15 March 2012: Bukit Larut, Perak

This was a bare-faced twitch!

A male White-throated Rock-thrush has been showing well for photographers since it was found by Mun on 25 Feb, and, since it's a species I'd yet to connect with in Malaysia, I had been tempted to go for quite a while.

Things finally came together yesterday, and Choo Eng, James and I took the hour or so trip south. It proved to be a good decision!



This was my first view of the bird as it alighted momentarily, in full sunlight, on an overhead wire. It proved to be the only shot I got of it in sunlight the whole day!



As I watched the bird sit motionless for long periods, I realized I've probably walked past more of these than I've had hot dinners - well - you get the point!
























People have regularly been putting mealworms out for this bird, and even set up a perch for it to land on! Well - these shots look a bit 'staged' to my eyes, but I'm not complaining too much!





This is how it spent most of its time, just sitting quietly in the undergrowth.

A few other birds did distract my attention too!



Ashy Minivets got a good grilling, but proved to be just Ashy!



There were lots of Eastern Crowned-warblers about, and several were singing their 'fizzy' songs - delightful!



The warblers were roaming around with a pack of Everett's White-eyes...



... and White-bellied Yuhinas (which I should really call Erpornises, except that I find that difficult to do without conjuring up an image of some kind of dinosaur!)



And finally, a Golden Babbler peered into my lens to check me out!

So - thanks to Mun for finding this bird - you might want to make another visit to finally get some pictures! Oh - there's a video of it here.

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.