Avian Sighting June 2026 - Himalayan Cutia

Went to Genting Highland for cooling fresh air and some birding. a surprise is the present of a family of Himalayan Cutia the opposite side of Ulu Kali Mossy forest. As it was in the early morning the lighting was a bit harsh in clear sky condition. Nevertheless it was an exciting shooting with my buddy ML.

 

Avian site report Feb 2026 - Visiting Bukit Lancang Pahang after MCO

Bukit Lancang has not been what it used to be; many areas have been opened for various privatised scheme and farming This is very sad that this forest reserve have been violated Some more  the road towards Perhilitan centre is fully closed.

The good thing is the  port A77 is still active. Somebody had place a water shed and placed fishes to lure this rufous-backed kingfisher. It was active during the morning dropping in several time to feed.  The Pittas and Railbabbler was not heard there in the month of April- May this 2026. If you are going do bring along fish fries and a change of water so that the birds continue to strives there.

 

WOODPECKER 23/25 - Olive-backed Woodpecker female (Lifer 592/688)

 I thought I got this woodpecker before but after scrolling my photo collection of Woodies It looks like I got a lifer! Next I would like to get the Bay Woodpecker in Bkt Fraser and the elusive Grey-headed in Ulu Kali or Brincang Cameron.

The olive-backed woodpecker has yellow-green upperparts and gray-olive underparts. The side of the head has two black and white stripes. The male has a large red crest, the female has a smaller black crest.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland, mangrove and montane forests; the species avoids clearings and secondary forest. Found in most South East Asian countries dwelling in the middle storey of lowland and hill forest. It is not common to see and they are very vocal and loud.  If they are active they do response to your call. We were lucky in the month of June/July I believe its their breeding period. 

Urban Birding - Crested Serpent Eagle

After a heavy downpour in my suburb of Ayer Panas I chance of this resident  raptor  perched on a tree stump in the open. It was drying itself. The beautiful crest headset was just majestic.

 

Avian Lifer March 2026 - White-throated Rock Thrush Male

 10 years ago I got the female in Bukit Tinggi. This time we took the effort to travel to Perlis (Husaini's port) to shoot this rarity male White-throated Rock Thrush .  The bird is probably on its way back north. It may be leaving soon to mate and nest in May-July. So guys do make the effort to see it. This is my lifer male nevertheless and it was in breeding plummage !  

Adult male white-throated rock thrushes have white patches on their chins and throats. However, the rest of their undersides are a chestnut-orange color. Adult females have brown or olive-brown upper parts and "boldly scalloped" lower parts. Young males have gray or golden-brown feathers and orange undersides. The birds are also cobalt blue and black in places. The bird's song has been described as "melancholy, flute-like, drawn-out rising whistles" (Wiki)

The white-throated rock thrush has a very sizable range, 1,710,000 square kilometers. It is native and breeds in Manchuria, the Russian Far East and neighboring areas; it winters in Indochina and southern China. The birds are occasionally seen in Japan. They have also been observed in Hong Kong and  Singapore. The bird's population is unknown, but is not increasing or declining. (Wiki)

Husaini Port .You have to pay a RM100 per pax levy to shoot the bird and I would say it is worth it. The bird will come out to feed several time until 11 am. You have to bring you own hide as you be shooting in the open at a rocky outcrop. You should position your hide to get a side profile rather than a frontal view. 

He has another shaded port to shoot a pair of Banded Pitta, Puff-throated babbler and Ruddy Kingfisher. He charge another RM50 pax if you want to shoot them.  We hope he will be able to lure a Giant Pitta to his port in the future....

If you place hide wrongly you will get only frontal view like this.

TERN 8/14 - Common Tern (Lifer 2026 591/688)

The Common Tern is about 34cm long and I consider it to be a medium size tern. The largest tern is the uncommon Caspian  coming in at 55cm. It is a pelagic bird of open sea and coastal edge during low tide. I got mine at Kuala Perlis mud flats. It can be seen from September till May here in Peninsula.

Never being good with BIF so follow my expert advice - set to 1/2000s, multifocal points, prefocus mode and just shoot, 

 

Treepie 2/2 March 2026 - Racket-tailed Treepie (Lifer 590/688)

 

This is my much sought  after lifer whenever I am in the northern state of Perlis. People says it is easy to see but difficult to shoot as they are very skittish and do not stay put. In the first day we tried different locations given by resident birder Husaini. We managed to see it but when we dismount from our car the bird just flew into the dark side of the trees. and never to be seen. On day 2 we went back to the same location in the late morning at about past 10.00am hoping to encounter the pair we saw earlier. This time we were ready with our gear to shoot  as we slowly move along the track towards the previous sighting spot. But alas a big fat zero. 

We went about the kampung road in a circle scanning coconut tree, raintree  without seeing the bird as we return to  the same location. Then I commented that the gate to a restricted area is open which was closed the other day. AT was gungho & decided to drive in as the guard post was not manned. Worse case scenario we be forced out. Almost reaching the end of road  KS shouted Treepie at eye level !!! 

The Shooting Experience

We were very lucky to encounter the same pair  in their feeding mode, The pair stayed for a good 15mins at middle storey to as low as 6 feet feeding on grub and insects. They were not so preturb of our presence even 4 of us chasing it under the trees. Exposure is a challenge For me the Fuji XT5 needs to be dialed to +2 to get some details  of its dark body in  backlighting and shadows condition. Most of my shots were of  silhouette lol. You can see most of my photos are half  darken. 

                                        

If you can shoot from your car or shoot behind your car. You can misidentify  pair of crow-billed drongo for it from afar. Look out for it on coconut tree or bamboo thickets. They are always moving about as they have a wide territory. It best to hunt the bird in the morning when they are feeding. In our case it was about 10am.

The characteristic of the Racket-tailed is its crow like beak with blue eye and  glossy green body which can appear black in the shade. Its tail is as long as its slender body like our Long-tailed Sibia. Length wise is about a footer. It is park under the crow family. They are agile bird  maneuvering along branches using its long arch tip tail to balance.

Habitat & Distribution. They are found in the northern states of Peninsula Malaysia and Perlis has the fair share of sightings. The bird is arboreal and feed on insects, grub and fruits in trees. In Malaysia context it inhabit kampung  or village environment and plantation. In our encounter it feed in bamboo thickets, raintree and fruiting trees.

A cup shaped nest is built in bamboo or shrubs especially thorny ones often surrounded by open grassy areas and normally lays 2–4 eggs.

Thank you KH Low, Alan T & Alan K for the company. Good food and merry comradeship. The Harum Manis we bought was very fragrance and sweet. Upon opening the box I found a packet of Carbide ...apparently to quicken the ripening? The grade C mango was RM30 per kg Damn expensive but what to do cannot get it in KL.