Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Asian Paradise Flycatcher??
-
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Taman Nagara & Fraser Hill : Malaysia (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Frogfish
- Start date
Asian Paradise Flycatcher??
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Cracking shot of the drongo and a great account of the storm and your furry friend.
A birder in HK spent five weeks in Taman Negara and saw a new species every day except the last day - which means a lot that get away in the interim . . . a place I very much want to go back to.
Cheers
Mike
A birder in HK spent five weeks in Taman Negara and saw a new species every day except the last day - which means a lot that get away in the interim . . . a place I very much want to go back to.
Cheers
Mike
Could be Larry.
I was initially thinking Slaty-backed Forktail (maybe the rufous in the tail wasn't the bird) but there are plenty of APFs around there too - I really didn't get a good look and it's all a blur now o
Thanks Mike - that rat was very pleasant and quite fun.
Attached below .... a branch that went through the boardwalk during another storm. :eek!:
Attachments
halftwo
Wird Batcher
Crikey, Frogfish - and there was I with just my bins, dressed in shorts & sandals with just a half-litre of water!! Mind you TN's trails are mainly boardwalk - and even when I went off-piste and it went dark I knew I'd eventually get back to the trail.
Ha ha ! I guess you didn't go too far along those trails then (no more than say 1-2km, at most, which is usually where they end) ? After that it is roots, steep climbs and descents and more roots, roots and roots (lots of pics to come later). Sandals would definitely not work and after the rains the leeches would love you and your shorts ! o
There's also some wading through the river to be done too - though I didn't make it that far. I think the longest I spent on the trails was 8 hours - 1/2 litre water and I don't think I would have made it back ! But I'm getting ahead of myself now :king:
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
Yeah...stop watchin' the footy and get writin'...
Ha ha - rumbled :t: Spain vs Chile up next, should be a cracker.
halftwo
Wird Batcher
Ah, no: sandals are best for leeches - you can see/feel em and flick/pull them off. With boots & leech socks you simply get the critters moving on up. Then you find em where you least want them.
I reckon I did up to six hours, but only c.6miles out max from HQ at TN. Off the boardwalks for a few miles.
I reckon I did up to six hours, but only c.6miles out max from HQ at TN. Off the boardwalks for a few miles.
Day 5 - 28th April 2014 : The Long March
The day dawned bright and sunny and my first thought was to try the Tahan hide at first light, skipping breakfast. The Tahan hide is a two storey building located just 50m from the Mutiara resort and indeed I'd asked for a villa close to the entrance to this hide and the 'Loop'.
The problem with the hide is it is located too far from the actual clearing in front of it. The clearing being ca. 60m x 100m wide with the hide recessed 50m into the jungle and therefore 70-80m from the two fig trees in the centre of the clearing and 100-110m from the trees at the back and sides of the clearing. Clearly not close enough for decent photography (even at 600mm) and only just acceptable for the only other guy I ever saw there, with a scope.
After 30 mins and with no-one else in the area, I grabbed a long stick and fought my way through the over head high reeds into the boggy clearing. The hordes of mosquitoes loved me - breakfast !
However this was much better, despite the ankle deep boggy water. First to show was a beautifully defined Lanceolated Warbler, tail cocked, it stayed hidden until a little phishing drew it out, curiosity getting the better of it !
I then worked my way through the marsh and stood with my back to one of the fig trees. A Black-thighed Falconet (one of the world's smallest) was busily taking butterflies and moths and screaming low across a pool of water, 10m from where I stood, to take insects above it. It even landed not 5m from me in the tree I had my back on.
A little later the BTF was joined in a bare tree, on the edge of the clearing, by a complaining, noisy (aren't they all !) Long Billed Spiderhunter who carefully worked his way up, over and then level with the Falconet before launching the chase. They flew from tree to tree until the Falconet must have had enough and turned the tables, now chasing the Spiderhunter deep into the surrounding forest. That was fun !
