10 - 13th March 2012: Raptor Watch, Tanjung Tuan

Compared to last year, this year's pilgrimage was a decidedly low key affair. The weather conditions conspired against getting many good photos, so, for a better idea of the event and its birds, have a browse through 12-13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th March 2011.



On the 10th, the entire day produced only 17 Grey-faced Buzzards, including this juvenile.



We were glad of the opportunity to watch any bird that would show itself, such as this immature Black-naped Oriole...



...and a Blue-throated Bee-eater.



After a while, even these disappeared, so we resorted to looking at pictures of raptors...






















...And people HOPING to get pictures of raptors!

Thankfully, the 11th was a lot better! We counted over 5,300 Oriental Honey-buzzards, though wind and lighting conditions were still not in favour of the photographers!









The best of a bad bunch - a male, two females and a juv. I got much better pics last year!

The star of the day was a dark morph Booted Eagle.





The pictures would have been a lot better if I hadn't had the camera on the wrong settings! Still - it happens, and there will be others...



This Barn Swallow seemed to think it was hilarious!

The 12th was a new low - just one OHB all day, but fortunately, we had made the decision not to sit at the lighthouse. Instead we had a lazy day in the garden and by the beach, when I trained my camera on some of the common birds I usually overlook.









Asian Glossy Starling, Brown Shrike, Spotted Dove and Yellow-vented Bulbul, all taken with coffee in John and Ting Howes' front garden!





A pair of Oriental Magpie-robins coming to take scraps as we lunched at the Yacht Club!



At dusk we went to check out a green-pigeon roost hoping for Orange-breasted. No luck, but we did observe this male Pink-necked apparently eating mud from the foreshore - can anyone explain it? Perhaps taking mineral supplements?





A female Pink-necked Green-pigeon preparing to roost in Rhizophora.

So that was it for Raptor Watch this year. We were fortunate to have one 'big day', and it made us realize what exceptional fortune we'd had last year!

26-29 January 2012:Fraser's Hill, Pahang

A few shots from a rather quiet visit (birdwise!) over Chinese New Year.




















A male Black-and-Crimson Oriole.



Female Black-eared Shrike-babbler.



Blue-winged Siva.



Chestnut-crowned Warbler.



A typical view of a Large Scimitar-babbler! For a better view, see this post.






















A confiding Mountain Imperian Pigeon.






















This splendid male Mugimaki Flycatcher just wouldn't come into the open!
























Red-headed Trogons were more than usually in evidence.

21 July 2011: The Gap - Fraser's Hill

I started at the Lower Gate before dawn, being surprised to hear a Javan Frogmouth near the gate. Once it was light I soon located three Bamboo Woodpeckers - one of my Fraser's Hill 'bogey birds' finally laid to rest!







Getting good photos was another matter! Over the next few days I encountered this species daily, usually more than once, but never got a decent chance of a clear shot in good light.



A flock of Black Laughingthrushes was obliging, but I failed to get any sharp shots.

Having finally got the woodpecker, I now only have two Fraser's Hill residents left to see, both of them partridges (Ferruginous and Long-billed)! The first of these was my target for the trip, and I spent much of the morning sitting in my hide and waiting...! Two birds were calling further up the hill, one above the road and one below, but none came close, so I gave up the hunt towards midday.



This White-bellied Yuhina (Erpornis) was one of several species still active at the Lower Gate as I left.

At the top I headed for some lunch and an iced strawberry juice, but I met Ahli Chung and a group he was guiding, who told me they'd found a roosting Mountain Scops-owl on Hemmant's Trail. The drink was hastily postponed as I got precise directions and headed off to try to locate the bird. It wasn't where they'd seen it, but incredibly, while I was searching for it, a bird started calling close by, and, in response to my whistled imitation, flew straight in to perch about 5m away! It sat there oblivious to my attempts to manoeuvre myself to get a unobstructed shot and continued calling, stimulating a second bird to respond not far away!





While watching the bird, I noticed it peering over my shoulder at something behind me. On turning I saw two Yellow-throated Martens coming down the slope toward me. At about 3 metres away, they finally noticed me and ran off up the slope. No chance to move, still less photograph them, but it was an unforgettable moment nonetheless!

Here's a video of the bird calling. Thanks Ahli!

Eventually hunger pangs kicked in and I walked away from the bird, still in view and still calling!



The afternoon was a bit of an anticlimax after that. This female Black-and-Crimson Oriole was part of a bird wave.

5-6th February: north-west Kelantan

A group of us from Penang set off on an exploratory trip to some rarely-visited Kelantan wetlands - To' Uban and Empangan Bukit Kwong (see map), in the wild hope of finding some long-lost rarity! Our imaginations had been fired up by Tony Sebastian's reports of vultures, dabbling ducks and pelicans in the early 90s.



It took us a couple of hours of driving till we finally located this beautiful lake, set deep in rural Kelantan.



There is a stunning white mosque known as Masjid Brunei on the shore.



We eventually found our way to it. It was just as impressive close-up as it had been from a distance!



We were unable to find a boatman so were reduced to scanning the many good-looking areas for waterbirds from the shore. A male Pheasant-tailed Jacana flew into the vegetation opposite and was lost to view, leaving us wondering what else might be in there. Definitely a place worth revisiting next winter.



A roadside pair of Indian Rollers caused an unscheduled pit-stop at Tok Bali.



A Black-naped Oriole shared the same tree. Judging from the width of the yellow at the tip of the tail, I think this is a male, and the restricted yellow on the tertials and secondaries reveal that it is a one of the resident 'maculatus' race.



A Grey-faced Buzzard flew by. I hope to get better shots of this species next week at Raptor Watch, Port Dickson!



Empangan Bukit Kwong is a man-made reservoir right on the Thai border.



We were surprised to see Javan Mynas were common in the area.





As were White-vented or Great Mynas. The origins of these birds are debatable, but they have certainly established a viable presence there.



A mixed flock of Jungle, White-vented and Javan Mynas!



A number of Pintail/Swinhoe's Snipes were feeding in the same area.



Master of disguise! Spot the snipe.



Easier now?

Our plans were hastily rescheduled when we met a boatman who gave us a description of 7-8 birds he sees on the lake daily which closely matched Oriental Darter! Unfortunately he wasn't free to take us out, but we found another boatman who was willing, though he himself had not seen the birds.



Scanning hard!



A wary Common Kingfisher watched us pass.



As did this Chinese Pond-heron.



New life!







This Osprey allowed us to approach fairly closely.





Before deciding to move elsewhere. No darters this time, but again, another place certainly worth revisiting.







A late afternoon visit to Pergau Dam on our way back home yielded a few good birds - Long-tailed and Dusky Broadbills, White-crowned Hornbills and Himalayan Swiftlet, but it was this impressive Rhinoceros Beetle which attracted the cameras!