Cerita Merapik Aku

Alatan baru untuk memburung

2011-06-29T14:49:00.003+08:00

Memandangkan lokasi burung2 dah semakin jauh untuk dicari dan harga minyak pun semakin mahal, saya mengambil keputusan mendapatkan kenderaan baru untuk pergi memburung.

Setelah difikir2, saya telah membeli sebuah motosikal scrambler untuk saya senang masuk ke belukar dan ke mana-mana sahaja ;)

Pilihan saya, Demak DTM150, terbukti jimat minyak dan cukup besar untuk mengangkut alatan2.

Sebaik sahaja habis pantang, saya lenjan masuk hutan dengan tayar jalanraya.. :)
belum cukup modal untuk menukar ke tayar knobby..

Helang Merah(Brahminy Kite) ini terlalu jauh dan terlalu tinggi untuk diambil gambarnya..cantik untuk silhouette bagi saya :)

tetapi Beberek Ekor Biru (Blue-tailed Bee-eater) yang bertenggek di talian elektrik di tepi jalan ini cukup elok untuk di tangkap dari atas motor.

Tarikh gambar (Oktober 2010)

akan tetapi, setiap alatan perlu difasihkan penggunaannya sebelum dapat dimanafaatkan sepenuhnya.. Nantikan gambar2 yang lebih baik selepas ini.. hehe ;)

Si Penghulu dan Gembala

2011-06-09T17:51:00.003+08:00

Sampai di satu lereng bukit, aku berhenti sebentar. Satu kaki Tripod ku yang di atas pada kedudukan paling redah, dua lagi di kedudukan paling tinggi...betul-betul menghala ke kawasan agak rata di atas.. Suasana senyap sunyi...

Tetiba ada bermacam jeritan...Krohh....bunyi ranting2 patah di atas pokok...
aku membatukan diri,dari ekor mata nampak kelibat haiwan berbulu pantas melompat2 dengan laju di atas pokok...macam di kejar sesuatu..

Setelah suasana kembali aman, tiba-tiba ada bunyi sesuatu memijak daun2....
nampak kepaknya yang biru..

Hanya dapat beberapa kali menekan butan "shutter", ia pun pergi...

Gembala Pelanduk
Hooded Pitta
Pitta sordida

Berpuas hati dengan "lifer" saya, saya pun turun ke kawasan tepi kolam...
di situ sekumpulan beruk sedang berehat2. Saya pun "join" sekali smbil menunggu kiranya ada aksi menarik..

Rupa-rupanya kekecohan tadi ialah akibat ketua kumpulan beruk itu sedang mengajar jantan-jantan yang lain untuk menunjukkan siapa yang berkuasa.. nampak jelas luka yang dialami oleh penghulu beruk..

Berok
Pig-tailed Macaque
Macaca nemestrina

Tapi ia masih boleh melaksanakan tanggungjawapnya...;)

Natural Talent.

2010-07-24T21:30:00.003+08:00

Just imagine, never used a dslr before, have no experience in birding..

when the camera was given to her, Showed how to operate the manual focus knob on the Tair 300mm manual focus lens.. And her result is one of this.. One of it is my shot.. Same bird same branch..can guess which is hers?

That is what I say is a natural talent.. for myself, i took few years to improve my bird pictures .

What if her skills is honed, given the proper equipment, perhaps she could be a good photographer. No doubt..

Now is my so and so shot of the rufous-browed flycatcher sponsored by HSBC ;)

btw: her shot is the second pic.

here is another shot.. what do you think?

Rufous-browed Flycatcher
Sambar Leher Putih

Teriakan Ular Tedung

2010-07-19T14:30:00.004+08:00

Semalam aku ke tempat biasa aku memburung. Kali ni aku menuju ke taman koko. Di situ pokok-pokoknya koko agak rendah, senang untuk mengambil gambar burung-burung yang hinggap di dahan pokok koko yang agak rendah, sekitar 2-3 meter.

Oleh kerana ia bukanlah kawasan hutan, aku terus masuk dan mencari burung lalu celah-celah pokok koko. Kedengaran kicauan burung perenjak,aku ekori mereka mencari makan. Dapatlah sekali memetik 'shutter'. Susah juga kerana mereka amat lincah untuk diambil gambar..

Lalu aku bergerak ke arah pokok-pokok kelapa sawit. Nampak seperti banyak burung merbah dan tiung sedang memakan biji sawit.

Tiba-tiba terbang dari belakang ku, seekor enggang hinggap di ke pokok kelapa sawit .

Enggang Kelingking @ Oriental Pied Hornbill

Sekejap saja ia hilang dari pandangan mata...

Aku bergerak lebih dekat lalu di bawah pokok yang banyak daun kering di bawahnya...

Hriiiiieeekkk..... Seekor Ular Tedung berdiri setinggi lututku dari bawah daun-daun kering itu.. bunyi nya seakan kucing yang dipijak ekornya..

Seperti automatik.. aku terus mengangkat kaki tripod menghalakan kepada ular itu...sambil aku mengundur ke balakang, setapak demi setapak..

Ular itu tetap berdiri tegak sambil mengeluarkan lidahnya yang merah.. selepas beberapa saat, mungkin merasakan tiada lagi dalam bahaya.. ia pun menghilangkan dirinya...

Alhamdulilah aku selamat, sayang sekali tangan aku mengeletar teramat sangat untuk menangkap gambar ular tadi sedang berdiri... aku cuba mencari ular tadi dengan teropong, tidak ketemu...

Langit nampak mendung, setelah mengambil beberapa gambar burung merbah kapur, aku pun berjalan keluar ke pintu keluar.

Tahu nama saya!

2010-05-05T20:54:00.001+08:00

Ada beberapa burung yang diberikan namanya mengikut bunyi yang di buatnya.. contohnya burung bubut dan ruak-ruak.. burung ini juga namanya sama dengan bunyinya..

cuba baca perbualannya dengan pucung keladi ;)

Sudah dapat agak?

"uhhh wuuuhhhhh"

mungkin susah di tulis dalam tulisan arab... jadi dieja 'ta' 'wau' yang sebutan nya jadi "tau"

akhirnya jadi burung tahu atau tuwu.
itulah andaian saya mengenai asal nama burung ini..

Daun dan ranting

2010-04-30T15:36:00.003+08:00

Sekarang adalah musim membiak untuk burung-burung tempatan. Kita dapat lihat burung-burung sibuk mencari pasangan, mengawan dan membina sarang.

Seperti Murai Kampung ini membawa daun-daun penuh dalam paruhnya..

Semasa ia membawa bahan-bahan binaan ke sarangnya, ia melihat sekeliling takut-takut ada yang melihat kedudukan sarangnya, setelah rasa selamat baru ia ke sarangnya..

Burung Takau Rakit ini juga kelihatan sedang membawa sebatang ranting di dalam paruhnya..

Takau Rakit
Black-and-red Broadbill
(Cymbirhynchus macrochynchus)

lama ia menunggu dengan ranting di dalam paruhnya... setelah saya beredar baru ia terbang. Rupa-rupanya sarangnya berada betul-betul di atas tempat saya berdiri tadi.. rupanya ia menunggu saya beredar dari situ ;)..

Cameron Highlands

2010-03-25T11:25:00.012+08:00

During the Chinese New Year holidays, I took a gamble to went up to Cameron Highlands for birding. It has been 3 or four days after CNY already, so I tought the hotels might be a bit clear and might get a room cheaply.. I didnt make any reservations then.. hehe..

By the time I went to the first cheap accomodation of my choice, the place already fully booked. So I went to downtown Tanah Rata where there are quite a selection of hotels available, got a rm70 per night room and without wasting my time went to search for the trails..

Fortunately I got my Sgps enabled phone and with malsingmaps, got there in no time..

I picked trail 3 for the afternoon.. Quite an experience as I entered the mossy forest alone, the earth is like sponge, almost under every tree there is a hole ,like any creature might pounce at me.. hehe...

The moss is everywhere... at the branches, at the trunk, on the ground, on the rocks... There are birds there alright, but the darkening sky and shadow of the trees doesnt help in getting a descent photo. And spoting them is quite hard on my first day.. The whining sound that keep following me doesnt help either..;)

The next day, I was the first one to went out of the hotel, have to wake up the keeper to open the door. Have 2 half boiled eggs and teh-tarik for breakfast and go off to the parit falls..

How this Fraser Hill bird got here?

Silver-eared Mesia
Rimba Telinga Putih
(Leithrix argentauris)

then took the trail to the forestry dept, A rather distict "tiiieeeennnngg" sound coming from the river. I just dismiss it for now for I just cant find what makes that sound..

At last got this bird that are mocking me at fraser... laughing then hide from me...

Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
Rimba Mata Putih
(Garrulax mitratus)
The drizzle didnt stop me...

On the way back to my car, managed to spot the bird that make the "tiiieeeennnngg" sound. It a Slaty Backed Forktail!

Slaty-backed Forktail
Cegar Tengkuk Kelabu
(Enicurus schistaceus)

It went upstream and downstream from time to time, just wish it land nearer.

It basically ended up my birding for the morning before I check out at noon.

After searching around at Tanah Rata and Brinchang for affordable accomodation without success, I figure that I just went down before dark.

I stop by a stall by the roadside selling fried bananas and drinks. A foreign couple stop by ask for direction to parit falls from the 'makcik' the goreng pisang seller. The makcik gave directions to the robinson falls instead. Huh! talking about local knowledge.!

After finishing my 'cekodok', I drive my car to the robinson falls. If I see the couple maybe could give them a ride to the right location but they are nowhere until I reach the falls. Only as I walk in did I see them coming out. Boy! they do walk fast!

At the robinson falls, I saw this lone male

Grey Wagtail
Kedidi Kepala Kelabu
(Motacilla cinerea)

foraging on the rock. I just spend my time watching it until the time to go back home.

btw: The whining sound on the first day is my own breathing, its soo quiet there. ;)

The cattle and the egret.

2010-03-23T20:19:00.003+08:00

So lucky of me to catch this two together.

As the name suggest, this egret like to hang around cattles, but why?

Lets observe what it does..

Intently looking at the flies.. maybe it was thinking, "What happen if I just jab my beak?"

Well, it doesnt.. it easier to pick up the flies that landed on the grass.

The cattle is quite confortable having the egret around, maybe the cattle egret cuts back the number of flies it have to endure.

Cattle Egret
Bangau Kerbau

Bitten by the bittern bug

2010-03-18T20:27:00.004+08:00

Its late afternoon, I picked a spot with my back against the sun.. The water just a feet below me.. With the trees along the highway being felled, no sign of the purple heron which always perch at the tallest branches. Only the crit crit sound of the fast flying swallows fill the air..

Once a while, a 'eeekk ek ek ek' sound coming from the reeds. Some bittern must be around.. I kept my silence..

Not until its nearly sunset, did a bittern finally show it self. Keeping my self well hidden, I took a few shot..

A beautiful bittern indeed. I kept myself hidden until it went away..

The next day, I went again to the spot. Maybe luck will be with me today..

I wait and wait.. not until it was very late.. 7.20pm, it landed at a clear spot amongst the reeds..

Not near enough but ok for me... As I am shooting without flash, I had to bump the ISO to 800 resulting in quite noisy photo..

The next day, I went again.. hoping its My 3 days lucky.. but the bittern didnt show it self..

Then after 10 days... I saw it.. Clear view!

crept closer and shoot!

Black Bittern
Pucung Hitam

Well worth the hundreds of mosquito bites I had to endure waiting..

Hati Nyamuk anyone?

* hati nyamuk='mosquitoes heart' as requested by the princess of gunung ledang in the malay folk stories.

Drifting like a log.

2010-03-10T11:47:00.004+08:00

I think I have improved my techique in shooting from a canoe..It is like drifting log..

about 10 meters from the bird, I angled my canoe to go pass in front of the bird going nearer and nearer..then give a gentle push with my paddle.

