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Borneo Birding - December 2023

Posted by wengchun Friday, December 15, 2023
Recently, I went on a 1-week trip to Borneo. My personal birding trip. It is my way to reward myself after another year of guiding. Thanks to all the guests for year 2023. Really appreciate your support. Usually for my "oversea" trip, I will use lightweight gears. And this time around, I would like to thank Chuan Bulat for giving me the chance to try out OM1 with Olympus 300mm f4 IS PRO. Hiking up the hill took less effort, and it reminded me why I switched to micro four thirds years ago. 

Here are a few shots from the trip. 

Bornean Banded Pitta

Bornean Banded Pitta

Crested Partridge

Dayak Blue Flycatcher

Dayak Blue Flycatcher

Emerald Dove

Temminck's Babbler

Mountain Wren-babbler

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Contact me to make a reservation for a private birding tour with an experienced and licensed tourist guide specialize in birdwatching and photography tours. I have been guiding professionally since 2007 with birders coming from United States, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, Greece, South Africa, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Brunei and others.

Send messages via WhatsApp to +60183632738 or email to wengchun@gmail.com

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Borneo Birding - December 2023

Kuala Selangor - 2 Dec 23

Posted by wengchun Monday, December 4, 2023
"Thank you to Weng Chun for sharing his knowledge, passion and experience of KL and its birds. 
We spent a thoroughly enjoyable day around Kuala Selangor ticking off 67 species, including all 4 woodpecker and 4 kingfishers possible. A family of smooth-coated otters was a lovely bonus. His identification skills were excellent. It was insightful to learn of human-nature relationships within KL and of the birding world. Weng Chun was generous to provide tips later on when birding independently. 
Birding with a local is by far a more rewarding and enriching experience, not only for the pure quantity of bird species seen, but to learn more of the wonderful country in a conservation context." - Kiran, UK


I am back in Kuala Selangor! Always feel great to be back here because this is one of the few places where I started guiding more than 20 years ago.



Highlights for this trip include: Stork-billed Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Black-capped Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Common Flameback, Greater Flameback, Laced Woodpecker, Crested Serpent Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Black-winged Kite, Steppe Eagle, Cinereous Tit, Mangrove Whistler, and others. 

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Contact me to make a reservation for a private birding tour with an experienced and licensed tourist guide specialize in birdwatching and photography tours. I have been guiding professionally since 2007 with birders coming from United States, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, Greece, South Africa, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Brunei and others.

Send messages via WhatsApp to +60183632738 or email to wengchun@gmail.com

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Check out the following bird families:
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Kuala Selangor - 2 Dec 23

Visiting Wetlands and Highland with Jim - 25-28 Nov 2011

Posted by wengchun
This trip with Jim is one of my most memorable assignments ever. I never thought anyone would be interested to know about the wetland while on a birding trip. I considered myself fortunate to be able to share my knowledge and experience with Jim while visiting 2 wetlands where I used to worked (Paya Indah Wetland Sanctuary and Taman Wetland Putrajaya). We also drove up to the highland to enjoy the birds and cool weather. 

Some of the highlights for this trip include Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Spectacled Spiderhunter, Raffles's Malkoha, Ferruginous Flycatcher, Plaintive Cuckoo, Lesser Coucal, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, White-throated Kingfisher, Baya Weaver, Painted Stork, Grey Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron,  Purple Heron, Yellow Bittern, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker (formerly Brown-capped Woodpecker), Collared Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Coppersmith Barbet, Daurian Starling (Purple-backed Starling), Black-thighed Falconet, Black-collared Starling, Great Myna (formerly White-vented Myna), and others.


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Visiting Wetlands and Highland with Jim - 25-28 Nov 2011

A Little Outing with Little Egret - 28 Nov 23

Posted by wengchun Tuesday, November 28, 2023


Little Egret is quite sociable. This species can be found in almost any habitat with water and abundance of fish. Nests are found where the birds can find nesting materials easily. Usually you can find them picking up the twigs floating on the water. Although Little Egret can be active throughout the day, in my opinion, the best time to observe them is in the morning. 

Little Egret 小白鷺 (Egretta garzetta). 

3 subspecies. Least Concern.  

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Contact me to make a reservation for a private birding tour with an experienced and licensed tourist guide specialize in birdwatching and photography tours. I have been guiding professionally since 2007 with birders coming from United States, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, Greece, South Africa, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Brunei and others.

