A Wondrous Insect Feast at Trus Madi.

By Alan OwYong.

Hillside Montane forest of the Trus Madi Range

The Trus Madi Conservation Area at the Crocker Range in Sabah is well known among insect and moth lovers as the place to go and see the hundreds of insects of the tropical montane hill forests. The Trus Madi Entomology Camp, better known as the Borneo Girl Jungle Camp was set up in the conservation area primarily to study the insect life there.

The Enotomolgy Camp at Trus Madi

Insect screens with special lights to attract the insects were erected at the both sides of a ridge near the camp. On most nights, these screens were swamped with insects, mainly moths of all shapes and sizes, cicadas, beetles, cricket and wasps. April I was told is the peak month.

Insects screen at both sides of the ridge

David Tseu and Theresa Ng shooting moths with their hand phones at one of the screens.

Every morning the resident Pig-tailed Macaque will make its way to the ridge and pick out the biggest and juiciest cicadas that are still on the screen. It will tear away the wings before biting off its head and then the body. These fruit eating monkeys would not pass off a chance of tasty snack that is rich in proteins as well. We saw some squirrels around but did not see them taking any of the insects.

Robin, the Pig-tailed Macaque looking for the juiciest cicada for breakfast every morning

Tearing off the wings before eating

A big fat Cicada the favourite snack of the Pig-tailed Macaque

During the night, another opportunistic raider was on standby. The Barred Eagle-Owl waits patiently at the near-by tree for some of the larger moths and cicadas to fly by before swooping down to pick it up. These insects will supplement their usual diet of rodents and squirrels.

The Barred Eagle Owl taking off to catch the larger flying moths.

Like this Hawk Moth

Another favorite is this Attacus staudingeri , less brown and larger than the Attacus atlas.

When dawn breaks, the rest of the insectivorous birds would gather at the trees on both side of the ridge to start their day with easy pickings. The Ashy Drongos and the White-throated Fantails will sally out for the smaller flying moths. Flocks of the endemic Chestnut-crested Yuhinas will flush out the rest of the insects for a quick meal.  While the Black-bellied Malkohas and the Red-bearded Bee-eaters wait for the larger ones. Even the small tailorbirds were able to pick and choose their food from the buffet in front of them. 

Black-bellied Malkoha looking for Katydids and crickets for breakfast

The Bornean race of Ashy Drongo with its moth

Red Bearded Bee-eater will take other insects if there are no bees around.

This feasting must be a ritual for these birds every morning. Free and easy food in the cool montane air. For the bird watchers and photographers, it is an opportunity not to be missed.

With Wilson Leung, Theresa Ng and David Tseu ( Nature guide).

Bulwer’s Pheasant stake out at Trus Madi montane forest.

Bulwer’s Pheasant male at Trus Madi

One of the heart stopping birding moments I remembered was hearing the calls of the Great Argus Pheasant behind my back and seeing them at its “dancing ground” in the Johor Forests way back in the 1997. Last week I experienced the same heart thumping moment when a male Bulwer’s Pheasant, Lophura bulweri, appeared right in front of our hide at the Trus Madi montane forest of the Crocker Range in Sabah.

Full frame shot just a few meters from our hide.

David Tseu, a nature lover and experienced bird guide who have been studying the habits of this pheasant, made this possible. I came to know about this place and this Bulwer’s last year when Datuk Peter Pang posted photos of it on his facebook page. Due to the pandemic and closed borders, all the nature parks in Sabah were closed to oversea visitors. The wildlife here had their forests for themselves for over two years. When Sabah opened up in in May, Dr. Chan Kai Soon from Ipoh was the first to visit and posted photos of this pheasant. This was enough for me to book my flights to Kota Kinabalu, the nearest jumping off city ( a 4 hours drive) to the Borneo Jungle Girl Camp at Trus Madi. I asked Wilson Leung and his wife Theresa to join me as he has been wanting to go birding with me for some time. I had to thank Eric Tan for the intro to David Tseu and where to bird.

Wish this was sharper but happy to get both Crested Partridge and Bulwer’s Pheasant males in one frame.

