Malaysia 7 21 March 2014

Transcription

1 Malaysia 7 21 March 2014 Some notes from a two week non-bird-watching (my wife disputes this) trip to Malaysia, primarily in and around Kuala Lumpur. Full bird lists were entered in to ebird. As other visitors to this part of the world have noted Malaysia was suffering a severe drought when we arrived water restrictions were in place, and this prolonged dry spell had an impact on what we saw (and didn t see). Fortunately it started to rain occasionally half way through our stay, which brought some much needed improvements to the air quality smoke generated smog from the burning of forests in Sumatra and Malaysia dominating the weather up to that point. 7 March We landed just before sunset at KLIA on Friday the 7 March, and as our plane taxied to the airport building it flushed 1 Grey Heron, 1 Purple Heron and 2 Great Egrets. Immigration and baggage collection took up the remaining hours of sunlight, and the taxi ride to our accommodation was uneventful. We checked in to the Summer Stay Vacation Home a 3 bedroom apartment in Damansara Perdana, in northern Petaling Jaya. This was a nice relaxing alternative to staying in a hotel, and was in reasonably close proximity to some of the (non-birding) places we were in KL to visit, but is not particularly close to any birding sites I found during my stay. 8 March An intentionally quiet low key day, I tracked down a few birds in the gardens of the Perdana Emerald apartment complex, before we walked down to the curve shopping complex, where we had a short pre-shopping walk/bird around the slightly scruffy Mutiara Damansara Recreation Park. Late in the afternoon I walked along the road bounding the East side of the forested hill to the North of Damansara Perdana, as far as the large quarry, and given the lack of birds in this area then walked West from Damasara Perdana, passing the water treatment works and down to some grassland beneath an extensive line of overhead HV electricity cables. The apartment complex gardens held a reasonable selection of common urban KL birds, all of which were seen regularly and widely thereafter; Feral Pigeons, Zebra Doves, Asian Koels, House Swifts, Black-naped Orioles, House Crows, Yellow-vented Bulbuls, Oriental Magpie Robin, Common Myna, Olive-backed Sunbird and Eurasian Tree Sparrow. The walk around the recreation park repeated most of these sightings and added Striated Heron, Spotted Dove, 2 White-throated Kingfishers, Common Tailorbird, Asian Brown Flycatcher, and Asian Glossy Starling all of these were again regularly and widely seen throughout the rest of our stay. The only bird of note on my walk North of Damansara Perdana was a single Blue-tailed Bee-eater, the walk by the water treatment works and alongside the grasslands adding White-breasted Waterhen, Daurian Starling, Nutmeg Mannikin and Javan Myna to my list.

2 9 March In the morning I added Plain-throated Sunbird at the apartment complex before we met up with our KL based friends H G and T R for lunch at the Curve. After lunch we headed over to the Ukay Heights area to walk their local patch, the Old Ampang Impounding Reservoir (see for location details). The area alongside the stream at the start of the walk up to Ampang Reservoir was reasonably birdy, and in short order highlights included Crested Serpent Eagle, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Black-headed and Red-eyed Bulbuls, and Everett s Whiteye. The steep walk up to the tanks was bird-less, and there was little at the tanks themselves. I glimpsed a bird that we later tracked down as one of a pair of Baya Weavers, presumably displaced by the drought. As we reached the reservoir we had poor views of an elusive female Asian Fairy Bluebird. Our circuit of the reservoir produced Hairy-backed and Cream-vented Bulbuls, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Arctic Warbler, a stunning Crimson-winged Woodpecker, several beautiful Bluethroated Bee-eaters (plus more Blue-tailed), a single Greater Green Leafbird, Chestnut-winged Babbler, Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker (immature), Plain Sunbird, and over the water many Pacific Swallows, plus House Swifts and swiftlets that I did not identify. On our descent we had good views of a Chestnut-bellied Malkoha. Returning to Ukay Heights we unfortunately didn t get good enough views to identify a possible Redlegged Crake which scuttled across the road in front of us. 10 March No birding. Really. 11 March We headed out to KLIA to pick up a pre-arranged rental car from Europcar for a couple of days. Unfortunately Europcar do not have a booth at the car pick up location, so you have to phone them once you get there and wait for someone to turn up. We waited well over an hour for a pre-arranged pick up, in a filthy multi-story car-park lacking air-conditioning or somewhere to sit (and had a similar wait on return, both times ruining our attempts to avoid rush hour traffic) I would avoid Europcar at KLIA for this reason. Having finally picked up our car and satnav (recommended) we drove down to Melaka, checking in to the Courtyard at Heeren (recommended) for the night. From the Courtyard we headed down to the riverside area for a drink and snack, and spent an enjoyable couple of hours walking around the historic sites of Stadhuys and St Paul s church. There were a few birds along the river and the trees around St. Paul s were reasonably birdy I never quite got good enough views of either Parrots or Barbets that were flying in and out. Birds along the river included a passing flock of Intermediate Egrets, and the odd Striated Heron and Common Sandpiper. At and around St. Paul s sightings included White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Pinknecked Pigeon, Arctic Warbler, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker and Olivebacked Sunbird.

