Bukit Larut - 11th July 2010

Before any more delay, I had better write about this two-month-old trip lest my memories fade away. After a rather fruitful first day up at Maxwell Hill, I woke up early enough after a good night's sleep to have breakfast. As I was munching down bread, my ears pricked up when it heard this high pitched whistling coming from the slope leading down from the bungalow. I recognized it but couldn't believe my ears as this bird shouldn't be found at such a high altitude. It normally prefers lowland to submontane rainforest instead of 1113 metres a.s.l.

I went out to the front lawn to have a look around and sure enough - a Chestnut-naped Forktail Enicurus ruficapillus! It was perched at the base of a banana plant at the corner of the lawn. Its forked tail feathers moved in its characteristic motion too - spreading into a wide V while the tail is cocked up and closed back like a pair of scissors when the tail descends. How cute! I did not have my camera at that time and I regret it to this day because it was such a good opportunity to shoot it! When I tried to move back to the bungalow to grab my camera, it flew off 'tee-tee-tee-tee-tee'-ing away.

That's it. I'll gobble down my breakfast and get my gear all set up and ready! Even though the Forktail never came back, I was rewarded by a pair of Mountain Fulvettas Alcippe peracensis hawking for small months among the tree lined by Old Man's Beard Usnea spp.

Petite bird amongst the beard.

Doesn't look so petite now that we see it ripping a moth apart, does it?

Not long after, the same call I heard yesterday evening made me turn my head and my camera 180 degrees towards the back of the bungalow. There is was again - a male Red-bearded Bee-Eater Nyctyornis amictus sunning itself in the morning rays at the top of the tree. Its partner was not so obliging and was busy hunting for food already.

Basking in the limesunlight

Once it flew off, I went up the steps and tried to locate it again. I couldn't find it. So I just settled on shooting a male Black-throated Sunbird Aethopyga saturata which was happily preening itself in the shade of a small tree. It's a smart fellow! As it kept to the shade all of the time, I could not capture the metallic blue sheen and brilliant red of the feathers which would be in full glory in bright sunlight. I decided not to stay long because of that. What a pity!

Let's do the s-t-r-e-t-c-h to warm up!

I went down to the front lawn again as I intended to make my way up along the road to the Telekom station. This time, a family of Black-crested Bulbuls Pycnonotus flaviventris kept me occupied. There were two adults and a juvenile. The juvenile - as all juveniles are - kept still in the safety of a tree and hoped that its parents would bring some morsel of food for it. Luckily this time, the sunlight was shining right onto it and so I managed to obtain some decent shots. The parents, as usual, were busy hanging around the telephone wires to pick off any stray or weak moth for breakfast. The sun was just right and the Bulbuls simply glowed like ingots of gold.

Little Miss (or Master) Bulbul, sat on a... er... what rhymes with Bulbul?

A glowing Elvis Presley wannabe

 Our little juvenile then decides to be a little smarter. It flies up from the tree to a twig which was in the shade of a banana plant. At first, it held on tightly and must have felt proud to be brave. Lo and behold, a gust of wind blows the banana leaves and smacks our poor little juvenile right in the side! Yet it hung on and kept its balance for life! I really burst out laughing at this comical sight but I stifled my guffaw and told myself that it was actually no real laughing matter. It was just part of growing up and gaining experience about the outside world for this juvenile. And somehow, this scene reminded me of this speech:

"Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you: as Albert Mondego, the man!"

 - Edmond Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

Ouch!

I wish the juvenile good health and survival!

After the lawn became quiet again, I headed down the bungalow steps and saw my mother coming up with a serious look on her face. She beckoned to me to come down quickly. Not long after, I heard a bird call on playback and I knew what our 'target' was. We hid ourselves around the jeep stop while waiting for the bird to appear. It did come out several times in response to the playback but did not land on an exposed branch for good photography.

We switched tactics. Dr Chan left the speaker at the base of the slope where the bird often came to. There was a pair of Maroon Woodpeckers Blythipicus rubiginosus, although one of them - presumably the more dominant male - was braver in its approach. We then noticed it usually kept coming back to a number of trees in that area and so, we repositioned ourselves for the next time it comes out.

Not before long, it landed again among those few trees and paused long enough for us to get a few pictures. However, lighting was dim and it was not easy to focus on the bird. Each round it came back, I tried a different setting for my camera and also attempted to use the flash. But my pictures turned out more flat and less natural compared to those taken without flash. I never wanted to use the flash again! You can observe for yourself the difference in the two pictures below.

