A Wildbird Photographer's Diary

Thailand Birding Trip March 2012 - Day 3 (Pak Chong)

2012-04-07T20:29:00.000+08:00

After completed our "mission" at Huai Kha Kheang, we swung back to the east part of Thailand. The next location was the Wat Pra Puttabant Noi located at the Saraburi Province.

Wat Pra Puttabant Noi

Limestone Wren Babbler

It was a brief stopped at Wat Pra Puttabant Noi. After that we headed to the last birding location for the Day 3, Pak Chong.

While on the way to Pak Chong, we saw this tough Toyota Hilux which loaded with many passengers at the rear compartment. Guess how many passengers ?

Here are the species that I managed to photographed at Pak Chong :

Green Bee Eater

Small Pratincole

Oriental Skylark

Eastern Marsh Harrier (Instead of Pied Harrier stated earlier)

Zitting Cisticola

Siberian Stonechat

Lesser Coucal

Beautiful sunset :

It was a long and tiring day traveling to 3 different locations, nevertheless when I counted the many number of species that I managed to photographed I felt that the effort was worth it.

Thanks for viewing.

Thailand Birding Trip March 2012 - Huai Kha Kheang Wildlife Sanctuary

2012-04-01T10:05:00.000+08:00

We started the day 3 very early because we planned to cover 3 birding locations. The first location was the Huai Kha Kheang Wildlife Sanctuary, which is about 1.5 hours by car from Mea Wong. By 6.30 am, we arrived at Huai Kha Kheang Park HQ.

The scenic view of Huai Kha Kheang:

After setting up the equipments, a quick breakfast :

Black-headed Woodpecker and the Red-billed Blue Magpie were among our targets at Huai Kha Kheang. We started to search for the species near the park HQ.

A pair of the Black-headed Woodpecker responded to our call and perched at a tree nearby.

Black-headed Woodpecker, Male (Red crown-patch)

Black-headed Woodpecker, Male

A pair of Black-headed Woodpecker , Female (top)

The look of jubilation after photographing the Black-headed Woodpecker :

Kiah (left), Chris Lee (center) and Quek (right)

After that, we went looking for the Red-billed Blue Magpie behind the park HQ.

Red-billed Blue Magpie

A Red-billed Blue Magpie caught a lizard as its "breakfast"

We found a nest of Black-hooded Oriole at one of the tree, the adult birds were actively feeding the young chicks.

Black-hooded Oriole:

By 9.30 am, we managed to get all our targets. Our next location for Day 3 was a 3 hours drive toward the east. We were heading to the Wat Pha Puttha Bathnoi for Lime-stoned Wren Babbler.

Thanks for reading.

Thailand Birding Trip March 2012 - Day 2

2012-03-23T11:39:00.000+08:00

On the second day, we arrived at the outskirt of Mae Wong National Park at 12.30 after mid-night. It was a long journey by car from Bangkok International Airport after picking up Chris Li (he arrived half day later) at 8.30 evening . We quickly settled down into a small resort and went into the "sleep mode" because the morning call was scheduled 4.30 am. At 6am we were already at the park HQ, the ranger greeted us at the gate. We were the first car into the Mae Wong National Park. It was about 30km from the park HQ to camping ground at Chong Yen.

The first target for the day was the very shy and "secretive" Rusty-naped Pitta. We got news that a pair of the Rusty-naped Pitta was very active near a small stream at a forest trail.

Getting ready for some actions

I was very excited when I saw a male Rusty-naped Pitta came and perched on a mossy rock in front of my blind.

Rusty-naped Pitta (male)

After the male dis-appear into the forest, here come the female:

Rusty-naped Pitta (female)

Happy faces after getting the Pitta :

After we got our star bird, we moved to bird at the trail leading to Chong Yen and Chong Yen camp site.

Stripe-breasted Woodpecker

Velvet fronted Nuthatch

Grey-chinned Minivet

Blue Whistling Thrush

At the Chong Yen camping ground :

Some other species that I managed to photographed at Umphang Trail.

Black-throated Laughing-thrush

Small Niltava

White-neck Laughing-thrush

White-tailed Robin

Thanks for reading.

