Post by Ely Teehankee on Feb 23, 2013 13:18:18 GMT
Because of my friendship with Mr. Shaiful Azhar Abu Bakar whom I met at Villa Escudero last July 2012 where the Canon Photomarathon was held last year I was able to visit Malaysia for the first time. He brought me to Bukit Tinggi, Fraser's Hill, Guaker Look Tong, Kinta Bird Sanctuary, Bidor Perak and other places. I met for the first time Mr. Muhammad Alzahri the gentleman who was instrumental in planning my itinerary with Mr. Shaiful. He also went with us to Fraser's Hill, Genting Highlands, and a small creek in the city where the Blue Earred Kingfisher would be hunting for his daily fish. The place that has the most birds was a Fraser's Hill and I was joined by other members from Birds, Nature, & US. This is certainly one of the best place for bird photography.
Canon EOS 1DX, Canon EF 300mm
f/2.8L IS USM. Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light.
The first bird that I photographed at Fraser's Hill is the Blue-winged Minla (Minla cyanouroptera)
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
This Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides) 29-32 cm is quite common at FH.
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
The first time I saw a Little Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni) Male. 11 cm was at Banaue, Benguet and it was a shy bird but not at FH where it would gladly pose for you.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Little Pied Flycatcher (Female)
1/250 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400
This is my favorite picture of the Little Pied Flycatcher (Male)
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush (Garrulax mitratus) 27 cm. taken late afternoon. It made me look forward to what was in store for the next day.
1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
Black-throated Sunbird (Aethopyga saturata) Male 15 cm. is a tough little bird to photograph. I spent some time with this bird from the ground.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200
1/2000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
The best time I had with this Black-throated Sunbird was from the balcony of my room where I could point my lenses downward instead of upwards.
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
I was lucky to see this Mountain Fulvetta (Alcippe peracensis) 15 cm.
It was a delight to see this Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo with its long tail. 32-57 cm.
1/1000 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
I think there is something special about the lights of FH where it is kept on during the night and attract a lot of moths. This in turn attract a lot of birds early the following morning as it is a race who get there first and gets the first bite. Living in the hotel gives me the opportunity to be there at the crack of dawn shooting at ISO 6400.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400
The Common Green Magpie (C. chinensis) 35 cm. is one of two birds that is considered a must at Fraser's Hill. The other one is the Sultan Tit. You have to be up early as this is one of the first birds to come looking for bugs. It was still dark when I took this picture.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
I would like to have another chance to take a picture of this elegant
Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea) 17 cm.
1/640 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400
This Malaysian Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsulae) 27 cm is not a difficult bird to find but difficult to follow as it walks on the ground and jumps to the bushes in search of food.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
This female Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) 14.2 cm has a nice turquoise color.
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
The male is distinguished by its semblance of a black mask around the eyes.
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
The creeping Blue Nuthatch (Sitta azurea) 13 cm is a delight to watch as it creeps at a fast pace around the trunk of the tree.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
The Javan Cuckooshrike (Coracina javensis) 28 cm is an added collection of the birds of FH. Again the presence of a moth on its beak confirms the hundreds or thousands of moths that gather at night in that place.
1/1000 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
Thank you to Messers. Shaiful, Alzahri, and Bob who all identified this as the female Black and Crimson Oriole (Oriolus cruentus) 22cm.
1/250 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) 13.5 cm is another addition to the list of lifers that I saw at FH.
1/2500 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
1/800 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
When Mr. Shaiful showed me a picture of the Silver-eared Mesia (Mesia argentauris) 17 cm I immediately like the bird. When he told me that it was very common at FH, I knew that I would like to visit that place. It turned out that it is one of the few places that you can readily see this bird.
1/800 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
I have taken a lot of pictures of birds and this is one time that I did not expect to have been able to take one like this. Even if I were to deliberately want to do so, this it is a one in a million shot. This is pure luck, and I am certainly very happy with it.
1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
This bird is really colorful and beautiful. Even if it is common in FH, it is still a bird worth photographing.
1/160 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus) 19 cm. There were days when it was foggy or raining and this one was of those days. With climate change January is not a month for good weather, perhaps summer time would be better. If not for the rain, the temperature is perfect.
1/2000 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
The Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) 18 cm. came from Himalayan foothills through Southern China and the highlands of Southeast Asia. Although the beak is similar to the Sunbirds it is larger than them.
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
This is one of my favorite pictures taken at Fraser's Hill as the bird tries to keep his balance having gone out on a limb.
1/5000 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
White-throated Fantail (Rhipidura albicollis) 19 cm is a lifer for me as I have only seen the similar Pied Fantail.
