Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke 51 (Malaysia Independance Day)

I have no picture of Malaysia Flag that are flying at the Independence Square ( Padang Merdeka ).
So I search the net and found a nice picture by Michael - at Picasa Web Album.

To celebrate the special day, I edit those flag by adding two birds from my backyard, the Black-naped Orioles and Yellow-vented Bulbul.


MERDEKA!, MERDEKA!, MERDEKA!

Fledgling Oriental Magpie Robin

Male - Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis)

My backyard - Skywatch Friday - my First Entry

This is my first entry/participation for Skywatch Friday.

My backyard - that bare or dead tree is where the birds usually perch.

The plants - banana and coconut trees are just out side my backyard fence.
These plants provide the perfect hide out for the birds, but sadly this frame didn't show and bird.

Click the Skywatch logo below;

Dried Lizard

I found this dead lizard trapped at my car's door.

The car was parked under the hot sun, so the lizard was dried like a 'keropok ikan' (crackers) that was post previously.













on a leather cover of PDA














on the tissue paper.







If my wife see this picture, I think she will never eat fish cracker again! ;-)

Fish cracker - Keropok Ikan

My wife brought this 'Keropok Ikan" (dried fish cracker), at Maninjau Padang Sumatra, Indonesia last may.

I posted this picture for comparison with my tomorrow pic.

so stay tune...

Unusual shape of coconut fruit

I found this unusually long coconut fruits at my mother-in-law backyard recently.
It shaped like a jackfruit.


Compare with the normal shape below, from the same tree.

I don't know what is the variety of this coconut.
For more info about coconut variety, please visit Dr.Roland Bourdeix blog.

Spectacled Spiderhunter at Petai tree - Arachnothera flavigaster at Parkia speciosa

Arachnothera flavigaster at Parkia speciosa - Spectacled Spiderhunter at Petai tree






























Spectacled Spiderhunter at Petai tree

In memory of Ustazah Meriam Nasir (Kak Yam)

In memory of Kak Yam (Uztazah Meriam Nasir). She passed away suddenly at 9.00pm last night due to acute attack of bronchial asthma. May Allah (SWT) grant her a place in Jannah and rest her soul in peace. Amin! Inshallah. This snap shot was taken earlier this month at the billboard, at the junction of Kinabalu Park road. Kak Yam in black spectacles.

At Padang, Sumatra , 28 May 2008 (Kak Yam in blue baju kurung).

Wasps photography with Telephoto lens

This Wasps (Polistes sagittarius) at Longan flowers searching for food.

Macro photography shot with my birds lenses (400m f5.6 L telephoto lens).

More info about this wasp.


























Mosquito also can be seen at the right top flowers.
Male mosquitoes feed on flower nectar, unlike the female that blood sucker.

Common Tailorbird at Jackfruit tree

This is the same Tailorbird that foraging at the mangoesteen tree below.

Now I caught it at the cempedak tree (Artocarpus integer) (Jackfruit)



















Most of the frames are like this blur picture here.

I have to use manual focus because of low lighting at the dark understorey.

Common Tailorbird at Mangosteen tree

Common Tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius.

The loud chirping call of this tiny bird always make me running for my camera.

This morning I managed to photograph while it was foraging at the mangosteen tree at my backyard.

Taking picture of small warblers like this is never been easy.

I and the Bird Edition #82

I submitted a link of a write up by Prof YC Wee of Adrian Lim a.k.a. wmw998 and my observation of Gold-whiskered Barbet feeding bahavior to Kathie of Sycamore Canyon for 82nd edition of IATB.
It is interesting that she relate the observation to Kronos (Greek mitos) devouring one of his children.

Pied Fantail on the Dead Grass at the Rusty Steel Fences

Pied Fantail
Rhipidura javanica
Malay name - Murai Gila
The grass vine the grew on the steel was kill by weed killer, because it grew so thick which block the monsoon drain beside the fence.
The grey/black and white colour of the bird is camouflage very well in that dead grass.
But 'mad bird' which never stay still, so I can see it from a far!

Simple Birds Feeder at My Backyard

I just put a bunch of ripe banana at the wooden poles that was attached to a metal structure for cloth hanger.

A pair of Yellow-vented Bulbul was having a feast there.

It attract common birds such as Jayan Myna and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.







Normally I shot the birds in large JPEG format, for the reason of easy and fast editing.
I normally just crop, adjust saturation and sharpen to taste.
This few days, I have a time to play around with RAW format (this is what pro using).
The two images here were shot in a sequence, with birds in difference position. The above was heavily edited with yellow colour just selected with the banana and birds. Using lasso tool and desaturated the yellow around the main subjects.

Dragonfly and Helicopter

Doing macro shot of Red Dragonfly again
















I saw this Malaysian Police Helicopter 9M-80A, flying over my house.

Edit:
I search the internet for the name of this helicopter model.
It turn out to be AgustaWestland AW109 for "Bomba" (Malaysia Firefighting Department)







This is the other helicopter with, registration number: 9M-80B. I got the picture from Agusta website here

Yellow-vented Bulbul eating Banana

I set a simple feeder by placing one ripe banana on the fence wire, and wait for this common bird to eat it.

Anatomy of Dragonfly's Head

I found this green dragonfly at my veranda this evening. It landed on the floor, so weak that it can't stand on its feet. The wings were still moving.

So, this is my chance to study the head/compound eyes closely.
A pair of green compound eyes, two small small antenna and three brown ocelli between it.
The labrum, mandible and labium are clearly visible.

** I did not kill this lovely insect just to photograph it, I just found it in this state of helplessness.

Ants at Work

Multi-colour Bugs

Now new birds species around my backyard.

Took my old Tamron 70-300 macro lens, and this is what I got at this Sunday afternoon.
(apart from watching Olympic at TV!)




Blue Mud Dauber (Chalybion californicum)




I don't have a clue about their name/species.


? Megamerina sp

? Coleoptera sp. (beetle 'kumbang')









My son (Firdaus) took this shot of Anopheles sp. feeding at my arm.






Did you see the "baby bug" at the back of that Ladybird (Coccinella species) ?



The green bug is "Long-legged fly" -Condylostylus sp.









Polistes sp.

Short trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Here are a few snap shots of my trip to Sabah over the week end.

Not enough time for birding or birds photography.

Night view

Filipino Market
Canopy walk at Poring Hot Springs

Boat to Gaya Island

Road-side Tailor at Filipino Market.

another view of Magestic Mount Kinabalu