MILESTONE ACHIEVED

When i started getting involved in birding i set a target of the number of species that i wanted to record by the end of 2012 which is 50 species out of close to 800 species recorded in the whole of Malaysia. That target initially seemed daunting as i was inexperienced in locating the birds and awfully busy with work that i was not sure i could get away and look for them.

Well after a few visits to Fraser Hills, FRIM and just completed Northern tour covering Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Langkawi Island during the Hari Raya aka Aidil FItri Eid, i am pleased to announced that the target has been achieved on the 28/8/12. That is four months in advance. Furthermore i have exceeded the target as there were some encounters with some species which i could not include in the recorded list due to poor quality of the shots therefore deemed as not proven.

Below is the list of recorded species up to 28/8/12 not necessarily according to alphabetical order:

BIRD SPECIES

1. Egret

2. Red-wattled Lapwing

3. Changeable Hawk-Eagle Dark Morph

4. White-bellied Sea Eagle

5. Brahminy Kite

6. Black Shouldered Kite

7. Black Thigh Falcon

8. White Throated Kingfisher

9. Black napped Oriole

10. White throated Fantail

11. Little Tern

12. Olive back black throated Sunbird

13. Streaked Spider Hunter

14. Golden Babbler

15. Malaysian laughing Thrush

16. Silver eared Mesia

17. Oriental Magpie Robin

18. Fire-tufted Barbet

19. Large Niltava

20. Grey chinned Minivet

21. Zebra Dove

22. Blue Nuthatch

23. Blyth's Hawk-Eagle

24. Ochraceous Bulbul

25. Black-wing Flycatcher

26. Red-eye Bulbul

27. Jungle Myna

28. Banded Woodpecker

29. Spectacled Laughing Thrush

30. Mountain Imperial Pigeon

31. Black Winged Stilt

32. Little Cuckoo-dove

33. Greater Coucal

34. Glossy Swiftlet

35. Yellow Crested Woodpecker

36. Javan Cuckoo-shrike

37. Scarlet Minivet

38. Mountain Fulvetta

39. Long-tailed Sibia

40. Red Throated Sunbird

41. Orange-bellied Leaf Bird

42. Dusky Munia

43. Eurasian Tree Sparrow

44. Asian Glossy Starling

45. Verdicter Flycatcher

46. Yellow-rumped Flycatcher

47. Yellow Vented Bulbul

48. Mountain Bulbul

49. Pacific Swallow

50. Sunda Bush Warbler

Now that i have recorded my first 50 species of birds in Malaysia, i intend to add another 50 species by the first quarter of 2013. That means i have to explore new places that i have not been before like the National Parks, Maxwell Hills, East coast, Forest Reserves etc. It will cost money and time but i am up for the challenge.