A New Year 2013 Post

Festive season is the time of joy of giving and sharing. What a joyous moment to be able to  capture this beautiful moment of a male Great Hornbill passing food to his beloved expectant wife which is now being imprisoned in a tree cavity until she is ready to be out again.

A male Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) feeding his mate in a tree cavity

Is the female having a time of her life inside?... click "read fullpost" below

A labor of love, endurance and commitment shown by this monogamous pair. Indeed it is tiring for the male to fly in and out to feed her while she is sitting in there waiting for food. If you think it is an easy job for the female then think again. Mind you, it is not a nice feeling to be confined in a very tight space for 8 to 10 weeks filled with the smell of urine and feces even though there is constant cleaning in the nest. Is mentally tough!! 

When people had their lucky moments to see this live, some took the trouble to ask me if the hornbills are endangered. Yes, if their natural habitat is continuously being taken away. Big trees being ripped away by deforestation due to the rising tide of human population, development and greed. Langkawi is at the edge of losing her natural charms..."naturally langkawi"

My New Year rambling starts here. I decided to have a quiet new year on my own since I  got jaded with jamming in places filled with new year revelers and traffic congested roads.  And so, I picked up a movie to watch on New Year's eve and Hellboy II: The Golden Army was my choice. It has been ages since I watched this sequel of Hellboy (my favorite hero character) and I have forgotten the entire story. 

Here's the story extracted from Wikipedia: Hellboy II The Golden Army:

"In Christmas of 1955, a young Hellboy is told a bedtime story by his adoptive father, Trevor Broom, involving an ancient war between man and magical creatures, started by man's greed. After years of battle and defeat of the magical creatures' forces, the master of the goblin blacksmiths offers to build an indestructible golden mechanical army for King Balor, the one-armed king of the elves. Influenced by his son Prince Nuada, Balor orders the building of this Golden Army. Soon the humans attack again but the Golden Army devastates them; Balor creates a truce with the humans to stop the bloodshed: Man will keep his cities and the magical creatures will keep their forests. Nuada does not agree with the truce, and leaves in exile. The magical crown controlling the army is broken into three pieces, one piece going to the humans and the other two kept by the elves, so the Golden Army can never be used again"

The humans have eventually pushed the magical creatures out of their natural home and their habitats were taken over by developments. Prince Nuada returns and consumed by hate, he declares war on humans. And the story goes on with Hellboy and his team saving the humans from being attack by the Golden Army. And of course, who wins? Prince Nuada could have won the war but the director dictated the winner...

Prince Nuada: Image taken from entertainment.wikia.com

In my own ponder, humans can win over nature or we think we can. And Nature eventually has her own way to return with a bigger clobber over us. When will the revenge takes place? In her own sweet time and it will be the time when humans are overly complacent with our own created world.

And so with Langkawi, will there be a Prince Nuada hiding in the mountains of Macinchang or Gunung Raya, still asleep and the forest creatures are awaiting for his return to declare war on us? Or it should be the job of Puteri Mahsuri? Perhaps not. The power of Puteri Mahsuri's curse has already depleted. And so, wake up Prince Nuada!

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BLOG FOLLOWERS AND THE FOREST CREATURES

p/s: You must watch this movie!

Link:
Wikipedia: Hellboy II - The Golden Army

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Spidey Snail

It was on that evening on the road by the edge of a rainforest, I was trying my luck to look for the Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) to photograph. Somehow, something caught my attention. It was just a small whitish leaf-like about two centimeters suspending in the air and it was moving a little. Oh well... just a leaf, probably. Or maybe it could be a spider??? Let's check it out.

As I got closer, I was very amazed to see this.

  

Click on for a closer look.

This is not the best shot... but can you see the strand of mucus?

What I was seeing for my first time was this snail climbing downwards by using its own mucus which looks like a thread made by a spider. As I was attempting to take a closer shot of this delicate creature, it somehow landed on my camera lens. And the strand of mucus stopped at about less than 1 meter above the ground. Gee... I think I "did" it again...sorry snail for ruining your journey. Anyway, I gave it a free ride down by placing it on the ground. I hope it is happy on that spot.

Hey JK of SiputKuning Journal, this post is specially for you! Also require your expertise to tell us more about this wonderful snail. Cheers, mate!

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Another Aaarrrrgggghhhh!

