Elephants and Hornbills in Endau Rompin

Twenty-four keen early birds set off in five vehicles and drove from Kuala Lumpur to Kluang. Some of us found the famous Coffee Shop on the platform of the old Kluang Railway station.
This is a historic building remaining just about the same as when the British built it some 100 years ago. The Coffee Shop must have been the original waiting room. The wooden window frames were obviously made of very hard wood, The Coffee and Kaya buns were as they were years ago. It was jammed with people. The toilet was unchanged since the time it was first built and for this we paid 20sen.

We all assembled at the office of the Endau-Rompin National Park (ERNP) at 12. 30 noon in Kahang. After a quick lunch and registration, we were assigned five 4WD vehicles and drivers who drove for nearly two hours to cover the 56Km to the Visitor’s Centre inside the Park.

When we left Kahang it was raining heavily, and the jeep track was wet and slippery. This made the drive to the Visitor Centre quite an adventure. Before reaching the Park, the first stretch of about 15 km was mainly secondary forest. The rest of the area was just oil palm plantations until we finally arrived at the Park.

Monoculture Palm Oil Plantations

The jeep track was used by lorries carrying logs out from adjacent forests where logging was still going on. We saw many lorries loaded with medium -sized logs.
When we reached Sungai Mas, about half way before reaching the Park, a wooden bridge that once spanned the river was no longer useable. Our driver informed us that it was washed away during the monsoon rain last December. So, a temporary floating bridge made of large -diameter bamboo lashed together with thick ropes became our only means of crossing the river.
Our driver slowly steered the 4WD down a slope in order to get onto the floating bridge, then accelerated up a slope on the opposite bank. It was quite daunting because of the pouring rain!

Bridge Crossing

We arrived at the Visitors Centre during mid afternoon, unpacked and straightaway went on our first birding walk for about three hours.
The first evening dinner served by the Park’s caterer consisted of rice, slightly over-burnt roast chicken, vegetables and fruit. Despite our disappointment, everything was eaten probably because everyone was hungry. There was some speculation as to what birds we could find after dinner. We decided to look for owls, but there was none to be seen. We got back at around 10.30pm . I happened to get up at 4. 30am the next morning. A very keen birder who had just seen an owl signalled for me to follow him. He took me to spot where a Buffy Fish-Owl was still perched on a branch not far from our chalets. This caused great excitement and by 5.30 am, Sunday 8th June, just about everyone had seen the owl.

Buffy Fish Owl

After breakfast, we split into four groups before climbing aboard a pick-up truck , for a 3 KM ride road to Nature Education and Research Centre (NERC). There was an abundance of birds at the NERC.
After lunch we walked the same road going back to the Visitor Centre. Along the way we noticed fresh elephant dung on the jeep track, trampled vegetation and some uprooted wild ginger plants. Sure enough, we soon came across a small herd of elephants; it was very exciting even though it was difficult to see them clearly through the vegetation.

Learning to identify every bird that was seen or heard took a great deal of effort, especially for beginners. However, our group leader John Steed was great at identifying birds and their songs. On our way back to the Visitor Centre a hornbill flew low over us and perched on a tree. It was not difficult to identify it as a Rhinoceros Hornbill, a male bird about a meter long, with a very bright orange-red curved horn attached to its upper mandible, a truly magnificent bird.

Rhinoceros Hornbill

In the afternoon a Black and Yellow Broadbill was spotted feeding a juvenile Indian Cuckoo that was at least twice as big as herself. The Broadbill had been tricked into incubating an egg laid by an Indian Cuckoo and subsequently feeding the ever hungry hatchling as though it was its own offspring.

Juvenile Indian Cuckoo

There were many other interesting sightings and within two adventurous of birding in around the NERC, the four groups collectively identified 102 species of birds. For some of us, almost all of the birds were what birdwatchers termed as ”lifers”, meaning a species seen for the first time by a person. One truly compassionate member, known to us as” Noor “saved a river terrapin from the cooking pot by purchasing it and later releasing it at a safe site. Monday, early morning, was our last time to go out birding before leaving at 11. 30am for our parked the cars at Kahang. After lunch we drove back to KL. It had been a wonderful trip.

