News - another Sad news ...

 was been Taiwan for a Nature outing and found out those nature lover will buy over lands which original plan is to develop the land and do nothing on those lands .. (my respects to some people I meet up while my May 2010 Taiwan Trip....

Last week, after my wonderful family trip with my wife, Jie Xi and father in law to Muar .. while we reach in law house, my daughter say 　恐龙...怕怕。。...　"Dinosaur，　scary"

then we look out an Excavator actually destroying my MACRO ground ... (will share what I got from the small little jungle for pass 1-2 year and just outside my in law garden) ....and my father in law just get the info from neighbor the land had been sold and they will use it for some other purpose instead leave it there for nothing except use by me :(  ... and price is little too high for me .. else my wife say "you can buy it so no body can disturb the good "avatar" " ..... but it is too late ...

within <30 minutes the whole jungle gone ... all trees done .. green wasp, blue bee... flying into my in law kitchen (me without any macro len ....)


I understand it is not possible to stop development which = destroy of jungle or nature environment but I just feel sad for this .. not only for my MACRO ground but for future my daughter Jie Xi or next generation will have lesser chance to enjoy the nature environment and nature creatures ...


some history insects I found at this little jungle

1. it is so near to wait for them wake up..(i use to wake up 6am and walk around , sure you can see some bug still sleeping)




 2. immediate after rain .. can easily look for dews






3. a common bee here :(


4. an ant mimic crab spider ...


5. sleeping shy tiger beetle


6. a very cute bee


7. crab spider



8. butterflies












9 some funny moment




10 ..some flying one





11. long time no see one

Landscape Spot 5 - Bukit Panaroma (Sungai Lembing)

again, I was stop sharing this due to my work and family commitment... but today I wish I will be in one of the place I went few months back Bukit Panorama locate SG Lembing (or Chinese name  林明山 )

this place locate near Kuantan, Pahang , Malaysia

direction 
i. drive from Kuala Lumpur toward Kuantan Direction (it is ~3++ hours drive)
ii. while before Kuantan, you should see Sungai (sg) Lembing sign board and it is only single way to there.. drive ~30minutes and please drive slow here as many cows will passing by
iii. reach to the small village (only one direction) and reach Market on left (Pasar)just immediate the market turn left on to the little up hill . then the stair case to climb up to the Bukit Panorama is there
iv. climb up to ~400m form sea level and it should take ~1hour max (for poor little photographer like me)


few things to take note,
- many hiker in the weekend and  at the initial part is very steep and small so please walk slow for the 1st initial part especially raining day
- just single stair case trek, won;t easy to get lost
- very easy hike
- not many spot for this beautiful view and you may need 30-150mm range for the sunrise (it is little far from where we look for)
- it face east .. so it is good spot for sunrise but again it have the other direction face west which I never explored ..


more picture from this beautiful place
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liewwk/sets/72157623557997201/with/4743851929/

News - My closest experience to Snake

I always worry of snake .. and I have a experience with help of Orang Asli (local people of Taiwan) to get close to a (med poison snake) ... of course I am still far from it (~2feets away) but I still got my record broke ... my closest experience to the poison snake





and while we see it from dark

Other - Do You need a "Good Eye" to shoot Macro ?

there are some bugs really good in Camouflage... you will never notice them if you not really spend some effort to look for it ... but not all of them are difficult to spot and below are some my found which I feel ...we need good patience and "eye" to look for it ....
1. always stick on tree body


2. leaf look alike ...


3. very small insect always hide on tree body which same color


4. always on the rock .. same color :D


5. this is one real tough one . small and 95% same color with the tree ...and seldom move


6. not really toght but not easy too


7. so far .. this is most difficult to spot spider .. I keep look for it within the same tree ...


8. this mantis love to go into plant with color with white .. and patient need to spot it ..


9. if this guy drop into the leaf area .. don;t think we can easy to find it

 

Nature Outing - Ulu Geroh Report

I am glad that Andy Paul (and his partner Maureen)brought us to wonderful place Ulu Geroh.. where close to Gopeng, Perak , Malaysia and further details

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Kampung Ulu Geroh is located approximately 175 km north of Kuala Lumpur – the capital city of Malaysia. The village is located in the state of Perak. The nearest town is Gopeng and further north is Ipoh – the capital city of Perak. If you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, head towards to Ipoh (capital city of Perak) and then towards Gopeng town (about 25km south of Ipoh). From here, arrangements can be made with Orang Asli tourist guides to pick you up to the settlement. The dirt road leading to the settlement requires four-wheel drive vehicles, so unless you’re driving one, please ensure prior arrangements are done first with locals. To make transport arrangements, please check the Resouces section.

