It has been almost a year since my last visit and here I am again at one of the best forest birding localities in Malaysia. What other treasures are in store for me this trip? Will I get any lifers this time? All these thoughts were running through my head as our group unpacked and settled into our accommodations.

Our group this time comprised of 13 birders altogether, mostly from Penang and a few from Perak. It certainly did not take long for the local residents to capture our attention. In terms of birding, we had a terrific time. However in terms of photography, it was slightly under my expectations especially when compared to my last trip.

A dazzling male Green Broadbill got things rolling for this trip. Despite the fact that it was slightly wary of our presence, I did managed to capture a few reasonable shots.

There were not that many Bulbuls around this trip and I only manged to capture one good shot of a juvenile Grey-cheeked Bulbul.

The Garnet Pittas were calling persistently throughout our stay but they only offered glimpses and memories this time. Where did the pitta go?

I, for one, is not complaining as I got 2 lifers this trip. After all these years and several close shaves, the Malayan Peacock-pheasant finally found its way into my life list. Some rustlin’ of feathers, a glimpse of the beautiful markings and it disappeared further into the forest. I did not even have time to lift up my binos! However, I got great shots of my second lifer – the Jerdon’s Baza which is rather rare here in Malaysia.

It is time like this that I’m really glad I took up photography. This spesies is not that easy to id and with the photos, the job was made easier. I have an unconfirmed sighting of this species at Bukit Larut years back but I guess I can put that to rest now.

Hornbills are still eluding my camera, as usual. I missed capturing a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills twice. A Helmeted Hornbill alighted on a dead tree (together with a flock of Great Slaty Woodpeckers!) not too far from me but it was at the break of dawn and there was not enough natural light. Talking about Murphy’s Law! No amount of post processing could do justice to this sighting of a Helmeted Hornbill.

I have even placed a hornbill badge on my hat hoping that it would break the jinx. I guess it’s not helping much…

It is rather ironic that my best images so far of the Oriental Magpie Robin are taken here and not some housing area back in Penang…

The Red-naped Trogon is a real forest gem but unfortunately, it was rather camera-shy…

Apart from the birds, we had a few close encounters with the other residents like this Wild Boar…

And this green Scorpion…

Some of the "locals" seem to have taken a liking to me or to be more accurate, my sweat…

The Maroon-breasted Philentoma was seen quite a few times but I only managed to capture a few record shots of the female…

The closely-related Rufous-winged Philentoma provided a better show. The colours of this male is simply stunning…

I even managed to capture a juvenile as well…

We came across a total of 3 Black-naped Monarch nests. This is the male bird on nest #1…

A female on nest #2…

I spend a little more time at nest #3 and observed the nesting pair from a safe distance. Both parents took turns to care for the chicks…

As usual, the female bird is a little less appealing than the male…

One big happy family…

And so concludes another rewarding trip to good old Taman Negara which included 2 lifers and a handful of rather elusive species.