This is with the flash - the eye glows white! And the feathers look flat.

Doesn't this look better? Best shots I have ever had of this bird!

After about ten rounds of the bird coming and going, I think it finally gave up as it just could not find the source of the other 'bird' invading its territory. It payed less and less heed to the playback and finally went about minding its own business with its partner once again. I was really happy because this was the first time in more than ten years that I have managed to see this bird fully exposed in the open. And even obtain decent photographs of it too!

It was late morning by the time we were done with the Woodpeckers. I just walked up the road a little to spend the remaining time before the jeep came. The forest was rather quiet and the only bird which was quite obliging was the usual Rufous-browed Flycatcher Ficedula solitaris. No matter how many times I have seen this bird and photographed it, I just cannot resist taking more photos of it every time! But then again, we shouldn't be taking these birds for granted because though they might be more common now, one day they will disappear altogether. Maxwell Hill won't even be open already to visitors for goodness knows how long, and I doubt that they'll carry out any development without first logging the place to earn more money. Sad, isn't it?

Let's hope this fragile little bird survives the winds of change

At 11 am, we boarded the jeep down and I leave Gunung Hijau Rest House behind with many fond memories and beautiful creatures. I hope I'll still have the chance to visit such a pristine place again in the near future.

Bukit Larut - 10th July 2010

Just until a few years back, Bukit Larut used to be my second home. Now it has become a place I haven't visited in more than a year! How time changes things. And from what we gathered from the people working there this time, it may soon become a place I can't go to anymore.

Let that solemn news not hinder my writing for now.

My whole family left home early Saturday morning, bought lunch on the way there and reached the foothills of Bukit Larut at around 8.30 am. The men of the family went off for a quick spot of birding at the waterfall area near the Indian temple, while my mother and I went to settle the bookings.

After getting all the official dealings over, my mother and I headed off to meet up with the rest. We used a short-cut through a well-used trail which cuts a straight line to the waterfall area. We hadn't gone far when we spotted a small family of Dusky Leaf Monkeys Trachypithecus obscurus foraging among the trees just around the carpark of Bukit Larut. There were at least 2 females, each with their young. What a pity that their young had lost their golden brown fur already, they were old enough to assume the more dusky fur of the adults. Anyway, that did not stop me from taking pictures, either!

Spot the baby!

It was rather hard to photograph them through the foliage as I was worried my camera would focus on the wrong subject. Although not perfect, I'm rather satisfied with the shots.

Further on, we passed by an old quarry which is now rather overgrown with plants. We just popped in to have a look, but all was quiet. Then when we made our way back to the main road to look for the boys, their car was not there! They must have gone back to the carpark to wait for the jeep already, so my mother and I turned back.

We then noticed another mammal swinging up in the canopy above us. But this time, it was a gibbon! We counted at least 3 Black-handed Gibbons Hylobates agilis feeding on the tree shoots. They were more shy compared to the Leaf Monkeys. Everytime I tried to photograph presumably the male of the troupe, it did everything it could to hide its face from me and scoot off! It then swung off to another further tree and once it got its hands on some delicious fruit, it turned its back on me and munched away mockingly! Cheeky.

You've got real nerve. Don't laugh at me!

It was getting late and so we left the Gibbons to head back to the car to wait for our jeep at 10 am. I flushed a couple of Red-eyed Bulbuls Pycnonotus brunneus from some low bushes but they did not provide any photographing opportunity.

When we got back to the carpark, Dr Chan and his wife had already arrived and they were all pointing their cameras somewhere and being busy. Oh, there's a fruiting tree! My mother and I did not notice it earlier as loud and noisy tractors were reversing into that area when we first arrived.

Their main focus of attention was a male Red-throated Barbet Megalaima mystacophanos which was feeding on small berries. Even though the range was rather far for my camera, I gave it a shot too.

Good camouflage. But as all male birds are, their bright colours give them away.

A male Pink-necked Green Pigeon Treron vernans also alighted at the top of the tree for awhile, but after a few shots of it, I immediately turned by attention back to the Barbet! Not long after, a Gold-whiskered Barbet Megalaima chrysopogon flew into the tree to join in the feast. It was followed by another, and then another, and yet another! The Red-throated Barbet was pushed to only a small corner of the tree thanks to its bigger cousins the bullies!

Sorry I only had a couple of shots of you.

