At the start of April I attended a conference on Antarctic science in Petaling Jaya, which is a suburb a few kilometres to the west of Kuala Lumpur. The meeting brought together scientists from all over the world to discuss the latest results of research into the southernmost continent, with a particular focus on the outcomes of the 2007 International Polar Year. After the conference I spent time working with scientists from the University of Malaya, but had time during the middle weekend of my stay to do some birding at the Taman Alam Nature Reserve in Kuala Selangor.
During our previous trip to Malaysia in March 2008 we visited Frasers Hill, but this time I wanted to go birding somewhere closer to Kuala Lumpur that would allow me to spend a reasonable amount of time there in a single day. From reports I’d seen on the web, the Taman Alam nature reserve near the coast was a very productive site, so on Saturday 4 April I made my first visit to the reserve. I took a taxi from my hotel in Petaling Jaya to Taman Alam, which took a little over an hour, and then started walking the trails of the reserve. The site is heavily wooded with paths around a central lake that has an observation tower at its edge. There is also a boardwalk that takes you over the mangrove next to the Selangor River.
On entering the park you walk through a rather gloomy, foliage-covered track through the forest where there were lots of Long-tailed Macaque, but also lots of mosquitoes, which like the cool shady conditions. Entering a more open area a Many-lined Sun Skink was enjoying the bright conditions.
The central lake is a big attraction of the reserve and can draw in quite a few wading birds. On this first visit there was a Grey Heron fishing near the edge, while an Asian Water Monitor moved across the surface.
Around the edge of the lake there are bushes on which a number of common birds can be seen, such as Ashy Tailorbird, Oriental Magpie-robin, Yellow-vented Bulbul and Brown-throated Sunbird. Beside one of the bushes a Great White Egret waited at the water’s edge.
Blue-throated and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters were hunting from the trees beside the lake, although the midday light made photography difficult.
The Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker was a new bird for me, along with a rather shy Chestnut-bellied Malkhoa.