3 12 March In the morning we had a further potter around Melaka (shopping), and took a boat trip up and down the river reasonably interesting, but only regularly sighted birds were seen. In the early afternoon we departed for the short drive to the Thistle Hotel (recommended) at Port Dickson for a one night stay. En-route to Port Dickson a brief stop to check some raptors produced 18 Oriental Honey Buzzard passing over, plus a resident Brahminy Kite. Highlights at the Thistle Hotel included a Collared Kingfisher along the beach, and a Dollarbird perched on the hotel s aerials. 13 March After breakfast at the Thistle (adding roosting Cattle Egrets to the trip list) we drove to the nearby Tanjung Tuan/Cape Rachado. This is a reasonably well known raptor migration spot, and there is a small park covering the headland, protecting a nice patch of remnant forest. We got to the entrance to the park (by the Ilham Resort) at about 10am, and remained in the park until around 1pm, when heat and the need to get back to KL forced us to leave. Unfortunately the weather was dominated by dense smog/smoke from forest fires, so thick that shipping in the straits was resorting to the use of fog horns. According to one of the volunteer raptor watchers, this was the worst they had ever seen, and was likely to lead to little or no visible migration. Anyway, on arrival a quick scan of the playing fields adjacent to the Ilham Resort produced a couple of Oriental Pipit and a Blue-tailed Bee-eater, a pair Malaysian Pied Fantail flitted along the forest edge and Pink-necked Pigeons and Common Iora showed well. The walk up the road to the cape revealed only Greater-racket tailed Drongo and Abbot s Babbler, despite much more in the way of calls and movement. We perched ourselves on the right-hand (North-West facing) wall of the light-house, and settled in to wait in the hope of some raptor migration. Fortunately this spot overlooked some scrub and a small fruiting tree, and gradually over the next couple of hours a few good birds trickled through. Highlights were a Black-bellied Malkoha, a pair of Dollarbirds (regularly perching on the lighthouse), single Lineated, Blue-eared and Coppersmith Barbets, two Scarlet Minivet, several Olive-winged and Red-eyed Bulbul, Orange-bellied and Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers, Plain-throated and Van Hasselt s Sunbird and Little Spiderhunter. As the day increasingly warmed up resident raptors started to put in an appearance, a pair of Changeable Hawk-Eagles, Brahminy Kites and White-bellied sea-eagle all tried to show well in the poor light. Shortly after mid-day we heard and then saw the first of several small flocks of Bluetailed Bee-eaters migrating past one of the raptor watch volunteers suggested this was a sign we might see a few migrant raptors. About half an hour later I picked up the first of 67 Oriental Honey Buzzard that reached the cape and started to kettle up overhead just before it was time for us to leave. This is a great spot, and well worth more effort than I was able to put into it.