The ideal way of getting to Ulu Geroh is by reaching Ipoh first and then heading towards Gopeng (also the easiest way). For those traveling from Kuala Lumpur or driving on their own, may opt to reach Gopeng straight away. Whatever is your mode of transport, Gopeng town is the gateway to Ulu Geroh.
####################################### from http://www.esemai.org/transportation.html

for the accommodation, you can either stay resort near outsite the village (there are few which name "My Gopeng Resort", "Adeline Rest House" or contact local people from here

this place famous with Rafflesia (biggest flower in the world), Rajah Brooke Birdwing Butterfly, wild life, insect (I can easily see foot long stick insect any part of the village) durian (depend on season as been told) ... if you enjoy nature life, this is a place you won't want to miss out.....

people here is friendly , helpful (Orang Semai).... and I serve by a experience and great nature guide along the trip name "Ngah"... (check out him or say hello to him while you are there).. and thanks him for the great service

let me share some of my 2days 1 night capture ... and more will come ...
1. a Moon Mushroom (they call Cendawan Bulan) which will glow in green in dark .. and it is normal fungi in the day time ....


day time it will look like


and an animation show the change

cup mushroom (Cookeina Sulcipes)


off course I found insect and bugs which is rare and quite common .. saw crab spider, few type of new jumping spider, 3-4 types of Stick insect (some of them foot long), inch big leaf beetle, butterflies ..... and let's me share 1-2 here and left other later

a  dead-leaf mantid





off course I meet the Rafflesia but the shape of the flower is not look good and I may share it later in the link of my Ulu Geroh Flick Collection


there are few things need to take care
- no phone signal in the village
- need ~20min offroad drive (4wd is recommended) from the resorts area (or you may call up local people pick you up from the resort as mentioned above)
- need guide to bring you any where you want.. and no worry on the cost .. it is really low
- leeches... :D this is jungle :D
- if you want to meet up Rafflesia, please get ready to hike (~1-2hours) but it worth it and I will go for it again as I didn't get a picture with the flower
- if you wish to have night walk (shooting), torch light.. it is a no light pollution jungle (you know what I mean..)

ok... I will write more on this for next visit... as this trip I actually spent only ~23hours (8 hours sleep)....

more pictures from this Ulu Geroh click HERE

Other - it had been long I didn't get a shot that I am happy with

It had been long I didn't get a satisfy MACRO shot ... I shared a post before "How I shoot MACRO - Compo, Angle ..." ... I would not be satisfy just to get a "technically" good picture which with good focus, clarity, BG, DOF but without any action or pose ... I will call those shots as "science book"/record shots...

e.g.


- this shot is technically good in term of light (flash), DOF and think the angle is pretty good to show this bug characteristic in single frame.
even-though these few shots were not easy ... (discuss here before ) but it still call as "science book"/record shots (as it is good to show people how this bug look like)


And I was trying my luck to wait for it for some action shots (mating or flying), and I was lucky it is almost ready to fly and I managed to capture few focus shot with BG.... and I think this could be most satisfy shot up to now for year 2010....

an non crop picture




more beetle from liewwk Nature Collection click here

New Found - A Hairy Jumping Spider

I am happy to find a new jumping spider (a hairy one) and it is from the tree trunk instead leaf as common jumping spider do. this one instead is very beautiful and move non- stop ....




a closer view ... and you can see how hairy it is



and see it use it's hand to rub it's eye/face .. make this funny animation

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4709171966_6d8cd7c831_o.gif

more spider collection click here

other - a not so easy closeup

I am shooting for Macro for ~2.5 years now and few bugs I still having problem to shoot their close-up (face in close without cropping) and share in my flickr @ It's always good to look close xx

2 of my wish to shoot their face are Tiger Beetle and Giraffe Weevil

both this bug very shy, not easy to get close and I managed to get close to one the giraffe weevil (wild) and shoot 4:1 without any crop .. one of my happiest capture in 2010 even not a best picture ... but I am happy to have it get close ..



more beetle from liewwk flickr click here

Bird Series 19 - Taiwan Yuhina | 冠羽畫眉

one of the most beautiful bird I ever see so far... a friendly bird and endemic for Taiwan too.. found from highland >2000meter from sea level

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The Taiwan Yuhina (Yuhina brunneiceps), formerly known as "Formosan Yuhina", is a small songbird endemic to the island of Taiwan. The Taiwan Yuhina is 13 cm in length with a deep brown chestnut-coloured crest and a black beard stripe descending from its beak. The bird's back, wings and tail are olive brown, and its lower breast is lighter in colour. Agreeing with other typical yuhinas in habitus, its colouration pattern is rather uncommon among the genus (Cibois et al. 2002).

Like other yuhinas, it is closely related to the white-eyes and if these were considered a distinct family Zosteropidae, it would be placed there. Otherwise, it would belong together with the white-eyes into the Old World babbler family Timaliidae (Jønsson & Fjeldså 2006). The closest living relative of this species appears to be the Black-chinned Yuhina, which occurs on the Asian mainland (Cibois et al. 2002).

This species is found in temperate forests, 1000–3300 m in altitude in its native habitat. It is gregarious, active and quite tame. It keeps to lower forest and often joins other species, especially tits in mixed flocks. The flocks, while feeding, make a constant soft chatter. The call of the Taiwan Yuhina is a sound somewhat like twi-MI-chiu, which resembles the phrase "We MEET you". The Yuhina's diet consists of mainly nectar, berries, flowers and small insects. Taiwan Yuhina may sometimes be observed hanging upside down on cherry trees. These songbirds are particularly fond of the flowers of the Chinese tulip tree and the fruits of trees of the family Elaeagnaceae and the genus Idesia (Salicaceae).