The pheasant was not seen since Dr. Chan’s visit more than a month back, but David was somewhat confident that it is still around. It was a no show on the first afternoon. We had only one more afternoon left and at 4.30 pm a family of the Crested Partridges, Rollulus rouloul, came up at the edges of the stake-out. This was a great sign as the Bulwer’s Pheasant is known to move with them for protection. Sure enough, shortly after David whispered to me ” It is here”.

I could hardly focus my camera on the pheasant standing just a few meters away from us as my hands were shaking. We cannot believe our luck, being so closed to such a stunning looking pheasant, its dark purple speckled body contrasting with its snow white tail. I was savoring every seconds of its presence until it got spooked and ran away. Fortunately it came back after it sensed that it was safe and we had another round of less frantic shooting.

Head on views showing the overlapping wattle below the face.

It is locally common in the remote montane hill forest of northern Borneo. But you will need to be at the right area, lots of patience and a dose of good luck to see one as their numbers are low. Since 1998, there were only 19 entries in ebirds with records from Poring, Danum Valley, Maliau Basin and most recently at Trus Madi. It was mission accomplished for my number one target for the trip, thanks to David’s local knowledge and birding skills.

The montane hill forests of the Trus Madi Range of the Bulwer’s Pheasants.

I am glad that the site is under proper management by the owners of the camp, a group of passionate nature lovers and insect experts whose main aim is protect the habitat and the wildlife in it for the younger generations to come.

Alan OwYong.

Reference: Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan

The Marco Jungle @ Upper Seletar Reservoir Park.

Undergrowth at the Upper Seletar Reservoir Park.

The Upper Seletar Reservoir Park is a gem of a place for insect and macro photographers. Rare forest butterflies, damselflies, spiders, flies and other critters can be found along the forest edges if you spent time looking for them. The rows of Syzygium zeylanicum when in bloom are a magnet for a host of butterflies and moths that are rarely seen outside the forest. Landscape planting of the Leea indica, Leea rubra and Ixoras provided added food sources for them.

A swamp forest habitat of our endemic fresh water crabs.

Spending a morning combing the forest edges early this week with Richard White, Laurence Leong and Lee Yue Teng opened a whole new world to the insect and understorey life for me. Star finds include a Scorpion, two Agamid lizards, cockroach, spider, a fly and some butts but surprisingly no damselflies.

Asian Forest Scorpion Heterometrus sp, a rare find in the daytime. Venom is not known to be lethal. Richard found it crawling along the tarmac and promptly brought it back to the forest.

First time seeing the underside of a forest cockroach. The six dots around the mouth is interesting.

The migrant Chocolate Albatross is still around. A total of six were counted at the park.

Long-legged Fly is a species of the Condylostylus genus. Feeds on aphids and other small insects.

The Common Three Ring used to be common here but is hard to find these days.

Subterranean Termites on the move.

Harvestmen or Daddy Long Legs. Over 6,000 species of this species have been discovered worldwide.

Black-beared Flying Lizard. Diurnal and noctunal, it inhabits the trees in mature forests.

Earless Agamid. This was found on the adjacent tree to the flying lizard. Aboral and diurnal, it is largely confined to the Central Forest. This is the only photo with showing the blue iris of the male.

References:

Nick Baker and Kelvin Lim. Wild Animals of Singapore. NSS.

Biodiversity of Singapore. NParks.

WIkipedia.

Balang Revisited

The Birds of Sungei Balang.

The rice fields of Sungei Balang, a short drive north of Batu Pahat, had to be the richest waterbird site in Johor. It is also the foraging site for the main flock of the Lesser Adjutants and the wintering grounds for migrant raptors and shorebirds.

The monsoon rains have arrived. Time for a new crop of rice. Rich foraging grounds for the White-breasted Waterhen and the Wood Sandpiper.

 

We counted over 60 Lesser Adjutants that day. There were over 200 Asian Openbills thermalling over Balang this morning.

The daily buffet provided by the plowing of the rice fields attracted a one day Woolly-necked Stork, a second for Malaysia, to Balang.  We missed it by a few days. 

A few Sand Martins ( above) together with Barn and Red-rumped Swallows hawked for insects flushed up by the plowing.

