Glorious Birds

Canada West Coast Adventure - Part 2

2010-02-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

By Gloria Seow

Trip Participants: Tim and I

Flying out from Toronto, we landed in Vancouver to begin the second leg of our trip, this time planned by moi. To me, Vancouver integrates well its natural beauty with its infrastructure. I rather liked the waterfront view from Canada Place.

On our jaunt through Gastown to see its famous steam clock, we dropped into this souvnir haunt, and bought several hundred dollars worth of rubbish for our family and friends including maple candy. Later on, we discovered that Michelle was the start of the souvenir (omiyage) shop row, and that it had one of the most expensive buys! Darn. They were already selling memorabilia for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics which would only take place four months later from 12-28 Feb 2010.

I innocently booked a hotel via the internet called Budget Inn Patricia on East Hastings Street, as I thought it offered good value for money. We found out to our chagrin, only while there, that East Hastings is on the wrong side of town, being a notorious drug dealing district next to Chinatown. Tim's friend was horrified that we were staying there. Our hotel room itself was small but fairly comfortable. We had to endure its dangers though – homeless and gangster-like characters prowling the streets outside. The homeless can be easily identified as they usually pushed a huge shopping cart with all their belongings tossed inside. Tim heard from his cab driver on his way to UBC (University of British Columbia ) where he caught up with some ex-colleagues, that another taxi driver had his throat silt the night before, at East Hastings. Luckily Tim only told me about this incident post-trip, if not I would have freaked out. While coming back after dinner on those nights, when the skies had already assumed a dark demeanour, I carried my heavy Fenix torch as a potential weapon should we be attacked. The worst scene was Tim running up and down the scary street trying to buy 4 litres of drinking water, and not succeeding as most shops were understandably closed or only sold the 2 litre bottles. I wanted to tell him "Forget it!" (I was made to wait in the lobby), but did not dare to step outside alone.

A juvenile Glaucous-winged Gull perched just above the railway tracks near Canada Place. It was calling for a mummy who never showed, at least not while we were around.

Sea planes are common in this part of the world, the fastest means to reach remote places. I wanted to take one of these to Tofino direct, as it would have saved us a full day of travelling, but too bad they stopped this service during autumn/winter. Obviously, only the summer months and its attendant crowds can support its operations then. They had services to Victoria though, but we had no business to be there.

The expansive sea at Canada Place. A very scenic part of Vancouver City.

The whale-watching town of Tofino (on Vancouver Island ) was next. We missed our Greyhound due to a misplaced fax which resulted in a half-day lost of time. The trip took 7 hours (everything in Canada is a half-day or full day’s travel away, very annoying), and I enjoyed the hour-plus ferry ride to Nanaimo where I braved strong winds to do some pelagic birding with lifers like Leach’s Storm Petrel and Common Murre. Even in Nanaimo where we had some time before our onward bus to Tofino, I managed to get lifers (ie. street birds) like the Spotted Towhee, California Quail and Brewer’s Black Bird. Memorably, at the Nanaimo waterfront, we saw our first Harbour Seal and I spotted a scampering Mink that had a beautiful rufous coat.

The view from Lions Gate Bridge as our coach (Tofino Bus/Greyhound) drove north towards Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal where we caught the Nanaimo ferry. Early that morning, we arrived JIT at the bus terminal, but that was not enough. It was my fault, I had not read the ticket stub which stated that we were supposed to be there 20 minutes before departure. And so we missed the bus. More importantly, Greyhound did not have any records of us coming onboard as I had booked via the internet through Tofino Bus. This necessitated the buying of another set of tickets for the 1030am bus. We called Tofino Bus and raised a ruckus. In the end, we found out that their 'automatic fax system' to Greyhound to book our first leg of the journey had malfunctioned. I was relieved that they reversed the charges on my credit card. We also paid less buying on the spot rather than buying online. And we managed to change to a late departure from Tofino, making up for the lost 4 hours of waiting.

Tim shooting gulls and cormorants from the Nanaimo ferry, a metallic hulk of a ship that cut across the Strait of Georgia at a steady clip. Our bus was parked on the lowest deck, and we were allowed to wander around. Food and beverages can be bought in an onboard coffeeshop.

We had lunch at this restaurant in Nanaimo. Suagu me bought my first handful of gumballs from the dispenser for a quarter.

In Tofino, we stayed at Weigh West Marine Resort, a nice marina fronted hotel with its own whale-watching trips. We were fortunate to be captained by Pipot a French guy who has been in Tofino for 20 years, and one of the best whale spotters around. The 2-hour whale-watching expedition threw up pods of spouting Grey Whales barely 5m from our Zodiac, and some Humpback Whales – one of them breached (ie. jumped out of the water offering jaw-dropping views of its head and arching body followed by a classic tail flick – most exciting as it was only 15m from us). We also saw colonies of Stellar Sea Lion and Harbour Seals basking on rocky outcrops, a sight straight out of National Geographic documentaries. In and around Tofino, we enjoyed a short sojourn through one of the last remaining temperate rainforests left in the world at Meares Island where giant Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock trees up to 6m across, and approximately 1,500 years old grow unmolested, with some of these trees rivaling the biggest in our tropical rainforests. Tim informed me that this wooded grove was saved from loggers in the 1980s (he was part of the environmental movement then), and such temperate rainforests once cloaked the European continent but are now no more. Sadly, the trees on Vancouver Island itself (and over most of Canada) are heavily logged – but with more sense than in the tropics – in Algonquin, we were told that a third to half are logged in each forest patch so that the smaller trees left standing can at least hold the soils together, thus preventing tragic landslides.

At Weigh West Resort where we stayed, we came across a family of three racoons. They emerged at dusk to forage at the rubbish dump, and ducked under the kitchen's floorboards when done feasting. This was our second racoon sighting after Cootes Paradise. We saw them again the next night in the same manner. Racoons are the Rattus norvegicus (Brown Rat) of Canada. Tim said that they were common around his university and were even able to chew through locked steel dustbins to get at food.

Blackberries growing wild by the roadside in Tofino. Of course we couldn't resist popping ripe ones into our mouths, especially when the same thing sold in Singapore by the punnet costs around SGD$5.

On our first birding day in Tofino, we went to a known birdwatching spot. Quite disappointingly, we did not get anything special at these mudflats except close views of a flock of Canada Goose. Guess the tides were not in our favour.

The seaweed strewn mudflats. Isolated and peaceful, with no other humans encountered for several hours.

To amuse ourselves, we got macro and found much marine life, although biodiversity was low. There were quite a number of these scuttling marine crabs, about 3-5cm across at the widest point in its carapace.

I found the smashed-up shell of a living bivalve, which I suspect is the work of the Black Oystercatcher. I read that these birds employ two contrasting techniques for opening 'oysters' - either smashing them with their strong beaks or on rocks, or prying them open. As a result, they either had sharp or blunt bills. Or it could be the work of Sea Otters or even humans.

Another amusement for us was to take photos of the calm waters and distant snow-capped mountains.

A purplish-pink halo of an orangey sunset at MacKenzie Beach in Tofino. My first time seeing this mini-rainbow of a sundown. At MacKenzie, there were plenty of beachfront hotels and locals hanging out on the wide sandy stretch fronting the Pacific Ocean. We also photographed a Common Loon fishing here. Bicycles were our main mode of transport. Rental for them is exorbitant - C$35 if I remember correctly for a full day use per person. On hindsight, we should have just rented a car.

The serene afterglow of the setting sun.

And finally, a deep purple finale, inducing in one a wistful, reflective mood.

We were all bunched up in wind-proof suits for our two-hour whale watching expedition. As it was the low season (although we were in Tofino during the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend of 12 October 2009), we paid a cheap rate of C$69 per pax for a Zodiac ride (ie. a bouncy roller-coaster of an inflatable). Rates can go as high as C$99 for a stable family boat. Pipot told us that because of El Nino, the whales were still lingering on in the plankton rich waters instead of migrating.

There she blows! A spouting Grey Whale at very close proximity. We had at least 5 of these biggies surrounding us. At times, they came as near as 3m. Truly awesome!

A colony of Stellar Sea Lions grunting away, basking, sliding around, pushing each other and frolicking on the rocky outcrops off Tofino.

Two Harbour Seals, probably juveniles, on another rocky outcrop. We got much better views of adults in Nanaimo and at Port Alberni.

The distinctive head of the Humpback Whale. I didn't bother to take good shots as I'd rather be gawking at the real thing in front of my eyes than squinting at the tiny image in my digital cam. Pipot brought us to another patch of sea, away from the Grey Whales, to look for the Humpbacks (which are much bigger than the Grey). Tim said that I was lucky to see both whales in the same trip. He took 10 years to see both. Pipot also taught us how to spot spouting whales. At least some of us managed to find some of our own Grey Whales (after all they moved in a pod).

The final act of the breaching Humpback - the famous tail flick before it plunges into the depths. I felt privileged and was really thrilled to witness the whole sequence.

At Meares Island in Clayoquot Sound, part of the Pacific Rim National Park, we revelled in the old growth temperate rainforest with giant trees that are around 1,500 years old. We took the 2km Big Tree Trail, a boardwalk that cuts through the mossy forest (very soft to walk on, as if carpeted) and ended at a tiny beach before looping back.

The gnarled, many-armed appearance of this Cedar reminded me of Lord of the Rings and Frodo riding on the Giant tree. Meares Island has the world's largest Western Red Cedar and Hemlock trees with trunk diameters some 6m across.

Banana Slug (Ariolimax columbianus) is a huge slug around 10cm long. It apparently feeds on cedar wood fibres and leaves a gooey trail as it slides along the forest floor. We also saw a squished slug - apparently people stepping on one experience the same effects as treading on a banana, hence its name. Wesley informed us that this slug can also be found in his garden.

The forked bulbous seaweed that clothed the rocks on which our simple wooden jetty stood. Meares Island.

Our water taxi owner-cum-driver pointed out the Orange Seastars just opposite the jetty. The 10-minute water taxi cruise to Meares Island from Tofino cost a hefty C$30 per pax for the return journey. On our ride there, we met a couple who worked in the upmarket Wickaninnish Inn. The guy was from India and I was a little surprised to find out that foreign labour is employed even in this remote part of Canada. The couple were dropped off at the tough Lone Cone Trail which involves scaling a mountain for perfect vistas of the area. On our return ride, our driver came in a smaller boat to fetch us. His wife is the coordinator, taking calls and dispatching him to pick up passengers all over Clayoquot Sound.

The Tofino Bus brought us to our next stop at Port Alberni . The main reason for us coming inland was to take the day cruise on the MV Frances Barkley (a passenger and cargo vessel) up the Alberni Inlet which promised the chance of bumping into wildlife like the Black Bear, Orca, dolphins, porpoises, sealions etc. Quite disappointingly, the cruise was a rather boring (some would call it relaxing) journey characterized by groups of frolicking California Sea Lions and lots of gulls (Western, California & Herring) breaking the monotony. There were no Black Bears or Orcas, and I felt that we had somehow wasted the day. However, we did experience the area’s slow pace of life as the MV Frances Barkley delivered mail and cargo to the inlet’s isolated communities (the main industries here are logging and fishing). The next day, we met up with local birder Wesley Bricks who kindly took us out birding. To beat the constant drizzle that plagued our trip, Wesley arranged for us to have coffee at another birder’s (Shirley) home where we could watch birds coming to feast at Shirley’s lovely sunflower-filled garden (which she called her "birdfeeder"). At least we had lifers like the Varied Thrush, House Finch and American Gold Finch while out with Wesley. On the cruise, somebody told us that he saw at least four to five Black Bears at the Robertson Creek Hatchery as they gathered in numbers to gorge on the yearly salmon run. Our host Wolf also said that bears can be readily seen at Stamp Falls. Everybody made bear sightings sound so easy. Wesley obligingly drove us over to the hatchery. To our great disappointment, no bears materialised, but I spotted a Black-tailed Deer (lifer) from the car. We were beginning to despair of ever seeing a bear as we headed back to town for some lunch. Lo and behold, on the opposite bank of the Somass River where we had parked for chow at the Clam Bucket, Tim spotted a Black Bear! At the very last instance, God delivered the package and I was most thankful.

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) found on a roadside bush.

We opted to cook a pasta dish from ingredients found in Wolf's House, also known as the Tsunami Backpackers in Port Alberni where we stayed for two nights. The greenish-red Russian tomatoes, zucchini and spicy green chilli were fresh from his garden. Tim was reluctant to cook at first, preferring to walk almost 2km to town for dinner. I refused to budge from the house as I could not bear to face the cold stroll. In the end, he buckled and stole the kitchen from moi. Turned out that he voted this meal his best!

The next morning, we ate a hearty breakfast of mash, ham, toast and eggs with hot sauce before embarking on our day-long Alberni Inlet cruise. This greasy breakfast was at a restaurant just by the pier and is typical of huge Canadian portions. The comparitively tiny burger (in front) was enough for me, downed with hot coffee.

Logs being floated downriver was a common sight all along the otherwise peaceful inlet. Quite a heart-breaking scene, but if they were logging just 1/2 to 1/3 of the standing trees, as per the situation in Algonquin, then it is still better than the case in SEAsia where entire tracts of lowland primary or secondary forest morph from green to brown at the drop of a hat, to create more and more oil palm plantations for the food and biodiesel industries.

The Captain of the MV Barkley Sound was kind enough to entertain us. He showed us how navigation up the inlet was entirely via computerised GPS. The captain's wheel is hardly used anymore. From his elevated perch, he also helped look out for any wildlife, but throughout the journey, there were none special enough to stop the boat for.

Gulls mobbing a California Sea Lion which had caught a fish (possibly salmon). On the return leg, we witnessed lots of these noisy birds hovering above the little pods of sealions, hoping to snatch a free meal.

Tim was persistent in photographing the monotonous wildlife that churned around us, enduring the howl of the chilly winds. We took turns alternately wielding the camera or warming up indoors. The whole boat was excited when the first sealion was spotted, but soon grew bored when it was more of the same throughout our 8-hour cruise. Here, a pair of California Sea Lions came relatively close. Often, visitors mistake these for dophins, especially when seen from afar.

At the tiny town of Bamfield, we were given 45 minutes to stretch our legs onshore. Here, I found out that there are six species of Pacific salmon that inhabit these waters (Sockeye is missing from the list). Most salmon return to their natal rivers to spawn when they are around 3 to 5 years old. Jacks are an uncommon group of yearling Chinook that mature rapidly and can spawn when they are just one year old. As such, Jacks are half the size of full adults. As the anadromous salmon swim upstream, they stop feeding and their flesh turn from a fatty orange to a mushy white (regarded unsuitable for human consumption). Outwardly, they change from silver to red to black. All Pacific salmon die soon after spawning.

Autumn in this part of Canada is devoid of red, as the Southwest corner of British Columbia is dominated by Bigleaf (Broadleaf) Maple, which turns yellow and then brown when winter approaches. Its leaves are huge, ranging from 15 to 30 cm across, bigger than our faces! The region's temperate rainforest biome (rainfall exceeding 250cm/year) is rare in the world, making up just 0.02% of the earth's terrestial surface. The other half of this forest comprise evergreen conifers such as Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Amabilis Fir, Yellow Cedar, Sitka Spruce and Red Alder.

Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus magister). Magister means master crab. It is an edible crustacean that is common in the West Coast, from Alaska to California. We drew a blank when we enquired on a diner that served it. We tried the Clam Bucket, but sorry, no crab for dinner. Photographed this at a fresh seafood store.

Back on Vancouver Island, the streets were lined with planted Red Maple, and Tim here has a strip of smoked salmon that he devoured with glee.

At the Clam Bucket restaurant, we ordered Maple Salmon and a bucket of Clams & Mussels. My salmon slab was marinated in maple syrup. Instead of tasting strange, it was actually succulent and not overly sweet. In comparison, the bucket of bivalves was too well buttered.

Wolf and I in his kitchen, just before I dashed off for the day. Wolf is a very interesting character - he worked in Palawan (The Philippines) for 13 years as a dive instructor and has held outdoor jobs all over Asia. He is able to count in Cantonese (at least from 1 to 10), and walks around in shorts and bare top when I was shivering under three layers of clothing. He also offers canoeing at the Somass River (just outside his house).

Shirley, Wesley Bricks and us in Shirley's cat kingdom - notice the big kitty that Tim is stroking. Shirley had four of these cats. We contacted Wesley through Birding Pal, and he said that we were the first overseas birders who had ever got in touch this way! Shirley's garden yielded two lifers for us - the American Goldfinch and House Finch.

Spotted Towhee pecking on sunflower seeds growing in Shirley's backyard.

Wesley then drove us to the Robertson Creek Hatchery which specializes in breeding and rearing Chinook and Coho salmon, as well as Steelhead Trout (another saltwater salmon species). The Rainbow Trout is the freshwater cousin of the Steelhead that never migrates to the sea. After some seven months of fertilization/incubation, the smolts (tiny fishes) are released down the Somass River for their return journey to the sea where they grow to full adult size. The hatchery produces 8 million chinook smolts, 1 million coho smolts and 180,000 steelhead smolts each year. Only a tiny percentage make it to adulthood: an estimate of 150,000 Chinook, 100,000 Coho and 10,000 Steelhead adults are produced each year for the fisheries in the region. We watched in certain horror as the workers thrashed the blacken salmon with their baseball bats, milked them for their milt/eggs, and left them to die in a bloody tank.

Coho salmon that had already turned from a silvery to a black exterior. At this point, its meat is deemed unpalatable to humans, described as white and mushy, and fit only for the pet food and fertilizer markets.

Salmons thrashing around in the long sink as they were being sorted and clubbed together with other similar-sized breathen.

The aftermath of the clubbing session. Really disgusting to see fish still attempting to swim in their own blood.

Wesley's cosy loghouse which he designed and hand-built himself over a period of five years, working on it every weekend. Utterly impressive! We especially adored his open air sun-lit attic which he uses as an art studio for hobby painting. Tomatoes and other plants drape the staircases. He maintains a thick grove of trees around his property. As such, being in the attic was like being amongst the birds at the tree top level. His house is so admired that he has become a part-time architect and builder, with friends asking him to design-and-build their homes too. He is a retired science teacher.

Orange and red maples planted in a neat row at Port Alberni.

The Somass River runs along River Road where we stayed. The Clam Bucket (restaurant) is on the town end of River Road. We finally saw our Black Bear on the opposite bank of this river while parked just outside the restaurant. Wolf told us that a female bear walks through his garden every night after midnight (he finds evidence of her visit in the morning) - I was intrigued yet spooked by this knowledge. As a precaution, I shone my torch at every shadow in his garden when we returned back at dusk (we had to walk through part of the garden as the door was around at the back), intent on exposing any hidden bear, and praying that there would be none, not at such close range anyway. Wolf also said that he regularly sees bears on the opposite bank of the river too, especially at low tide.

Finally, the sight of a foraging Black Bear at the last possible instance saved the day and made us all very happy.

Wesley said that this bear is likely a to be a juvenile male.

On our last full day in Vancouver , we spent the morning birding Stanley Park , a mixed forested / manicured park that offered views of the Vancouver waterfront, garnering only two lifers: Red-breasted Sapsucker and American Coot. I toured the Vancouver Aquarium alone while Tim made his way to the University of British Columbia to lunch with his ex-colleagues. The Aquarium held many fascinating marine / amphibian life: Beluga, Pacific White-sided Dolphin, Sea Otter, swimming (not burrowing) Caecilians, Poison Arrow frogs, the neotenic mole salamander Axolotl etc. We then rendezvous at Granville Island where we saturated our senses with the array of fresh produce, hams, and seafood on sale at its Public Market, and succumbed to nibbling quiche, wild rice salads, blueberry pie and an assortment of delectable delights at its food court.

Double-crested Cormorants, sunning themselves at Stanley Park in Vancouver City.

The curious looking Axolotl, a neotenic mole salamander. I love its pink external gills and its albinistic bare skin. Saw this at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Juvnile beluga with gull. I was pleased to see white belugas swimming around in a relatively big pool.

My favourite animal at the Vancouver Aquarium - the charming Sea Otter. This fella was feasting on shelled shellfish, using his belly as a 'table', as its wild counterparts do. The Sea Otter is famous for its ability to use rocks to dislodge and open shells, making it one of the few mammals to use tools. It is the heaviest member of the weasel family but one of the smallest marine mammals around. It keeps warm by having the densest coat of fur in the animal kingdom.

All in all, Canada, as the world's second largest country with a relative tiny population of 33.8 million, was a good introduction to birding North Amerca. It offered plenty of wildlife spotting opportunities and pretty landforms, leaving us with tonnes of indelible memories.

Canada Bird List 27 Sep to 18 Oct 2009 (East & West Coast)
By Gloria Seow

Places Birded
1. Algonquin Provincial Park APP - 300km approximately north of Toronto.
2. Toronto environs + High Park THP - around Toronto
3. Long Point LP - 200km approximately southeast of Toronto,
4. Hamilton / Cootes Paradise + Dundas Valley HCP - 75km approximately west of Toronto
5. Vancouver Island VI - covering Tofino, Nanaimo & Port Alberni
6. Vancouver Stanley Park VSP - this is the city's green lungs, 1/2 hr ride from downtown Vancouver.

Sequence below follows:

Number, Name, Scientific Name, Location & Remarks

1
Canada Goose L1
Branta canadensis 76-109cm
THP, LP, HCP, VI
First saw it in a huge flock grazing on trimmed grass like cows, while driving to Algonquin. Common in flocks all over rural Canada. Had excellent views of them at one of Long Point's secluded coves.
2
Tundra Swan L2
Cygnus columbianus 132cm
HCP
Saw 2 swans flying in the distance at Cootes Paradise. Similar to Bewick's Swan I've seen in Japan, now this race has been spilt into a full species.
3
Wood Duck L3
Aix sponsa 47cm
THP
In High Park - saw only 3 females huddled together in the pond. Blue Jays were flying and nosiy all above us.
4
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos 58cm
APP, VSP
Swimming in small flocks, mixed with American Black Duck in APP. Saw a hybrid American Black Duck x Mallard with deep blue speculum. Huddled in a row on a log in Stanley Park.
5
American Black Duck L4
Anas rubripes 58cm
APP
Calmly swimming amongst canoeist at Rock Lake inAPP. Violet speculum bordered in black shows very well and is visually stunning.
6
Canvasback L5
Aythya valisineria 53cm
VI
Fly-by views.
7
White-winged Scoter L6
Melanitta fusca 53cm
VI
Saw it on the ferry to Nanaimo.
8
Common Merganser
Mergus merganser 64cm
VI
Swimming in small groups of 3-5 birds at Somass River.
9
Red-breasted Merganser
Mergus serrator 58cm
VI
Swimming in small groups of 3-5 birds at Somass River.
10
California Quail L7
Callipepla californica 25cm
VI
Unbelivably, saw two female quails foraging by the roadside while passing by in the bus, from Nanaimo towards Tofino. They ran into the bush when the bus came closer. National Geographic field guide said they are common, even in the suburbs.
11
Pacific Loon L8
Gavia pacifica 66cm
VI
While out whale watching in Tofino, we saw scattered individuals floating out in the sea, near the whales.
12
Common Loon L9
Gavia immer 81cm
APP, VI
First flushed an adult still in breeding plumage in APP, near our Eco-Lodge. Saw one fishing at MacKenzie Beach in Tofino - Tim photographed it.
13
Leach's Storm-Petrel L10
Oceanodroma leucorhoa 20cm
VI
Ferry to Nanaimo. Fly-by views
14
Double-crested Cormorant L11
Phalacrocorax auritus 81cm
LP, VSP, VI
Common along the coasts. Good views in Stanley Park.
15
Green Heron L12
Butorides virescens 46cm
LP
Only saw one juvenile perching in pond next to Cemetery, spotted by Tim.
16
Great Blue Heron L13
Ardea herodias 117cm
APP, HCP, VI
First spotted it while canoeing in Algonquin. Biggest bird around. Fairly common along coasts in VI, same niche as Grey Heron.
17
Turkey Vulture L14
Cathartes aura 69cm
LP
Some volunteers at the bird ringing station in Long Point (Old Cut Road) pointed out my first Turkey Vulture. Later in the day, just outside our motel, we counted 30 of these raptors swirling just above. Quite spectacular. Fairly common aruond LP. Turkey Vultures are the only vultures in the world that uses smell to locate carrion. All others use sight. As a result, they are always first to arrive. Being the smallest of the lot, that is advantageous. New World vultures are more closely related to storks than to true raptors.
18
Northern Harrier
Circus cyaneus 41-51cm
Vancouver airport
Quatering flight next to my plane just before take off.
19
Bald Eagle L15
Haliaeetus leucocephalus 79-94cm
LP, VI
Truly majestic creature. Love its massive bill. First saw it at LP catching a duck or fish? Then many good views at VI, at jetty when we went whale watching. Fills the niche of Singapore's White-bellied Fish Eagle. As common too.
20
Sharp-shinned Hawk L16
Accipiter striatus 25-36cm
VI
Saw it perched on a tree in a garden at Wolf's house, Tsunami Backpacker, where we stayed in.
21
Red-tailed Hawk L17
Buteo jamaicensis 56cm
LP, HCP
First saw it while driving home from Long Point, on a roadside tree. Managed to stop the car and binocular it as it took flight. Red tail very prominent and easy to ID. Saw it again with Susan in Webster's Fall.
22
American Coot L18
Fulica americana 39cm
VSP
Views from 2m away at Stanley Park. Both juv and adults.
23
Black Oystercatcher L19
Haematopus bachmani 45cm
VI
Saw 3 birds flying by in Tofino, while we were standing on the main jetty. Plenty of ducks flew by too with acceptable views, but were impossible to ID coz unfortunately, they largely look the same to me, versus the distinctive plumage of the oystercatcher. Also, I'm not familiar with Canadian ducks.
24
Solitary Sandpiper L20
Tringa solitaria 22cm
HCP
Tim spotted it standing in a river that flowed below the main road in and out of Dundas. Supposed to be fairly common in Canada.
25
Ring-billed Gull L21
Larus delawarensis 45cm
All Coasts
Most abundant gull encountered, everywhere near the sea. Tame and approachable. The one in Niagara Falls was 20cm from me.
26
California Gull L22
Larus californicus 53cm
VI
Saw it on the cruise in the Alberni Inlet on the MV Frances Barkley.
27
Herring Gull
Larus argentatus 64cm
Vancouver City
Fairly common on the coast in Vancouver. Sightings in Stanley Park, Granville Island, Canada Place.
28
Western Gull L23
Larus occidentalis 64cm
VI
Saw it on the cruise in the Alberni Inlet on the MV Frances Barkley.
29
Glaucous-winged Gull
Larus glaucescens 66cm
VI
Cruise to Nanaimo.
30
Common Murre L24
Uria aalge 45cm
VI
Saw it in flight on the ferry to Nanaimo. Braved the super cold winds out at sea. But at least saw 2 lifers on this ferry. Only one birding in 0 degrees temperature. Even Tim ducked indoors.
31
Marbled Murrelet L25
Brachyamphus marmoratus 25cm
VI
A few floating offshore when we went whale watching.
32
Rock Pigeon
Columba livia 32cm
All over
Common in cities etc.
33
Mourning Dove L26
Zenaida macroura 31cm
LP
Quite common at LP, perching on roadside wires.
34
Common Nighthawk L27
Chordeiles minor 24cm
LP
Saw it flying around as the sunset, on our first evening in LP when birding at the pathways next to Bird Studies Canada.
35
Belted Kingfisher L28
Ceryle alcyon 33cm
VI
About 2-3 birds fishing around the main jetty (street 1) in Tofino. This was after disembarking from our 2 person water taxi (C$30 per pax to ride that Taxi) to the giant Cedar trees on Meare's Island. Things are super expensive in Canada.
36
Northern Flicker L29
Calaptes auratus 32cm
LP
Encountered it often at Long Point. Big and beatiful. We liked it a lot.
37
Red-breasted Sapsucker L30
Sphyrapicus ruber 22cm
VSP
Our best bird at Stanley Park. Only saw it for 3 seconds when it landed in typical vertical woodpecker fashion.
38
Downy Woodpecker L31
Picoides pubescens 17cm
APP
A few sightings in Algonquin near our lodge.
39
Hairy Woodpecker L32
Picoides villosus 24cm
APP
Close-up views at 3m. Flies to near the bottom of trunk (say 50cm above ground), and pecks it way upwards slowly. We had nearly 20minutes photographing it under such easy conditions.
40
Eastern Wood-Pewee L33
Contopus virens 16cm
HCP
My first Tyrant Flycatcher. Saw it behaving in typical flycatcher fashion at Cootes Paradise, with its sallying perch on a dead stump next to a pond.
41
Alder Flycatcher L34
Empidonax alnorum 15cm
HCP
Empidonax Flycatcher, also had reasonable view in Cootes.
42
Eastern Phoebe L35
Sayornis phoebe 18cm
LP
One bird seen.
43
Blue Jay L36
Cyanocitta cristat 28cm
THP, HCP
Very noisy at High Park near Toronto, sounded quite like gulls. Large numbers (around 30 birds or so) sallying back and forth. We think that they were gathering in flocks before migrating south. Saw one eating something on the ground. Common in Long Point and Hamilton. Really beautiful blue. In ROM, they had a stuffed birds gallery, and kids could easily identify the Blue Jay (which is also the name of a famous baseball team).
44
Stellar's Jay L37
Cyanocitta stelleri 29cm
VI, VSP
The Stellar's Jay has an intense blue that is riveting. First saw one at a bird feeder in Tofino, near the coast. Many close range sightings at Meare's Island's old growth forest.
45
Amercian Crow L38
Corvus brachyrhynchos 45cm
THP, Vancouver
Common in cities. Intelligent creatures. We saw them plucking mussels stuck on rocks at Stanley Park, flying upwards, and dropping the mussels from about 10m high to crack the shell.
46
Northwestern Crow L39
Corvus caurinus 41cm
VI
Was alerted by Wesley that the crow we were seeing in Tofino and Port Alberni was mostly this new species. According to the National Geographic Field Guide, it only inhabits northwestern coastal areas where it is a common scavenger. Attracted a small flock of these when we ate our lunch outdoors.
47
Common Raven L40
Corvus corax 61cm
VI
Saw a few.
48
Purple Martin L41
Progne subis 20cm
Niagara Falls
Some birds were sallying around, by the roadside running along the falls. All dark plumage nailed ID.
49
Black-capped Chickadee L42
Poecile atricapillus 13cm
APP, LP, HCP, VI
One of the most common birds in forests. Small and cute.
50
Boreal chickadee L43
Poecile hudsonicus 14cm
APP
Only saw it in APP, near our lodge.
51
Brown Creeper L44
Certhia americana 13cm
LP
Two separate birds creeping up the trees just outside the bird ringing trailer. Some local birders were with us. Surprised that they mostly carried Bushnells. Their first time receiving guests from Singapore.
52
White-breasted Nuthatch L45
Sitta carolinensis 15cm
HCP
Had good but brief views of one bird while walking along the road towards Dundas, surrounded by scrubby forest on both sides.
53
Red-breasted Nuthatch L46
Sitta Canadensis 11cm
LP
One bird mixed amongst the Brown Creepers. Pointed out by local birders.
54
House Wren L47
Troglodytes aedon 12cm
HCP
One bird perched briefly on a fallen log at Cootes. I always love the uplifted perky tail of wrens.
55
Golden-crowned Kinglet L48
Regulus satrapa 10cm
THP, LP, HCP, VI
Common in forests and scrub. Very small and noisy, moves in small flocks, sometimes high up in trees. First had poor views at High Park. Later at Long Point, we had point blank views at eye level.
56
Ruby-crowned Kinglet L49
Regulus calendula 11cm
LP, HCP
First saw it in the bird ringer's hands! Really tiny and pretty with its ruby crown. It gave off a small 'cheep' and everyone present went 'Awwww, so cute!'. Later saw it outdoors in the forest just outside and on the spit itself. Less common than Golden-crowned.
57
Swainson's Thrush L50
Catharus ustulatus 18cm
HCP
Just one bird by the scrub on the side of the road. Appeared briefly only. Luckily, I didn't brush it aside as yet another American Robin because it is quite a lot smaller.
58
Hermit Thrush L51
Catharu guttatus 17cm
LP
Good views of one bird in a tree, by the side of the road when we stopped to bird at a scrubby / grassy patch.
59
Varied Thrush L52
Ixoreus naevius 24cm
VI
Wesley was driving around slowly in the slight drizzle. I found a small flock of 5 birds foraging on the grassy ground. Good views. Later on, we saw it around Port Alberni, quite common. Was delighted to see it, very pretty blue and orange plumage.
60
American Robin L53
Turdus migratorius 25cm
LP, HCP, VI,
Common but arresting bird that dominates the bush country.
61
Gray Catbird L54
Dumetella carolinensis 22cm
LP
Saw two birds at close range furtively flying one low bush to another, just by the coast where we first saw the Bald Eagle catching a duck. Later on, had sterling views of a perched bold individual that allowed approach up to 2m.
62
European Starling L55
Sturnus vulgaris 22cm
Cities, Countryside
Common invader introduced in NY in 1890-91. But still pretty with iridescent black plumage. Found everywhere. First saw it while waiting for Traver to arrive at the North York's Finsh station's round pickup point.
63
Cedar Waxwing L56
Bombycilla cedrorum 18cm
LP
Tim spotted the first bird at Long Point (trail outside Bird Studies Canada), I was so happy - my first waxwing, after trying for the Bohemian WW in Japan. Later on, it turned out to be fairly common, with juveniles seen. Up to 5 birds seen perched together in a tree.
64
Yellow-rumped Warbler L57
Dendroica coronata 14cm
APP
One of our first lifers. Initial sighting on the first morning birding at the island next to our lodge. Hardly any other birds around at APP at that early hour. Also, most birds had probably migrated south. Later on, while canoeing, we encountered 2-5 birds foraging by the lakeside bush. Tim photographed one of them.
65
Black-and-white Warbler L58
Mniotilta varia 13cm
LP
One birdie appeared just for me at the trees outside the bird ringing station. Confirmed ID with a local birder.
66
Scarlet Tanager L59
Piranga olivacea 18cm
LP
Brief views at the grassy area near Bird Studies Canada.
67
Eastern Towhee L60
Pipilo erythrophthalmus 19cm
LP
Only saw one bird, can't remember much.
68
Spotted Towhee L61
Pipilo maculatus 19cm
VI
First saw it at Nanaimo, outside the bus station where we had 2 hours to catch lunch before our onward bus to Tofino. An adult and juvenile, with the adult calling and flicking its tail while perched on a branch for several minutes. Quite common in VI. Also saw it at Shirley's garden in Port Alberni.
69
Field Sparrow L62
Spizella pusilla 15cm
HCP
Dundas Valley
70
Chipping Sparrow L63
Spizella passerina 14cm
HCP
Dundas Valley
71
Fox Sparrow L64
Passerella iliaca 18cm
VI
Very dark plumage. Saw it at Bamfield, when the MV Frances Barkley berthed to unload and upload goods. Also saw a Bald Eagle soaring just above us here.
72
Savannah Sparrow L65
Passerculus sandwichensis 14cm
THP,
Easiest of the sparrows to ID because of its yellow lores and supercilium.
73
Lincoln's Sparrow L66
Melospiza lincolnii 15cm
LP
Long Point
74
Song Sparrow L67
Melospiza melodia 13-17cm
VI
At Tofino
75
Swamp Sparrow L68
Melospiza georgiana 15cm
LP
Long Point
76
White-throated Sparrow L69
Zonotrichia albicollis 17cm
LP
Long Point
77
White-crowned Sparrow L70
Zonotrichia leucophrys 18cm
VI
Saw it at someone's feeder while walking with luggage in tow from bus station to Wolf's house.
78
Golden-crowned Sparrow L71
Zonotrichia atricapilla 18cm
VI
Saw it at the same feeder as the White-crowned Sparrow, while walking with luggage in tow from bus station to Wolf's house.
79
Dark-eyed Junco L72
Junco hyemalis 16cm
VI
Feasting on Shirley's giant sunflower garden - her so called 'feeder'.
80
Northern Cardinal L73
Cardinalis cardinalis 22cm
LP
An unforgettable N American bird, redder than red. Quite common as it calls repeatedly while sitting hidden in a bush.
81
Red-winged Blackbird L74
Agelaius phoeniceus 22cm
LP
Small flocks flying in the fields outside Bird Studies Canada.Good views when perched.
82
Common Grackle L75
Quiscalus quiscula 32cm
LP
Saw it as we left Old Cut Road. High in a tree
83
Brewer's Blackbird L76
Euphagus cyanocephalus 23cm
VI
Saw a flock from the bus to Nanaimo. Didn't encounter it at all in Tofino.
84
Purple Finch L77
Carpodacus purpureus 15cm
APP
Brief views on our first morn in Algonquin.
85
House Finch L78
Carpodacus mexicanus 15cm
VI
First glimpse was at Shirley's garden with about 2-3 birds snacking on sunflower seeds. Beautiful red forehead and chest.
86
American Goldfinch L79
Carduelis tristis 13cm
VI
Shirley and Wesley were surprised to see two visiting Shirley's garden so late in the autumn.
87
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus 16cm
Cities, Countryside
Common in the cities

MAMMAL LIST

1
Black Bear
Ursus americanus
Port Alberni
2
Moose
Alces alces
APP
3
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
APP
4
Black-tailed Deer
Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
Robertson Creek
5
Beaver
Castor canadensis
APP & LP
6
Mink
Mustela vison
Nanaimo
7
North American Opossum (roadkill)
Didelphis virginiana
LP
8
Grey Whale
Eschrichtius robustus
Tofino
9
Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
Tofino
10
Stellar Sea Lion
Eumetopias jubatus
Tofino
11
California Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus
Port Alberni
12
Habour/Common Seal
Phoca vitulina
Nanaimo & Tofino
13
Eastern Grey Squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
Toronto
14
Eastern Chipmunk
Tamias striatus
Hamilton
15
Least Chipmunk
Tamias minimus
LP
16
Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Hamilton, LP & Tofino

AMPHIBIAN LIST

1
Mink Frog
Rana septentrionalis
APP
2
Northern Green Frog
Rana clamitans melanota
APP
3
American Toad
Bufo americanus
APP & Cootes

Canada East Coast Adventure - Part 1

2010-01-13T21:16:00.000-08:00

Canada: My Maiden Wildlife Watching Trip to the New World
27 September to 18 October 2009

Trip Participants: Gloria Seow & Timothy Pwee
Written by Gloria Seow

Canada, Tim’s intellectual homeland, was our playground for three weeks where we explored her cities and provincial parks on both her Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Tim wanted to show me McMaster Universtiy in Hamilton, located approximately 70km from Toronto, where he studied for some years. For me, my main agenda was to see Canada's fabulous fall colours and of course her attendant bird and animal life. We were lucky, arriving right at the height of autumn, where we got to soak in the spectacular reds, oranges, yellows and greens of the leafy hues in Algonquin Provincial Park. This flaming forest phenomenon lasts for just two weeks before the deciduous maples, birches and oaks shed their stunning kaleidoscopic leaves.
Coniferous evergreens line the shore of Little Mink Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, while their flaming deciduous cousins dominate the interior. I was constantly sighing with pleasure everytime I stepped outdoors, utterly captivated by the reds, oranges and yellows of the fantastic fall foliage.

Flying straight to the east (Atlantic) coast of Canada calls for endless hours in the plane (7 hours to Tokyo, 9 hours to Vancouver, 5½ hours to Toronto on WestJet with some transit hours in between), but thankfully, the personlised inflight entertainment system on our JAL plane helped passed the time. I greedily gobbled up four movies.

Our first four days were spent in Algonquin Provincial Park (10 times the size of Singapore, 270km from Toronto) where we stayed in a cosy log cabin, canoed some of the park’s 1,000 lakes on a package trip with tour operator “Call of the Wild”, enjoyed sightings like Beaver, Moose, White-tailed Deer, 3 species of frogs, and a paucity of birds (most have left for the winter) and ate magnificent meals including game (White-tailed Deer shot by a neighbour 15km away). Was quite upset though with the logging and hunting allowed outside the park’s boundary.

The view from the little island next to Algonquin Eco-Lodge where we stayed for three nights. While on the island, we enjoyed the company of a beaver that swam nonchalantly to and fro to feed on the reed beds. At one point, this dam-builder came so close that I could see his distinctive paddle-shaped 'beaver tail' (which incidently is also a pastry speciality of Ottawa). Our guide Traver said that they saw an 'otter' when we first arrived, which Tim and I missed. The tiny shed next to the pontoon jetty held canoe supplies (life jackets/paddles) while the 'house' on the left provided rooms for boarders.

The Algonquin Eco-Lodge is a splendidly isolated establishment with the nearest neighbour located some 15km away. Its founder owner, Robin Banerjee who also runs the outdoor tour agency 'Call of the Wild', told us that White-tailed Deer, Moose, Timber Wolf, Black Bear, Northern Flying Squirrel, salamander, raccoon, chipmunk and other wildlife have been seen wandering around the grounds of the lodge. Tim and I were lucky. On one evening walk, we flushed a nervous White-tailed Deer grazing in the tall reeds that grew at the edge of the lake. This jumpy ungulate then bounded away in spectacular arched leaps through the shallow water towards the deep end, with its usually loppy tail held erect, exposing the white underneath (hence its name). Then it gracefully swam the full length of the lake, looking back only when it was safely across. I was hoping to find my first salamander in the wood stack (Eva our 22 year old housekeeper saw one there), or a slinky marten (again Eva reported this critter roaming beneath the raised lodge), but no such encounter for us.

We were the last few guests before the lodge closed up for the summer/autumn season in mid October. It would reopen again in the thick of winter when the snow is deep enough for cross-country skiing. This well-maintained 30 plus year old log cabin has next to no electricity except in the common areas, where there was dim lighting at most, powered by a generator. Robin was going to build something that could harness the 'free energy' of the cascades nearby. Solar panels provided very scant lighting in the shared toilets. Our rooms were pitch black at night - luckily we brought along torches.

I loved its cosy all-timber interior - even our beds were made of the same type of softwood. There was a fireplace where we often sat around to warm ourselves while sipping hot cocoa and nibbling on a freshly-baked cake by Eva. I never thought that I would ever get to stay in a log cabin - something that I had always associated with the movies, ie beyond my reach. We were supposed to be out camping (with outdoor temperatures hovering around 5 degree celsius!!), but thank God to the power of infinity that it rained heavily on the first day, and we were offered replacement lodge accomodation which I gladly took. Better yet, the rain in the part of Algonquin we were in (one and a half hours drive from the usual tourist areas) was just a light patter. We heard later that the main part of the park (Highway 60 between the West and East gates) was utterly rained out, with school kids in the latest models of heated tents so cold and soaked that they had to abort camp. The lakes there also swelled dangerously (not advisable for canoeing). Had we gone with another tour company (say Algonquin Outfitters), we would have suffered the same fate as those soaked kids.

Bunch berries. Canada has all kinds of edible and inedible berries growing wild - blue berries, strawberries, black berries etc. Our canoe guide Traver entertained us with many camping stories and fed us with daily Canadian trivia.

We went frogging half an hour before sunrise, and found this Northern Green Frog (Rana clamitans melanota) at the water edge. It is distinguished from the American Bull Frog by the parallel dorsolateral folds or skin ridges that extend from the eye down the sides of its back. We only saw this once.

Mink Frog (Rana / Lithobates septentrionalis). We found it floating spectacularly at the water edge, also in the wee hours of the morning. I love its spotty blotches. According to ID guides, the Mink Frog is often mistaken for the Northern Green Frog. It has less pronounced dorsolateral folds, no banding on the legs, more developed hind foot webbing, and there is dark blotching present throughout its back and legs. It releases a foul smell of rotting onions when handled. We came across three specimens on three frogging attempts. One pre-dawn walk to a stream in the woods produced no frogs. All frogs were seen at the edge of the big lake fronting our lodge.

American Toad (Bufo americanus). We came across it twice. I found the first one while on a forest walk behind the lodge (on the 45 min cross-country trail). I suppose the moist earth and a nearby stream provides enough water for it. Tim found another toad in Cootes Paradise near his old campus, also on the trail in the forest. Both specimens were seen in the day, fitting the toad's diurnal lifestyle. According to reference materials, its skin is thick and dry, adapted for living on land. Large bean-shaped paratoid glands lie on the back of its head. Above its eyes are two well-distinguished cranial crests.

Tim with Christina, our German canoe mate who lives in Switzerland. Like Tim, she had studied in Canada in the past (for one year) and was back to experience the glorious fall colours of the 'Indian Summer'. Here, they are standing next to the monster canoes that we used. Had we gone on the planned camping/canoeing trip, we would have used lightweight kevlar canoes (1/3 the weight).

We explored the lakes near our lodge on two full-day canoeing trips, taking in the exhilarating leafy beauty that encircled us. I tried birding from the canoe, but only got to see very little

Christina partnered with Traver, who was constantly 'training' her to be a better paddler. Tim and I were content to drift lazily behind, taking in the scene at a leisurely pace: beaver wood piles, birds, water insects, fishes and plants. We tried to find ourselves a water snake but to no avail.

While trekking towards a beautiful waterfall, we came across many mushroom species that flourished on the damp mossy ground and on tree trunks (both alive and dead). The park sold guidebooks that helped in identifying these mushrooms, most were predictably inedible.

The peeling trunk of a birchwood tree. This tree was important to the native Indians, who cored out its trunk to construct sturdy canoes.

The splayed out waterfall at the end of the uphill hike where we enjoyed a delectable picnic lunch (spinach spread, hams, cheeses, berries, pitas, and juice) put together by Traver who is also a highly-qualified chef.

Puff-ball mushrooms - breaking the thin membrane of these mushroom balls releases a puff of spores.
Flaming forests followed us wherever we canoed.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Algonquin Provincial Park. Taken from the canoe by Tim.

The dreaded 'P' word - Portage - ie. having to carry the monster canoe (>25kg?) across land to reach the next lake. Our longest portage was 400m. Portage distances in Algonquin can be as long as 2 to 3 km, but with kevlar canoes (one third the weight of the monster variety). The canoe rests on one's shoulders and head - very heavy - I almost died the first time I tried carrying one with Tim. Being the shorter person, most of the weight invariably came to rest on me! Subsequently, poor Tim did all portages alone - he claimed it was less torturous. The girls didn't have it better - we had to carry the super heavy bags (2 or more bags secured in a dry bag) + paddles + life jackets. I sprained my back the first time when I carelessly swung the full weight onto myself when not properly postured.

Hairy Woodpecker, a denizen of the Canadian Woodlands. We found one pecking close to ground level near our lodge in Algonquin. Photo by me.

Breakfast at Algonquin Eco-Lodge. The thermometer stuck onto the window pane showed that temperature outdoors was a chilly 5 degrees celsius. The falcon shadow on the window is a clever tactic to desuade birds from crashing into the invisible glass. To birds, the shape looks just like the shadow of a predatory falcon flying just above them.

A roadside flower, Algonquin.

Moose! One of the animals I desired, seen at the last possible instance. I was told that moose was easy to see in summer (nibbling on aquatic plants that proliferate by the water edge) and winter (licking salt used to melt ice on roads, esp on Highway 60), but not in autumn when we were there. In the fall, moose are mostly scattered in the woods seeking out the twigs, barks, buds and leaves of trees. There are only about 3000 to 4000 moose in Algonquin, which itself is ten times the size of Singapore. As such, when Christina suddenly turned to me and exclaimed with eyes wide open 'Moose!', I was shocked and thrilled. We were already driving the last stretch back to Rock Lake. Traver wisely asked us to ready our cameras. He then backed the car up, and true enough, there was a female amongst the trees, casually grazing away. I was a little disappointed that it was not a male with full palmate antlers. On hindsight, our moose could well be a male that had shed its antlers. Incidentally, moose is an Algonquin Indian word for 'twig eater'. It is the largest member of the deer family and the tallest mammal in N Amercia, standing 2m high from shoulder to feet.

American Black Ducks, male and female. The male swimming in front has a yellow bill while the female sports a dull green bill. Both have violet speculums bordered in black. I have witnessed the behavioural difference between animals living within nature reserves and those living outside. As with the case of these ducks which were seen on Rock Lake (within the protected part of Algonquin), they were totally comfortable with the presence of humans, even allowing a canoe to pass within 5m of them. In contrast, the Common Loon I found near our Lodge (just outside the protected part of Algonquin where controlled hunting is allowed) scrammed the moment I arrived, when I was still some 30m from it. This Loon did the classic running on water sequence before flapping off, giving me fab views of its attractive black-and-white plumage. We also photographed an Amercian Black Duck x Mallard hybrid which had an intergrade blue-violet speculum.

Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is a tree squirrel native to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces in Canada, as well as eastern and midwestern US. It is common in urban areas, often seen bounding along the ground, assisting the street cleaner in his job. I photographed this furry nibbling on a cracker salvaged from a rubbish dump next to the high school outside our hotel (Grange Hotel). Notice its nipples and prosperous belly. On a separate note, Grange Hotel, off Dundas Street West in Toronto, offered studios complete with kitchenettes (which was pretty novel to me). Visitor's Inn in Hamilton where we stayed also had a kitchenette. Says something about the Canadians' eat-in mentality.

Then it was three days at Long Point, a 41-km long sand spit that protrudes into Lake Erie and one of the top birding spots in North America (species list of 370 birds). This entailed a 200km road trip down south, with me driving for the first time on the right side of the road, a stressful but fun experience. We were most impressed with the gorgeous beach at Lake Erie, the smallest of the five Great Lakes . With frothing waves and an endless expanse of fine sand, it did not look the least bit like a placid lake, but was more reminiscent of the sea. I have experienced a storm at Lake Michigan in Chicago , it too had waves that rose higher than a man, crashing thunderously onto the shoreline.

At Long Point (a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve), we collected a good number of classic lifers including a Bald Eagle hunting a duck, a thermalling mass of 30 Turkey Vultures, a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a roadside tree and the redder-than-red Northern Cardinal. We also visited the Long Point Bird Observatory’s bird banding station at Old Cut Road , part of Birds Studies Canada, the oldest institution of its kind in the Western Hemisphere specialized in migration monitoring.

Pumpkins! I was delighted to stop by this pumpkin field on the 200km drive to Long Point. Many stores including 7-11 were selling pumpkins for Halloween. Some houses had these orange balls lined up 'do re me' style (from smallest to biggest) on their porch stairs. Fast food chains like Tim Hortons offered seasonal 'pumpkin spiced' dishes including tea, soups and pies.

Tim's best shot of the iconic Bald Eagle, which shares the same ecological niche as Singapore's White-bellied Sea Eagle, often seen flying above water bodies. We witnessed it catching a huge fish at Long Point, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve (wetlands) located 200km south of Toronto.

A beaver lodge (house) at Long Point. There were around three to four such mounds in the calm waters, within 20m of each other. I spotted a beaver (Castor canadensis) swimming towards and clambering on his lodge for all of ten seconds. It subsequent ducked under the wood/mud pile to the underwater entrance of its dry chamber where it lives during the winter, feeding on the underbark of these woodstacks. We saw beaver twice, once at Algonquin, another time at Long Point.

Possibly juveniles of the Eastern Box Elder Bug (Boisea trivittata), Long Point.

Possibly adults of the Eastern Box Elder Bug, Long Point. Could also be Assasin Bugs, but I doubt it.

A pretty headstone featuring nesting and humming birds in the cemetery next to the Bird Studies Canada (Etudes d'Oiseaux) grounds at Long Point Bird Observatory, Port Rowan, Ontario.

We walked part of the 41km sand spit that Long Point is named after. Long Point is the largest barrier system in the Great Lakes, extending from the north shore of Lake Erie. After a brief shower, we experienced one of the most beautiful play of light on the freshwater lake. We were amazed that the lake felt more like the sea with its never-ending sandy beaches and stormy waters. Long Point is an important staging area for the annual Monarch butterfly migration. It also supports a varied bird life in its marshes, grasslands and woods, with an enviable checklist of 370 birds, rivalling that of the more famous Point Pelee (which is another 100 plus km away). Campers in their RVs (recreational vehicles or campervans) were quietly scattered along the spit. One thing spooked me though - the risk of catching Lyme Disease (infectious Borrelia bacteria) carried by deer ticks. As with Panti, we tucked our pants into our socks and prayed for the best.

Long Point. Walking on the soft sand, taking in the majesty of the crashing surf, with no one in sight was therapeutic to say the least.

Shellfish at Long Point attached onto aquatic plants. So that's what the birds were feeding on.

As we were there during the low season, most acommodation options were closed. However, we enjoyed the drive-up convenience of staying two nights in a luxury container provided by atPlay Adventures, complete with an all-plastic bathroom. It even offered satellite TV with a million channels to choose from. As mentioned earlier, most Canadians had their own RVs to call home, so there was no one else around.

I spotted a Monarch butterly half buried in the sand at Long Point. It was probably tossed by the erratic winds of a rainstorm, and was possibly the runt of the Monarch population that had long migrated south. Monarch migration takes place in August and September where butterflies congregate by the thousands at Long Point to feed and rest, in preparation for their long crossing of Lake Erie, onward to Mexico. We brought it back, brushed off the caking sand and soon, it was attempting to walk around.

Poison Ivy, an innocuous looking three-leaf plant that grows close to the ground (as ground cover) in most of North America. It can also grow as a 1.2m tall shrub or a climbing vine. Upon contact, it usually induces an itchy rash due to the presence of the skin irritant urushiol. Photo taken in Long Point.

Acorns are the nuts of Oak trees that form part of the forests near Long Point. They are an important source of wild food for animals like jays, woodpeckers, squirrels, deers and even bears. Aside from tonnes of Blue Jays, we did not spot anything significant here. Rather, hunting took place in this patch of woods, perhaps explaining the avian silence.