4 14 March Practically no birding, again. 15 March Another proper birding trip. H G and T R kindly picked us up from our apartment, and drove us to Kuala Selangor Nature Park (KSNP), which we birded from 9.30am to 2pm, on a hot sunny day. Our birding here was dominated by the almost complete absence of water from what is normally a wetlands and mangrove reserve (the main central lake was completely dry), and the heat. For those planning a visit, only the main watch-tower over-looking the central lake from near the entrance is safe to use, and whilst the concrete loop through the mangroves remains safely walk-able, all that remains of the wooden walkway from this to the shoreline is a few rotten stumps. Birding started in the car-park, where highlights included 11 Coppersmith Barbets in the bare treetops and single Brown Shrike and Forest Wagtail just as we reached the main entrance trail. Voracious mosquitos hurried us through the initial stretch of forest, and we were relieved to leave these behind as we approached and climbed the main watch-tower. We quickly picked up the relatively common birds in this (now) dry scrubby habitat; Ashy Tailorbird, Abbott s Babbler Malaysian Pied Fantail, Spotted Dove and Pink-necked Pigeon. Water-birds were conspicuously absent. Returning to the main circular walk-way we turned left, heading around in an anti-clockwise direction. Whilst watching a number of small birds, which included Oriental White-eye, Rubycheeked and Plain-throated Sunbirds, Asian Brown Flycatcher and Arctic Warbler, H G pointed out our first water bird of any note, a Lesser Adjutant, as it flew over. Progressing around the trail we saw more of the same birds, plus a few Red-eyed Bulbuls and Common Iora. A sudden flash of electric blue just beside and below us alerted us to a stunning Blue-winged Pitta, perched barely 8ft from us low down in the scrub in broad daylight. Absolutely astonishing views were had by all of us, soaking in this really magnificent bird. I have seen Blue-winged Pitta before, but never in bright sunlight, clearly visible and for minutes rather than fleeting seconds. Bird of the holiday. After that our next sightings were always going to be an anti-climax, and in truth the heat and general lack of water meant that birds were few and far between. Next up was a Yellow-bellied Prinia, and then a couple of Black Baza flying over. We reached what would normally be a stretch of water backing on to the mangrove section, and there was a small runnel of water, full of gasping mud-skippers. This held a few birds; Striated, Purple and Grey Herons, Great and Little Egret, Collared Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper. Approaching the start of the mangrove loop we had brief views of another Black Baza perched in the low trees. Unfortunately the Mangrove walkway itself was almost bird-less several Malaysian Pied Fantails, but little else. Completing the main loop back towards the car was hard work it was increasingly hot, the only highlight being a brief glimpse of a Red Junglefowl scurrying across the track.

5 Fortunately mosquito numbers had dropped for the walk back to the car-park, and H G and I were able to take some time (and H G photos) looking at a Drongo, which subsequently we identified as a first winter Crow-billed Drongo. It was a relief to get back to the car and we enjoyed the airconditioning! From KSNP we drove a short distance through palm oil plantations to the nearest area of rice fields. These are called Kampung Sungai Tengi Kanan on google-maps, and are not those described by other birders further North around Sekinchan or the Projek Barat Laut Selangor (PBLS) rice fields. In this area we essentially drove around the smaller roads more or less at random, stopping and occasionally walking short distances when we saw birds of interest. Highlights in this area included a single Asian Openbill, a few Chinese Pond-Heron in breeding plumage, great views of a few Black-shouldered Kite, 8 White-breasted Woodswallow (a local speciality), 6 Brown Shrike, 4 Zitting Cisticola, a Baya Weaver, and good numbers of White-rumped, Javan, Nutmeg and White-headed Munias. The Openbill was a real surprise I am not sure how far (if at all) out of range this sighting was, and the area in general was pretty birdy we spent an hour here before heading off, and didn t find any fields without well grown rice crop in them, I suspect given longer much more could be seen in this area. 16 March After a pleasant night with H G and T R, and a leisurely morning watching the 6 nations rugby games from previous night, we headed out to visit the Putrajaya Wetland Park for a couple of hours. On the edge of the car park we had brief views of a Red Junglefowl, before dropping down to the trail that runs alongside the wetlands areas. Initially we turned left, quickly picking out 26 Painted Stork loafing on the marsh, together with a few Purple Herons. A scan of the marsh soon revealed a pair of Red-wattled Lapwing, the first of 5 Purple Swamphen (relatively easy to see here) and the first of two Yellow Bittern. Closer in front of us calls from the low trees alerted us to a pretty pair of Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers. We re-traced our steps and then continued along the track, viewing the wetland and scrub the other side of where we had parked. Four Oriental Honey-Buzzards passed over at height, and highlights as we moved on included Plain-throated Sunbird, Pied Triller, amongst the more common wetland and scrub birds (Common and Ashy Tailorbird, Yellow-bellied Prinia, various Egrets etc). We didn t visit this area at the best time for birding, but it is clearly a reasonably easy area with a few birds that is worth a short visit if you are limited on time and in the area. 17 and 18 March No birding. 19 March I had planned one full day of local-guided birding on this trip, and arranged to visit the Krau Wildlife Reserve for the day. Unfortunately at very late notice (10pm the night before) they cancelled. This

