A Malaysian Birder

Final Birding Tour for the Year - 30 Nov - 2 Dec 2022

Posted by wengchun Saturday, December 3, 2022

Tim is back in KL! but this time, another new birder joined us. We tried to concentrate on birds unfortunately, the butterflies were more exciting during this trip. We covered a few locations throughout the 3 days.

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4 Days Birding 12-15 Nov 2022

Posted by wengchun Tuesday, November 15, 2022

"Kit had a very productive birding trip to Krau 3 years ago, thanks to Weng Chun's excellent skills, so much so that we knew who to call for a 4-day trip to Frasers Hill and Congkak. Thanks to Weng Chun's hardworking ethos, ethical approaches to birds and nature and brilliant knowledge about bird behaviours and calls, we had several amazing bird sightings. Although the weather was not too conducive for birding, he never gave up trying to find the birds throughout our tour. Moreover, Weng Chun's warmth and relaxed approach made birding more fun and friendlier. It was like going birding with a friend, which made it more enjoyable. He also took good care of us and made sure that we were always comfortable. Without a doubt, we will be happy to recommend Weng Chun to any birders or nature lovers heading to Malaysia."

Thanks for putting in so much effort to find us the birds n out was good to finally bird with you again! - Kit, SG

Thanks Weng Chun. Great to finally meet you. We enjoyed your company during this trip 😊 - Herman, SG

Kit returned to KL for birding but this time, she came with Herman. The trip was arranged a few months ago and finally get to conduct this trip. Herman gave me a list of birds that they would like to see and another list of birds that they have seen before. Our trip only focuses on 2 sites - Fraser's Hill and Hulu Langat.

The highlight for this trip would be close encounter with Bushy-crested Hornbill while a Helmeted Hornbill flew above us. Numerous sightings of Wreathed Hornbill too! Not forgetting the tiny Speckled Piculet that appeared when we were scanning the birds in a bird wave. We also managed to see Orange-breasted Trogon and Red-headed Trogon.

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Book Review: Birds of Malaysia

Posted by wengchun Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Book Review:

Birds of Malaysia, covering Peninsular Malaysia, Malaysian Borneo and Singapore by Lynx and Birdlife International is a much needed field guide for myself and other birders. I must admit that this is one of the best bird books for avifauna of Malaysia as well as Singapore. The saying “never judge a book by its cover” does not apply for this field guide. Why? The book cover itself captures the attention of potential owners and even attracts them to buy. By flipping through those colorful plates with stunning illustrations, you will agree with me that this book is well worth the investment!

It covers 847 species of birds that have been recorded in Peninsular Malaysia, Malaysia Borneo and Singapore. Although the number of species could potentially increase in the near future, the total species covered in the field guide will keep everyone busy for a long time. The book is not just about its illustrations, the information describing habitats, behaviors, songs, and plumage is clear and accurate. QR codes provided for each species enable us to access the online audio and visuals. The format is easy to understand once you get used to the abbreviations. In the past, my birding guests commented that a range map for each species should be shown next to the illustration, and this field guide just solved that! Personally, I would like to see markings or arrows highlighting the important features for each illustration because it is very useful when comparing species that may look alike.

The introduction section of the book provides a brief overview of climate, habitats and a list of threatened birds in Malaysia and Singapore. These information is important to many birders and allow everyone to understand about bird habitats and their current status. For beginners or visiting birders, the map and list of birding hotspots comes handy for planning where to watch and photograph birds. Perhaps, the book could also include a list of top 50 or 100 species to see in Malaysia and Singapore.

At the last section of the book, there is a complete species index which even include an index for local names. This is indeed a fresh idea for a field guide for avifauna of Malaysia and Singapore. It is a way for us to learn the local names and may also be useful while talking to the locals.

Apart from the impressive illustrations and description in this book, the inclusion of species range map, QR codes and index with local names certainly make it distinguishable. This fantastic field guide should be in every birder’s bag. I will certainly include this book for discussion and bird identification with my birding guests. Indispensable.