Text by Diana van der Elst
Photographs by John Steed*
All images are copyright protected by their owners.

*Photo of River Crossing supplied by....

Day Trip to Bukit Rengit

Beginners Luck…

Bukit Rengit

The day started at 5am with the dull throb of the alarm clock drilling into my brain. Hmmm, birders must be very serious folk to be up this early to just see some birds in some forest, I thought, as I groggily made my way to the car.

I was on the way to Bukit Rengit forest, which is near the Krau elephant sanctuary. The trip was organised by the birding group of the MNS.

It had been quite sometime since I got up this early and on the Karak highway. Nice cool morning with mist drifting across the road as we made our way up the range, car droning as we climbed up to Genting Sempah and down to Karak. From there it was just a 15-20min drive to the Lanchang exit of the East Coast highway for the first regroup.

There were already a group of 10-20 birders there, already having breakfast. Already the bins were out, as directly opposite the rest stop, were a few hornbills perched on a prominent tree. Black Hornbills, I was told. Later, the flock of Black Hornbills took flight over us, and as they drifted over us through the mist, I felt the magic of these flighted creatures as they gracefully glided away.

From the rest stop/toll gate, it was just a short 30min drive to Bukit Rengit. There was a prominent signboard showing the way to the elephant reserve, hmmm…noted with interest.

We parked the cars along the road at the Deer Land park, and the group were efficiently separated into 2 sections, the day-trippers and the follow up for the Beginner’s birding class.

After the 2 groups separated the day-trippers were walking along the road, looking and listening intently. The mist was still in the air, and the sun had not quite shone through the trees yet.

Then pleasantly surprised, I saw that Aun Tiah was in the day-trippers’ group…someone that I recognised from the old days of MNS slide shows and bird talks in the Rimba Ilmu auditorium. I think I was lucky that he was there to show the newbie’s the ropes.

Looking at the group, mostly everyone dressed in drab earth and natural earth colored clothing; and naturally being a guy, I had great interest in their hardware. From bins of small and big sizes, there were all makes and types. More interesting was the scopes, these big heavy scopes with equally heavy tripods!!! Everyone seemed to have an opinion on which was the best…
Walking slowly along the road, everyone seemed relaxed and enjoying the fresh air…

Suddenly, someone pointed into the forest, and said, Sunbird!!! Where?, where?…everyone asked. Bins were out, and soon we were trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive bird.

And there it was. A small tiny bird almost invisible amongst the foliage…some Latin named sunbird, someone said. Errrr, what’s a sunbird??? After we watched the tiny bird flitting in and out the trees…it suddenly became aware of us, and flew away.

So what was the bird doing? Looking for food, defending its territory, feeding its young? So many questions!!! I guess I never really thought about what birds do, how they live and do the things they do…all that nature stuff. Interesting….

Aun Tiah and other more experienced birders were a great help, they took out their field guides and showed us the different birds. The colour plates were a great help in identifying each species. Aun Tiah even tested us, and asked us which bird actually we had seen, amongst all the colour plates in the book!

So that was the pattern of the day, walking, looking and hearing birds, trying to catch a glimpse of the birds and getting to know a great group of people.

Surprisingly, the highlight of the day for me came at the end of the day, when the birding class group rejoined us. Someone had found a small brilliantly coloured bird on the road. Apparently it had been stunned by something, collided with a tree or car…who knows.

Black-naped Monarch being placed into leaf and returned to shelter of a tree

It sat quietly in our hands, and someone said it was a Black-naped Monarch. Brilliantly coloured blue, with black on the beak and nape…it looked quietly at us and didn’t respond at all. I had thought that it would have been freaked out at being handled, this creature of wild nature, but it didn’t!!!

Everyone crowded in for a look, digital and SLR cameras came out for pics, then the creature was placed in a folded dry leaf and set amongst the branches of a small tree next to the road, while we watched for signs that it recovered. Finally after about half an hour, it recovered and sat perched on a branch, posing yet some more for our group.

