Birding 101 #2: Taman Tasik Cyberjaya

It was an unplanned trip, but there I was earlier this morning at Taman Tasik Cyberjaya, ready for some birding action.

The last time I was here, it was for my Larian 40 Taman. Yes, it's been THAT long! 😂 And I must say, I can't recall much of what the place actually looks like, apart from what I can see in the pictures from that particular run.

So, haze or no haze, I just had to test out my shiny new binoculars while hoping to tick off a few new lifers. 

And things started really well when we spotted some birds flying around near the park entrance. As I started looking around with my new binoculars, I spotted one perched among the trees.

And there it was — my new lifer!

Oriental Magpie-Robin (aka Murai Kampung)

A striking little black-and-white bird, although the one I spotted was a female, with its softer greyish upperparts, white underparts and distinctive white wing patch. It was perched quietly among the foliage, and spotting it through my brand-new binoculars made the moment even sweeter.

Lifer! 😎

From there on, we were serenaded by some beautiful bird calls.

BUT... they were not so easy to spot! 

You know how it is. You hear something going chirp-chirp-chirp somewhere in the trees, get all excited, point the binoculars in that general direction...

Nothing.

Just leaves. Lots and lots of leaves. 😂

We went a bit deeper into the park and were just impressed by the sights. It's been a while, remember? And looking at the place now with my new birder eyes made me appreciate it in a completely different way.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to spot any more new lifers this time.

But no worries. We still got a good number of steps in and burned a decent amount of calories too. Haha.

I also explored quite a bit of the park, but as it was getting more panas by the minute, we decided to wrap things up and look for somewhere to cool down with some teh ais and tosai. 

And since this was partly a reconnaissance mission for a special project next year...

Hint hint. 😎

We'll definitely be back! Insya Allah. 

Another park explored. Another lifer added. And another little piece of Allah's creation properly noticed. Alhamdulillah. ❤️

Birding 101 #1: Town Park, Bandar Puteri Puchong

So yesterday I shared a post about my self-declared status as a birder, and earlier today, I dived straight into some birding action! 😂

It wasn't entirely planned, to be honest.

My wife and I usually go for a brisk walk every weekend, and this year, I made it a little mission of mine to explore a new park almost every week. Yes, even though I'm the guy who founded the Larian 40 Taman community running group some years back, there are still plenty of tamans in the Klang Valley waiting to be explored!

But after skipping our weekend walks for the past couple of weeks because of the haze, I made a rather impromptu decision this morning to finally visit somewhere quite close to home — Town Park at Bandar Puteri Puchong.

And as it turned out, it's also a pretty good place for birding!

In fact, upon entering the taman, we came across a sign informing visitors about the bird species that could be sighted there.

Bingo! 

Of course, I came armed with just my handphone. But that didn't deter me — or my wife, who's been pretty supportive of this new birding thingy — at all.

And guess what? On this very first outing, I earned FOUR new lifers!

Uhuh. You read that right. FOUR. 😂

And here they are:

White-throated Kingfisher

A real beauty, with its striking turquoise-blue wings and back, chestnut-coloured head and body, bright red bill, and, of course, that distinctive white throat and breast. Definitely one of those birds that makes you stop and go, “Wow!”

Little Egret

An elegant little white heron with a slender black bill, long black legs and distinctive yellow feet. It has that graceful, almost delicate appearance — especially when it's stalking around the water looking for its next meal.

Purple Heron

A much bigger and more imposing bird, with its dusky purplish-brown plumage and long, sinuous neck. It has a wonderfully prehistoric-looking quality when you see it standing among the vegetation. Another very cool lifer!

House Crow

And then there's this guy. 

Yes, the humble House Crow — a bird I've probably seen countless times without ever giving it a second thought. But according to the Merlin app, it became my Bird of the Day, since it's such a common species around Puchong.

And hey, a lifer is a lifer! 😎

What a beautiful morning it was. Who would've thought that a spontaneous visit to a neighbourhood park, armed with nothing more than a handphone and a new-found obsession with birds, would produce four new species for my life list?

Alhamdulillah. 

One thing I'm quickly learning about birding: sometimes, you don't really have to go very far to discover something wonderful. You just have to stop, look up, and pay attention.

I Think I’ve Just Become A Birder!

 

Lately, I've been watching some wonderful birding videos, and somewhere along the way, I became rather fascinated by this whole world of birding.

Birding is basically the hobby of observing, identifying, photographing and learning about birds in the wild. And the more I watch and learn, the more I realise what a wonderful way it is to appreciate and marvel at Allah's creation.

Think about it. Birds are everywhere, yet how often do we actually stop to look at them?

Their colours, calls, behaviour, how they fly, where they live… Once you start paying attention, an ordinary walk suddenly becomes a little adventure.

So, on 11 September 2026, I officially declared myself a birder! 😂 No ceremony. No membership card. I just decided: Okay, I'm a birder now.

My first move was to download Merlin Bird ID, a wonderful app that helps identify birds from photographs and even their calls.

And that's when I discovered something rather amusing. I already had eight lifers.

