BBNP, Hindhede 11-22Dec05
Con at Hindhede on 11 Dec, Sun
Flowerpeckers and Flycatchers were reported at Hindhede Nature Park. Didn't see any
flycatchers, but did see other NSS members looking for flycatchers. Did see
this
Oriental White-Eye, which was a new bird for me.
Danny at Hindhede and BBNP on 15 Dec, Thu
Reached Hindhede around 7.10 am but at the Quarry viewing corner there were
a group of featherless birds working out yoga moves - enough space for JS to
spend half an hour to pick out two
Mugimaki flycatchers. Being squeezed
out, spent some time to check out any cuckoo - no luck, only the usual
Greater Racket tailed Drongos,
Laced &
Banded
Woodpeckers,
tailorbirds... but spotted a few
Grey-rumped
Treeswifts over the Quarry.
Shifted over to BBNP after 9 am. Starting from
the BB East Ave 2 CP route towards the Quarry pond, sighted most of the usual
resident birds...
laughing thrushes,
woodpeckers,
sunbirds... and three
Straw-headed Bubuls (managed a few back lit
shoots) but no sign of flycatchers. Met an NSS member and info from her was they
were over at the Transmission tower side.
Drove over but around the steps
towards memorial site, grass cutting in progress, instead went to the back and
located most of the
flowerpeckers including the
Thick-billed,
Scarlet-backed... the trees pretty tall required scopes to id these
relative small and active birds. The
Green Imperial-pigeon appeared
briefly and I was fortunate to spot it for a few seconds. Due to some other
appointment stopped around 11 am.
Yamane-san has a book written in Japanese with a reference to Raptor Watch in
Malaysia. Every year the
Malaysian Nature Society sponsors a Raptor Watch
weekend at Tanjung Tuan just North of Malacca to see the raptors crossing the
Straits of Malacca on their Northward journey to their summer breeding grounds.
JS at Hindhede and BBNP on 17 Dec, Sat
The
Mugimakis are at Hindhede from 7 am to 7.30 am, so most probably all of you
have missed it. Nevertheless, sightings at BBNP are confirmed together with the
Thick-billed and Yellow-vented Flowerpeckers. My father and I went there
in the afternoon and met Kim Chuah who had difficulty finding the rare
flowerpeckers due to height and weather. However, the Mugimaki was a common
sight. Two of them jumping happily about the trees even though they are biased
to the macaranga tree. We came and helped him but apparently, he appeared both
confused and lucky as he sighted the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker. There were
aplenty of birds on the mistletoe plant and its host. Con, Maybe you should try
BBNP tomorrow. Find the macaranga tree which is located opposite the mistletoe
plant and its host with the steps in the middle. The flycatchers are there and
may stay for a while, enough for a good photo of it. Hope to receive a picture
of the Mugimaki Flycatcher taken by you. :)
Just a short summary of our meeting with Kim Chuah. We spotted him at the
stairs birding and I used my bino and identified him. We exchanged greetings and
shared our sightings with him. Soon, we started birding. The scope was better
than the bino in identifying the birds in the mistletoe canopy. Nevertheless,
with his knowledge and bino, he still spotted the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker
jumping cheerfully among the mistletoes. That was the only rare bird that I have
not seen in BBNP even though I caught some glimpse of it with my bino. :(
Somehow, I was more fortunate than Kim Chuah, as I had 2 days to identify the
birds found there and he had only one. He came because of Kim Seng's sighting of
the Thick-billed Flowerpecker which he failed to catch even a glimpse of the
bird. Surprisingly, we saw the bird not on the mistletoe canopy but on a tree
across the road. Soon, it rained. We went back to the cars to seek shelter. Kim
Chuah is one of those crazy birders who birds in the rain. He tried to identify
the Glossy Swiftlet which we told him that they were there in the rain. The rain
got heavier so we left. Before we left, he told us about his Sunday's birding
plan which was coming back here in the morning. That's the end of the summary of
our meeting with a crazy birder, Lim Kim Chuah.
Here are some shots of the Mugimaki from Danny:
Yamane enlightens us on the meaning of Mugimaki:
BTW, "Mugimaki" is Japanese language.
It's divided into two parts, "Mugi" and "Maki".
"Mugi" means "wheat".
"Maki" means "To seed".
"Mugimaki" means "the bird appearing at the season
seeding wheat in the field".
Mugimaki Flycatcher only go through Japan. Not
breed there.
Some shots from Con: Banded Woodpecker, Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo and White-crested Laughingthrush.
Con at BBNP on 18 Dec, Sun
I did try BBNP for about an hour this morning around 10:30 - 11:30 am. You
could hear all the little
flowerpeckers chirping up in the mistletoe
canopy, but trying to identify them with binoculars was almost impossible, and
not possible to take pictures. However, I did run into Alan Owyong and his wife
and Low BW; they definitely helped with the identification, although they
were just using binos and had a hard time seeing too. But we did see
Yellow-vented up in the canopy, although it was not a great sighting. And
an
Orange-bellied came down and perched in a tree almost at eye-level
long enough for us to get binos on him and a good sighting, but not long enough
for a photo. I think they saw a few more than me, and they said the Mugimaki was
there also.
Con at BBNP on 22 Dec, Thu
I was at BBNP again and got the
Thick-billed Flowerpeckers.