Our jeep started up soon after and we had to pack up all our gear and load our luggage into the trolley. Even for a one night stay, the trolley was full in a matter of minutes!

During the journey up the hill, I think we flushed an Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica walking on the jeep track. They are such shy birds and the only photographs I have ever got of them were taken from inside a car.

When we reached the topmost jeep station, a sudden exciting event occurred. My mother had asked our jeep driver, Encik Md Noor to stop awhile as she wanted to buy more food from the small cafe for our lunch. Just before the jeep started up again after my mother came back, a snake was fast slithering in the direction of our jeep! I saw that it had a flaming red head and tail with brilliant indigo blue streaks along its body - a Blue Malaysian Coral Snake Calliophis bivirgatus/Maticora bivirgata!

Evan, my brothers' friend who is currently doing his Masters/PhD in Biology (more specifically frogs, I think) immediately leapt down from the jeep to chase after the snake! Even though I knew he had training and experience in handling snakes, I still held my breath as I watched him grab his snake tongs and confront the snake head on! According to my brother, what he was doing was to tire the snake out so that it would be easier to catch it. Finally, he succeeded in catching the snake and packed it into a specimen jar to be dealt with later.

After they got back into the jeep, a small 'briefing' on the snake ensued. I learnt that the venom glands of this snake were as long as one third of the length of its body! And obviously, even by judging from its colours, it is highly venomous and potentially lethal. It also only feeds exclusively on other snakes, even of their own species! That is why it is difficult to rare this species in captivity, even for research purposes. How exciting! Although I never once dared to even consider stepping out from the jeep!

We then reached our destination: Gunung Hijau Rest House. Ah, how nostalgic. It still looks almost the same throughout the 17 years I have been going there, just besides it having a new paint job. After shifting all our luggage up to the old colonial bungalow, we were all hungry! So we sat down to have a quick bite, and as the weather was still fine, off we go to birdwatch till it rains!

Everyone decided to hike up towards the Telekom station at the peak of Gunung Hijau. I too, took a slow walk with my mother. It was rather quiet, probably because it was already midday and most birds would have finished their morning rounds. We didn't see anything much and we decided to turn back. On the way down, there was a small bird wave of small birds which soon dissipated as a group of hikers stopped by curiously to see what we were doing. There were the usual Mountain Fulvettas Alcippe peracensis, Golden Babblers Stachyridopsis chrysaea and White-throated Fantails Rhipidura aureola. They were all too fast for me to get any decent shots. And the lighting was dim too, which made it difficult for focussing and getting a sharp picture.

It moves really fast!

A couple of Fulvettas approached me close enough to get a few pictures, but it was still too dark and I had not used a suitale ISO to increase the shutter speed. Most of my pictures turned out to be out of focus or blurred.

Then I spotted a Chestnut-backed Scimitar-Babbler Pomatorhinus montanus hopping from tree to tree and tried my luck at it. As usual, it proved to be too nimble and agile as it hopped and creeped too fast for me! I vaguely remember seeing a small flock of Spectacled Laughingthrushes Rhinocichla mitrata flying in but I was too engrossed in chasing after the Scimitar-Babbler behaving like a squirrel to pay them any attention! It then flew right over my head and perched at a neck-breaking angle before disappearing. I lost the chase again.

It behaves somewhat like a squirrel!

Back at the bungalow and after a proper lunch, I just kept myself occupied with the usual pair of House Swallows Hirundo tahitica on the telephone wires. A short trek up to the Nest Bungalow with my mother was also unfruitful.

Taking an afternoon break.

As the birds were all resting or inactive during this time of day, I turned my lens to the butterflies in the backyard of the bungalow. I shall reserve the pictures for another post after I hopefully get the identifications of each butterfly correct.

Later in the afternoon, a familiar hoarse ''quo-quo-quo-quo'' made most of our ears prick up. We kept our eyes open behind the bungalow, and sure enough, we saw a pair of Red-bearded Bee-Eaters Nyctyornis amictus. They were not so cooperative today and quickly flew off as my father and I approached them. As they did not reappear after awhile, my father decided to turn back but I hung around for a little longer.

Neck-breaking effort!

Take-off!

I could still hear soft calls from the Bee-Eaters. After about 5 more minutes, my patience paid off and one of them came out again. But, unfortunately it perched right above my head, and really high up! I just didn't want to give up and backed off a little to point my lens at almost 90 degrees upwards. Light was fading too, but I still clicked away, hoping that at least one shot was fairly decent. I even got one in flight as it took off!