Perhaps this photo sequence would show it better

you can see the bird getting bigger and bigger..

this is the last frame of the sequence

fortunately I didnt flush out the bird..

I also get this reflection of the bird in the water

I notice a pelican(undan) are perching on the tree branches at the side of the lakes.. which is a good thing since a few years back, theres is no Burung Undan(Pelican) at The Pulau Undan(Pelican Island) which is the name given to one of the island.

A little more forward, I would be the target of the Pelican Poo.. Directly under it.

Dragons galore

2010-03-08T15:32:00.006+08:00

Some of the beautiful tropical Dragonflies found during my hunt for birds...

These species I found near pool or lakes

Urothemis signata (male)
Common red color ones

Trithemis aurora (male)
red color with a violet thorax

At Paya Indah,Dengkil got this interesting dragonfly,
Rhyothemis phyllis (female)
read from somewhere, it is called a saddleback because of the colour on the broad hind wings.

Even in the jungle trails can see them

This beautiful metalic blue dragonfly perching on a spiny nipah leaves
Cratilla metallica (female)

also this orange and green coloured dragonfly
Lathrecista asiatica (female)

This dragonfly is almost invisible as it sit still on a tree trunk
Tyriobapta torrida (male)

This is how one dragonfly lays its egg (Ovipositing) in a pool of water..
. Orthetrum sp (female)
I just learn about this behavior from Tabib in Kemensah..

I tried to identify it from references in the internet, but I found it to be much harder than identifying birds.. ;) better leave it to the expert..

This blog seems to be a good reference for malaysian dragonflies
Odonata of Peninsular Malaysia

Update:Ian from odonata-malaysia have kindly identified the dragonflies here. Species names in italics

The Interceptor

2010-02-28T22:51:00.003+08:00

"Landing strip clear, arrestor wires ready..You are cleared to land!"

Flaps down, wire in sight...

"Contact!"

No arrestor wires, no landing strip, just a single barbed wire. Now, that is I called precission.

what does the Blue-taled Beeater catch in the air?

a bee of course..

Hey, this time its not a bee. its a flying ant.

All caught in the air, impressive!

Otter in the klang river..

2010-02-25T20:29:00.003+08:00

On 15 Jan 2010, I again spotted the Smooth Otter family in my patch

They makes a peculiar wave when they swim which is highly visible.

I can see they swim in a group, sometimes taking a dip underwater.

Here is a pic of them back in 2008

Berteman lebih baik.

2010-02-22T20:17:00.003+08:00

Suatu petang seekor burung ruak-ruak turun ke sungai untuk mandi.

"Di sini macam tak selamat saja, risau pula mandi sendirian. Di sana tu ada Pucung Keladi sedang bertenggek. Mungkin lagi selamat rasanya", fikir Ruak-ruak.

Sampai di depan burung Pucung Keladi, burung Ruak-Ruak pun mandi sepuas-puasnya.

Selesai sahaja burung Ruak-ruak mandi, datang seekor biawak berenang di dalam air. Mungkin Ruak-ruak akan menjadi makanan sang biawak jika ia leka mandi sendirian.

Moral cerita: Jika berasa tidak selamat,elok berteman.

Rafting birds

2010-02-19T21:26:00.003+08:00

Normally after work, I went for an late afternoon birding by the klang river bank. I pick a spot and waiting for the birds come to me.

The river isnt very clean actually..there are human floating trash carried by the water and some birds learn to use them.

Like this Chinese Pond Heron(Pucung Cina)

using a big plastic bag full of garbage. very untoughtfull of whoever throwing that in the river.

a Little Egret(Bangau Kecil also has been using this method, they fly up to the river and raft down fishing for fish..

Shooting is pretty easy too! just wait wait for them to float near and then click!

See the size of the Little Heron (Pucung Keladi)compared to the milk carton.

I think I will continue to watch this floating thrash in the river until people change their attitude which is never I think..

Main sorok-sorok.

2010-02-14T17:46:00.005+08:00

Satu hari seekor burung Kelicap Mayang Kelapa betina (Brown-throated Sunbird) sedang mencari makanan di bunga pokok yang saya tidak ketahui namanya, lalu datang lah seekor merbah kapur datang menyapa.

mungkin sang kelicap tidak berapa suka kehadiran merbah, terus menyorok.

Merbah berpusing keliling pokok mencari kelicap

Berjumpa juga ..

tapi sesuatu telah mengalih perhatian merbah, ia memandang ke arah lain

Cepat - cepat kelicap terbang lari

Terus hilang sampai terpinga-pinga merbah dibuatnya..

Teringat saya akan cerita kawan saya, tentang burung besar yang hinggap di depannya dan hilang sekelip mata hingga menimbulkan perasaan seram padanya..

Pada saya, memang sifat burung, sekali terlepas pandang, burung akan terbang menghilangkan diri dan sekalipun ia berdiam diri, kita takkan perasan ia didepan mata.

Year of the tiger...

2010-02-12T20:24:00.003+08:00

its nearly entering the year of the tiger, according to the Chinese Calender..I havent shoot a wild tiger yet, but I have this

My first clear shot of an adult Tiger Shrike.(Tirjup Harimau)

I'm wishing all my chinese birding friends a happy Chinese New Year!

100th post already ;p

2010-02-09T20:34:00.004+08:00

'Shoot me if u can..:P ', says the skink..

Hey! dont shoot from the back...thats illegal... :P

Common Sun Skink
Mengkarung
Mabuya multifasciata

Tuk tuk tuk!

2010-02-08T11:48:00.010+08:00

Kan dah cakap... kalau nama melayu burung biasa ikut bunyi.. kalau burung belatuk bunyinyaaa... tuk tuk tuk..bila ia mengetuk batang pokok..

Ini jumpa kat pokok jambu dekat Sawah Padi kat bukit Cerakah

Belatuk Merah
Banded Yellownape
Picus miniaceus

kat bukit Cerakah jugak, tapi kat arboretum.

Belatuk Leher Kuning
Buff-necked Woodpecker
Meiglyptes tukki

Belatuk Pinang Kecil
Common Flameback
Dinopium Javanense

Belatuk Biji Nangka
Rufous Woodpecker
Celeus Brachyurus

Itu je..
penat ler badan nih lenguh2...
dah tua..
belum jumpa lagi Woody-Woody Woodpecker...
yang famous tuu!

**transfered from my other blog dated 24 July 2008 & 15 August 2008

Bukan Layang-Layang ke?

2010-02-08T11:30:00.003+08:00

Dari jauh nampak macam burung Layang - Layang pasifik , ikut motto aku, "Shoot first, ask later", aku ambil lah gambar... balik rumah, proses dalam komputer baru nampak burung apa..

Helang Belalang / Falco Rajawali
Black-thighed Falconet
Microhierax fringillarius

Ia ialah burung helang yang terkecil dunia. Hanya sepanjang 16cm sebesar Layang-Layang Pasifik, dipanggil Helang Belalang atau Falco Rajawali.

Layang - Layang Pasifik yang lebih kurang saiznya.

**transfered from my other blog dated 15 July 2008

The Story Behind The Cage.

2010-02-02T20:59:00.007+08:00

I am not fond of seeing birds in cages, it seems that they seems sad.. In the wild, you can see them singing, flying happily just as they are.. but in the small cages, they cant. They cant pick their favourite food, cant find their mates.. Do they really sing as lovely in cages as in the wild?

My friends that know I take bird pics asked me, if i have been to Bird Park in Kuala Lumpur.

"No" is my answer..

I rather sit and watch the common Yellow-Vented Bulbul singing and flying freely in the wild than see exotic birds in deplorable state in cages..

This columbidae family (Pigeons and Doves) was in a cage at National Botanic Park, Shah Alam. Out of instinct I took a record shot of what kind of animals in which cage.. I saw a phyton was in the cage in 2008. According to the exif, this pigeon was in this cage in 26/7/2009.

In 27/12/2009, I passed thru this cage again and surprised to see two owls in it..

One is a juvenile Buffy-Fish Owl. Although I have never seen this species in the wild. I cant count this as my lifer. All my lifer is a wild bird.

Another is rather sad looking Barred Eagle-Owl. Looks like it is injured somehow.. It make a sad call while I was there as if it were crying..

The Buffy-Fish Owl seems fine enough to fly down and eat something that looks funnily like a bird..

I left the cage hoping it will be taken care by the people who put them in the cage..

In 10/1/2010, I intentionally took a path which passes the cages just to look at the bird condition.

and, it look just fine, looks healthy to me..The Buffy-Fish Owl is not there..being released i think..
maybe a happy ending afterall..

until...

last weekend in 30/1/2010, It is dead..

I'm pretty sure its an owl carcass.. they didnt even cleaned up the mess.. i wonder did they even feed the birds? or did the birds of prey eat each other until they are all dead? Uhh..

Look at the clean bird skull, must have taken at least a week for the maggots to do their job..

Hmm the ostrich are gone too!

Dying of thirst?

Which raises a lot of questions...

which I will just ask one.

With the Jabatan Perhutanan, Perhilitan and Jabatan Pertanian just around the corner, dont they have qualified vets and caretaker to take care of the animals that they caged up in the park

Memburung dari kereta.

2010-01-28T20:33:00.004+08:00

Petang semalam hujan lebat. Nyaris tak lenjun, sempat juga memasukkan kamera di dalam beg dan berjalan di dalam hujan. Sampai sahaja di dalam kereta hujan turun mencurah-curah.

Kalau hujan renyai sahaja,boleh juga memburung dari dalam kereta. Untuk itu saya telah membuat alat ini.

Dulu saya menggunakan pan head yang diambil dari tripod yang telah rosak, tetapi bila kedudukan kereta tidak sekata,gambar yang diambil menjadi senget. Oleh itu saya telah tukarkan kepada ball head mini.

Tripod mini berharga RM10 telah menjadi mangsa. Mungkin di masa akan datang, saya akan meningkat taraf kepada ball head yang lebih berkualiti. Lain-lain bahagian, saya menggunakan 100% bahan-bahan terbuang.

Mungkin ada yang bertanya, kenapa tak pakai sahaja bean bag atau window ball head yang ada di pasaran, mungkin sikap saya yang suka mereka-reka dan kedekut ;)

Lagi pun, alat - alat tersebut tidak boleh dilaras ketinggiannya.

Cuba lihat dalam gambar, Nampak tak burung pekaka Berwarna biru di ranting patah itu.

Inilah hasilnya..

Main sampan sambil memburung

2010-01-20T15:21:00.003+08:00

Di Taman Tasik Shah Alam, ada disediakan kenu dan sampan, teringin hendak mencuba bagaimana mengambil gambar dari atas sampan. Mungkin berpeluang berada lebih dekat dengan burung-burung di situ

ini adalah percubaan yang pertama kali saya menggunakan lensa 40-150 olympus yang ringan berbanding lensa 300mm saya.

burung pucung keladi yang berada dahan yang berjuntai di atas tasik dengan sedikit crop

saya dapati perlu menggunakan kelajuan shutter yang tinggi untuk mendapatkan imej yang tajam kerana sampan sentiasa bergerak dibawa arus dan teroleng-oleng di bawa gelombang.

Tidak mustahil mengambil gambar burung memenuhi frame. Burung-burung seolah-olah tidak berapa takutkan manusia yang berada di dalam sampan.

More lifers at Bukit Cerakah

2010-01-16T10:07:00.007+08:00

On 27 Sept 2009, I went again to Buit Cerakah(Taman Botani Negara) for birding, since its the nearest place to my home.

Today I decide to take the trail at the arboretum. The birds are quiet and it starts to rain.. I quickly move to the hut in the middle of the trail.. just as i reached the hut, it starts to rain heavily.. very furnate indeed because i forget to bring my raincoat.