Not giving each other an inch of space as they fly towards the plowed field for their feast.

Marsh Sandpipers are well adapted to feed at freshwater rice fields besides mud flats.

But the Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage prefers to forage at freshwater habitats.

A Greater Spotted Eagle was wintering there the week before. But only this juvenile Black Kite and a male Eastern Marsh Harrier were around.  A Booted Eagle was photographed wintering there this week.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, the tail of the skink swinging from end to end as it was being eaten alive by the Black-winged Kite, the most common resident raptor here.

Common Moorhen with juvenile given the zoom in treatment for effect.

This wintering Black Drongo has a rather stubby short bill, so how is it going to catch insects with it?

With hundreds of dragonflies around this Blue-tailed Bee-eater saved time hunting by snapping up two at one go. 

No stones around for this Stejneger’s Stonechat so a mud mount will do.

This is the closest we got to a Citrine Wagtail. The white supercilium did not curved down enough to form a half circle behind the ear. Eastern Yellow Wagtail.

Sometimes lup sup birds like these Scaly-breasted Munias are worth shooting. There were flocks of White and Black-headed Munias around as well.

The star bird of the trip is this rare Small Pratincole pointed to us by Chris Gibbins. The site fidelity of this pratincole is truly amazing.

I wished to thank Kim Keang and Veronica for arranging this trip and doing all the driving.

 

Southern Ridges – A Bird’s Eye View

Southern Ridges from the Air.

Today the Jiak Hong Birder takes you up in the air for a bird’s eye view of the Southern Ridges, more precisely the Forest Walk section from Gillman Barracks to Telok Blangah Hill. These photos were taken with the Samsung 5 handphone.  The lucky residents of the apartments facing the Southern Ridges get to enjoy these million dollar views everyday. And what a view! I listed some of the birds that were reported at this part of the Ridges as a footnote. Be free to add in any that I missed out.

Forest canopy walkway with the blocks of Telok Blangah HDB apartments in the background.

Lush canopy of the Albizias trees where the Changeable Hawk Eagles and Parakeets roost. Below is where a pair of Red-billed Blue Magpies nested earlier this year. This part of the forest is the most productive for bird watching.

Looking west towards Kent Ridge Park in the distance with Gillman Heights in the foreground and Depot Road in between.

Is this a clump of Nibong used for the construction of Kelongs?

Looking north with the twin telecom towers of Bukit Timah Hill in the distance and the stacked Interlace Condominium on the left.

This tree is in bloom along the canopy walkway. The flowers are growing from along the stem of the leaf. Anyone knows the name? (PS Pianggu. Horsefieldia irya id by Sg Beachbum)

Bird List reported along the forest walkway:

1. Red Jungle Fowl
2. Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker
3. Rufous Woodpecker
4. Banded Woodpecker
5. Laced Woodpecker
6. Common Flameback
7. Lineated Barbet
8. Coppersmith Barbet
9. Oriental Pied Hornbill
10. Asian Dollarbird
11. White-throated Kingfisher
12. Collared Kingfisher
13. Blue-tailed Bee-eater
14. Blue-throated Bee-eater
15. Asian Koel
16. Greater Coucal
17. Coconut Lorikeet
18. Tanimbar Corella
19. Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
20. Rose-ringed Parakeet
21. Red-breasted Parakeet
22. Long-tailed Parakeet
23. Swiftlet Spp
24. Spotted Dove
25. Zebra Dove
26. Common Rock Pigeon (Ah Huay)
27. Pink-necked Pigeon
28. Pied Imperial Pigeon
29. White-breasted Waterhen
30. Slaty-breasted Crake
31. Black Baza
32. Crested Honey Buzzard
33. Brahminy Kite
34. White-bellied Sea-eagle
35. Golden-bellied Gerygone
36. Tiger Shrike
37. Brown Shrike
38. House Crow
39. Large-billed Crow
40. Black-naped Oriole
41. Pied Triller
42. Violet Cuckoo ( Keita Sin)
43. Ashy Minivet
44. GRT Drongo
45. Common Iora
46. Asian Brown Flycatcher
47. Asian Glossy Starling
48. Common Myna
49. Javan Myna
50. Common Hill Myna
51. House Swift (Ah Huay)
52. Grey-rumped Treeswift ( Keita Sin)
53. Barn Swallow
54. Pacific Swallow
55. Yellow-vented Bulbul
56. Olive-winged Bulbul
57. White-rumped Shama ( Ah Huay)
58. Common Tailorbird
59. Dark-necked Tailorbird
60. Oriental White-eyes ( Ah Huay)
61. Arctic Warbler
62. White-crested Laughingthrush
63. Pin Striped Tit-babbler
64. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
65. Brown-throated Sunbird
66. Olive-backed Sunbird
67. Crimson Sunbird
68. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
69. Scaly-breasted Munia

