Monday, May 31, 2010

Drongos at Kg Paya ...

Got another chance to re-visit sightings discovered a month ago ...

Due to the extreme distance before, what previously looked
like 2 black birds with woodpecker style of tree trunk
hanging turned out to be Drongos! Another lifer.

Their calls consists of a whistle followed by #$3%# ... somehow
hard to describe in words. A pair of them seem to focus
on a lone tree out in the open by the edge of an oil palm estate.
The fruiting tree seems to be the magnet or perhaps where their
nest is located as they constantly fly in and out.



Composite shots of the BIF


Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus paradiseus


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

When they say you are being watched ...

Another drive by shooting ...
The bird was monitoring the Ayer Keroh - Sg. Udang
expressway not for traffic jam but road kill.

Changeable Hawk Eagle
Spizaetus cirrhatus

Getting harder ...

Drive by shooting Melaka river bank ...

Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos

BIF egret ...

Egrets playing by the pool of isolated water
from the sea re-claimation project.


Little Egret
Egretta garzetta

Green bird ...

Green bird taken at Bukit Tinggi ...

Lesser Green Leafbird female
Chloropsis cyanopogon

Spider hunter ...

Where there are flowers, there are birds ...
Taken at Taman Seribu Bunga


Spectacled Spiderhunter
Arachnothera flavigaster

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sunbird ...

The bird was enjoying its drink
of "bunga tahi ayam" nectar.
Taken mafia style ...

Brown-throated Sunbird
Anthreptes malacensis

Headless bird ...

No bird was harmed in the shooting ...
the kingfisher likes to hang around the coastal area at
an isolated patch of water left over from the
sea re-claimation project.

Collared Kingfisher
Todiramphus chloris

Magpie ...

Juvenile magpie taken in autumn ...



Oriental Magpie Robin
Copsychus saularis

Drive by shooting ...

Taken mafia style, drive by shooting ...
saw the bird was beside a dirt road
while driving in the oil palm estate.
Stopped the car, lowered the window .... bang bang bang

Greater Coucal
Centropus sinensis

Sunday, May 23, 2010

New play ground ...

Found this new location complete with a
clean stream and tar road, within 3 hours 2 lifers.

Spotted this Malkoha with their characteristic hopping and
turning as if thoroughly checking every leaf looking for food.
Black-bellied Malkoha
Phaenicophaeus diardi



The friendly local woodpecker, we were less than 3m
from this guy and this doesn't bother him at all.
Got a close-up demo how the pecking is done,
unforgettable audio and visual experience.

There was another pecking sound from a nearby
bamboo cluster, was hoping for a bamboo
woodpecker but could not spot it.
Buff-necked Woodpecker
Meiglyptes tukki

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Searching for new locations ...

Cloudy the whole day, with slight drizzle in
late afternoon. Lack of good light ...


Recee around Tampin and found this tree full of weavers
Baya Weaver
Ploceus philippinus



Before going back to the river ... can't get enough of the
flourescent bee eaters and their aerial display ...
Blue-throated Bee-eater
Merops viridis



Lifer, finally catch a glimpse of the chirpy bird
in the grass land. Wake up to their calls every morning.
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Prinia flaviventris



Orange-breasted Green Pigeon
Treron bicincta



Opportunity for BIF as the whistling duck made
several rounds in the air before settling for the
night in the marsh land ...
Lesser Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna javanica

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Melaka river bank birding ...

Back to the river bank after major river re-aligning works,
destruction every where. The place is turned up-side
down but the birds are still there ...



Yellow-vented Bulbul
Pycnonotus goaivier



Blue-throated Bee-eater
Merops viridis



Barred Buttonquail
Turnix suscitator

Monday, May 10, 2010

Gunung Datuk, Bongek birding ...

Many firsts today, must be my lucky day.

Red Junglefowl
Gallus gallus



Black-crested Bulbul
Pycnonotus melanicterus



White-rumped Shama
Copsychus malabaricus



Richard's Pipit
Anthus novaeseelandiae



Raffles's Malkoha
Phaenicophaeus chlorophaeus



Dollarbird
Eurystomus orientalis