A sense of avian beauty

Birds are extraordinarily stunning when we zoom in to their plumage and colours, but we forget that sometimes we do miss the forest for the trees, or the greens for the plumes??!

In the greens, two young male Baya Weavers (Ploceus philipinus) aforaging ....

The older one

The lush wild grasses now almost completely grazed off by these hungry birds.

As I was passing by

No intrusion intended, honestly!

An avian tale (pun intended)

 From one Greater Racket-tailed Drongo to the other, where's thy other streamer?  Or probably not, as both birds were preoccupied scanning the area even as I close in to zoom in.

And I was none the wiser when both decided to fly off eventually.

As naive as a bulbul

 The innocence of one that's not known what's fear was clearly seen in this young Yellow-vented Bulbul that suddenly appeared as I walked the trail in the bukit.

It remained totally unconcerned after landing right in front of me and even whilst I stood right before it, watching and photographing it

And then it simply hopped to the side and took off happily.

The other grand one

 I consider the Water Lizard Monitor to be the other Grand Old Resident of the taman.  One can spot a massive one from time to time making slow and measured moves across the taman.

However, there are times too when one would attempt to climb up a tree, and hmmm, not so grand looking in this pose!

As I was passing by

 

The Many-lined Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata) is a lizard that can often be seen to scuttle among fallen leaves and up the tree trunks.  Caught in the sunlight, it displays a stunning iridescent gleam.

A woodpecker moment

 What is it about that familiar flash of colours that can still set the adrenaline pumping?

A woodpecker, a Crimson-winged Woodpecker.

And then it's gone with the blink of an eye, like an old friend, a lightning visit, a heartbeat to remember.

Perhaps one day

An Oriental Honey-Buzzard circling over Bukit Kiara, and that's normally all one can hope to see because I've yet to see one descend to perch any where, perhaps one day.

 

A handbook for Bukit Kiara

 Friends of Bukit Kiara (FoBK) has released a great handbook entitled BUKIT KIARA A SANCTUARY IN THE PARK.

It's a gem of a booklet about BK for all who are new or even already familiar to the hill park.

Many who have been to BK will know of one or two great activities that they can enjoy up the hill, eg, if they hike or bike they rave about the trails, in addition hikers usually will pause too to admire the flora and mammals encountered; birders are amazed at the diversity of birdlife sighted at different times of the year.

But there is more, much more to BK and this booklet will pave the way to more discoveries, be it during the day or night.

And I was more than honoured to have been invited to contribute to the Birds section of this booklet.

Kingfisher of BK

 Someone once asked me if a kingfisher can be seen in the bukit and I confidently answered 'No' and urged the person to go to TRK for it.

And how wrong was I when I came across this White-throated Kingfisher hunting in the pond area close to the 'snake' path/fence.  I supposed this part of the bukit could be considered low elevation which accounts for the presence of this kingfisher  that is a common resident of sub-urban and urban areas, and forest edges.

It's one of those times I was glad to be proven wrong!

The now iconic bird of TRK

When I saw this Grand Old Man at his command post, I wanted more, perhaps there're three or more now?  How can we perpetuate their presence here?

We seem to have lost the iconic Oriental Pied Hornbill of the taman, and perhaps its gap could now be filled by this Nightjar.

A couple of days later I saw it again, perched grandly, looking very much at home and unperturbed by the numerous unexpected visitors at the other end of the taman (as I learnt were myriad parties of varied responsibilities there to preside over the fate of the taman). 

With a sense of foreboding I wonder how long can we who care continue to protect those like this family who have made Taman Rimba Kiara home?

I've always wondered whether the new addition was a male or female, and it's male after all, one that's all matured now.

Spiderhunter treat

 The Spectacled Spiderhunter may be commonly seen elsewhere but it's always a treat to come across it in the bukit.  And it seemed to haunt a wide area across the bukit as I've rarely sighted it at the same place.

And this time, it was where I least expected it and its presence must have not been welcomed by the other birds as it was the din especially of the stripe-throated bulbuls that drew my attention to it.

Still, unaffected by the cries that it had created, it paused to preen before leaving the scene.

Cool drongo

 A young Greater Racket-tailed Drongo perched quietly alone as a gang of long-tailed macaques played close by, and was certainly unfazed by the commotion and I eventually discovered that a parent was actually close by.  This subadult finally took off at a call from the parent.

Lighting certainly did not do justice to the fresh and fine black feathers of this one as it had a commanding view of the macaques fooled around.

Mynas brood

 Cackles of Javan Mynas and I would have just walked past without a single look until something about how these three remained there as I eventually decided to pause close by, and I was glad I did because this was a clutch of juvenile siblings.  It's also the first time I came across myna juvies which suggested that an adult myna could lay up to three or perhaps more eggs. 

I was proven right when a parent flew in and these juveniles looked like they still wanted to be fed.

But it was not to be as the parent (looking wet as it must have taken a bath somewhere on this pretty blazing hot day) took off again, perhaps the usual tactic of hoping the juvies would follow suit.

So they remained in the comfort of their perch, flexing and preening.

It certainly looked secure where they were until the calls of a lineated barbet put them on alert.  Perhaps safety in numbers, they continued to remain where they were.