Longkang Birding-Ulu Pandan.

The bus depot had taken away many of the trees lining the canal leaving a narrower buffer.

The wild scape along the Ulu Pandan Canal fronting the Faber Crest Condominium was badly affected by three recent developments there. There is now only a small buffer of trees lining the canal due to the clearing of the forest for the building of the bus depot. The bird life has been impacted. This forest was where the Changeable Hawk Eagle had been nesting for years. Then the new IBP Road curved over another nesting site of the nationally threatened Purple Herons. Lastly a new condominium took away whatever greenery was left of the northern end. I used to see the Abbott’s Babblers here.

The Pacific Swallows were feeding and flying low along the canal making them easier to shoot.

Luckily the pair of Grey-headed Fish Eagles still come back to hunt for catfish at the canal. We been getting lots of stunning photos of these eagle hunting here recently.

A baby skink is as good as a fish for this White-throated Kingfisher.

I went down this morning to look for them but the fish eagles were not around. Either were the Pond Herons which should be foraging along the banks of the canal at this time of the year. Instead I recorded twenty-four other species in my one hour walk, a good number considering it was late morning. Most are the usual garden species but good to find a Grey-rumped Treeswift hawking for insects, a White-throated Kingfisher enjoying a baby skink, Asian Dollarbirds sallying overhead, a calling Drongo Cuckoo and a Brahminy Kite looking for scraps.

The more common Collared Kingfishers are well adapted to small forests patches and a fresh water canal for food.

The hollow tree branches of the Albizias that lined the canal made good nesting holes for the Dollarbirds.

List of birds recorded from 10.30-11.30 am 31 March 2018

1. Black-naped Oriole
2. Pink-necked Pigeon
3. Yellow-vented Bulbul
4. Asian Dollarbird
5. Common Iora
6. Pacific Swallow
7. Asian Glossy Starling
8. Swiftlet Spp
9. Javan Myna
10. Brahminy Kite
11. Common Tailorbird
12. Drongo Cuckoo
13. Spotted Dove
14. Asian Koel
15. Brown-throated Sunbird
16. Red Jungle Fowl
17. Olive-backed Sunbird
18. Blue-throated Bee-eater
19. Lineated Barbet
20. Red-whiskered Bulbul
21. Grey-rumped Treeswift
22. Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
23. White-throated Kingfisher
24. Pied Imperial Pigeon.

 

 

 

Around the Mulberry Bush

“Here we go around the Mulberry Bush

The Mulberry Bush, the Mulberry Bush,

Here we go around the Mulberry Bush

So early in the morning”  A Children’s Song.

Morning shooting session around the White Mulberry Tree at Dairy Farm Nature Park. 

It is more than a Mulberry Bush at the Dairy Farm Nature Park that is attracting many of the frugivorous birds for the past two months. It is the White Mulberry Tree, Morus alba, a native of China. It is a fast growing tree cultivated in China for its leaves to feed the silk worms. It has adapted to the tropics turning into an evergreen here. It soft berries are sweet but bland and a favorite with the flowerpeckers and starlings.

A female Asian Fairy Bluebird bending over for a ripe berry.

Over the months more than a dozen forest, woodlands and garden species have been seen feeding on the fruits of this tree.  Even some generalists like the leafbirds and fairy bluebirds were attracted to the white berries.

A juvenile Greater Green Leafbird, a generalist likes the sweet berries as well.