6 left me with insufficient time to organise anything on my own account for the 19 March, which was a real pain. In the end I took a variety of public transport and taxis to the grounds of the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), arriving just after 11.30am (hardly prime birding time), and spent nearly 5 hours working hard to find some birds. Taxis will take you to FRIM from either of the nearest stations on the KTM Kommuter Line (Kepong or Kepong Central), but the drivers out here are real bandits, and don t really like the short distance, and so will either refuse to take you, or refuse to use a meter and charge a flat rate. Getting a taxi back is even harder, as at least as far as I could see there is no taxi rank, and you are at the (expensive) mercy of passing taxi drivers. It would be best to book a taxi there and back in advance it is too far to walk, and at the end of a slog around FRIM you are unlikely to be in the mood to argue much with the few passing taxi drivers who do stop. As for birding, I did the sort of obvious thing, bought a ticket for the canopy walkway, walked the trail up there, across the walkway, and then back down via the picnic area. After that I turned right along the Jalan Foxworthy loop, tried to follow the poorly kept Engkabang trail, but wound up exiting this near the junction between Jalan Symington and Jalan Bkt. Wayson. At this point I turned left and followed Jalan Jelutong back to the Information Centre, then I walked out on the main entrance road to the primary school, turned right here as far as the wetlands area, before retracing my steps back to the entrance to get a taxi back. By the time I had finished the Engkabang trail I had worked out I was much better off birding from the various quiet roads around the grounds, than the trails the roads giving much better views up into adjacent canopies, and of birds flying over. Whilst it is sort of worth doing the canopy walkway loop, birds are few and far between here, and to be honest if I had a day available to bird from KL, I would try and find somewhere other than FRIM to visit. If you only have a few hours then it is OK, but go with low expectations! Highlights on the canopy loop included a Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher, 2 Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, and 5 Fiery Minivet (from the canopy walkway), unfortunately I didn t get decent views of a fly-over Malkoha to identify it. The loop around to the start of the Engkabang trail produced great views of 3 Spectacled Spiderhunters and a Gray-rumped Treeswift, but the walk along the trail only added another Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher. Walking back to the info centre produced good views of Blue-throated Bee-eaters, 3 Scarlet Minivet, a Brown Shrike, a pair of resident Crested Serpent-Eagles, plus migrating over 7 Oriental Honey-Buzzards, and a single flock of 19 Black Baza which prompted a double take I have to admit. The wetland area was particularly birdy, there were a couple of Oriental Pipits on the adjacent grassy areas, plus good numbers of Blue-throated Bee-eaters, a couple of White-throated Kingfisher, a pair of Baya Weaver and best of all a Black-and-Red Broadbill. That felt like a reward for working hard to see some birds, and cheered me up on the way back home. 20 March A shopping day, however the walk down Jalan PJU 7/1 towards the Curve produced nice views of two Common Iora, and great views of a lovely little Gray-capped Woodpecker, the final species addition to my trip list. (The 21 March was essentially a travel day, returning home).

7 Let me know if you want any more detail on any of these sightings or locations, happy birding, Paul Sharp