The only moth we came across in Canada chose to land on Tim's blue vest. Long Point.

Our rented Ford Mercury Sable. We were recommended by our hotel to rent a wreck from Ryder, a used car rental agency located five blocks away. I presented my Sg driving licence (did not get an International Driving Licence since Sg's licence is in English anyway) and was allowed to drive off. Big car, cheap rental (C$35 excluding gas I think, with 200km mileage per day) and it got us around (though the car trembled somewhat above 120kmh). My first time driving on the right side of the road, a rather stressful ordeal as I had to keep reminding myself not to stray onto the left.

While driving to our last birding destination in Long Point, we came across four road kills, three were raccoon and one was a Virginia or North American Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) as in the photo above. It is the only marsupial found in N America. As a successful opportunist, its range extends throughout Central and N America east of the Rockies from Costa Rica to southern Ontario, and this territory is slowly marching northwards. Like the raccoon and grey squirrel, it regularly raids garbage dumps. Interestingly, it has a prehensile tail and opposable thumbs on its rear limbs, and rides it young on its back. The term 'playing possum' (playing dead) originated from the opossum's (sometimes shorterned to possum) ability to involuntarily enter a near coma which can last up to four hours when threatened or injured. In such a state, it lies on its side, mouth and eyes open with tongue hanging out, and emits a green fluid from its anus, as well as an odour repulsive to most predators that prefer live prey. OK, I'm as disgusted as you at this truly dead opossum, what with entrails spread all over the road. To take this photo, I held my breath, quickly snapped two shots and dashed back to the car.

After depositing our rented car back in Toronto , we hopped on the Greyhound to Hamilton, Tim’s university town. Here, we toured McMaster University (bursting with Asian students), visited a real Farmer’s Market, spent time with Tim’s old school mate Susan and her family over a home-cooked dinner, and checked out nature spots like Webster’s Fall and Cootes Paradise where we obtained lifers like the Solitary Sandpiper and Eastern Wood Pewee, and laid eyes on a raccoon with baby walking the swamps. Hamilton was also a good base to check out the Niagara Falls located 72km away. The Falls separate Canada from the USA and are the start of the Niagara Escarpment which extends some 700km north to end at Tobermory. I was only mildly impressed partly due to the touristy nature of the whole place. As the general opinion goes, the ‘Canadian’ (Horseshoe Falls) side of the Falls was more spectacular than the ‘American’ one, but both cascades were an arresting sight at night when changing coloured lights were projected onto their rushing waters. Niagara the town itself was plastered with Hollywood kitsch, with a multitude of entertainment options including Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

A more palatable photo of cute cherry-sized apples that grow in people's garden. Out of curiosity, I took a crunchy bite and had difficulty swallowing its acrid overly-sour pulp. Tim said that Canadians tend to create tart jams from these. Notice the orange polka-dotted ladybug at the top of the photo - came across it a few times.

City of Hamilton (population: 505,000) in Ontario, where Tim attended school at McMaster University. He makes pilgrimages back to McMaster every couple of years just to reminisce and catch up with old pals. This is the quiet street in the environs of the Uni. I was quite surprised to find large concentrations of Asians (mostly Viet, Koreans, Chinese and some Indians) studying and living in Canada.

Chapel in McMaster & Tim.

The charming Chipmunk actually came close to beg for handouts. Photo taken just outside the McMaster chapel. I searched high and low for a chipmunk in Algonquin and came up noughts...here, chipmunks searched me out. Cool! From another angle, this stripey can be identified as the Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) as it has a uniformly greyish tail. Another chipmunk photo taken at Long Point was that of the Least Chipmunk (Tamias minimus) as it had stripes extending down its tail.

Canadians have a culture of riding their bikes everywhere. In urban areas, there are bike park structures (circular metallic bike stands attached to the ground, good for one or two bikes) every few metres, even downtown on Yonge Street. Some public buses come with bike hoists that can fit two bikes in front of the bus. Bus drivers actually help one secure the bike. They do the same for wheelchair bound passengers - they have to raise certain rows of seats to create space and lower the boarding platform to act as a ramp. Very passenger friendly indeed. The transport system by TTC (Toronto Trasit Commission) is also impressively integrated. One pays a flat fare of say C$2.75 per trip, no matter how far or near the distance travelled. The ticket stub or coin token is machine processed when one first boards, and if you need to change tram (aka streetcar), subway or bus, one gets a time-stamped transfer slip (valid for half-hour waiting time).

Webster Falls / Spencer Gorge is part of the Niagara Escarpment in Dundas near Hamilton. Susan, Tim's univeristy pal, kindly showed us around. Fall colours are just starting to show here, a place 3-4 hours south of Algonquin.

Wasps feeding on fallen apples in Susan's garden.

We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon touring capped by a nice dinner (pies, boiled asparagus with melted cheese, apple cider etc) at Susan's and Andrew's cosy open-concept home. We contributed double-yolk lotus paste Moon Cakes from home, something novel to their tastebuds and they took to it pretty well. On a separate note, char siew (roast meat stained red) and dim sum are well-liked by white Canadians. Tim wanted me to try takeaway N American Chinese food (which he warned was bad). We never actually tried those. However, we ate at several Chinese restaurants all over Canada (in Toronto's Chinatown, Niagara Falls, Tofino etc) and the food was, contrary to expectations, excellent. This puzzle was solved when my friend Dawn, who is married to a Canadian-Chinese from Vancouver, told me "Of course the Chinese food is good - many Canadian immigrants are top chefs from Hong Kong!" Ah, no wonder!

We particularly enjoyed the 'Wanton Soup' in Tofino, cooked up by Gary's Kitchen. Instead of just plain old dumpling soup, we counted some 17 ingredients including four meats (char siew was one of these). Also, serving portions in Canada are HUGE, good for two persons. At Gary's we were advised to order just one bowl with rice. On many occassions, we forgot and ordered two portions, no wonder my clothes couldn't quite fit when I returned home. Another reason for trying out Chinese food - I could not bring myself to eat cold sandwiches, burgers and Western fare everyday. The same compliments cannot be applied to Vietnamese restaurants in Canada - watered-down cuisine to say the least. Some Canadian food I liked: poutine (fries doused in cheese), chilli (chilli con carne), hot sauce (Tabasco like sauce which replaces chilli sauce), and the soups from Tim Hortons.

This is the spot where I saw my wished-for raccoon in Cootes Paradise. Tim could not believe his eyes when I spotted a mother-and-child pair ambling along the lily pads in broad daylight. Before this, we had searched unsuccessfully at garbage dumps at night for raiding raccoons in Hamilton. We saw raccoon again in Tofino.

Solitary Sandpiper, an uncommon bird. Photographed in Dundas from a bridge.

An unidentified dragonfly. Very big, at least 12-14cm long. Again photographed at Dundas.

We think that these are wild grapes growing by the roadside in Dundas.

The chilly windswept waters of Nigara Falls.

The ubiquitous Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis), an adult in winter plumage. Photographed at 1m range in Niagara Falls.

The sun-lit Niagara escarpment just next to the 'American' side of the Niagara Falls. We were in Canada in mostly drizzly weather, so any sun is a welcome change.

The brief patch of sunshine on the gushing cascades of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls produced a breathtaking double rainbow, so ephemeral that I could only take three shots (10 seconds) before it completely disappeared. I was amazed that the colours of the rainbow rapidly faded right before my eyes. We were lucky enough to see this rainbow phenomenon twice within fifteen minutes. Apparently, the waterfall spray (tiny droplets) acts as a prism and separates white light into its constituent hues.

The Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side has a humongous tower of spray right at its centre. We estimated that the height of this plume can be nearly ten stories tall, especially when carried upwards by the strong winds. The Niagara Falls is arguably one of the the most famous sights in the world and it felt good to be there. However, the tourist town itself is very kitschy, reminding me of my trip to LA in 1995 where animated Hollywood trash lined the street. There was even a talking cobra complete with Indian accent.

We had plenty of time in Niagara Falls as our bus left only at 930pm for the one hour ride back to Hamilton. As such, we could catch the changing colour projections onto both the American (left) and Canadian (right) sides of the Falls.

Our room at Visitor's Inn in Hamilton. This was one of the better hotels we stayed in - the kitchenette was a novelty as I first mentioned, but the most we did was to fry some hot sausages from the Farmer's Market for breakfast. The room was carpeted and very spacious, and was fairly close to McMaster University. Best of all it had free internet, an indoor pool, and free mineral water dispenser. We found this hotel only after wasting four hours physically searching Dundas for non-existant accomodation, with full baggage in tow. In the end, we located it by thumbing through a yellow pages directory. I was so grateful just to have a room to escape from the cold. Tim's style is to search on the spot. Mine is to book ahead. Next time, I'll stick to booking ahead, never mind if something better value is just next door.

Back in Toronto, we visited the ROM or Royal Ontario Museum. Coincidentally, the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition was on. Quoting from the ROM website: "Since their discovery in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have rarely toured in order to preserve their fragile parchments. In partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the ROM presents 17 Scrolls, of which four are on display for the first time. Artifacts from Qumran, Jerusalem and the Second Temple, Sephorris and other parts of Judea and Galilee are dispalyed, alongside Jewish and Roman artifacts. The Scrolls include the fascinating Book of War Scroll and the Messianic Apocalypse Scroll." We also viewed the Egyptian 'Book of the Dead' gallery - very fascinating ancient beliefs and fine coloured sequenced paintings. Then Tim disappeared back to our hotel for his belt, while I continued alone. I particularly enjoyed the natural history section, especially when I could finally use my camera. This photo shows the fossils of extinct creatures such as a species of giant Moose, Mastodon, giant Beaver and giant bear. I was glad that the museum opened till 9pm as we arrived only at 3pm after a trip to High Park (not a trimmed affair but fairly wild parkland) where I got lifers like the Wood Duck and Blue Jay.

To get to High Park, we walked two plus hours through the neighbourhood of Dundas Street West near our hotel (Grange Hotel). This was a good introduction to Canadian suburbia. I was struck by the sheer number of Asian immigrants that have settled in Toronto, especially when I witnessed the overwhelming bulk of Asian students (Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans) spilling out of a local primary school. When we popped into a grocer to get blueberries, blackberries and strawberries (cheap), the Chinese National I spoke to assumed that I was an immigrant.

This was the most crappy place we stayed in, College Backpackers in Kensington Market, Toronto (walking distance from Ryder car rental). The redeeming factor was our tiny balcony with a nice view of the CN Tower and the colourful market street below. At least it was a private room on the fourth and highest floor. One sore point - there were no lifts and we had to struggle up and down stairs with our burdensome luggage. We each carried a backpack + a small trolley luggage + our daypacks. Why backpack when I hate it? Because our camping trip to Algonquin required us to. Kensington Market itself is fun, with lots of things to buy, especially cheap souvenirs and fresh produce.

All kinds of Squash sold at Kensington Market. We had tasty squash soup in Long Point, at the coffeehouse opposite our hotel.

We did not know that balls of Brussel Sprouts protrude from a central stem until we saw this.

Toronto has an ancient but still functioning streetcar (tram) system that runs on an electrical grid suspended above the streets. Environmentally friendly I must say. Since the streetcar runs in the middle of the road, all cars have to stop behind when streetcars drop off passengers.

Yonge Street is the longest street in the world, stretching a mind-boggling 1,896km! According to Wiki, it starts on the shores of Lake Ontario, cutting through central and northern Ontario, through towns and wilderness, to end at the Ontario-Minnesota border at Rainy River. Yonge Street serves as a dividing line between the east and west parts of the East–West roads in the Toronto and York region. We stayed near uptown Yonge Street (Novotel hotel in North York) when we first arrived. Towards the end of our trip, we walked a portion of this historic road, which in downtown Toronto is flanked by shops on both sides.

The second leg of our trip covered Vancouver, Tofino and Port Alberni. My complete Canada Bird List will also be put up in my next posting.

Oriental Pied Hornbill in Toa Payoh!

2009-12-14T23:21:00.001-08:00

15 December 2009

At 8 am today, the distinctive call of the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) made my ears prick up and I dashed to my bedroom window in tense anticipation. I had previously reported/photographed this hornbill at the Woodsville area opposite Bidadari, about 3 km from my house in Toa Payoh. It has been my dream to see it in Toa Payoh itself. Within seconds of hearing its call, the unmistakable black-and-white beauty landed on the roof just opposite my flat (I live on the 12th and highest floor). I rushed for my DSLR.

My visitor turned out to be an adult female, which I suspect is of the convexus subspecies. My photos show it perched on the roof (uncropped), and a close-up shot in bad light. Unfortunately, her (tell-tale) tail is obscured. Within three minutes of perching, she flew right across my view, in the direction of MacRitchie Reservoir (1.5 km away as the crow flies), to land on the roof of another block about 30 m from me (20 m from the SPH News Centre), where another OP Hornbill awaited her! Two hornbills for Christmas…I should re-write that song!

OP Hornbill on the roof of a TP flat.

My *#@&% camera refused to focus then, and by the time it did, she was alone as her mate (presumably) had already vamoosed. The good thing is that my sister who is temporarily staying with me, also got to see it as her lifer, from my bedroom window, fancy that!

My anticipated visitor, a female OP Hornbill, cropped shot. Taken on the Canon 100-400mm , handheld.

I have been monitoring the birdlife in TP estate for nearly four years now, and my backyard bird list has around 40 species, including uncommon birds like the Spotted Wood Owl, Hill Myna (a pair with spilt wattles regularly shows up, even in the rain), and the torquatus race of the Oriental Honey Buzzard. The Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot regularly zips past, and just the other day, I spotted the Blue-tailed Bee-eater sallying outside my windows.

Recently, somebody reported the Lineated Barbet at the fragmented secondary forest in TP West. This particular patch is very productive and if I have the time, I would monitor it more closely. Forest birds like the Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo and Hill Myna are regularly seen here. I believe that its proximity to MacRitchie Reservoir (less than 1 km away, separated by several roads) makes it an ideal spill-over refuge.

Central Java: Borobudur, Birds & Bats

2009-09-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

5 to 12 July 2009

Tim and I gallivanted around Central Java in a one week spree, taking in the key sights of Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogja or spelt Yogya in short), Prambanan, Borobudur and Dieng Plateau. Central Java is characterised by a number of perfect volcanic cones such as Mt. Sindoro, seen here from Dieng Plateau, a highland hideaway three hours by car from the regional capital of Yogya. In Wonosobo, the town nearest Dieng Plateau, there are at least four volcanoes nearby: Mt Sumbing (3,371m), Mt Sindoro (3,162 m), Mt Bisma (2,365 m ) and Mt Ragajembangan (2,177m). Arguably, Indonesia's most famous and most active volcano is Mt. Merapi (2,911m) which has erupted regularly since 1548. Merapi's majestic cone looms large as one travels around Yogya as it is just 30km to the north of the city.

We stayed three nights at the cosy Ministry of Coffee, a boutique hotel that sits in the middle of tourist-friendly Jalan Prawirotaman in Yogya. The hotel's ground level is a quaint coffee-and-cake place, serving up chocolatey delights like 'Death by Chocolate', which was only average by my standards (after being pamperted by Fullerton Hotel's Valrhona chocolate buffet, nothing comes close). On the second level is a simple library that is a favorite hang-out of laptop-toting tourists and locals alike, who stay for hours surfing the net with the hotel's free Wi-fi. Rooms, located at the back, came with smallish balconies and colour-matched bedsheets and walls, but were a tad tiny.

We breakfasted on the roof of the hotel while looking out for Scarlet-headed Flowerpeckers (endemic to Indonesia) visiting the tree on the opposite side of the street.

I was thrilled to find this Common Sun Skink (Mabuya multifasciata) lurking in our hotel's garden. It looks different from the ones in Singapore though, with its yellowish throat/flank (whereas those in Sinagpore are mostly reddish or olive brown), but our good friend Dr Leong Tzi Ming IDed it as such.

Pasar Ngasem is the city's Bird Market located to the north of Taman Sari (Water Palace). This market is a hub for the region's legally or illegally caught wild birds (some are claimed to be bred). We spotted many juvenile specimens that we suspect have been poached from their nests. (In the later part of the trip at Dieng Plateau, we came across a man who showed us such a nest with two chirping baby Long-tailed Shrikes in it.) However, as we visited the market near closing time, we didn't see all that much as some shops were already shut by 430pm. Came across this man feeding live worms, individually skewered at the end of a long wire, to various birds (including the Yellow-vented Bulbul) held in cages. The live worms are obviously a tasty protein supplement to the dried food that these birds typically feed on. Birds seen/sold here include the Coppersmith Barbet, Orange-headed Thrush, Javan Kingfisher, sunbirds, some unidentified endemic thrushes (rare), white-eyes, woodpeckers, parrots, junglefowl, and even plain jobs like bulbuls and mynas. Deserving special mention is the Common/Rock Pigeon (Columba Livia), which seems to be a local favourite as we came across many households with wooden pigeon houses built up high, sporting the cream-brown and iridescent-black breeds. Also on sale in crowded cages was the polka-dotted Tokay Gecko, apparently kept as pets or double yuks, eaten as food.

Ants tending to their whitish larvae, bred and sold as bird feed.

We were approached by a Batik tout, a pleasant 50-year old local who spoke passable English and guided us around the Bird Market, filling us in on the various curosities encountered. He next brought us up a flight of steps at the back of the market to the ruins of the Water Palace (Taman Sari). Here, we were treated to a splendid view of the city, showing clearly its low-rise and neatly laid-out nature. Locals also gravitate here for romantic picnics or just to hang out with chatty family and friends.

Our impromptu guide-cum-batik-tout then led us down a long passageway towards the Water Palace proper. After a series of confusing turns and twists down side streets, where we saw regular concrete houses abutting these ancient structures, we were shown a bird's eye view of the Sultan's abandoned bathing pools that once served as a pleasure centre for the noble class (photo above). Even though the main gates to the attraction were already closed, our guide simply led us around the back, and we got to see the formal palace square being transformed into a village playground with kids enjoying soccer and volleyball. And yes, we did enter a batik shop where I bought a kerchief-size print of a farmer and his dog walking on a dyke, cast in a sunset silhouette. Lonely Planet has maligned such Batik touts. In contrast, we felt that ours had shown us a side of Yogya that we would not have discovered on our own. We tipped him generously as a sign of our gratitude.

Wayang Kulit or Shadow Puppet. Over here, I photographed the puppets on the obverse side (in full colour) as they were being manipulated with great finesse by the puppet master (dhalang) who was practically a brilliant one-man-show, animatedly acting the various roles with nuanced changes to the tone of his voice. On the right of the photo is the Hindu Tree of' Life, propped up on a banana log that stretches the entire length of the cloth screen.

According to this link, http://www.sfu.ca/~gamelan/resources/fpa289/dalang289.pdf
usually, before the play the dhalang meditates before the Tree of Life. This tree/mountain (kayon/ gunungan) puppet is a link between himself and the gods, between the Upper and the Underworlds, and symbolizes the universe. The kayon starts both shadow and rod puppet plays. It brings the puppets to life. Later in the play, it is placed back in the center to mark a change of scene, or fluttered to represent a strong natural force like a wind. At the end, it marks the finish of the play.

On the side where the audience is usually seated, the same puppets appear as mysterious back-lighted shadows of their colourful self, while the puppet master is cleverly hidden as his silhouette is too far away from the white-cloth screen to be clearly captured. This excellent Wayang Kulit performance was on the grounds of the famed Sonobudoyo Museum, accompanied by a huge gamelan orchestra. As audiences, we were allowed to move around to take photos. In truth, I preferred watching the colourful side than the shadow play (there were chairs on both sides). The museum also has a Wayang Kulit making demonstration where we saw how these puppets were carved out of cow's leather (kulit = processed cow hide) with a sharp knife, and painted lovingly with a fine brush.

Kota Gede's fine silver filigree of a common form of street transport - the trishaw (becak) which we often sat in to get around Yogya.

Prambanan temple, located 17km east of Yogya, is a must-see tribute to Central Java's Hindu past, before her people's mass conversion to Islam. Sadly, this Shivaist Temple was damaged by the Bantul/Yogyakarta Quake (magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale) which hit on 27 May 2006. When we were there, restoration was still taking place, with barricades preventing us from entering the main temple edifice. However, we were allowed into the smaller surrounding temples. This is a snap of Prambanan seen from across the river.

Close up views of Prambanan Temple.

As with Borobudur, the Prambanan Temple Complex is rather massive, with extensive trees and grass patches interspersing the various temple clusters. While walking around, we spied several of these purplish crabs living in the drains that bisected the grounds. We also got to see the Coppersmith Barbet, a sub-adult and adult pair, which looked startlingly different from the ones found in Singapore. The amount of deep red on its face was spectacular.

As part of the Prambanan day-tour package that we were on, we were dropped off near the river that ran just behind the Prambanan Ballet theatre restaurant that served an expensive buffet. Giving the buffet a miss, we spent more than half an hour on the raised embankments looking at wildlife, including the Javan Kingfisher captured here with my 12x zoom lens (Indonesian endemic - lifer for Tim) that I spotted fishing from a banana stump. We also saw birds like the Grey-capped Woodpecker and Olive-backed Tailorbird. As a side note, our tour brought us up to Bokso (a hill), a supposedly good place to see the sunset, but we (including the French couple with us) were shocked at the Rp75,000 per pax rates for viewing spots. We asked to be driven back to Prambanan. Had we stayed to admire the pricey sunset, we would have missed this spot of wildlife watching. For dinner, we walked out to the main road where we found a warung serving Tim's favourite Mie Bakso (meatball noodles).

While following an energetic Olive-backed Tailorbird around with my bins at the Prambanan river, I suddenly spotted this beautiful but well-camouflaged lizard in the background. IDed as the Bronchocela jubata (Green Crested Lizard - Indonesia), not to be confused with Bronchocela cristatella (Green Crested Lizard - Southeast Asia) by Ming - a lifer! The light was rapidly failing, so this is my best shot with the 12x zoom.

Two more animal species spotted that night - one huge Four-lined Treefrog (found also in Singapore) at the mini water feature just outside the ballet grounds, and several unidentified insectivorous and fruit bats zipping through the air.

The Prambanan Ballet was held in an outdoor theatre to captitalise on the cool night air during the dry season. The prominent outline of the ethereally-lighted Prambanan temples served as the theatre's backdrop. The ballet was fairly interesteing, a kaleidoscope of changing scenes as various lavishly-costumed actors performed the first act of the Ramayana. I especially liked the cavorting monkey troops played by boys in macaque guise complete with dangling tails. Hanuman himself paled in comparison. Here, the key actors pose with the audience at the end of the performance.

The ancient monument of Borobudur has always ranked amongst one of my must-see places in Asia, and rightfully so, as it is Indonesia’s top destination, even surpassing Bali in terms of tourist arrivals. After witnessing the intricate beauty of Angkor’s Hindu bas reliefs, I craved for more stone carvings in this Mahayana Buddhist equivalent located 42 km northwest of Yogyakarta. In fact, Borobudur was the main reason for us visiting Central Java.

Being Christian and in a great hurry to see everything in the two miserable hours given by our day tour (a move we regretted, we should have stayed at least half a day), we headed straight for the top of the monument, puffing and heaving ourselves up the steep stairway. Thankfully, there were relatively few people in the early morning hours just after sunrise, and we enjoyed our packed breakfast of quiche, cut fruits, yoghurt and a somewhat cooled and half-spilt coffee as we feasted our eyes at the symmetrical volcanoes of Mount Merapi and Mount Sindoro set amidst a serene backdrop of rolling hills. Tantalising bird calls were everywhere, confirming what Ding Li had said about Borobudur’s gardens being a good place to look for birds. Unfortunately, we barely had time to see the main carvings, much less the avian life.

Directly surrounding us were 72 seated Buddhas, mostly enshrined in perforated stupas, made famous by their frequent use in Indonesian tourist promotional materials. Some of these stupas have been artfully exposed, and we gravitated towards one which revealed good views of the sage’s lotus posture and beatific smile. Tim suddenly realised that he had lost his spectacles again. We had to retrace our steps, and were very grateful to locate it on one of the lower balustrades where we had paused to catch our breath. This pair of cheap eyepiece which we had purchased in Yogya to replace his regular specs that somehow got lost, was to be the butt of our jokes as its fragile frame continued to break up into ever smaller pieces as the trip progressed. At the end of the tour, all that was left was the lenses with two short protuberances on each side, with just enough finger space for Tim to hold on to it as he read his many novels. Obviously, someone must have sat heavily on it, causing many hidden fracture lines that materialised as the days bored on.

Pre-dating Angkor by some 300 years, Borobudur was built between AD 770 and AD 830 and is a splendid architectural accomplishment comprising three circular platforms sitting atop six square platforms featuring some 2672 bas reliefs and 504 statues of Buddha. Buddhist practitioners typically make their pilgrimage beginning at the base of the monument’s East gate, proceeding upwards in an anti-clockwise direction. The various levels and the numerous relief panels along the way represent the transition from the world of desire to the final peak of nirvana.

Spotted bees flying in and out of a hole in one of the massive building blocks at Borobudur. Notice that the sting is on the bee's head and not at the rear of its abdomen.

Tim was happy to find two Common Sun Skinks, this time in reddish colouration, basking at two separate locations in Borobudur.

Dieng Plateau is a hidden gem only revealed in the pages of Lonely Planet if you are specifically looking for a nature sojourn close to Yogya, specifically 142km from Yogya and 100 km from Borobudur. This entails a journey of 3 hours by private car or 6 hours by public bus. We opted to get there on a day-tour package combining Borobudur with Dieng. Such trips do not do justice to either Borobudur or Dieng as tours start and end on the same day with more time spent travelling than actual sightseeing. For us, we opted to stay for a full 4D/3N up on the 2093m plateau. Glenda had advised us to stay in Wonosobo (the nearest ‘big’ town) which has nicer hotels and more civilised facilities. We decided against this option as we wanted to be closer to nature, exploring both its day and night life, that is, searching for both diurnal and nocturnal animals.

As the oldest Hindu temples in Central Java and its first known standing stone structures, the Arjuna Temple Complex (dedicated to Shiva) is one of the cultural highlights of Dieng Plateau, comprising eight small and simple shrines built in the 7th and 8th centuries. Archaeologists think that the Arjuna complex originally numbered more than 400 temples (a temple city of priests) but tragically only a handful remain today. For us, its scenic mountaineous setting made the whole visit that much more beautiful. Appropriately, the word Dieng is a condensation of the Sanskrit "Di Hyang" meaning "Abode of the Gods".

The Arjuna temples have very narrow entrances that admit only slim folks, else one has to squeeze one's tummy in to enter crab-like from sideways. Even though we were in Muslim territory, we still found evidence of burnt green joss-stick, paper, food and flower offerings inside most of these shrines, suggesting an amalgation of beliefs.

While photographing this yellow bloom, an iridescent insect (a fly?) fortuitously landed to harvest its nectar and pollen.

