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Birding in Malaysia - 1 Oct 2020

Sunday, October 25, 2020

An early morning drive up to a highland resort near Kuala Lumpur after a tip-off from a birding friend yesterday. I was told that a tree in this highland is fruiting again. I was stunned because the last time I visited this tree was 3 months ago, how is it possible the tree fruits again so soon? Nonetheless, we just go ahead with the plan.

Before reaching the fruiting tree, we stopped by the roadside for a family of Southern Pig-tailed Macaque. We spent about 30 minutes here.

Upon arriving at the fruiting tree, we saw 3 species of Spiderhunters. 1 hour after that there isn't much action around. The other birds that came to the tree were Asian Glossy Starling and Blue-eared Barbet. I walked away from the tree and went to look for possible targets because I can hear Velvet-fronted Nuthatch calling nearby. I went closer to the source but I heard another familiar call.... it's a Red-bearded Bee-eater!!! That will be a highlight for the trip. Quickly we took out our camera but left out the tripod. Here we spent almost 20 minutes. It came so close at eye-level. Perfect ending to a morning trip away from the city.
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Family Birding - 4 Oct 2020

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Guided a family of 4 for a morning birding session up in Fraser's Hill. Since it was their first experience in birdwatching, I've provided each of them a 8x26 binocular which is light and very decent for beginners. If you are interested to buy a pair of binocular for your own use and curious to find out what bird species can be found in your neighborhood, you may contact me via WhatsApp at +60183632738.

The morning started from a drive at Telekom Loop towards the towards the town center. After we parked the car, we walked for about 2.5 hours along the road. This is the best route for beginners and easy to spot the birds too. 

Some of the birds seen during the session include (but not limited to):

White-rumped Munia
Buff-breasted Babbler
Rufous-browed Flycatcher
Streaked Spiderhunter
Black-throated Sunbird
Large-billed Crow
Oriental Magpie Robin
Fire-tufted Barbet
Large Niltava
Mountain Bulbul
Oriental Honey Buzzard
Chestnut-crowned Warbler
Golden Babbler
Grey Wagtail
Long-tailed Sibia
Blue-winged Minla
Mountain Fulvetta
Mountain Tailorbird
Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
Silver-eared Mesia
White-throated Fantail
White-tailed Robin

If you are curious about birdwatching or would like to participate in a beginner birdwatching session in Fraser's Hill, you may send me a message via WhatsApp at +60183642738. Early reservation is most recommended because I had to limit the number of participants to family of 4 due to the current situation.



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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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Birdwatching and Photography Trips

Birdwatching and Photography Trips
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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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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.

Bird Families

Check the bird families and the taxonomy updates HERE.

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 & Books

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.

March 2024. Fortunate enough to meet 1 of the authors before it was launched in Kuala Lumpur. Another great field guide for all birders who want to get the most updated information about birds of Malaysia.