A pair of Asian Fairy Bluebirds - coruscating wildy in flight in the early morning light - sat still glimmering upon landing at the edge of the clearing (surprisingly far more beautiful than the guidebooks would have us believe) and Long Tailed Parakeets flew over on their way from their roosts to wherever their daily routine takes them. Then a Black-naped Monarch sat and cherry-picked the juiciest flying insects from a tree at the back of the clearing - I'm glad I had moved to sit under the fig trees otherwise this bird would have been hardly visible from the hide. Bulbuls, Large-billed Crows and Drongos completed the couple of hours early morning bird-fest and this was to prove, in numbers at least, the most productive time/location of the day. Despite copious amounts of Insect Repellent and a very very thin camouflage hoodie, these Draculean mosquitoes were determined to get their pound of flesh so it was time to beat a hasty retreat.
That morning I'd decided to take the trail that follows the flow of the Sungai Tahan (tributary to the Sungai Tembeleng) to the Bumbun Tabing & Bumbun Cegar Anjing hides (you need to wade across the river at this point - if it's low enough, more on that later !) but the signposting was poor (a Ranger I spoke to later admitting I was by far the first to miss the turning and made a note to have the signpost adjusted) and I ended up going inland towards & past the turning to Jenut Muda, instead of following the river, which turned into 'up hill and down dale', before a couple of hours down the trail I decided enough was enough. Hot, humid, relatively bird-less and with more of the mosquito hordes every time I stopped for a few seconds, I back-tracked to a tiny stream I had passed, not more than a trickle with a few pools maybe 1 foot (30cms) deep, which was also by one of the only 'tiny clearings' I had seen along the way.
A good place was found, relatively mosquito-free, to just sit by the stream, in hope of kingfishers and whatever else happened by, whilst sipping on cool water (it had originally been ice-cold, although now a little warmer, though the backpack camel bladder was still doing a reasonable job) and munching on the high energy snacks I'd brought along.
Remember 1 litre of water = 1 kilo and you need plenty of water in a hot ( temperature varied from 34C to 37C), humid, rainforest. Most trails are, for the slow-moving (and often stationary) birder, going to take 4 - 8hrs or more, so you will need 2-3 litres of water (adding 2-3kgs to your backpack) and there are no local stores to top up your supply in the jungle !
This change of tactic soon paid off, whilst even a funereal pace on the trail had not proved fruitful. Small birds appeared in the nearby bushes, one Ferruginous Babbler peeking around a branch at me from no more than 2 feet away (ca. 65cm). Drongos, Bulbuls, Sunbirds and Spiderhunters all landing close by too.
The highlights were still to come though. A whoosh and a stunning Black-bellied Malkoha had landed not 10m away. Carefully surveying its new surroundings it started to jump from branch to branch ...... coming ever nearer until just 5m away.
15 mins later there was a tiny glittering airborne streak of jewel-like magnificence that deemed to honour me with it's presence, landing not 7m away but was screened from my view by a stream-side bush. Carefully manoeuvring until I could get a clearish view through a gap in the leaves my bins alighted on a minuscule but exquisite Rufous-backed Kingfisher. Spectacular bird !
That excitement over I gave the kingfisher another 15 mins after it's departure to see if it would return as they often do. It didn't but a very intriguing call was coming from across the stream and maybe 50m away. I taped it and played back the call. It responded so I replayed the call again. This went on for 15 mins with gaps here and there until eventually I thought it was in a gully just ahead of me. So, dropping my backpack, I went off-piste hoping to get even just a glimpse of my 'admirer/competition' ! In the end very disappointingly I didn't but the tape of this call will be nevertheless attached below shortly.
The hike back to the Mutiara was pretty uneventful, I even checked out Lubok Simphon as I passed the river bathing area, for a 30 minute detour. The shallow, rust coloured, river (minerals in the soil in the surrounding area gives the Tahan tributary it's very distinctive colour) was however very quiet bar a couple of French Lovebirds frolicking in the water (another tick perhaps) ?
