April 2017

April was a tale of the two rainforests….one highland and one lowland.

My friend Nick came up from Singapore for a week and one of our adventures was to spend two nights at Sungai Sedim. We were joined by a young Singaporean researcher into various primates in the region. Andi had her boyfriend along with her and she was interested in the population of Banded Leaf Monkeys. It turns out there were a number of troops. She was a happy camper after the few days but things have turned sour for her since as she has been banned by Malaysian authorities for collecting material without the necessary permits…..which resulted from her excursions into Johor. It is a pity that science does not win over petty politics.

Banded Leaf Monkey

Mum and baby Dusky Langur

Dusky Langur

Banded Leaf monkey jumping between trees

Green Crested Lizard

I was not getting many interesting subjects until the last morning when I saw a mating display from camera shy Chestnut-naped Forktails.

 

Sungai Sedim

Buff-naped Forktails  female on the right

In the middle of the month I had another workshop at Fraser’s Hill. Nature photographers from Singapore were the participants. We had 4 nights and three days of talks and photography. The conditions varied from frustrations with morning mists to some good sessions with some of the colourful birds. It has never been an easy place to photograph birds but over the years the collection has grown.

Red-headed Trogon (male)

Red-headed Trogon (male)

Fire-tufted Barbet

Daytime Cicada (I can find little information about this insect)

Large Niltava (female)

Large Niltava (male)

Streaked Spiderhunter

Rufous-browed Flycatcher

Orange-bellied Leafbird  (m)

Streaked Spiderhunter

Silver-eared Mesia

White-tailed Robin

One sought-after species at Fraser's Hill is the Long-tailed Broadbill....affectionately known to us as Elvis. The Broadbill had an active nest that unfortunately fell down from its lofty position one night.

There always seems to be someone with a biological interest pursuing something at Fraser's Hill....this one was a new one to me...on the side of the road.

Nature photography is never smooth sailing. While the Trogon and Elvis were in the vicinity....the mist was also making photography impossible. As you can see the images under these conditions are less than appealing unless there are prizes for foggy Trogon images.

Back at Penanti one lone pair of Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters are feeding a nest while Blue-throated Bee-eaters prepare for their nesting.

Helen has had a slightly frustrating month with her classes….first it was Japanese school holidays then several public holidays plus some departures.   We both signed up for 6 months in the gym and Coco has joined in being keen to go on some hill walks.

We have been moderately busy with guests but talking with them and some local retailers suggests that the economy is worse than reported as everyone is complaining about the last 18 months.

The pub quiz has continued with results of 2^nd, 7^th, 1^st and 2^nd. I was away for one week as was Mike who covers the British-centric questions

Allen on the right is our team-member

It has not been a good period for New Zealand icons. We first lost Murray Ball, the creator of Footrot Flats and then Fred Dagg departed the scene. I clearly remember when his comments about the budget attracted a greater audience than the Minister of Finance (Muldoon)  defending his financial manipulations.

It is a while since I have posted pictures of the offshore Island development.  Here is a couple of shots as seen from the level of the gym in the G-hotel.  The orange arrow is the new island. The yellow arrow is a causeway that connects the bottom of our estate. They will infil all the water within the blue double-headed arrow. The green arrow indicates where there was mangroves that has been cleared. To the left of that arrow there will be a road that bypasses the congested areas. The second shot is a closer view

There are benefits walking along the promenade in the early morning. Earlier this week the planet venus was very prominent on the eastern horizon and in close alignment to the new moon.