The Pied Triller's eggs

Eggs of the Pied Triller

Sitting pretty on its nest

 The challenge that I put myself was how to reach the Pied Triller's nest in order to see what's inside it?  I then decided to fix my cell phone at the end of a long bamboo pole.  The pole enabled  me to hoover the cell phone just above the nest.  Surprise! It was a most beautiful moment when I froze one frame of the video showing indeed two eggs inside the nest.  This is a lifer for me.
My next project is to lift the pole again when I see clear signs that the eggs are hatched. This may take a bit of time as I'm not sure when it will hatch it eggs, if ever it do.  Time will tell.
Below are more pictures of the Pied Triller.

Pied Triller next to its nest

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Pied Triller in flight

Wildlife in the garden

Back garden

Red Dragonfly

 It has been about a week since we arrived Kuching.  The garden looked pretty tidy and little urgent works seemed necessary.  My focus  thus changed to detecting the various wildlife that make their way to the garden.  Two species of dragonflies were seen, bulbuls as usual, a grasshopper and the multi-coloured Brown-throated Sunbird dropped by at the flowering coconut tree.  

A dragonfly species

Carpenter bee balancing itself at the tip of the terminal shoot of the Foxtail palm.

Yellow-vented Bulbul resting on the Poui branch.

Brown-throated Sunbird  perchingat the coconut terminal inflorescences

A grasshopper.

Zooming in at the Pink-necked Pigeon

I saw one Pink-necked Pigeon perched on the tall "Poui" tree (Tabebuia rosea) at the back garden this afternoon.  I was about 50 meters away.  I heard its whistling call and soon another male bird joined it.  I did not see any female of the species at today's sighting.  Now it seems customary for them to gather at the Poui tree at the start of day and in the evening before sunset. This is one beautiful bird that decided to call the garden its home.  Over the years I noticed that its preferred areas  for making nests are on the branches of the 'Ong Lumok' (Artocarpus odoratissimus) tree and Yellow Bamboo clump nearby the Poui tree.  The planting of tall trees in the Kambatik garden is essential if you want to attract these lovely birds to make home in your garden.  This fact has been proven many times over at the Kambatik garden here in Kuching.  This is one of the highlights of gardening the Kambatik way.   Here wildlife is most welcomed.

Chestnut Munia are abuzz

Chestnut Munia  roosting atop the Yellow Bamboo clump near the front porch.

  They zoom in and out of the bamboo clump next to the front porch hurriedly.  I noticed a small group of about 5 - 6 birds are currently busy building nests in the safety of the bamboo clump. These Chestnut Munia birds year in and  year out have found three such bamboo clumps in the garden as natural habitat for their nests.  I love these birds for their black hoods and well-groomed feathers.  Their deep brown body is very delightful to watch for the colour resembles tasty chocolates. Their stout, short and strong beaks are a great contrast to its black hood.  The beaks are apparently made for eating grass seeds.  These birds has been a permanent feature of the garden.

Tiny sunbirds in the garden today

Brown-throated Sunbird at the Drunken Sailor 0r Rangoon Creeper flowers.

Crimson Sunbird

Tiny birds in the garden this this morning.  Brown-throated Sunbird and Crimson Sunbird'

Lime Butterfly attracted to 'Seribu Bahasa'

Lime Butterfly attracted to the purple flower of 'Seribu Bahasa' (Berawan) - Centratherum punctatum
The plant belongs to the Sunflower family (Compositae)

New bird sighted in the garden

Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica) on the Poui branch
Location : Side garden

 I have not seen the Kuching birds namely the Pied Triller and the Long-tailed Shrike visiting the garden yet. However, the new sighting of the Pied Fantail makes up for their absence.  This is the first time that the bird is seen visiting the place.  I noticed that it comes here with its mate, dropping very early in the morning and occasionally would re-visit the place in the late afternoon.  It is a nervous and panicky bird with a suicidal behaviour. I mean it will not stay still for long and would attempt to drop several branches down in suicidal fashion.  It utters a clear whistle that is fair to the ears. Oh, by the way, its suicidal behaviour has made the Malays call this bird " Murai Gila"! ( "Gila" means mad or crazy.)

Olive-backed sunbird and hibiscus flower

The Pink-necked Pigeon building nest

Pink-necked Pigeon flying out of its nesting place

Picking seeds of Simpoh Air (Malay)

 Intent on watching the Pink-necked Pigeon building its nest at the bamboo clump, I finally got a good shot of it waiting anxiously to fly out of its resting place today.  The environment at the bamboo clump (tall stems, thick growth, hidden , cool, undisturbed) must have encouraged it to locate its nest among the bamboo stems. I noticed how it perched at the electric cables nearby and picked some seeds of the Simpoh Air (Malay)  for breakfast.  These birds are greatly welcomed here.

