Today 10th November 2024 marks a new date celebrating our Malaysia's first National Hornbill Day.
Every 10th November will be dedicated as National Hornbill Day as a reminder that our fragile rainforest placed an utmost important element for the healthy population and continuous survival of our Malaysian hornbills.
Enjoy this orchestra presented by our Great Hornbills.
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#langkawi
#langkawibiodiversity
#greathornbill #wendynatureguide #langkawibiodiversity
#natureguide
#malaysiahornbillday
#hornbill
#langkawinatureguide
#langkawibirds
It doesn't matter when it is in a low light condition as watching more than 20 of them gather to roost at sunset is truly rewarding. This was taken via #phonescope
The Great Hornbills made their final calls as if bidding good night to everyone. Off to bed by 7:30pm. Unlike me...I am an owl (as I am posting this at 1am)
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#langkawirainforest
#langkawi
#greathornbill
#langkawinatureguide
#birdwatching
#langkawibiodiversity
#langkawigeopark
#sundown
#birdwatchingtours
Phone scoping.
Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taiwan yesterday and Langkawi experienced strong wind with some light rain in the morning till afternoon. The wind helped blow the rain clouds away.
Ianthe from the UK decided to proceed with the birdwatching tour with an easygoing mindset. We watched the Brahminy Kites and White Bellied Sea-Eagle making attempts to fly against the wind currents. Kingfishers were hiding in the mangroves. Our friend, Brown-winged did make a brief appearance with a swift flight showing its vibrant colors. The rainbow 🌈 showed up and it was a rare moment to have rainbow on my bird tour.
While I was not sure if the Great Hornbill would appear in such weather condition, we had our guide which was the Crested Serpent Eagle that made me stop at the point where the fruiting fig tree is.
And waaalaa!!! More than 20 Great Hornbills for Ianthe to feast on. Happy day, #thankyou Mother Earth!
Rapid River from the base of Seven Wells waterfall after more than 1.5 hours of rainfall.
Thanks to those who responded to my story on a short video of this interesting insect.
While on our jungle trek tour, I was intrigued by a perfect round cavity and it was so tempting that I had to check it out. Tricking it with a tiny twig outside the cavity, it moved and gave us a chance to have a glimpse.
A carpenter bee!! That was my first time ever seeing a carpenter bee burrowed inside this small decaying tree. It is likely building a nest inside.
At the end of this video, there is another carpenter bee buzzing about on the grass which is likely a Blue Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa caerulea).
It was definitely exciting to see that and I had fun with the guests who were eager to explore together.
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#langkawi
#langkawibiodiversity
#langkawinatureguide
#bluecarpenterbee
#langkawinature
#langkawirainforest
#rainforest
#forestconservation
#langkawiunescoglobalgeopark
#langkawigeopark
To some of my followers here who have visited and birded along the canal at Cenang breakwater, this is the current update.
My heart and soul was leaping in joy when I received news that for some reason, the golf course developer has abandoned the largest reeds site on Langkawi. We are not sure if they leave for good.
My last visit in February 2024 was devastating to watch the entire canal dried up after they pumped the water out. They even took down some Avicennia and Rhizophora trees that were growing well in the canal.
I had to check this site again when I heard the good news. I was so surprised to see the water return. This canal is intertidal and at low tide there will be some water but it will not go completely dry.
As we were walking, the locals on motorcycles were smiling as they were happy to be back on the Breakwater bridge for fishing. The cows and buffaloes were seen chilling out on the field across the canal.
Our wish is to see migratory birds return and the flocks of Black-Winged Stilts back in action. And a Common Redshank flew above me today! This made my day!
Rainforest Gem
Guess who's inside? 😏
I recently had a chance to explore the rainforest at night within Saujana Private Villas which is located at the end of the Datai Road. It has been a long time since I got a chance to enter beyond the big iron gate. All thanks to my guest, Mr Rahul from India who booked me for 3 sessions of private wildlife tour.
The weather was super with clear sky and we watched the moon rising on the first night. I almost stepped on a stick insect which I think it may belong to Lonchodidae family. I am happy to be corrected if any of you may know the exact species.
On the second night, we headed out to a different part of the island and the weather changed. Absolutely no calls of any owls on the drizzly night. At least, we had good sightings of mammals such as Small-Toothed Palm Civet (Arctogalidia trivirgata), Common Palm Civet, Red Giant Flying-Squirrel and a Slow Loris. The rain came down hard on our drive back to the Saujana Villas close to midnight and it was thrilling driving down the narrow steep road to the villa. Thank you to the Villa Manager, Mr Raid who offered me coffee to keep me awake for another hour drive home past midnight.