By now, the sun was high up in the sky and we broke for lunch, officially the trip was over. Then over a lunch of nasi lemak and fried chicken, I managed to talk with other members of the trip entourage. It impressed me how passionate birders can be, the life lists, the favourite birds, their bird calls…what a great pastime.

In the end, it was a fantastic day!!! From looking at birds’ long distance to actually holding one in the hand!!! I think I was very lucky to have experienced both extremes…

Text by Wai Hoe Lock
Photographs by John Steed
All images are copyright protected.
Unauthorised use is prohibited

Templer’s Park; Selangor Bird Group Outing: 27 April 2008

Templer’s Park is easily accessible from most of the Klang Valley. The signage, unfortunately, is very poor and there were a few stragglers who struggled to find the place! Jasmine’s (your friendly Outings Coordinator) handphone was running hot. However, you know you are close when you see the distinctive shape of the limestone Bukit Takun rising by the highway.


For those who arrived early, the car park provided some lowland forest goodies like a male Grey-and-buff ‘Woody’ Woodpecker with his oversized head and a lovely male Orange-bellied Flowerpecker. Cuckoos were heard all around us and one Plaintive Cuckoo was seen mournfully calling from a high-voltage pylon wire. It’s not called the ‘burung mati anak’ for nothing. Also seen on the wires were groups of Blue-throated bee-eaters and tree-swifts. Some newer birders managed to ‘sapu’ as lifers both the Whiskered and Grey-rumped Tree-Swifts through the ’scopes generously shared.

Whiskered Treeswift (male)

The large group of 26 adults and 8 children were split up into 3 loose groups, each led by a few Selangor Bird Group Committee members. It was heartening to see many young (and young at heart) birders out early for half a day’s birding. One young member spotted a juvenile Changeable Hawk-Eagle sitting on a pylon.

A few fruiting trees and shrubs provided many bulbuls and a pig-tailed macaque with breakfast and birders with good views. Some lucky ones also managed to get great views of the usually skulking Horsfield’s Babbler and a rufous-backed Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher by the ‘swimming hole’.

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher

A highlight for others was a male Purple-naped Sunbird displaying to a female; quivering its wings and raising its iridescent deep purple nape and back feathers. At another spot, a small group of White-bellied Yuhinas feeding a fledged young high up in the trees gave us all rather sore necks.


Apart from a few overnight campers (woken up by us birders), other members of the public only started to trickle in as we were leaving late that morning. It probably is never really busy and there was no one swimming in the ‘swimming hole’. The early part of the trail is all paved, suitable even for the less agile.

Templer’s Park is past its heyday as the premier picnic spot but can still be a suitable place to bring along non-birding members of the family for a picnic or to swim. I can’t, however, vouch for the cleanliness or otherwise of the swimming hole. Probably no different from any other similar places. Toilet facilities are also available.

All in all almost 50 species were seen or heard for three hours plus of birding. Eight species of bulbuls, 3 species of sunbirds and 2 malkoha species is not bad. Templer’s Park is sure to have many more birding gems to be discovered. An Argus Pheasant has been seen in recent years along the main path by one of our members. And there are many other tracks to explore.

Additionally, this is also the first official Selangor Bird Group outing after the launch of Bird-i-Witness Malaysia (bird sightings database) by MNS recently. For those unsure what this is about, please see: http://www.worldbirds.org/malaysia. The full list of birds recorded for this trip can also be found there.

Text by Smathi Chong
Photos by John Steed (copyright protected)

Introduction to Birdwatching at Lake Gardens, KL - 13th April 2008

On the morning of the 13th April, 2008, we awoke to the sounds of steady rain at 5am. It had been raining since heading to bed the previous night, so we were unsure as to the number of people who would be willing to learn about watching birds on such a damp morning.
We arrived at the Bukit Aman carpark early to ensure appropriate coordination once the participants started arriving.
Jasmine (Day Trip Coordinator) was receiving phone calls all morning from 05:30 until 07:00 from interested parties enquiring as to the status of the trip.
Regardless of the weather, THE TRIP WOULD GO AHEAD.

