Panti where got Banded Pitta? :))))

I have shot the Banded Pitta twice in the past, but either the head was fully blocked or the image was so blur which makes it look more like the chick of Ayam Kampung than anything else! Many times I was frowned at when the subject of its sighting was brought up in the discussion, and what follow was usually "ARE YOU SURE???"


Situation turned around slightly when when a pair were spotted 100m into the trail barely 20' away in one of the birding trips with my friends a few months ago. 

But for an hour we couldn't get a good shot due to thick undergrowth. However it was the moment of truth for me as one of my friends patted me on my shoulder and said "I believe in you now!" (Sobs...sobs.....)

Banded Pittas are not that rare in Panti. According to my observation in the past, they occur in  many locations but mostly deep in the forest/side trails. Occasionally they do venture very near to the Main Bunker Trail, but they are not as habitual as the Mysia Rail Babbler, i.e. if you see them (usually in pair -male/female) in one spot just don't hope to see them around the same spot the next day.

Extremely shy and getting a good shot is a real PITA (Oops!), as they like to move around quickly in the canopy of thick undergrowth. So you either run out of shutter speed  due to lack of light or out of breath chasing them in the wood. I have missed capturing their images at least 5 times despite they were just skipping cheekily around me barely 10' away.

"WUI! BAND BAND BANDED....P.... I.... T... T... AAAAAA!", shouted my Sifu!

So in Panti today and when one my friends gave me a loud yell 100m away, I probably dashed faster than Carl Lewis, with full gear on my shoulder forgetting I have not fully recovered from my illness. 9.8s later I reached the spot and told him if it was a joke I would probably kill him with my new Gitzo tripod! But it was all big smiles from all of us seconds later as the Banded Pitta made a brisk appearance in a well-lit patch of the ground, grinning at us almost like "Haha! See if any of you fools can get me this time!".   

And after one hour of seek-and-hide with the PITA, finally I managed to get some improvement shots and video recording of the Banded Pitta of Panti! Phew! I was thrilled naturally and suddenly the pain of my stomach cramp that tortured me for the last few weeks seemed to have gone suddenly and forever!

For once, I actually like a bird's name in chinese, Banded Pitta is actually 
called "Blue-tailed-eight-colored Pitta!" Make sense to me!

Banded Pitta (Pitta guajana)

Burung Pacat Berjalur * 蓝尾八色鸫 * キマユシマヤイロチョウ * 

Brève azurine * pita pásikavá * Синехвостая питта * นกแต้วแล้วลาย

Blauschwanz-Pitta * Gyldenbrynet Pitta * Pita Barrada

And some of the pics taken on both Saturday and Sunday. I am still excited with my Nikon D5100 so all imgs were captured with it, with 500mm VR F4 TC1.4.

 Crested Serpent-Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

Buff-necked Woodpecker (Meiglyptes tukki)

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher (Ceyx erithacus)

Rufous-collared Kingfisher (Actenoides concretus)

White-bellied Woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis)

Scarlet-rumped Trogon (Harpactes duvaucelii)

And is this ID correct?  

Grey-rumped Treeswift (Hemiprocne longipennis) ?

Panti FR :: 11th Sept 2010

8:00 am to 9:30am

The morning was dry, I couldn't even find bulbuls along the bunker trail. So I was glad to meet some friends from NPX along the way! We headed different ways though so the chances of spotting something rare is higher. Luenny and I went to the 1st stream, but mins later, two families came to picnic at the stream, with children running around wild! One family was busy chainsawing a fallen trunk, to make chopping boards for sale i guess!

(left to right: Luenny, Micky and Chris Li)

Our luck turns around when Chris Li gave me a paging call on the talkie that a Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (migrant) was spotted 200m away from me. We arrived mins later, saw Chris and Micky were busy photographing the YRFC on a fruiting tree, but the fruiting tree also attracted a lot of other species of birds like female Red-throated Sunbirds, HB Bulbuls, Spectacled Spiderhunters and a few unidentified small birds. We were only interested on the YRFC then because of its "migrant status"! :)

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia)

Sambar Belakang Kuning*白眉姬鹟*マミジロキビタキ*Đớp ruồi vàng

The Spiderhunters, were acting like the fearsome owners of that fruiting tree, chasing other species of birds away perpectually with its loud slapping wings. So it was really difficult for us to shoot the YRFC, as it could hardly perch for 5sec! The YRFC were wings-slapped a few times by the Spiderhunter and was moving non-stop up and down, left and right.....

Spectacled Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flavigaster)

Kelicap Jantung Besar*大黄耳捕蛛鸟*オオキミミクモカリドリ*Bắp chuối bụng vàng

Red-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes rhodolaema), male

Kelicap Pinang*棕喉食蜜鸟*ノドアカコバシタイヨウチョウ

(female Red-Throated Sunbird)

Our climax reached to the peak when a male Red-throated Sunbird and a Buff-necked Woodpecker came to join the noisy party, the woodie responded to our calls by perching reasonably low in the open across the road, We were delighted that the woodie perched still for a few mins despite all the commotion at the tree..

Buff-necked Woodpecker (Meiglyptes tukki)

Belatuk Leher Kuning*黄颈斑啄木鸟*カレハゲラ

With over an hour of excitement of shooting under the humid weather, we finally got tired and took a rest, and Chris, Luenny and Micky decided to walk to the 2^nd yellow signboard in search of other species. I was too tired (lazy!) and decided to stay.

Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus)

Sewah Gunung*中杜鵑*ツツドリ*Cu cu Phương đông

10:30 am

And mins they were gone, an Oriental Cuckoo came perching still and low at the same fruiting tree! A good lifer for me indeed and I was extremely thrilled by its sudden appearance.

At around 2pm, we parted over lunch at the Panti Official 5-star cafeteria ( the shabby roti prata shop at Sedili exit), my cousin called saying he was on his way to Panti, so I went back to join him and on my way out, I saw this beautiful juvenile Crested Serpent-eagle perching low along the bunker trail…

Crested Serpent-Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

Helang Kuik*蛇鵰*カンムリワシ*Diều hoa Miến Điện

I must say it was quite an eventful day for me!