I have a copy and I recommend that you should get one too!

Link: https://www.lynxeds.com/product/birds-of-malaysia/

The authors: Dr Puan Chong Leong, Dr Geoffrey Davison and Lim Kim Chye

Stunning illustration, species range map and QR codes

Finally, an index with local names. Well done!

3 Days Birding 1-3 Nov 22

Posted by wengchun Friday, November 4, 2022

It was another good birding despite the rainy weather in Kuala Selangor and Fraser's Hill.

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A Short Tour 29-30 Oct 22

Posted by wengchun

Just after completing a birding trip with a couple from HK, I took 2 birders from Singapore out to the field again.

They wanted 2 main targets (Blue-banded Kingfisher and Mountain Peacock-Pheasant). Thankfully the weather was very generous to us during this 2 days.

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5 Days Birding 24-28 Oct 2022

Posted by wengchun Tuesday, October 25, 2022

First birding couple from HK this year.

"Weng Chun is a wonderful bird guide with excellent birding skills and knowledge of the birds and their habits and habitats. We had a wonderful 5-days trip covering Kuala Selangor, Fraser’s Hill and Hulu Langat. Thanks to Weng Chun’s sedulous perseverance, we found more lifers than we had anticipated. He is also a wonderful travel companion; we had a great time exploring the paddy fields, villages, sleepy towns and small local restaurants."

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2 Days in Fraser's Hill 21-22 Oct 22

Posted by wengchun

First big birding group from oversea this year. It was a short 2 days birding but another memorable one.

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4 Days Birding 10-13 Oct 2022

Posted by wengchun Sunday, October 16, 2022

"Weng Chun's knowledge, expertise and professionalism continued to astound us. Picking up specific bird calls amongst the cacophony of wildlife and ambient noises, the fast spotting of our target birds amidst bird waves, simply incredible! It is our view that new and experienced bird watchers / photographers will benefit from him!" - Angie & BC, Singapore

Been going out birding with Angie and BC since 2018. This time we explored the hil station and the lowland forest near KL to cover those missed species from previous trips.

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5 Days Birding 22-26 Sep 2022

Posted by wengchun Monday, September 26, 2022

"Thank you for your hardwork for spotting birds and sharing milky way with us👍" - Alex

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3 Days Birding 19-21 Sep 2022

Posted by wengchun Thursday, September 22, 2022

Since 2008, i have been guiding Siewlin during her several birding visits to Peninsular Malaysia and it has always been a wonderful experience. This time is no exception however we covered different habitats and areas.

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6 Days Birding 5-10 Sep 2022

Posted by wengchun Tuesday, September 13, 2022

"My wife Anita and I spent 6 days of bird photography in Kuala Selangor, Fraser´s Hill, Bukit Tinggi and Hulu Langat with Cheong Weng Chun. He is very professional and one of the very best guides we have had during the years. He is very good in finding the birds and do not give up until the bird is located. When located he works very fast to point out the best position for taking photos and when the bird moves, he immediately find the new and best spot to put the tripod or to place yourselves. We enjoyed all the time we spent together with him and can give him our very best recommendations." - Mr Johansson, Sweden

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2 Days Birding 28-29 Aug 2022

Posted by wengchun Tuesday, September 6, 2022

A last minute arrangement with Sudip for a trip to catch up with a pair of Blue-banded Kingfisher in Hulu Langat. It has been a long time since our previous trip before the pandemic. It is always nice to meet my guest again for another round of birding.

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5 Days Birding 18-22 Aug 2022

Posted by wengchun Monday, August 22, 2022

Another birding adventure with Dr Kuan. As usual, I was given a list of targets and I planned the itinerary according to his target species. For this trip, we covered Kuala Selangor, Fraser's Hill, Bukit Tinggi and Hulu Langat. This is a standard route for birding that I have enjoyed since 15 years ago.

