Jul 23, 2010

A stroll in the park - 7 Aug 2010

With spare time in hand I decided to take a leisurely walk through the park close to where I live. It was a nice cool evening ( a rarity these days ) after a light shower in the afternoon. A good occasion as birds have a tendency to come out and frolic or forage fro food after a shower. With camera in hand I encountered the following avian friends as pictured below.
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Emerald Dove  
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Couldn’t resist taking a shot at this beautiful Banksia flower in full bloom.
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Juvenile Kingfisher having a goood stretchhhh.
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Pied Minivet
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Oriental Pied Hornbill 
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A Yellow Breasted Flower Pecker skipping amongst the fresh flower blooms in search of nectar.
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An Asian Koel (Male) perch high up on a leafless branch taking in the evening sun and preening it’s feathers.
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Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker.
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A Blue-winged Leaf bird made a surprise and short visit. Saw this single bird foraging amongst the flowers looking for ripened berries. It did not find it’s favorite food and made a quick exit to continue it’s hunt for food elsewhere.
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A male Pink-necked Pigeon perch high in the tree canopy. This specie of pigeon has returned to it’s seasonal ‘playground’ in this park. Usually seen in flocks of between four are at times up to a dozen birds.
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A female Pink-necked Pigeon drying it’s feathers.
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A Black-nape Oriole in flight. This specie is an exceptionally ‘shy’ bird. It will take off at the slightest sound or sight of human intrusion. Can be a very difficult bird to photograph.
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A Collared Falconet. I was pleasantly surprised to see this little fellow. It is one of the smallest specie of Raptors aka birds of prey.
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The White-throated Kingfisher is a common sight in this park. Counted four of them here.
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A White-throated juvenile Kingfisher. Colors on the plumage is slowly changing to resemble that of the adult. Note the distinct yellow tip at the end of it’s beak. An adult have bright red beak.
Thank you for dropping by. All comments are most welcomed. Cheers!

Jul 20, 2010

Rufuous-backed Kingfisher aka The Flying Carrot

The photos were taken a couple of months back but I did not get around to post them until now.
The nesting pair of Rufuos-back Kingfishers drew birders and bird photographers from local enthusiasts as well as from as far as Taiwan and Singapore. At one stage the nesting site was inundated with 500mm-600mm ‘bazookas’ all aimed at the adult birds! Both the male and female adults were scurrying to-and-fro bringing live food for the sole chick in the nest. Live food ranged from lizards, cicada, dragon fly, cricket, crabs, frogs and spiders.
P.S. The nesting pair must be wondering what in the heck are these ppl so excited each time they make their appearance. If only they could understand why bird men and women go cuckoo over them! LOL  
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For me it was a great experience ‘camping out’ and patiently waiting at intervals of between half an hour to as long as one hour apart for the adult birds to return to their perch albeit for just about 2 minutes (max) before flying into the nest to feed the chick!
A very rare show indeed! To top it all it was Box Office seat all the way!!! Kudos to Mr. Khong aka wondersf for sharing the location. Gracias!
Video also uploaded to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rufuos-back+kingfisher+aka+The+Flying+Carrot&aq=f
Thanks for dropping by. Cheers!

Jul 19, 2010

A half day walk-about in FRIM

FRIM or the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia is located very close to the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It boasts of a well maintained forest park and is residence for both local as well as seasonal migratory birds. FRIM also have a number of trails in which one could observe the natural flora and fauna up-close whilst exercising at the same time.
The following photos feature birds seen and ‘shot’ during my brief visit there.

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Black-thighed Falconet


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Grey-chinned Minivet (Male)

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Grey-chinned Minivet (Female)

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Crested Serpent Eagle

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Crested Serpent Eagle (Female)

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Blue-winged Leafbird

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Spectacled Spider Hunter

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A pair of Greater Racquet-tailed and Bronze Drongos.

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Buff-rumped Woodpecker (record shot)

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Red-eyed Bulbul

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Verditer Flycatcher

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Common Tailor Bird.
Thanks for dropping by. Cheers!

The Oriental Pied & The Black Hornbill.wmv