Photos by: David Ong, Tang Tuck Hong, Low Kok Hen and Veronica Khoo
A total of 34 participants joined Selangor Branch Bird Group and FRIM’s Environmental Education Branch for an introduction to birdwatching at Kepong Botanical Gardens. Our morning started with a light drizzle but that didn’t hamper the spirits of “birders”, what we like to call people who watch birds. Lady luck was on our side as the weather changed for the better. Our four-hour trip yielded approximately 60 species of birds that were seen and heard.
We started off the morning with a briefing on birding etiquettes before we began our walk around the garden. Some of the birds like the Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Plaintive Cuckoo, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler and Common Tailorbird were heard a few times along our walk but we could not locate them. Fret not; other species of birds were ready to show themselves to us – some staying still to allow all the participants to have a clearer view of the birds through the scope. Kids and adults were both happy to be able to see the beauty of these featured friends. Among them, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo which is unique as it has elongated outer tail feathers and are able to produce loud calls, and able to imitate other bird species. A total of three Raffles’s Malkoha was also observed. This bird is the smallest in size among all malkohas and it calls like a soft mournful, cat-like “miaow”. Two Green-billed Malkohas, the largest among all, also showcased themselves.
Some movements in the foliage did not elude the eyes of the avid birder. An Asian Fairy-bluebird, like its name, has an iridescent blue upperparts and black underparts for the males. Females are entirely dull blue-green. As we walked further, we looked around and observed two tiny dots perched on a bare frond of a palm tree very far away. For an experienced birder, one could just identify the birds just by looking at the shape/outline of the bird. All three scopes were quickly positioned to the two dots, and all participants had the opportunity to observe the world’s tiniest raptor – the Black-thighed Falconet. This bird of prey is only the size of a Eurasian Tree Sparrow, but it can hunt on birds larger than its size. On one of our birding trips, this bird was observed devouring a Yellow-vented Bulbul. We spent quite a while to admire this tiny raptor until both took flight. Next up, Daurian Starlings or also known as Puple-backed Starlings caught our attention. During the migratory season, this species can be found in our country.
As we continued our walk, again, some movements can be seen. A bird was moving upwards the tree trunk and pecking its beak on the trunk. A pair of Common Flameback (Woodpecker) was entertaining us, and again, we stayed on longer to observe them. Besides this species, two other woodpeckers were also observed, namely, Banded Woodpecker and Buff-rumped Woodpecker. A bird was spotted moving rather quickly down a tree trunk, and everybody started to point their “bins” (binoculars) to the direction. It was a Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, having violet-blue colours above, with lavender cheeks, beige underparts, whitish throat and a red bill. Nuthatch are able to move downwards unlike the woodpeckers which move upwards.
Birds that were in flight were also recorded: Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot, and raptors such as Crested Serpent-Eagle, Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle and Brahminy Kite. Common garden birds like the Yellow-vented Bulbuls, Javan Myans, Spotted Doves, Zebra Doves, Oriental Magpie Robins, Black-naped Orioles and Common Iora was also spotted.
More birds were observed, such as Common Hill Mynas, Asian Glossy Starlings, Brown Shrikes, Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, Blue-throated Bee-eaters, Pond Herons, Paddyfield Pipits, Large Woodshrike, Black-winged Flycatcher Shrike, Drongo Cuckoo, Fiery Minivets, Ashy Minivet, Spectacled Spiderhunter, Yellow-eared Spiderhunter, Asian Brown Flycatcher and the full list can be found in eBird, an online database of bird observations.
We ended our birding session by checking the total bird species for the day, and as we were doing so, a Black-browed Reed Warbler decided to take a peek at us from the lake. Some of the lucky birders were able to capture some shots of this bird. What a perfect way to end our session!
*We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Tang Tuck Hong for joining us on this trip – bringing along his scope and a friend, Mr. Ternel Telesforo. Thanks also to Mr. Mark Ng for loaning his scope for the event.