Birds of Air Terjun, Fraser's Hill

[Ely Teehankee]

After birding at Jelai in the early morning until noon, we decided to have lunch. Mr. Muhammad Alzahri a highly respected member of BNU told us that he was going to take us to Air Terjun. It was a few kilometer from Jelai and just by the road side where there is a small area near a waterfall, covered with trees and foliage keeping the area dark and moist. This is where a variety of birds would scrounge around looking for worms and insects to eat. This is where I saw birds that I have never seen before and looking at them at this time certainly brings back good memories.



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 saw was the Pygmy Wren-babbler (Pnoepyga pusilla) a bird with hardly any tail. The surrounding were dark as I was using ISO 3200 most of the time and where some light would go thru between the branches I could go down to ISO 1600.
1/60 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600




1/160 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600




Next came the Rufous Browed Flycatcher which was a delight to watch and photograph.
1/50 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600




1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200




1/160 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200




Streak Wren-babbler (Napothera brevicaudata) 14.5 cm is similar to the Pygmy Wren-babbler but has darker feathers with dark streaks.
1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600




1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600




Large Niltava (Sambar grandis) 21 cm has a black & blue color combination and taken in the dark seems almost impossible but with the Canon 1DX the picture still came out okay making it a delightful shot of the bird.
1/80 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200




1/80 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200




1/100 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200




The biggest bird of the group is the Malaysian Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsula) 27 cm. A common bird in Malaysia but quite difficult to photograph as it is constantly moving. It is only when you are able to follow the bird and squeeze the shutter the moment it stops for a second or two that you can get a photograph of this bird.
1/400 sec., f2.8, ISO 3200




The following day it was foggy the whole morning and we did not have a good day at Jelai waiting for the fog to lift. By the time it lifted it was late and there were not as many birds anymore. After a late lunch we went back to Air Terjun and was able to photograph the Pygmy Wren-babbler and the Rufous Browed Flycatcher. Apparently this bird has a nest nearby and she was gathering the worms taking as much as her mouth could hold. It reminds me of the Atlantic Puffin during the breeding season. Here she takes a look around.
1/40 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600




She gets her first worm.
1/250 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600




She gathers more as she moves around very quickly.
1/60 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600




With her mouth full she gets ready to walk back to her nest hidden in the nearby forest.
1/200 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200




From time to time to Rufous Browed Flycatcher would show up and catch the flies in the area.
1/400 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200




1/320 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200




1/160 sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200

[Edu Lorenzo Jr]

WOW! less than 1/100 shots at 2.8! it must have been quite dark.

Pulling off these quality images at those settings is an achievement in itself sir! Congratulations and thank you for sharing.

[Ely Teehankee]

Mar 21, 2013 5:24:45 GMT Edu Lorenzo Jr said:

WOW! less than 1/100 shots at 2.8! it must have been quite dark.

Pulling off these quality images at those settings is an achievement in itself sir! Congratulations and thank you for sharing.

Thank you Edu. You must have noticed that there are less people posting and participating in this forum. The basic reason is our hepe is extremely busy with his work and does not have time to be administering this forum. I wished that people who are members of this forum would show support by being more active. The new camera of Canon is exceptional, it can take pictures at high ISO with tolerable noise, it focusses fast and accurate as there is one processor dedicated to just focussing, and it is full frame. I am quite certain that anyone using this super body will have better pictures than they ever did before.

[oespena]

Large Niltava (Sambar grandis) - This bird look like Asian Fairy-Bluebird but this one it's smaller. nice collection sir!

[Ely Teehankee]

Apr 25, 2013 1:08:01 GMT oespena said:

Large Niltava (Sambar grandis) - This bird look like Asian Fairy-Bluebird but this one it's smaller. nice collection sir!

Thank you Onnie. There are always similar birds all around the world, that is why it is a prize capture if you can get Philippine endemics because that means it is only found in the Philippines.