The bird getting ready to fly out of its nesting place

Perching on the electric cables next to the bamboo clump

A grasshopper munching away the hibiscus pistil

A grasshopper at the Red Hibiscus flower

 On the third day, I checked out the garden early to see any signs of interesting wildlife.  A grasshopper was seen at the tip of the Red Hibiscus flower apparently munching  away the pistil section of the flower.  Next, two birds species namely the Sunbird and the Bulbul were seen perching at the Tabebuia rosea branches.  Though I could see the presence of the Little Green Pigeon and the Pied Fantail I couldn't snap a picture of them.  Probably I would have to wait for another day, especially for the Pied Fantail.  Of the butterfly species, I could only managed to spot the Great Eggfly.  Hopefully, more species of birds, insects and butterflies will be met in the next few days.

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Great Eggfly on the leaf of the Congea velutina

Checking out the wildlife

 Came back to Kuching on the 29th of March ( the second time this month) for a short stay before embarking on a journey to KL.  Checking out the garden I noticed that the grounds are wet and this has been especially so for the last month.  It seemed that despite the drought in Peninsular states resulting in water shortage, Sarawak especially Kuching has had no similar nasty experience the first three months of the year. A short walkabout found the common wildlife are still there - birds, grasshoppers and dragonflies.  The Brown-throated Sunbird was seen piercing at the base of the Bignonia magnifica flower to have direct access to its nectar. The Chestnut Munia are easily spotted throughout the day as they busy making their homes in the garden especially at the bamboo clump.  Finally the typical Kuching bird - the Pied Triller was at the Tabebuia rosea tree perching briefly as if to greet me on my return.

A new butterfly drops by the garden

Common Mormon ( Papilio polytes romulus) settling on the Cats Tails leaves

It was a very pleasant surprise this afternoon when I stumbled upon the Common Mormon.  It was seen flying about the garden in slow flight movements, which is typical of the species.  It hovered at the Yellow Ixora and moved about places to the heliconia leaves and many other plants in the garden.  When it decided to settle at the Cats Tails leaves for a brief rest a meter from where I stood, it spread out its wings to allow me a good photoshoot session.  The Common Mormon is a medium-sized 'swallow tail' with black wings.  Its hind wings have beautiful red marks  and a unique 'tail'. 

(Note: This is a re-posting.  For full story and images, please follow this link ...>>>http://mygardeningprojects.blogspot.my/2016/02/a-new-butterfly-drops-by-garden.html )

Looking beyond the Kambatik garden

Bringing nature outside the bedroom
View from main garden, looking west.  Note the mountin range in the far horizon.

Occasionally we need to re-focus our sight.  Beyond the Kambatik garden (Malaysian garden defined) I see the distant hills, with bluish green cover.  Further still the mountain range seemed a formidable soft barrier of blue.  The expanse of sky and open air beyond reminds me of nature's kindness, giving life and hope in an encompassing universe that needs to be conserved for the future generation.  It prompts to ask 'What have you done to your country, if you say you love your country?'  Closer to home, I see the football fields and the green open spaces of the neighbourhood.  There are trees that adorn the streets and the fields.  It is a connected world.  The Kambatik home garden is but a tiny sanctuary in urban green lung.  The prime idea however is its role in the passageway of nature's big corridor of wildlife and the plant kingdoms we needed most to be alive and kicking.  We need to build home gardens to provide transit and temporary home to some of nature's wildlife species as they travel and forage for food.  Without plants and wildlife human will naturally die.  With nature humans prosper.  Do a Kambatik garden if you are a Sarawakian, and soon.  Very immediately you'll partake in nature's power and glory.  Look beyond the Kambatik garden!

Sample of wildlife

(Note:  This is a re-posting.  For more pictures of the wildlife at the Kuching garden, please follow this link ...>>>http://mygardeningprojects.blogspot.my/2015/06/sample-of-wildlife.html )

Enjoying the garden with birds and wildlife

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

It is something priceless when you can reap beauty that does not belong to you.  The garden is well established now and the fun is just about to begin.  Its time to begin to enjoy the garden with birds and other wildlife.   The joy of having the garden visited by these beautiful creatures is unspoken happiness.  The morning air today was filled with the twitter and calls of the Orange-bellied flowerpecker, Spotted-necked dove and Magpie-robin.  Closer to ground there were butterflies and dragonflies.  I noticed one dragonfly was resting on the Cape gooseberry plant (Physalis peruviana) belonging to the Tomato family, that has been growing luxuriously on this 53rd trip to Kuching.  I guess I'll have the gooseberry fruits for lunch later.

(Note:  This is a re-posting.  For full story and images please follow this link  ....>>>>http://mygardeningprojects.blogspot.my/2015/06/enjoyng-garden-with-birds-and-wildlife.html  )