hill station. No time to waste.


One of the first few species seen and the highlight for Fraser's Hill is no doubt a Red-headed Trogon. There is also a few Common Green Magpie at the same location.  For the next few hours in the hill station, we added Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Fire-tufted Barbet, Long-tailed Sibia, Silver-eared Mesia, Spectacled Laughingthrush, Malayan Laughingthrush, Emerald Dove, Malaysian Partridge, Large Niltava and so much more.


It was a short trip but a memorable one. It is always nice to see a family enjoying this "birding" activity. What a nice way to spend quality time together with family members!
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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.