Thailand Birding Trip March 2012 - Day 1

2012-03-19T22:07:00.001+08:00

On 15th to 18th March, I embarked on a 4 days birding trip to Thailand. Throughout the 4 days, I travelled a total distance of 1200 km covering the birding site such as Bang Ban, Mae Wong National Park, Huai Kha Kheang Wildlife Sanctuary, Pak Chong and Khoa Yai National Park.

I landed at Bangkok airport at 9.30 am on 15th March and by 10 am I was at gate 6 waiting for Guide A. After meeting Guide A, we headed to the first location, Wat Chaleam Phra Kiat. The main target was the Spotted Owlet.

Spotted Owlet (Adult)

Spotted Owlet (Juvenile) in the nest

At noon, I was done photographing the Owlet and decided to head to Bang Ban. Bang Ban is located at close proximity to the historical site of Ayutthaya. The main targeted species was the Pied Kingfisher. I was there 2 years ago and managed to get the Kingfisher as my lifer. For this trip, I was aiming to get some improvement shots.

Lunch at Bang Ban
The fresh water prawn

Guide A and Quek from Singapore

After finishing lunch, we went to set up our gears at a blinds near the river.

It was hot and humid inside the blind

Female Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Thanks for viewing.

Landscape and Street Photography

2012-03-06T22:22:00.000+08:00

Since September last year, I had a long paused from active birding. During this period, I devoted most of my leisure time doing street and landscape photography. I bought a new Leica M system to shoot street and a Xpan II to capture panoramic landscape. Here are some of my photos collections :

Devotee

Leica M9P 50 Summicron

Splash

Leica M9P Biogon 25mm

Street Massage

Leica M9P 50 Summicron

Dawn

Xpan II 45 mm Kodak Gold 200

Sunrise

Xpan II 45mm Kodak Gold 200

Thanks for viewing.

Mangrove Pitta

2012-03-04T13:12:00.000+08:00

March 4th 2012. I took a long paused from birding. This morning, I was invited to join my birding friends at Air Hitam Dalam. We were lucky to see 3 Mangrove Pitta.

Thanks for viewing.

Some Waterbirds at Thale Noi

2011-12-17T22:09:00.000+08:00

During the trip to Krung Ching Waterfall on early September, we also took the opportunity to explore the famous Thale Noi Lake at Patalung. Our primary target was to photograph the Pheasant-tailed Jarcana, unfortunately September was not the right timing to see the Pheasant-tailed Jarcana at this area.

The Boat Ride on Thale Noi Lake

Searching for the waterbirds at the Lotus plant habitat

We were very delighted to find the Bronze-winged Jarcana and Purple Swamphen.

Bronze-winged Jarcana

Purple Swamphen

Purple Swamphen with its young chicks

An Un-common species at this area, the Cotton Pygmy Goose

Thanks for reading.

Javan Frogmouth

2011-12-11T21:42:00.000+08:00

Javan Frogmouth

In early September this year, I went to the Krung Ching Waterfall of Khao Luang National Park at Southern Thailand. One of the primary target of the trip was the Javan Frogmouth. After numerous attempts to find the bird along the park main road, we ended with no sighting of the bird.

The Main Road at Krung Ching Waterfall

On the last day of the trip, we were getting desperate of finding the target bird. The local guide suggested to "venture" into the forest. At first I was a bit reluctant and fear of bumping into a king cobra inside the forest canopy. I could not resist the temptation of getting the photo lifer. I followed the guide into the forest. It was a big challenge carrying the bulky equipments, moreover the hilly terrain made the hiking very tough. Here is the video clip of the adventure inside the forest:

Shooting under the forest canopy. The Javan Frogmouth perched few meter away

In birding, we always say "no pain no gain". This video is a good testimony of the "no pain no gain" motto.

Thanks for reading.

A Break From Birding Activities

2011-10-31T22:05:00.000+08:00

My previous post for this blog was dated July 31. You may be curious that why I did not update my blog lately. I lost my passion and mojo in bird photography, thus I decided to take a hiatus from birding. I spent most of my leisure time on mountain biking There are more excitements on mountain biking.

Thanks for reading.