Candi Bima, is unique in Java with its numerous sculpted Shiva heads (kudu) peeping out from beneath arches lined with lotus petals (1st row). In the 2nd row are kalasa pots symbolizing abundance. These carvings decorate its entire roof. To me, Candi Bima was the most memorable of the Arjuna temples. According to http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/indonesia/dieng/cb01.html, these carvings originate from South India, with examples being the Pancha Rathas in Mamallapuram and Galaganatha in Pattadakal.

Shiva’s carrier, Nandi the Bull is seen here as a bull-man, a unique representation in Hindu iconography found nowhere else. Displayed in the tiny Kailasa Museum at Dieng Plateau, next to Candi Gatutkaca.

We entered the last Arjuna temple Candi Gatutkaca, located just next to the tiny museum, at close to nightfall. Luckily, we had our torches with us, and Tim immediately discovered this tiny black bat clinging from the highest, darkest corner of its tapering high roof. We fiddled around for a good twenty minutes, getting out our 100-400mm lens, fixing on the big flash, adjusting its manual focus, beaming our combined torches, and firing off a series of test shots before we emerged with some reasonable photos and beaming smiles.

We tried to locate the frog calls heard from the field ditch, but failed even after an extensive search. We got lazy on all nights, and did not climb the hill behind our hotel to the stream we had discovered, or slip into the fenced Telaga Warna, to look for frogs. We heard from the losmen staff that deer and wildboar sightings are possible up on the hill at night. By virtue of our own sloth, sadly, the only nightlife we got was this batty encounter.

The fetching turquoise waters of Telaga (Lake) Warna is caused by its high sulphur content, which unfortunately had a lingering smell of rotten eggs due to the presence of hydrogen sulphide (H2S). At certain spots, the lakes were even bubbling and steaming. This phenomenon occurs because Dieng Plateau is a complex volcano / huge collapsed caldera. A complex volcano is an extensive assemblage of spatially and temporally related major and minor volcanic centers with associated lava flows and pyroclastic rocks. We visited Telaga Warna three times in all, each time discovering more and more new things about this superb waterbody. On our second trip, I was lucky to see the Javan Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) twice, crossing the path (presumably it had emerged from the lake) and scampering along the sides of the strip of trees abutting the main road. It disappeared into a hole. Five minutes later it popped out of the hole and ran off in the opposite direction. Even though we staked it out again, Tim didn't manage views. Also saw a rat nibbling at rubbish but couldn't get good views as it was highly obstructed. Has Rattus norvegicus invaded?

Telaga Warna's mirror lake just next to it, Telaga Pengilon (not coloured but clear), supports a healthy population of Pacific Black Ducks and other waterbirds like the Common Coot, Little Grebe and White-breasted Waterhen. In the soft evening light, the ripples on the surface of this lake was most enchanting.

We observed Pacific Black Ducks flying, fishing, swimming and preening at the marshy water edges and isolated islands in the middle of Telaga Pengilon. Telaga Warna itself also has this bird in smaller numbers.

From Telaga Pengilon, Dieng Plateau appeared in the gentle sundown light as a sequence of tranquil ridges clothed in swirling mist.

A Shield Bug clambers about an ornamental plant lining Telaga Warna.

A Javan Tree Shrew (Tupaia javanica) at Telaga Warna shot by me using manual focus at 400mm handheld, as it ran from branch to branch feasting on the tree's leguminous offerings. Note that its tail is slightly longer than its body. Tree Shrews have one of the highest brain to body ratios in the world, higher than that of humans, and is even thought to be the ancestors of all primates!

The same Javan Tree Shrew shot by Tim using manual focus at 400mm handheld, as it made a leap from one branch to another. Note the yellow banding above its reddish nose!

Rows of potato plants, the commonest crop grown here in the highlands. Notice the plastic strip covering the soil perforated with regular holes for the plants to grow through. Apparently this prevents weeds from flourishing and saves the farmer the hassle of weeding. These huge plastic strips are disposed off after each growing season. Other profitable foreign crops in Dieng include (*surprise surprise*) the wasabi (horse radish eaten with sushi) planted by Japanese investors, and Mexican habanero peppers - both of which we saw.

Dieng Plateau sports an average altitude of 2100m asl, supporting a clime that makes it suitable for growing temperate vegetables or essentially what cannot be grown in the tropical lowlands. The humble Peruvian root, the potato, is the main crop here. Of course we had to sample it sliced and fried, and our verdict was ‘Wow!’ Even the German family at the next table dining in the tiny restaurant of the Losmen Bu Djono (our hotel) was impressed, with their daughter content on eating fries doused in ketchup as her main course.

Fried in piping hot oil, the initial bite of a big wedge was through a pleasantly crisp skin, yielding to a moist and tasty mash inside. For me, its crisp and firm texture, combined with its yummy natural flavours due in part to it being grown in rich volcanic soils, was enough to render it ‘so good that you can even eat it on its own’, sans chilli or ketchup. We also tried the boiled version but we had to give this the thumbs down as most of the taste was lost in the boiling, while the condiments used did not make up for the missing flavours.

The potato as a cash crop is relatively rare in Indonesia compared to rice, given that the bulk of the country is mostly low lying and hence too hot to grow the tuber. Tim heard from the locals that Dieng’s potatoes taste better than imported varieties and hence command a premium in its main sales market of Jarkarta.This has enriched Dieng’s farmers greatly. Instead of living in thatch-and-wooden homes that have to be rebuilt every few years, most farmers here reside in clusters of concrete houses with attendant electricity (hence TVs and other electronics are commonplace), served by shops and other amenities. They go to their fields to work by day, returning to their brick-and-motar villages by nightfall.

As a symbol of their wealth, each tiny village has its resident mosque, and there appears to be an inter-village rivalry to see who can build the nicest mosque. We came across many places of worship with fairly outstanding architecture (given the usual drabness of the surrounding houses), incorporating elements like Middle Eastern-nesque Islamic calligraphy as well as artfully constructed and fancifully painted onion domes that made pretty postcards photos. In contrast, the mosques characterizing the lowland villages we passed on the way up to Dieng simply sported mass-produced metallic domes that spun in the sun, post-structurally fixed onto plain buildings that had been painted a pious green-and-white.

In Dieng, we were constantly reminded that we were surrounded by mosques as each had its own muezzin call to prayer (adhan). From our hotel room, we could hear at least three different voices blasting from atop three mosques within a hearing radius of 6 to 8 km. The most patently obvious call was the one that woke us up at 5.15am every morning. Much as it is sometimes irksome, especially if one wants to sleep in, we had no problems with it as birders (= early risers), and we actually found the adhan to be soulful and soothing. As the world’s largest Muslim country, it is inevitable that we get to hear the muezzin call five times a day while holidaying in Indonesia. To us, hearing it again this trip serves as a poignant reminder of our earlier tours in this diverse archipelago.

The Javan Cabbage is quite different from the white Beijing cabbage we normally eat. The leaves are mostly green with some white and are stir-fried until scrumptiously soft. However, it was not on the regular menu, we had to specially ask for it, and this request took three days to fulfill!

A closeup view of Mt Sindoro or Mt Sumbing (not sure which), seen from the hilllock behind our hotel in Dieng Plateau.

Mock strawberry, Potentilla indica (formerly Duchesnea indica), is also known as the Indian strawberry. Although the foliage and fruit are similar to the true strawberry, it does not share the same genus Fragaria. The Mock Strawberry has yellow flowers, while that of the real McCoy is white or slightly pink. It is native to eastern and southern Asia, but has been introduced to other parts of the world as an ornamental plant. The fruit has red seeds, and while juicy and edible are not sweet like the true strawberries. We found this low bush on its own growing admist tall grass, just off the main trail in the Dieng hills. Thinking that we had stumbled upon wild strawberries, we ate the fruit and was surpised to find its hollow, seed-filled core. However, taste wise, it was pretty similar, although a lot less fleshy.

Since Dieng is a hilly plateau, potatoes are grown on terraces or giant steps cut into the hillside to form a strip of land that is even and flat, following the natural contours of the slope. These terraces were literally everywhere, as far as our eyes could see, with every conceivable slope carved up to maximise crop output, even at the highest and steepest elevations. This man-made landform also made Dieng extremely scenic, especially when the mists rolled in, engulfing parts of the hillside in a wispy cloak of white. Potato fields are ringed with plants like Javan Cabbage, Maize and other leafy vegetables. A single row of these alternative crops line the entire edge of a terrace, just before the step-down to the next lower level. These plants are obviously meant to hold the soil together during rains, especially after a potato harvest in-between plantings / or in the fallow period.

Rising majestically between the potato terraces stands the perfect cone of Mt Sindoro, an active stratovolcano.

The misty summit of the hilly trek behind our Losmen yielded our target bird the Javan Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus / Nisaetus bartelsi) - we had two close-up flypast views at eye level. Over here, we also ticked off the Mountain Tailorbird and a bee that kept buzzing around me while I stood stock still in fear. Not sure if it was attracted to the sunblock that I had liberally applied. Birding at Dieng is nothing short of dismal. I had a grand total of just two lifers: 1. Javan Hawk-Eagle and 2. Striated Grassbird, and this is my first time birding in Java! There were many overlaps though with my East Indonesian Birding trip (ie. Bali, Flores, West Timor and Sulawesi).

The transition from dusk to nightfall high up on the plateau is always magical and an experience to be savoured.

We had to pass by a small Muslim cemetery on the way up the hill behind our losmen. Contrast the bare mound of earth topped with two stumps (in the foreground) with the nicely-tiled similarly-shaped headstones in the background. I'm not sure if the bare construction is a work-in-progress or a poor man's version of a headstone. We even saw fresh flower petals ceremoniously scattered along the length of one of these earthy mounds.

The basic but friendly Losmen Bu Djono (hotel) was our base for three nights (Rp100,000 per night, twin share). It came with ensuite bathroom, firm mattresses, thick blankets and hot water. The food at its restaurant was generally of high standards and we enjoyed all our meals there. Dishes we liked include Mie Rebus (delicious clear soup noodle with lots of veges and chicken - different from Singapore's starchy version), Banana Pancake (a huge banana cake, not in the least flat), Mie Goreng (fried noodles with lots of ingredients), Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Ayam Bakar (grilled chicken) and Ayam Goreng (fried chicken). The ginger tea came with bits of floating ginger.

Map of the key sights in Dieng Plateau on the walls of our losmen.

We paid Rp100,000 each for a half-day ojek (motorcycle) tour of Dieng's lesser-known but equally-stunning attractions. Here, we enjoyed one of the prettiest sunrises I've been privy to witness, near Sembungan, Central Java's highest village at 2,100m. The vista comprised a vast sea of clouds broken by islands of isolated volcanic peaks. We arrived at the coveted viewing rock after a heaving 10 min trek and 20min climb.

As the sun rose in slow succession, colours took on the richest hues, with the skies turning a light fushcia pink while casting the volcanic hulk in a shade of deep meditative blue.

As the earth warmed up, the sea of clouds parted to reveal stunted montane vegetation clothing the upper slopes, potato terraces carved out of the middle reaches, and villages way down in the valleys below.

Kawah (Crater) Sileri is a volcanic waterbody that is so hot that there is a constant emission of steam from the lake surface at the contact areas between the hot conventional water currents and cool mountain air. Despite the danger of this caldera boiling over, potato farming takes place right up to the water edge. Dieng has a number of such waterbodies, the most famous of which is Kawah Sikidang (all tourists visit this as part of the main tour).

Tim on his ojek (motorcycle taxi). We were rather unprepared for the cold weather (day temperature 18-23 degrees celsius, night temperature 10-15 degrees celsius), but thankfully, just opposite our losmen was a shop selling cheap warm clothing where we bought beanies, gloves and scarves that were pretty decent.

A juvenile Long-tailed Shrike. Our ojeks happened to stop for fuel, and I crossed the road to look closely at this caged bird. The old man peddling it immediately showed me a nest with two cheeping newborns of the same Shrike species that he had obviously plucked from the wild (this nest was placed in a closed basket). I scarcely think that captive-bred birds build nests. In Dieng, the Long-tailed Shrike is one of the most common birds encountered, together with the Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Striated Grassbird and Sooty-headed Bulbul. Other than these, we hardly saw any other types of birds around. Perhaps all the other bird species have been poached to extirpation, or perhaps there is altitudinal migration during the Austral winter, resulting in an absence of other bird types? There were not many raptors around either - we only saw two species the entire time we were there - one Javan Hawk-eagle and one Black Eagle.

Kawah (Crater) Candradimuka was a rather alarming sight with water that was boiling furiously, leaping as high as 1.2m into the air (take a close look at my photo). Indonesia seems to trust in its people's common sense as there were no safety barriers at all. The air was so full of sulphur that we had to approach the crater with masked faces.

The Hot Spring was the last stop for our half-day tour of Dieng's off-the-beaten-path destinations (incl. Dringo Lake and Jalantunda Put (cenote)). Here, we encountered a party of eight little boys who stripped down butt naked before our eyes and frolicked merrily in the hot mineral waters. Throughout this enjoyable half-day excursion, we didn't see any other tourists, which was a great pity as these places are well worth a visit.

As I approached the hot spring (which flowed outwards as a hot river), I was so distracted by the scenery that I didn't notice that I was crossing a very narrow bridge. Next thing I knew, I had fallen into a muddy ditch (at least 2m deep), landing squarely on my bums, legs in the air. Thank God that my backpack had protected my spinal cord. I sat in a state of shock for at least 15 seconds, quite unable to speak, which worried Tim to death. Then I tried to get up, and was grateful that aside from being winded and muddied, I had not twisted / broken anything. I experienced only a little pain, but there was a huge strain on my muscles, especially those of my stomach. I had to be hauled up by strong arms. My guide apologised profusely for not forewarning me. Later, I examined this 'bridge' and realised that at first glance, the tall grass on either sides of the ditch appeared to be part of the solid ground, and I had placed my left foot on this illusion, not realising that there was only air underneath.

Ironically, Tim also fell into a ditch the day before. While trying to take a photo of him with a volcano as a backdrop (up on the hills), I asked him to 'move to the left'. He did so without looking and suddenly disappeared from view, accompanied by a loud yell. Thank God that he too was unhurt, except for a gash on his finger caused by the ripping action of a thorny mimosa. While trying to haul him up, I felt myself being pulled over by his weight and had to let him go, which resulted in him grabbing wildly at the mimosa to break his second fall! In the end, he had to place his jacket over the thorny ground to hoist himself up.

We strolled through the little village just next to our losmen (hotel) and was charmed by this street vendor who carried his entire store on his shoulders comprising on his right, a little wok full of sizzling hot oil and on his left, various bite-sized food strung together in satay sticks, waiting to be fried. Stopping to buy his offerings was this little girl on her bike. I was amused when she placed her just-fried stick of fish cake (sans plastic bag) straight into the basket of her bike. Our attitude towards cleanliness is clearly miles apart. Unfortunately, the fried fare tasted plasticy to us.

Tim's favourite Mie Bakso (Meatball Noodles) with ketupat (rice cakes) suspended at the top. This is also a carry-on-your-shoulder's mobile store.

As there were no private (tour) cars or buses on the day we were due to return from Dieng, we had to endure the 6-hour public bus back to Yogya. This was an extremely smokey affair, which even became dangerous as Tim is severely allergic to cigarette fumes. He had to breathe through a wet cloth which acted as a filter, plus sit next to the open window. By the time we got back, his asthma had set in, and the poor boy was positively wheezing and very weak. That night, we tried eating at the famous Via Via restaurant right next to our hotel (Grand Hotel Rosela), but had to convert it to a take-away meal when we couldn't escape the whiff of more ciagarette smoke. People here are allowed to smoke indoors. The bus ride itself was interesting for Tim (nothing new for me as that was my main mode of tranport while birding East Indonesia), as locals brought up all kinds of things with them, including a closed woven basket that emitted cheeping sounds.

Back in Yogya, we visited the excellent Sonobudoyo Museum on our last day. This curious bird-woman (or buddha?) statuette caught my eye, as did many other artefacts. Spent many hours photographing the exhibits.

Wayang Angmo - the Belanda (Dutch) influence is clear.

Wayang Kancil - mousedeer with hunter?

Empek-Empek Kamto in Jalan Beskalan, a side road off Yogya's main street Jalan Malioboro. This fried fish cake eatery was recommended by a Straits Time article. We managed to hunt it down with some difficulty, eating at the quieter arm of this fast food chain (two outlets in the same lane). Tried several varieties of fish cake paired with various food - this particular dish had a boiled and fried egg incorporated. Tasty especially when dipped in its in-house sauce, but not that worth the meandering find.

Teh Botol or bottled tea was everywhere and was our favourite drink as it was refreshing and not overly sweet.

Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker. Photographed this with my 12x zoom at fairly close range, on a side lane off busy Jalan Malioboro. Bird was preening itself for a good ten minutes.

We went for the Horse Carriage exhibition (part of the Sultan's Palace Kraton collection). This was the Sultan's grandest carriage by far. Another cart proved interesting as it had an Indian godhead leading the fore, and not surprisingly, flower petal offerings were placed at its feet.

The clappity-clap of horses' hoofs can be heard all over town, and we felt compelled to take the rather expensive ride in this andong (horse-drawn carriage), from Jalan Malioboro back to our hotel.

Bird List for Central Java (highly pathetic, only 2 lifers for me)

5 to 12 July 2009

Observers: Gloria Seow and Timothy Pwee

Cut and pasted from my excel file, with sequence as follows:
No.
Common Name
Scientific Name
Location / Remarks

1
Purple Heron
Ardea purpurea
Prambanan
2
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Prambanan
3
Javan Pond Heron
Ardeola speciosa
Prambanan
4
Pacific Black Duck
Anas superciliosa
Dieng - Telaga Warna/Pengilon Relatively big colonies. At least 30 birds present.
5
Black Eagle
Ictinaetus malayensis
Dieng - while riding on ojek
6
Javan Hawk-Eagle (L1)
Spizaetus bartelsi
Dieng - lifer
7
White-breasted Waterhen
Amaurornis phoenicurus
Dieng - Telaga Pengilon. Only saw one or two birds
8
Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
Dieng - Telaga Warna/Pengilon. Smaller numbers than PB Duck.Spotted a confusing juvenile.
9
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollis
Bingwen helped me sort out my photos to ID it as such, and not the Australian Grebe. Both Grebes are rare in Indonesia. Saw at least three birds at any one time.
10
Rock Pigeon
Columba livia
Yogya and Dieng - very common and kept as pets.
11
Swiftlet species
Collocalia spp
Yogya - circling the skies
12
Coppersmith Barbet
Megalaima haemacephala rosea
Prambanan field - Red on face very startling and different from the delica subspecies. Saw parents with juvenile.
13
Grey-capped Woodpecker
Dendrocopus canicapillus
Prambanan River - Again, this looks different fr the Singapore variety.
14
Pacific Swallow
Hirundo tahitica
Prambanan
15
Sooty-headed Bulbul
Pycnonotus aurigaster
Yogya and Dieng - common, seen in gardens
16
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Pycnonotus goiavier
Yogya - common
17
Striated Grassbird (L2)
Megalurus palustris
Dieng - common
18
Olive-backed Tailorbird
Orthotomus sepium
Prambanan River - active. It helped me locate the Indonesian Green Crested Lizard.
19
White-breasted Wood-Swallow
Artamus leucorhynchus
Prambanan Ballet - outside, near dusk
20
Long-tailed Shrike
Lanius schach bentet
Common in Dieng
21
Olive-backed Sunbird
Nectarinia jugularis
Common in Yogya
22
Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker
Dicaeum trochileum
Photograped in the city of Yogya.
23
Mountain White-eye
Zosterops montanus
Dieng summit - three birds high up. Photographs.
24
Scaly-breasted Munia
Lonchura punctulata
Prambanan
25
White-headed Munia
Lonchura maja
Yogya - at hotel
26
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Passer montanus
Dead common in Dieng and Yogya

Rare Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo at Tuas, Singapore

2009-06-24T00:58:00.001-07:00

Tim and I were blessed to spend nearly half an hour observing and photographing a beautiful and confiding Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo, Singapore’s only austral migrant and a rare one at that. In fact, it is considered a vagrant (ie. a bird that strays off its typical migration course because of strong winds, which in this case, has blown it beyond the Indonesian islands towards Singapore). Typically, during the austral winter (ie. May, June, July and August), the Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo migrates from Australia to Indonesia. We found it on 14 June 2009 at Tuas Grassland which is located at the western end of Singapore.

Note the clear patch on the belly (broken horizontal lines) of this cuckoo, one of its key identifying features.

We had spent the morning fruitlessly waiting with Jimmy Chew for another target bird to appear, and were about to leave at 11.15am when this cute cuckoo dropped in at our stake-out – a cluster of acacias in the middle of an uneven grassy field. Here, it hunted for caterpillars at close range, never more than 6m from us. At times, it came as close as 2m, always staying near or on the ground, giving us an unparalleled opportunity for some easy camera action with the Canon 100-400mm lens. When it did fly up to a tree to feed, it was never more than 2.5m above our heads (since the tree was not a tall one anyway).

It appeared to prey exclusively on caterpillars and nothing else, catching about 4 to 5 of these juicy larvae in the 25 minutes we spent admiring it. This cuckoo seems to prefer caterpillars as Ashley Ng told me that in the few times that he has observed it, it was also seeking after butterfly wrigglies. Unfortunately, Jimmy had left just 5 minutes earlier. Had I known then that this was a mega rarity, I would have called him back. However, I had misidentified it as a Little Bronze Cuckoo (without checking the guidebooks alas, even after I got home).

The hunting technique of the Horsfield’s is similar to that of other birds, whereby it would angle its head to gaze upwards at the undersides of leaves where caterpillars usually hide, wearing a somewhat quizzical expression and looking most adorable. Upon spotting its prey, it would use its beak to stab-grab the caterpillar, flinging the squirming mass vigorously from side to side to kill it. Then it would swallow its meal whole.

Thankfully Bingwen (aka Albert Low) caught my misidentification after looking at my photos which I had posted on Facebook. Even then, I still confused the Horsfield’s with the Hodgson’s Hawk Cuckoo (seen last December at Bidadari), as both names begin with ‘H’.

So Tim and I had got ourselves a lifer! I then googled around for information and found out just how rare this bird is. According to Lim Kim Seng’s excellent article “Notes on the Identification, Status and Distribution of Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo Chrysococcyx basalis in Singapore” published in Singapore Avifauna at http://wildbirdsingapore.nss.org.sg/SINAV_Vol_22_No_7_Jul_08%20.pdf, there are only 10 or so accepted sighting records for Singapore at just 7 locations:

Northwest – Kranji Coast
Northeast – Unnamed location
West – Choa Chu Kang Cemetery
South – Marina City Park
South – Marina East
South – Sentosa Island
East – Changi Beach Park

Funny enough, Ashley claims that this bird is ‘common’ during the austral winter, sometimes seen feeding with Little Bronze Cuckoos, but the official records say otherwise. As it stands, it appears that our sighting is the 11th one, and in a new location too. In line with the other sightings which were all less than 1km from the sea, I checked the maps and confirmed that our cuckoo was similarly found less than 1km from the sea, just a stone’s throw from Raffles Marina.

Kim Seng’s article mentioned that most Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoos appear to be on passage with the longest stay at any location being 7 days. He conceded that it is likely that this cuckoo has been overlooked as evidenced by an apparent influx of four different birds between June and July 2008.

Olive-backed Sunbird Nesting

2009-04-27T04:19:00.000-07:00

This is the nesting season. Once the migrants leave (ie by late March), our local birds go into high gear courting each other, gathering nesting material and having their babies - I seem to see that everywhere - from mynas, to doves, to hornbills and now the Olive-backed Sunbird. Birds in Singapore tend to nest at this time as there is less competition for food from migratory birds, and thus more grub to feed a new brood of twittering, hungry, naked (yeah, they are featherless and blind when born) chicks.

I was pleased to locate the nest of an Olive-backed Sunbird right where I live. Found this brown droplet-of-a-nest at a tree in my carpark on Saturday 25 April 2009, while photographing backyard birds from my window. Its pretty far away - about 30m. I've been monitoring it assiduously in between reading Angels and Demons. This is the female bird - it flew to and fro sporadically from the nest to fetch food for its young. V difficult to photograph as intervals between its arrival can be very long or short, and when it arrives it goes straight into the nest without lingering outside. As such, it is visible from outside its nest for less than 2 seconds before flying off again. Super frustrating. Since I'm practicising my hand held shots, there is no tripod in use here. So aarghs, things are still pretty shaky.

There is no way to photograph any chicks because of my distance and angle of photograph, so its just mummy and very occassionally daddy. And no way to see what is being fed, sigh. Maybe I should set up my digiscope instead. Here, mummy is leaving the nest in a downward drop.

Oriental Pied Hornbill Nesting at Changi Village

2009-04-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

Am now going on to my next phase in birding - bird photography! I am still a birder at heart, and will binocular the bird first before photographing it. Still, I'm tired of taking crappy, noisy photos with my old Canon S5 IS 12x zoom prosumer, and would like to take beautiful, crisp, handheld photos, especially of birds seen during my travels.

So after much research and some advice from friends, I almost impulsively bought a Canon EOS 50D DSLR camera, a Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens, a Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash, and a not-so-good Manfrotto tripod (would want to upgrade to a proper, lightweight, sturdy Gitzo/Markins tripod soon) on 21 March 2009.

Have gone out on some shooting trips already, plus also photographed the birds seen at my bedroom window. Have also been reading wildlife photography books. Here are some of my better shots and some not-so-perfect-shots-but-it-captures-behaviour.

A male Oriental Pied Hornbill regurgitates a red cherry to feed his mate who is sealed inside the treehole of an Angsana tree in Changi Village. Too late to set up my tripod when the bird flew in, so this shot was handheld...results not too bad lah...but not that sharp yet. Taken at f5.6, 1/250 on 12 April 2009. Notice the drizzly weather.

The same Hornbill crouches to get closer to his beloved, who is literally imprisoned by love.

This photo was taken the week before on 4 April 2009, with my shaky tripod at 1/60 I think. Lena, Tim and I were drinking teh si and eating prata at the coffeeshop while getting up and down to take photos of these lovely birds. Over here, the male is bringing back what we think is mud to seal the female in. If not, it is probably helping to clear the goo that has accumulated in the nest hole.

We see the beak of the female here inside the treehole, also with the same mud/goo(?) mystery material, together with the male and his mud/goo(?) offering. Taken on 4 April 2009 on my lousy tripod. I hate this tripod, but must learn to overcome its severe shortcomings.

Fraser's Hill Christmas Birding

2009-01-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

Gloria Seow, Timothy Pwee and Dave Sargeant
26 to 30 December 2008

We headed for the misty mountains of Malaysia on Boxing Day in a two-car entourage comprising Vilma D'Rozario, Ng Bee Choo, six-year old Mark Strange, Celine Low, Gan Cheong Weei, Timothy Pwee and me. This is Vilma's and Celine's fifth trip to Fraser's Hill in 2008 to twitch for the Actias selene moth, as well as Tim's and my second trip for this year. During our last stay in April 2008, I was entertained by Fraser's night life of torrent and poison frogs, reed snakes, land crab, giant bat, amazing moth variety, a Dusky Draco, and a then-unknown Acanthosaurus tree lizard. For this trip, I was determined to see more of the hill station's rarer birds. Thankfully, Dave Sargeant, a world birder who has over 7,100 birds on his list, decided to come along, flying in from Chiang Mai to rendezvous with us at our lovely Buona Vista Bungalow. Our full bird list with remarks by myself can be found at the very end.

