Avian Sighting March 2025 - Malayan Rail Babbler

In the month of March 2025 I joined AT to shoot the rare and shy MRB in Hulu Langat. The bird have been visiting the port regularly for the past month though it may skip the port if there is too much human activity or the presence of aggresive bird or predator. We were told that it did not showed up the day before. So we were optimistic  to hear its call early in the morning and we patiently wait for it to come out to the open log port.

We rendezvous at  the foothill before driving uphill to the port at 6.30am. The laterite road  is manageable during dry weather but it can be horrendous muddy and slippery otherwise. So it is not advisable  if you are driving a sedan car. By the time we reached the place it was already full of birders and the place was still in dim lighting. We were lucky to squeeze into 2  more spots at the far edge but nearer to the tree trunk. 

The MRB showed up as early as 7.30am in low light condition and then another 2 times during the morning session as we adjourned from the port after 12.30pm.

Besides the star bird  we managed to shoot the female Siberian blue Robin, Black capped Babbler, Yellow naped Fc and Short-tailed. fortunately there were no squirrels other than the cameo Bell's Dragon Lizard. Canopy birds were also present like the Asian Paradise, Malkoha 

 

Bird sighting March 2025 - Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler & Black-browed Reed warbler

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler

I was travelling to Ipoh last weekend and I detoured to Chui Chak for some bird watching. The first bird to see was this migrant bird It was still around which may overstay or take residence in Malaysia.

 At the same spot along the main track into Chui Chak padi field I also got some good open shots of the Black-browed.  Though they are not lifers I happy to get some better photos in the open abate the glaring lighting..............

Black-browed Reed warbler

In Chui Chak the replanting of Rice Padi has just completed and the farmers are spraying pesticide I spend just 3 hours there as the weatherwas rather sunny and hot.

Avian sighting June 2024 - Barred Eagle Owl

Barred Eagle Owl is a common sighting in suburb  parkland and pocket garden in cities in Malaysia. This juvenile bird was seen in my housing estate garden park in the early evening near my house in Ayer Panas.  At that time while I was in my porch I notice there were rowdy  bird harrassing calls in neighbor fruit trees. I suspected there must be bird of prey around so I venture out to look for it. Then I saw a bird bird flew across my house to a huge Raintree with smaller birds chasing it. Later managed to sight it perch on a horizontal branch.  

Juvenile birds are more approachable and this bird is the same and it came down to a lower branch about 25 feet from us. Luckily my curious neighbor was there to help me to hold the torch light to flash from offset position so as not to get "red eyes" photos. After shooting for 10- 15 minutes we left it there ...................

 

GROUND BIRD - Great Argus (Lifer 576/688)

 

Most of the time you can only hear them calling in a distance, deep in the jungle. If you do want to spend much money to see this rarity bird in the wild, you can visit the Penang Bird Park which they may have one in captivity now. 

Here in Telupid Hide, we encounter the birds in the late morning 10.30am and late afternoon after 3pm. They are marauders in search of fruiting trees; and some says they will follow primates or other mammals, canopy birds  which feed on fruits in the canopy and they will eat the fruits that are discarded by them. 

In October we cannot expect to  see the mating ritual of large male  pheasant. They are monogamous and paired for life unless one of the mate die. If you want to see their mating dance you have to go in April-August. The male clears an open spot in the forest and prepares a dancing ground. He announces himself with loud calls to attract females, then he dances before her with his wings spread into two enormous fans, revealing hundreds of "eyes" while his real eyes are hidden behind it, staring while the hundreds eyes hypnotizing her.

There are two subspecies recognized: Nominate argus of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, and A. a. grayi of Borneo. William Beebe considered the two races to be distinct species, but they have since been lumped.

The great argus is a brown-plumaged pheasant with a blue head and neck, rufous red upper breast, black hair-like feathers on the crown and nape, and red legs, Unusual among Galliformes, the great argus has no uropygial gland. 

The male is one of the largest of all pheasants, measuring 160–200 cm (63–79 in) in total length, including a tail of 105–143 cm (41–56 in), and weighing 2.04–2.72 kg (4.5–6.0 lb).  Males have very long tail feathers and huge, broad and greatly elongated secondary wing feathers decorated with large eyespots. Young males develop their adult plumage in their third year. Our photo of the male is missing its extension speckled  long tail.

Females are smaller and duller than males, with shorter tails and fewer eyespots. They measure 72–76 cm (28–30 in) in total length, including a tail of 30–36 cm (12–14 in), and weighs 1.59–1.7 kg (3.5–3.7 lb).

You may like to know there is another Argus you can see in Peninsula - the Crested Argus which is even longer at 190- 239 cm compared to the Great Argus which is 160-200 cm in length. Maybe because of the longer tail. The Crested was once sighted in Kuala Tahan  in June 2020 ie it is a submontane bird  whilst Great Argus is at lowland upto 900m.

FULVETTA - Brown Fulvetta (3/3) Lifer 577/688

 This is my inaugural birding trip for the year 2024 as  I was tied down for the past 10 months taking care of my incontinent mummy who is now 89 years old. I recently l managed to employ a caretaker in August. So when my fellow birders wanted to go to Talang Ipoh-Langkap I was eager to join them as my target bird is the Brown Fulvetta. This was my first time there and my impression of the Talang's lowland  bird life  is impressive and somewhat surpass Bukit Rengit in quality birds. We encounter plenty of babbler species which include Moustached, Rufous fronted, Rufous crowned, Buff chested and  Fluffy-backed.

The Brown Fulvetta is a very plain bird of grey and brown wings. They are gregarious and feed on grubs that they catch on branches in the low to medium storey 15 ft. They are also friendly and response to your bird call. It is usual to see them in birdwave but our encounter; they were feeding on their own and there was a juvenile tagging along.

 

TQ TimATML for the "value for money" trip which cost us only RM35per pax with simple breakfast of RotiCanai Sambal Petai/ Nasi Lemak and Hokkien Char and Kampung eggs for lunch.

Rufous-fronted Babbler

Dark-throated

Yellow-bellied

SWIFTLET (6/9)- Black-nest Swiftlet (Lifer 575/688)

Shooting from the Canopy walk you can see this Swiftlet year round. I was never good in BIF shots. Even at 1/4000 or 8000 I still get soft shoot like above. Nevertheless a lifer .Narrated as a small dark Aerodramus swiftlet that is nearly impossible to distinguish from closely-related species such as Mossy-nest and White-nest Swiftlets. Dark above and paler gray below; rump varies from dirty white to dark depending on subspecies. Tail averages more squared-off and less prominently forked than White-nest and Germain’s swiftlets, but best identified when on feather-and-saliva nests, which are dark, as the name suggests. Nests in large colonies in caves, often with other species of swiftlet. Chitters at nest, but usually fairly quiet. Need to find their roosting cave to get better pictures lol.

Avian sighting Oct 2023 - Changeable Hawk Eagle- Black morph and White morph Copulation

We sighted a pair of Changeable Hawk Eagle copulating near an incomplete nest in middle of October 2023 at RDC Sepilok (Pitta Trail). It was a distance viewing of about 1000m away. As it will not disturb them I don't mind posting the encounter so that other birders can see and report  the progress of the birds. ID by my sifu Tou.

                                   Photo taken with Fuji X-T5 with 100-400mm XF telephoto lens