My Photo Won a Photo Contest

2011-07-31T19:15:00.001+08:00

My photo of a female Black-naped Monarch feeding on the young chicks won the monthly photography contest organized by PhotoMalaysia Website. The photo was selected as the second runner up.

Here is the link to the site:
PhotoMalaysia Jun 2011 Contest

Thanks for viewing.

Black and Yellow Broadbill

2011-07-03T14:19:00.000+08:00

Species: Black and Yellow Broadbill (Eurylaimus Ochromalus 17 cm)

Location: Ulu Paip, Kedah, Malaysia.

Shooting Data: 1 D mk4, EF 800 IS, ISO 1600 - 2000, AP Mode F8.

Thanks for viewing.

Bar-backed Partridge

2011-06-26T18:12:00.000+08:00

This is my first lifer of the Partridge species (Arborophila brunneopectus 28 cm). I managed to photograph it at the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. The photos were captured using the Canon Eos 1 D mk4 with EF 800 Is lens.

Thanks for viewing.

Baya Weaver

2011-05-06T19:54:00.000+08:00

It is really amazing to see the nest of Baya Weaver. The nest is perfectly weaved with natural fibre. Recently I took some time off while visiting Singapore to photograph the nesting process of the Baya Weaver. We found a series of nests at a remote north west corner of Singapore. Some of nests were completed, the adult birds were actively ferrying food into the nest. I also found a few other nests which are partially constructed. The adult birds were working hard gathering the nesting material into the nest. The adult birds weaved the nests using leaf and natural fibre found nearby. The "craftsmanship" is really superb, I would call it the world best weaving "machine".

Working hard on the partially completed nest :

Thanks for reading.

Long-tailed Broadbill

2011-03-20T18:51:00.000+08:00

March 19 2011. Last week, I went for a 4 days (12 to 15 March) birding trip to Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. One of my main target was to photograph the Long-tailed Broadbill. I have tried many times searching for it at Fraser's Hill but were without success. About 2 weeks before my trip, I received news that the Long-tailed Broadbills at Kaeng Krachan had started the breeding and nesting activities. I was very excited upon hearing the news. With the nesting activities, it made sighting the birds more easy.

It was a week-end when I arrived at Kaeng Krachan. Knowing that the park will be packed with visitors, I opted to photograph the Pheasant, Partridge and other common birds at some small pond outside the park. We will look for the Long-tailed Broadbill inside the park on Monday and Tuesday when traffic is lesser along the mountain road.

We started the day early on Monday (14th March) morning. The morning called was on 5 am and breakfast was served at 5.30 am. By 6.30 am we were already at the park main gate.

The ride to the km27 near the summit was about an hour. There were plenty of scenic views during the ride uphill.

The blur photo caused by the bumpy ride behind the Hilux.

Upon reaching the km27, I was delighted to hear a series of voice of pseew, pseew, pseew, I realized that the target was nearby, my adrenaline rush when I was setting my gears. I decided to carry only minimum gears and opted to shoot with my Eos 1 D mk4 with the EF 800 lens only. I left behind the flash system. I realized that we have to do some miles of hiking today thus weight is a critical factor.

We found an uncompleted nest at a tree beside the mountain road. The adult birds were busy carrying nesting materials back to the nest. The birds would perched at some twigs nearby before heading into the nest.

Isn't it cute ? A cartoon look bird.

Happy faces, after the close encounter with the Long-tailed Broadbill :

We found another nest further uphill from the first location. This one was already completed and the adult bird was incubating inside the nest. I stop briefly near the nest and quickly proceeded to the next location.

Later at another location, we all have to squeeze under some bamboo trees for getting perfect picture composition of the subject.

The black color feather at the head section reminded me the classic hair style of "Elvis". Elvis is alive at Kaeng Krachan !

By noon, I had accomplished my objective and so do my partners. We all left km27 with a happy face.

Birds of Bukit Tinggi

2011-02-20T18:37:00.000+08:00

Last month I took some time off to visit Bukit Tinggi. The last time I visited this place was on May 2009. I saw in some local bird forum that the Orange-headed Trush (OHT) was sighted here by some photographers. I have been long wanted to photographed the OHT but on the past few occasions I was not able to find time to visit Bukit Tinggi due to work commitment. For this new sighting, I would't want to miss the opportunities again.