After the rain stop, I went to the trail around a hill, which loopes back to the hut, again... no birds seen.. sigh...
.
so i took a trail leading to the taman buah-buahan (fruit garden) junction heard a bird call..

seems so far away but actually much closer.. but the bird is quite small..

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher
Sambar Belakang Kuning

haha, i id it as a warbler, a red alert bird too..furtunately i post it at photomalaysia and got the corrected id

ok... at least got one bird, reach the juction and took different trail back which i saw this spiderhunter..

Little Spiderhunter
Kelicap Jantung Kecil

This is full frame, but too blur.. pity pity!

At one muddy patch on the trail, I saw what I think is a cat track printed on the mud.

I check this
site and I think it is a cat track. It is quite a big track about 10cm across.

upon reaching the park entrance, near the seismic data collection, saw the Black Magpies(Gagak Kambing)... one decides to put a hat..

how cute...

as I was chasing the magpies, the place seems to fill with bird calls, apparently a bird wave is following the magpies...

among them

Asian-paradise Flycatcher
Murai Ekor Gading

Artic Warbler
Cekup Daun Artik

Large Woodshrike
Rembah Kayu Besar

Black Drongo
Cecawi Hitam

The black drongo was calling loudly, I recorded it using my mobile phone VGA camera. Dont know how it turned out..

maybe a video capable dslr camera would come in handy..

Hmmmm..

Pulau Carey

2010-01-05T16:12:00.004+08:00

The first time I went to Pulau Carey is during a photo outing with some Photomalaysia forummers. That time i didnt bring my long lens.. saw a Collared Kingfisher at the beach that day but did not manage to shoot it..

This time around, I went again hoping to see the kingfisher again.

On the way to the secluded beach,saw a Crested Serpent-Eagle(Helang Kuik) perched on a dead tree beside the road..

it looked big, almost fooling me to think its a bigger eagle like the greater spotted eagle. I stayed an shoot for like 30 minutes. Seems like no action from the eagle, maybe just enjoying the breeze. So I drive to the beach..

It seems that the tide was high.. so no walking on the beach as before, so just parked my car and thinking what to do next..

then...

at a pond/drain behind the bund I saw a pair of White-breasted Waterhen(Ruak-Ruak) with its chick, seems like 2 chick following each parent.

Waiting for the chick to follow.

Bigger view of the black chick..

Another adult. Which one is male or female, I dont know...

After they have finished their business at the pond, they went away.

Not long, some squirrel call grabbed my attention. Always fooled me thinking it a bird call.. Well its just the common Plaintain Squirrel (Tupai Pinang)

It seems gravity didnt stop it.

Then my battery drained out.. so have to go back..

On the way back, the Crested Serpent-Eagle is still there, same perch.. so is I counted at least 3 Black-shouldered Kite on the telephone cables by the roadside..

sigh... out of juice!

for the record, this trip is on 3rd October 2009.

Termites Invasion

2009-12-29T15:28:00.007+08:00

It has been a long time since I posted here... not that I don't go out birding. Just that my house have been invaded by termites.. So all my free time at home was spent hunting and eradicating this termites. So no time to do all the post processing at home, until all my CF cards are full.. and my HD full also...

Apart from moving my furniture around the room and brushing poison on the walls and furniture, i collect some and make an enclosure from a piece of plexiglass. From info from the internet. I put in a dampened termite infested particle board in it. However, because of high humidity,water droplets forms on the plexiglass making my attempt to take a picture harder.

The all whites are the workers..

Below are full frame picture of the soldiers, I dont know weather it is considered a 1:1 macro shot of not, the termites are 3-4mm in length.. The black bottom is because the light from the inbuilt flash was blocked by the lens combo. I just use a namecard as a diffuser to correct that.. hehe

well,watching this termites is a load of fun... more than rearing fish. can watch them eat wood, cleaning each other, creating tunnel and so on..

no food needed, just add water..

the hard part is keeping them in...after much trial and error, i got the ecologicaly friendly way..and thats my secret..

Is it only me,
mad enough too keep this pest?

Macro in Pandan Falls

2009-11-23T15:13:00.003+08:00

When looking up, makes my neck strain or when see some interesting insect, I change to my Pentax 35mm F2.8 coupled with the panagor macro converter and shoot the said insect or flower whichever is the case.

At the top of the waterfall, a stick insect catches my eye, because it is on the rocks and almost got trampled by me. Another reason to watch where your feet are..

Here is it on the rocks.. as is

using kit lens..

using my macro setup, the stick insect head

this is how big the insect compared to a human arm

at the end of the hanging bridge, at one old tree stump, a colony of large forest termites was discovered

I estimate to be 10-12mm long, much bigger than a kerengge(A common large ant)

also a grasshopper seen at the same stump

At the site where we take a dip, an interesting damselfly keep popping at the water edge where waterflows above the rock.

how it kept itself from being dragged by the waterflow is intriguing.

Birding at Pandan Waterfalls

2009-11-20T12:13:00.007+08:00

I got an invitation from a friend to visit Sg Pandan Waterfalls at Kuantan for the weekend, so I got on the bus, check in a hotel and went to the waterfall in Sunday morning. Never went birding in the east coast before, so I was quite exited. So here are the record shots I managed to shoot!

A Common Yellow Vented Bulbul catching insect?

nope,

A pair of Eastern Crowned Warbler, my 1st lifer

Eastern Crowned Warbler
Cekup Daun Tongkeng Kuning
Phylloscopus coronatus

or maybe a different species, maybe..

This site is a good reference for this species

next is the

Grey-headed Flycatcher
Sambar Kepala Kelabu
Culicicapa ceylonensis

another lifer..

then on top of the waterfall, found the White-rumped Munia(Pipit Tuli). How I wish it is the White-bellied munia.

then we came down from the top of the waterfall and took a dip in the cool water..

but then, notice a bird carrying nesting material to its unfinished nest at a branch on top of the stream.

It is the Munia's nest, waste no time to grab my camera.

I went nearer,and wait...

but the pair just sit in the nest and sometimes pecking at the wall, maybe weaving it it tighter.(it in the early afternoon already)

spend more time doing macro and waterfall shot, then we head to cherating.

Where we saw some birds at the sand...

took a while to id this ...

Greater-Sand Plover(Rapang Besar)

Kera di Taman Tasik Perdana

2009-11-17T10:53:00.003+08:00

Dulu, saya tak kenal pun mana satu kera, mana satu monyet, mana satu lotong... main sebut saja.. sekarang, mana-mana jenis kera ke, monyet ke, saya nak letakkan gambarnya di sini berserta dengan namanya sekali untuk rujukan.

Kera atau dalam bahasa inggerisnya Long Tailed Macaque ini saya jumpa di Taman Tasik Perdana Kuala Lumpur. Ia berjalan berkumpulan mencari makanan.

Kera
Long-Tailed Macaque
Macaca fascicularis

Ia juga pandai mencari makanan sisa buangan manusia di dalam tong sampah..

Tapi, jangan memberi makanan terus kepada kera ini. Bila ia belajar manusia ada makanan, ia akan mula meminta, malah mungkin merampas apa yang dipikirkan ada makanan di dalamnya.

Biawak Air

2009-11-04T15:00:00.006+08:00

Semalam masa melepak di tepi Sungai Klang, nampak lagi biawak berenang-renang menyeberangi sungai. Selalu juga nampak binatang ini sampai kekadang buat tak tahu saja.

Yesterday, while I was at the Klang river bank, saw one monitor lizard swimming across the river. Quite a number of times, i found this lizard that sometimes i just ignore it

Ini kelihatan ia sedang merayau mencari makanan.

This is when it is foraging for food

Suatu hari tu terjumpa bangkai babi/anjing terdampar di tebing , mungkin dibawa air pasang. Tak lama menunggu, datanglah seekor biawak memakan bangkai tersebut..

One day, I spotted a pig/dog carcass that landed on the bank, maybe carried by the rising water. Not long, came a monitor lizard and it start eating.

Ini pula gambat potrait. Baru jer naik dari longkang, terjumpa ngan saya...dapat beberapa shot, dia turun balik.. hehe

Here is the potrait shot, It just climb up the drain wall and met me.. got a few shots, and it went back down..hehe

Biawak Air
Malayan Water Monitor
Varanus Salvator

Anak dia comel jer, macam cicak..tapi yang ni dah sekaki setengah agaknya.

Its young are pretty cute, just like common house gecko..but this one already about one and a half feet.

Biawak ni tak makan orang, cuma orang je makan biawak. Kekadang saya duduk diam-diam, dia datang dekat.. kalau dah dekat sangat, saya hentakkan kaki ke tanah.. dia pun lari ler..

This lizard doesnt eat people, just people eat them. Sometimes, when I sit quietly in the bushes, It came near..If it is too close for comfort, I just stomp my feet to the ground and off it went!

Perenjak Leher Hitam

2009-10-20T10:13:00.004+08:00

Perenjak Leher Hitam(Dark-necked Tailorbird), sekali dengar macam hero komik yang telah dialihbahasa kepada bahasa Malaysia saja.

Yang betina, sekali pandang, macam Perenjak Pisang(Common Tailorbird) sahaja.

Gambar kecil menunjukkan bahagian bawah ekornya yang kuning

Perenjak Leher Hitam
Dark-necked Tailorbird
Orthotomus atrogularis

Perenjak Pisang
Common Tailorbird/Long-tailed Tailorbird
Orthotomus sutorius

Perenjak Leher Hitam jantan lebih senang dikenali dengan bahagian leher hitam yang jelas kelihatan.

beberapa aksi menarik

Pandangan terbaik untuk melihat bahagian hitam di leher, sayang gambar kabur, Burung perenjak ini sangat aktif.

Mari kita lihat aksi-aksi meregang

Meregangkan kaki dan ekor..eeewah!

Regangkan kepak pula..hehe

Perenjak Leher Hitam ni boleh dijumpai di pinggir hutan tanah rendah.

Memburung di belakang zoo

2009-10-15T14:53:00.007+08:00

Satu hari ahad, aku menerima ajakan Tabib dan Madibirder untuk memburung di Kemensah. Dah lama dengar ada kawasan hutan di belakang zoo negara ini, tapi tak pernah sampai. Sampai-sampai di depan pintu zoo negara, Tabib, Madi dan anak lelaki Madi(Ilyas) sedang makan pagi. Selesai makan, kami masuk ke kawasan hutan Kemensah dengan kereta Madi.

Sampai-sampai, masuk je denai kena memanjat bukit. Wah! mengah-mengah nak memanjat ke atas.. mungkin sebab cuti sebulan berjalan.

Sampai di sebuah kolam, sementara diorang mencari pekaka. Saya tangkap gambar burung ini..

Burung Merbah Belukar (Olive-winged Bulbul) sedang berkicau sambil diperhatikan oleh pasangannya.

Burung Layang-layang Pasifik(Pacific Swallow) ini juga sedang berehat di atas besi cerucuk yang terpacak di dalam tasik.

Naik lagi ke atas bukit, saya di temukan dengan lifer saya yang pertama hari itu..

Burung Layang-layang Berjambul Kecil (Whiskered Treeswift), tertarik saya dengan cara ia melipat sayapnya selepas hinggap, semacam robot.

sampai di satu lembah, banyak lagi berjumpa berbagai spesis burung.

Burung Belatuk Biji Nangka betina (Rufous Woodpecker;female) yang pertama dapat ditangkap gambarnya oleh saya. Pada spesis belatuk, yang jantan ada calitan merah pada sisi kepalanya.

Burung migrant juga sudah kembali.

Ini burung Sambar Asia(Asian-brown Flycatcher).

Ini pula burung Kelicap Pipi Merah betina.(Ruby-cheeked Sunbird)~~Sepah Puteri Dada Merah; betina.(Scarlet-breasted flycatcher;female), masih tak dapat yang jantan.~~

Daripada sekumpulan 5 ekor burung Cenuk Kerak ini, saya hanya dapat mengambil gambar seekor Cenuk Kerak Betina(Raffle's Malkoha;female) saja.