(John Steed giving a briefing session to the participants upon arrival - still raining)

53 participants arrived (38 adults, 15 children) which constitutes a great turnout.

(Check out that Coppersmith Barbet!! - rain stopped, now just cloud above)

We were assisted by fellow MNS Selangor Birdgroup Committee members to provide the basics when it comes to watching birds, such as 'how to use binoculars and scopes', and they were also able to provide bird identification to those beginners who would not be in a position to know such things.

(Angie Yong, thrilled to have just seen a Black-thighed Falconet in the heart of the sunny city)

(Bird-call specialist, Carol Ho there to assist the groups)


(Veterans Rafi and Aun-Tiah also came along to share their wealth of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm)

The birdlist for the day reached 29 species, giving the newcomers a chance to see more than sparrows, crows and myna's:

1. Barbet, Coppersmith (Megalaima haemacephala)
2. Bee-eater, Blue-Tailed (Merops philippinus)
3. Bulbul, Yellow-Vented (Pycnonotus goiavier)
4. Crow, House (Corvus splendens)
5. Dove, Spotted (Streptopelia chinensis)
6. Dove, Zebra (Geopelia striata)
7. Falconet, Black-Thighed (Microhierax fringillarius)
8. Flameback, Common (Dinopium javanense)
9. Flycatcher, Asian Brown (Muscicapa dauurica)
10. Heron, Chinese Pond (Ardeola bacchus)
11. Iora, Common (Aegithina tiphia)
12. Kingfisher, White-Throated (Halcyon smyrnensis)
13. Kite, Brahminy (Haliastur indus)
14. Koel, Asian (Eudynamys scolopacea)
15. Leafbird, Golden-Fronted (Chloropsis aurifrons)
16. Myna, Common (Acridotheres tristis)
17. Myna, Javan (Acridotheres javanicus)
18. Oriole, Black-Naped (Oriolus chinensis)
19. Parrot, Blue-Crowned Hanging (Loriculus galgulus)
20. Pigeon, Pink-Necked Green (Treron vernans)
21. Robin, Oriental Magpie (Copsychus saularis)
22. Shrike, Brown (Lanius cristatus)
23. Sparrow, Eurasian-Tree (Passer montanus)
24. Starling, Asian-Glossy (Aplonis panayensis)
25. Stork, Painted (Mycteria leucocephala)
26. Swallow, Pacific (Hirundo tahitica)
27. Tailorbird, Common (Orthotomus sutorius)
28. Woodpecker, Crimson-Winged (Picus puniceus)
29. Woodpecker, Rufous (Celeus brachyurus)

The general feedback indicated that the morning was a great success, with heaps of enthusiasm amongst the new comers having just spent the morning up-close with nature.

Text by John Steed
Photos by PikWun Chin

Trip to Bukit Larut, 16th-18th February, 2008 by Selangor Bird Group

Bukit Larut, formerly known as Maxwell Hill, is Malaysia’s second oldest hill station. Standing at 1,389m above sea level, it was established in 1884 by William Edward Maxwell, Assistant British Resident of Perak, as a 'refuge' for colonial officials seeking to escape from the sweltering heat in the lowlands. Today, little has changed and the colonial-day bungalows still stand. This lack of development, however, allows the birds to thrive. As many as 253 species of birds have been recorded here (Birds of Perak by Bird Group, MNS Perak, 2006). It was no wonder then that the response to the trip was overwhelming and the 20 odd places were quickly snapped up.

The group met at the Jeep Station at the foot of the hill on 16th February. At noon, three jeep- loads of birders, with their luggage in tow, wound their way up the hill. After negotiating 93 torturous bends, we finally arrived at the stop by the Speedy (Gunung Hijau) Bungalow. From here, it took us another 10 minutes to trek 400m to The Nest, our accommodation for the trip.

Except for the rain in the wee hours of the second day, the weather was warm and sunny. We were split into two groups – one group took the road leading downhill towards the Cendana Hut and the other, the road leading up to Bukit Cauldfield where the Telekom Tower is located. In the final tally, a total of 79 species of birds were sighted and 8 heard.