I arrived at the peak of Bukit Tinggi at about 7.30 am. I immediately set up my gears. Without wasting time (because it was a half dat trip only) I headed to the first shooting location, the plant nursery at the Japanese Garden. Many birds came to the nursery hunting for the moths and other inserts in morning.

A Dark-sided Flycatcher perched nearby the nursery:

Later I spotted a bird with light blue feather perched at a tree nearby, it was a Verditer Flycatcher:

After the Verditer Flycatcher left, a bird with the "punk hair-style" came and perched at the stem of a plant. It was an Ochraceous Bulbul. The fella was looking for the moths as its breakfast.

The Ochraceous Bulbul only stayed on the perched briefly but long enough to let me took a few snap shots. After the Bulbul left, I was attracted by an orange color bird perched on a single horizontal twig. It was a Orange-breasted Trogon.

A Yellow wagtail stood at the side roof of the nursery.

It was a busy morning at the nursery. Unfortunately there was still no sighting of the Orange-headed Thrush (OHT). As I was walking toward the car park. I saw my fellow bird photog, Adrian. He hang around this place very often, he was so kind to tell me the precise location of the OHT.

My lifer of the day, the OHT:

The winter migrant bird from the far north, Mugimaki Flycatcher :

Thanks for reading, your comments are welcome.

Doi Inthanon - Inthanon Bird Centre

2011-02-17T18:52:00.001+08:00

Inthanon Bird Centre is the place that you should not miss out if you are birding in Doi Inthanon. Many birders or photographers hang out here, they came here for delicious Thai food or lodging. Besides food and lodging, this is an important place where information on the recent bird sighting is exchanged among the visitors. There is also a bird sighting log book at the main desk, many visitors recorded the sighting information into the log book. It provided vital information of recent bird activities in Doi Inthanon.

At the backyard of the Bird Centre, some species of birds frequently come there looking for residual food or worm on the soft soil. During my stayed there, I was lucky to photograph 2 species of migrant birds and 2 resident birds.

Dark-sided Thrush:

Blue-whistling Thrush (Migrant species)

Hill Blue Flycatcher

Female White-rumped Shama

A group photo with the owner (Mr & Mrs Daeng) before I left Doi Inthanon:

Thanks for reading, your comments are welcome.

A video Footage of Blue-banded Kingfisher

2011-02-12T16:23:00.002+08:00

Feb 12 2011. Finally I am done composing a video footage of the Blue-banded Kingfisher. Enjoy the video. The video was composed using the Apple iMovie video editing software. The footages were captured using the Canon Eos 1 D mkIV, EF 800mm lens with the new Canon 1.4 mkIII tele-converter. Your comments are welcome.

For HD quality, kindly click and select the 720 p resolution:

2nd Round of Blue-banded Kingfisher

2011-02-05T13:59:00.002+08:00

Feb 5 2011. Today is the 3rd day of Chinese New Year holiday. This morning I decided to try my luck looking for the Blue-banded Kingfisher at Ulu Paip. Nelson came to join me, without his lens (sent to Canon for servicing). He brought with him the 7D body and just in case if we found the target, he wanted to use my lens for some record shots.

We sat down at a rock in the middle of the stream. We drank coffee and constantly scanning upstream and downstream for the target. I decided not to move around as the movement would distract and alert the target should it decided to perch at some rocks nearby.

At 8.45 am, while I was looking upstream, Nelson alerted me to a small rock few meters downstream. OMG, it was really the Male Blue-banded Kingfisher. Perching there quietly, the fella was looking at the stream for its morning breakfast. I repositioned my lens and looked through my viewfinder. I was greedy, hmm... the target was not big enough since I had many photos of it the other day, I want some "full frame" shots. I slowly raised my body and moved the camera, the fella was kind enough to let me went nearer. I fired about 50 frames with mirror lock-up. After that I dis-mounted my 1 D mkIV and mounted Nelson's 7D. He made a couple of shots using my gears.

