Mike is the name Birding is the game ( Birding in Malaysia - Malaysian birds in photos ): Reed Warbler 2/3 April 2021

MikeBirder - Malaysian Birds

Hi

Welcome to my Malaysian Birding Blog. I migrated to blogspot.com as my blog at multiply.com closed shop in 2012. I wish to showcase all Malaysian birds that I have photographed whether here or overseas. My countdown of lifers started in 2005. Coming to Oct 2022 my countdown of lifers photograph has reached

559/688 species of birds of Malaysia in photos.

My shooting gear was a EF400mm f4 DO lens and Canon 7D body which to me is the ideal setup for mobility and bird chasing at that time. Eventhen the weight over my shoulder is more that 5.5 kg. As of June 2016 I have also acquired a Fuji XF 100-400mm OIS lens to complement my travelling cum birding trip overseas. My Fuji X-T2 went kaput recently and I upgraded to the X-T5 in 2023 ; the weight over my shoulder is much lighter now by 30%. In December 2018 I acquired the Nikon Coolpix P1000 as supplementary camera for distance shooting of 3000mm.

Fuji have finally made available their new XF 200-600mm lens which I yet to decide to spend another RM10,000. As for Fuji body I will stop with X-T5 36megapixel ..........

I am a weekend birder. Do feel free to drop me a line at mikebirding@gmail.com and I see whether you can tag along in my outings. My usual day trip is just an hour ride away to Hulu Langat, Lancang, Kemensah, Krau, Awana, Hulu Kali, Gombak Ole Road, Fraser's Hill , Bukit Tinggi and KSNP & Coastal Sg Janggut Jeram side of the coast . Overnite trip to Merapoh & Cameron, Air Hitam and further north to Kuala Sidim is a seldom affair but for lifer we travel. Panti in Johor is another good birding site that I yet to go. Then there are the Borneo birds of Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia which I seriously much go to chalk up more lifers. This I did in 2018 to Sepilok Sandakan and Kinabalu Park. Next Danum and LahatDatu.......

WARNING Birding is an addiction once you started its hard to stop. The wifey and children are now birding widow and orphan.

ALL PHOTOS IN THIS BLOG ARE COPYRIGHT OF MIKEBIRDER. KINDLY SEEK PERMISSION FROM THE OWNER IF YOU want to use them for commercial purposes.

Wednesday 14 April 2021

Reed Warbler 2/3 April 2021 - Black-browed Reed Warbler (lifer 545)

Shot in 1/800s still cannot freeze the bird in BIF

This one of the migrant Reed Warblers you can see in peninsula Malaysia. For the past 10 years I have tried looking for it umpteen times in Malim Nawar and Langkap but in vain. Only this year I was lucky to tick this lifer thanks to Sarav's tip off of its location. The bird is around still in the month of April to my surprise.

The resident Oriental Reed Warbler

The resident Reed Warbler is the Oriental Reed Warbler. Photo above.

Black-browed is the common visitor

This fellow is quite friendly here as it fly in and out from the undergrowth shrubs and at the pond cattails reeds. Whenever its big cousin is there it will not come out. This is because the Oriental is bigger and stoutly body built - about 20cm as compared to the Black-browed coming in at less than 15cm or 6 inches.

The Black-browed have a rather uniform black crown stripe & prominent white supercilium whilst its eye stripe is inconspicuously pale. Its beak is short and sharp.

The other migrant Reed Warbler you can see in Malaysia is the Manchurian which looks very similar to the Black Browed but with longer beak and more stout in size.

Meanwhile the Javan PH and Rusty-rumped Warbler have left the port for home I guess . Bon Voyage see you next year.....

Most of the time it will sulk behind the undergrowth like this. you must be ready for a shot when it come out in the open

These photos were taken with a Olympus OMD-1 mark III & EF400mm DO f4 telephoto lens. I was shooting from a distance of 30-40 ft ISO200 1/800s f4-5.6 in clear sunning condition. As you can see I did not manage good resolution but rather flat details on the micro43 sensor. Nevertheless the photos are just good enough for ID and blogging.