Seekor lagi burung betina?, Belatuk Merah.(Banded Yellownape;female). mungkin ya, sebab tak nampak tanda merah di sisi kepala.

Selepas keluar dari kawasan tersebut, Madi membawa kami berkereta di jalan-jalan sekitar Kemensah. Di satu lagi tempat di tepi jalan..

Lifer yang kedua!

Burung Mata Putih Rimba (Everett's White-eye)

Hampir-hampir tidak dapat menangkap lifer saya yang ketiga.

Merbah Siam(Black-headed Bulbul)

Terima kasih kepada Madibirder dan Tabib sebab mengajak saya mengunjungi kawasan yang mempunyai banyak spesies burung yang sungguh dekat dengan Kuala Lumpur.

My birdlist(seen,shot and with clear ID)

Whiskered Treeswift
Rufous Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Warbler
Pacific Swallow
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird
Raffle's Malkoha
Banded Yellownape
Olive-winged Bulbul
Blue-tailed Beeater
Everett White-eye
Black Headed Bulbul
Barn Swallow

Hari hujan.

2009-10-08T10:25:00.003+08:00

Pagi ni hujan, dengarnya di Malaysia, ada 200 hari hujan dalam setahun. Adakah ini bermakna, makin kurang hari untuk melihat burung?

Sama sekali tidak!

Sebabnya, kalau hujan di tengahari atau petang, selepas hujan burung-burung akan keluar mencari makan. Cuba bayangkan masa mencari makan dipadatkan daripada beberapa jam kepada mungkin sejam selepas hujan. Peluang untuk melihat burung akan menjadi lebih senang..

Berikut ialah antara burung2 yang biasa kita lihat2 di sekitar rumah yang saya ambil dalam masa hanya setengah jam selepas hujan.

Seekor Murai Kampung Jantan. (18:12:54)

Datang Tiong Gembala Kerbau ini berusaha menghalau Murai Kampung tersebut (18:14:13)

Kemudian, datang pula pasangan Murai tersebut(18:27:03)

Rupa-rupanya, anak murai itu pun ada disekitar tempat itu.(18:35:59)

Sekarang saya sentiasa mencari kesempatan untuk keluar selepas hujan.

rewind back a year.

2009-10-06T10:56:00.004+08:00

I was checking back my rantings blog (of the same name but different site), still have some bird pics there.. so I move it here..

These are taken at taman tasik shah alam using my kodak z712 in february 2008

I cant see this black swan anymore? Did it died of loneliness like i write in this article "Lonely so lonely"

This male white peafowl seems to breed well in the island.

maybe the father of this white chick of this female blue peafowl as seen in this photo taken in June 2008

at this period, i know less about bird than now, and I am still learning.

back then, I called all this bird with long legs a bangau, malay name for egret. Unfortunately none of them are!

Its a juvenile Painted Stork, already fledge. Now I am thinking.. this year nesting starts in July, then last year nesting is so much earlier. Read about it here

even this grey heron is a bangau back then.

the nesting site seem to have shifted to the tall rhu trees on the east side of the lake

Still visiting this lake from time to time, but walking around with a long lens in the park is something to get used to as people will stare and gawk at you. When the lens is pointed their way, they cover their faces. So funny..

Dari air ke udara/From water to air.

2009-10-02T12:09:00.003+08:00

Ini gambar lama dari kamera 350d, pakai tamron 75-300 macro. Masa tu dah tengahari, jadi tak banyak burung.. jadi lepak tepi tasik layan pepatung..

baru menjelma dari air, sayang lens pinjaman ni aperture dia sangkut wide open. ingat nak capture kulit nymph dia kat belakang tu

try pakai focus braketing technic, 2 gambar jadikan satu untuk dapatkan DOF(depth of field) sebab DOF tamron ni wide open sgt nipis

nak tau pasal teknik ni kat sini

sambungan kepak

gambar penuh

dapat pulak tangkap masa dia terbang, tapi ini spesis pepatung merah..

Mob Bird Story Part III

2009-09-28T14:21:00.006+08:00

If you follow the the mob bird story part 1 and part 2, you will know that the House Crow actively defended it teritory or its chick. So one day I saw it chick which already fledge(fly) but still requires feeding noisily asking for food.

see the bird with it red mouth wide open.
after close scrunity of this pic, I notice the different shape of the tail! Quite funny! I was expecting the young to have similar shape of the adult.

later, i shot the pic below, The House Crow chick isnt a house crow afterall. It is a Asian Koel chick. The House Crow has been protecting and raising the Asian Koel. This is called Brood Parasitism, I've read about it, so lucky of me to find an example.

I took the liberty to label the birds.. :D

I notice a female koel nearby. Maybe the mum of the young ones, I not so sure. If it is, then the parent surely watch the young from far.

Then, an oppurtunity arise.. the young ones perch nearer. Noisily enough to ignore! Have to shoot towards the sun, for this record shot. The old nikon glass exhibit its purple chromatic aberration, which normally i tried to avoid.

seems like a cross between male and female koel, the eyes seems to be brown, not red like the adult

Quite a unique relationhip, pity the House Crow, conned by the Koel

another example of this brood parasitism here

Mob Bird Story - part II

2009-09-25T15:28:00.005+08:00

Today I want to tell you about this mob bird mobbing activities. They will active engage any would be intruders that came near. From my observation this is done only at their nesting/roosting site. Even if you saw them foraging by the road side, it wont mob you.

What they do is, they fly near, above your head like inspecting you. You can hear the whooping sound of the wings flapping.."Whoop! Whoop! Whoop"

If any large bird came near their nest, it will send few birds to mob it..

"Ark! Ark! Ark! the alarm sounded when a purple heron fly near.

Interceptor fly off to escort intruder(purple heron) out of hot area!

House Crow: This is restricted area, please leave immediately!
Purple Heron: Will do! just pass by to fishing ground. I don't eat Crow Chicks!

Precautionary measure, the mob bird escort the heron around

to west

to east, note the golden sunshine shining from west

any big or small bird, will be chased off! even the raptor Brahminy Kite

maybe the raptor do eat chicks, the restricted area for raptor is even bigger, so high up

next part: The guarded secret chick! or read previous part.

Mob Bird Story - part I

2009-09-24T15:28:00.004+08:00

I called the House Crow a mob bird because its aggresive behaviour. More on this later.

In my birdwatching activities, frequently this bird came in the picture.. so i decide to post some pics of this so called pest bird here.

Contrary to its attitude toward other birds it is surprisingly caring to its partner..

just look at this couple, caressing each other.. quite gentle I might say. It makes me think of the young couples sitting at the bench at the park. Quite romantic!

Well, the gentleness is to make baby birds of course.. so here how the nest looks like.

Somehow the Little Heron or some other species also make nest that looks like this.. So dont go round and destroy any nest!

but

if you are near a nesting or a roosting site of this mob bird, they will take to the air and fly around above your head. A quite menacing act! this I will tell on the next part.

Scaly-breasted Munia Nesting

2009-09-20T22:44:00.005+08:00

Today is Aidilfitri night and I am at my parents house.

Have I told you there is a flock of Scaly-breasted Munias nesting at the itcy palm trees also known as Pinang Gatal in Malay (Actinophoeus marcarthurii) in my parents lawn. First I discover it at May 2009, I saw some munias busy collecting nesting material. By coincidence, The Malay name for it is Pipit Pinang, Pinang is the similar looking betel nut palm tree

most of my pics are taken without flash, so you can see the actual colour seen with the naked eyes.

The nest are composed of dried lalangs( I suspect) losely woven around the palm fronds. as the nest has been the for some time, my father told me that some old nest have fallen down with the leaves when it dried up. Typically on this site, the nest is about 15feet up.

anyway here a pic of a nest

now, I can hear some nestling chirping when a parent bird comes back. Its the same chirping like the Baya weaver. It is Sept now, and I wonder; are the munias breed all year round?

Waterhen lives near the water

2009-09-17T18:59:00.003+08:00

It will be more interesting if shooting the White Breasted Waterhen with water visible, altough it is not always the case.

like this

opps... it flown away!

like chicken, it seems to fly only for short distance like 10m. Chicken have yellow chicks, but the waterhen got black chicks.

It is very hard to spot the totally black chicks as the parents would be very protective of them at this tender age.

this is shot across a river, not so black

Scratching-indirect kind

2009-09-09T11:03:00.003+08:00

I have read in BESG about bird scratching of the indirect method, so I double check my photos and I found not one but 2!

an Oriental Magpie Robin

a Yellow-vented Bulbul

notice that the feet is over the wings to scratch the head

Don't walk on the grass!

2009-09-08T10:16:00.003+08:00

One afternoon, I decide to just visit my usual birding spot at Taman Bukit SUK Shah Alam.
Just as I am about to park, I notice some bird moving at the parking.. I switch off my car and leave the window open..

from the window, I take my shots

from front

Ciak Bendang
Paddyfield Pipit
Anthus rufulus

from back

from side too..

its a Paddyfield Pipit also called Ciak Bendang in Malay. In the end i never went out of the car that day, So I dont walk on the grass.

Baya weaver nest maintenance

2009-08-26T10:38:00.004+08:00

The baya weaver will add more leaves to strenghtened its nest from time to time.

sometimes, it overcooked it..

side reinforcement?

this nest is blown by the wind and get stuck, somehow the parents tied the lower end to a branch and get this horizontal nest..

Oriole hunting lesson.

2009-08-20T11:12:00.003+08:00

This black-naped oriole have been fully grown and hunting on its own.

hunting is hard, have to search carefully.. Notice that the beak is black not pink as the adult, there are also small black dots at the breast.

got it

seems like a bug or roach..

lunch have to be prepared first!
it banged the bug against the branch to remove the unwanted parts.

Looks about ready..

oh! still have the antenna

it fly away to another tree and continue banging its prey

the cleaning up after eating.
it brushes its beak against a branch.

Reed warblers from last season

2009-08-12T10:29:00.003+08:00

I first saw the Oriental Reed Warbler in Dec 2008. They stay at the same area as the local Yellow Bellied Prinia. Hard to spot them as they are always in the reeds as the name suggest. Is is in april that i notice they always return to one area in the late afternoon around 6.30pm. So I stake out that area for the warbler

and got this

and

Cekup Paya Besar
Oriental Reed-Warbler
Acrocephalus orientalis

This is as clear a photo of this bird, hope to get better next migrant season.

another one is this species, which i spotted only once

Cekup Paya Kecil
Black-browed Reed-Warbler
Acrocephalus bistrigiceps

Baya weaver: Feeding time

2009-08-10T14:52:00.002+08:00

With the chick in the nest, for sure cannot see! but can see what its parents feed it.

seems like a baby praying mantis.

another grub, look like a caterpillar.

with food in its beak, the parent will perch on a near branch..

then a quick stop at the nest, the chick will make noise..

then drop and up into the opening at the bottom..

after feeding, the parents will fly back out..

below,it seems the parent having trouble with its overzealous chick

tugging until chick almost gotten out.

Stork Island

2009-08-03T15:09:00.007+08:00

I accidentally found out the nest of the Painted Stork when we are having dinner at the restaurant on 12/7/09.

Me: Eh! burung upeh tu ada baby lah! Kalau ada kamera mesti dah ambik gambar nih..
Hey! the storks have babies! If I have the camera sure have taken pictures..

She: Salah saya lah ni, suruh bawak beg saya tadi. dah tak bawak beg kamera ..
Its my fault, I asked you to carry my bag, so you left your camera bag..

Me: Takper, next week saya bawak tripod, kamera shoot dari sini (the restaurant)
Nevermind, next week I bring the tripod, camera and shoot from here.(the restaurant)

Well, thats what I did on 18/7/09

The chicks maybe 2-3 weeks old, I think..

