We left the Tune hotel just after 5am and arrived at Ulu Langat on the outskirts of KL at dawn. Ulu Langat is a patch of remnant forest along a fast-flowing watercourse that gives rise to the Gabai Waterfalls. It is clearly a popular weekend picnic and walking spot with a number of cabins for hire. There were plenty of easy walking trails that gave good access to the area. As we approached the river a Black-thighed Falconet was seen perched high in a leafless tree and 2 Arctic Warblers were seen foraging in less tall trees. Whilst crossing the first bridge a Chestnut-naped Forktail was seen feeding along the river - a superb start to the trip as the species has remained a firm favourite, being one of the first species that we ever saw in Malaysia at Kota Tingii during a day-trip from Singapore. The trails produced a nice selection of species including 2 Oriental Dwarf Kingfishers, a pair of Silver-breasted Broadbills and 2 Black-and-yellow Broadbills but an area of seeding bamboo failed to produce any Pin-tailed Parrotfinches - although a noisy leaf-blowing machine in near-continuous use nearby probably didn't help our cause! A Tiger Shrike was found nearby, but disappointingly, no hoped-for White-crowned Hornbills were encountered despite someone at one of the cabins suggesting that a pair had been seen in recent days. That said, we had enjoyed birding the area and very reluctantly left at midday to drive to Krau seeing a flock of c.100 Painted Storks circling high in the sky enroute. At Krau there is a remnant area of wet lowland forest but it has apparently just lost its protected status and we unfortunately saw some evidence of recently cleared areas. We concentrated our efforts in the vicinity of the fenced, but empty, Tiger enclosure and Deerland being a small zoo set in the forest. The trails at Krau were very muddy and leeches proved troublesome. We were rewarded with seeing some nice species including both Black-capped and Black-throated Babblers and a White-crowned Forktail but unfortunately we failed to hear, let alone see, Garnet Pitta. It soon started to rain heavily so we returned to the car to shelter but the weather failed to improve so we eventually called it a day and headed to a nearby local restaurant for a meal. Once the rain had stopped we returned to Krau late in the evening and spent a couple of hours listening for Frogmouths and Owls. We heard a Blyth's Frogmouth make a series of its double-call notes from the forest at Deerland right where Frank Lambert had successfully sound-recorded them in 2009 but frustratingly it showed no interest in approaching us and soon fell silent. We drove and checked into the Selasa Resort at the foot of Bukit Tingii.
Ulu Langat
Black-thighed Falconet 1
Emerald Dove 1
Indian Cuckoo h
Green-billed Malkoha 1
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha 1
Pacific Swift c.100
Whiskered Treeswift 2
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher 2
White-throated Kingfisher 1
Blue-tailed Bee-eater c.10
Black-and-yellow Broadbill 2
Silver-breasted Broadbill 2
Red-eyed Bulbul 2
Grey-cheeked Bulbul 1
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo 2
Black-naped Oriole 1
Asian Fairy-Bluebird 2
White-bellied Erpornis 3
Oriental Magpie-Robin c.10
Chestnut-naped Forktail 1
Arctic Warbler 2
Dark-necked Tailorbird 2
Asian Brown Flycatcher 1
Grey-headed Flycatcher 1
Grey Wagtail 2
Tiger Shrike 1
Brown-throated Sunbird 1
Purple-naped Sunbird 1
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker 1
Enroute to Krau
Painted Stork c.100
Spotted Dove c.10
Pacific Swallow c.20
Common Myna c.10
Krau
BLYTH'S FROGMOUTH h
Large-tailed Nightjar h
Oriental Pied Hornbill 1
Yellow-bellied Bulbul 2
Hairy-backed Bulbul 1
Black-capped Babbler 1
Black-throated Babbler 1
White-rumped Shama 1
White-crowned Forktail 1
Ulu Langat
Black-thighed Falconet 1
Emerald Dove 1
Indian Cuckoo h
Green-billed Malkoha 1
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha 1
Pacific Swift c.100
Whiskered Treeswift 2
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher 2
White-throated Kingfisher 1
Blue-tailed Bee-eater c.10
Black-and-yellow Broadbill 2
Silver-breasted Broadbill 2
Red-eyed Bulbul 2
Grey-cheeked Bulbul 1
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo 2
Black-naped Oriole 1
Asian Fairy-Bluebird 2
White-bellied Erpornis 3
Oriental Magpie-Robin c.10
Chestnut-naped Forktail 1
Arctic Warbler 2
Dark-necked Tailorbird 2
Asian Brown Flycatcher 1
Grey-headed Flycatcher 1
Grey Wagtail 2
Tiger Shrike 1
Brown-throated Sunbird 1
Purple-naped Sunbird 1
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker 1
Enroute to Krau
Painted Stork c.100
Spotted Dove c.10
Pacific Swallow c.20
Common Myna c.10
Krau
BLYTH'S FROGMOUTH h
Large-tailed Nightjar h
Oriental Pied Hornbill 1
Yellow-bellied Bulbul 2
Hairy-backed Bulbul 1
Black-capped Babbler 1
Black-throated Babbler 1
White-rumped Shama 1
White-crowned Forktail 1
Ulu Langat
Juvenile Chestnut-naped Forktail at Ulu Langat
the white submoustachial patches age this individual as a juvenile
Immature Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher at Ulu Langat
Wells (1999) describes bill blackish tinged dull orange and with extreme tip pale (young juvenile) before changing via horn-yellow to the bright orange-red of adult.
Adult and immature (background) Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher at Ulu Langat
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher at Ulu Langat
Struggling to be sure whether this was of the black-backed or rufous-backed form I stumbled across this link that would appear to illustrate similar individuals showing intermediate characters photographed in Johor that from the comments would appear to be best treated as rufous-backed birds.
Silver-breasted Broadbill at Ulu Langat
Only females show the thin white necklace (see upper image)
Dark-necked Tailorbird at Ulu Langat
Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo at Ulu Langat
Black-and-yellow Broadbill at Ulu Langat
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha at Ulu Langat
Adult Blue-tailed Bee-eater at Ulu Langat
Juvenile Tiger Shrike at Ulu Langat
Common Birdwing Butterfly at Ulu Langat
Yellow-bellied Bulbul at Krau
Hairy-backed Bulbul at Krau
White-rumped Shama at Krau
Adult Black-throated Babbler at Krau
Adult Black-capped Babbler at Krau
