18.03.2018 - Meeting the Coucal at Pulau Carey!

On 18.03.2018, I had to continue the temple cleaning works at the another portion of the temple at Pulau Carey. Once again I went earlier to take some shots. Again at the rain tree, near the bridge. I was greeted by a flock of Ashy Minivets and of course, the Yellow Vented Bulbul, which was busy having their breakfast.

Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)

Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)

Yellow Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata)

Then I proceed to the another usual spot, the dead pine tree. I managed to click on the Blue Tailed Bee-eater and the Black Winged Kite.

Black Winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)

Blue Tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus)

Few meter away, I saw a big bird picking up a small stick on a grass patch adjacent to the plantation area. It was a Greater Coucal. I tried to get closer and it flew reluctantly, then perched on a oil palm tree. Greater Coucal is know as "semputru paravai" (செம்புற்று பறவை) or "shenbaga paravai" (செண்பக பறவை) in Tamil, is often associated with the mythical Sanjeevi herbs and for its usage in some Tantric rituals. This bird had been named as "Greater Crow Pheasant" by a British naturalist, G.H.W. Davison during the colonization era here in Malaysia. Greater Coucals are known to forage on the ground for food, which made them to be classified wrongly as a game bird.

Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)

Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)

Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)

I would like to share some information on the Coucal and the mythical root of Sanjeevi, which I had read in an article in the 1990's. Sanjeevi root is a mythical herb which can make invincible against any physical attacks. In order to find the root, one has to find the nest of the Coucal with its nestlings. when the parent bird is gone to find food, tie a piece of steel wire on the nestling's feet and move away from the nest. Pick a good observation point and see if the parent bird returning to nest. As soon as the parent bird return to the nest for feeding its young, it will realize that its young's leg is being tied by the wire. It will then flew away and bring a "root" to the nest. As soon as it place the root on the steel wire, it will snap and the parent bird will flee from the location with its young. The nest is then careful taken to a small stream. The nest materials were let in the stream piece by piece in order to find the root. How? While all the ordinary nest materials flow along with the stream, the Sanjeevi root will "flow" against the stream's flow direction. One has to quickly grab the root, and embed it in the right thigh. This will grant the invincibility.

Another version of the story mentioned that the abandoned nest need to be burnt. Since Sanjeevi root cant be burnt, one can recover it from the ash of the burnt nest. There is another version of the story mentioned that the mythical root can be recovered from the nest of a Brahminy Kite. No one knows which is true. In Indonesia, the bird is used to prepare a traditional ointment which is applied for joint and muscle aches. The methodology, you may google about it...its pure cruelty.

I proceed further in and spotted a Crested Serpent Eagle sunning itself on a utility pole. There were many other birds which I had "heard" here, some of them giving out weird calls. One with a call similar to a puppy and one more like a hog. They were unseen till this very day. I hope to shoot them soon.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis)

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis)

17.03.2018 - Pulau Carey...with a Migrant

I went to Pulau Carey on 17.03.2018 for temple cleaning works. I reached the spot earlier just to spend an hour plus to shoot the birds. I stopped at a big rain tree (Albinia saman) near a bridge. I was surprised by a group of shrike-like bird foraging for insects and caterpillars on that rain tree. It was a group of Ashy Minivets (a new entry to my birds list). They kept moving actively with soft shrills. Ashy Minivets are considered as migrant here, since they can be found between October and April, annually. The party later joined by a lonely Coppersmith Barbets, Common Ioras, Javan Mynas and Magpie Robins.

Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)

Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)

Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)

Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)

Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata)

Then I moved to a spot near to settlements of the estate workers. Tall coconut trees are common here. Olive Backed Sunbirds, Dollarbirds and Magpie Robins are common here. I found a "long lost" bird, which was a common species at my neighbourhood in Bidor. It was the Brown Throated Sunbird! This species is associated with coconut trees since they are fond of feeding on nectar from coconut inflorescence. This is also had been indicated in its Malay name, which is " Kelicap Mayang Kelapa". I never found this species in any other places in Selangor before. It is much larger than its much common cousin...the Olive Backed Sunbird.

Brown Throated Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis)

Olive Backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis)

Oriental Magpie Robin - Female (Copsychus saularis)

I proceed towards the dead pine trees to have look on the Black Winged Kite. I managed to find one, along with White Throated Kingfisher, a pair of Blue Tailed Bee-eater and of course the Yellow Vented Bulbul. Then I head to the temple for the cleaning works.

On my way, I spotted a Crested Serpent Eagle perching on a utility pole. One of its leg looked bit unusual to me. A small snake was coiling around its leg. Meal time I guess. It was my first time to see a Crested Serpent Eagle feeding. I managed to take some shots as well. Then I continued to drive to the temple.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis) with a small serpent in between its talon.

Lunch Time: Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis) gulping its prey.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis) after meal.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis) taking off.

Once the work done, I went to the open land near the temple to see if I could find the Red Wattled Lapwings, since I had spotted one during my previous visit. It was busy harassing a Crested Serpent Eagle in mid air. I manage to find one but to far for my camera. For me, it is the most difficult bird to approach unless with the help of some bushes to hide. White Throated Kingfishers were common at the open land, together with the Blue Tailed Bee-eater. The final shot was a Purple Heron near the junction of the Sime Research Center.

White Throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis perpulchra)

White Throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis perpulchra)

Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis tigrina)

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea manilensis)

My Birding History...