So far four species of bulbuls have been photographed feeding on the berries on this tree. The Yellow-vented, Cream-vented, Olive-winged and Black-crested. Both the Blue-winged and Greater Green Leafbirds were frequent visitors, but no signs of the rarer Lesser Green Leafbird.

A bit of the habitat shot of the White Mulberry attracting the garden and parkland Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker.

Both the Orange-bellied and Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers were the regular feeders on the soft white berries. The former would more often or not chased the intruding Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers away. They will pass out the seeds some else where and help to propagate this tree.

The forest specialist Orange-bellied Flowerpecker is more aggressive of the two, often chasing away the Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker for intruding into its habitat.

The more common species like the Javan Mynas, Pink-necked Pigeons and Black-naped Orioles did not seem to like the berries as much as the figs that is available elsewhere in the park, but they will still fly in for a bite or two. I have yet to see barbets or squirrels feeding on them. The Long-tailed Macaques did seem interested at all.

For the photographers the tree’s small size and the low branches offered perfect opportunity and easier shooting of some of the less common forest birds.

Reference: 

Lim Kim Seng. The Avifauna of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore) 2009                            Yong Ding Li, Lim Kim Chuah and Lee Tiah Khee. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Singapore. John Beaufoy Publishing 2013.

 

Nesting Nightjars – Changing color of plumage for protection?

Photo 1. The Large-tailed Nightjar can hide from predators by keeping still under cover from the weeds and grasses.

Ground nesting birds are always at the mercy of terrestrial and aerial predators. The Large-tailed Nightjar, Caprimulgus macrurus, is no exception. They lay their eggs on dry leaves on the ground often in some quiet open waste land. Lucy Davis flushed a nightjar from its nest accidentally while taking a walk at her Wessex Estate last week. I had a hard time trying to find it yesterday as it was sitting quietly in a small depression surrounded by grasses and weeds (photo above). Only its head is visible. You can be a few feet away and yet will not see it.

It chose to nest among the dead leaves on the ground and changed it plumage color from dark brown to light brown to match the lighter color of the leaves. ( Original photo without toning or coloring). Photo 2.

Another strategy is to blend in to the immediate surroundings. In this case the nightjar chose to nest amidst the dead leaves on the ground as its normal dark brown plumage will make it look less noticeable. For any predators looking from above, it is almost impossible to pick it out among the carpet of dead leaves. But something does not look right.

This is a roosting nightjar I took at the Botanic Gardens last year (left). This is its usual color which is dark brown like most of the nightjars I seen in the field. Now take a look back at the one Lucy found ( Photo 2). It has a lighter brown plumage to match the color of the dead leaves to blend in better. Somehow this nightjar managed to change its plumage color to match that of the fallen leaves. This is something I have not come across before. Do the birds have this ability to change their plumage to that of the surroundings for camouflage like a Chameleon? Your comments are most welcome.

Singapore Wild Places.

Channel News Asia will be screening the much anticipated “Wild City” this coming Sunday as part of the SG50 Celebrations. I for one am looking forward to watching it and hearing the voice of nature of Sir David Attenborough. Some of you may remember HSBC’s three part series “Nature in Singapore” way back. Lets see how much have changed. I do not have the resources of CNA but I have collected over years of birding around Singapore images of wild places which I would like to share. Try not to read the captions and see if you can name the places. If you can get more than 10 correct, give yourself a pat on the back. 

     This can be from any of our abandoned woodlands, so it is not fair for you to guess. This was taken inside Khatib Bongsu before it was declared a restricted area. We went there to document the nesting of the Grey-headed Fish Eagle which at that time was confined to forested areas like Khatib Bongsu.

This one should be easy. The fresh water marsh at the edge of MacRitchie Reservoir next to the SICC golf course. This was the place to see the rare resident Black-headed Bulbul in 2012.

The edges of our reservoirs are very accessible and well connected by a series of boardwalks. An inlet at the MacRitchie Reservoir (top) and the boardwalk leading to the inlet. All of our four resident owls call this place home.

The main quarries are at the Bukit Timah area and Pulau Ubin. They are too deep for water fowls but the surrounding forest hosts Kingfishers, Straw-headed Bulbuls and Pied Fantails. Ketam Quarry (top) and Hindhede Quarry looking down from Bukit Timah Hill.