Here's the selection of shots from this morning's outing:

Canon Eos 1 D mkIV Ef 800mm IS + 1.4 TC
ISO 1600 1/5 f8

Canon Eos 1 D mkIV Ef 800mm IS + 1.4 TC
ISO 1600 1/13 f8

Canon Eos 1 D mkIV Ef 800mm IS + 1.4 TC
ISO 1600 1/15 f8

Thanks for viewing.

Blue-banded Kingfisher

2011-02-01T21:17:00.000+08:00

Feb 1 2011. On last Sunday morning, I decided to bird at Ulu Paip lowland forest. It was about 4 months that I last visited this place. At about 9.30 am, while we (my brother and me) were shooting landscape at the middle of the stream. I saw a blue color bird flew passed me. It was flying toward downstream. I quickly turned my head and tracked the target. Bingo I saw the bird stopped and perched on a rock few meter away. After a careful checking with my binocular, it is a Male Blue Banded Kingfisher. Apparently the Blue-banded Kingfisher stopped by to hunt for "breakfast". I slowly carried my equipment and approach the target. Here are some selected shots:

Canon EOS 1 D mkIV EF 800mm IS + 1.4 TC
ISO 3200 1/50 F8

Canon EOS 1 D mkIV EF 800mm IS + 1.4 TC
ISO 1/1600 1/30 F8

Canon EOS 1 D mkIV EF 800mm IS + 1.4 TC
ISO 3200 1/40 F8

Canon EOS 1 D mkIV EF 800mm IS + 1.4 TC
ISO 5000 1/50 F8

Thanks for viewing.

Happy Chinese New Year (Lunar Calendar)

2011-02-01T09:46:00.000+08:00

Feb 1 2011. It will be Lunar Calendar New Year (Chinese New Year) in 2 days time. I take this opportunity to wish all my friends a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Doi Inthanon - Second Gate Km38

2011-01-15T23:22:00.000+08:00

Throughout my 4 days stayed at Doi Inthanon, the Second Gate at km38 was the first visiting location on my daily travel itinerary. We usually arrive at the gate at 6.30 am. After a fast breakfast, I set up my gears and got ready for some actions. Birds were active at the gate, many species of birds come here regularly looking for insects and residual foods near the gate.

Grey-cheeked Fulvetta.

Rufous-bellied Niltava (Female).

Small Niltava (female).

White-headed Bulbul at a leafless tree.

White-browed Shortwing (Female)

White-gorgetted Flycatcher

Yellow-cheeked Tit.

Thanks for viewing.

Singapore Botanical Garden - Hooded Pitta

2010-12-29T15:25:00.000+08:00

December 29 2010. I am currently having the Christmas Holiday with my family in Singapore. Yesterday I received news from some bird photographers that a Hooded Pitta is spotted at Singapore Botanical Garden. I was invited to join them to photograph the Hooded Pitta together. Chris and Wong are very kind to lent me their gears since I only bought my Sony NEX 3 to Singapore.

I am really surprise to see the Pitta at the Ginger Garden. The subject is very tame and not shy to human activities. Here are some photos shot with Chris equipment :

Here is a panoramic view of the shooting site, click the image for larger view:

Thanks for reading.

Doi Inthanon-Day 1

2010-12-28T21:12:00.000+08:00

I was at Northern Thailand again on 20th Dec to 23rd Dec for a 4 days birding trip. I was mainly concentrating at Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain (2500 meter) in Thailand. I also engaged bird guide service from Mr Panuwat, the same guide that guided my last month trip to Doi Ang Khang and Doi Lang. The flight landed at Chiang Mai on time. The flight service from Thai Airway was very smooth. TG opted to use bigger aircraft such as 777 and 747 for the Bangkok to Chiang Mai sector is really brilliant. The flights were very comfortable and gave "value for money" service.

Upon stepping into the arrival hall, I was welcome by my guide, Par. We headed straight to Doi Inthanon in his Hilux. It was a 2 hours travel. At 10 am, we arrived at the first gate at the foothill.

At the Main Gate

After the gate, we headed to the Wachirathan Waterfall (at km 21). Our target at the waterfall are the Plumbeous Redstart and Slaty-backed Forktail. The view of the Wachirathan Waterfall is splendid.