A rather late and quiet morning on a secluded road which lies in the heart of the island's lowland rainforest. I know I was a bit late because the surrounding of the forest was so still and silent. It was hot and sunny as well. 

My aim is to catch a glimpse of any migratory flycatchers.

Started to show himself was a cute little Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma) hovering over the flowers of Senduduk plant (Melastoma malabathricum).

As if the Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker was the appetizer for this hour of birdwatching, the second appetizer dish came in was a flock of Pin-Striped Tit Babblers (Macronus gularis)  babbling away. They were very generous this time to allow me to observe their streaks on their lower throats and breasts.


A few meters ahead, a long black body descended smoothly on some branches of a tree. A handsome Black Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor) was trying hard to hide itself but I spotted it first. A few steps after, a male Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja). The late and quiet morning seems to get a bit more exciting.

On the middle of the road, something familiar was walking with its bum swaying left and right. When it stops, the tail goes up and down. A   Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus)! It has been aeon since I last saw this wagging birdie. It seems to be leading me. And then it joined two other Forest Wagtails ahead. Indeed is a pleasure to be greeted by a Forest Wagtail.

Reaching the dead end and turning around was the Greater Racquet-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) waiting for me. Red-Eyed Bulbuls (Pycnonotus brunneus) joined in the fun as well. 

A familiar soft tune came in. Aha! A Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) .. I only saw the female. Though my aim was to look for migratory flycatchers but this local one is satisfying too.

To finish off with the dessert...please click below
     
Suddenly, a high pitch whistling call pierced through the rainforest and I definitely recognised that call. I mimic that call and waited. Less than a minute later, I saw something dashed very quickly like the speed of a lightning into a clump of leaves. I waited for any signs of movement. One minute, two minutes and up to five minutes past. Still no signs of any movement. I mimic the call again. Seconds later, he came out and perched on a liana!! Yeahh!

The moment I have been waiting for!

And then I remembered having to decide which camera to take with me before I left home. Darn! Why didn't I take my Canon Powershot SX1IS?  Having no other choices, I have to use my Canon Powershot S100 with only 5x optical zoom to capture this bird. He perched there for a good ten minutes. Just when I thought I have learned my previous lesson of not bringing my camera, here's another Aaarrrrgggghhhh!   psst.. to TC, now I recall your advise and should have listened to my instinct... Aaarrrrgggghhhh!

Here is this elusive bird:

I was attempting to take the picture of this kingfisher through my pair of binoculars but it was so difficult to keep my hands steady. By then I was lying on the middle of the road while attempting to do so. My attention got diverted by some noise and I saw a Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) gliding above me. And something dashed very quickly and when I looked at the liana, the Banded Kingfisher has flown away.


A very good ten minutes and I was all alone by myself indulging this moment. Oh! I couldn't ask for more. Although I didn't catch any glimpse of a migratory flycatcher but seeing a Banded Kingfisher certainly made my day!


For that one hour on that stretch of road, I have my nine-course meal for brunch:

1. Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma)

2. Pin-Striped Tit Babblers (Macronus gularis)

3. Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja)

4. Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus)

5. Greater Racquet-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus)

6. Red-Eyed Bulbuls (Pycnonotus brunneus)

7. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae)

8. Banded Kingfisher (Lacedo pulchella)

9. Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)

Heading towards my car, that same call came from within the forest and as if it was saying "See you again" ...

Yes Banded, we shall meet again real soon ... "Burp!"

Reference:
1. A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia by Craig Robson

Link:
About Senduduk plant

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Porpita Tortilla!

Hahahaha! Just a little humor will not hurt, right? 

The weird marine creature I encountered yesterday afternoon were Porpita Porpita (it sounds like Spanish to me) and the common name for this Cnidaria phylum is Blue Button Jellies. Although it has the 'jellies' word and they are related to jellyfish but they are not a jellyfish at all. However, they do have nematocysts that can cause irritation to skin when touched and their sting is not powerful.

Porpita porpita

According to the links I have read, the habitat and distribution of porpita porpita are in the warm waters of Pacific, Atlantic ocean, Gulf of Mexico, southern part of United States and even in New Zealand. These hydroids live in pelagic waters and they are blown onto shores.

At least I am having some excitement for this weekend for able to discover something new...awesome! I owe my blog readers a huge thank you for their answers to my weird marine creatures. 

