Went birding with Bip and his wife again today. This time to a site near Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately as soon as we arrived it rain and we went to a coffee shop for a light breakfast.

We returned to the forest where we spent a few hours with Banded Broadbill, Drongo Cuckoo and Grey-breasted Spiderhunter.

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It was a last minute request but Bip wanted her wife to see the elegant Red-headed Trogon (male). So we started off much earlier than usual from Kuala Lumpur and arrived at the hill station before sunrise.

We heard the trogon calling but the bird just don't want to show up in the first 2.5 hours when we were there. Very unusual. We left the spot at 930am and about 1 hour later I was informed by a friend that the trogon appeared but by that time we were far from the site. 

We spent some time with Sultan Tit and other bird species at the usual stakeout.

Finally we decided that Bip should go up and wait for the Rusty-naped Pitta since there is opportunity today.

Waited for 5 hours and it appeared! This is one of the much awaited species, not commonly seen due to its elusive behavior.

By the time, Bip finished the session with the pitta, it was already late to continue birding. We left the hill station and will plan another trip again later. 

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After a few days in Fraser's Hill and setting up the foldable bird hide, it is time to clean up the mess on the hide.

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I have been receiving enquiries for past weeks. Just to let everyone know that i am still actively guiding whenever there is a request from birders based in KL. 

And since the borders will be opening soon to Singapore, yes I can help any birders from Singapore who are interested to join me for a birding adventure in Fraser's Hill, Bukit Tinggi, Hulu Langat, Merapoh and any other sites, depending on target species. 

WhatsApp: +60183632738

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Guiding Dr Kuan again. Trying harder to nail a few more elusive targets up in the hill station. 

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Together with Andrew Sebastian from ECOMY, we were highlighting the importance and potential of Malim Nawar as a birdwatching and photography site. We also provided recommendations how it can involve the local community, hence it would be a beneficial ecotourism product to Malim Nawar. 

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Let's try to see how many more dates that I can fill up until end of this year. 

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Joined the hornbill expedition in Royal Belum on 20-22 October 2021.

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First time guiding Siva. So, decided to show him some of the lowland forest species in Hulu Langat.

Among the birds seen today were Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Chestnut-winged Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Black-thighed Falconet, Maroon Woodpecker, Checker-throated Woodpecker, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, Green Iora, Raffles's Malkoha, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Dusky Broadbill, Spectacled Bulbul, Spectacled Spiderhunter, and more.

 

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Here is the update for 2021 calendar. If you require my service for birdwatching or bird photography, please refer to the above date. Contact me directly via WhatsApp at +60183632738

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 Recently found an e-book that is worth sharing with everyone. 

Here is the link:

https://sdpcorpsecurestore1.blob.core.windows.net/sdpcorpwebsite/pdf/Sime%20Darby_Rare%20Tree%20Book_Final_Version.pdf

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Recorded the flight call of Savanna Nightjar calling at dusk recently. 

It was an incidental birding, so only took out the phone Redmi 9T to record the call using the pre-installed recording app. On the PC, I trim the original recording, remove noise and amplify the sound. 

Listen to the call on my eBird submission.

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This is a Rufous Woodpecker. Very adaptable in many habitat ranging from the coastal area all the way inland to the urban area such as Klang Valley. I can even see them near my house. Ahem....It's also seen as high as Fraser's Hill. 

Here is a comparison before and after the post processing. 

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Previously I have been using my 10 years old laptop to store and edit my photos. It was kind of stressful for the laptop, so I shoot mostly in JPG format rarely in RAW format. But over the years, I do keep some photos in NEF files while shooting with Nikon gears. 

Last month, I finally decided to ditched the laptop and bought a mini PC with Ryzen 5. It was a ASUS PN50. Took out the laptop's hard disk and put it into the mini PC. Works perfectly. So now I can edit photos again. I am impressed with the new machine as it helps me to salvage some of the photos in my external hard disks. However, not all photos can be salvaged. This is the best time for me go through the images, delete unwanted images, and free up some storage space. 

Here is a comparison of the original photo (left) and the outcome after post processing (right).

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One of the best moment is when you get to see a Pitta. I was fortunate to see it at the unexpected spot. Luckily, I had my iPhone SE (first generation) and Kowa scope by my side, well it was pretty easy to use anyway. 