Passage migrants such as the Arctic, Eastern-crowned and Inornate Warblers, and the Siberian Thrush were among the birds spotted. Some of the resident species sighted were the Red-headed Trogon, Speckled Piculet, Long-tailed Broadbill, Blyth’s Hawk Eagle, Chestnut-backed Scimitar Babbler, Pygmy Wren and Streaked Wren Babblers as well as five species of Hornbill.

Bushy-Crested Hornbill

The owls, however, were the stars. A Brown Wood Owl was sighted perched on a tree by the Speedy Bungalow on the first night. News of the sighting brought the rest of the birders, who had stayed back in The Nest, sprinting down the trail in semi-darkness, risking sprained ankles and the cold. In their haste, some came clad in their pajamas! Fortunately, the owl remained perched for some time before it flew off into the dark.

Our encounter with owls continued the following day when a Collared Owlet was sighted perched on a tree off the road leading to the Telekom Tower. It was a 'lifer' for most of us.

Collared Owlet

All too soon it was time to pack up and head for home. In the span of two days and nights, we had collected at least a 'lifer' each, and made several new friends while renewing our acquaintances with the old. We had also added inches to our waistlines from the huge meals served by the Lees and from the Chinese New Year cookies and oranges that some group members had brought along.

Text by Chin Khee Tow
Photos by John Steed
All photos are copyright property of John Steed
No unauthorised use of any kind is permitted.

A Day Trip to Bidor

Thirty bleary-eyed birders assembled in Bidor at dawn for a morning’s exploration of disused mining pools and rice fields. Though people continue to abuse the pools with trash and litter, the birds somehow rise above it. On that cool, breezy morning we were rewarded right away with sightings of Little Grebes in breeding plumage, Purple Herons, Treeducks, and a Cinnamon Bittern. A pair of Cotton Pygmy-Geese swam out in the open long enough for everyone to have a good look. I was dazzled by the iridescent and elegantly-named Purple Swamphen.



Our convoy departed for another cluster of pools, its progress interrupted by multiple distractions along the way such as the Wagtail. The next set of pools lay adjacent to a sewage treatment plant in an area shared with water buffalo. The landscape was quite disturbed; nevertheless Red-Wattled Lapwings abounded in the grass for those with the patience to watch carefully from afar.


The route out of the mines area took us past a group of water buffalo wallowing with the attentive assistance of Mynas and Egrets. We spotted several more Purple Swamphens and a Chinese Pond Heron. We stumbled upon a cluster of Weaver nests at the side of the road, though no signs of current activity. And we passed several domestic duck ranches.

Due to cumulative effects of fruitful birding and convoy distractions, we arrived at the rice fields only shortly before noon. By that time the scorching sun rendered it unfit for birders or birds. We decided to find ourselves a shady restaurant and save the rice fields for another day. A group of Black-Shouldered Kites saluted our departure, alternately soaring and resting on branches in plain view from the road.

Thank you Jasmine, Bing, and the rest of the MNS Selangor team for another memorable expedition!

Text by Louise Carlson
Photos by Richard Larrabee

MNS Bird Group Trip to Belum 5th – 7th October 2007

I had heard of the Save Belum-Temengor Postcard Campaign but had no idea where Belum-Temengor was. An invitation to join the MNS Bird Group trip to Belum was a great incentive to find out more. The sum of my knowledge was that MNS had successfully motivated the Malaysian public to lobby the government on an issue of environmental conservation. The cessation of logging in Temengor and the gazettement of Royal Belum as a State Park are remarkable achievements and a source of optimism for protection of other threatened ecosystems. I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to explore a tiny part of this 117,500ha Park.


My initial observation was disappointment at the disturbed forest and low quality development at Banding Island. This faded as we took to the water and an MNS flotilla buzzed toward the upper reaches of Temengor Lake. Here I was quickly lulled into the beauty of the landscape characterised by an intact jungle canopy with many tall emergent trees. I couldn’t quite shake the feeling however of floating above a submerged forest. Bleached white tree trunks at the lake margin are eerily photogenic and a nagging reminder of the many more skeletal branches reaching for the underside of our fragile craft.