The three birders taking a breather at the New Road.

Even Yong Ding Li flew in with his friend Morgan to join us on our first morning at the High Pines Trail in a vain attempt to see the Mountain Peacock Pheasant. We were pleased however with good views of two desired birds later that same day: the Malaysian Hill Partridge (2 adults and 1 cute chick!) and a pair of Large Scimitar Babblers.

Under the influence of my good friend and orchid connoisseur Weng L Lim, whom I finally met up with in Singapore on Christmas eve after our initial meeting at this very hill station two years ago, I was on the look-out for orchids too, and I think I found one here. Also got a blurred shot of a pink epiphytic orchid as well as the common Spathoglottis and Arundina varieties.

This praying mantis was shot outside Dave's room at the Sri Peninjau Telekom Apartments. It was particularly eerie as the eyes of this chitinous predator bored down on me, following me from right to left as I walked around it to get a better photo. Somewhat spooked, I settled for a less-than-perfect shot. I recently watched a documentary on youtube showing one such praying mantis eating a mammal - a tiny mouse! Shocking eh?

This Katydid (I think) was more cooperative. Photographed it at dusk along the New Road - a huge fella measuring around 12-14cm.

Fraser's Hill is part of the Titiwangsa range, Peninsular Malaysia's montane backbone that harbours an excellent offering of colourful feathered wildlife.

Quaint bungalows near High Pines.

Birding along the New Road. We saw three pretty Scaly-breasted Bulbuls here, a lifer for me, and one of the birds on Morten Strange's hypothetical species list - ie a new bird for FH.

At this valley along the New Road, we were scanning for the desired White-crowned and Bushy-crested Hornbills when Dave spotted a Dusky Thrush perched on a fruiting (berry-like fruits) tree which can be seen at the bottom of this picture, slightly to the left. Its rufous wing and black-speckled flanks were very obvious. We only realised later that it was a New Bird for not only FH, but Malaysia itself. We have submitted the record to the Rare Bird Committee and are awaiting their decision.

A miniscule spider. Its white polka dots have an attractive pearly appearance.

Tim was amazed that sexually-matured winged ants were emerging from this nest in broad daylight, surrounded by sterile daughter ants. We found two of such ant holes, one along the New Road and one outside Brinchang Bungalow, both dotted with winged ants.

FH town center with its much-photographed clock tower.

Tim and his photographic antics, while Dave sits and scans the valleys outside Brinchang Bungalow for hornbills. Unfortunately, we saw nothing but Wreathed Hornbills - one such flock held 10 birds flying over the ridge at the New Road.

A pair of pretty Fuchsias, as IDed by Weng.

A huge moth (Lyssa spp.) on Celine's car, attracted by the moth lights put out by the mothing gang the night before. Gan says that this Lyssa moth is of the rarer type compared to the commoner Lyssa zampa.

I thought Dave was joking when he said that he could see Genting Highlands from the Telekom Loop, but it's true. The gaudy rainbow-streaked resort with its familiar logo was visible even in the morning mist, through the bins of course. At least we could ID some of the hills along the Titiwangsa range.

Our residence for five days - The Buona Vista Bungalow - hosted by the hopsitable Auntie Ah Lan and her son Ben. This house is owned by the Singapore-based Loke family of Cathay cinema fame.

Our room opened up into the gardens.

Celine kindly loaned us her car for several morning's worth of birding. Without it, we would not have seen half of what we did - thanks Celine!

The gardens brought indoors.

The upslope to Sri Peninjau Telekom Apartments where Dave stayed.

The extensive landscaping of Buona Vista ('Good View' in Spanish) Bungalow.

Why is Tim sticking his head into the rainwater drainage tub?

To photograph frogs! The tub is the breeding grounds for the Pied Wart Frog (Theloderma asperum). There were five of these black froggies when we checked on the last morning (we found no adults on other mornings) and plenty of tadpoles. Notice its pronounced hand and foot pads which offer the powerful suction necessary for clinging onto slippery surfaces and for climbing trees. Difficult to photograph as lighting was bad and the frogs kept swimming away.

According to http://herpweb.net/species/amphibians/rhacophoridae/th_asperum.html, this red-eyed frog is a tree bark mimic and tree hole breeder. They are usually found in water-filled tree holes, bamboo cuts, or manmade objects like metal pipes. They inhabit lowland to montane forests with a distribution spanning India, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos. Snout-Vent-Length: up to 35 mm.

Malaysian Tree-hole Frog (Metaphrynella pollicaris). We finally located this placid frog that had been calling for several nights just outside our room. In the day it hides in water-filled Bromeliads, at night we found it crouched on a leaf waiting for prey to show.

This is a small microhylid restricted to montane areas of Peninsular Malaysia up to around 2000 metres asl. According to http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/amphibians/treehole-frog.htm, it is more often heard than seen, forming part of the night time chorus, giving off 'peeps' and 'whoops'. Typically, males call from the inside of water-filled tree holes, favouring the interior of thick bamboo stems. They can adjust the pitch of their piping call to match the acoustic properties of their chosen hole to achieve a resonance that carries their call a long way. Thus, they can 'play' their tree hole like a woodwind instrument.

Another view of this cute 4cm frog. Notice the greenish tint on its warty skin, a case of algae attack or a true mantle colour? Frogs have notoriously varied coloration.

Dave in the gardens, waiting! We dropped him off at Johor Bungalow where another friend Annie had arranged a cab for him to take him to the airport hotel.

And why is Tim sitting in the middle of the muddy path?

Waiting too...for the masses of butterflies to congregate again. We first saw this group feeding (similar to the ones at Ulu Perdik near KL) when we first trod on the path (Adventure Trail at the bottom of FH). Photographed two Great Anglehead lizards here, and ate raw petai (gathered from the jungle) for the first time.

Poor Timmy was down with the flu throughout the trip but gamely birded on. He wanted to back out at first, but was persuaded to come along by Vilma and moi. The day after we returned to Singapore, he was hit by the double whammy of Chicken Pox! No wonder he was suffering from high fever the day before the poxes showed. But his illness turned out to be a blessing in disguise. After waking up from a mid-day snooze, he began birding from his vantage point and happened to see two Yellow-throated Martens (a cute mammal) steal some rubbish from the bins, zip across the path, and disappear behind a certain bungalow. We were all green-eyed with jealousy!

Fraser's Hill Bird List 26-30 Dec 2008
Participants: Dave Sargeant, Gloria Seow & Timothy Pwee

The following is cut and pasted from my Excel file, with order of sequences as follows:

No.
Common Name
Scientific Name
No. Seen
Remarks
GS Lifers

1
Malaysian [Grey-breasted] Partridge
Arborophila (orientalis) campbelli
4
1st sighting at Hemnant Trail at 315pm - 3 birds - 2 adults and one chick that looked like a miniature adult. We entered the trail from the Bishop side. Sparkling views of down to 5m in not too dense undergrowth. Dave called in the birds with his Ipod set-up and I spotted a sapling movement v near us, which turned out to be the birds. Later on, found the bird stationary, calling from beside thick roots. Grey head & breast, 2 white stripes on a black wing - very striking patterning. Also saw mother and chick feeding - Tim claims that there is a feeding trail running parallel to the main footpath, although I didn't notice this 'trail', but noted that the birds were walking to and fro along a straight path. 2nd sighting was at the Telekom Loop, near the Buona Vista bungalow where we stayed. A single bird flew up from the direction of Kaniska Bungalow into the forest on the higher slopes.
L1

2
Crested Serpent Eagle
Spilornis cheela
h

3
Blyth's Hawk-Eagle
Spizaetus alboniger
1
A juvenile fly-past. Unsatisfying - I wanna see a perched adult!! Even though we birded the New Road for long hours, we did not see an adult.
L2

4
Little Cuckoo-Dove
Macropygia ruficeps
6

5
Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon
Treron sphenurus
2

6
Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
Loriculus galgulus
1
Fly-past.

7
Green-billed Malkoha
Phaenicophaeus tristis
1
At New Road, while scanning the valleys for the White-crowned & Bushy-crested Hornbills.

8
Dark [Large] Hawk-Cuckoo
Hierococcyx (sparverioides) bocki
h
Tim saw it, just opposite Silver Park resort. He is good at triangulating calls to locate the bird. Just when I was about to binocular it, the bird flew tauntingly away. There was also a bird calling just outside our bungalow.

9
Mountain Scops Owl
Otus spilocephalus
h

10
Collared Owlet
Glaucidium brodiei
5
We almost saw it at the New Road. Dave recognised its call emanating from a dark patch of roadside trees at the New Road. Lots of small birds were presumably mobbing it as there was a chorus of small bird calls too. Finally, we saw a fat shape zip across the road, chasing one of these tiny passerines.
11
Malaysian Eared Nightjar
Eurostopodus temminckii
1
Dave said he saw a nightjar sallying outside his Sri Peninjau apartments.
12
Glossy (White-bellied) Swiftlet
Collocalia esculenta
c
Abandoned nests at Buona Vista Bungalow. Lots circling the skies.
13
Himalayan Swiftlet
Aerodramus (brevirostris) brevirostris
10
14
Silver-rumped Spinetail
Rhaphidura leucopygialis
2
Lifer at the New Road!
L3
15
Pacific (Fork-tailed) Swift
Apus pacificus
30
16
House Swift
Apus nipalensis
50
17
Red-headed Trogon
Harpactes erythrocephalus
2
Female at Bishop Trail, mixing with Black Laughingthrush and Large Scimitar Babbler.
18
Bushy-crested Hornbill
Anorrhinus galeritus
h
19
Great Hornbill
Buceros bicornis
4
20
Wreathed Hornbill
Rhyticeros undulatus
14
The only hornbill we saw after hours of scanning the various valleys at the New Road. Largest flock was 10 birds flying over the ridge.
L4
21
Fire-tufted Barbet
Psilopogon pyrolophus
c
Cicada-like calls v common
22
Gold-whiskered Barbet
Megalaima chrysopogon
2
Lifer feeding at the same fruiting tree as the Dusky Thrush on the New Road, at the prettiest valley.
L5
23
Red-throated Barbet
Megalaima mystacophanos
2
Seen only by Dave.
24
Black-browed Barbet
Megalaima oorti
c
25
Brown Barbet
Calorhamphus fuliginosus
10
26
Lesser Yellownape
Picus chlorolophus
2
27
Greater Yellownape
Picus flavinucha
2
28
Bay Woodpecker
Blythipicus pyrrhotis
2
Dave called it out. Just outside tennis courts at High Pines. Good bird waves there at around 5pm. Tim was resting from a fever at the tower near Brinchang/Jelai, and witnessed 2 Yellow-throated Martens steal rubbish, zip across and disappear behind Jelai bungalow at 430pm.
L6
29
Eastern Large Cuckooshrike
Coracina (macei) nipalensis
4
Similar looking to the Malaysian Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina javensis)
30
Grey-chinned Minivet
Pericrocotus solaris
40
First time seeing such large flocks of more than 10 birds. Dave said he has seen flocks of hundred odd birds!
31
Tiger Shrike
Lanius tigrinus
Juvenile seen by GS and TP.
32
Brown Shrike
Lanius cristatus
2
At New Road only.
33
Black-and-crimson Oriole
Oriolus cruentus
1
First few birds at Buona Vista Bungalow, also saw it at tennis courts at High Pines.
34
Bronzed Drongo
Dicrurus aeneus
4
35
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus remifer
20
36
White-throated Fantail
Rhipidura albicollis
10
37
Common Green Magpie
Cissa chinensis
1
38
Large-billed Crow
Corvus (macrorhynchos) macrorhynchos
10
39
Sultan Tit
Melanochlora sultanea
6
40
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
10
41
Pacific Swallow
Hirundo (tahitica) tahitica
20
42
Asian House Martin
Delichon dasypus
20
43
Striated Swallow
Cecropis striolata
4
44
Mountain Tailorbird
Orthotomus cucullatus
10
45
Dark-necked Tailorbird
Orthotomus atrogularis
4
46
Black-crested Bulbul
Pycnonotus (melanicterus) flaviventris
25
47
Scaly-breasted Bulbul
Pycnonotus squamatus
3
Previously unrecorded in FH, but predicted to occur - as it appears on Morten Strange's 'Hypothetical Bird List'. Easily the prettiest bulbul with attractive yellow mantle and black scalings on its belly/flanks.
L7
48
Stripe-throated Bulbul
Pycnonotus finlaysoni
4
49
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Pycnonotus goiavier
2
50
Ochraceous Bulbul
Criniger ochraceus
2
51
Cinereous [Ashy] Bulbul
Hemixos (flavala) cinereus
2
52
Yellow-browed (Inornate) Warbler
Phylloscopus inornatus
4
53
Eastern Crowned Warbler
Phylloscopus coronatus
2
54
Mountain Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus trivirgatus
4
55
Chestnut-crowned Warbler
Seicercus castaniceps
1
56
Buff-breasted Babbler
Pellorneum tickelli
4
Bishop's Trail. Nice views of a skulker
L8
57
Large Scimitar Babbler
Pomatorhinus hypoleucos
4
Dave called it out. Finally got it only at the very end of the Bishop's Trail. Good views of a responsive pair. Also heard on the High Pines Trail.
L9
58
Chestnut-backed Scimitar Babbler
Pomatorhinus montanus
1
Old Road, while waiting for Marbled Wren Babbler. Very beautiful. Seen before in Bedugul, Bali, Indonesia.
59
Marbled Wren-Babbler
Napothera marmorata
2
Despite trying for over an hour for this bird in the undergrowth, I didn't even glimpse it, just kept hearing its constant calls until it grated somewhat on my nerves. Both Tim and Dave saw it. Tim - when it popped its head out for 1 sec, Dave - when he bashed upwards when the Babbler finally crossed the inaccessible patch of tangled upslope into the less dense patch.
60
Streaked Wren-Babbler
Napothera brevicaudata
2
61
Pygmy Wren-Babbler
Pnoepyga pusilla
h
Calling from another resam filled patch, impossible to see in such conditions.
62
Golden Babbler
Stachyris chrysaea
20
63
Grey-throated Babbler
Stachyris nigriceps
10
First seen in Inthanon. Good views this time at birdwave along Telekom Loop.
64
Pin-striped [Striped] Tit-Babbler
Macronous (gularis) gularis
4
65
Black Laughingthrush
Garrulax lugubris
5
Bishop's Trail - appeared just before the Large Scmitar Babbler. Red bill v prominent and beautiful.
L10
66
Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
Garrulax mitratus
30
67
Silver-eared Mesia (Leiothrix)
Leiothrix argentauris
20
68
Black-eared Shrike-Babbler
Pteruthius melanotis
4
69
Blue-winged Minla
Minla cyanouroptera
30
70
Mountain Fulvetta
Alcippe (peracensis) peracensis
40
71
Long-tailed Sibia
Heterophasia picaoides
50
72
White-bellied Yuhina (Erpornis)
Erpornis zantholeuca
2
First seen in Inthanon.
73
Everett's White-eye
Zosterops everetti
25
First seen in Panti.
74
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
Sitta frontalis
2
At the Old Road, while waiting for the Marbled Wren-Babbler
75
Blue Nuthatch
Sitta azurea
2
76
Dusky Thrush
Turdus (naumanni) eunomus
1
New species for Malaysia, submitted this record to the Records Committee for consideration. Fruiting tree at the New Road, nicest views of the valley here. First seen in Japan.
77
Siberian Blue Robin
Luscinia cyane
1
78
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Copsychus saularis
4
79
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Muscicapa daurica
6
80
Mugimaki Flycatcher
Ficedula mugimaki
3
Handsome black male at Telekom Loop.
81
Rufous-browed Flycatcher
Ficedula solitaris
2
Cute FC at Bishop Trail.
L11
82
Little Pied Flycatcher
Ficedula westermanni
1
83
Verditer Flycatcher
Eumyias thalassinus
4
84
Large Niltava
Niltava grandis
2
85
Orange-bellied Leafbird
Chloropsis hardwickii
10
86
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker
Dicaeum ignipectum
8
87
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
Dicaeum cruentatum
10
88
Black-throated (Black-breasted) Sunbird
Aethopyga saturata
20
89
Streaked Spiderhunter
Arachnothera magna
c
90
White-rumped Munia
Lonchura striata
4
91
Grey Wagtail
Motacilla cinerea
4
Common on the roads, esp. at the New Road.

Kuala Lumpur Whirlwind Adventure

2008-11-22T03:23:00.000-08:00

12 to 17 November 2008

KL City View from the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge: Petronas Twin Towers and Menara Tower in full glory. The Quartz Ridge is a beautiful 3-hour hike, located about 18 km from the City Centre in Taman Melawati. We took a cab there, guided by the street directory that Tim had purchased in KLCC's Kinokuniya the day before. High up on the ridge, construction and human sounds from below tend to travel upwards, spooking us on occasions when we heard disembodied voices when clearly there were only the two of us. One of these 'voices' turned out to be Tim's digital recorder that had accidentally switched itself on, giving me quite a fright. I also experienced a sense of deja vu when a brown doggie met us at the jungle-end of the ridge, following us the entire way back, a la Palawan's Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.

We stayed at The Heritage Station Hotel located at the old KL Railway Station, a tourist attraction in its own right, gazetted as a heritage building since 1983. Operational since 1 August 1910, this 170-room colonial throwback boasts a Neo Moorish architecture with heavy influences from India, Turkey and Morroco.

Despite its grandiose appearance, this hotel is actually a budget affair following the historical tradition of railway station stay-overs offering basic necessities with no frills. We found that it was clean and functional, with amenities like spacious aircon rooms, attached bathrooms, comfortable beds, and new paintwork. Some complaints though: a faulty tap that sometimes produced no water, a hot water tap that completely did not work, and a creaky bed that gave way on our 3rd night and had to be hammered back in place.

The hotel's fan-cooled dining room where we had breakfast on those days that did not require us to be up at the crack of dawn.

A classic wooden lift door that fits into a green lift cage.

We visited Masjid Negara (National Mosque) located within Taman Tasik Perdana (Lake Gardens), which was just next to our hotel. I had to don a purple tudung dress to meet the requirement that all ladies are to cover up their heads, an encumbrance that was oven-hot and overly long, but fun to pose in! The majid's attractive 18-fold turquoise-tiled roof is vastly different from the usual dome-and-minaret affairs that characterise most mosques.

We were impressed with the expansiveness of the mosque's interior...

...and charmed by the pretty skylights just beneath the 18-fold roofing.

The distinctive dome of the Islamic Art Musuem. This was our main reason for visiting KL - Tim had heard plenty of good reviews and so we decided to see it for ourselves. Unfortunately, I toured the place in a zombified state, the result of a sleep-deprived hangover from the coach ride the night before, exacerbated by the slow digestion typical of a heavy buffet lunch. Still, I forced myself to read the text accompanying the museum's vast collection ‘representative of the Islamic world’, comprising not only of mainstay artefacts from Iran and the Middle East, but even Muslim works from China, India and Southeast Asia. All in all, it was an engaging tour of geometric Islamic art, architecture, Qur’ans and manuscripts, jewellery, arms, armour, woodworks, metalworks, ceramics, glassware, textiles, coins, seals, calligraphy etc. For me, the most staggering work was an architectural replica of a mosque in Xi’an that looked EXACTLY like a Chinese temple, save for a tiny Islamic crescent and star on its roof. This temple’s so-called minaret looked EXACTLY like a Chinese pagoda. Utterly strange. There was also a ‘Beyond Orientalism’ special exhibit – showcasing examples of modern fine artpieces borrowing concepts and geometrical motifs from the Islamic World.

We had the RM43 Executive Set Lunch at the restaurant within the Islamic Art Museum. It came with a scrumptious appetizer and dessert buffet spread, plus a choice of main course (mine was beef stew, Tim's was BBQ lamb). The food theme seemed to be Middle-eastern Islamic. We particularly adored the delectable chickpea and eggplant hommous with pita. I also loved the diner's decor of metallic mirrored bas relief walls which opened up to a garden view with the huge aviary of the Bird Park in the background. Sadly, the place had next to no patrons. Highly recommended.

Cassida (Taiwania) circumdata Herbst (IDed by Glenda Heng). First IDed by Lena Chow as a Tortoise Beetle spp. I love its luminous interior, encased in a transparent shell. Photographed at the Lake Gardens.

The pond at the Lake Gardens which we recce-ed in the day, and visited in the night for frogging. During the day recce, Tim spotted this dead tadpole, which we suspect belongs to the Green Paddy Frog. Notice that legs have begun to emerge. We managed to preserve it in RM6 vodka before transporting it back to Singapore.

We returned later that same night (after KLCC) and found a newly metamorphosised froglet. Notice that its tail is the same as that of our tadpole's, while its back is beginning to show the white stripes characteristic of the Green Paddy Frog.

An adult Green Paddy Frog - this frog is abundant in the pond area, sitting prominently on lily pads and calling their lungs out or hidden within the thick vegetation that clothe the pond's edge. We also flushed a lot of these while walking on the grass.

I spotted this tiny toadlet on a blade of grass. It is around 1 cm from snout to vent and calls with a very loud machine-gun rattle.

Back view of the toadlet.

Four-lined Treefrog with its a foam nest on a sapling.

After frogging, we were treated to the night lights of Masjid Negara, Menara Tower, and the full moon.

We birded Ulu Perdik on 16 November 2008 with our gracious Malaysian host Susan Wong Chor Mun - the same day the very rare and threatened Nordmann's (Spotted) Greenshank was seen in Singapore after a 27-year hiatus. Fortunately, I managed to catch the bird after I returned, on 23 November 2008 at SBWR to the left of Hide 1a, with Bingwen, Horst and Tim. Also saw the Great Knot at SBWR, but missed the Ruddy Kingfisher and Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo at Jurong Lake.

Whiskered Treeswift on a high perch at Ulu Perdik. However, Tim and I dipped on the Black-thighed Falconet and Bamboo Woodpecker seen by Susan.

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker...I am willing to showcase this blurred picture to give the uninitiated an idea of the pretty birds that inhabit our tropical forests. This tiny 10-cm long chirper is also found in Singapore.

My best shot of a Dark-sided Flycatcher. Forgive me, my camera is only a 12x zoom Canon Powershot S5 IS. Am going to venture into digiscoping soon, hopefully then, I'll produce better bird pictures.

Ulu Perdik has plenty of mature trees serving as abodes for a plethora of colourful forest birds and fascinating insects. Lifers: Narcissus Flycatcher (male with orange brow), Pale Blue Flycatcher etc.

The out-of-this-world design of a Shield Bug.

Colourful butterflies imbibing minerals from the earth.

I spotted an unidentified draco (flying lizard) landing on this tree after its bird-like flight.

Susan and us, shot taken from the slanting hood of Susan's car.

The most stunning caterpillar we've ever seen. Suspect its that of a moth, as moth caterpillars tend to be hairy and spiky.

A winged multi-hued grasshopper that landed on Susan's shoulder. We've never encountered this mysterious creature before. Its wings and lower body resemble that of a damselfly - a hybrid perhaps? Or just one of nature's many quirks? Anybody with its name please email me or leave a comment!

A 15th Century film set of a kampong house that we came across in the middle of the forest. The production assistant told us that he researched from books and interviewed history professors for 2 months on the architecture of such a bamboo-and-thatch house. The actual construction took a 9-men team 2 weeks to finish, largely because instead of rattan, they used raffia to lash the bamboo together. There was even two chicken coops with live chickens, and a kite that was simply a huge dried leaf (sticking out on the left hand side of the photo)! Susan chatted with him for 45 minutes, learning much about movie production.

I love Merdeka Square (Dataran Merdeka), especially this stipey building. The outline of these Colonial-Islamic structures are lighted at night, turning the square into a fairy land of sparklies. Come evening, the road is also cordoned off to traffic, making it a nice nightspot for an after-dinner walk.

We birded Taman Rimba Ampang on our last morning. I was disappointed that we did not get to see the Blue-banded Kingfisher, nor any birds of real significance (ie. no lifers), probably because I was scanning the river edge for the target bird the entire time and failed to look into the trees. We were also distracted by the other wildlife spotted (Pig-tailed Macaque, Great Anglehead Lizard, Skink etc).

Great Anglehead Lizard (Gonocephalus grandis) - very common. We spotted 5 of these sunning themselves on tree trunks and rocks. Spent much time photographing them.

Tim photographed this Spotted Forest Skink (Sphenomorphus scotophilus) sunning itself in the morning, while we both caught it later scurrying along the forest floor on the opposite bank of the river.

Hose's Rock Frog / Poison Rock Frog (Rana hosii), probably female, measuring at least 10cm SV. Tim spotted it sitting motionless on a rock in the middle of the river at TRA. According to http://www.naturemalaysia.com/poison-rock-frog.htm, the Poison Rock Frog is a common inhabitant of lowland to upper-level rainforest along fast-flowing streams and rivers. This large frog is also a good climber though it usually sits on rocks and boulders along streams. The skin can secrete a potent toxin but the strength of it is not well-studied.

Tim and I at the most scenic portion of the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge. The climb was an exhausting one. My legs felt rather wobbly after a spell, and they protested by suddenly giving way on the downward leg, landing me on my bum and missing the edge of the steep drop-off by a mere 10cm! Thank God for a safe descent otherwise...the only thing was that Tim got a huge fright as he witnessed the entire slip-up.

The Quartz Ridge is rather short on birdlife though, as it comprises largely of a scrubby exposed vegetation. Best birds were the Spectacled Spiderhunter, Striped-throated Bulbul and a calling Changeable Hawk Eagle. Tim also pointed out some endemic plants. As part of the Titiwangsa range, there was a nice green stetch of forest on the lake-side of the ridge (dammed up for electricity), contrasting with the sad state of affairs on the city-side: instead of verdant forests, we saw an enormous brown patch of land flattened for development. Malaysia should promote the Quartz Ridge as an eco-tourism site and cease all developments in the environs to preserve the beauty of the place. Some have likened this patch to Australia's Blue Mountains...I'll just contend that its a scenic trekking route worthy of conservation.

Uncommon torquatus race of the OHB in Singapore (Toa Payoh)!

2008-11-18T22:46:00.000-08:00

Image A: OHB torquatus race seen in Toa Payoh, Singapore. Photo by Gloria Seow.

On the Monday morning of 10 November 2008, I lingered on at home because of the rain....and it paid off. Happened to look out of the windows while working on my computer, and I saw a raptor fly into the grove of trees in front of my house at around 10am. However, the bird got lost in the thick foliage. So I zipped downstairs and after some 15 min of scanning the trees in the constant drizzle, I found the bird huddled high up in the branches above, its back towards me.