This is shot with my manual focus Tair Phs 300mm F4.5 coupled with Kenko 1.4x TC

just to show the difference using Tamron SP AF 2x TC

not much different, but using the 2x tc sure relieves my eyes for focussing job, but loose extra 1 stop of light.

from my point of view, I saw 5 nest with 1-2 chicks inside.

for the location of the island click here

200mm will do

2009-07-31T10:45:00.005+08:00

The Painted Stork is such a big bird that i'm able shooting them using a 200mm lens.

One day, just before sunset I parked infront of the pkns building, fix the 200mm Seimar Auto F3.5 in m42 mount and walked to the lake. Noticed the storks up on the rhu trees and shoot the against the sunset.

only managed silhuette shots for not using flash.

the lamps around the lake already on, shining on the face of some stork

the correct direction to shoot them in the afternoon is from the west, where the golden sunlight shine from your behind.

lucky i got this panning shot

funny that i didnt use shutter priority, since I usually use manual lenses, I've set the halfpress shutter to exposure lock. So get low shutter speed of 1/40 sec in aperture priority.

the storks are breeding now, later post the chick development.

The myna secret!

2009-07-23T15:53:00.003+08:00

White-vented Myna or Tiong Jambul in Malay can easily be identified by its crest being higher than other mynas, lets ask this myna, what is the secret behind it beautiful crest?

Tiong Jambul
White-vented Myna
Acridotheres grandis

"I wont tell my secrets!"

but after several days of following it

the secret is revealed!

Code 10 styling gel???

Javan Myna Feeding Time!

2009-07-21T14:12:00.003+08:00

"Chrrrrrhhh! Chrrrrrhhh! Chrrrrrhhh!"
"Chrrrrrhhh! Chrrrrrhhh! Chrrrrrhhh!"

if you follow the sound, will find baby bird asking for food...

So that day, I found a juvenile Javan Myna noisily asking for food...

"Chrrrrrhhh! Chrrrrrhhh! Chrrrrrhhh!"
"Chrrrrrhhh! Chrrrrrhhh! Chrrrrrhhh!"

the juvenile is a little greyer than the adult and the eyes also more to grey than yellow. The yellowing at the base of its beak still present.

waiting a while, came the adult, The adult have blacker appearance, with grey underparts and its eyes is yellow.

the juvenile open its beak wide!

and its fed something like regurgitated food

Javan Myna
Acridotheres javanicus

for a bird so common in Malaysia, it funny that it doesnt have an official malay name. Tiong Jawa is not taken, well how about that?

Common Myna

2009-07-15T15:11:00.004+08:00

The Common Myna which originates from India is less easier to see than the Javan Myna, not that they are not abundant here. From my observation, the Common Myna or Tiong Gembala Kerbau in Malay, often forage in pairs rather than flocking like the Javan Myna.

This Common Myna is tugging at the dried vegetation,maybe it is collecting nesting material

Sometimes can see the the baldies, maybe old birds, I dont know..

Common Myna @ Indian Myna
Tiong Gembala Kerbau
Acridotheres tristis

but its eyes are beautiful, like gems put in a circular manner.

Ciak Rumah

2009-07-14T15:29:00.004+08:00

Dulu, selalu tersilap panggil burung ni burung pipit. Atau, sejak dulu kenal burung kecik je burung pipit. Mungkin masa sekolah belajar perumpamaan "bagai burung pipit dengan enggang",jadi ingat nama pipit.

Bila pertama kali tangkap gambar burung ini, masa mencari nama sebenarnya dan nama saintifik, baru perasan, eh kenapa nama dia bukan burung pipit?

bukan aku saja, malahan ada beberapa orang lain yang aku kenal pun tersilap...

Ini ialah burung ciak, yang lengkapnya burung Ciak Rumah, Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Saiz sama saja dengan ciak tempua, cuma ciak tempua jantan berjambul kuning dan membuat sarang yang cantik.

Rilex

2009-07-10T15:32:00.005+08:00

Perasan tak kalau kita duduk relax, kita suka angkat kaki sebelah. Sama juga kalau berdiri, silang kaki, sebelah kaki letak atas kaki satu lagi.. kalau lenguh tukar posisi.

Mungkin burung-burung ini pun macam itu agaknya.

Greater Flamingo(Phoenicopterus roseus) di Wetland Putrajaya, sedang membersihkan bulunya smbil mengangkat sebelah kaki

Pucung Keladi(Butorides striatus) ini hampir saya ingatkan cacat atau kudung kakinya, gambarnya saya ambil waktu tengahari. hampir setengah jam kemudian baru ia keluarkan kakinya yang sebelah lagi sambil mengemaskan bulunya.

Javan Myna(Acridotheres javanicus, Tiung Jawa?) ini pun saya dapat tangkap semasa sedang rileks di bawah kepanasan matahari. Kelihatan ia sedang mengembangkan bulunya..

Mungkinkah ada sebab lain burung2 ini berbuat demikian?

Skimming the surface

2009-07-07T10:31:00.004+08:00

This is shot in february, the time when the little egret are still around..

a small group fishing at an oxidation pond.

see 3 different S shape of the neck.

see its breeding plumage, the two longish feathers behind its neck and more at the bottom of its neck.

It seems that the egret will scan the water for prey, when it sees one, it will take off from the bank

see, the beak in the water..

the action seems like the egret is walking on water

here is a succesfull strike

there are no more little egrets now at the oxidation pond, have to wait for next season..

Friday bird

2009-07-02T15:02:00.006+08:00

After friday prayer, before coming back into the office, if got some time, I'llstop by an empty lot behind the jati apartment. There are a lot of bird in the overgrown disused lot.

at afternoon time, always can see birds taking their afternoon break perhaps.. always perching..
like this female asian koel.

after a while it fly away then came back panting. maybe the weather was hot..

when it cooled down, can see it scratching and preening.

scrathing its head using its left feet.

preening

Yellow-vented Bulbul Nest

2009-06-30T14:49:00.003+08:00

While the Yellow-vented Bulbul is very commonly found bird, the nest isnt easy to find. Personally I only found it 2 times in 1 year of my birding.

a parent in the nest.

altough the bulbul is a furgivore(fruiteater), it feed its chick with protin rich food like bugs and worms.

Fruiting Tree

2009-06-24T17:14:00.005+08:00

I cant believe my luck when I found this fruiting tree. A lot of birds are busy plucking out its fruit, seems like a small cherry but I might be wrong.

so I just sat at one spot and take pictures of the birds.

among them are

Red-eyed Bulbul
Merbah Mata Merah
Pycnonotus brunneus

A group of Pink-necked Green Pigeon

here is a male

Pink-necked Green Pigeon
Punai Gading
Treron vernans

and the female

the Black-naped Oriole, the Asian Glossy Starling and the usual Yellow-vented Bulbul also stop by..

this lone Dusky Langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) ~~Black Gibbon(Hylebates concolor)~~ also stayed at the tree. Maybe this fella has recognized me and know I'm not a threat. Other members of the family aren't around.

**species name of primate changed, wrongly ID before, today I have rechecked this at http://www.wildsidephotography.ca/primates.html

Cerita Gagak Kambing dengan Katak

2009-06-18T14:30:00.007+08:00

Suatu hari semasa saya berjalan-jalan di suatu denai di Taman Pertanian Bukit Cherakah, saya ternampak macam pangkin di satu ceruk, saya pun pergilah melihat dengan lebih dekat..
Lah! perangkap binatang rupanya. Naik marah saya, di sini pun ada juga orang yang hendak menangkap haiwan secara haram. Saya ambil pisau saya dan saya potong semua tali2 yang digunakan.. habis saya potong pendek2 supaya tidak boleh digunakan lagi.

One day as I was walking down a trail in Bukit Cherakah Agriculture Park, I saw what looks like a small hut at one corner, so I went nearer to have a look.Oh! it is actually an animal trap! I've gotten mad! Even in then protected area of the Agriculture Park there is still poaching going on. So I took my knife and cut all the ropes that have been used in short pieces so it cant be used anymore.

Ni dia rupa perangkap itu.. silap saya, patutnya ambil gambar dahulu, baru musnahkan perangkap.. macam nak tangkap biawak sahaja.

This is the trap, my mistake! I've should taken the pictures before destroying the trap.. looks like a trap for monitor lizards.

Bila saya masuk balik ke denai tersebut, saya dapat mendengar bunyi bising burung.. terus saya meredah semak dan pokok rotan yang berduri untuk melihat apa burung itu. saya jumpa sekumpulan burung kambing. Burung ini termasuk spesis burung yang terancam.

When I went back into the trail, I could hear some bird calls, so I walked through some bushes and spiny rattans to see what is the bird. I saw I bunch of Black Magpies, a near threatened species

Gagak Kambing
Black Magpie
Platysmurus leucopterus

Mungkin sekeluarga burung kambing. Mungkinlah yang sedang memerhati sahaja itu ibunya, dan 2 ekor yang sedang berebut seekor katak anak-anaknya. Bagaimana agaknya kalau burung boleh bercakap macam manusia?

Maybe a family of Black Magpies. Could it be the one that is watching is the mother and the other two that is fighting over a frog is the juveniles. What if the bird could talk just like humans?

anak burung 1(di atas): Woi! Woi! lepaslah katak ni.. kan aku yang tangkap katak ini..
anak burung 2(di bawah): Mana boleh lepas, katak ni aku yang nampak dulu!

Juvenile1(above): Hei! let go of this frog, I'm the one who catch it!
Juvenile2(below): But I'm the one who saw it first! How can I let it go?

anak burung2: lepaskan! lepaskan!
mak burung: ish ish ish! apa kamu buat nih?

juvenile2: Let it go! Let it go!
mother: what are you two doing?

mak burung: kamu berkongsi apa salahnya. lepaskan..
mother: why dont you two share.. let it go!

anak burung1: mak, nanti saya lepaskan, jatuh pulak dia.
mak burung: laa...kan dia ada kepak!kalau dia jatuh dia terbanglah..

juvenile1:mum, if I let go, then he will fall!
mother:we are birds! if we fall we can fly back!

betul, anak burung2 jatuh dengan katak tersebut, tetapi dia boleh terbang.
Correct, the hanging bird did fall, but fly back up with the frog.

Guard duty!

2009-06-10T14:47:00.004+08:00

I still visit the baya weaver nest from time to time. It seem that it is easier to take the photo of the male bird. There seems one male always around at the colony which comprised of about 8-10 nest in various stages.

The trick is to spot it..
or it spotting me

maybe in the colony, it is a defense agains predator.

like this Black-naped Oriole, stalking the nest..

if the guard is around. It will strike and chase away the oriole. I seen it once(no pic, sorry)

here in this blurry pic(almost dark and quite far away), in absense of the guardian, an oriole managed to land on a nest..

and have a peek..

fortunately it is an unfinished nest, otherwise would have taken a chick or egg.

an afternoon at kuala selangor nature park

2009-06-08T14:57:00.005+08:00

Kuala Selangor is actually halfway to my hometown, so if posibble, I'll try to drop by for birding. So on May 10 on the way back, stop by at noon. I decide to take the pangolin trail and plan to double back when reached the bridge.

just after entering the trail, heard this bird call,quite similar to the common Yellow-vented Bulbul.

Merbah Belukar
Olive-winged Bulbul
Pycnonotus plumosus

more, the vent(the part below the tail) is a dull yellow colour, a quick look almost dismiss it as the common bulbul.

I like to identify it with the streaks at its cheek. The Olive green patch at the wings is not easily seen like in this pic taken at Bkt Cherakah

on the way back, the light is better with the sun behind my back. as i always shoot without flash.

I found this Strip-tit Babbler, very skittish bird.. including this I encounter it 3 times without a good photo. Oh well, try again.

Rimba Berjalur
Striped-Tit Babbler
Macronous gularis

another skittish bird I got is the Ashy Tailorbird, not a good photo..but it show its activeness..

a bit dark... only natural light.