As the lake narrowed I kept a keen eye out for Belum’s most famous resident, the Malayan Tiger. Apparently not constrained by water, it would be my ideal scenario to meet a wild tiger while it was swimming and I was on a boat with the engine running. For birdwatchers Belum-Temengor has the cachet of being the only place where you can see all ten of Malaysia’s Hornbills, of which the writer recorded a paltry five. I like to think of it as leaving some for next time.

Of those ten species it is the Plain-pouched Hornbill which is most appealing as it cannot be seen anywhere else in Malaysia. This vulnerable Hornbill was until recently considered conspecific with the Wreathed Hornbill. Although visually almost identical, it differs significantly in its habit of gathering in large flocks occasionally over 1000 strong. To add to the mystique, nobody knows where these birds roost and no one has ever found a nesting site. As the Hornbill’s habitat is being lost to deforestation there is urgent need to answer these questions if we are to come up with an effective conservation strategy.

Conserving Belum is a great first step to securing a contiguous area of old-growth forest that might just be large enough to sustain populations of large charismatic mammals and birds. As a conservation model however it is compromised by the fact that it necessitated the destruction (through flooding) of over 15,000ha of forest.

The conundrum is that in the current political climate it is difficult to argue for conservation for its own sake. It also helps to have an economic incentive. In this case conservation of forests in the catchment area will slow down the rate at which Temengor Reservoir will silt up. Another powerful incentive is that the creation of a large man-made lake provides far more recreational opportunities which appeal to a broader spectrum of people than a simple rainforest reserve could on its own.

As a purist birdwatcher I might claim that being stuck on a boat can not compare to sweating it out on steep muddy trails and being torn by rotan. But on the other hand, there is something civilised about watching ospreys whilst sitting amongst friends with your binoculars in one hand and a parasol in the other.

If the convenience of boat travel helps to encourage more people to visit the rainforest, be they bird-watchers, fishermen or day trippers, then on balance it could be a good thing. From a conservation point of view, visitors create more than just an economic incentive. People, especially locals, who come to value nature for recreation and as part of their heritage, are more likely to sign a postcard saying ‘Save Belum-Temengor’.

In all it was a most memorable trip and gives me hope for more Nature Conservation in Malaysia. And while I am being optimistic – I will see a Plain-pouched Hornbill next time.


Written by Ian Hall
Photographs by John Steed

Gems in Gerik by Ng Bee Cheng

During the Labour Day and Wesak Day holidays, 20 of us birders (birdwatchers) descended upon the small town of Gerik and claimed a piece of it for our own from April 28-May 1.

It was an outing filled with "oohs and ahhs" as we sighted some rare or "difficult to see" gems and not so rare but just as awesome beauties – one can never get enough of them.

We covered the Bersia area where the Gerik Forest Reserve is located, Jalan Sumpitan – near Lenggong, fringing the Bintang Hijau Forest Reserve – and a spot along the new Gerik-Kulim highway.

We were joined by Choo Eng, from Penang, who had very graciously agreed to lead us to the nesting site of a pair of Bat Hawks. An opportunity not to be missed as the pair had chosen to nest high up in a Tualang tree, so it was safe for us to observe them without disturbing them, although the pair, nest and chick were in clear view.

One of the little gems that brought excitement (and personally, my trip's favourite lifer [a birder's first time sighting of a species]) was the little Rufous Piculet (woodpecker family) measuring just about 9cm.

Caroline Ho was the first to spot it. Word soon got round among the jungle green/khaki-clad crew and the whole group was hot on its trail as it flew from bamboo cluster to bamboo cluster at Speedy Gonzales-like pace – tapping as it went along in search of some grub or other. So strong and loud was its tapping, first time "sighters" of the little beauty had to be forgiven for being really surprised at how tiny it was, when it finally decided to reward our persistence with a close-up look – it had bright orange rufous underparts with bright olive green upperparts.