I had just met bird photographer Lee Tiah Khee the day before at the Raptor Watch dinner, so I thought of him straight away to help photograph the bird since he works next to where I live (as chief photographer for Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao). He kindly complied...and being the pro photographer, he found us a better angle to snap the bird's front view. The bird was at the same perch, taking shelter from the rain, for at least one hour.

After consulting local veteran birders Yong Ding Li, Alan Owyong and Lim Kim Chuah, they confirmed that it was a resident (non-migratory) Oriental Honey Buzzard (OHB), subspecies torquatus (Pernis ptilorhynchus torquatus). See images A & B taken by Gloria & Tiah Khee respectively. The torquatus race is the resident subspecies of OHB found in Southeast Asia, with breeding records from the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. In Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, it is regarded as an uncommon resident.

Image B: OHB torquatus race seen in Toa Payoh, Singapore. Photo by Lee Tiah Khee.

In comparison, the commonly-seen migratory OHB is called Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis and it breeds in Ussuriland, Siberia, visiting Singapore only in the northern winter months (September to March). So, if you see an OHB in the summer months (outside the migratory season), it is likely the torquatus race. Confusion arises when both the orientalis and torquatus races are seen in the winter.

Alan Owyong’s email got me excited:
“I went back and looked at a picture of a 17.5-week old OHB torquatus sent in by Chiu Sein Chiong from Ipoh. It has a very similar plumage (see image C). Several pairs have successfully bred on a tree (by the golf course) in front of his house. I went up there last year to do a video of the fledging. So this bird must have been dispersed from Malaysia. This is quite an exciting find as most of us are not familiar with this SEA (Southeast Asian) resident subspecies. If there are more being dispersed, we may even have our own breeding pair. Gloria, keep looking around the woods at your place.”

Image C: OHB torquatus race of a 17.5 week old juvenile in Ipoh, Malaysia. Photo by Chiu Sein Chiong.

After a google search, I found 3 entries on our local BESG blog of the aforementioned breeding:
http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/2007/03/18/oriental-honey-buzzard-1-nesting/
http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/2007/03/20/oriental-honey-buzzard-2-nestlings/
http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/2007/04/25/oriental-honey-buzzard-successful-breeding-of-2-chicks-on-third-attempt/

Notice that the Ipoh torquatus OHB has a brown face instead of the usual grey in the migratory orientalis subspecies. According to Chiu, the Toa Payoh torquatus OHB is too young to determine its sex. Ding Li helped me map out the various differentiating features between the torquatus and orientalis races:

Oriental Honey Buzzard: Comparison of two races seen in Singapore

Torquatus race (Resident)

* Brown Face
* Long Head Crest
* Rufous Neck

* Dark Gorget (throat)

* Brown Barring on Belly

Orientalis race (Migratory)

* Grey Face

* Short Head Crest

* Brown / Variable-coloured Neck

* Light Gorget (throat)

* Variable belly coloration depending on light or dark morphs

So birders and bird photographers, do keep a look out for the much scarcer resident torquatus OHB race (also known as the Crested Honey Buzzard) in Singapore! Was surprised that even Ding Li has not seen this bird yet in Singapore, but he got it in Terengganu and Panti, Malaysia.

Postscript:
After posting this blog on the various Singapore/Malaysia bird forums, I had a flutter of responses which have been reproduced below, contributing much to the understanding of the resident torquatus race. In response, I have corrected my blog entry above to incorporate the pointers below:

From Gim Cheong, Singapore:

Hi Gloria, great sighting! Ferguson-Lees has split the migratory and resident OHBs (2005). The migratory ones are Eastern Honey-Buzzard Pernis orientalis while the resident ones are Indomalayan (Crested) Honey-Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus. The one photographed is thus Indomalayan (Crested) Honey-Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus torquatus. I would say it's resident in Malaysia and this individual is the result of 'post-breeding dispersal'. If sufficient numbers disperse here, hopefully they start to breed locally.

From Subaraj Rajathurai, Singapore:

Interesting record Gloria and excellent photos. I would not consider the torquatus race of Oriental Honey Buzzard rare in Singapore though. It is certainly uncommon but we have a few records each year. As you suggested, they may be more overlooked during the winter months (Sep - Mar), when the northern migrants are around. Most records of torquatus therefore come from during the "summer" months, particularly July and August.....the specific period when post-breeding dispersal may take place. One of the best places to encounter this race at that time of the year is at the Singapore Botanical Gardens, where it is annual.

From Yong Ding Li, Singapore:

Hmmmm, I think at this point in time the split is only recognized byFerguson-Lees et al (2005) based on significant morphological differences, at the moment. The latest treatise of honey buzzards based on molecular data, Gamauf and Haring (2004) does not provide support for splitting yet... As an aside, the race torquatus of the Crested Honey Buzzard is an excellent example of avian mimicry. Note that there is a striking similarity of torquatus to Wallace's Hawk Eagle or young Blyth's Hawk Eagles. Similarly the dark Tweeddale morph bears a resemblance to Blyth's Hawk Eagle adults.

From Tou Jing Yi, Malaysia:
Gloria, that's a good sighting, the torquatus is less common compared to the migratory race especially for Singapore. I don't think the species split has been adopted here in Malaysia yet.

From Lim Kim Chye, Taiping, Malaysia:

Hi Gloria, I think more corrrect to say "sub-species" or "race" rather than "morph". *advice taken, corrections made above.* There is one resident OHB morph, i.e. the rare "tweedale" morph in which the generally black & white individual looks very similar to Blyth's Hawk-Eagle. Congrats to you for getting pictures of the resident OHB in S'pore and thanks for sharing the news.

From James Eaton, based in Malaysia:

Hi Gloria, Certainly a very dodgy split! There have been a couple of manuscripts that show Oriental HoneyBuzzard should remain as a single species.Unfortunately I do not have the details at hand of a recent manuscript concentrating on the honey buzzards but the manuscript clearly shows that there is little genetic divergence between any of the taxon. I will let you know once I find it.

Birding Wuyishan (South China) 16-21 June 2008

2008-07-01T23:43:00.000-07:00

This is a photo essay of my nature / birding foray into Wuyishan (Mount Wuyi), a UNESCO World Heritage site that boasts the best biodiversity conservation zone in Southeast China. We started the trip in Xiamen/Quanzhou with the Singapore Heritage Society, on a 6-day pilgrimage (10-15 June) to historical and folk sites that bore a Singapore connection, visiting places like Tan Kah Kee’s soon-to-be open museum etc. That part of the trip will be fleshed out in a later composition. From Xiamen, we took an overnight 14-hour aircon soft sleeper train to Wuyishan City. There, we were met by Spring Zhang, our cheery 22-year guide and our driver Wu for a private tour of the environs.

All tour arrangements were made by email beforehand, and the itinerary covered the usual tourist attractions in the area for three days, plus two days of birding in the Protected Area (National Park). We liaised with Jenny Zhang (Spring's sister), who was very helpful and accommodating. Her company is supposedly the largest tour company in Wuyishan. China International Travel Service WuYiShan Co.,Ltd. Address: CITS BUILDING SANGU STREET WUYISHAN HOLIDAY RESORT FUJIAN PROVINCE, CHINA. Jenny's email is z_jenny21@hotmail.com.

We suffered some anxiety getting the train tickets from our tour agent (the Xiamen end of CITS fouled up big time), with the items going missing from the concierge at the eleventh hour. After a mad scramble to trace the lost tickets with calls flying everywhere, our hotel told us the tall story that their desk manager had actually brought the tickets home. In reality, they were sitting calmly in our fellow tour mate’s room. After admitting their mistake, the hotel dutifully delivered the lost train passes to our room at close to midnight. The next morning, I found out to my horror that the tickets were for the 7pm instead of the 11pm train. This was a big problem as we were returning from Quanzhou to Xiamen that day, a three hour journey (sans jams), and I was afraid that we would miss the train. Thankfully, our Xiamen guide Catherine was very kind to switch things around, making it possible for us to catch our transport inland. And so, after a comfortable ride with sufficient sleep, we arrived bright and early in Wuyishan in time for a delicious breakfast of dried spicy meat noodles. Arriving four hours earlier than planned was definitely a blessing in disguise as we could spread out our tour itinerary with more time for each locale (much needed for our frequent pauses to take pictures and gaze at birds). Also, CITS did not charge us extra for the extended hours.

Our itinerary:
Day 1 – Tianyou Feng & Dahongpao Tea Plants
Day 2 – Yixian Tian, Bamboo Raft Ride at the Nine Bend River, Wuyi Palace, Spring Garden, Taoist Temple etc.
Day 3 – Huxiao Yan (Roaring Tiger Rock) & Water Curtain Falls
Day 4 – Drive to Wuyishan National Park / Protected Area (Baohuqu), Summit of Mount Huang Gang, Birding from 2pm till 6pm.
Day 5 – Birding from 5am till 12pm, Drive back to catch our overnight train at 8pm.
Day 6 - Xiamen airport back to Singapore.

Both of us managed to find our number one target - the endemic Cabot's Tragopan, a mama-and-chick duo seen at 640am at around KM21.5 on 20 June 2008. The chick was very adorable with rufous face, yellowish down feathers covering its breast/belly and classic tragopan ocelli brown spots on its mantle and wing feathers. Mama had seen us approaching and had immediately sought cover in the thick vegetation of the upper slopes. The chick was left alone perched on a dark ledge just above the road. It look bewildered and confused as mama frantically called for it to move upwards to join her. Finally, the chick got wind of her verbal cues, and after a short flight and some hopping, was happily united with his overwrought mother. Our views were down to 5 meters. Birding doesn't get any better than this!

We stayed at the 4-star Wuyi Mountain Villas for 3 nights. This resort is purportedly the most scenic in the area, having the famous Dawangfeng (大王峰) as its backdrop. It played host to world leaders in the past, evidenced by saplings planted with accompanying dignatary plaques. At present, the tourism boom in Wuyishan has seen the construction of three new 5-star resorts and five more 4-star hotels. There is also a plethora of cheaper accommodation options.

The interior of our messy room at Wuyi Mountain Villas.

Our first stop was to climb Tianyou Feng ( 天游峰）, a breathtaking experience (both literally and figuratively) as we ascended a million steps to get this view of the Nine Bend River (九曲溪).

The snaking rocky stairway up Tianyou Feng. We were given a quiz which we answered correctly. During the Mid-Autumn festival while eating mooncakes and drinking tea from a pavilion up a slope at Tianyou Feng , four 'moons' can be seen, how? Answer: 1) the moon itself, reflections from the 2) teacup 3) the water 4) one's eyes.

The forested path downwards was very rich in wildlife. We saw three very cute Blue-breasted Quail here, on top of frogs, insects etc (see photos below).

Bronze-ridged frog (yet to find out its real name). This frog gives a deep throated call, almost akin to barking. Saw it three times, twice within the Tianyou Feng area and once in our hotel's pond. I'm quite sure I heard its bark in Quanzhou's Kaiyuan temple too.

Plumbeous Water Redstart. This beauty is very common along the river area. It likes to fan its tail (as can be seen in this photo), probably to flush insects. Photographed this at the Tea Canyon in Tianyoufeng.

Ah, my best shot of a butterfly yet. Glenda helped me ID it as the Indian Fritillary (Argynnis hyperbius).

Thanks to Glenda, I found out the name of this jewel in the Tianyou Feng forest, the Club Silverline (Spindasis syama 豆粒銀線灰蝶), considered rare in Singapore. This is an upside down shot which I inverted for easy viewing.

Munching caterpillars filled a small bush.

Lovely cicadas called in union and raised a real ruckus in the noon heat. Its not easy to spot, but our combined sharp eyes produced this green-and-yellow gem.
Another cicada we found at the mosquito-ridden forested patch near our hotel had transparent wings, similar to the ones seen on Fraser's Hill, Malaysia. We each acquired 10 bites trying to photograph this fella (it was rather high up on a tree trunk).

Humping iridescent beetles.

Collared Finchbill, a rather common garden bird.

Dahongpao (Big Red Robe) is the most famous of the Wuyi Yan Cha (Wuyi Rock Tea) range. It thrives on the well-drained loose soils of Wuyishan's slopes, formed from eroded rock particles, giving rise to its Rock Tea label. Here, we are posing at the spot of the six 'mother' Dahongpao trees that are around 350 years old (they are the green stuff growing on the upper right hand corner of this photo). These six trees are the revered ancestors to the area's Dahongpao tea plantations and are part of the reason why Wuyishan was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. Up to May 2006, their leaves were still harvested once a year to make tea for the likes of China's President Hu Jintao. Harvesting has since ceased to better protect this natural heritage.

Close-up views of Dahongpao's tea leaves. Notice the characteristic red rim on its green leaves. For normal grade tea, two leaves and one bud are plucked. High grade teas use only one leaf and one bud. We had at least four tea-tasting sessions (once in Quanzhou where I bought Tie Guanyin, once in Wuyishan Tourist area where I bought Dahongpao and wild mushrooms, and twice in the Huang Gang Shan protected area (Sangang village) where I bought the area's famous Lapsang Souchong (Zhengshan Xiaozhong Hong Cha) which is black tea smoked in Pinewood, giving it a robust flavour with a unique smoky aroma.

Our guide taught us the three lessons that can be learnt from tea, based on its Chinese logograph (茶cha) 1) Man should live harmoniously with Nature (the 人ren (man) is in the middle of 草cao (grass) and 木mu (wood)), 2) Drinking tea gives one a long life - up to 108 years old - (20+80+8 = 108, based on adding up the numerical strokes that make up the word 茶cha from top to bottom), 3) The best age to marry is age 28 for a man (the 1st & 2nd part of the logograph), and age 18 for a woman (the 木mu can also be seen as 18).

Dainty Blue Damselfly found near Dahongpao area. We photographed the fishes swimming in the waters too, but those pictures turned out badly.

I first noticed the butterfly on this tree, and upon closer examination, realised that there were plenty of other insects, including a moth, sucking the sap off its trunks. I've never seen such a 6-legged convention before.

Rhinocerous Beetle found lower down on the same sappy tree.

Mating grasshoppers.

Five-striped Blue-tailed Skink (Eumeces elegans), also called the Shanghai Skink. Thankfully, I managed to shoot it before it scuttled into the undergrowth. Found on the pavement outside the Zhuxi Academy.

Tea plantation just outside the teahouse at Tianyoufeng.

Have not found out the name of this bat at Yixian Tian（一线天). This is my most fiendishly difficult photo yet. We had to stand in a dripping cave that reeked of bat urine, aiming our cameras skywards and straining our necks in the process, to shoot at the blackness hoping to get a bat in flight. In the meantime, hundreds of loud-talking Chinese tourists were streaming by, and we had to pause ever so often to give them room to squeeze through. Their constant banter, amplified by the echoes of this very narrow cave, grated at my ears and nerves. And in the middle of it all, it started to drizzle, adding immensely to my misery. But what the heck, at least I got a semblance of a bat in flight.

Yixian Tian （一线天) - basically, this bat filled place is a narrow gap between two monoliths, with views of only a strip of sky, hence its name.
Yixian Tian. The narrowest stairway we had to negotiate ever. Two drops of rainwater on my camera are symbolic of the rainy weather from Day 2 onwards.

Plenty of echo-locating leaf nose bats with on the walls. The Chinese refer to it as 'Bai Bianfu' (White Bats).

Bat mama with child.

We went to a snake research centre cum museum. The person in charge provoked this Chinese Cobra (Naja atra) to raise its hood by proding it with a rod. After that, he tried to sell us snake oil (literally) and other snakeskin products. Sadly, all the Long-nosed Pit Vipers used to make the snakeskin wallets on sale were wild caught from the ironically protected area of Mount Huang Gang.Long-nosed Pit Viper (Deinagkistrodon acutus). According to Wikipedia, Deinagkistrodon is a monotypic genus found in South China and Southeast Asia. In Chinese it is dubbed as the Wubushe or Five-pace Snake - if it bites you, you can only walk five paces before you collapse.

Gosh, there was even a snake god housed in a 'cave', within the compounds of the snake research centre cum museum.

Nine Bend River (Jiuquxi). This is the start of our bamboo raft ride downstream from the ninth bend. A number of Sand Martins were seen sallying around the jetty area. This winding river is one of the most scenic spots in Wuyishan. Rides are dependent on water levels (there are river officials examining the river everyday to determine ride conditions). The day after we did our 70 minute cruise, all rides were called off as the rains had caused water levels to rise dangerously, forming eddying pools and scary rapids. Thank God the river banks didn't burst.

There are suppose to be huge 'Red-eyed fishes' swimming in the river but sadly we didn't see any upclose, only through our binoculars from the bridge on the first day. However, we did get to eat a lot of these river fishes (liyu) which tasted succulent and sweet, but such meals were dicey affairs as these fishes have plenty of fine bones. I had to extricate several of these tiny bones by coughing violently.

About twenty minutes into the ride, I spied a large brown female Common Pheasant pecking away and drinking water from the shingle banks. The bird then flew across the waters to the other side of the river. What a setting for a lifer! The twin peaks of Yunvfeng 玉女峰 (Jade Lady Peak) and Dawangfeng
大王峰 (Great King Peak) grace the 2nd bend.

This is one of only about 20 boat coffins of the ancient Min Yue culture found suspended from cliffs in the Wuyishan area. These 3,800 year old caskets are the oldest boat coffins in the world. There was a little museum at the end of the bamboo raft ride that showcased the area's natural (eg. Clouded Leopard, South China Tiger etc) and cultural heritage, and where this photo was taken, illegally though as no photography is allowed.
While drifting languidly downstream on our bamboo raft, we were regaled with legends behind the fanciful names of various rock formations. The Nine Bend River is also the favourite spot for location shoots of Chinese movies and drama serials like Xiyouji (Journey to the West). Our raft captain pointed out that the 'holes' seen on this cliff were where boat coffins used to be placed. It is still a mystery how the ancient Min Yue people managed to get the caskets up on these inaccessible cliffs. One theory holds that water levels were much higher in the past.

Woody boat coffin remnants still line some of these ex-burial spots. From my estimation, these were at least 50 to 70 meters off the ground.

The remains of a wooden platform bridging two vertical rock faces where boat coffins were once placed. Amazing and utterly fascinating.

Dawangfeng 大王峰 (Great King Peak) with its characteristic cliff overhang.

A Song Dynasty street scene greeted us as we stepped off our bamboo raft.

One of those poorly translated signs that draw laughs. The correct translation should be 'Grasses are also living things, please love / protect them'.

A spectacular Taoist temple in Wuyishan that deifies Bai Yuchan 白玉蟾 (1194–1227) whose altar occupies the important first floor. Bai Yuchan and his disciples promoted a line of inner alchemy (neidan) masters as their spiritual ancestors. While ninth-century neidan was a peripheral discipline practiced by little-known individuals with oral instructions from unnamed figures in mysterious circumstances, the efforts of those like Bai helped make it an elaborate heritage complete with standardized spiritual genealogies, canonized writings, and historically verifiable networks of teachers and disciples in several cultural niches. The usual Taoist pantheon of gods such as the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang Dadi) and the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) were relegated to the second floor.

Tim's umbrella rest drew as much curious stares as the surrounding beauty. I had to keep saying '没事，没事' (meishi = no worries).
Roaring Tiger Rock or Huxiaoyan (虎啸岩) required us to climb another steep stairway in order to enjoy this misty view. Its name of 'Roaring Tiger' is derived from the tiger-like howl produced by gusty winds blowing through these peaks.

Roaring Tiger Rock. We saw an unidentified Falco flying amidst the mist.

Everlasting Love Locks on a bridge that spanned a deep chasm at the very top of Roaring Tiger Rock.

The tongue of the tiger with missing lower jaw.

Water Curtain Falls. This concave waterfall forms a natural amphitheatre.

Tim at the bottom of the falls. Traditional requires that a person walks 3 rounds around the pool, passing behind the spray of the water curtain. The first round grants the person a good position in his job, the second round symbolises abundant wealth while the third round bestows a good spouse.

Another pretty waterfall. We passed many cascades along the way into the main Water Curtain Falls.

This pretty brown-spotted green froggie is numerous around the Wuyishan foothills, residing mainly in water bodies, but some were even seen in the forest. They have certainly taken to civilisation, as we even spied a lot of them in the articifial waterfall at our hotel. Most likely, the tiny black frogs that can be seen hopping everywhere (even in our hotel's car park) are the young of these amphibians. It has a squeaky high-pitched call, contrasting with the deeper barks of the Bronze-ridged frog. This frog was not seen at all in the higher elevations of Mount Huang Gang, most likely replaced by the edible Shiling frogs.

However, if you do not pay attention to nature, it bypasses you readily. We had to point this beauty out to our tour guide. In fact, we guided her, in terms of natural sights, as much as she guided us in the cultural aspects of Wuyishan. She's a real darling though, patiently waiting up for us on innumerable occassions as we took our time to take photographs of any and everything. She also aceded to our many requests, and ran the extra mile (literally) when she helped retrieve our belongings from a lunch place that were too heavy to be carried along.

On our fourth day at Wuyishan, we headed towards the Baohuqu (Protected Area/National Park) about two hours away. Shortly after entering the restricted area which required special passes, we stopped at the Red Suspension Bridge to stretch our legs. Over here, we saw the Black Bulbul (white-headed form), Coal Tit etc. We trekked downwards into the thick forest, and descended to the banks of this fast flowing river.

The ubiquitous Asian House Martin. This is nesting season - we spotted their nests everywhere, from the lowland cliff faces, to the ceilings of houses in Sangang (the town within the Protected Area), to the top of Mount Huang Gang itself.

Have not found out the name of this striped squirrel yet. Two of them were frolicking at the forest around the Red Suspension Bridge.

At 2158m, Mount Huang Gang (Huanggangshan) is the tallest mountain in Wuyishan National Park, located at the Fujian/Jiangxi border within the protected area. It is 97% forested in the Baohuqu (protected area), and 68% forested in the Dujiaqu (tourist area).

One of our first birds up Mount Huang Gang, a female Chestnut-bellied Rockthrush. Funny enough, it behaved like a flycatcher, flying out to catch insects and returning to the same perch.

Streak-throated Fulvetta.

We found an abandoned missile base station at the top of Mount Huang Gang - the real reason for the need for army guards at the base of the mountain. It was very misty and beautiful at the top, with evanescent fog thickly clothing the stunted trees and alpine meadows. I found two Upland Pipits here. On the drive down, we flushed a majestic Imperial Eagle that leapt into the fog in a downward flight that revealed its white rump and wing tips. The ponds were devoid of life though, while the derelict stone buildings served as perfect nesting sites for Asian House Martins that zipped through the skies in a constant swirl of activity. The sudden chill of getting out from a warm van had me all bundled up and shivering, and particularly grateful for a warm embrace. Here, we are at the commerative plaques that mark the apex of Huang Gang Shan.

Our star find for the whole 12-day trip, on par with seeing the Cabot's Tragopan - an East Asian Mole, Mogera insularis (tentative ID). The 10-cm long fur ball literally dropped from the heavens, a gift from God. We were birding the roads downslope (around KM 23) when suddenly we both heard a plop sound coming from behind us. The blind mole apparently tunnelled from the soils of the upper slopes straight out, tumbling down to the road below where we were! Poor dear. It was obviously concussed and confused, not used to being out in the open. I filmed a video of it running around in circles.

According to Walker’s Mammals of the World Vol 1 & 2, there are 7 species of East Asian Moles with the genus Mogera. Mogera insularis Distribution: Southeastern China, Taiwan & Hainan. Head & body length: 87-115mm, tail length: 14-20mm. Pelage is nearly uniform slate colour. Mogera differs from the genus Talpa and Euroscaptor in lacking canine teeth in the lower jaw, and in the strong development of last lower premolars, which function in place of the canines. Sure fits the description of our mole!

We showed this photo to our guide and driver. Our driver calls it the 'Xiao Huang1zhu1' and told us that huge ones around 15kg can be found at the summit. They only emerge from their burrows at night and are hunted by the natives.

Illegal wild-caught Shiling frogs by the guard at the guardhouse at KM24. A bag of about 10 frogs could be had for RMB70 or about S$14.

On our first drive up Huanggang Shan (Mount Huang Gang), our driver spotted 2-4 Tibetan Macaques Macaca thibetana (tentative ID) frolicking by the roadside. He gave a startled call, and told us that in his 20 odd years living within the Wuyishan protected area with innumerable trips up Mt Huanggang (he is one of 1400 local villagers), this was his first time encountering these rare monkeys. Tim and I both caught the retreating forms of 2-4 macaques. About half an hour later when we stopped to look at the Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush, our driver spotted some movements high above, and I managed to binocular one lone male, while Tim went one step further by photographing it! This male was calling loudly (our driver said that his call was similar to that of the mountain goat), his voice echoing up and down the mountain side. We felt really privileged to catch a glimpse of this rare primate.

Our hotel room in Sangang. Clean and basic with very hard plank beds. We arrived only late at night when the innkeeper had already gone off to bed and left at 4am the next morning for the Tragopan. As such, we didn't get to see the exterior.

Tea leaves left to wither. Our driver's brother briefed us on how he makes Lapsang Souchong (pine-smoked tea) within his tiny factory just next to his house. The steps are: 1) picking of tea leaves by itinerant workers, 2) drying in the sun, 3) withering, 4) rolling in a hand operated machine, 5) full fermentation, 6) smoking using pine wood. We had two extensive tea drinking sessions at his home where we tasted for ourselves how Lapsang Souchong can be 'paoed' (brewed) up till ten times with little loss of flavour.

Chinese Muntjac (barking deer).

Maple leaves framed by blue skies.

The rolling hills provide an inspirational birding backdrop.

Mixed deciduous and coniferous forest on the higher elevations of Mount Huang Gang.

Close up views of the thick forest.

Stunted pines grow on the rocky precipice.

Sangang village (c.900m asl) surrounded by thick bamboo forest and small-scale tea plantations.

Us with our tour guide Spring Zhang (Xiaozhang) with 70-year old tea trees in the backdrop. Over here, instead of being planted in neat rows, tea trees grow haphazardly in clumps and solitary bushes, making harvesting by machinery impossible. As such, all tea is hand-picked, ensuring optimal quality. Harvesting takes place twice a year, compared to 4-5 times a year in other locales.

Bird List - South China (Xiamen / Quanzhou / Wuyishan) from 10 - 21 June 2008
Participants: Gloria Seow & Timothy Pwee

Codes for Places Birded:

1. WSBG - Wanshi Botanical Gardens, the largest botanical gardens in Xiamen, lots of vegetations (some landscaped, most unruly which is good!), birdy and interesting. Elevation: sea level.

2. XM - Xiamen / Quanzhou streets downtown, parks, tourist areas. Elevation: sea level.

3. WYS-TA - Wuyishan Tourist Area, depending on where we were, elevations ranged from 150m to 700m ASL.

4. WYS-HG - Wuyishan Mount Huang Gang (Protected Area/National Park with restricted access). Birding at 3 places - 1) lower elevations at the Red Suspension Bridge, 2) the summit itself (2158m ASL), 3) between KM 23 to KM18 (around 1500-1900m ASL).