Back in my chalet I showered, drunk another 1/2 litre of cold water and cooled down by sucking on the sweet syrupy ice sticks I'd picked up in passing the Mutiara general store.
About ready to hit the trails again the heavens opened ... and then opened a little more. Plans curtailed I enjoyed the A/C whilst grabbing a couple of hours of shut-eye. Waking at 17.45 the rain was easing and I prepared to hit the 'Loop' for the last hour or so of birding light. From 18.15 to dusk at 19.30 I birded this boardwalk, the highlight being a Chestnut-breasted Malkoha and a Crested Serpent Eagle that alighted not 15m away before immediately taking off again after noting my presence.
That evening I took the 1 Ringgit ferry ride across the river and enjoyed an excellent Malaysian dinner of Beef Kuey Teow (soft, flat, noodles), mixed vegetables and Ginger Chicken followed by Lemon & Sugar pancakes, all washed down with a couple of iced Lime Juices ... and all for about the same price as two coffees in the Mutiara, i.e. about £1 per dish !
The restaurants are always busy with foreign & locals alike but dominated by back-packers enjoying the various activities that NKS (travel & activity specialist) and other similar companies organise. There is a NKS desk open in the evenings on the 3rd Floating Restaurant counting from the left (looks like there are 4 or 5 in total) at which you can book your boat and shuttle bus back to Jelantut and from there back to KL or on to places such as Cameron Highlands / Selangor / Penang etc.
The rat continued our burgeoning friendship by visiting me twice that evening, once also it seems having invited a mouse to join us (the mouse wasn't very social though, scampering off quickly and refusing to make eye-contact) whilst there was a near permanent insect assault on my lights going on from the swarm of flying things-of-the-night now encamped in my room, and the squirrels were continuing their nightly dance practice by waltzing or sambaing, or chasing each other madly, across the tin roof.
I'd not long fallen asleep when again those snorting sounds from outside stirred my slumber & my curiosity, eventually quelled by the sight of the same wild pigs, who squealed loudly and ran back into the forest once caught in the beam of my spotlight, which attracted yet another wave of airborne suicidal insect commandoes determined to follow me the moment I stepped back inside off the terrace.
42 Species
Babbler, Ferruginous #
Babbler, Sooty-capped #
Bluebird, Asian Fairy #
Broadbill, Black & Red
Bulbul, Black-headed #
Bulbul, Hairy-backed #
Bulbul, Red-eyed #
Bulbul, Stripe-throated #
Crow, Large-billed
Cuckoo-Shrike, Bar-bellied #
Drongo, Lesser Racquet-tailed
Drongo, Greater Racquet-tailed #
Eagle, Crested Serpent #
Egret, Little
Falconet, Black-thighed #
Flycatcher, Japanese Paradise
Kingfisher, Rufous-backed #
Magpie-Robin, Oriental
Malkoha, Chestnut-bellied #
Malkoha, Chestnut-breasted #
Monarch, Black-naped
Myna, Javan #
Parakeet, Long-tailed #
Pigeon, Green (spp)
Sharma, White-rumped
Sparrow, Tree
Spider-hunter, Little
Spider-hunter, Long-billed
Sunbird, Purple-naped
Swiftlet, Germain's
Swift, Whiskered
Warbler, Lanceolated (great little bird)!
Woodpecker, Buff-rumped #
TBC : 1 tape
Gibbon, White-faced (heard not seen)
Lizard, Monitor (3)
Macaque, Pig-tailed
Squirrel, Giant
Squirrel, Plaintail
Leeches #4 & 5 & 6 (leg x2 & body)
I'm attaching some maps here which may be of assistance to some !
1. Fraser Hill
2 Taman Nagara Hide Map.
3&5 Taman Nagara Trails
4. The Mutiara (I think I was in Villa #96)
#3 has been updated by other birders - namely AW (I'll check to find out who AW is, and which report I found his map attached to, so I can fully credit him) !