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5 Days Birding 11-15 Aug 2022

Posted by wengchun Monday, August 15, 2022

Just concluded another standard tour covering Genting Highlands, Fraser's Hill and Hulu Langat. Another trip with birders from Singapore. The trip started with a Buff-necked Woodpecker and a male Banded Kingfisher (awesome!) and end with a Black-and-yellow Broadbill.

"Weng Chun: thanks for your excellent guiding for this birding trip. Also appreciate your good memory for the birds/species seen in every day 😃👍🙏👏👋. Thanks for your professionalism 😃🙏👏👋"

" Thanks Weng Chun for your excellent guiding. Appreciate your efforts in seeking out as many birds for us to add to our Lifers' list. Is a great birding experience for me. Thank you.😊"

Among the birds we managed to see / photographed are:

Buff-necked Woodpecker
Banded Kingfisher
Rufous-chested Flycatcher (S)
Black-and-yellow Broadbill (S)
Rufescent Prinia
Blue-eared Barbet
Blue-winged Leafbird
Brown-throated Sunbird (S)
Red-eyed Bulbul (S)
Yellow-eared Spiderhunter
Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
Black Laughingthrush
Bamboo Woodpecker
Black-crested Bulbul (S)
Little Cuckoo-dove
Banded Broadbill (S)
Chestnut-tailed Minla
Mountain Leaf Warbler
Black-throated Sunbird
Malayan Laughingthrush
Golden-throated Barbet
Large Niltava
Long-tailed Sibia
Streaked Spiderhunter
Peregrine Falcon (S)
Black-thighed Falconet
Whiskered Treeswift
Fire-tufted Barbet
Blue Nuthatch (S)
Mountain Imperial Pigeon
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo
Mountain Fulvetta
Black-eared Shrike-babbler
Blyth's Shrike-babbler (now back to White-browed Shrike-babbler)
Red-headed Trogon
Buff-breasted Babbler
White-tailed Robin
Large Cuckooshrike
Black-throated Sunbird
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker
Malayan Partridge
Rufous-browed Flycatcher
Silver-eared Mesia
Oriental Magpie Robin (S)
Blue-winged Minla
Sultan Tit
Blue Nuthatch
Grey-chinned Minivet
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
Black-and-Crimson Oriole
Collared Owlet
Large-billed Crow
Oriental Honey Buzzard (S)
Black Eagle
Blyth's Hawk-eagle
Brown Wood Owl
Greater Yellownape
Black-browed Barbet
Red-bearded Bee-eater
Pygmy Cupwing
Little Pied Flycatcher
Verditer Flycatcher
Hume's White-eye
Ochraceous Bulbul
Scaly-breasted Bulbul
Hill Blue Flycatcher
Sooty Barbet
Stripe-throated Bulbul
Grey-rumped Treeswift
Blue-winged Leafbird
White-rumped Munia (S)
Gold-whiskered Barbet
Asian Glossy Starling (S)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (S)
Yellow-bellied Warbler
Purple-naped Spiderhunter
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird
White-bellied Erpornis
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (S)
Black-and-red Broadbill
Black-and-yellow Broadbill
Large Woodshrike
Olive-winged Bulbul
Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker
Zebra Dove

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3 Days Birding 2-4 Aug 2022 with extension

Posted by wengchun

A wonderful time with this group of 5 from Singapore.

"Weng Chun, I am writing on behalf of our birding group comprising Yong Wah, Daw, Jim, Basil and I to say a big THANK YOU to you again for organizing a very productive, exciting, exhilarating and enjoyable birding field trip in Fraser’s Hill. Not only did we sighted more than 50 different species ( including those in Congkak ) , we shot all the iconic birds that we went for. We would have been more than satified if we have not shot the other trophy birds. It would not have been possible without your invaluable help in locating them and profound knowledge of the birds. We also appreciate your meticulous attention to details, and care and concern for a safe and pleasant ‘escapade’. You were a professional and we would not hesitate to recommend you to other birders, and to engage you in future birding trips in Peninsular Malaysia. We are unanimous in rating your services as ‘Excellent’ 👍🏻😀 With all good wishes, till we meet again." - Soon Hock

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