There were also frustrating moments. Personally, I was experiencing hornbill frustrations – they kept appearing or disappearing early in the morning, flying or perching on some branch far, far away in the mist… so even if I could see them, it was just not a good enough look… aaarrgh!

Being nesting season, we were all reminded to be sensitive to the birds as there was always a risk of causing them to abandon their newly/partly built nests or chicks. It is rewarding to see that despite our excitement, most of us – if not all of us, managed to follow our trip leaders' (Khoo Swee Seng's and Lim Bing Yee's) instructions.

Some of the other highlights of the trip were visits by various birds and the magnificently coloured Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher (rufous-backed form – first spotted by sharp-eyed Jasmine Steed and which later decided to sit on a branch to pose for us while it did a spot of human watching) along Jalan Sumpitan while we were taking a break at a small clearing. And last but not least – yummy local delicacies like steamed freshwater fish from the local streams and fish farms plus lovely fragrant nasi kerabu and nasi dagang at a roadside warung that came complete with a plasma TV for entertainment.

It is always rewarding to join birding trips like this as one gets to meet other birders, learn from those who are more experienced, hone one's bird identification skills and put to practise (or at least be reminded of) birdwatching ethics – to be considerate to the birds and your fellow birders (by not scaring off the birds or standing in front of birders when they've sighted a bird and etc).

Plus the obvious satisfaction of helping to collect some basic data on species sightings (in an effort to monitor the health of our bird life) and of course the joy of adding more lifers to our personal list of species sighted to date.

For the record, number of bird species sighted this trip – over 125. Number of lifers for me – 27… Yay!

Bird Watching Trip to Awana, Genting

After a hearty breakfast a Gohtong Jaya, Genting, an excited group of 30 took off for another birding trip along a narrow roadadjacent to the Awana Golf Course. On a cool, wet morning, we were transported into a different terrain teeming with giant bamboos and ferns jostling in the wind with senduduk bulu, wild gingers, and even tall rattan climbers with their treacherous hooks. The sound of flowing water over boulders provided the background music as we moved forward slowly with our bins and scopes.

It was a very fruitful morning with many sightings of lower montane birds. 3 Bushy –crested hornbills distinguished by their distinct brown square tails with black tips were the first ones to be spotted. Long -tailed Sibias flew by in small groups. Olive-backed punky- haired Mountain Bulbuls caused some excitement. Soon, we came across Chestnut-capped Laughingthrushes and a few different species of barbets. A birdwave got us arguing over a small flock of blue drongos. We finally agreed that they could just be juvenile lesser racquet-tailed drongos yet to grow their long cigar-shaped racquets!

As we slowly moved up the road, we spotted several species of monkeys, namely, the langur, siamang and the dusky leaf-monkey. These sightings amidst the calls of others in the distant, misty hills evoked in me a very humbling feeling. We were the intruders into their habitat!

Before the morning was over, we were able to identify a Little cuckoo-dove, a Buff-rumped Woodpecker, several Grey-chinned Minivets, a Blue-winged Leafbird, a Verditer Flycatcher and a couple of Shrike-babblers. A Black-browed Barbet was seen feeding its babies in a hole high up on a dead tree. The sighting of a Changeable Hawk-eagle, which flew by quite low, rounded up the outing.

After a quick lunch back in the little settlement, a few of us headed back to the same venue, However, as the weather got a bit warmer, besides a Brown Barbet and a Little Pied Flycatcher, very few other birds were seen. A vote of thanks to Julia, Seng and Bing for organizing this interesting adventure. I’m learning to appreciate and enjoy our natural heritage with every trip.

P.Jayaraj
Membership No: O N 06357 B
9Jul2006

A Fiery Lifer for a novice birder in Taman Negara

Tired and weary after 2½ days’ trekking through the beautiful jungle trails of Taman Negara, I was glad we were close to the jetty, but happy having sighted many birds that were lifers (a person’s first-time sighting of a bird) – there was the elegant Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Crimson-winged Woodpecker, the Dusky Broadbill to name a few.

