My Intimate Evening With Langkawi's Gunung Raya

The breeze brought the cool evening air to the mountain that gently caressed my face. Quietness filled the surrounding as I begun to walk up the easy comfortable road. The rustling of tree leaves and branches made by jumping squirrels and some ground foragers reminding me that I am not alone. As I looked at the sun setting down on the other side of the horizon, I stared with awe of the orange delights that coloured the sky. 

Sunset delight at the peak of Gunung Raya, Langkawi

Running macaques crossing my path with their babies clinging on is a simple proof that wildlife exists. The barkings of Wreathed Hornbills and the growlings of Great Hornbills seemed to be calling for equal rights to be here. The chatty Flameback Woodpeckers came along making the wildlife party merrier. 

Darkness creeping into the forest

As I stood by the side of the road glaring at the highest canopy tree, a fleet of jet fighters appeared in the sky. Twenty to thirty of Wreathed Hornbills and forty Great Hornbills flew out in formations like sky troopers announcing "WE RULE".  

Just when I thought that these awesome displays were over, a dark figure appeared in front of my path. Wearing an embedded pair of white glasses, it was an honor to be greeted by this gentle and shy Dusky Leaf Monkey at a close distance of approximately 5 meters. I froze immediately and watched carefully as this gentle creature enjoyed its last leafy snack for the day. It seemed to be contented and not bothered with my presence at all. What a true honor! 

As the mountain summoned for the darkness and its nocturnal creatures, it was time for me to descend and return to my real world. I smiled and silently thanked the mountain, Gunung Raya that has given me these wonderful gifts for the day.

Gunung Raya, the gentle energizer and life giver of Langkawi's natural heritage. 

Fiery ball descending into the horizon

LANGKAWI BIRDWATCHING TOUR: Burnice's Bird Blog

Burnice's bird wishlist for Langkawi would be the Hornbills, all three of them. She wasn't chasing after the Brown-Winged Kingfisher as she has already seen it while kayaking nearby Pulau Dayang Bunting. That would mean the priority was to head up to Gunung Raya, the highest peak of Langkawi.

Burnice and Hans are currently on their sailing adventures with their sailing boat all the way from Australia. Having to spend some time at Rebak Island, they made their way to Pekan Rabu after sailing through rough wind condition. We met at the Pekan Rabu pier on our birdwatching morning.

The birdwatcher is Burnice and Hans will enjoy whatever that is presented to him. Little did I know that Burnice is also a blogger like me and I got lots to learn from Burnice's blog. Like me, Burnice will take photos of birds so she can share her images via her blog:  https://burneysbirdblog.wordpress.com/

Below are some snapshots of her blog. Please click here to read Burnice's entire post about her birdwatching experience in Langkawi and her bird list. 

The leaping lizard that Burnice mentioned in her blog was a gliding lizard, Draco spp. I spotted it gliding about 10m across the Gunung Raya road while driving. It landed on a tree and it was just nice for us to observe it through my scope in which I managed to set it up before it was gone. 

The above picture is the juvenile raptor that I was looking for. I managed to snap a photo while it was circling before making a perch into the dense forest. It hid itself very well. We waited for it to fly out again but it didn't. My suspicion at that moment was a juvenile Oriental Honey Buzzard. But I was still doubtful due to lack of details of a Oriental Honey Buzzard such as the prominent tail bands and black tip on the primaries. Just to be sure, I forwarded this image to the raptor sifus in the Raptor Study Group. Thank you to Liung and Aun Tiah for their quick response confirming that it was a juvenile Oriental Honey Buzzard due to its pigeon-like head. I likely think it may be a juvenile female.

The reward for us stopping there for awhile is the appearance of the male Wreathed Hornbill not too far away and it was posing for us.

Many thanks for the nice review on your blog, Burnice. Looking forward to seeing you back on Langkawi for more lifers and your birds stories in Thailand. Bon Voyage!