By 4.30 pm, the skies and the air fell silent due to the approaching rain clouds for the daily convectional rain. I turned in to have a nap so that I had some energy for night activities.

When I woke up, my mother already had dinner ready. After dinner, my brother and I kept ourselves occupied by taking pictures of the nesting Black-nest Swiftlets Aerodramus maximus above the kitchen doorway. We have seen them nesting in the same place almost every time we come here.

Look at the length of those wings!

Then I tested my camera for night scenery photography by taking the customary picture of Taiping town at night. After all, this may be the last time I will ever get to see this scenery again.

Such beautiful lights. I'd rather see this than Las Vegas at night.

Then we decided to take a short night walk after the good meal. We heard a Brown Wood-Owl Strix leptogrammica calling nearby but just could not find it. Lightning kept on flashing and thunder kept on rumbling too often and we turned back to the bungalow after a short while in case we were caught in the rain.

Just as we entered the bungalow, my father called out to us that the resident Masked Palm Civet Paguma larvata had come to the back of the bungalow! Before leaving for the night walk, my mother had collected all our meal scraps and chicken bones and placed them at the usual spot behind the bungalow where the Civet almost always comes for a quick meal. But the moment all of us scrambled to the window to see the Civet, it saw us and quickly slunk off.

We then waited quietly at the window for it to come back, but even after half an hour, it did not return. My parents and my brothers were tired already and decided to go to bed. As I had a good nap in the afternoon, I was still wide awake and decided to just hang around the bungalow until I was sleepy.

Once, I went to the front of the bungalow to photograph the giant Toad (I am not sure of its exact species) and also to look at the moths attracted to the mercury vapour lightbulb set up by my brother. The moment my flash went off while photographing the amphibian, I heard the sound of wings fluttering coming from under the bungalow. I shone my torchlight around the ground for awhile but did not see anything, so I thought to myself that maybe it was a moth or that I had heard wrongly.

I was on my way to the back of the bungalow to check out the lightbulb there when I met Dr Chan coming from that place. He had accidentally stumbled into the shallow drain and was just catching himself from falling. On getting up, he happened to shine his torchlight under the bungalow and saw a bird running away from us! He called me to look also and it was a Red-legged Crake Rallina fasciata! What a surprise for the both of us. Unfortunately I did not have my camera or binoculars with me and neither did Dr Chan, so we could only stare and stare at the Crake running away.

I tried to rush back up to the bungalow to get my gear, but by the time I came out again, the bird had already disappeared. Such a pity! So the Crake must have been the bird I startled when I was photographing the toad just a moment ago! I must be more thorough next time.

The second time I came out from the bungalow to look at moths again, another amazing thing happened. Just as I was going down the steps, I heard a loud thud against the wooden walls of the front of the bungalow. These sort of thuds could only be made by a bird or a large beetle crashing into the bungalow wall. By the time I got out, I had missed another spectacular event.

Dr Chan who was outside photographing moths was at the scene of the happenings. He told me that a small to medium-sized bird (unknown species) had crashed into the wall and flopped down onto the grass of the bungalow lawn. Before he could even cross over to the bird to have a look at it, a Brown Wood-Owl suddenly appeared from the darkness, grasped the poor dazed bird with its talons and silently flew away again into the night! I was stunned speechless by such an amazing story! I wish I could have seen it with my own eyes. How brutally merciless nature can be. Survival of the fittest, indeed.

After coming out from the bungalow for the third time, when I went back inside again I suddenly saw the Civet feeding on the food scraps behind the bungalow again! It had returned! But I think I was too excited and it heard me again, so it quickly disappeared before I could call anyone. However, this time it came back after a few minutes and I managed to get a few shots of it, and so did Dr Chan. Finally!

After feeling satisfied, Dr Chan also decided to call it a night too. It was around midnight already. I just waited at the window in the hope that the Civet would come back as there were still some food scraps remaining. My patience paid off again after almost an hour when the Civet returned. This time, it did not seem to be bothered by my presence or even my torchlight shining at it. It greedily munched and finished up all the food left there. Even after eating everything, it searched round once more for any remainder bits of food before slowly skulking away. I think it must have been really hungry to gobble up the food in such a way! I got pretty good shots this time.

From tip to tail. And guess what its eating.

I finally decided to go to bed as it was rather late, feeling very happy and pleased with today.