A lifer is a bird species you've encountered for the first time. Except most of mine weren't from actual birding trips. They were sitting in my old photo archives!

Apparently, I've been an accidental birder for years. 😂

Among my eight lifers so far are:

Grey Heron — spotted at Regent's Park, London. A magnificent, long-legged grey wader with a long pointed bill. Very elegant… and apparently quite happy to pose for photographers.

Eurasian Moorhen — also at Regent's Park, hiding in the background of my Grey Heron photo. A dark waterbird with a distinctive red-and-yellow bill.

Eurasian Coot — photographed at Hampstead Heath. Easily recognised by its dark body and striking white bill and forehead shield.

European Herring Gull — spotted at Brighton Pier. One of those familiar seaside birds that you suddenly appreciate differently once you start looking properly.

Painted Stork — spotted at Lake Valley, Cheras. A magnificent Malaysian wader with striking black-and-white wings, long legs and that unmistakable pinkish colouration.

Five down, three more to reveal. 😁

Of course, now that I've declared myself a birder, there's equipment to think about.

I've dusted off my old Canon DSLR, I've got Merlin on my phone, and a pair of 8×42 binoculars is next on the shopping list. I'll also start using eBird to keep a proper record of my sightings.

But I think the most important thing is simply to go outside and look.

Learn the common birds first. Learn their calls. Notice their behaviour. And perhaps one day I'll hear a bird somewhere and think: “Wait… I know that one!” 😁

And then there's the bigger plan.

2027: My Big Year

Insya Allah, 2027 will be my Big Year — my personal birding adventure to see and record as many different species as I can during the year.

I don't know yet how many I'll find. But that's the fun of it.

11 September 2026 was Day One.

Eight lifers are already on the board.

The camera is ready. Merlin is downloaded. Binoculars are coming.

And somewhere out there are hundreds of birds I've never properly seen, identified or appreciated.

A new hobby. A new adventure.

And, Insya Allah, another way to stop, look around and marvel at Allah's creation. 

Before Facebook, I Was Writing About Mankind

 

I stumbled across this recently and, honestly, what a throwback!

This was a story I wrote 26 years ago, in July 2000, for ZingAsia — right in the middle of the dotcom boom, when everyone was convinced the Internet was going to change the world.

Well… they were right. 😂

The story was about WWF superstar Mick Foley, better known then as Mankind and Cactus Jack, who had arrived in Kuala Lumpur as part of his Southeast Asian tour.

And yes, yours truly was there.

The crowd was fantastic — kids, teenagers, adults and even senior citizens, all turning up to see the wrestling superstar they had only known from their TV screens. There was even a Mankind impersonation contest!

But looking at this old article today, what makes me smile isn't just the story.

It's the website. Look at it! The blue navigation bars. The tiny advertising boxes. “Quick Poll”. “Select a Channel”. And my favourite: “You are here: SportZing > Sports Spectator.”

This was the Internet before Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and smartphones. “Going online” was something you actually did.

And look at that photograph of Mick Foley and me. The caption says: “I managed to get a shot with him!” 

Today we'd probably take 20 selfies, post them immediately, tag him, upload a Reel and do a TikTok. Back then, one photograph was enough.

And I suddenly realised something while looking at this: I was already doing digital journalism before we even called it digital journalism.

26 years later, I'm still writing. And I still have these old articles tucked away.

What a treasure trove.

A little piece of my younger self... and a little time capsule of the Internet.

Remembering Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin

 

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.

Former Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin, passed away early Friday morning at the age of 91.

The first time I met Allahyarham Tun personally was when he came to Miri in 1997 (pic above), where I was posted when I first joined the judiciary. It was a historic visit, and you can imagine how hard everyone worked to make sure everything went smoothly and the visit would be a memorable one.

My encounters with Allahyarham Tun became more frequent after I was transferred back to KL in 1998. And here's one story I often tell...

It was the 1999 Judges' Conference in Lumut. I was then the special officer to the Chief Registrar, Datuk Ramly Ali. One evening, during some downtime, we were told that the Chief Justice wanted to visit a place he had heard about. I think it was Teluk Rubiah Resort.

The problem was, nobody seemed to know exactly where it was.

We met at the car park and Datuk Ramly suddenly said, "Zul, you drive."

Alamak.

This was pre-GPS days.

So I got into his Perdana and started driving, with Allahyarham Tun's car and a couple of other judges following behind. Funnily enough, I don't remember there being any police escorts then.

Terketar kaki.

I just followed the signboards and hoped for the best. Eventually, we turned into what seemed like a rather jungly area. And throughout the drive, one thought kept going through my head:

"Where the heck am I taking the Chief Justice of Malaysia?"

Somehow, we found the place.

My boss just laughed.

But honestly, throughout that drive I really thought my head was on the chopping block — or, at the very least, I was going to get transferred somewhere like Kuala Krai or something. 

Looking back, it's one of those little memories from my days in the judiciary that has stayed with me all these years.

Al-Fatihah buat Allahyarham Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin. May Allah place him among the righteous.