19/07/2019 Birds from Aman Perdana Marshes

We can't deny that oil palm plantation had gulped some of our wildlife since the 1960s. We lost our Green Peafowls due to the deforestation activity done for the plantattions. Yet, some abandoned oil palm plantation areas now serve as refuge for some of our wildlife. I managed to photograph some of the birds seen at an abandoned oil palm estate near Aman Perdana, which now turned into a freshwater marsh. 

Raptors, herons, egrets and rails were common here. Crested Serpent Eagles, Brahminy Kites, Black Winged Kites, and even White Bellied Sea Eagle were seen here. As for the herons, Grey Herons, Purple Herons and Little Herons were abundant as well. As for the egrets, Little Egrets, Intermediate Egrets and Cattle Egrets were commonly seen during my visit. 

Apart from these birds, I managed to sight a flock of Lesser Whistling Ducks few minutes after the sunrise. I had seen 3 rails here; White Breasted Waterhen, Watercock and Grey Backed Swamphen.

Crested Serpent Eagle

Crested Serpent Eagle

Paddyfield Pipit

Intermediate Egret

Scaly Breasted Munia

Purple Heron

Purple Heron

White Breasted Waterhen

Crested Serpent Eagle

Little Egret

A Female Baya Weaver

The bitter truth is, the abandoned oil palm estates around Aman Perdana are now been cleared for housing and highway projects. I couldnt find some of the birds I used to see few months back. I just hope they would had find a new home now. 

14.07.2019 Birding at Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam

Taman Botani Negara, Shah Alam was reopened on 25th June 2019 to public after the closure due to some renovation works. However we found that some roads/trails were still closed due to safety issues. Quite disappointed.

With a heavy heart we proceed to the paddy field area, it was kind of empty. I managed to sight a pair of Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker on the fig tree located at the middle of the paddy field.

Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker

Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker

Then we walked towards the Animal Farm. Murugesan and I manage to find few Red Cheeked Parakeets (originally know as the Long Tailed Parakeets) on a high perch. They seem like preparing to nest. Suddenly a small party of Brown Barbets burst out from nowhere, perched on a branch nearby.

Red Cheeked Parakeet

Red Cheeked Parakeets

Red Cheeked Parakeets

We then walked towards the flying fox area, where we found a troop of Dusky Leaf Monkeys having their breakfast. As I wrote before, this species is classified as "Near Threatened" by IUCN.

Dusky Leaf Monkeys

A pair of Raffles Malkoha (Lifer!) grabbed our attention too near the buffalo area. After grabbed some photos of the malkoha, I went to feed the buffalo kept in the park. Quite tame.

Raffle's Malkoha (Female) - Lifer

Raffle's Malkoha (Female)

Raffle's Malkoha (Female)

Raffle's Malkoha (Male)

At the lotus patch nearby, we sighted a Square Tailed Drongo Cuckoo (Lifer!) hunting caterpillars from the lotus leaves.

Square Tailed Drongo Cuckoo - Lifer. Due to distance, the shot is rather not clear.

Unable to grab more photos since the promising roads and trails had been closed. Well...next time.

13.07.2019 Birding at Frasers Hill

Greetings friends! 

Me and my best buddy, Murugesan planned a one-day birding trip to Frasers Hills on 13.07.2019. He brought with him his newly bought Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 OSS lens. After had our breakfast at Klang, we set off to the spot around 6:00am. We managed to reach the spot around 8:00am. On the way, we missed to shoot 5 birds, an Emerald Dove, Chestnut Backed Forktails, Cuckoo Doves, probably a flycatcher and a bulbul. A big regret since those were possibly our lifers!!!

Once we reached the spot, we parked near Puncak Inn and walked along the road. We stopped near a fig tree near to our parking area. We sighted a Fire Tufted Barbet having large figs for breakfast, followed by a Mountain Imperial Pigeon (Lifer!). We did sighted the common resident birds too; Chestnut Caped Laughing Thrush, Silver Eared Mesia and Long Tailed Sibia. Eventhough those are common species here, they are considered lifers for my buddy since he seldom ventures hill stations for birding.

Fire Tufted Barbet

Mountain Imperial Pigeon gulping a large ripe fig

Mountain Imperial Pigeon

We continued to walk along the road and found  a pair of Mountain Bulbul (Lifer!) busy getting ready their nest. Both male and female bird involve in the nest building process. The nest looks like a deep cup made of strips of dried plant matters and fibers, attached to a small branch.

Mountain Bulbul

Mountain Bulbul

Mountain Bulbul

Mountain Bulbul

In between I sighted something which looks like a whistling thrush, lurking silently in the bushes. I didnt manage to get a good photo as it was dark. By the look of its beak and the its tail splay...plus the pale "spots" on its chest, I can conclude that it could be a juvenile Large Niltava (Lifer!).

A juvenile Large Niltava

As we continue to walk, we found a small group of Mountain Fulvettas foraging for insects at the entrance of Abu Suradi Trail. The party were soon joined by a small group of Chestnut Caped Laughing Thrush.

Mountain Fulvetta

Mountain Fulvetta

A pair of Grey Chinned Minivets (Lifer!) and a female Greater Green Leafbird (Lifer) were seen as we proceed towards the Smoke House. Due to the distance, I'm unable to have clear shot.

Grey Chinned Minivet (Male)

Grey Chinned Minivet (Male)

Near to the Smoke House, we sighted Streaked Spiderhunters, a small party of Blue Winged Minla (Lifer!), a female Black and Crimson Oriole (Lifer).

Streaked Spiderhunter

Streaked Spiderhunter

Streaked Spiderhunter

Long Tailed Sibia

Blue Winged Minla (Could be a juvenile)

A female Black and Crimson Oriole

As we walked back to our parking, we saw a pair of Himalayan Striped Squirrel busy with what I assume is their mating ritual. They were like taking turn sniffing their "rear", it was funny though.

Ready!

Here I come!

Sniff! Sniff!

Ready Again!

My Turn!

Around 1:00pm we had our lunch and proceed towards Jeriau Falls. Along the path to the falls, we sighted Fire Tufted Barbet, a small group of Ashy Bulbuls (Lifer!) and an Ochraceous Bulbul.

Fire Tufted Barbet

Ashy Bulbul

I bagged 7 lifers in total. Quite a trip I might say. We went back to Klang at 3:00pm, exhausted yet satisfied. Maybe in our next trip, we may spend 2 days and a night there to get more birds.