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Recently purchased a UV filter for a small travel scope, Kowa TSN-501. All this time, i know the front objective lens has thread to fit a filter but never bother. While i was browsing the online shop, I found a pretty cheap UV filter, so i decided to make a purchase. When it arrived, i quickly try it out and it fits perfectly as expected!

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During this pandemic period, every industry in the world is affected. For tourism, and my line of work as a birding guide in Malaysia is also affected badly. So during this period, I spent my time looking at some of the photos and videos for inspiration which I can convert to illustrations / caricature. 

Here is a Scarlet-rumped Trogon for your viewing pleasure. If you would like to support my work, please consider making purchases from my RedBubble store at https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/78501172?ref=studio-promote or click on the following photos to check the products. For purchases within Malaysia and Singapore, please check out my online store at https://chades11.secure-decoration.com/shop/category/View-all?c=0 which sells t-shirts, hoodies and mugs. 

        

Thank you for your support!

 

 

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This morning, we headed into the forest. No one was around. It was really nice to have the whole place for ourselves. Our target was Orange-backed Woodpecker which we managed to add that into the list. We also needed the Maroon Woodpecker (which I encountered few days ago), Bamboo Woodpecker, and Green Broadbill. Dipped on those. Well, we shall be getting it sooner or later.

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Just doing my usual birding session but this time I met up with a local bird photographer in Hulu Langat. I started the day much earlier looking for nocturnal species but all that got were calls of Sunda Scops Owl and Large-tailed Nightjar.

Along the famous short stretch of road in the forest, we had encounters with various species including Orange-backed Woodpecker, Maroon Woodpecker, Bamboo Woodpecker, and few others. 

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Today, I went out to Kuala Selangor with Andreas for half-a-day but eventually we spent longer time in the mangrove. The morning drive was not too bad, generally not many cars on the road especially during the fasting month. But since the travel restriction is still enforced, many people have no other places to visit and I noticed more people in the park compared to all my visits in the past 10-20 years. 

Anyway, upon arrival at the park, we were greeted by a troop of Long-tailed Macaque at the front gate and car park. We took our gears out from the car and walked slowly into the trail. A few big trees fell and that allows more sunlight penetration to the forest floor. I was hoping to show Andreas the other species of primate - Selangor Silvered Langur. No sign of it yet but we saw more Long-tailed Macaque. We continued walking and stop whenever we spotted something nearby. Inside the mangrove section, I think we saw more birds and Andreas found other subjects to photograph. After spending 2 hours in here, we made our way back towards the car park and finally we saw a small group of Selangor Silvered Langur but we could not get good photo. There will be another time in the future.

Some of the highlights are shown in the video below. This include Laced Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Crested Serpent Eagle, Greater Flameback, and Chestnut-bellied Malkoha.

 

Strange enough for today. There are not many mosquitoes along the path through the secondary vegetation. I wonder....

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An early drive to the coastal mudflat for a wader watching session. It's been a long time since I go out for waders. I just want a change in environment, so I took the chance to see how the place has changed. Nothing much. It's still the same look all around, unlike in the inland forest which are mostly cleared for housing and other purpose. 

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Travel is still restricted. We can't cross over to Pahang, Negeri Sembilan or Perak. But we still managed to get improved shots of Rufous-collared Kingfisher but most importantly we got our target species today.

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It's been more than 1 year since lockdown due to Covid-19. I need to return to the forest as often as possible to check the condition of the birding sites. I'm glad that the crowd favorite Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher is back after a long absence. The other highlights for today is a Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Checker-throated Woodpecker and Orange-backed Woodpecker. 

I stayed in the forest from early morning until the weather turns bad. Took a short break with Nescafe, bread and instant noodle. 

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Still confined within Selangor and KL, we try to locate the Black-and-Red Broadbill in the morning and we were rewarded with good views and ample opportunities for photography. We quickly leave the site as soon as we know the crowd is coming into the area. We stopped at the Blue-winged Pitta spot before mid-day break. We end the day with great view of a Brown Boobook.

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Today, it's another 'hunting' trip but instead of woodpeckers, we had put the broadbill as the targets. Since we already had Black-and-Yellow, Black-and-Red, Banded, Silver-breasted, and Dusky, we just need a Green but Bip wanted to improve on his Black-and-Red Broadbill. Dipped on the Green. We found a pair of Black-and-Red but we couldn't get the ideal shots. Soon after, we drove and arrived near KL for Blue-winged Pitta. There was a Grey-capped Woodpecker but it was moving too fast and most of the time very obscure.

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