The Lorong Halus Grebe Ponds. These ponds trapped and cleaned the water flowing out from the old rubbish dump site before it gets into the Serangoon River. The nationally threatened Little Grebe has been recorded breeding at both ponds. A new highway will be built across the end of the old pond (top). What will it do to our last stronghold of the Little Grebe is anyone’s guess. 

Fresh water wetlands are the most diverse habitats in Singapore and at the same time the most threatened. Kranji Marshes is one of our last remaining wetlands where Purple Swamphens and Common Moorhens can still be found. Thankfully NParks is clearing up the vegetation to open up more ponds to attract ducks and water birds back to the area.

Two very different Longkangs. The Bishan Park stream (top) is now frequented by herons and crakes after it was de-concretised. The untouched canal at Farmway 3 (bottom) is more natural and attracts Pond Herons and the rare migrating Black-capped Kingfisher. Lets start a “Save our Longkang” campaign?

You will not be seeing longkangs like this in a few years time. This scene does not look like it is in Singapore but if you drive into Lorong Halus it is on your left. So where is this uncle going to do his fishing? 

Last year’s drought has turned the banks of Serangoon Reservoir brown. But the grassland species like the Yellow-bellied Prinias and Baya Weavers have no problems surviving the drought. 

The deserted coast of the Changi reclaimed land (top) is off limits as the 3rd runway and the 5th terminal will be built here. The only place where the “White-faced” Plovers can be found. The mud flats by the side of Seletar Dam are used by Lesser Sand Plovers and even the rare Oriental Plover as their refueling stop. Soon the old jetties will give way to coastal development. Another great wader location gone?

Forest streams have to be kept pristine for birds like the Blue-eared Kingfishers which depend on the native fishes for food. The Trans Island Line will destroy the ecology of the Venus Loop Stream (bottom) if build. Another forest stream at the Kampong Chantek forest (top).

The estuary on the top is taken at the reclaimed land at Changi, a place we dubbed Changi Cove. Mostly sandy and ideal for habitat for shore birds. An estuarine mangrove at the Belayer Creek (bottom) where occasionally the Great-billed Herons come to forage at low tides. Eleven species of Mangroves have been recorded in this small creek.

I have to include the soon to be developed old Muslim Cemetery “Bidadari” in our wild places as this is our top migrant location for the past years. This woodland is not just for bird watchers as artists come to paint the greenery before it is gone. A 10 hectare park will be incorporated into the development but it will not be able to stop the loss of biodiversity.

Another cemetery that may go is Bukit Brown, the largest Chinese cemetery outside China. A 8 lane highway will cut across the western part and many of the graves have to be exhumed. The Nature Society (Singapore) and the Heritage Society were fighting a lost battle to stop the building of the highway. The whole cemetery is slated for housing after 2020. We will keep up the fight for Bukit Brown.

The “canopy walkway” at Kent Ridge Park looks into an open grassland of Alexander Park and Npark’s plant nursery. The vista is spectacular with Tanimbar Corellas and Cockatoos making noisy fly pass now and then. Good place to watch raptors as well.

The black and white colonial bungalows at Alexander (top) and Portsdown Road are surrounded by lush greenery and old growth. Close to 100 species of birds some rare has been recorded at Portsdown Road and One-north. The hill forests of Mount Faber (bottom) is untouched by development as yet. Our uncommon resident Changeable Hawk Eagle is nesting here on a regular basis.

The green corridor (top) runs through the spine of the island. As a wildlife connector it is god send and presents us with a once in a life time opportunity to create something unique. The Belakar Trail (bottom) skirts the Bukit Timah Nature Reserves. On the other side is the BKE. The Ecolink starts near the top of the trail and hopefully reconnects the wildlife between Central Catchment Forest with BTNR.

I will end the tour with photos of Casuarina forest and grassland growing wild at the sandy reclaimed land at Changi Cove. They will be cut down and cleared. Aeroplanes will be landing here in the future. I am glad that we were able to enjoy its beauty and wildlife while it was around. Thank you all for your viewing and I hope that you will be able to visit these places soon.