Send messages via WhatsApp to +60183632738 or email to wengchun@gmail.com

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A Little Outing with Little Egret - 28 Nov 23

Day Trip with Phil & Barbara - 10 Nov 23

Posted by wengchun Wednesday, November 15, 2023


"Planning our return from a November 2023 birdwatching tour to West Papua, my wife and I decided to spend a few days in Kuala Lumpur with a day of local birding. We connected with Weng Chun via the Internet and he offered exactly the kind of day we were seeking and we arranged to have him guide us for a full day of birding. Our day of birding around Kuala Lumpur with him was excellent. Weng Chun was intimately familiar with all of the local birding locations and expertly identified all of the birds we encountered both visually and vocally. We fully enjoyed our day, including our local lunch. His knowledge of local culture, history, and bird taxonomy was most appreciated, as well as his enthusiasm and sense of humor. We highly recommend him as a guide for any birders who plan to visit Malaysia." - Phil & Barbara, Maryland, USA

Today, I took Phil and Barbara to Hulu Langat, one of my favorite birding area in Malaysia. It is not far from the city center and we get to see some of the lowland forest bird species.

We were really lucky today because there is a small tree with fruits and it acts as a bird magnet attracting various bulbuls and flowerpeckers. After an hour or so, we walked further into the forest. It was a little quiet but the highlights for this morning walk are definitely the 2 species of hornbills - Rhinoceros and Helmeted! 

We tried hard to look for the kingfisher and we finally had it just before we went for lunch. It was a very obliging Rufous-collared Kingfisher. 

After lunch, we resume our birding session to look for woodpecker and we found Banded Woodpecker along with Gold-whiskered Barbet as well as other birds that we didn't see in the morning. 



Highlights for the day: Rhinoceros Hornbill, Helmeted Hornbill, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Banded Woodpecker, Gold-whiskered Barbet, Black-and-red Broadbill, Raffles's Malkoha, and others.

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Contact me to make a reservation for a private birding tour with an experienced and licensed tourist guide specialize in birdwatching and photography tours. I have been guiding professionally since 2007 with birders coming from United States, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, Greece, South Africa, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Brunei and others.

Send messages via WhatsApp to +60183632738 or email to wengchun@gmail.com

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Check out the following bird families:

     

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Day Trip with Phil & Barbara - 10 Nov 23

Bukit Tinggi 29 Oct 23

Posted by wengchun Monday, October 30, 2023



It was a last minute request for a day birding in Bukit Tinggi a.k.a. Berjaya Hills. The main target were Mountain Peacock-Pheasant and Ferruginous Partridge. 

Highlights for this trip include: Mountain Peacock-Pheasant, Siberian Blue Robin, Ochraceous Bulbul, White-rumped Shama, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Grey-and-buff Woodpecker,  Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Banded Woodpecker, Common Flameback, Checker-throated Woodpecker and others. 

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Contact me to make a reservation for a private birding tour with an experienced and licensed tourist guide specialize in birdwatching and photography tours. I have been guiding professionally since 2007 with birders coming from United States, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, Greece, South Africa, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Brunei and others.

Send messages via WhatsApp to +60183632738 or email to wengchun@gmail.com

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Check out the following bird families:

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Bukit Tinggi 29 Oct 23

Singapore & Sulawesi 15-24 Oct 23

Posted by wengchun
Finally, an overseas trip for bird watching. a personal trip. not a guiding assignment. For most of the trip, I had to use my phone and spotting scope to take photos and record video because the only camera that I brought for this trip went kaput. 

We stopped in Singapore to meet up with friends and spent some time looking for a few specific target birds that we got to see with little effort.

From Singapore, we flew Scoot to Manado, North Sulawesi, which took a little over 3 hours. We spent one night in a hotel near the airport before we started birding. I put together a little pdf document to prepare myself for what to expect in the areas where I would be birding, including Tangkoko and Tomohon.

In total, there are about 90 species of birds and 3 species of mammals seen during the trip to Sulawesi. Here are some of the daily sightings.

