The only flowerpeckers here

The Orange-bellied Flowerpecker is a bird that I see now and then only, and when I chanced upon this pair, it was thrilling even though it wasn't under the best of lighting to capture their beauty.  

The female flew off leaving its mate behind, as it usually happened with the flowerpeckers, one leaving behind the other.

And then it came back with a fruit in beak.

As I was passing by

Thanks for the pose!

Only the Shrikes?

I've been wondering why there is a present dearth of migrant birds in the taman, not even the regular flycatchers are seen or heard.  Thus it's most heart-warming whenever I chanced upon the Brown Shrike, revealing its presence with its shrieks.

In fact there are two which is why the calls are constantly heard.

As I was passing by

Thanks for the pose!

Oh Tweedale at last

I was simply thrilled when I practically walked into the Oriental Honey Buzzard Tweedale morph as I had been seeking this one ever since it was sighted in the taman weeks ago.  Fortunately it stayed on long enough for more than a couple of shots before it took to the sky, and again fortunately I managed to spot it in time as it circled above.
It is said that this local Tweedale morph mimics the Blyth's Hawk Eagle with its dark plumage.
With this sighting I'm most happy to have sighted all the sub-species of the OBH that have visited the taman to date - the migratory dark morph, the migratory pale morph, the local one and now the Tweedale.

I was glad to have taken this (badly shot) belly image as it enabled me to identify firmly the bird in flight.

What fishes!

It's always very reassuring when I chanced upon these fishes as I know that they have not been caught, yet.  This means there will  be future small fry available, food to keep some birds happy.

In contrast man has this, an edible-sized ikan haruan, which made the day for some one that morning.

Unexpected Flycatcher

When I first saw this flycatcher I thought it was just the Asian brown flycatcher until I glimpsed its orangey breast as it flew off.  And then the wait began to sight it again, and it was worth it as it turned out to be a female Mugimaki Flycatcher, most unexpected and another first record for the taman.  However I had spotted the male in the bukit last year. 
The Mugimaki Flycatcher is mainly found in forest and at higher elevations.  So this solitary one was probably passing through, as these birds could be spotted too in parks.
Migrant 23/2019

This flycatcher could be found in eastern Siberia and north-eastern China, Korea and Japan, and spends winter away down in warmer South-east Asia or southern China.

Taman's very own Kingfishers

I would normally walk past the White-throated Kingfisher if it had its back to me but on this occasion it was too stunning to dismiss.

This common bird has the 'unfortunate' ubiquitous presence that a birder would naturally overlook or quickly pass it over for another.

Going by the bird's plumage, one knows that this one is rather aged,  and a long time resident of the taman.

And this could probably be its mate as the two are normally found close by in the same vicinity, which is in fact the first afore-mentioned bird.

Pair of Minivets

I've always tried to capture the male and female of any avian species if possible.  This time I just about managed to do so with the Ashy Minivets.
Both look almost alike, however the male spots a distinctive white forehead.

female

male

As I was passing by

Thanks for the pose!

Insignificant Starling count

This was the last I saw of the Purple-backed or Daurian Starlings, again amidst the Asian Glossy Starlings.  Again I wonder if I have missed the massive flocks this year or should I be expecting a mass arrival soon?

Up close with Dragonfly

A dragonfly is a dragonfly until one comes up close with it.

This one is considered small-sized and stand outs with dark tips on its wings.

Only when one zooms in would one observe that this dragonfly known as Diplacodes Nebulosa in fact spots gorgeous gold-colour motifs on its wings.

It was not difficult to shoot this dragonfly because it seemed settled on the bare branch, until it was chased off by the Mud Dauber wasp.

Then it returned and up close with it, its profile is eerily reminiscent of a human face.