Wachirathan Waterfall
Sony NEX-3

I spent a short moment at the waterfall. After that, we headed downstream to look for our target birds. I found a pair of Plumbeous Redstart, both male and female, not too far away from the waterfall.

Male Plumbeous Redstart took bath at the stream

Female Plumbeous Redstart

While I was photographing the Redstart, I heard a high pitch sound of "clik, clik, clik.......". Oh ! A Slaty-backed Forktail landed on rock not far from me. A dream come true.

Slaty-backed Forktail
Canon EOS 1 D mkIV EF 800 IS + 1.4 TC

After breaking for lunch at Mr Daeng's Restaurant, we headed to the camp site to look for the Black-tailed Crake. This species is quite shy and skittish, thus I had to use blind to "camo" myself and some worm to "seduce" the bird from the bush to the open area.

Black-tailed Crake

At about 5 pm, we went up to the view point near the summit for some landscape photography. I bought along my new Sony NEX-3 with the 16mm lens. I wanted to test the sweep panoramic capability of the camera. Click the photos for larger view :

Panoramic View from the Summit
Sony NEX-3
Sweep Panoramic

At the summit, I came across a pair of very tame Grey Bushchat.

Female Grey Bushchat

Male Grey Bushchat

Thanks for reading. Your comments are welcome.

Doi Lang - Part 5

2010-12-11T18:27:00.001+08:00

December 11 2010. 26th of November was the last day of my 5 days Northern Thailand Trip, I had till 10 am to do a last round of shooting at the foothill of Doi Lang before heading to the airport. I went back to the Pink Cassia Tree which was discovered by some Thai Photographers on the previous day.

At 7 am I saw some species of Sunbirds, White-eye and Leafbirds came to the tree. I was very excited to see the birds coming. The birds came to feed on the flower nectar. Unfortunately It was windy and foggy. The bad weather condition caused most of my shots blur.

Foggy and windy condition

At 8.30 am, the fog started to clear and the wind slowed down. The golden morning sunlight created a perfect shooting condition.

My first lifer of the day is the colorful Gould's Sunbirds.

The Black-throated Sunbird was also attracted to the pink Cassia tree.

I got 2 species of White-eye from the same tree. There were Chestnut-flanked and Oriental White-eye.

A pair of Orange-bellied Leafbird :

Female

Male

An un-expected visitor also came to the tree, a Female Daurian Redstart :

Female Daurian Redstart

It was a very productive morning. I got 4 species of lifers at the pink Cassia Tree.

Overall my 5 days at Northern Thailand were full of excitement. I enjoyed the beautiful landscape of Northern Thailand and food. I managed to photographed over 30 species of birds. I would like to thank my bird guide, Mr Panuwat Sasirat (whoever interested on his bird guide tour, click the link here: wildbirdeco), who has worked very hard to find many species of birds and also his hospitality during my trip at Chiang Mai.

Thanks for reading.

Doi Lang - Part 4

2010-12-09T22:09:00.000+08:00

December 9 2010. On the 25th of November, it was the last full day at Doi Lang. I put in more efforts to look for some other species that I did not manage to photograph the day before. I also spent part of the morning session shooting behind the army kitchen, aiming to get improvement shots of the "tame birds".

Here are some highlights of the day :

Rufous-winged Fulvetta

A small and fast moving bird

Thanks to Par (my bird guide), he managed to find this fella before we headed back to the foothill.

Yellow-bellied Fantail

Some birds at Doi Lang are quite shy and skittish. It was not easy to get near. Here are some highly cropped photos:

Black Bulbul

White-headed Bulbul

Crested Finchbill

Ashy Drongo

Ashy Bulbul

Yellow-browed Warbler (P.inornata)

I also met a group of very friendly Thai Bird Photographers. We had a group photos before we left the place.

At the foothill, the Thai photographers discovered something un-expected, a blooming pink Cassia tree. The pink Cassia flowers attracted some species of birds to the tree. However, it was getting dark soon thus I decided to come back here early in the morning the next day.

This is the first blooming tree at this area.

I was excited to see many species of birds came to the tree.

To be continued. Thanks for reading.