Who are they?

JK of SiputKuning.com, Erica Oliver Heibel via Facebook page, Ria of Wildshores of Singapore, and Patrick Low via Facebook. Thank you all for your time!

Links related to Porpita porpita:

1. Wikipedia on porpita porpita
2. About.com.Marine Life

3. Sea Jellies of Mississippi Sound pdf

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My Weirdest Marine Creature

It was this afternoon when we spotted a small bluish object on a sandy beach. To me, it looked like some fibrous material a.k.a rubbish that was washed up by the high tide. Someone said to me that it isn't a piece of rubbish. And yes indeed. When I picked it up, the center of this object felt spongy. It felt like something which was alive much earlier. And when I looked around the beach, there were more of it were scattered all over the beach located on the North West of Langkawi. 

The bluish colour were running out of the object. Like a blue dye coming out when touches the water. Do you notice that on the above picture?

Click below to see close up pictures...

 The object above the center is the other side of this weird creature

 

The weird marine creature next to a set of sand balls made by sand crabs

A close up. This piece is almost the size of RM0.50 coin

Just when all of them were blue and out-of-the blue, I spotted a Yellow one! There was only one yellow we seen on that beach

What are they? They are not sea urchins, for sure. A few guesses came into my mind. Are they some sort of sand dollars or heart urchins? Or possibly they are some sort of echinoderms. Have anyone seen this species? Or could help to identify, please put your comments below. Thank you!

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New Life On The New Year Eve

A lot of cicada species found in our region here usually produce high frequencies. They are so loud and yet it is difficult to spot them. When they sensed your presence, they usually take off in flight. Unless they peed, then it will be easy to spot them. Attempting to spot a cicada on a tree is like a one in million chance, what about seeing a cicada coming out of its shell then? One in a trillion chance??

On the note,  in some countries cicadas can be spotted easily when they are out periodically. 

That night was my last evening nature walk for the year 2011. Shining that torch around and this little critter on a tree caught my eyes. At that moment, it has emerged more than half way out of its exoskeleton. It didn't move at the beginning and when we got near it to have a closer look, it was twitching as if it was struggling hard to come out.  

Another half way more to come out

I rounded up my walk and decided to return to that same spot to witness the rest of the wonderful event. The second part of the event was recorded about twenty minutes after the first shot. 

"Look ma... I can do the upside down thing"

Notice how this cicada did its first "sit-up" exercise. Looks like it has used tremendous strength to do this exercise. 

Thank you for being patient with this shaky video. While videoing this amazing event, I had to balance with a big torchlight on one hand and my camera on the other. p/s: if you like this, click LIKE :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Cicada! 

This cicada was transformed on the eve of 2012. Unlike those robotic Transformers, this cicada transformed very, very slowly. I am not sure how long the whole process took because I was not there from the beginning.

Could this be a symbolic event for me? Or a symbolic in nature? Whatever it is, I cannot help to ponder if this could be a sign or something. A new hope for conservation? I do hope that this is for real and yet I strongly feel the conservation efforts on Langkawi is diminishing. With the upcoming development of resorts, hotels, another port and uncontrollable illegal poaching on Langkawi, the preservation of her natural heritage does not seem promising at all. Not even the NGO here can protect her. Alright, enough of my yakkety yak on conservation issues for this post.

On a happy note, this live event was meant for me to witness and I was so thrill that I have to share this to everyone. This blog post is dedicated to all my blog followers, readers, supporters and nature lovers. 

May the Force and the Blessing of Eywa continues to guard our precious Rainforest and her biodiversity. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012! 

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Turtle's Adventure

A true story written by Paulette Goddu and was sent to me:

