2017 July, Hulu Langat Revisited (Birding)

I revisited Hulu Langat again today after I have put down the Sigma 150mm-500mm earlier in March this year. Yes, I haven't been birding much since March, except the time when I was traveling in Thailand with my Olympus OM-D E-M1.

Anyway, around 8 o'clock in morning, I picked up a friend of mine in Puchong and headed towards Hulu Langat after a quick breakfast. Upon reaching there, we were surprised to see a group of photographers were already there! Surprise ! Mind you, it's on a Wednesday...

We were there for the Blue-eared Kingfisher. But lucky for us, another two birds also came to the same spot searching for food, the Rufous-backed Kingfisher was one of them.

All photos are taken using the Sigma 150-500mm adapted to the Sony a7ii using Sigma mc-11 in APSC mode. I also used the fluidhead monopod instead of the tripod this time.

© Edward Chen.

Some Photos of The Rufous-backed Kingfisher and more

Hulu Langat is one of the popular places for cyclists, probably due to its location near the forest reserve where the traffic is not as heavy as in the city. There are also eco-camps in the area where tourists stay in huts next to small rivers and waterfalls.

Here, after consulting my anonymous friends on the location of the bird, I had the opportunity to see for myself the beautiful Rufous-backed Kingfisher, 4th type of kingfisher on my list. 1st - white-throated kingfisher (everywhere), 2nd - Black-naped Kingfisher (Tanjung Karang), 3rd - Collared-Kingfisher (Tanjung Karang).

Edit: I actually saw the Collared-Kingfisher before my trip to Tanjung Karang. Stumbled upon an old photo of it which I took at Pantai Jeram a couple of years ago.

Rufous-backed Kingfisher. © Edward Chen

Collared-Kingfisher and more... Birding Trip to Tanjung Karang Selangor (Part Two of Two)

Continuing from Part One...

As I took shelter in the warung (eatery), the locals (I should have taken a we-fie with them as they are super friendly) told me about the birds they usually see in the area. They mentioned the raja udang (kingfisher) being commonly spotted around there. But they mistook the bee-eater as one of the kingfishers. Egrets are common across the river, and so are eagles.

Then one of them called for me and pointed into the trees.

Not one, but two collared-kingfishers !

© Edward Chen

Birding Trip to Tanjung Karang, Selangor (Part One of Two)

Some new birds are added to my collection of photos on my recent trip to Tanjung Karang... 😄

It's a cloudy forecast on a Monday morning, rain seems to be coming soon. However, I went ahead with my plan to Tanjung Karang since I've already planned for the trip after my birding trip to Kuala Selangor last week.

Tanjung Karang is located about 15 kilometers away from Kuala Selangor, or 15-18 minutes away. The drive in the morning is smooth as usual, since most cars are headed towards the opposite direction.

I arrived first at Bukit Melawati. Scouted for a few minutes to see if there's any special bird hanging in the nearby trees. I just saw some swiftlets and lots of juvenile Asian Glossy Starlings in the trees. So I headed to Tanjung Karang after a few snapshots. It was already raining.

Juvenile Asian Glossy Starlings. © Edward Chen

Upon reaching the rural area of Tanjung Karang, I spotted a Black-naped Oriole with a bountyin its beak. But it flew off once I moved my car to get ready for the capture. 😭

Nearby in the same tree was a black Koel. It was watching me all along and wasn't startled by my presence unlike the Black-naped Oriole.

Birding Trip to Bukit Melawati and Taman Alam Kuala Selangor

As the morning traffic towards Kuala Lumpur is usually terrible during weekdays, I decided to travel to Kuala Selangor instead for my birding activity this morning. It took me around 46 minutes for a 41KM drive. Initially I decided to go Hulu Langat, but it's 74KM and more than an hour away due to moring rush hour. I will save that for another day. 😄

Driving to Kuala Selangor is a breeze. There is not much traffic as most people are headed to the opposite direction or they are just transporting within the small towns along the way.

Upon reaching Bukit Melawati, I saw a couple of cars and a few joggers near the lighthouse at the top of the hill.

Bukit Melawati Lighthouse. © Edward Chen

The "Common" White-throated Kingfisher, Black-napped Oriole and a Family of Whistling Ducks!

This morning is not the usual birding day, when I just see the common white-throated kingfisher at the park. Apart from the black-napped oriole, the great blue heron and other birds that I usually see, a family of whistling ducks came towards me and headed right into the pond! That's really a happy moment looking at how they stayed together and those little ducklings looked so cute! 😆

© Edward Chen

Birding at the Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam

It's one of those days when I feel like going on an outing further out from my usual area. Today I went to Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam (Bukit Cahaya). Met a few birding photography enthusiasts at the car park and joined them for the morning walk into the park. Thanks to Teoh, Teoh's son, SK Yeong and Michelle for their company! 😁

RM3.00 for carpark entry and another RM3.00 fee to get into the park.

Here are some of the photos taken:

White-throated Kingfisher.
© Edward Chen

 

Swiftlet.
© Edward Chen

Birding at the lake in the morning with the Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM (Follow-up on techniques)

Just a simple follow-up, continuing my previous post on "birding in the evening".

This morning I went to the lake again with the same setup (Canon 7D + Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM). I wanted to try and see if it's possible to stop down the aperture and take better photos of the birds there.

The setting is basically a shutter speed of 1/500 or less, at f7.1 or f8.0, auto ISO. 

Only the second photo is edited in Lightroom CC. The rest could be cropped.

Here are the results:

White-throated Kingfisher (BEFORE EDIT)
© Edward Chen

White-throated Kingfisher (AFTER EDIT)
© Edward Chen

Birding with the Canon 7D and Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM

Today I went out birding at the nearby lake with my Canon 7D and Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM. It's not a light combination, the lens alone is 1780g and together with the body it's around 2.6KG! I do not carry a bag or any accessories along, so it's basically just the camera and lens attached to my Black Rapid strap. 😁

The AF-tracking was responsive and it's not hard to lock-in focus in such bright daylight, although not all photos taken are keepers (which is normal). 😉

Setting is basically the widest aperture, auto ISO with shutter speeds of 1/600 if the bird is stationary or 1/2000-1/4000 if it's moving.

Here are some of the photos taken:

Retrospective: Using the Nikon AFS 70-300 VR lens adapted to the Olympus OM-D E-M5

*This is one of the blog entries written in retrospective based on my recollection of the events which took place earlier. 

I went to the zoo in an outing one day. As I was curious as to how the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR can perform with the 2x cropped sensor of the Olympus, I brought the lens along with me. 

© Edward Chen

Below are some of the photos taken.