We’re not done yet.
Day 2 saw cloudy weather after a night of raining. I was the first to visitor at opening hour as I always am. A Little Spiderhunter perched on a fence, greeted me as I entered the park.
Spotting a small bird foraging on the forest floor yielded my first lifer of the day – a Short-tailed Babbler. It was quite skittish and eventually moved deeper into the forest after I managed to get a few record shots.
I finally got some decent photos of the Rufous-winged Philentoma where the bird is identifiable. My first photos from last year were just a blob of out-of-focus brown, gray and blue.
A lone Tiger Shrike was spotted in the open looking for prey.
As I was photographing the Tiger Shrike, I noticed movement behind some very thick foliage. I managed to capture this photo of a blue bird which I had assumed was a Black-naped Monarch.
However, after checking some guides later, I wasn’t so sure. For now, I have identified it as a Pale Blue Flycatcher due to the darker wingtips and lack of noticeable marking on the head. It’s behavior of remaining still at low to middle elevations also matched the species description. If anyone thinks otherwise, do let me know.
Later, I had a good look at a male Ruby-cheeked Sunbird through my binoculars but was unable to get a photo. It was feeding on a fruiting tree mixed in with a bunch of Flowerpeckers and other birds.
As I was searching for the Sunbird, a singular chirp right above me caught my attention. I managed to get a few photos of the bird and was happy to get another lifer – the Spectacled Spiderhunter. It’s the largest species of Spiderhunters which looks gigantic compared to the Little Spiderhunter.
And that’s a wrap. The 2 days of birding had added 8 more ticks to my life list. Despite that, the eBird “target species” tab still lists an additional 91 species that I can potentially see here. Malaysia’s forest biodiversity is truly incredible. Let’s see what else can I spot in December.
eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394433386