Greetings! I would like to share about my birding history...briefly I hope. I was born in Tapah, Perak and when I was 5, we shifted to Bidor, since my dad got a job there. We lived in a quarters of a saw mill located at Jalan Tapah, Bidor. The area surrounded by abandoned wooded land, bushes and orchards. Therefore, the area is filled with birds and other wild animals. This made me to have a great interest on watching birds, but I did not now how to identify them. When I was 14, I bought a book from my school mate, on Malaysian birds published by WWF Malaysia. With the help of that book and a basic set of binoculars, I was able to identify the birds well. I started to write notes on what I observe. I even collect the bird feathers, and I did had the primary wing feather of a Great Argus Pheasant in my collection as well.

My first book of Malaysian Birds

There was about 44 species of birds I had recorded at my neighborhood those days. Most were common garden birds. Others were

Once I shifted to Klang, some of the notes I had collected was missing and the birding activity went dormant for some years till I pick it up again. There were few things that had changed. First, some birds already been "moved" or classified under different genus. For an example the white Collared Kingfisher, which was initially classified under the genus of "Halcyon". Now it has been placed under the genus "Todiramphus". Same goes for the Spotted dove. 

2nd book on Malaysian Bird

Another change was the introduction of the subspecies of the birds. I generally use genus and species name only as a reference, but now there are some birds are further classified to subspecies. For an example, the Purple Heron and Black Naped Oriole.

Subspecies of Black Naped Oriole - Oriolus chinensis (Credits: Wikipedia)

As for now I'm equipped with Nikon D5500 camera and Nikkor 70-300mm lens to "capture" the birds in action. Adding to these gears, the Bushnell 20 x 50 bino. Much to learn actually, before getting into some serious camera and lens set which are recommended for bird photography. Some top birders in Malaysia are also kindly aiding me in getting info about birding locations and identification. I take this opportunity to thank to those who helping me to venture more into this.

25.02.2018 Pulau Carey Revisited

Since I had a temple meeting at Pulau Carey around 2pm, I decided to go earlier and spend a couple of hours with my camera along its main road. As usual, I was greeted by a Crested Serpent Eagle, which was perching on a utility pole.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis)

Black Naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis diffusus)

This time I could manage to take a better picture of a perching Black winged Kite on a tall pine tree. I also found a Purple Heron also perching very high on a pine tree.

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea manilensis)

Black Winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)

Black Winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)

Then I moved to the coastal area but tide is still high for the waders. I could see some dead fish floating on the water, where a small Little Heron feasting on them. There was a juvenile Brahminy Kite which was busy feasting on the dead fish...to my surprise in mid air, while soaring above the coast.

Yellow Bellied Prinia (Prinia flaviventris)

Yellow Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

There was a temple built at the coastal area for the village goddess "Gangai Amman". I found an idol of Goddess Ganga placed on the main arc of the temple. I had read in some books that the fishing community in India prays to Goddess Ganga to flourish their source of livelihood and for seeking protection against any water related catastrophe. "Makara", the legendary sea creature which looks like a crocodile is Her mount. "Makara" is the very name which resulted the name of Indus Marsh Crocodile a.k.a "the Mugger crocodile" (Crocodilus palustris). My good friend, Muthukumaran, who was born and brought up in Carey Island, mentioned that the temple was initially a small hut built by the early Indian settlers of the estate here. Then, five year ago the settlers built a bigger temple at that very location.

The idol of goddess Ganga at the main arc of the temple

I saw a Crested Serpent Eagle perching on a coconut tree planted near to the temple. after taking some shots of it, I walked along the coast. I saw another Crested Serpent Eagle perching on the oil palm tree, and at a sudden another eagle from out of nowhere charged on it for a battle. They both have they talons clinched to each other and dropped to ground. I cant see much on what is happening on the ground since the bushes were blocking my view. It happened in a split second, therefore I cant shoot the battle. However I am really grateful to witness such an act from those eagles.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis)

I walked to the opposite side of the coast, and manage to pick up a Purple Heron. I do feel that Purple Herons, unlike the Grey Herons, prefer to hang out at the freshwater wetland compared to saltwater, since I often find them at freshwater areas. At some distance, they are well camouflaged among the reeds, due to their slim, long neck.

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea manilensis)

On my way to my car, I spotted a White Collared Kingfisher, which wasn't that shy since it allowed to be at closer distance for a shoot.

White collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris humii)

Since it already 1:30pm, I drove off to Division 2 temple for the annual management meeting. On the way, I stopped at several spots looking for some opportunities to shoot.

At an earthen path in between plantation area, from a distance, I saw something big landed on the ground. Its then laid on the ground while spreading one of its wing. First I thought it could be a Greater Coucal, but this is much bigger. I took my camera and zoomed. To my surprise...its a Crested Serpent Eagle sunning on the ground! Its a rare scene indeed. This could be a way to get rid of the parasites. I tried get closer and closer to get a "near perfect" shot...well it felt unsafe and flapped away from the place.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis) sunning on ground

I drove further in Division 2 and saw a Red Wattled Lapwing (very sure...since I know its call) driving off a Crested Serpent Eagle in the mid air. Quite a gut! White Throated Kingfishers are abundant here, one can find them everywhere here perching on trees and electric cables.

White Throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis perpulchra)

Plantain Squirrel (Callusciurus notatus)

I do have the habit to thank those birds which really allow me to get closer and gives an opportunity for me to shoot. Its something very much valuable...that only a birder could feel.