“I have held on to posting this to allow the young to fledge and move on. I had the privilege to observe a pair of Chestnut-naped Forktails (Enicurus ruficapillus) nesting. The nest was located 2.5-3km into the forest reserve, on the bank of a rushing stream alongside a jungle path.
“As is my policy with nesting birds, I will start with a disclosure to be transparent and accountable about my disturbance to the nesting pair:
“I visited the location on 6th, 11th, 14th, 19th, 21st October 2014, intentionally leaving gaps to allow breathing spaces. The nest was very accessible and could easily be reached by a scramble down the riverbank. But they are very sensitive birds. I choose not to approach the nest but to sit 10 meters away on the riverbank with no view of the nest. My intention was to observe prey brought to the nest. At each visit I would sit immobile (leeches and all) for 2-3 hours, camera on my lap and used intermittently.
“With my presence the pair would be initially disturbed but would settle after 20-30 minutes and return to feeding chicks, usually the male first. From the third visit on I was dismissed and accepted. I intentionally did not use flash so image quality suffered (canopy shadows) but observations did not. I did not inform anyone else to avoid a rush of photographers.
“This post shows the pair with prey, female on the left with a cricket and male with a spider (top). Note that female’s tail is in moult. Note also that the male has lost 3 toes on the left foot but this impairment has not resulted in any disability despite the slippery rocks.”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
6th, 11th, 14th, 19th, 21st October 2014
Location: Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: A trail through primary jungle adjacent to a rushing stream
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