The day dawned bright and sunny and my first thought was to try the Tahan hide at first light, skipping breakfast. The Tahan hide is a two storey building located just 50m from the Mutiara resort and indeed I'd asked for a villa close to the entrance to this hide and the 'Loop'.
The problem with the hide is it is located too far from the actual clearing in front of it. The clearing being ca. 60m x 100m wide with the hide recessed 50m into the jungle and therefore 70-80m from the two fig trees in the centre of the clearing and 100-110m from the trees at the back and sides of the clearing. Clearly not close enough for decent photography (even at 600mm) and only just acceptable for the only other guy I ever saw there, with a scope.
After 30 mins and with no-one else in the area, I grabbed a long stick and fought my way through the over head high reeds into the boggy clearing. The hordes of mosquitoes loved me - breakfast !
However this was much better, despite the ankle deep boggy water. First to show was a beautifully defined Lanceolated Warbler, tail cocked, it stayed hidden until a little phishing drew it out, curiosity getting the better of it !
I then worked my way through the marsh and stood with my back to one of the fig trees. A Black-thighed Falconet (one of the world's smallest) was busily taking butterflies and moths and screaming low across a pool of water, 10m from where I stood, to take insects above it. It even landed not 5m from me in the tree I had my back on.
A little later the BTF was joined in a bare tree, on the edge of the clearing, by a complaining, noisy (aren't they all !) Long Billed Spiderhunter who carefully worked his way up, over and then level with the Falconet before launching the chase. They flew from tree to tree until the Falconet must have had enough and turned the tables, now chasing the Spiderhunter deep into the surrounding forest. That was fun !
A pair of Asian Fairy Bluebirds - coruscating wildy in flight in the early morning light - sat still glimmering upon landing at the edge of the clearing (surprisingly far more beautiful than the guidebooks would have us believe) and Long Tailed Parakeets flew over on their way from their roosts to wherever their daily routine takes them. Then a Black-naped Monarch sat and cherry-picked the juiciest flying insects from a tree at the back of the clearing - I'm glad I had moved to sit under the fig trees otherwise this bird would have been hardly visible from the hide. Bulbuls, Large-billed Crows and Drongos completed the couple of hours early morning bird-fest and this was to prove, in numbers at least, the most productive time/location of the day. Despite copious amounts of Insect Repellent and a very very thin camouflage hoodie, these Draculean mosquitoes were determined to get their pound of flesh so it was time to beat a hasty retreat.
That morning I'd decided to take the trail that follows the flow of the Sungai Tahan (tributary to the Sungai Tembeleng) to the Bumbun Tabing & Bumbun Cegar Anjing hides (you need to wade across the river at this point - if it's low enough, more on that later !) but the signposting was poor (a Ranger I spoke to later admitting I was by far the first to miss the turning and made a note to have the signpost adjusted) and I ended up going inland towards & past the turning to Jenut Muda, instead of following the river, which turned into 'up hill and down dale', before a couple of hours down the trail I decided enough was enough. Hot, humid, relatively bird-less and with more of the mosquito hordes every time I stopped for a few seconds, I back-tracked to a tiny stream I had passed, not more than a trickle with a few pools maybe 1 foot (30cms) deep, which was also by one of the only 'tiny clearings' I had seen along the way.
A good place was found, relatively mosquito-free, to just sit by the stream, in hope of kingfishers and whatever else happened by, whilst sipping on cool water (it had originally been ice-cold, although now a little warmer, though the backpack camel bladder was still doing a reasonable job) and munching on the high energy snacks I'd brought along.
Remember 1 litre of water = 1 kilo and you need plenty of water in a hot ( temperature varied from 34C to 37C), humid, rainforest. Most trails are, for the slow-moving (and often stationary) birder, going to take 4 - 8hrs or more, so you will need 2-3 litres of water (adding 2-3kgs to your backpack) and there are no local stores to top up your supply in the jungle !