Teritory disputes

2009-06-05T15:36:00.003+08:00

Satu hari di tepi sungai, nampak burung pucung keladi sedang terbang di seberang sungai, terus saya panning.. macam hendak mendarat di tebing pasir ..

One day at the riverside, I a little heron flying across the river, so i look into the viewfinder and pan. looks like it want to land on the sand bank.

nampaknya ia tak jadi mendarat, mungkin ia perasan seekor pucung keladi muda berdekatan.. lalu ia menyerangnya..

looks like it didnt land, maybe it sees a juvenile little heron ahead. it went on and attack the juvenile..

dari tebing masuk ke dalam air

from the river bank into the water.

tak cukup lagi terbawa-bawa ke darat

not enough, continue up on further on land

tak tahan dibuli, pucung keladi muda melarikan diri

being bullied, the juvenile flies away

Eagle Eyes

2009-06-04T10:16:00.006+08:00

One day at Bukit Cerakah, I shot 2 eagles.. One wild and one captive...

This is the wild one...A Crested Serpent-Eagle (Helang Kuik)

see the pose, the bird seems proud

at the Taman Haiwan,there were some bird cages.. A Changeable Hawk Eagle (Helang Hindek) was in one..but see the eyes. It seemed sad, always looking outside..

Like it misses its freedom.

Thats why I havent gone to KL bird park, I always take pics of the wild birds. It is different indeed.

Pipit Pinang

2009-06-01T11:36:00.004+08:00

Pipit pinang is a malay name for Scaly-breasted Munia. Commonly found at grassland, flying in groups.

an adult Scaly-breasted Munia on a lalang

it juvenile having brown underside, pic show a moulting juvenile showing some scaly pattern.

Pipit Pinang
Scaly-breasted Munia
Lonchura punctulata

Want to see ghost?

2009-05-22T15:40:00.004+08:00

There are a malay saying if you want to see ghost, or you want to confirm a person is really a human or a ghost, you have to bend down and see thru your legs.

here are a tip which I have translated to english.

Find a house which at the back of the house have running water (for example running water from a water faucet). Right at 12 midnight, go to the back at the house, take off all you clothes. Stark naked, stand with the running water between your legs, bow and see backward and upside down thru your legs.

If God permits, you will see all kinds of ghost, demons and genie, albeit upside-down.

Disclaimer: This is only an info, any circumstances that happen after using this info is fully the user responsibility.

No, I dared not do it, but this Yellow-vented bulbul does.. :D

Flying Little Egrets

2009-05-21T16:07:00.003+08:00

Just a collection of flying little egrets shoot in 2008

27/12/2008, shot with the golden afternoon sunlight

25/11/2008, against the not so blue sky..hehehe

4/11/2008,
shooting thru the fences at the oxidation pond, may get the green fences blurring the view. This is one of the clear ones.

Bangau Kecil
Little Egret
Egretta garzetta

The baya weaver at my patch

2009-05-13T12:13:00.003+08:00

After reading Tabibs blog on the baya weaver, I decided to have a check at last year's baya weaver nesting site. Sure enough, they are building their nest at the same tree.. also have a look at another site at Bukit SUK, also at the same tree

anyway, here is a picture of a male baya weaver..

hanging out at the still unfinished nest.

managed to catch the male during take off..

this is on 30th April 2009, will continue visiting them..

Catching the wave

2009-05-08T11:08:00.006+08:00

The National Botanic Garden at Shah Alam or I fondly called Bukit Cerakah is one of my frequently visited places for birding. Altough there are free bus services inside, I normally just take a walk alone in various trek from the entrance.

In this particular day, I just walk through the paddy fields.

Here can see few species of munia such as white-headed, scaly-breasted and white-rumped. Also the normal javan myna. The waterhen are here but quite shy. Since this day is almost noon, no luck..

then moving on to the cocoa/oil-palm area, trying to spot the red eyed bulbul. no luck here either.

so went on to the danau perikanan, walk up to the water tunnel.. there are fences bordering the park, I notice some indon family fishing.. I wonder did they pay to get in or any other means..broke the fence??

anyway... shoot this in the water tunnel. Hirundo tahitica... nice scientific name.. stuck in my head.. remind me of hula hula hawaian.. :)

Pacific Swallow
Layang-layang Pasifik
Hirundo tahitica

coming out of the tunnel, I notice the fishing indon family wasnt there anymore.. split already.. notice broken fences in the tunnel, there must be somemore broken fences.. went to the other sides of the lake..

Suddenly there are some commotion in the canopy.. Aha! a bird wave...led by

Rembah Kayu Besar
Large Wood-shrike
Tephrodornis gularis

there are some other bird I cant identify, notice some species of woodpecker though.. being in the high canopy, just took some record shots.. the wood shrike a quite tough to id.. being bird pic to small..

then the birds went to the taman haiwan area with me following. No I'm not running, just walk.. at top of the hill, the leaf bird are low enough to shoot.

Daun Sayap Biru
Blue-winged Leafbird
Chloropsis cochinchinensis

my futile attempt shooting bird in flight.. the female leafbird to blur to shown here..

after that I just walk back to the entrance.. Birding, just another reason to walk..

Look first dont run

2009-05-07T10:08:00.002+08:00

Heeeeea heeea heea.. bunyi macam tangisan.. tapi dalam hutan gelap. Adakah anda kemas barang anda dan balik.. tak! sepatutnya pergi cari punca bunyi tu...

Bunyi tu datang dari burung ini.. burung Cenuk Kerak. Ia bergerak menyusuri dahan. dicelah-celah daun2. kalau dari jauh nampak seolah-oleh daun bergerak2 sendiri. Bila perhati muncul pula mata dan paruh berwarna biru muda kehijau - hijauan.

Ini ialah burung jantan.. kepala berwarna cokelat.

burung betina pula berkepala putih.

Cenuk Kerak
Raffles's Malkoha
Phaenicophaeus chlorophaeus

Antara burung yang terdapat di Taman Pertanian Bukit Cerakah

I almost miss it..

2009-05-06T10:16:00.004+08:00

One day in February 2009, I was driving one afternoon at my usual birding spot afterwork. As usual my eyes scanning the grasses and trees for birds. There is one rock that seem out of place in the grass. "Funny looking rock", I said to my self. When I turn the corner, at the second glance, "Hey, the rock moved"..and I drive closer..

"Aha, it,s a bird" when I looked through my camera lens.. managed to get a few shot from car.

Berkek Berbintik
Pintail Snipe
Gallinago stenura

should be a migrant, this is the only time I saw it at that area.

Takur Akar

2009-04-30T15:49:00.001+08:00

Suatu pagi di Teluk Intan, aku lepak2 depan rumah, dengar bunyi thunk! thunk! thunk!, perasaan seekor burung bertenggek di kabel letrik, dari jauh nampak macam anak burung perling daripada jalur2 di dada.

Aku ambik kamera, baru nampak warna -warna kuning dan merah di muka dan dada. chantek sekali.

Ia adalah

Takur Akar
Coopersmith Barbet
Megalaima haemacephala

Ia adalah satu-satunya burung takur yang boleh didapati di kawasan lapang, burung takur yang lain biasanya berada di hutan rimba.

Birds of the paddyfield

2009-04-28T11:04:00.007+08:00

In the way back to my hometown (Teluk Intan), will went through Sg Besar, Tg Karang which have paddyfields. I knew there are a lot of birds there. Instead of taking the main road, I went through the rural road that went through the paddyfield.

The egrets are here. cattle,little,intermediate egrets. The problem is to get close enough..I wish i'm using electric car here..hehe. All pics are taken from car..

An Intermediate egret with a cattle egret in the background.

Also the chinese pond heron, seen here with a cattle egret.

Cattle egret @ Bangau Kerbau(left) Chinese pond heron Pucung Cina( (right)

There a a lot of White-throated kingfishers on the telephone wires. Never imagine, stopping suddenly for crows, well this are not so common in the city. A lifer for me

Gagak Paruh Besar
Large-billed Crow
Corvus macrorhynchos

also another lifer, aftermuch cropping..nice pose but blurrrr :(

Lelayang Dada Putih
White-breasted Woodswallow
Artamus leucorhynchus

A journey is a journey by itself, if a 2 hours trip turned to a six hour trip, and I enjoy it..why not?

My office mate

2009-04-20T15:27:00.003+08:00

Once, there is a sunbird building its nest in the office lot in front of my office. Stangely it picked the unused electrical wire as the basis to make its nest.

with an Olive-backed Sunbird nest so close by, pay a visit from time to time to have a shot. Here a point and shoot becomes quite usefull.

The female sunbird have quite a fondness of the side mirrors of cars park in front of its nest. I dont know why..

Sometime it will check her beauty in the mirror.

now the nest is gone, luckily the offspring manages to grow up and fledge before the owner of the shoplot dicides to tidy up the place.

hmm.. all my pic is the female. where is the father?

Dedap merah dengan burung

2009-04-17T10:53:00.004+08:00

Kalau nampak burung kelicap menghisap madu dari bunga Dedap Merah ni memang tak heran lah..

an olive-backed sunbird female sucking nectar from erythrina glauca flower

eh burung tiung jawa pun suka juga

a javan myna also have a liking for this flower

burung dendang selayang pun nyebuk nak madu.

the black-naped oriole also join the fun

kalau saya ada taman mesti saya dah tanam pokok ni.

I believe I can fly!

2009-04-13T14:34:00.004+08:00

I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away

I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
Oh I believe I can fly

a nice song by R. Kelly which makes a nice prelude to my pictorial..

One day, found this little fella on the high branches being fed by its mother, or father..

the parent does seem smaller isnt it.. but notice the juvenile bird tail feather doesnt fully developed yet.

Weeks past and one day found a pair of parents chirping away..with food in their bills. Just imagine talking with your mouth full! But they can do that..

One offering berry and another a worm.

gulp...One swallowed the berry..

The young one still dont wanna to try to fly down an get some meal..

I guess it havent get the gut to fly down yet. The first time is always scary i guess.

hmm.. better get a nicer food, maybe will entice the young one to overcome its fear..

One parent fly away... one still offering the worm ,

hoping its young will fly down to get its meal..

flying the first time

first step to adulthood...

Two Friends

2009-04-11T10:47:00.004+08:00

Burung Merbah Kapur(Kanan) penduduk tetap Malaysia, Burung Tirjup Coklat (Kiri), migran dari Siberia, berada untuk musim sejuk dari September ke April.

Di suatu petang, Merbah bertemu dengan kawannya Tirjup.

"Bagaimana dengan perjalanan kamu dari Siberia?", Merbah bertanya.

"Biasalah, perjalanan ke mari memang penuh dengan rintangan, angin ribut, kilat sambar menyambar tambahan lagi asap beracun semakin banyak merata-rata. sesak nafas aku", jawap Tirjup.

"Habis, apa kenapa kau masih bersusah payah balik ke mari?" Tanya Merbah kembali.

"Aku rindu mata kamu yang comel itu!", kata Tirjup sambil ketawa.

"Boleh percaya ker? Kalau begitu kamu janganlah balik ke sini lagi.. janganlah kamu bersusah payah kerana aku.." luah Merbah.

Tirjup terdiam, dalam fikirannya, "apa salahnya aku bersusah payah, sekiranya itu yang membuat aku gembira, lagipun Merbah memang suka aku ke mari. Kenapakah dia berkata begitu...?"

walaupun Merbah berkata begitu, setiap tahun Tirjup akan berulang alik dari Siberia ke Malaysia. Apa salahnya bersusah payah kan!

a fictional story I write for the above pic, a composite of 2 picture shot with the same background. The uniform shape of the roof shingles gave a nice way to accurately sized the birds. If fact, the Brown Shrike and the Yellow-vented Bulbul is the same sized at 20-22cm.
The Brown shrike should be a lanius cristatus cristatus - female

Dendang Selayang dengan anaknya.