4287 Langkawi's Gunung Raya Rainforest Steps

Standing close to 900 meter above sea level, Gunung Raya is the highest point on Langkawi or Mount Raya translated in English. I have seen a topography map which stated the peak of this hill is at 881 meter. At this level of height, Raya would normally be considered as a hill or "Bukit" in Malay language. 

What most visitors, locals or foreigners alike, are aware about the nicely laid tarred road that takes one right up to the peak.

Tarred road to the summit of Gunung Raya

However, what most of them didn't know is a flight of thousand steps that lead towards close to the summit. This method of reaching the top definitely consumes much longer time and energy.  According to the info board, it is 4,287 steps. 

My Langkawi Today: Braving the Mozzies

LANGKAWI TODAY: While tour assignments and bookings have been really slow for me this month, this sloth inside me is emerging again. At the same time, there is a desire to explore. Thankfully the rain is starting to return to our once "overly dried" island. Usually when the rain returns after a period of dry season, it will be mosquitoes season regardless if you are in the forest or in the urban area!

A peep into one of the unmarked forest trail on Gunung Raya this morning with the hope of seeing a Banded Kingfisher. The weather this morning started with some light rain and grey sky looming over the hill. I was hoping that the clouds will pass and so I decided to carry on. 

The mozzies were already buzzing in my ears even before I reach the start of the forest trail. I quickly applied my Citronella balm on the exposed areas. The start of the main trail was quiet. Could it be the rain is coming? I wonder. The first bird calling was a Tickell's Blue Flycatcher and it was hiding. Not too long after, I whistled a call of the Banded Kingfisher to check its presence. Less than 10 seconds later, a Banded Kingfisher returned my call from the dense of the forest. That brings me to the unmarked trail and more mozzies are following me!

This colourful flower. Ulvaria spp. caught my eyes as I was walking on the main trail. This would be my first time seeing this bizarre flower and credit to our Dr Abdul Ghani, the herb man of Langkawi who has helped me with this identification.

I was delighted to hear more songs of the forest birds as I ventured further into the forest and yet it is a challenge to spot them.

The call of the Banded Kingfisher disappeared. 

I spotted a bird in the undergrowth and managed to get a record shot of it. It was the Abbot's Babbler. After disappearing itself, it started calling. A Puff-throated Babbler called next and then followed by the Greater Racquet-Tailed Drongo. There were some movement within the canopy trees and a Dusky Leaf Monkey was spotted. It didn't seem too bothered with my presence.

Me and a Dusky Leaf Monkey or Spectacled Langur were spying on each other

I arrived at a dried river bed and a Blue-Winged Pitta started to call.

MY LANGKAWI TODAY: Jerdon's Baza

LANGKAWI TODAY: Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni revisitation and I was so lucky to encounter this spectacular migrant raptor. Jerdon's Baza is not commonly seen. This individual here was spotted soaring above the rainforest of Gunung Raya, Langkawi. It descended quickly and disappeared when two Crested Serpent Eagles Spilornis cheela were presence. Crested Serpent Eagles are resident to Langkawi.

I have recorded sightings of Jerdon's Baza in 2014 and early 2015. It is also nice to see it again. However, I am not sure if it is the same individual.

This is my opportunity to give a big shout out to our raptor sifus, Lim Aun Tiah and Lim Kim Chye for their help in confirming raptors identification. There are still a lot to learn from these two sifus.

Langkawi Birdwatching Tour: Hornbills Galore

When asked for their target birds, they told me that they have seen a Orange-Breasted Green pigeon Treron bicinctus on their own and they were happy to see any birds that come by. 

When one does not have an expected list of target birds... Hornbills galore! 