"Early morning.....I am sipping my first cup of coffee when  my friend Lynne tells me of an unusual encounter. A small group of men walk along the road and pause at our front gate.They ask Lynne if she would like to buy a turtle for dinner. She does not, but feels compassion for the poor creature. " I wish I had purchased the turtle we could have set it free at our moon party on the beach" ..."it would have been a lovely tribute to Kwan Yin the Goddess of Mercy & Compassion" she says......little did we know this would be the first of many wishes that were to come true that day. A short time later we see the men walking on the road in the opposite direction.They still have the turtle. Now we are eager to buy it. The small group of men ask us if we will eat it.....when we tell them we wish only for her freedom and a safe return to the water they then refuse money. The turtle is a lovely purple gray color with a creamy underbelly. We put her under the shower in our bathroom and cool her off. We add a little salt to a bucket of water and soak some dried shrimp in water for her to eat also a little shredded cabbage. We remember our friend Jeffery who does animal rescue and also Dreamer who is kind and knowledgeable.  We find a large plastic bucket, it is very heavy filled with water and the turtle.  Colin also likes the plan and heaves it into his car and we take her to the moon party with us. There is not much room in the car with all our party supplies and four people but we have made her liberation a priority. After much inspection and discussion and photo taking we leave the turtle in good hands with many assurances from her new expert caretakers. I say goodbye to her and feel oddly touched when I think I detect a reptilian wink. The next day we have good news! She has been set free is a lovely place where the salty ocean co-mingles with fresh water. Now she has the freedom to fulfill her destiny whatever that may be."

That story was after the drama. Where did the turtle go to?

Thank goodness for Jeff who called me before their intention to release it. After a short description of the turtle, I guessed it must be a fresh water turtle and Jeff agreed too. And so, that turtle's freedom was withheld for "further inspection".

After the moon party beach to taste the sand and sea breeze, that turtle spent a night in a bathtub of a lovely maiden's house. On the following day, it was transported again to the river next to a village. ...pssst... thanks Nani

I met up with Jeff and Mandy the next day who got the turtle in a bucket ready to be released. Her freedom was pending until a few photographs and some measurements were taken. I felt its powerful claws when I first picked it up to put it into a bucket. It was massive and that was my first time touching and holding such turtle. The carapace was not hard rock as a tortoise's one. 

Notice the dark median stripe on its carapace? Very likely an adult Malayan Softshell Turtle (Dogania subplana). The length of carapace was about 30cm.

The nose reminded me of a Proboscis Monkey!

Scrambling for its life!

It was back into the bucket so we could carried it next to the river without getting ourselves snap by its powerful jaw.

Ninja Turtle!

Alas, the smell of the fresh water river was irresistible for our turtle friend here. It scrambled very quickly trotting on the soil, nosed in first and then dived into FREEDOM!

Jeff releasing the turtle

Nosed in - Dive...

MERDEKA! (means freedom)

A Malayan softshell turtle (Dogania subplana) is a freshwater turtle which can be found in clear, rocky and shallow streams with sandy bottom. It loves aquatic snails, prawns and crabs as its meals. Be caution when handling softshell turtles for they have powerful jaws that can inflict damage. 

After the whole drama, we met up with Colin who related the similar story and I want to add on a little bits of their conversation with the locals. I giggled over how these ladies managed to obtain the turtle's freedom using their best Malay language. Colin described one of them was saying, "Merdeka, merdeka.." to those local men in order to set the turtle free without having to pay a single cent. Well done, ladies!

Wildlife conservation works best in a team or with a team. Thank you to all involved in this softshell turtle rescue and saving it from the cooking pot. We hope we got the turtle to a better place and good luck in its next adventure!

References:

1. Field Guide to the Reptiles of South East Asia by Indraneil Das

2. Photographic Guide to Snakes, Reptiles of Peninsula Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand by   

    Merel J.Cox

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Cutie of the Day

A Cutie's wonder...

She is much cuter than a kitty. Wish I can hold her and I can't, for she will scream

Wrapped around by the warm and furry skin of her parent

For now, this little gentle creature is secure and content

She is clinging on with comfort

And she will be independent

To leave the comfort

To survive on her own

As she pops her head out 

Wondering if I am also wondering 

What the future holds for her

Wondering her future will be promising

Wondering the compensation she will be getting

With the removal of her immense precious habitat 

the lowland rainforest

A place in which she calls home.

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Good Old Temurun Waterfall

It has been raining for almost twenty four hours now. Drizzled, rained, stopped for awhile, rained, drizzled and over again. I simply love days like this because such days do not come often. 

A rainy day as such will perform magical and special effects on one of my favorite waterfall  which is accessible by the public. 

Temurun Waterfall at its BEST this afternoon

How is Temurun Waterfall like in the dry season?