2009-04-10T15:49:00.004+08:00

Dengar sahutan burung dendang selayang ni
uuwooow - uuwooow - uuwooow!
mana dia ye.. pandang atas pucuk pokok2 tak nampak pun.

pandang pokok sekeliling nampak lak sarang, tenung betul-betul baru nampak bende bergerak.

uih! ade anak dia, mulut je buka, suara tak keluar..

lama gak aku tunggu, ade gak org lalu lalang. aku buat tak tau je..

beberapa ekor kerengge dtg gigit perut aku.. abih bau kerengge tangan ni..cabut kerengge tu.. sakit gak, cam kena sunat. hehehe!

tiba nampak ibunya hinggap kat pokok sebelah.. bila sunyi je, baru dia terbang ke pokok yg ada sarang dia. tapi kat dahan lain.

bila line clear dia melompat ke dari dahan ke dahan sampai ke sarang dia. nampak cam bawak belalang je warna hijau.

haa.. sekor anak dia dah makan, sekor lagi masih tunggu.. uuwooow - uuuwooow,
oh! pasangan dia dah sampai..

hmm harap2 besarlah sampai dewasa. cantik burung dendang selayang (kunyit besar) ni, besar merpati.

Black-Naped Oriole
Dendang Selayang / Kunyit Besar
Oriolus Chinensis

Swallowing Yellow Vented Bulbul

2009-03-30T18:37:00.004+08:00

Looks like the 'daun palas' seed, after removing the skin.

Open wide!

Halfway!

Gulp!

Yellow-vented Bulbul
Merbah Kapur(Malay)
Pycnonotus goiavier

Eviction Notice!

2009-03-24T11:12:00.003+08:00

My friend has been complaining that some bird have been making nest in the ceiling. When hot, the smell of faeces will permeated down inside the house, and ask me if I can take a look and if posibble clear the birds.

Well, for me, what a nice chance to view the bird and nest up close.. So on sunday went to the house. an apartment top most floor(9th Floor).

See who greets me in the ceiling!

Merpati (Malay name)
Rock Pigeon
Columba livia

here are some of its egg

On another nest is a juvenile rock pigeon which isnt old enough to fledge (fly leaving the nest).

looks kind of funny, like a chick head stuck to an adult body.

on yet another nest got two nestling

fact: rock pigeon will reuse existing nest year after year..

close up of junior

I move the birds outside of the ceiling. I thought against moving them far from the original location so that the parents would found their respective nestling.

the moment they are put close together, they start wrestling.. hehe! sibling rivalry of the avian kind.

safely behind the anti vermin netting I set up..

Well, I hope I've done the job well, so that the juniors will live and fledge.. and not nesting again at the site. If not I've failed 3 nest with 4 juveniles and 2 egg.. well! what to do! Hmm the bird felt really warm, like touching a human down with fever. I also found a carcass of an adult, I hope I didnt get a bird flu..

The name fits its character

2009-03-20T11:42:00.003+08:00

The Pied Fantail malay name (Murai Gila) fits its character perfectly, a very skittish bird, jumping around the branches with its tail fanning out..

Murai Gila(Malay)
Pied Fantail
Rhipidura Javanica

Murai in malay basically describe a blackish bird with a beautiful voice and Gila means mad.

showing its fantail, albeit a little blurred.

two chicks in a nest

normally I found it stays under shady trees, overgrown bushes near water.

Death of an oriole

2009-03-19T15:26:00.004+08:00

Upon looking at the branches, I notice a Black-naped Oriole. It's mouth open..

This is about 15-20 feet on top of a tree, I notice it is not moving. The position on the branch is like leaning on the branch. Is it sick or dead?

Then another oriole perched beside it.. It look around for a while silently, then flew away as if saying goodbye to a comrade. This is when I felt the oriole was truly dead.

Sorry for the bad pics, record shot, no flash, not even +2 ev compensation. and heavily cropped.

And I left out the Little Heron

2009-03-16T15:01:00.005+08:00

This is one of the earlier bird species that I captured with my camera but somehow I never posted it. Maybe I forget.. When I start to archiving my pictures to CDs, manage to edit some for the web..

This is captured using ms Kodak Z612 12x zoom P&S camera set at sports mode. Just sitting on a bench at the Lake Garden at Shah Alam and noticing this Little Heron stalking a dragonfly. This is on march 2008, one year already.

unfortunately, the dragonfly get away..notice that the bokeh..hehe no bokeh at all..

another early pic of the sub adult little heron with this camera.

the sub-adult or juvenile, have a darker brown colour with brown streaks on the breast. This time already playing with Aperture priority setting..

Its nice to have a super zoom camera around, currently my p&s camera is on loan to someone..
See the white crow here, another lucky shot not posible if i had'nt have my p&s camera in my belt pouch..

Then moving to dslr..

A Little Heron on a wire at the banks of Sg Perak, T. Intan

Little Heron @ Striated Heron
Pucung Keladi (Malay)
Butorides striatus

originally the sky was drab grey, so I apply cooling filter to make the sky slightly blue. its basically a light blue filter, I like it more than using colour balance to alter the bg colour because it didnt affect the colour of the little heron too much..

There is a fine line when altering a natural subject like bird, have to be carefull about the natural colours, not to be over saturated and not to be to drab, and I'm still learning.

Happy birding..

Hunting cuckoo style

2009-03-12T15:41:00.004+08:00

One day I saw the Chestnut-winged Cuckoo flying to the tree, perch on a branch but keeps moving its head from side to side then fly to another bushy branch. This i have observe a few time on this species.

Sewah Berjambul (Malay)
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo
Clamator coromandus

The Chestnut-winged Cuckoo is drying its wing after rain.

then another day, I notice something slithering in the branches, looks like the cuckoo.. then it vanishes.. Movement of leaves tell me that it's still there.. I move my head sideways imitating the cuckoo, then I can notice the shilouette of the cuckoo in the shadows. Now I understand the purpose of the head shaking.. angle of view changes slightly when moving head from left to right revealing things missed from the other angle.

here another pic showing the chestnut coloured wings resemble the fruit.

so the antics of the cuckoo during hunting does have its reward.

With its prey, somekind of bug

Peaceful! aren't they..

2009-03-02T18:52:00.004+08:00

One sunday went to my birding spot at Taman Hutan Bukit SUK at Shah Alam. Just entering the parking lot, saw some zebra doves feeding on the palm oil seeds (buah sawit) on the ground.

Without exiting the car, I began to take pictures..

Zebra Dove
Merbuk (Malay name)
Geopelia striata(Scientific name)

This is after eating, this one decide to take a break under the tree.

Feeling sleepy.. this is about 11.00am (I'm not a morning birder..hehe!)

take a nap

It seems so peacefull, no wonder it is also called the peaceful dove

Among the bunch(there are 5-6 of them), I spotted an injured bird with a hole in chest but it seems are not much bothered by its injury.. seems as active as the others.

here are its pic..

a little blur on the head, I was focussing on the chest cavity.

Beberek Leher Biru

2009-02-25T15:20:00.005+08:00

Jika saya kata saya ambil gambar ini belakang rumah saya percaya tak? Tak saya tak tipu... tapi ni bukan belakang rumah saya,tapi di kawasan perumahan. Ada kawasan bangunan tinggal yang telah naik pokok -pokok tinggi yang didiami oleh pendatang haram. Itu kadang takut juga nak pergi sana. bukan takut ular atau binatang berbisa.. takut pendatang datang marahkan kita kerana takut gambar mereka masuk suratkhabar gamaknya..

Burung Beberek Leher Biru baru mendarat di dahan. Ekor belakang kembang bertindak sebagai brek udara.

Dengan tangkapan.

Beberek makan serangga terbang seperti tebuan, lebah, kumbang, pepatung dan lain-lain serangga terbang. Ya, ia menangkap serangga itu semasa serangga itu sedang terbang..

Pandangan dari belakang.

Burung Beberek Leher Biru berhijrah dari negara utara ke Semenanjung Malaysia untuk membiak dari Bulai April ke September. Bila spesies burung ini pergi, burung Beberek Ekor Biru pula akan mengantikan tempatnya..

Akhir sekali, satu pose istimewa.

Mungkin kalau kita tanam pokok2 dengan banyak di kawasan perumahan kita, mungkin burung yang cantik ini akan memilih tempat kita untuk membuat sarang dan membiak

Beberek Leher Biru
Blue-throated Bee-eater
Merops viridis

Its the second season now..

2009-02-24T15:27:00.004+08:00

The first time I saw this bird, was in Mac 2008. That is when I walk in the park actually searching for birds, I was carrying my point and shoot camera at that time. A Kodak 12x zoom camera, which equals 420mm in 35mm terms.

This is the pic i shot, cropped of coz

shot against the blue sky without flash. Click for larger pic

other birds that I shot that day were, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Asian Glossy Starling, Black-naped Orioles, Oriental Magpie Robins and the Common Myna. I guess I can call them lifers because at that time I didnt know what is their names and how to identify them.

by April, I cannot see them anymore..

in May, getting my DSLR a canon 350D with lens an old nikon 300mm F4.5 prime(why? becoz its dirt cheap, bought for RM600)

Now that I got the equipment,now where is this Blue Tailed Beeeater.

not until October, when I started to see them..first are the sub adult (havent had the distictive long tail, and less vibrant colors. They tend to look like the Blue-throated Beeeaters.

later in Dec 08, started to see the fully adults, with the yellow, orange, green to blue colours.

Spend some time and I notice they always perch on the same branch after chasing bugs..

Here is a pair, with one stretching its wings

Beberek Ekor Biru(Malay)
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Merops philippinus

Never get bored shooting them when have the chance.. So beautiful, so available

Heronry in Yong Peng

2009-02-23T15:21:00.006+08:00

During my trip down south, when I passed by Yong Peng,
saw a dataran. just wanna have a look

some view of the "dataran".

but what interest me more when spending some time there, is the squaking of the birds on the mangroves at the far end of the parking lot. There is a heronry, a place where herons breeds and raise their young. Not more than 50 meters from the parking lot.

here is some uncropped picture from my 300mm+1.4x lens. and taken from the car parked in the parking lot. Can see the purple herons and night herons rearing their youngs there.
Hmm been thinking, if majlis daerah yong peng decides to expand the parking lot, sure the herons lost their heronry which from some sources in the net says was there for more than 20 years.

A good chance for birders to observe these birds.
So when passed by Yong Peng, buy a drink and stop to see the herons.

Should have the gps coordinates, but my netbook went kaput along with the original jpegs of the above pics.

Direction from NSE Yong Peng Toll:
From toll turn left, pass by expensive RnR favored by bus driver on left. Go straight toward Yong Peng town. Just before town area, watchout for 'Dataran' on right. It is after crossing the river.

Tiger Shrike

2009-02-19T10:47:00.002+08:00

Actually I have been waiting to post this entry with a clear picture of the adult tiger shrike, but I guess they are hard to get. very shy... the only glimpse of the adult is this pic..

but I lucky to get the juveniles...:D

this one is at Taman Pertanian Bukit Cerakah, Shah Alam

this is at Taman Hutan Bukit SUK, Shah Alam

but I must get the adult... patience! patience!

Tiger Shrike
Tirjup Harimau(Malay)
Lanius tigrinus

Prince of Darkness

2009-02-16T11:53:00.003+08:00

I'm refering to this picture of the Greater Coucal

bringing some sort of fantasies..watching too much comics maybe.. but the long tail of the coucal being spread does look like a cape.

This is after rain, the coucal spreading its feathers to dry out.

There are quite a few times I found this species perching on top of bushes. A great photo oppurtinity..

Birding in Tg Pengelih

2009-02-11T15:53:00.005+08:00

A view from Tg pengelih, the southern most point of east peninsular malaysia. (Pontian is on the west side, southern most point of asia continent)

Take time off during CNY holidays to travel there. Still have time for some birding. Guess what kind of bird I found.

