Kg Langsat :: 20th Oct 2010

Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)

Takur Akar * 赤胸拟啄木鸟 * ムネアカゴシキドリ * Cu rốc cổ đỏ

My 2nd visit to Kg Langsat yesterday got me the opportunity to photograph the Coppersmith Barbets finally, a species that has long being in my wanted list. I have seen them many times in the rural area, but often without my gear. This pair arrived as i was setting my gear up for the hornbills at the Jetty.....

Weather was hazy and the hornbills did not arrive as speculated, so instead of waiting  i went hunting for them. Kg Langsat is a very small village indeed, from start to end is less than 2km with houses along the sides. So in 30mins i have already made 6 return trips. The folks here are friendly,  always eager to assist and just yesterday some of them already called me by my name and asked if i have got what i wanted -  portraiture of the hornbills! 

An hour later I spotted 2 perching quietly and low near the beach, unfortunately 6 wandering dogs stopped me from getting nearer to them. Folks were telling me those barking dogs never bite! But i treasure my flesh,  so i waited , hoping those dogs would leave before the hornbills.

A young lady stopped her scooter hurriedly and said " Unlce Poh, follow me, follow me, quick quick!", Before i could ask why and what, she has already gone far, signaling me to follow. 


And by the time I reached, 8 Oriental Pied Hornbills were roosting on  a tree silently!

The hornbills all seemed to be in some kind of ritual, perching quietly tilting their head up slightly, giving me the  feeling that they were doing some kind of secret communication with their extra terrestrial counterparts. 

Before noon, I have already got what I wanted, and back to the Jetty for food and a cup of hot Nescafe before going home.

( RM6.50, you get mee-bandung with 4 medium-sized prawns, its 

strong prawn paste sauce may not be everyone's liking though)

 (fisherman's son, was just "jalan-jalan" when i asked what he was looking for)

( the cat at the Tomyam Seafood Restaurant.)

( OK, if you go Kg Langsat for the first time, the moment you see 4 goats on your left, turn right is to Jetty! :) )

Kampung Langsat :: Oriental Pied Hornbill

17th Oct 2010 Sunday

Weather looked extremely gloomy when I set out my journey at 6am. And I was disappointed too when I realized my fav bitter-cot soup restaurant  at Senai was closed for business on sunday's morning for no apparent reason, so I proceeded to Kg Langsat  hungrily craving for food, and the Oriental Pied Hornbills of course.

By 6:40am I reached Kg Langsat via the newly-built Senai-Pasir Gudang Expressway, Here I found the delicious nasi-lemak serves in the traditional way, and after consuming 2 pkgs, somehow I felt really satisfied and the overcast weather was suddenly not much of concern. 

According to the folks at the village, the hornbills could be seen everyday but their timings are unpredictable, they usually appear around the Jetty area early in the morning, and sometimes, return in the late afternoon roosting at trees next to the seafood restaurant, and those trees were just around 15' tall with open branches (no leaves)!!

Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris)

Burung Kelingking * 冠斑犀鸟 * キタカササギサイチョウ * Cao cát bụng trắng

( this mynah, obviously not impressed with my presence, 
gave me a stern look while i took its pic.....)

6 OPHBs were seen in this tree behind the green-coloured house. But the perch was high, around 30’ and they were playful and surprising active for such big birds. Crows, mynah came roosting on this tree were constantly being chase away by the hornbills, and 2 squirrels were seen pecked by the hornbills mercilessly. 

Two of the hornbills were busy following the crows around to the nearby trees, and would peck at the crows if they perch.

The hornbills didn’t stay long, after just 20mins, they flew further to the trees along the coastal line and unfortunately, beyond access by foot. 

( On my way out of Kg Langat for lunch, I saw this gorgeous Green

 Imperial Pigeon,strangely with its mouth open all the times )

By noon, I paid a visit to the Kg Langsat's Crocodile Farm, no sign of birds except crocs and I was stuck "roosting"  here for more than an hour due to the heavy rain.

( Entrance fees is RM4, according to one worker, Crocs are fed 3-4 times per week, 

with raw chicken meat)

On my way back to the Jetty, two White-bellied Sea Eagle were sighted roosting at the mangrove forest, and another big bird that I couldn’t ID with bino, perched on a stick almost 70m away  Attempts to gain access by the dirt road at the construction site almost got my vehicles stuck at some of the potholes, which obviously were softened by the heavy rain earlier. So I have to be contented with my distanced shots earlier.

On close examination at home, I was thrilled to learn that I’ve got another great lifer here, an Osprey. a migratory species I have never seen before. 

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Helang Tiram * 鱼鹰 * ミサゴ * Ó cá

Hoping to catch the hornbills again, back at the Jetty, a lone sandpiper was seen foraging at the mudflats with a Collared Kingfisher roosting nearby. A lone Grey Heron at the beach, and the fisherman was laying trap nest hoping for a good catch tomorrow, no sign of the hornbills, but i wasn't complaining....

Everything seemed so peaceful here, and I ordered a cup of Nescafe at the Seafood restaurant, snap some shots, a bit of walking while drooling over the scenic views of Kampong Langsat, forgetting the hornbills completely.....

(view from the Tomyam Seafood Restaurant)

( the Jetty )

In fact the only "noise" I heard was the laughters from the fishermen's 3 kids, yelling at me happily "Take our pics! Take our pics!"

Geographically, Kampong Langsat is just opposite S'pore's Changi Airport across the straits and the Observation Tower could be seen with the naked eyes. Big birds were seen ( surprising close ) surging to the sky every 2-3 mins interval! Quite an amazing sight indeed.