This portioned is copied directly from my Excel file, so sequence of categories is as follows:

No.
Birds
Scientific Name
Location
Remarks
Lifer

1
Blue-breasted Quail
Coturnix chinensis
WYS-TA
3 birds spotted by Tim crossing the forest path near the bottom of Huxiaoyan (Roaring Tiger Rock). At first, he thought that they were chicks without the mother hen! Had excellent views for at least eight minutes before losing them. Tim found them again crossing the path behind us. They were really cute, but no way to photograph them in the tangle of the undergrowth.
1

2
Cabot's Tragopan
Tragopan caboti
WYS-HG
Our star bird. Mama and chick duo. Too bad papa's red feathers were no where in sight. Very thankful to see them at such a late hour (640am) as they are dawn (515am) birds. I had more or less given up hope of seeing the Tragopan and decided to have some breakfast of Wang Wang crackers. I bit into the loud crackers just as I rounded a corner...and bingo, detected the movements of Mama. She was in clear view at the side of the road itself. I beckoned to Tim and he ran forward. We gazed at her for about 10 seconds as she trotted towards us. Then she probably saw us and flew / jumped upwards. Only when we tried to find her in the thick vegetation did we both see the chick hidden on the dark ledge just above the road. The rest of the story can be read in the main blog. We kept a distance of 5m between us and the birds in order not to frighten them too much.
2

3
Common Pheasant
Phasianus colchicus
WYS-TA
Lifer (female) while leisurely cruising downstream on a bamboo raft at the nine bend river…story is above.
3

4
White-throated Kingfisher
Halcyon smyrnensis
WYS-TA
Flying across river.

5
Asian Koel
Eudynamys scolopacea
WSBG
Heard only.

6
Asian Barred Owlet
Glaucidium cuculoides
WSBG
One of our last sightings at the Wanshi Botanical Gardens. Spotted its fat silhouette in the dense pine tree and was extremely happy that it turned out to be my favourite bird - an owl. There was a pair..and we heard one calling to the other. Thought it was the Little Owl at first, but it was sadly a non-lifer - the Asian Barred Owlet, first seen in Doi Chiang Dao (Malee's).

7
Rock Pigeon
Columba livia
XM, WYS-TA
Aside from feral ones, there were kept flocks for tourists to pose with, fed often with birdfeed at the Water Curtain Falls.

8
Spotted Dove
Streptopelia chinensis
WSBG, WYS-TA
Likes to perch high up, silhouetted in the sun, making ID a bit of a headache as views are blackened. Only after much squinting and changing of positions can one determine that its only the common Spotted Dove.

9
Imperial Eagle
Aquila heliaca
WYS-HG
Summit of Mt Huang Gang. White on rump area very distinctive as it launched itself in a downward dive.
4

10
Black Eagle
Ictinaetus malayensis
WYS
Flying high above - seen at river below Red Suspension Bridge at Mt Huang Gang.

11
Chinese Pond-Heron
Ardeola bacchus
WSBG, WYS-TA
Breeding colours. Ponds at WSBG and also at the Nine Bend River

12
Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
XM (Gulangyu, lakes), WYS-TA
Common along the water bodies in downtown Xiamen. Also at Nine Bend River.

13
Orange-bellied Leafbird
Chloropsis hardwickii
WYS-HG
Red suspension Bridge - feeding. This individual was difficult to ID - it had greyish head and typical leafbird green body. Juvenile? Orange-bellied LB is the only one in this range.

14
Eurasian Jay
Garrulus glandarius
WYS-HG
Brief glimpses

15
Black-billed Magpie
Pica pica
WSBG
Saw at least twice, territorial calling up a tree, and walking on the open lawn.
5

16
Blue Magpie
Urocissa erythrorhyncha
WSBG, WYS-TA, WYS-HG
Beautiful bird. Moves singly or in flocks of up to 6 birds. Seen on the drive up Huang Gang at its lower elevations, (our driver calls it the changwei que - long-tailed bird) and in the garden of our hotel at Wuyi Mountain Villas.
6

17
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Copsychus saularis
XM, WSBG, WYS-TA
At least 2-3 fighting Juveniles - my first time seeing this plumage and was thrown off kilter when the MacKinnon book didn't have illustrations or descriptions. Only back in Singapore when I consulted my other guidebooks that I found out the plumage of juveniles. Adults seen too, naturally, but not associating with juveniles.

18
White-crowned Forktail
Enicurus leschenaulti
WYS-HG
Photographed a juvenile, Saw an adult, both at HG manning small waterfalls/streams.

19
Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush
Monticola rufiventris
WYS-HG
Female seen, behaving like a flycatcher - flying one circle to hawk for insects and returning to the same perch. Photos taken. Showed this bird to our guide and driver.
7

20
Blue Whistling-Thrush
Myophoneus caeruleus
WSBG, WYS
Surprised to find this bird at the Wanshi Botanical Gardens, up the hilly portion as I always thought it was a sub-montane species. Bingwen said that he has seen it at sea level in Langkawi, so OK, learnt something new.

21
Small Niltava
Niltava macgrigoriae
WYS-HG
Juvenile & Female seen. Juvenile had lovely blue tail on a speckled brown body, while female had a distinctive blue collar that stood out on its dull brown feathers.
8

22
Plumbeous Water-Redstart
Rhyacornis fuliginosus
WYS-TA
Common along the water bodies in WYS tourist area, as well as HG foothills (river at Red Suspension Bridge). Photographed a male at the Tea Canyon (inland), about 50m from the river.

23
Grey Bushchat
Saxicola ferrea
WYS-HG
Looked like a shrike…calling from the tree tops, spotted by Tim.

24
Eurasian Blackbird
Turdus merula
WSBG, XM, WYS-TA
First saw female in WSBG pecking on the ground just as we were about to leave. Tim left first. Later on in our XM tour, we saw it a few times, eg. Xiamen University - pecking on the ground too. Possibly nesting at the cliff holes in WYS-TA. I saw a bird black bird that flew out of such a hole, chasing another away. Didn't binocular it on time.
9

25
Crested Myna
Acridotheres cristatellus
WSBG, XM
Only a couple seen, outside the WSBG. Seen alone, no flocks.
10

26
Black-collared Starling
Sturnus nigricollis
WSBG
Noisy flocks common in the WSBG, but not encountered (at least not observed) in downtown XM.

27
Chestnut-vented (Naga) Nuthatch
Sitta nagaensis
WYS-HG
One bird seen at rather close range, about 6m off the ground.

28
Japanese Tit (split from Great Tit)
Parus minor
WYS-TA
Saw it first at the Dahongpao area. Some poorly taken photos. Looks different from the Great Tit in Japan. Why do they call this Japanese Tit and the Japanese one is called the Great Tit? Confiding and common in our hotel at WYS-TA.
11

29
Coal Tit
Parus ater kuatunensis
WYS-HG
First saw it at the Red Suspension Bridge - with reddish underparts. Subspecies very different from specimens seen in Japan where crest was a lot less prominent.

30
Yellow-cheeked Tit
Parus spilonotus
WYS-HG
Pretty little things. Seen previously in Inthanon

31
Yellow-browed Tit
Sylviparus modestus
WYS-HG
Pretty little things.
12

32
Black-throated Tit
Aegithalos concinnus
WYS-HG
Pretty little things.
13

33
Asian House-Martin
Delichon dasypus
WYS
Common throughout WYS, perching on street wires, nesting at all elevations, from the tourist area (200m) to the summit of Mt HG (2158m). Plenty of condominium nests in the abandoned missle base stations, isolated nests on cliffsides and on the ceilings of houses in WYS-TA.

34
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
XM
Numerous in downtown Xiamen. Nests found under ceilings and roofs.

35
Sand / Pale Martin
Riparia riparia
WYS-TA
Less than 10 birds seen sallying around at the start of the Bamboo Raft ride of the Nine Bend River.
14

36
Chestnut Bulbul
Hemixos castanonotus
WYS-HG
Red Suspension Bridge - A couple of lovely specimens seen close-up. Chestnut colours looked amazing in the strong sunlight.
15

37
Black Bulbul
Hypsipetes leucocephalus
WYS-HG
Red Suspension Bridge - The white headed form of the Black Bulbul is a stunner. Probably the same pair seen perching on open branches. Photographed it. At first, I thought it was the same bird seen in Inthanon, only upon checking up my notes that I realized that the Inthanon species is different - the White-headed Bulbul (thompsoni).
16

38
Mountain Bulbul
Hypsipetes mcclellandii
WYS-HG
Forest beneath of the Red Suspension Bridge and up Mount HG itself.

39
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Pycnonotus jocosus
XM
Funny, but the MacKinnon book's distribution of this species does not seem to include XM, but we saw some birds here - so likely to be escapees.

40
Light-vented Bulbul
Pycnonotus sinensis
XM, WYS-TA
The most common bulbul in this part of the world, akin to the Yellow-vented Bulbul in Singapore. This is a pretty bird that allows rather close approach and can be readily seen in the streets of XM and at the lower elevations of the WYS-TA.
17

41
Collared Finchbill
Spizixos semitorques
WSBG, WYS-TA
I’m quite sure I saw it at the WSBG. Much better views throughout the WYS-TA. Rather common and pretty bird.
18

42
Plain Prinia
Prinia inornata
WSBG, XM
This is one of those dull brown jobs that flit from bush to bush. Also recorded at the Luoyang Bridge in Xiamen where it was seen feeding over the water hyacinth patches in the river. Abundant in India.

43
Japanese White-eye
Zosterops japonicus
XM, WSBG, WYS-TA
Common garden bird in the lower elevations of South China. Found even in the streets - observed some birds outside the Overseas Chinese Hotel in downtown Quanzhou, on some trees fronting the little lake. Also common in the garden at Wuyi Mountain Villas.

44
Streak-throated (Grey-hooded) Fulvetta
Alcippe cinereiceps
WYS-HG
A rather non-descript bird, IDed via the photographs I took of it finishing off an ant (see picture above).
19

45
Grey-cheeked Fulvetta
Alcippe morrisonia
WYS-HG
This Fulvetta was very confiding and cute in Doi Inthanon, flying in huge, low flocks. A birdwave literally passed between our legs and we had 0.5m views. Not as visible in Mt HG.

46
Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler
Cettia acanthizoides
WYS-HG
Cannot recall much details of this bird. Warblers are a huge headache. I'm tempted to say I've seen them all since they are the confounding difficult-to-ID 'waders' of the forest. Its like those Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys books we read as kids - the plot is so similar from story to story that if you have read a few books, you can say you have read the entire series of over 100 books. Of course my favourite mystery series was Alfred Hitchcock's The Three Investigators, so much more intelligent.
20

47
Hwamei
Garrulax canorus
XM, WYS-TA (Tim only)
Was happy to finally see a wild Hwamei. These songsters are kept as pets by the locals and in Chinese, are also called Huamei. First saw it while birding the railway track outside the WSBG, a fast-flying bird that fed on the wild figs/berries. Tim also recorded it at our hotel in WYS, I was still dolling up then, heehee.
21

48
Masked Laughingthrush
Garrulax perspicillatus
WSBG, XM
Loud garrulous birds that moves about in small flocks. Found also in gardens around XM. Tim saw it at the Muslim Tombs in Quanzhou.
22

49
Red-billed Leiothrix
Leiothrix lutea
WYS-HG
The 'Mesia' of Huanggang - very colourful, pretty and common up in the mountains. They also belong to the same family as the Silver-eared Mesia found abundantly in Fraser's Hill, Malaysia.
23

50
Golden Parrotbill
Paradoxornis verreauxi
WYS-HG
Nice bird
24

51
Yellow-streaked Warbler
Phylloscopus armandii
WYS-HG
I must be honest - these mystifying and irritatingly-similar warblers - more or less recorded them although I can't be sure. Had to compare these Chinese warblers with those listed in my previous trips, particularly montane regions like Inthanon, Fraser's, India.
25

52
Sulphur-breasted Warbler
Phylloscopus ricketti
WYS-HG
26

53
Buff-throated Warbler
Phylloscopus subaffinis
WYS-HG
27

54
Greenish Warbler
Phylloscopus trochiloides
WYS-HG

55
Chestnut-crowned Warbler
Seicercus castaniceps sinensis
WYS-HG

56
Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler
Pomatorhinus ruficollis
WYS-TA
I love this bird - it was skulking in the undergrowth at Huxiaoyan (Roaring Tiger Rock) which I saw on the way up. At least it was a reason to pause and catch one's breath! Near but brief views.
28

57
White-browed Shrike Babbler
Pteruthius flaviscapis
WYS-HG
Female seen. Emerald very prominent on primaries.

58
White-spectacled Warbler
Seicercus affinis
WYS-HG
Quite a nice bird, despite being called a warbler.
29

59
Golden-spectacled Warbler
Seicercus burkii
WYS-HG
Seen in Inthanon before.

60
Rufous-capped Babbler
Stachyris ruficeps
WYS-HG
Rufous on head stands out.
30

61
Striated Yuhina
Yuhina castaniceps
WYS-HG
Lots of Yuhina looking birds with punk hairdo…the Coal Tit also looks Yuhina-like at first glance, especially when backlighted.
31

62
Black-chinned Yuhina
Yuhina nigrimenta
WYS-HG
I love these frisky little things, how they fidget ceaselessly as if energy were a free resource.
32

63
Buff-bellied (Fire-breasted) Flowerpecker
Dicaeum ignipectus
WYS-HG
Only saw the dull-looking female. Seen previously at Fraser's Hill.

64
Upland Pipit
Anthus sylvanus
WYS-HG
Saw it a few times. First view - perched on a rock by the roadside as our car entered the alpine meadows. Difficult to look at it through the thick mist at the summit.
33

65
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
WYS-TA
Street bird at WYS-TA, first saw it while eating spicy noodle breakfast right at the start of the WYS leg.

66
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Passer montanus
XM, WYS-TA
Exceedingly common at the lower elevations of South-east China.

67
Brown Bullfinch
Pyrrhula nipalensis
WYS-HG
Fat non-descript Juvenile seen.
34

68
Un-ID Falco
WYS-TA
Flying in the mist at the top of Tianyoufeng.

69
Introduced - Helmeted Guineafowl
WSBG
Walking on the lawns, later running upwards for cover when it saw us. Bingwen and Ding IDed it for me, since its an African bird sometimes eaten as food.

70
Introduced - Indian Peafowl
WSBG
Calling loudly on top of a tree.

Other Wildlife Seen

Frogs - 3 species (names are descriptive and not real)

1
Brown-ridged
Not IDed
2
Green Frog
Not IDed
3
Shiling Frog
Not IDed

Mammals

1
Tibetan Macaque
Tentative ID
2
Striped Squirrel
Not IDed
3
East-Asian Mole
Tentative ID
4
White Bat
Not IDed
5
Black Bat (outside WYS train station toilet)

6
Chinese Muntjac
Tentative ID

Others

1
Five-striped Blue-tailed or Shanghai Skink
Eumeces elegans
2
Fishes - 4 types
Not IDed
3
Insects - plenty of photos
Not IDed accept butterflies
4
Caged Birds observed - parrots, lovebirds, Java Sparrows (used like a parrot to pick out a stick in fortune telling), juvenile Crested Myna & Black-Collared Starling.

Cyrene Impressions

2008-05-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ria Tan and her gang of 15, I got to see Cyrene Reef first hand on 23 May 2008. We took a Dolphin there (that's the name of the boat), departing from the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club at 6am in the morning. Cyrene was serene, almost ethereal as it revealed its face in the low tide. The amphibious landing, as November Tan forewarned, was easier than anticipated. I was amazed at the stretch of sand bank and coral flats that greeted us, looming a good 2-3km ahead, right smack in the middle of the sea. As the sun peaked over the horizon, the sky took on a pinkish hue, a pretty start to a glorious day.

Octopus! This red beauty surfaced only towards the end of the walk. It darted amongst the rocks in a frenzied bid to escape our predatory cameras.

They call it the 'Sea Biscuit', a cute, tiny starfish that reminds me of candied confectionery.

I've always paid scant attention to Sea Urchins, viewing them as only spiny balls. Of course, whenever I see any during dives, I naturally swim higher up to avoid their pricks. Having said that, I was speared by a white sea urchin while in the Philippines (Cebu), as I carelessly stepped into a boat without footwear. It was a gross experience as the urchin's spikes were in such profusion, it appeared that I suddenly acquired a 'furry' toe! The Flipino boat lady tried to pluck out what she could, and when she gave up, I had the unpleasant task of plucking out /breaking off the spikes myself. Apparently, these spikes dissolve in the flesh after a period of time. Coming back to this blackie, I was amazed that it could move its spikes in any direction, something that I had not known before.

Sea Grapes. This sea weed brings back good memories...it (or another in its genus) is eaten as a salad in the Philippines (Cebu again!), tasting very much like salmon roe.

I want to go to Cyrene Reef

2008-05-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

Carpet eel-blenny (Congrogadus subducens), at Tanjong Rimau, Sentosa. Possibly found at Cyrene Reef too.

Cyrene Reef – its very location, at the patch of sea sandwiched between industrial Jurong Island and oil refinery base Pulau Bukom in Singapore – is a testimony to the resilience and precariousness of nature. Coupled to the fact that Cyrene Reef is next to a busy shipping lane, it’s a wonder at all that a reef can exist here.

Yet Cyrene Reef thrives gloriously, with a wide assortment of marine life that rivals the best of its famous counterpart in the east, Chek Jawa. A living reef teeming with fishes also supports avian life, with birds like the Pacific Reef Egret, Grey Heron, White-bellied Sea Eagle, the rare and endangered Chinese Egret and Singapore’s largest bird the Great-billed Heron regularly finding its next meal in these waters. Because of this amazing juxtaposition of nature versus industry, I am intrigued and very much want to visit Cyrene Reef one day, to witness first hand this miracle of sorts.

Hairy Reef Crab.

However, Cyrene Reef lives on borrowed time, given Singapore’s penchant for relentless reclamation. Already, there are rock-filling works and reclamation going on just off Cyrene, as well as sand mining and dumping works at nearby Labrador Nature Reserve. It is feared that Cyrene Reef might become another case of here today, gone tomorrow. A balance has to be struck between economic expansion and nature conservation, and I believe that with more dialogue and greater understanding on both sides, a compromise can be reached such that our future generations will still have patches of nature to enjoy in Singapore.

Red Eyed Reef Crab (Eriphia smithi), partially hidden in a rock crevice.

Some of you might know that I’ll become the Chairperson of Nature Society (Singapore)’s (NSS) Education Group from 24 May 2008. NSS Education Group runs a Fun with Nature programme for NSS Kids (5-9 years old) as well as a separate HSBC-sponsored programme for primary schools in Singapore, with the aims of showcasing Singapore’s natural heritage to the young ones. Over the past 8 years, my predecessor, Dr Vilma D’Rozario, has done a fabulous job in her ardent promotion of all things natural. As she passes on the baton to me, I would like to continue this mission of advancing the cause of nature through education, not only amongst the little ones, but to the public in general.

Zoanthids aka colonial anemones.

As this year is International Year of the Reef (IYOR 2008), it’ll be a dream come true if NSS Kids can get to see Cyrene Reef one day, and perhaps from this one trip, begin their own march towards a lifelong passion for nature appreciation and conservation.

Chameleon nerite.

Red Junglefowl on Singapore's mainland

2008-02-13T23:09:00.000-08:00

Usually seen reliably on Pulau Ubin only (an offshore island of Singapore), I felt lucky to photograph and film a Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) on mainland Singapore, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, 6 February 2008. Apparently, according to Chinese mythology, the 1st day of the Lunar New Year is the Rooster's Birthday (the 7th day is Man's Birthday), maybe because the Rooster's crow is what one hears first thing in the morning for farming folks then.

This was precisely what greeted me when I first stepped out of my car, ready for a day of birding in Sime Forest. The Junglefowl was crowing at the top of its lungs at regular intervals. The curious me managed to locate the bird about 7m to 8m up a tree.
Red Junglefowl - Territorial crowing up a tree, from 740am to 8am. Watch video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXIdBK9XaTc

Returning to the same spot around 1230pm to retrieve my car, after some excellent forest birding where I got good views of the rare Dusky Warbler, I found the Red Junglefowl walking tamely by the roadside, foraging for food amidst rubbish and soil. The old folks who regularly hang around the area mentioned that they often see this bird (they noted that it is found up in trees too).

Red Junglefowl digging for earthworms and the like. Note its diagnostic white cheek patch. This bird is probably a juvenile, since its white rump is still largely undeveloped.

Red Junglefowl Foraging and Feeding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQH4lYowSac

Singapore has banned all live chickens due to the Avian Flu outbreak some years back, as such, all 'chickens' seen on the mainland are technically wild ones.

India: Taj, Tigers & Birds 28 Dec 2007 to 11 Jan 2008

2008-01-16T02:50:00.000-08:00

I welcomed 2008 in India, but only now (28Aug 08) have I found the time to post the pictures of this stupdendous wildlife extravaganza of a trip. The only consolation is that these pictures have long been sitting in my facebook album (so facebook friends would have seen most of these). Enough said about my tardiness.

India is fantabulous, proffering a cornucopia of natural and cultural wonders that has left an indelible impression in my 2 weeks tour of Delhi, Ranthambhore, Bharatpur, Jaipur and Agra. I've got a journal written down in my computer somewhere, but I'm sure its too long for most to digest, so here instead, my trip speaks for itself in my photos and accompanying captions. Bird list at the end of all pictures. Enjoy!

Common Hoopoe. My dear sister Mabel, previously living in Dubai, saw it first before me, in her Hyatt - Galleria home garden. I finally caught up with it in Bharatpur, with the added pleasure of being able to creep close to it to observe its every move. Saw it again at the Taj and in Qtub Minar. Yes, it visits lawns and gardens too, so the next time you visit India (or any country up north), watch out for it. Even though it looks big in photos, it is only the size of the pigeon you always see, ie the Rock Pigeon.

Nilgai aka Blue Bull. This horse-like antelope is India's largest. Because it has the world 'bull' in its name, it is also sacred (and therefore left unharmed) in Hinduism (which honours the cow/bull beacuse of its life-giving milk). This particular juvenile male was such a darling - he marched right up to me and rubbed his head on my pants. I was afraid of him at first, because of his horns and his wild status, but was soon won over, sayanging him to bits.

Grey Nightjar at Bharatpur. One of our first few lifers.

Brown Rockchat. Very prominent in Ranthambhore Fort, but not seen anywhere else, funny enough.

Ranthambhore Fort - a hidden ruin off the beaten track. Was chasing the Rockchat for its picture and ended up at this secluded spot.

Hanuman Langur. Big and bad black-faced monkey that has no qualms snatching food from humans and each other. This cutie was eating a flower garland with gusto, a probable left over from the Lord Ganesha temple ceremony at Ranthambhore Fort.

Ranthambhore Fort. If I'm not wrong, this is what is left of a public meeting hall when the fort was still functional. Right now, it has been largely been abandoned, save for the Lord Ganesha temple at the very top which still attracts pilgrims to make the long upward trek, espcially over the New Year period when we were there.

The ubiquitous Five-striped Squirrel sometimes takes on pest proportions, behaving more like mice (congregating in large groups) than typical squirrels. Still it's an amusing one to watch.

The Red-wattled Lapwing is hard to see in Singapore, but is readily found in water bodies as small as mere puddles all over India. I managed to get within 2 meters of this stunner at the rubbish dump beside my Safari Lodge in Ranthambhore to even see that its wings had tinges of pink and green, and was not just brownish as seen from afar. Its eyes also took on a luminous red that was almost mesmerizing to watch, especially through my binoculars.

Black Storks, Indian Pond Herons, Common Moorhen, River Tern, Common Kingfisher etc awaited us at the river, which marked the end of the safari drive at Route 5 of Ranthambhore National Park. Ranthambhore is divided into 5 sectors (Route 1 to 5) and for each safari, open-top jeeps/canters are alloted their routes randomly. We ended up doing Route 5 three times. I actually hate this route because of the massive dust clouds that accompany the drive (due to the dry season), coating everything in brown and causing us to choke on our own breath. My poor beige jacket looked like it belonged to a construction worker at the end of the drive. Having said that, Route 5 was also very productive - we saw both the Leopard and Tiger here! In all we had 5 safari drives (2 a day, 3 hours each time) for our 2 1/2 days stay in Ranthambhore.

Jalebi! Lovely sweet snack that dripped of honey. Had it at Old Delhi.

Slow down its Amber. This picture came out in the Straits Times on 26 Feb 2008 thanks to Yue Yun. Camel rides with the 16th century Amber Fort in the background, Jaipur. Taken from a moving car.

Mutton Briyani at Kasbah, an expensive diner in New Delhi. The meal came with Indian crackers, onions, pickles and mint sauce, and finished off with packets of sugary sweet spices that is supposed to clear one's breath. What was nice was the pseudo-garden setting with soft sunlight streaming through its wooden rafters.

Qtub Minar. I'm standing at one of the arches at the Tomb of Iltutmish. According to www.exploredelhi.com, the tomb has plain and stark exteriors, but its interiors are lavishly ornamented with geometrical and arabesque patterns in Saracenic tradition. Along with this, ancient Hindu motifs, such as wheel, bell-and-chain, tassel, lotus and diamond, can also be seen here. It was these carvings that led a pundit to remark that this tomb is 'one of the richest examples of Hindu art applied to Mohammedan purposes'. It's no wonder that Qtub Minar is my top-rated cultural destination.

Shirley and I at Jantar Mantar, an amazing astronomical observatory in Jaipur built between 1727 and 1734 by Maharajah Jai Singh II. These architectural wonders are orientated and precisely constructed for astronomical measurements, accurately doing things like telling the time (down to 20 and even 2 seconds accuracy), indicating the position of the north star, calculating the destinies of kings based on their birth month, time etc etc. Our guide explained the functions of some of these strange geometrical constructions, demonstrating their accuracy with the time machine which required us to add 29 minutes to derive Indian Standard Time. We were awed.

We stayed at the ornate and luxurious Alsisar Haveli, a palatial mansion converted to heritage hotel, built by Rajput merchants who were sometimes richer than their rulers. Here, I'm resting after a bout of garden birding where I added lifers like the Laughing Dove, Little Green Bee-eater and Eurasian Collared Dove.

Qtub Minar. Intricate and beautiful carvings in multi-coloured sandstone.

Surprisingly, India is more environmentally conscious than Singapore. All its commercial vehicles (buses, autorickshaws etc) run on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), with CNG refulleing stations everywhere (compared to Singapore which only has a paltry handful in remote locales). I can attest to the fact that CNG is cleaner - you don't see black smoke coming out of the exhaust - making breathing a breeze. Having said that, I found myself wheezing away still...because of constant nose bleed/coagulated blood in my left nostril due to the very dry winter air, I think the driest I've ever experienced (maybe because I was in Rajasthan where the Thar desert looms). My nose bleed resolved itself naturally when I returned home to humid Singapore.