Should be a Lineated Barbet or Takur Kukup in Malay, A lifer for me.. to bad its too far..on the mangroves. A lifer would aways be too far, so still take a record shot to confirm its ID

and quite nice shot of this, but seems dull a bit off since PP on my laptop.

Collared Kingfisher
Pekaka Bakau (Malay)
Halcyon chloris

Anywhere travel always search for birdies.. hhehe.. dont left your camera at home.

I like their eyes

2009-02-07T12:16:00.005+08:00

I can safely say, the more you see them, the more you learn about them..

Some times, I see the common waterhen, where the face are dirtier, I tought it was from digging the mud somewhere. Later I learn they are the juvenile or immature birds.

They have lovely black eyes, dont they?

The juvenile birds are more bolder and easier to shoot(by camera of coz) than the adult, which tend to be more cautious..

An adult by the water edge.

I had to stay very still behind some reeds to get this..

Perlings stay together.

2009-01-23T22:20:00.009+08:00

Starlings are quite common here.. especially the asian glossy starling. Even at residential areas. here are an adult shot from the balcony of my house.

Perling Mata Merah
Asian Glossy Starling
Aplonis panayensis

see the glossy green feather, meanwhile the juvenile will have some spotted whitish at the underparts like as seen here.

another kind of starling, the purple backed starling i found more in the gardens.

Perling Belakang Ungu
Purple-backed Starling
Sturnia sturnina

but when i found both species, it seems they just flock together..

here foraging.

see the juv purple backed and adult asian glossy perched on the same tree..

A yellow belly birdy

2009-01-09T15:50:00.004+08:00

Being an active bird like the tailorbird, not always have a good result of having pic this species taken. But can always knew they were around with its meawing sound. almost like a lost kitten. Always can found near the marshes,swamps or fresh water ponds.

Actually the first time caught is an adult but the noise too bad(using prosumer camera). With my dslr caught the juvenile, almost id as a different bird. fortunately PMers (Photomalaysia.com) has been a great help

A Juvenile at Putrajaya Wetlands

another juvenile at a oxidation pond in subang jaya

after a few months still havent get any pic this species until dec 2008 caught adult at the bund of klang river

The yellow coloured head of the juvenile will turn grey.

Perenjak Kuning
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Prinia flaviventris

Hulu perdik the first trip.

2008-12-31T11:10:00.003+08:00

After lots of reading and recomendation from a fellow birder, I went to search for this place. The first time I went didnt find the place, instead I went to sg congkak. This time, Dec 11, after studying the guides by numerous websites manages to find it. It actually before Sg Congkak.

The Direction.
Find the Kg Kuala Perdik before Sg Congkak, if from KL, find a signboard of Nur Lembah Pangsun with a small sign "Jln Hulu Perdik" at the bottom. went straight until there are no road. Will gone thru tar to gravel road.

There I found a lifer. The only species of bird I managed to capture there..
The brightly coloured male

Sepah Puteri Dada Oren (Malay Name)
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
Dicaeum trigonostigma

Female, sub adult. Notice the beak still have some of the juvenile orangeness..will turn blacker.

Male and female together.

after the birds finished having their snack, I went in up the river to find the waterfall or other birds,but halfway I turn back coz the sky is turning black.. and I have made 3 river crossing, and I know the river will swell up if it rained heavily and I am alone in the forest.

so went back and take a dip near the first river crossing..
and guess what a natural fish spa..rm60/hour at fish spa at kl.. feet only..

here, both hands and feet..

what a nice place!

Hunting the black baza.

2008-12-24T12:26:00.002+08:00

I spotted the black baza when I was birding at my usual birding ground. It was afternoon(my lunch break) at the last week of November 2008. It was black like a crow, but the flight and the way it swoop down to catch prey wasnt crow like. Looks like a raptor to me.. So I went to this patch more frequently than others.

My first shot was this

not so clear but enough to confirm its a black baza. There a a pair of them, not like a flock that was described. maybe some circumstances makes it made the stopover at my patch..

so the subsequent week i try to track them until on December 5 finally got a better picture.

Helang Baza
Black Baza
Aviceda leuphotes

it makes worth of my time.. to see this bird in my patch where the usual bird are yellow-vented bulbuls, crows and mynas. area is overgrown abandoned buiding project in middle of residential and industrial area, subang jaya. few minutes from where i work.

Burung Rimba

2008-12-23T19:17:00.005+08:00

Kalau ikut namanya, memang ia duduk dalam hutan ler.. kalau nak tengok kena lah masuk dalam hutan.. kalau kat bandar kat zoo je kot.. Ini burung2 rimba kat bukit fraser itu hari..(22/6/2008-Fraser Hill, International bird race)

Ini burung perasan cun , bila nak ambil gambar dia makin dekat dia datang.. bila kita kelam kabut nak fokus .. dia pi jauh sambil gelak2 heee heee heee..

Rimba Mata Putih
Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
Garallux Mitratus

Yang ini cantik.. kalerfull.. macam mainan je..

Rimba Telinga Putih
Silver-eared Mesia
leiothrix argentauris

Yang ini pun jinak juga... dok mencari makan dekat food court tu..

Rimba Ekor Panjang
Long-tailed Sibia
heterophasia picaoides

Wak wak bukan wak jiji

2008-12-22T14:37:00.004+08:00

patutla dia cepat sangat cabut lari. takut sangat dia dengan manusia. tak lama dulu selalu orang menjerat burung wak wak ni. sekarang tak buleh dah.. kat filipina ada baca, tinggal lebih kurang 200 pasang je diorang jumpa. kat sini tak tahu la...tapi skang dah masuk dalam Akta Hidupan Liar 76/72 dan jika sabit kesalahan, mereka boleh dikenakan denda tidak lebih RM5,000 atau penjara tiga tahun atau kedua-duanya sekali.

nampak tak gambar tu, dah lama dah tahun 2006, kesian burung2 tu.. makan ayam dah ler. makan wak wak ni buat apa, banyak tulang aje, selit celah gigi.., kata blog tu 31 ekor dpt tangkap.. diorang makan semua ke.. atau simpan peti ais, busuk buang. manusia memang tamak.

saya suka cerita ni pasal menangkap burung wak-wak ni, cuba lah baca... :D
http://kenshin-reverseblade.blogspot.com/2008/08/makhluk-di-tengah-sawah.html

tak kesian ke, saya suka lihat matanya.. comel sahaja!

Ruak-Ruak
White-breasted Waterhen
Amaurornis phoenicurus

Addendum 14/8/09

I am sad that someone plagarise the above pics, cropped out my signature and posted on his blog. The photographer spend so much time and effort to take the pics, put the signature and share with the world only to have his signature cropped out and posted anonymously without the photographer knowing.

sigh...

here is the culprit
http://abdulwahabarbain.blogspot.com/2009/02/dada-putih-berbadan-hitam.html

Pekak ke?

2008-12-22T11:37:00.003+08:00

Bunyinya kasar ... Hark Hark Hark, kalah penyanyi rock. Malah lebih serak dari bunyi burung gagak.. Selalunya berbunyi bila ia terbang.

Banyak kali juga terserempak dengan burung ini. Pekaka Dada putih (White-throated Kingfisher), Burung Raja Udang (Common Kingfisher) juga sejenis burung Pekaka tapi dadanya oren. Sekali je jumpa, tapi tak dapat ambil gambar. Kat Malaysia ada 13 spesis burung pekaka. Saya baru dapat satu.(as in June 26,2008)

Ini first time shoot this bird. Jauh dan tak berapa clear..

Dah berapa kali tangkap gambar burung ni,rasanya ini lah yang paling clear sekali.. Nampak paruh dia yang besar dan merah. Well, merah tanda bahaya.. so Watchout! lah wahai ikan - ikan sekalian.

Pekaka Dada Putih @ Pekaka Belukar
White-throated Kingfisher
Halcyon smymensis

Biar berputih mata...

2008-12-18T09:53:00.002+08:00

Dalam hobi birding nih, kena mempunyai banyak kesabaran. kadang-kadang pergi jauh-jauh, berjalan berpeluh-peluh, penat, dahaga... tak dapat satu burung pun... Kadang-kadang baru jalan sikit dah jumpa..

Mata Putih
Oriental White Eye
zosterops palpebrosa

contohnya burung kat atas ni.. baru nak melangkah masuk ke Taman Alam Kuala Selangor tu ia dah duduk mencari makan di pokok besar di paya tu.. kecil aje, kalau mata tak tajam tak nampak!. senyap atau bising tak berapa main peranan.. cuma mata kena liar mencari..

kalau ada syukur, kalau dapat tangkap gambar cantik lagi bersyukur, kalau tak dapat apa-apa..tak apa lah.. kan...

tapi kalau nak dapat, kenalah berusaha meningkatkan kebarangkalian untuk jumpa..

samalah macam hidup ini... kenalah berusaha..
kan kan kan!

Bird with a golden voice

2008-12-15T15:31:00.003+08:00

Burung ni dipanggil Mute Swan, satu spesies dengan angsa yang terkenal bising tetapi ia jarang mengeluarkan bunyi. bukan nya ia bisu tetapi kalau hanya mengeluarkan bunyi hiss jikalau terasa terancam dan bunyi grunt jika gembira. mungkin kerana ia adalah antara spesies burung terbang yang terbesar di dunia.

So size does matters

Bila kita perhatikan manusia, perasan tak bila dalam masyarakat tu, orang yang berbadan besar lebih senyap dari yang berbadan kecil. kalau ada perbincangan / perbalahan, yang kecik lebih dulu meninggikan suara.

Mute Swan
Cygnus olor

Maybe that when the big ones talk people listen, when the small people talk people tend to ignore. This doesnt just apply to physical sizes only. can apply to power and money too.

So listen to the little people so they doesnt have to shout!

MNS Open Day 2008

2008-12-09T11:52:00.008+08:00

I heard MNS was having an open day at FRIM, Kepong on 22nd November 2008, and there is a birdwatching slot. Well, guess it is a good time to learn more about birding and meeting fellow birder.

Arrived just about 9, park and get my equipment.. register my name at the birdwatching group.

No! I not yet a MNS member. I will register later, unfortunately rm70 is out of my budget for November. Poor man!

After meeting Yati and some members of the group(I'm soo bad with names!) we went into a trail which seems to be frequently used by cyclist on mountain bikes.

Not long into the trail, Somebody spotted/heard a banded kingfisher. He imitated the bird's call! and the kingfisher answered back. Wow! that was amazing.. got a small photo of the banded kingfisher pair. Trying the digiscoping setup..wow! that was big comparing to my 300mm x1.4 lens.

After half an hour or soo, walking some of the participants want to turn back. me and a couple of birder walking further infront kept walking.

then spotted this bird (a group 3-4 actually).

Beberek Leher Biru @ Blue-throated Bee-eater

after spending sometime at the spot, the birder couple turn back and asked "did you see the beeeater and the raffles malkoha?" "Beeeater yes, Raffles no". They went back but yet I stayed. I always birding alone so that day havent yet satisfied!

Still at the spot, then came a bird wave..a frenzy time to shot pictures..
so the group are..

first the lifers :) (if ID are wrong, please correct me)

Burung Matahari @ Scarlet Minivet

Spotted also the yellowish immature scarlet minivet.

Murai Ekor Gading Jepun @ Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher

Sewah Dada Oren @ Rusty-breasted Cuckoo

and improved shot of the

Cenuk Birah @ Chestnut-breasted Malkoha

I also a black drongo, but picture too lousy..

After spending sometime.. went to the waterfalls at FRIM. on the way out, notice a big bird on the road side. seem like a raptor catch something. Stop in the middle of the road, get my camera and shoot. A Crested Serpent Eagle with a lizard prey.. Handheld shot in a idling car makes a very blurry pictures..so not shown here.. but it was a nice experience.

What a nice day, sure I will join them (MNS) again.. 14th December, Lake Garden?