Check out the end of the video and you can see how Saujana Villas look like.
Snippets of my night walk with friends of Marecet @marecet . A Sunda Colugo glided over before we headed into the forest and it was indeed a good start. As we bid farewell, a Sunda Colugo showed up again to wrap up our productive creepy crawlies walk.
There is so much more to discover and to learn about the species around us. Just like how the camera "eats" first before we eat the food, we snap photos of any species we encounter and then identify them later. With brilliant technology these days, it is easier and fun to learn about the critters.
All photos were taken with my Oppo phone.
Thank you for the extra pair of eyes in spotting the stick insects @fahmiradzi_
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#langkawi
#langkawibiodiversity
#langkawigeopark
#wendynatureguide
#barkscorpion
#heteropoda
#huntsmanspider
#stickinsect
#colugo
#litterfrog
#gianttoad
#trilobitebeetle
#langkawinatureguide
#oppo
Clinging onto our Langkawi's oldest carbonate formation in Malaysia, this family of an ancient marine mollusc has a good fossil record dated as far back to the Cambrian period which is about 500 million years ago.
Chitons or also known as sea cradles or suck-rocks live within the intertidal zone on or under hard rocks. They feed on algae, bacteria, diatoms, barnacles by scraping on the rock surfaces with their radulas. When they sensed nearby predators, they will cling onto the rocks as tight as clinging on their dear life. Hence the name as suck-rocks.
This species found on Langkawi is Jewelled Chiton (Acanthopleura gemmata) and I was fortunate to have Nga and Felix who stayed at this small resort that I can access to their beach. That area was once my nature playground and now it has been taken over. I am so glad to see them again clinging onto the same rocky area. Nga and Felix wanted a tour that was off the beaten path. I curated a nature excursion for them as an introduction to our Langkawi's natural wonder. Thank you Nga and Felix 😊
I like to honour our Chitons to celebrate the international Day for Biological Diversity as they formed an important part in our marine food chain.
It is locally known as Siput Tenggiling in Malay. Siput means snail or mollusc. Tenggiling means Pangolin. Chitons will curl up when being attacked or harassed by predators just like how Pangolins would behave to protect themselves.
These ancient molluscs are harvested as delicacies by scraping off the rocks with knives.
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#langkawi
#chiton
#langkawinatureguide
#langkawinature
#langkawibiodiversity
#langkawigeopark
#privateguide
#ecotourism
#marinewonders
When one of my most enthusiastic guests showed up on an unofficial nature tour.
A Black-giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolour) can be seen at parks and not just the edge of forests or plantations. Cute agile fella with their remarkable long black tail that most people love watching. As I have observed, their favourite feeding trees would be Strangling Fig and Acacia.
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#langkawinatureguide
#langkawi
#langkawibiodiversity
#blackgiantsquirrel
Coming from Seattle, Washington, USA to our little island of Langkawi, we finally got to meet up after following each other's social media for some years now. It was such a good treat for me to have an opportunity to show Roniq our Langkawi's birds and wildlife.
Roniq Bartanen is a dedicated bird guide in Washington state since 3 years ago although she has been doing birdwatching for 12 years now. Like myself, I started birdwatching on Langkawi as a hobby too. Most of Roniq's guests are new to birdwatching and they come from other states of the USA and some from foreign countries. Their birding season is from April to November which is the opposite of ours here. The month of April is towards the end of our birds migratory season in Langkawi and that marks the non-peak birdwatching season.
We explored different habitats from reeds to mangrove before moving to the forest. While we were at the mangrove, Roniq was excited to see our mudskippers before the rising tide covered the mudflat.
Langkawi is now experiencing heatwave and Roniq braved the sweltering heat of 36⁰C on that day (it felt like 40⁰C). We managed to spend more than 1.5 hours on the hill forest watching and photographing a few Great Hornbills having their feeding dramas on a fruiting strangling fig tree. Wreathed and Oriental Pied Hornbills joined the party too with the Thick-billed Green-Pigeons and Black Giant Squirrel. Roniq came at the right time to savour the moment with these majestic birds. In a way, the fig tree waited for her to show up!
Thank you Roniq for your gifts and a bag of dog food for the strays. While showing Roniq our birds of Langkawi, we shared views and opinions about our guiding experiences in this industry. Together with @bryonyangell they are passionate in recognising and promoting female bird guides around the world in which we are thankful for.
If you are planning to visit Seattle and like to check out the interesting birds there, do contact Roniq via Instagram accoun