This Swedish couple had a fascinating morning in viewing a strangling fig tree with matured figs next to the road of Gunung Raya. All three species of hornbills were present on this nice tree. There were the Great Hornbills Buceros bicornis (about ten of them spread out), the Wreathed Hornbills Rhyticeros undulatus (a pair and a juvenile, but were chased out by the Great Hornbills after awhile) and a Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris who stayed for couple of minutes.

An overview of this strangling fig tree. Can you see the figs surrounding this female Wreathed Hornbill?

A male Wreathed Hornbill tossing a fig

Can you spot another hornbill in the background?

A female Great Hornbill (left) and a male Great Hornbill (right) staring at each other.

The female descended to the male and they did this...hmmm

This pair looked contented now

I never get bored in looking at them.

This particular strangling fig tree is still available for these amazing Hornbills to feed on for the next few days. Hurry while stock lasts!

Langkawi Birdwatching Tour: Great Hornbill Nesting on Langkawi

This video was taken in December 2012. There were some waiting time involved in the process of recording this precious moment. The patience paid off. This male Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis eventually arrived safely with some figs for his hungry mate. 

I kept my hands as steady as possible while videoing this moment with my heart pumping with excitement. Enjoy this video.

The current inspection of this same tree has shown that this cavity is now vacant. Perhaps, this pair may have found a better nesting spot elsewhere?

Langkawi Birdwatching Tour: Mugimaki Flycatcher Through My Lens

Looking through our binoculars under low light condition, we initially thought we were seeing a female version of a Mugimaki Flycatcher Fidedula mugimaki.

Now that I have observed the details here on my photo, this little fella here is an immature male. He has a brighter orange throat to the breast. A short supercillium is visible. As described by Craig Robson's Birds of South East Asia book.

Tree of Life

If you type these words, "tree of life meaning" on your search engine, you will find many different meanings to it. Tree of life can be related to religion, biology, literature, sculpture and even movies!

Reading these different references of tree of life can be so complicated and leading to deeper confusion. And so I found a true meaning of tree of life by chance in a simpler way, on a lucky drizzly morning.

Tree of life from afar

 Click on to see the tree of life zoomed in...

Can you see the blobs? Can you count them?

Closer still... I bet you can see them now. I counted about sixteen altogether on this tree

The closest object my camera can zoom into

From the angle I was standing looking at this tree of life, I counted about sixteen Great Hornbills (Buceros bicornis) having an enjoyable time feasting away. There were no other disturbances on that morning. 

The great whooping sound of the wings as they flapped, hopping from a branch to another. Plucking a fig gently and tossing into the air before diving into the throat of a Great Hornbill was a wonderful snapshot that will stay in my memory. 

A male Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) tossed a fig before swallowing 

Some of them perched and had their wings spread open while preening away. I watched with glee while sipping my hot cup of coffee and munching my sandwiches. I stayed on with the whole scene for more than one hour. 

A Great Hornbill preening 

The local pakcik (an elder) came along with his motorbike and stopped to watch the scene too. He was delighted to see them on this tree of life. His comments were "When there are tourists around, no Great hornbills. And when there are so many Great Hornbills showing themselves, there are no tourists". I laughed at his comments and nodded in agreement with him. I told him that this wonderful event was meant for us to experience.

My simple meaning of the tree of life in a rainforest is when a strangling fig tree (Ficus genus) began to fruit bountifully, it brings abundance of live and joy. A couple of Asian Fairy Bluebird (Irena puella) were fluttering around and there were others that came joined the party such as...

Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) peeping through the foliage

Black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor) ... and it thought that it could get away without being spotted!

Calls and screaming of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) were heard from below the tree of life. The pakcik said that these macaques were below scavenging the leftovers. What an easy way to feast without climbing the tree! I bet these macaques were also eating the insects that also came to feed on the leftovers.

Strangling fig trees are vital for all in a lowland rainforest and huge birds like the Great Hornbills are in great need of such habitat for their survival. Langkawi is blessed with the richness of flora and fauna. This has made her really special to those who has the genuine heart to witness what she has got to display.