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!

Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)

Helang Tikus*黑翅鸢＊トビ＊Diều hâu

The BSKs are common around Johor rural area where their main sources of food, rodents, are abundant. So it is no surprise that they are called Helang Tikus locally (tikus is rat in Malay language). They can be seen all year round and often in pair.

But the best spot to photograph them is probably in the paddy fields of Sungei Balang* where they perch low and clean. Farmers do like them as they help to keep the population of rodents in check. The farmers also build poles with t-bar close to the paddy fields to actually help the BSKs perch close to the hunting ground.

In my hometown of Kulai, they are frequently seen hovering around the compound of Foon Yew Secondary School in Indahpura, and feeding at the high fencing of the driving range in Indahpura Sport Centre.

( Indapura driving range )

Both pics were taken with D300 500mm VR F4 TC1.4

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sungai_Balang

Scarlet-rumped Trogon (Harpactes duvaucelii)

Kesumba Puteri*红腰咬鹃*コシアカキヌバネドリ

The Scarlet-rumped Trogons are more frequently seen than the Red-naped and Diard’s Trogons in Panti. Their sizes are smaller, and both male and female have distinctive plumage on their feathers. Like most bird species, the male are more colorful and a real beauty to the eyes.

The SRTs perch lower and closer (especially the female) while responding to calls, and typically with their backs facing you with the glamorous over-the-shoulder look, a real shooting delight for photographers.

I have experienced on a few ocassions that the female perches only about 5-6’ away from me, forcing me to step back repetitive to get the shot, for the min focus distant on my 500mm VR is ~10’.

While the territorial calls of the RNTs and DT’s are usually heard in certain stretch of the 8km bunker trail, the SRTs’ are in much wider stretch. I have no idea if this is due to their higher population or simply because they like to move about habitually. So just get yourself prepared for the SRTs if you visit Panti!

This year, however, sighting of the 3 species of trogon are lesser and their calls are seldom heard at the usual spots compared to the previous year. I surely hope that this is not a sign of their diminishing population as the Scarlet-rumped Trogon was chosen as the official logo for Panti Bird Sanctuary!

female

Both shots were taken with D300 500mmVR TC1.4

Moustached Babbler (Malacopteron magnirostre)

Rimba Bermisai * 须树鹛 * ヒゲチャイロチメドリ

Babblers have always been my favorite subjects to photograph in Panti Bird Sanctuary. They are very challenging to shoot because their sizes are small, usually very active and the worst nightmares of all, their natural habitats are usually in the area of shaded undergrowths.

Hence early recognition of its ID is important for birding photographers as calls playing seemed to be the only way to ensure that they would stay longer enough for you to capture a decent image. I still have a difficult task of indentifying them on sighting due to my limited knowledge and experience in birds species, especially the babblers. They all looked alike to me most of the times!

This is one babbler that I will never forget, for its lead to my accidental sighting of the Banded Kingfisher and the Diard’s Trogon later, which I have posted earlier

Only managed to fire 5 shots, the rest were all blur beyond recognition! ：）

Pic taken with D3s 500mmVR F4 TCC1.4 @ f/8 1/50s ISO 5000 no flash

Diard's Trogon (Harpactes diardii), male

The Diard's Trogon are the most elusive among the 3 species of trogons found in Panti. Generally they perch very high, and they do so quietly (w.o territorial calls), making them hard to spot in the thick canopy foliage of Panti forest.

But yet I have seen them a couple of times* at surprisingly low perch along the main bunker trail, but all attempts to shoot them were in vain as they simply disappeared in split second the moment i spotted them.

3rd of Sept was my lucky day in Panti indeed, with 4 good lifers in less than 5 hours, the female Banded Kingfisher, Diard's Trogon, Buff-necked Woodpecker, and the Moustached Babbler.

This Diard's Trogon was spotted unexpectedly while chasing for a pair of unknown babblers in the forest trail, looking submissively like the Scarlet-rump Trogons, I took a quick burst of 9fps without even proper focussing, fearing that it would be gone before i got any shot, lucky for me that the DT did not vanish like what i had expected .Needless to say, I was extremely excited then.

I decided later to play calls after securing a few shots, just to see its response, and much to my astonishment this time**, it flew to my left at eye-level, just 10-12' away perching quietly, giving me the submissive look again as i shift my setup slowly for an unblocked view. I didn't even dare to check my setting in that 2mins of close encounter, knowing that one wrong bodily move would shatter my dream of a full frame shot for a Diard's Trogon

Just few shots on MLU, only one was in focus (pic below), it flew into the forest and gone.

So far, I have not seen a female Diard's Trogon in Panti yet! Not sure why.....and I certainly hope that when it shows up one day, it will give me the same experience like this male DT again! !:)

Trogons are undoubtedly the favourites and one of the most photographed birds in Panti because they are large and beautiful. And when they do perch low, their backs are always facing you with the over-the -shoulder look.

From the info googled, close to 40 species exist worldwide, but only around 6 or 7 species are found in Malaysia.

The 3 species in Panti are, Scarlet-rump Trogon, Red-naped Trogon and the Diard's Trogon.

*at the hut, i.e. 200m after the car park, and about 300m after the 2nd stream.

**While you could always seek you luck with bird calls on the DT's, but the best is to avoid playing calls the moment you spotted it as their territorial behavior would send them fleeing deeper into the forest. It had happened to me quite a few times actually....! :(

Banded Kingfisher (Lacedo pulchella), female

Panti 3rd Sept 2010

The trip to Panti today caught me by big surprise! A femake BKF landed just 5 feet in front of me out of nowhere. The back light was strong and I couldn't see its ID probably, so I moved forward to take a closer look and almost fainted in disbelief!

BKFs are much sought after by birding photographers for its rarity and beauties, this particular Kingfisher often perch high, 30-50', its calls are often heard along the bunker trail and Temple trail of Panti but they are seldom seen.

I have only seen the female once before, and numerous record shots of the male that perched slightly lower than the Petronas Tower!

Pekaka Rimba * 横斑翠鸟*カザリショウビン*Sả vằn

Pic was taken with D3s 500mmVR F4 TC1.4 ISO2000 F9 1/40s No Flash and MLU.

Streaked-breasted Woodpecker (Picus viridanus), Tj Piai

If you go Tj Piai, there is a long and straight cyclist concrete pavement on your right before the main building, The wooden observation tower is located about 200m on your left. There are some facilities for campers and children (obstacle course) built on the left sides of the pavement (before the tower).

The SB Wookpeckers are tame (for my case here though) and perch quietly at low level so you are likely to miss them if you are an unobservant birder like me. :)

The SBWs were seen at a swampy area near and opp the Tower. They must be the greatest portait models among all the woodpeckers I have shot. Hopping around slowly and each time it would perch motionlessly for mins, a perfect situation for a low speed MLU shot.

Two very important things to bear in mind if you visit Tj Piai!

1) Bring along insect spray or at least apply some to your exposed skin because the mosquitoes come in big numbers!

2) DO NOT carry quick bites or carry bag with tit-bits/food inside. These monkeys are everywhere and they do look tame and cute. But should one of them charge to snatch your food, all the rest would act the same. In one of the incidence we had last year, about 30 monkeys were charging at us in the lobby from all direction because of London Rolls in our pockets!!

In 2nd incidence I was alone, I left my original Nikon lens pouch near my Tenba bag on the ground, within mins it was snatched away and lucky for me that a quick chase with the tripod forced them to throw back the cover back to me!! :)

Yeap, I still can recognize the pathetic look of these two kids, they were the ones who snatched my Nikon lens pouch! Arrr....