Glimpses of nature in Bkt Kiara Forest

Here are some photos taken whilst trekking through Bkt Kiara Forest with Flintstone. We covered approximately 11 kms of mostly uphill-downhill trails. Started at 11 am, stopped for an hour for lunch and continued till 5.30 pm. Hats off Flinstone for his indepth knowledge of the forest especially the biking tracks and jungle trails, some of which he had a hand at building. Great job Flintstone! Over the past two decades there were about 53 trails built in Bkt. Kiara, but horses from the nearby equestrian club and now the ugly fence have reduce them by at  least a couple of dozen. 

               Photo credit : Special thanks to Flintstone for contributing some of the photos.

                               Exhilarating & invigorating waterfalls 

                                                           The upper fall

                                                             The lower fall

                                               The upper fall from another angle

                               The pool at the lower fall makes for a nice cool dip.

                                         Bull Frog - luv 'em or hate 'em. 😁

                                          Bamboo orchid (Arundina graminifolia

                                    A Greater raquet-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus)

                                                     Tadpoles - future Bull Frogs

                                                           Baby Bull Frogs

                                                                    

Stinkhorn or veiled lady, (phallus indusiatus)  

                                   Slender Pitcher-Plant (Nepenthes gracilis)

                                          The Lamprigera fire fly larva - glows in the dark. 
                                           Also the world's largest firefly

                                                            An Agamid lizard

                                                        Green-billed Malkoha

                                      A Red-eared Slider terrapin (Trachemys scripta elegans)

                                                          Red Jungle Fowl

                                                           Stream cascade

                                                     Mossy stream and rocks

                                                            Orange Boulder

                                                             From another angle

                     Other mammals, reptilians, birds & others also call Bkt Kiara home

                                                           Plantain Squirrel

                                                            Monitor Lizard

                                                 White-thighed Surili (Presbytis siamensis)

                                                   Oriental Magpie Robin

                                          Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus)

                                           White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

                                                Blue-throated Beeeater (Merops viridis)

                                                                  Dragon Fly

                                                   Drynaria quercifolia fern

                                                    Giant Asplenium Nidis     

Long-tailed Broadbill (Psarisomus dalhousiae) 26 cm

Broadbills are much sort after by birders and bird watchers due in part to this specie's 'cute' looks which naturally endears it to the birding fraternity.. The Long-tailed Broadbill is no different. This specie is rarer than it's cousins and any sightings of the L-tB will create great excitement amongst the bird watching folks. 

The following photos capture the parental instinct of nature at work. The pair of adults were going about bringing juicy grubs and feeding the two newly hatched chicks. Small avian lifeforms fledge into a juvenile in about three weeks.

Beetles, Bugs & more

Nature never fails to surprise. As one trek through the forest one just have to look hard enough to discover nature's many wonders. There are thousand upon thousand species of bugs, beetles, butterflies, moths and other creepy crawlies to feast the eyes. For certain you don't get all these in the city.  

                              Horn Beetle

                                          Stag Beetle

Hippopotamus

I have seen pictures and documentaries of the great Hippos but never saw them live let alone close. A visit to the Putra Jaya Wetlands accorded me the opportunity to come face-to-face with the giant size yet gentle mammal for the first time. There were 3 of them here. Would strongly recommend blog visitors to make a visit there. And bring along the family for a weekend with nature. Entrance to the wetlands is free of charge and almost all spots are accessible by car.

 

Common Kingfisher

A 'Common' in the name of a not so common KF. :-) Sometimes wonder how bird names are chosen. 

This small fella was seen perched on a thin pole by the lakeside. This specie is known for being skittish and will not hesitate to 'scoot-off' at the slightest sign of human or predator approach. To get a close shot I had to get into position behind a tree behind the pole. As camouflage I chose a branch laden with leaves causing it to over-hang almost to the ground. This position is closest but was still about 25-30 meters away from where the KF perched. 

After some 30 minutes my patience paid off. The KF returned to the same perch. I took in some shots which I am sharing below.

Purple Swamphens

Crocodiles of Paya Indah Wetlands

Some of them are more than 12 ft long! Certainly look very menacing especially when they 'stare' at visitors whilst just revealing parts of their heads with eyes just above the water line. Come feeding time all hell will break loose (so to speak). Plenty of splashing, twisting and turning throwing the lake's water far and wide!