This change of tactic soon paid off, whilst even a funereal pace on the trail had not proved fruitful. Small birds appeared in the nearby bushes, one Ferruginous Babbler peeking around a branch at me from no more than 2 feet away (ca. 65cm). Drongos, Bulbuls, Sunbirds and Spiderhunters all landing close by too.
The highlights were still to come though. A whoosh and a stunning Black-bellied Malkoha had landed not 10m away. Carefully surveying its new surroundings it started to jump from branch to branch ...... coming ever nearer until just 5m away.
15 mins later there was a tiny glittering airborne streak of jewel-like magnificence that deemed to honour me with it's presence, landing not 7m away but was screened from my view by a stream-side bush. Carefully manoeuvring until I could get a clearish view through a gap in the leaves my bins alighted on a minuscule but exquisite Rufous-backed Kingfisher. Spectacular bird !
That excitement over I gave the kingfisher another 15 mins after it's departure to see if it would return as they often do. It didn't but a very intriguing call was coming from across the stream and maybe 50m away. I taped it and played back the call. It responded so I replayed the call again. This went on for 15 mins with gaps here and there until eventually I thought it was in a gully just ahead of me. So, dropping my backpack, I went off-piste hoping to get even just a glimpse of my 'admirer/competition' ! In the end very disappointingly I didn't but the tape of this call will be nevertheless attached below shortly.
The hike back to the Mutiara was pretty uneventful, I even checked out Lubok Simphon as I passed the river bathing area, for a 30 minute detour. The shallow, rust coloured, river (minerals in the soil in the surrounding area gives the Tahan tributary it's very distinctive colour) was however very quiet bar a couple of French Lovebirds frolicking in the water (another tick perhaps) ?
Back in my chalet I showered, drunk another 1/2 litre of cold water and cooled down by sucking on the sweet syrupy ice sticks I'd picked up in passing the Mutiara general store.
About ready to hit the trails again the heavens opened ... and then opened a little more. Plans curtailed I enjoyed the A/C whilst grabbing a couple of hours of shut-eye. Waking at 17.45 the rain was easing and I prepared to hit the 'Loop' for the last hour or so of birding light. From 18.15 to dusk at 19.30 I birded this boardwalk, the highlight being a Chestnut-breasted Malkoha and a Crested Serpent Eagle that alighted not 15m away before immediately taking off again after noting my presence.
That evening I took the 1 Ringgit ferry ride across the river and enjoyed an excellent Malaysian dinner of Beef Kuey Teow (soft, flat, noodles), mixed vegetables and Ginger Chicken followed by Lemon & Sugar pancakes, all washed down with a couple of iced Lime Juices ... and all for about the same price as two coffees in the Mutiara, i.e. about £1 per dish !
The restaurants are always busy with foreign & locals alike but dominated by back-packers enjoying the various activities that NKS (travel & activity specialist) and other similar companies organise. There is a NKS desk open in the evenings on the 3rd Floating Restaurant counting from the left (looks like there are 4 or 5 in total) at which you can book your boat and shuttle bus back to Jelantut and from there back to KL or on to places such as Cameron Highlands / Selangor / Penang etc.
The rat continued our burgeoning friendship by visiting me twice that evening, once also it seems having invited a mouse to join us (the mouse wasn't very social though, scampering off quickly and refusing to make eye-contact) whilst there was a near permanent insect assault on my lights going on from the swarm of flying things-of-the-night now encamped in my room, and the squirrels were continuing their nightly dance practice by waltzing or sambaing, or chasing each other madly, across the tin roof.
I'd not long fallen asleep when again those snorting sounds from outside stirred my slumber & my curiosity, eventually quelled by the sight of the same wild pigs, who squealed loudly and ran back into the forest once caught in the beam of my spotlight, which attracted yet another wave of airborne suicidal insect commandoes determined to follow me the moment I stepped back inside off the terrace.