Breeding season for the Taiwan Yuhina is from May to June.
############################### from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_Yuhina



Chinese :

俗名：尖頭仔

特有狀況(種)：留鳥(特有種)

命名者：Ogilvie-Grant

原始文獻：Ogilvie-Grant. 1906. Bull. Brit. Ornit. Cl. 16:121-122.

分類：雀形目畫眉科

學名：Yuhina brunneiceps

保育等級：無

命名年代：1906

外型特徵：身長12公分。頭頂具明顯上翹的冠羽，冠羽上方暗褐色、下方灰白色。臉部灰白色，略帶黃色，嘴黑色。頸側有一弧形線斑與過眼線、顎線相連，使臉部成為明顯的一黑圈。背部大致為橄灰色。胸腹部黃白色。腳黃褐色。

分布及棲地：台灣特有種，棲息於海拔700~3000公尺間之森林中，對林相的要求不高，幾乎各種型態的森林皆可見。喜愛在森林中層或較低矮且細枝較多的樹冠層活動。冬季會降遷至低海拔。

生態習性：本種活潑好動，不畏人，適應力強，是台灣最常見的山鳥之一。叫聲婉轉似「吐米酒－」。雖然常見成群活動，但並不常和其他山鳥混群。以昆蟲、果實、花蜜、花粉為食，花期常可見其倒掛在枝頭吸食花蜜。具有「合作繁殖」的特性，也就是數對親鳥共用一巢，且所有親鳥都幫忙養育所有的幼鳥。繁殖期為4~9月，研究者發現冠羽畫眉的合作繁殖以2對親鳥共同繁殖的例子最多，產卵數為4~6顆，且同一群親鳥可繁殖多達3窩。



畫眉亞科的冠羽畫眉，為台灣特有種。在台灣常見於海拔2,000 - 2,500公尺附近溫帶林，亦出現於海拔3,000公尺附近，冬季降遷至海
拔數百公尺處避寒。本屬在台灣之外，亦廣泛分布於雲南、四川、西藏、喜馬拉雅、緬甸北部、中南半島、婆羅州高地和蘇門答臘山
區。冠羽畫眉以昆蟲、果實、花蜜為食。有三、四對共同營巢、育雛的習性。營巢於樹叢裡，以草莖、蕨類、蘚苔為材，築碗形巢

Bird Series 18 - Taiwan Tit - 黃山雀

it's science name Parus holsti but think the chinese name is much better as this is endemic for Taiwan. found from mountains ~1000-1500m from sea level (mid way up to DaSyueShan, Taichung |台中縣 大雪山)


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Body length—about 13cm, wing length—about 6.5cm. Bill and feet are gray. Male: head to nape are black, has crown, behind crown and nape are white centered; back is dark grayish-green; flight feathers are black with blueish-gray edges; tail is dark gray with whitish-blue outer edges; face and belly are yellow; around anus is black; undertail coverts are yellowish-white. Female: plumage is similar to males, except that underwing coverts are paler and around anus isn’t black.

Formosan Yellow Tit is an endemic species in Taiwan. It is usually active in solitary or in pairs, blending with other birds from Subfamily Timalinae and Family Paridae. Its voice is quick and resonant, melodious and varied, sounding like: “shishei—shishei—”, “zijide, zijide”, and “jijiang—jijiang—”. It feeds on insects primarily. At breeding season between April and July, it builds its bow-shaped nest using dried leaves and fur in a natural treehole, each nest contains about 3 to 4 eggs.

from http://www.birdingintaiwan.org/bluegate/birds.htm
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this is a easy shoot bird as it will come close but again it will still moving non stop near by ....

another shot of this bird


more from this Taiwan Trip @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/liewwk/sets/72157624164515962/

Bird Series 17 - Taiwan Blue Magpie - 藍鵲黯凌

a real beautiful bird (an endemics for Taiwan), while 1st day morning immediate after my 1st landscape view from previous post

http://liewwk-macro.blogspot.com/2010/05/travel-report-taiwan-may-2010-1.html

this bird flying by and I told my friend this is one most beautiful bird I ever see .. it is so beautiful with it long tail and action ..

some info get from www
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全長約65公分，算是蠻大型鳥，碧藍身軀，朱紅嘴喙，尾巴末端為白色。 分佈於 三百至一千二百公尺的低海拔闊葉林或次生林，最近網路票選國鳥第一名，正待立法院同意正式訂為國鳥的第一號候選鳥！
喜群居，有共同育雛的習性，叫聲沙啞，雜食性的鳥類，大如蛇、鼠、蜥蜴、蟾蜍都是牠的食物。
在陽明山前山公園常有藍鵲定期上演洗澡秀，是近距離觀察的好地點。
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- long ~65cm
- consider big bird
- blue body, red mouth and tail with white
- found from 300-1200m from sea level
- group

some record shots