I was ready to rest my aching legs, have a refreshing shower, a scrumptious dinner cooked by our very able proprietress Rosnah, followed by a good cuppa of teh tarik. The night’s entertainment would include indulging in some enthusiastic chatter
and lively discussions to compare and confirm sightings.

However, as we got close to the jetty, we saw Loh Wan Yeng peering up into the treetops. There were loud chirpings from various birds plus alarmed chatter. Careful not to make too much noise we trained our ‘bins’ in the same direction. Immediately
we saw two squirrels, several very agitated small birds – and what had become the all too familiar drongo – fluttering, chirping and calling out loudly in threat, directing all their efforts at a spot blind to us. We wondered what was spooking them, but it was a rare opportunity to see so many different species of birds in one spot.

It was difficult for a novice like me to identify them all, but I did focus on a pretty, bright orange-bellied little bird, which our leader Lim Aun Tiah guided me into identifying as the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker. Another lifer, yay!

We stood there a good 10 minutes, with the more persistent among us trying hard to spot the tell-tale features of the different birds, while a few in our group were beginning to disperse from the spot. Then it happened! I caught a flash of fire in the midst of the foliage. It was bright scarlet – really bright, fiery, chilli red. I started describing it and the moment Aun Tiah said it might be a Trogon, the excitement just overtook me – out the window went the birding rule book – I was pointing and giving reference to its location a bit too loudly. Well, can you blame me? I didn’t want my husband, Alan Yu – who had gone further down the trail, to miss this beauty of a lifer.

Anyway, I regained my composure the moment I heard Aun Tiah softly and gently chiding in my ear: “Ok, you can stop pointing… describe where it is.” It flew off before Alan could spot him. Aun Tiah assured us it would not have flown far, explaining that it is this bird’s habit to fly about 5 to 10 feet each time to a new perch and stop for awhile. Hearing this, I walked down a little in the direction I saw it fly and true enough, just as Aun Tiah had said, there it was about 5 feet away.

This time I resisted pointing and whispered its location. Almost all of us had a good look at it. It was a Scarlet-rumped Trogon!! Wow! It was beautiful. What a lifer! With a big smile on my face I proudly noted the Trogon in my notebook – all weariness forgotten. Needless to say, the Trogon was a highlight of our bird watching trip to Taman Negara, but it certainly wasn’t the only one.

There was the lovely 40 minute trip down Sungai Tahan – where Aun Tiah had requested the boatmen to cut the engine and allowed us to drift slowly back to Sungai Tembeling where our chalets were located. Sungai Tahan was clear, cool and teaming with fish. It was refreshing as we glided down in serenity; and with the gentle breeze lulling me, I could have just closed my eyes and nodded off to sleep but the surrounding beauty demanded that I savour every moment.

There was the adrenalin rush that four of us experienced dashing off track and through the brush and thorns in search of the elusive, ground-dwelling Banded Pitta – one of us caught sight of its bright blue wing but we all heard its “brrrrrr” call. (Yup, it got away, but we’ll be back for a full-on sighting.)

Then there was the impromptu bird call competition between group 1 (represented by Lim Bing Yee) and our group (represented by Julia Mellors), where one reproduced the bird calls heard by their group during the day and the other had to
identify the bird. Don’t remember who won, but there was a lot of laughter and fun.

From what was shared, we all learned something new about birding and gained more skills from each other, especially from Aun Tiah and Bing Yee, that will help us hone our birding skills – like good and effective note taking and learning to focus on
diagnostics to help identify the bird in question correctly. Even the light-hearted bird call competition was a good learning experience, emphasising the importance of taking note of bird calls and learning to reproduce them as a key tool for effective
identification. Hopefully these skills can help us become experienced amateur birders who can contribute to data collected for use in the conservation of these beautiful creatures.

What else can I say? I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. This was the first outstation trip with the Bird Group for my husband and me. We’ve not been able to go birding very often due to our work situations but we are certainly looking forward to our next trip.

by Ng Bee Cheng,
August 2006