India's National Emblem - a replica of the Lion of Sarnath. The Lion Capital was erected in the 3rd century BC by Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where Lord Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emancipation. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of the lion of the north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the west, separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus, and crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra). The motto Satyameva Jayate inscribed below the emblem in Devanagari script means 'truth alone triumphs'. Photographed this at the Indira Gandhi Memorial in New Delhi.

Soldiers in Action. I was lucky to catch this contigent of smart Indian soldiers rehearsing for the Republic Day of India parade held on 26-29 January at India Gate, Rajpath, New Delhi.

Anand Arya and I. My birding pal in Sultanpur National Park, who hosted me with utmost hospitality and found me 20 new birds! He's an acclaimed bird photographer and a very regular birder.

Pied Kingfisher - a desired bird that I watched fishing very accurately in its classic hovering fashion at Sultanpur.
Temminck's Stint standing in a roadside puddle which we photographed from the car. India is truly bird rich. I expected about 40-50 lifers, but got 101 instead. Shirley probably got much more lifers since this is her first 'serious' overseas birding trip. She only accompanied me for the first 8 days of the trip (Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambhore, Baratphur & a bit of Agra). I was alone for the last six days in Agra and Delhi. So she missed out on the splendour of Sultanpur.

Citrine Wagtail. Another wanted bird that I delighted to find.

Common Cranes flying in classic V formation near Sultanpur National Park, Haryana.

Sunset at Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Sunsets are always stunning in Rajasthan, a golden orb made more beautiful by the clear desert skies.

Birding in Bharatpur (aka Keolado Ghana National Park) with our excellent bird guide Hari Singh and Shirley. Here, we are snacking on Pakora, which I also fed to a tame Nilgai.

Indian Rock Python (Python molurus molurus). Bharatpur is famous for Indian Rock Pythons, this is even mentioned in Lonely Planet. They live underground in hollows often shared with Porcupines and can be found sunning themselves at midday or curled up beneath a bush. It reaches a maximum of 6.4 m in length, and can weigh as much as 91 kg. We saw ours with a baby python. Pictured here is the adult, which remained stock still the entire time we were there. It had a visible bulge around its tummy, and was apparently happily digesting its last meal. Hari told us to keep absolutely silent in order not to provoke an attack.

Eurasian Spoonbill. Two juveniles working the waters both shallow and deep.

Jungle Babbler. Its hooded eyes makes it look fierce. This is an aggressive bird, flying fearlessly up to us while we were having lunch, with demanding calls for a piece of bread. Hahaha, our guide at Ranthambhore said that it is also nicknamed 'Japanese Tourist' (no offence to my Japanese friends), for its incoherent and incessant babbles.

Asian Pied Starling. Taj Mahal.

India's National Bird - the commonly encountered Indian Peafowl & Peahen (yes, they are the regular 'peacocks'). Seen at the Taj Nature Walk.

White-browed Wagtail. Unexpected lifer at Fatehpur Sikri. Thought it was the White Wagtail at first, luckily I took a picture and IDed it later.

Rose-ringed Parakeet resting on an ancient monument. In Delhi, this parakeet is almost as common as the Rock Pigeons you see in the foreground, noisily winging overhead in bright flashes of green.

Dusky Eagle Owl - Papa. Usually these owls are seldom seen, but because of a known nesting, we were treated to their regal presence.

Dusky Eagle Owl - Chick in Nest. Compared to richly-plumaged papa, it is still in whitish down feathers. There were supposed to be 2 chicks and Mama in and around the nest, but I could only see this baby peering down at us.

Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris). According to Wikipedia, it is literally "crocodile of the marsh, found throughout the Indian subcontinent. The name Mugger is a corruption of the Hindi word magar which means "water monster". Photographed mine at the same river on Route 5, basking and keeping absolutely still.

Rufous Treepie. A photogenic bird that is also very tame. I hand-fed one of them with crackers! I've seen quarrelsome flocks of R Treepies and Jungle Babblers as they fought amongst themselves for food hand-outs.

Golden Jackal. We saw 3 of them at close range in Bharatpur, with one baring its fangs at another - apparently competing for breeding rights. Our first sighting was at Ranthambhore.

Tiger (top right hand corner)!!! We were in the 3rd jeep trailing the male beauty as he sauntered on the dirt track barely 15 meters ahead. We were freakin' lucky, with 2 tiger sightings in 5 safaris, plus one bonus leopard sighting (which is even more difficult to see!!). During the 2nd tiger sighting on our final safari, my prayers were amazingly answered with the tiger at just 5 meters from Shirley and I. Truly intense! Ranthambhore National Park is about 400 plus sqkm, with about 200 plus sqkm allocated to limited human activity (collection of firewood, grazing of cattle), and only about 200 plus sqkm that is entirely off-limits to humans. This protected portion (200 plus sqkm) is about 1/3 the size of Singapore, with an estimated 32 tigers roaming the area, according to the forestry department. Tiger census is via plaster casts made of pug marks (tiger pawprints). Males have rounded, bigger pugs, while females have pointy toes because they use nail polish!

Sarus Cranes! My top trip bird. It was an especially emotional moment when one of the cranes threw up its head to assume its iconic stance and let out an ethereal evening call. What a way to end our birding day at Bharatpur, aka Keoladeo Ghana National Park.

Jungle Cat! A seldom seen super bonus at Bharatpur, and even more amazing that I managed to capture it on camera. This ferocious feline is about 20% bigger than the domestic cat. Hari spotted it across the river, wandering in the tall grass amidst grazing cattle.

Indian Scops Owl. A doting pair with inverted smiley eyes, especially the female on the right. My favourite bird picture! Being able to finally photograph my birds with decent results, thanks to my recent purchase of a 12x zoom Canon S5 IS, has pleased me immensely. On top of that, I don't have to lug around a big camera on a tripod. This nifty camera is simply slung across my shoulders.

Spotted Owlet. The owl has always held a special place in my heart. And the Spotted Owlet marks my 13th owl on my global life list. The funny thing was that I kept running into it - 3 times in all - and twice in the same day at Sultanpur (both times spotted by me at different locales, one of them a known stake-out). Its difficult enough to see owls at night when they are active, but to spot them in the day, when they are roosting in complete stillness is truly a blessing from God.

India Bird List - Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Ranthambhore, Bharatpur
28 Dec to 11 January 2008
by Gloria Seow

Locations Birded
1 Okhla Bird Sanctuary - O
2 Ranthambhore National Park - R
3 Jaipur - J
4 Bharatpur (Keoladeo National Park) - B
5 Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary - S
6 Agra (Yamuna River) - A

This list is copied directly from Excel, so the order is as follows:
No.
SPECIES
SCIENTIFIC NAME
LIFER
LOCATION
NOTES

1
GREY FRANCOLIN
Francolinus pondicerianus
1
R, B, S
Happy to see it, first francolin. Like to move about in numbers. In B, we counted 8 scampering through the thorny bushes together. V cute.
2
INDIAN PEAFOWL
Pavo cristatus
2
Everywhere
All over India, even in villages, perched on roofs etc. Seen feeding in a large group, with huge chicks, together with wild boar in R.
3
GREYLAG GOOSE
Anser anser
3
S
Numerous
4
BARHEADED GOOSE
Anser indicus
4
S
A flock
5
RUDDY SHELDUCK
Tadorna ferruginea
5
B, A, S
Found in pairs. Quite common along the river Yamuna.
6
GADWALL
Anas strepera
6
S
Another non-descript duck. Usually I'd rather leave the ID of such dull birds to the experts.
7
MALLARD
Anas platyrhynchos

S
Possibly in Okhla - ducks were too far off to ID reliably.
8
SPOT-BILLED DUCK
Anas poecilorhyncha

B, A
Common. Very pretty.
9
COMMON TEAL
Anas crecca
7
R, B, S
First saw in R, although I didn't know it then. There were ducks in R that I didn't even attempt to ID.
10
NORTHERN PINTAIL
Anas acuta

S

11
NORTHERN SHOVELLER
Anas clypeata

B, S

12
BARRED BUTTONQUAIL
Turnix suscitator
8
B
Quite estactic to finally locate a buttonquail. Really cute and tiny, only the size of chicks - 15cm. 3 of them crept through the thorny scrub about 3 meters from Shirley and I. We alerted Hari to their presence. They then rotated themselves round and round as if bedding down / making a nest. This action was repeated several times as they walked along. Filmed them. As I approached to get a better pix, a stupid cat suddenly appeared. It had seen the birds and vice versa. Instead of running away, the terrified quails simply sat down and hoped to blend in with the brown earth. I was frantic and roared as well as stamped my feet to scare away the cat. At first it ignored me and I had yell real loudly before he took flight. I felt like a bird hero! Happy!
13
EURASIAN WRYNECK
Jynx torquilla
9
S
Was super excited when Anand shouted 'Wryneck'. I couldn't believe that I was looking at a much desired bird - since Japan. Beautiful. I love its cryptic coloration and unique ability to whip its head around.
14
BLACK-RUMPED FLAMEBACK
Dinopium benghalense
10
R
While in the jeep, 1st safari, Shirley and guide yelled out the bird. I caught a quick glimpse only.
15
BROWN-HEADED BARBET (H)
Megalaima zeylanica

S
Heard only.
16
INDIAN GREY HORNBILL
Ocyceros birostris
11
B, A
Only one specimen early in the morning in S. At the Taj Nature Walk, after only seeing common birds the entire evening, I was walking out when the guard told me how worried the ticket guy was that I had disappeared into the out of bounds forest. I felt bad. They asked to use my bins and I obliged. Within 1 minute I saw 2 hornbills fly-by. I snatched back my bins, apolgised, and was off chasing hornbills. God led me to this tree where about 7-8 of them were perched. Photographed one of them. Poor light.
17
COMMON HOOPOE
Upupa epops
12
B, Taj, Qtub Minar
Finally, very good views. Crept to within 3 meters of the bird at B for photos. Filmed in Taj. Smaller than the pictures looked - 33cm only.
18
INDIAN ROLLER
Coracias benghalensis

R
2 birds performing just outside our Ranthambhore Safari Lodge, perched on roadside wire.
19
COMMON KINGFISHER
Alcedo atthis

R
Saw 2 vividly coloured birds at the river. Beautiful. Dunno why colours are a lot more brilliant than those in Singapore.
20
WHITE-THROATED KINGFISHER
Halcyon smyrnensis

Everywhere

21
PIED KINGFISHER
Ceryle rudis
13
S
Happy! A wished-for bird (I told Shirley I wanted to see one), and was delighted to watch it fishing in its classic hovering fashion. Very accurate, always landing a fish.
22
GREEN BEE EATER
Merops orientalis
14
J, R
Alisisar Haveli - 3 birds sallying - photos.
23
CHESTNUT HEADED BEE EATER
Merops leschnaulti
15
R
Saw chestnut on head. Birded the streets outside our Lodge.
24
COMMON HAWK CUCKOO
Hierococcyx varius
16
O
In dense portion of tree, towards the end of our birdwalk. About size of koel.
25
ASIAN KOEL
Eudynamys scolopacea

O, R, A
Saw it finally at Taj.
26
GREATER COUCAL
Centropus sinensis

O, B, S, A
Surprisingly common. Walking around much more boldy than those in Singapore.
27
ALEXANDRINE PARAKEET
Psittacula eupatria
17
R
Much bigger than ubiquitious RRP.
28
ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET
Psittacula krameri

Everywhere
Appears as often as Rock Pigeons…even on ancient monuments
29
PLUM-HEADED PARAKEET
Psittacula cynaocephala
18
R
Saw its red face. Appeared in flocks.
30
ASIAN PALM SWIFT
Cypsiurus balasiensis

R

31
HOUSE SWIFT
Apus affinis

R

32
INDIAN SCOPS OWL
Otus bakkamoena
19
B
Cute pair sleeping in tree. All guides/rickshaw riders seem to know where they roost.
33
DUSKY EAGLE OWL
Bubo coromandus
20
B
Nesting - papa and chick in nest. No thrill seeing a known nesting, but still happy that we were privileged to.
34
SPOTTED OWLET
Athene brama
21
B
At first Hari couldn't locate it. Then suddenly he knew which tree it had gone to. It sat in deep shadows, and we could only see one eye. Cute. Then it got spooked and flew off. Saw it 2 more times - once at a known stake-out before S, and 2nd time at S itself - sitting on an open bare branch winking at us.
35
GREY NIGHTJAR
Caprimulgus indicus
22
B
Hari knew exactly which side path to take, and which tree to look into for this bird - not much thrill…almost no different from a zoo exhibit.
36
ROCK PIGEON
Columba livia

Everywhere

37
ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE
Streptopelia orientalis
23
R
We saw about 3 birds, beautiful scalloping on brown wings, at a tree near our hotel. Luckily we walked down this dirt path to investigate this tree.
38
LAUGHING DOVE
Streptopelia senegalensis
24
J, R, S
Photographed it as it walked across our Haveli's rooftop.
39
SPOTTED DOVE
Streptopelia chinensis

R
Ruffling its feathers at tree just outside our lodge's restaurant.
40
RED COLLARED DOVE
Streptopelia tranquebarica

J onwards, everywhere

41
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE
Streptopelia decaocto
25
J onwards, everywhere

42
YELLOW-FOOTED GREEN PIGEON
Treron phoenicoptera
26
R, A (?)
Something must have given the alarm call, because suddenly, about 30 pigeons and other birds flew out of the tree we were watching, en messe. Very funny looking. Later, put two and two together. It was because of the tiger - that's why all birds vacated the area. Taj - not sure if the tree full of pigeons were this bird?
43
SARUS CRANE
Grus antigone
27
B, S
Jubilant to see 2 birds only in the evening. Raised its head in its iconic stance to give out an amazing call. Very evocative, almost spiritual. Saw 3 calling and flying at S.
44
COMMON CRANE
Grus grus
28
S
2 huge flocks of cranes flying in classic V formation. Saw it while we were driving back to Delhi. Anand had to yell stop - we jumped out of the car. I had already kept my bins - so I borrowed Anand's. Took photo too.
45
WHITE-BRESTED WATERHEN
Amaurornis phoenicurus

O, R, B, S

46
PURPLE SWAMPHEN
Porphyrio porphyrio

O, S
Funny, but this bird is rare in B and R. Okhla barrage - there were at least 15-20 birds feeding together on the floating vegetation.
47
COMMON MOORHEN
Gallinula chloropus

O, R, B, S
Common
48
COMMON COOT
Fulica atra
29
O, S
Common.
49
COMMON SNIPE
Gallinago gallinago
30
S

50
BLACK-TAILED GODWIT
Limosa limosa
31
S

51
COMMON REDSHANK
Tringa tetanus

B, S

52
COMMON GREENSHANK
Tringa nebularia

B

53
GREEN SANDPIPER
Tringa ochropus
32
B, S
Embarassing - mistook it for the Nordman's Greenshank. Stupid Hari called it the Spotted Greenshank (and I immediately thought it had to be rare, mixing it up with the Spotted Redshank. But it looks different - scalings on wings.
54
WOOD SANDPIPER
Tringa glareola

R
Saw it while waiting for Tiger on 1st safari.
55
MARSH SANDPIPER
Tringa stagnatilis

S

56
COMMON SANDPIPER
Actitis hypoleucos

S

57
TEMMINCK扴 STINT
Calidris temminckii
33
S
Roadside puddle. Photographed from car at 1m distance.
58
BLACK-WINGED STILT
Himantopus himantopus

O, R, B, S
Surprisingly common. Elegant
59
RIVER LAPWING
Vanellus duvaucelii
34
S
Saw only 1 bird.
60
RED-WATTLED LAPWING
Vanellus indicus

Everywhere
Common, even found in mere puddles - seen on our long drives. Photographed closeup in the rubbish dump next to Lodge.
61
BROWN-HEADED GULL
Larus brunnicephalus
35
O
Flying by, black dot on cheeks.
62
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Larus ridibundus
36
O, B

63
RIVER TERN
Sterna aurantia
37
R

64
BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE
Elanus caeruleus

O
Photographed a v handsome juvenile.
65
BLACK KITE
Milvus migrans

Everywhere except R, B
Funny, but it was absent down south of Delhi. If not, there could be 20-30 BK soaring on the same thermal - quite gross to see.
66
EGYPTIAN VULTURE
Neophron percnopterus
38
B
Suddenly, in the space of 20 minutes - very majestic raptors soared in the same heavens - Great-spotted Eagle, Imperial Eagle, White-eyed Buzzard, Bonelli's Eagle, Egyptian Vulture and Red-headed Vulture.
67
LONG-BILLED VULTURE
Gyps indicus
39
R
Soared beautifully. Looked amazing against the cliff where it landed. My first vulture - a momentous feeling.
68
RED-HEADED VULTURE
Sacrogyps calvus
40
B
Saw its bare red head - knew instinctively it had to be a vulture. Happy!
69
WESTERN MARSH HARRIER
Circus aeruginosus
41
S
Chasing ducks all over S. Bulky and majestic.
70
SHIKRA
Accipiter badius
42
B
Saw twice in B. Could approach it down to 2 meters for photography, but poor lighting.
71
WHITE-EYED BUZZARD
Butastur teesa
43
B
Bird soaring with missing feathers. Landed also.
72
GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE
Aquila clanga
44
B
Soaring - v big.
73
IMPERIAL EAGLE
Aquila heliaca
45
B
Soaring - v big.
74
BONELLI'S EAGLE
Hieraaetus fasciatus

B

75
COMMON KESTREL
Falco tinnunculus
46
S
Grasslands near S. V close perched views. Handsome. Chased it around in the car for Anand to take his pix. Unsuccessful in capturing a shot.
76
LITTLE GREBE
Tachybaptus ruficollis

O, B, S
Diving. Common
77
DARTER
Anhinga malanogaster

S
Thought it was a purple heron at first. But immediately knew it was a Darter - a joy to see.
78
LITTLE CORMORANT
Phalacrocorax niger
47
O, S

79
INDIAN CORMORANT
Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
48
O, S

80
LITTLE EGRET
Egretta garzetta

R, S

81
GREAT EGRET
Casmerodius albus

O, B, S

82
INTERMEDIATE EGRET
Mesophoyx intermedia

O, B, S

83
CATTLE EGRET
Bubulcus ibis

Fields

84
INDIAN POND HERON
Ardeola grayii
49
R, S

85
GREY HERON
Ardea cinerea

O, B, R, S

86
PURPLE HERON
Ardea purpurea

O, S

87
LITTLE HERON
Butorides striatus

S

88
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
Nycticorax nycticorax

S

89
GREATER FLAMINGO
Phoenicopterus rubber
50
O

90
BLACK-HEADED IBIS
Threskiornis melanocephalus
51
O, B

91
EURASIAN SPOONBILL
Platalea leucorodia
52
B
Juvenile pair feeding. Pink bills.
92
GREAT WHITE PELICAN
Pelecanus onocrotalus
53
O
Spotted by Shirley - very far away.
93
PAINTED STORK
Mycteria lecocephala
54
A, S
Lifer at Yamuna. Tonnes filling the whole tree at S, over 100 birds.
94
BLACK STORK
Ciconia nigra
55
R
Amazed to see at River in R - 2nd safari drive on Route 5 - super dusty - but good reward for having endured the dust.
95
BLACK- NECKED STORK
Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus
56
B
It flew in after the Sarus Cranes - last minute.
96
RUFOUS-TAILED SHRIKE
Lanius isabellinus
57
S

97
BAY-BACKED SHRIKE
Lanius vittatus
58
R
Lifer near our Lodge.
98
LONG-TAILED SHRIKE
Lanius schach

R, S

99
SOUTHERN GREY SHRIKE
Lanius meridionalis
59
S
Amazing number of different shrikes around S.
100
RUFOUS TREEPIE
Dendrocitta vagabunda

R, B, S
Was shocked that such a beautiful bird could be so tame. Feeding from ground, from hand. Landing on our jeeps.
101
HOUSE CROW
Corvus splendens

Everywhere

102
LARGE- BILLED CROW
Corvus macrorhynchos

R

103
SMALL MINIVET
Pericrocotus cinnamomeus
61
B
Viewed from far.
104
LONG-TAILED MINIVET
Pericrocotus ethologus
62
B
Saw the yellow female.
105
WHITE-BROWED FANTAIL
Rhipidura aureola
63
R, B
Lifer opposite our Lodge.
106
ASHY DRONGO
Dicrurus leucophaeus

B

107
BLACK DRONGO
Dicrurus macrocercus

R, B
Sitting on grazing sambar even.
108
WHITE BELLIED DRONGO
Dicrurus caerulescens
64
R, B
Strange with white-belly.
109
ORANGE-HEADED THRUSH
Zoothera citrina

B
Only bird that got Hari excited.
110
RUSTY-TAILED FLYCATCHER
Muscicapa ruficauda
65
B

111
RED-THROATED FLYCATCHER
Ficedula parva

B
Hari said Red-throated and Red-breasted. Ding says both are the same bird aka as the Taiga FC, which I saw in Doi Chiang Dao, Inthanon.
112
GREY-HEADED CANARY FLYCATCHER
Culicicapa ceylonensis

R
Tree outside our Lodge.
113
BLUE THROAT
Luscinia svecica
66
B
Female - in bush on the banks of B. Flew across river. Dwelled near the ground.
114
ORIENTAL MAGPIE ROBIN
Copsychus saularis

R, B, S

115
INDIAN ROBIN
Saxicoloides fulicata
67
O, R, B, S
V common. Even on roads. Toilet stop.
116
BLACK REDSTART
Phoenicurus ochruros
68
R, B, S
Surprisingly common for such a beauty.
117
COMMON STONE CHAT
Saxicola torquata
69
S
Saw only 2 birds.
118
PIED BUSH CHAT
Saxicola caprata

B, S

119
BROWN ROCK CHAT
Cercomela fusca
70
R
Common at Ranthambhore fort and nowhere else. Photos. Likes to sit on old structures and stare out at the crowds. Ided by Hari from photos.
120
BRAHMINY STARLING
Sturnus pagodarum
71
R, B
Nice bird - associated with Bank and Common Myna.
121
ASIAN PIED STARLING
Sturnus contra
72
O, B, S
Photographed/filmed it as it opened up the close-cropped grass at the Taj. Pretty.
122
COMMON MYNA
Acridotheres tristis

Everywhere
Close-up shot at Qtub Minar.
123
BANK MYNA
Acridotheres ginginianus
73
R, B

124
SAND MARTIN
Riparia riparia
74
B
Ided by Hari.
125
DUSKY CRAG MARTIN
Hirundo concolor
75
B

126
BARN SWALLOW
Hirundo rustica

B

127
WIRE-TALED SWALLOW
Hirundo smithii
76
S

128
STREAKED-THROATED SWALLOW
Hirundo fluvicola
77
O

129
RED-RUMPED SWALLOW
Hirundo daurica

R

130
WHITE-EARED BULBUL
Pycnonotus leucotis
78
B
Thought it was Great Tit at first.
131
RED-VENTED BULBUL
Pycnonotus cafer
79
Everywhere
IDEd by CV (Ding's driver, who remembers him as the one who likes to eat chocolate). My last sighting of it was a v good closeup view at Lotus - Bahai House of Worship while waiting 1/2 hour for my idiot Nepalese driver.
132
GRACEFUL PRINIA
Prinia gracilis
80
S

133
PLAIN PRINIA
Prinia inornata
81
Everywhere

134
ASHY PRINIA
Prinia socialis
82
Everywhere
Thought it resembled the Rufescent Prinia.
135
ORIENTAL WHITE EYE
Zosterops palpebrosus

R, S
Outside Lodge. Sultanpur - at lunch.
136
LESSER WHITE THROAT
Sylvia curruca
83
R, B, S
Common - makes sound like flowerpecker.
137
COMMON TAILORBIRD
Orthotomus sutorius

J, R, B, S

138
COMMON CHIFFCHAFF
Phylloscopus collybita
84
B
In a low, dense bush by water edge.
139
BROOK'S LEAF WARBLER
Phylloscopus subvirdis
85
R
Tree outside our Lodge.
140
CLAMOROUS REED-WARBLER
Acrocephalus stentoreus
86
B

141
BOOTED WARBLER
Hippolais caligata
87
O
Photos - mystery bird Ided by Ding and Anand.
142
SULPHER-BELLIED WARBLER
Phylloscopus griseolus
88
R
Photos - on ground in leaf litter. Ided by Ding.
143
HUME'S WARBLER
Phylloscopus humei
89
B

144
GREENISH WARBLER
Phylloscopus trochiloides
90
B

145
JUNGLE BABBLER
Turdoides striatus
91
Everywhere
From Okhla to Taj to Delhi. Even in the city.
146
INDIAN BUSHLARK
Mirafra erythroptera
92
O
Recalls Bunting.
147
ASHY-CROWNED SPARROW LARK
Eremopterix grisea
93
S
IN the grasslands, on the ground.
148
CRESTED LARK
Galerida cristata
94
S
IN the grasslands, on the ground.
149
ORIENTAL SKYLARK
Alauda gulgula
95
R
By the river, drinking water. On Route 4 Safari.
150
PURPLE SUNBIRD
Nectarinia asiatica
96
R, A
Ranthambhore fort lifer. Also at Agra - outside my garden room at Hotel.
151
HOUSE SPARROW
Passer domesticus

Everywhere
First noticed it in Jaipur - on a tree in Jantar Mantar. Female looks v different from male.
152
CHESTNUT-SHOULDERED PETRONIA
Petronia xanthocollis
97
B

153
WHITE WAGTAIL
Motacilla alba

B, S

154
WHITE-BROWED WAGTAIL
Motacilla maderaspatensis
98
Fatehpur Sikri, S
Lifer at Fatehpur Sikri, through photos! Resembles the White Wagtail.
155
CITRINE WAGTAIL
Motacilla citreola
99
S
Saw 2-3 birds at marsh - happy, desired bird.
156
GREY WAGTAIL
Motacilla cinerea

B, S

157
ROSY PIPIT
Anthus roseus
100
R

158
PADDYFEILD PIPIT
Anthus rufulus

S

159
BAYA WEAVER
Ploceus philippinus

B
Plenty of its nest on palm tree.
160
RED AVADAVAT
Amandava amandava
101
O
Juvenile. Flock flew in. Pink bill base.
161
INDIAN SILVERBILL
Lonchura malabarica
60
R, S
Lifer at Ranthambhore Fort. 1st lifer ever where I took picture first, then looked thru the bins.

Mammals / Reptiles Seen
1
Hanuman Langur
2
Rhesus Macque
3
Tiger
4
Leopard
5
Jungle Cat
6
Golden Jackal
7
Short-nosed Fruitbat
8
Five-striped Squirrel
9
Grey Mongoose
10
Spotted Deer (Chital)
11
Blue Bull (Nilgai)
12
Sambar Deer
13
Indian Gazelle (Chinkara)
14
Wild Boar
15
Indian Hare
16
Black Buck
17
Mugger Crocodile
18
Indian Rock Python
19
Indian Softshell Turtle