42 Species
Babbler, Ferruginous #
Babbler, Sooty-capped #
Bluebird, Asian Fairy #
Broadbill, Black & Red
Bulbul, Black-headed #
Bulbul, Hairy-backed #
Bulbul, Red-eyed #
Bulbul, Stripe-throated #
Crow, Large-billed
Cuckoo-Shrike, Bar-bellied #
Drongo, Lesser Racquet-tailed
Drongo, Greater Racquet-tailed #
Eagle, Crested Serpent #
Egret, Little
Falconet, Black-thighed #
Flycatcher, Japanese Paradise
Kingfisher, Rufous-backed #
Magpie-Robin, Oriental
Malkoha, Chestnut-bellied #
Malkoha, Chestnut-breasted #
Monarch, Black-naped
Myna, Javan #
Parakeet, Long-tailed #
Pigeon, Green (spp)
Sharma, White-rumped
Sparrow, Tree
Spider-hunter, Little
Spider-hunter, Long-billed
Sunbird, Purple-naped
Swiftlet, Germain's
Swift, Whiskered
Warbler, Lanceolated (great little bird)!
Woodpecker, Buff-rumped #
TBC : 1 tape
Gibbon, White-faced (heard not seen)
Lizard, Monitor (3)
Macaque, Pig-tailed
Squirrel, Giant
Squirrel, Plaintail
Leeches #4 & 5 & 6 (leg x2 & body)
I'm attaching some maps here which may be of assistance to some !
1. Fraser Hill
2 Taman Nagara Hide Map.
3&5 Taman Nagara Trails
4. The Mutiara (I think I was in Villa #96)
#3 has been updated by other birders - namely AW (I'll check to find out who AW is, and which report I found his map attached to, so I can fully credit him) !
Attachments
Last edited:
Some pics !
1. The best shot I can come up with of the entertaining tryst between the Black Thighed Falconet and the Long Billed Spiderhunter. Come on ! They were about 70m away !
2. Buff-rumped Woodpecker (shot at ISO 25,600 - which gives you an idea of the low light levels in the Rain-forest).
3. Chestnut-bellied Malkoha. What eyes !
4. Numerous Monitor Lizards can easily be found around the Mutiara.
1. The best shot I can come up with of the entertaining tryst between the Black Thighed Falconet and the Long Billed Spiderhunter. Come on ! They were about 70m away !
2. Buff-rumped Woodpecker (shot at ISO 25,600 - which gives you an idea of the low light levels in the Rain-forest).
3. Chestnut-bellied Malkoha. What eyes !
4. Numerous Monitor Lizards can easily be found around the Mutiara.
Attachments
Last edited:
Thanks Hor Kee !
Not very good shots - very heavy crops.
EDIT. OK these are definitely Long-billed.
Are you refering to post #20 as Mark (cheers mate) mentions below ? I have quite a few of that bird but I didn't think there could be any doubt it was Streaked with those heavy markings ?
Attachments
Last edited:
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
He means the bird in post 20 bud...your new shots are of a different bird and species ;0)
M
Thanks Jim. Absolutely right on both the Malkoha (I must have misread it in Robson's as they are right next to each other) & the Spiderhunter, I have the Spiderhunter listed in the Day List correctly but had it wrongly labeled in the narrative (not any more)
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Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
In case there's any confusion (I'm confused by McMadd's comment),
post 20 Streaked Spiderhunter
post 33 Long-billed Spiderhunter
post 20 Streaked Spiderhunter
post 33 Long-billed Spiderhunter
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
The confusion being Hor Kee commented that "Your 'Streaked' Spiderhunter looks good to be a Thick-Billed for me! " at which point the only pictures of a spiderhunter were in post 20.
Hor Kee asked if Kev had any more pics (of the bird in post 20) and Kev posted those in post 33 which I commented were not same spp./bird as those in post 20...
Clear now? :0)
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Now I see why you were confused McMadd! Hor Kee was referring to the spiderhunter in the background of the falconet pic in post 31, not the obvious Streaked in post 20!
clear why I was confused now?
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