Day 1 - Singapore
Straw-headed Bulbul, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Red-legged Crake

Day 2 - Sulawesi
Grey-sided Flowerpecker, Sooty-headed Bulbul

Day 3 - Sulawesi 
Green-backed Kingfisher, Sulawesi Lilac Kingfisher, Philippine Megapode, Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Sulawesi Scops-Owl, Ochre-bellied Boobook, Sulawesi Babbler, Rusty-backed Thrush, Knobbed Hornbill, Pale-blue Monarch

Day 4 - Sulawesi
Knobbed Hornbill, Yellow-billed Malkoha, Crimson Sunbird, Ochre-bellied Boobook, Sulawesi Scops-Owl, Finch-billed Myna, Philippine Megapode, Silver-tipped Imperial Pigeon

Day 5 - Sulawesi
Ruddy Kingfisher, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Hornbill, Great-billed Kingfisher, Ashy Woodpecker, Philippine Megapode, White-bellied Imperial Pigeon

Day 6 - Sulawesi
Purple-winged Roller, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher, Sulawesi Myna, Finch-billed Myna 

Day 7 - Sulawesi
Isabelline Bush-hen, Barred Rail, Sulawesi Pitta, Black-faced Munia, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, Sahul Sunbird, Black-crowned White-eye, Common Kingfisher

Day 8 - Sulawesi
Isabelline Bush-hen, Sulawesi Myzomela, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, Sulawesi Serpent Eagle, Superb Fruit-Dove

View of Mount Embung while driving towards Tomohon
Photo with Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G


Sulawesi Scops-Owl
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

View of Tangkoko surrounding
Photo with Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

Sulawesi Lilac Kingfisher (formerly known as Lilac-cheeked Kingfisher)
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Sulawesi Pitta (from the Red-bellied Pitta complex)
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Superb Fruit-dove
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

View from Tomohon
Photo with Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

Black-faced Munia
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

View of Mount Tangkoko and Mount Duasudara from the beach
Photo with Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

The garden in Taman Kelong is so beautiful. It is one of the best I have seen so far.
Photo with Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

Sulawesi Hornbill
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Knobbed Hornbill
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Grey-streaked Flycatcher
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Rusty-backed Thrush (formerly known as Red-backed Thrush)
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Great-billed Kingfisher
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Scaly-breasted Kingfisher
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Ashy Woodpecker

Green-backed Kingfisher
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Rusty-backed Thrush (formerly Red-backed Thrush)

Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher
Phonescoping: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G + Kowa TSN773

Yellow-billed Malkoha



Sulawesi is not just about birds. There are opportunities to see mammals too! 

Sulawesi Bear Cuscus

Gursky's Spectral Tarsier

Highlights for the trip: Sulawesi Lilac Kingfisher, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher, Green-backed Kingfisher, Great-billed Kingfisher, Sulawesi Myzomela, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, Ashy Woodpecker, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Hornbill, Sulawesi Myna, Sulawesi Pitta, Gursky's Spectral Tarsier, Celebes Crested Macaque, Sulawesi Bear Cuscus


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Contact me to make a reservation for a private birding tour with an experienced and licensed tourist guide specialize in birdwatching and photography tours. I have been guiding professionally since 2007 with birders coming from United States, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, Greece, South Africa, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Brunei and others.

Send messages via WhatsApp to +60183632738 or email to wengchun@gmail.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out the following bird families:



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Singapore & Sulawesi 15-24 Oct 23

Durian Birding Trip 20-24 Aug 23

Posted by wengchun Friday, October 27, 2023


Another trip with birders from Singapore. This time, we covered Lanchang, Bukit Tinggi and Hulu Langat. This is not the typical birding trip that I usually do. For this group, our focus are birds and durian. Morning birding, afternoon lunch followed by durian dessert, return to hotel for rest, come out for late afternoon birding, and then dinner. 

Highlights for the trip include: Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher, Banded Kingfisher, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Black-and-red Broadbill, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Bamboo Woodpecker, Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Buff-necked Woodpecker, Maroon Woodpecker, Raffles's Malkoha, Blue-eared Barbet, Red-bearded Bee-eater, and others.

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Contact me to make a reservation for a private birding tour with an experienced and licensed tourist guide specialize in birdwatching and photography tours. I have been guiding professionally since 2007 with birders coming from United States, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, Greece, South Africa, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Brunei and others.

Send messages via WhatsApp to +60183632738 or email to wengchun@gmail.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out the following bird families:
Read more »

Durian Birding Trip 20-24 Aug 23

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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

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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.

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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.