1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
The Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki) 13 cm also fondly called "Boogie Monkey" by one of our friends. I wish we could call this bird by that name.
1/1250 sec., f/4, ISO 1600
1/400 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
These are the wonderful birds of Fraser's Hill. I enjoyed my stay there tremendously and would like to express my appreciation to all my friends of Birds, Nature & Us for making my stay memorable.
Canon EOS 1DX, Canon EF 300mm
f/2.8L IS USM. Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light.
The first bird that I photographed at Fraser's Hill is the Blue-winged Minla (Minla cyanouroptera)
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
This Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides) 29-32 cm is quite common at FH.
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
The first time I saw a Little Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni) Male. 11 cm was at Banaue, Benguet and it was a shy bird but not at FH where it would gladly pose for you.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Little Pied Flycatcher (Female)
1/250 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400
This is my favorite picture of the Little Pied Flycatcher (Male)
1/250 sec., f/8, ISO 400
Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush (Garrulax mitratus) 27 cm. taken late afternoon. It made me look forward to what was in store for the next day.
1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
Black-throated Sunbird (Aethopyga saturata) Male 15 cm. is a tough little bird to photograph. I spent some time with this bird from the ground.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 3200
1/2000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
The best time I had with this Black-throated Sunbird was from the balcony of my room where I could point my lenses downward instead of upwards.
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
I was lucky to see this Mountain Fulvetta (Alcippe peracensis) 15 cm.
It was a delight to see this Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo with its long tail. 32-57 cm.
1/1000 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
I think there is something special about the lights of FH where it is kept on during the night and attract a lot of moths. This in turn attract a lot of birds early the following morning as it is a race who get there first and gets the first bite. Living in the hotel gives me the opportunity to be there at the crack of dawn shooting at ISO 6400.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400
The Common Green Magpie (C. chinensis) 35 cm. is one of two birds that is considered a must at Fraser's Hill. The other one is the Sultan Tit. You have to be up early as this is one of the first birds to come looking for bugs. It was still dark when I took this picture.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
I would like to have another chance to take a picture of this elegant
Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea) 17 cm.
1/640 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400
This Malaysian Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsulae) 27 cm is not a difficult bird to find but difficult to follow as it walks on the ground and jumps to the bushes in search of food.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
This female Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) 14.2 cm has a nice turquoise color.
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
The male is distinguished by its semblance of a black mask around the eyes.
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
The creeping Blue Nuthatch (Sitta azurea) 13 cm is a delight to watch as it creeps at a fast pace around the trunk of the tree.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
The Javan Cuckooshrike (Coracina javensis) 28 cm is an added collection of the birds of FH. Again the presence of a moth on its beak confirms the hundreds or thousands of moths that gather at night in that place.
1/1000 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
Thank you to Messers. Shaiful, Alzahri, and Bob who all identified this as the female Black and Crimson Oriole (Oriolus cruentus) 22cm.
1/250 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) 13.5 cm is another addition to the list of lifers that I saw at FH.
1/2500 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
1/800 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
When Mr. Shaiful showed me a picture of the Silver-eared Mesia (Mesia argentauris) 17 cm I immediately like the bird. When he told me that it was very common at FH, I knew that I would like to visit that place. It turned out that it is one of the few places that you can readily see this bird.
1/800 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
I have taken a lot of pictures of birds and this is one time that I did not expect to have been able to take one like this. Even if I were to deliberately want to do so, this it is a one in a million shot. This is pure luck, and I am certainly very happy with it.
1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
This bird is really colorful and beautiful. Even if it is common in FH, it is still a bird worth photographing.
1/160 sec., f/8, ISO 1600
Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus) 19 cm. There were days when it was foggy or raining and this one was of those days. With climate change January is not a month for good weather, perhaps summer time would be better. If not for the rain, the temperature is perfect.
1/2000 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
The Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) 18 cm. came from Himalayan foothills through Southern China and the highlands of Southeast Asia. Although the beak is similar to the Sunbirds it is larger than them.
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
This is one of my favorite pictures taken at Fraser's Hill as the bird tries to keep his balance having gone out on a limb.
1/5000 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
White-throated Fantail (Rhipidura albicollis) 19 cm is a lifer for me as I have only seen the similar Pied Fantail.
1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
The Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki) 13 cm also fondly called "Boogie Monkey" by one of our friends. I wish we could call this bird by that name.
1/1250 sec., f/4, ISO 1600
1/400 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
These are the wonderful birds of Fraser's Hill. I enjoyed my stay there tremendously and would like to express my appreciation to all my friends of Birds, Nature & Us for making my stay memorable.