Pictures taken in March 2010. Month of March is still the dry season

In March 2010, contractors invaded this waterfall by constructing these ugly dams

Temurun Waterfall last year (22 August 2010):

Today at Temurun Waterfall

Lots of water!!

WOW!

Monstrous water coming down! Do not underestimate the power of water

I had to do this very quickly. I was drenched by standing in front of the water for less than 10 seconds to take this picture. The tremendous wind it generated was so cool!

Dare to swim in this pool, anyone?

Temurun Watefall as seen from Datai Road

Temurun at its best and certainly the best time to visit. I observed that this waterfall area is at its cleanest during the fasting month. Better come soon to enjoy this waterfall before the festive season begins next week. When those picnickers return and so the rubbish as well.

Langkawi gets more sunny hot days than rainy days like this. I wonder why people get gloomy, upset and moaning over such wonderful day. 

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3 In 1

Simply means I saw three of them in one day!

The first one was spotted by a lady on my boat. She has sharp eyes!

A Reticulated Python (Python Reticulatus)

What were the rest?

A lucky spot by me...

Mangrove Pit viper (Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus)

...and the last one before the day ended. I was driving along Datai Road in the dark and my car almost ran over it while it was crossing the road. I stopped my car, ran towards it to check and it slithered into the undergrowth. I quickly ran back to my car to grab my camera and only managed to capture this.

Can you see its tail? I suspect it was a Elapidae, very likely a King Cobra (checked my Snake book shortly after)

People have asked me if there are any snakes in Langkawi. Well, I have seen three different ones in one day. What a lovely snaky day!

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My Darlings Of Langkawi

These are the little treats that made my day on a hard day's work...

Giant Squirrel (Ratufa Bicolor)

What was this Giant Squirrel doing?

It was stunned when I shot it with my camera and so it dropped the fruit that it was eating.  Observe the pose of its little hands. Later, it ignored me. I learnt later that it was feeding on the fruits of a notorious poisonous Rengas tree. Do not touch any of the tree's opened fruits or the sap unless you want to be a Puff Daddy.

Fruits of a Rengas Tree

My other darlings... the quiet ones

Colugo female with her baby

... my shy ones, the Dusky Leaf Monkeys (Trachypithecus obscurus)

Taking a break in between feeding time

... last but not least, this is one of my favourite creepy crawly 

Doria's Spiny Spider (Gasteracantha doriae) Simon 1877

Thank you my Darlings... as you are all perfect and it is much better than a mug of beer after a hard day's work!

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Rain, Rain Come Again

I love the rain!

It is a therapeutic effect for me when the island goes through a period of distinct dry spell. I will also speak for the other small wildlife especially the insects, frogs and spiders that will be rejoicing for the coming of the rain. 

The driest month of the year will always be February. In the month of March 2011, Langkawi received a higher rainfall as compared to the previous year. The best moment for this year's rain so far was two weeks ago when it rained constantly for three days! Yopppeeee! During those three days, I was on board a ship which was anchored somewhere off Pulau Tuba when that area was hit with strong wind and massive rainfall. The wind and rain did slow down at some point before their peak performance continued. It was an endurance rain!

When the weather calmed down, we walked on the deck and saw lots of terns flying around the ship hunting for those small fishes nearby. It was interesting to watch them fighting the rain and wind just to hunt, "Cari makan"-ma...

We were lucky to spot a tern at a very close range...click below for more pictures...

As the rain and the wind got heavier, we moved into the saloon. Peering through the window, a young tern was exhausted and decided to perched on the gunwale. It was there for more than 20 minutes and of course, allowing us to click our cameras away.

A young Onychoprion genus closed its eyes from the rain drops

This young Onychoprion genus opened its eyes as it sensed some audience

Apart from the therapeutic effect, the rain also sparked life to other flora. And this flora is one of my favorites...

A LIMESTONE FLORA

White Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum Niveum)

The blossom of Paphiopedilum Niveum usually starts slightly later of the year. However, this one here I have found a week ago has blossomed. Yeah!

After the three victorious rainy days, the dry spell has taken control again. The temperature reached between 38C-40C, so so hot and sunny. As such, I am going back to my teenage years of humming the song to welcome the rain..

Rain, Rain Come Again

Never ever

Go Away...

... and of course, this part "Never ever Go Away..." never happens. I just hate the dry spell.

After the rain - Love those clouds on my favorite mountain, Gunung Raya

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