Sultan Tit, Verditer Flycatcher and Streaked Spiderhunter

1st April 2011, Bukit Tinggi

On my way back from Kenyir, I made a short detour to Bt. Tinggi to check out the bird activities at the Japanese Garden. It was already late afternoon and it was about to rain when I arrived there – not really an ideal condition for bird photography. Any way I decided to proceed as I believe in Nature photography, we just have to  adapt to the conditions that is available to us. Here are some of the images that I managed to capture under this challenging circumstances.  

I was taking a shelter under the shed when a flock of this black and yellow colored bird showed up briefly on a distant tree. They turned out to be a flock of Sultan Tit – a lifer for me!

 

 

Low light and distant object equals poor image quality, that’s what I got here!

 

A pair of Verditer Flycatcher also made their appearance. Here is the male.

 

And this is, I believe, is the female.

 

Female Verditer Flycatcher having her snack of a moth she caught moments earlier!

 

 

As soon as the rain stopped, this familiar Streaked Spiderhunter showed up on a banana flower at the edge of the shed.

 

To a Spiderhunter, nothing tastes better than the nectar in the flowers!

Black-Naped Monarch

Kenyir 22nd March 2011

 

I was walking along a path early one morning when I saw this brilliant purplish-blue bird flew across my path. After searching for a while I managed to spot the bird perched on a low branch not too far from my position but the low lights in our thick tropical jungle make photographing this quick moving bird a real challenge.

A male Black-Naped Monarch

 

I managed to get a few shots before he disappeared into the forest. About 15 minutes later,much to my surprise, the same bird returned to the same area and this routine continued for about an hour. My suspicion proved to be correct when I spotted this well hidden nest about 20m from my hide.

I managed to get some shots of this couple building their nest.

 

 

The tasks of building the nest were equally shared by both male and female bird.

 

 

She must be very satisfied with the nest….. look at the big smile!…

Large Woodshrike, Green-Billed Malkoha and Red-Billed Malkoha

Bukit Tinggi, 15th March 2011

 

While waiting for the Blue and White Flycatcher to show up, I noticed bird activities on some trees near the left side slope of the nursery. Upon locking the focus, the bird turned out to be a handsome Large Woodshrike.

Seemed that this Large Woodshrike has been picking out what looked like a cockroach from cracks in the bark of a nearby tree – what an efficient hunter he is!

 

 

He  smashed the cockroach on the branch a couple of times before swallowing it.

 

About 10m to the right of the tree where I saw the Large Woodshrike, I saw this Green-Billed Malkoha enjoying the sunshine.

 

 

Getting a clean shot of this bird is always a challenge.

 

Just as I was about to leave for home, this Red-Billed Malkoha showed up briefly on a tree not far from where the Green-Billed Malkoha was earlier. Of course my very poor shots did not do justice to this beautiful bird. Hopefully I’ll meet this beauty again.

Blue and White Flycatcher

Bukit Tinggi, 15th March 2011

After reading Madi’s blog (madibirder.blogspot), I knew I had to get some shots of this rare winter visitor and I had to get it fast before it leave Bukit Tinggi. I was working in Hulu Perak since the first week of March and  was supposed to continue on to Kenyir, Trengganu, but I made a detour through Selangor and Pahang with a short break, up in Bukit Tinggi. Here are the ‘reward’ I received for my effort.

 

Unfortunately, this bird was still molting, it would’ve been spectacular if he’s got his full plumage on.

 

Thanks Madi for sharing your images earlier.