Off to fieldwork

by Lye Tuck-Po

4/12/23

A former logging road, now reclaimed by gibbons (438 m asl).

Secondary forests are important for gibbon reproduction, if food plants remain & the canopy is unbroken. We (Batek and I) found many food species & gibbon & other animal traces here. Pahang, Malaysia, 26/1/20.

I'm thinking of this and other gibbon landscapes. Leaving for fieldwork again. The students are on their mid-semester break, so I have a bit of time on this trip. Have been calling and WhatsApping Batek friends, making arrangements for pick up and drop off. Meanwhile, I'm thinking of field kit...

Part of a packing list, November 2023

I drew up this packing list last month. Yes, kettle. Batek brought pots and pans so I contributed the kettle. After I reached the field, I remembered one thing that I had forgotten — my plate. That's what my mind is like. But that was all right — Batek had spare plates.

A Zoom H5 "Handy Recorder"

This is one of my most precious bits of field kit. The H5 is now superseded by the H6, but I'm not sure that I need to upgrade. At the time (January 2020) I was using a monopod to capture gibbon songs (for stability to keep vibrations away, and also you can just drive it into the ground) but I think I'll use a tripod this time.

Fieldnote book

This is the most precious bit of kit: my 2" x 4" Kokuyo field notebook. I usually carry about 3 or 4 of these to the field (on a short trip). The hard cover does a good job of protecting from rainfall. The small size may be difficult for those with large handwriting.

I suppose the camera (I use a Nikon D750) is also my most precious bit of kit, or rather it's second. I notice that Nikon has discontinued the D750, so it should be quite affordable for those who want to get into full frame cameras.

TP with Batek friends, November 2023

We took this photo before departing Kepong camp last month. The photo was shot by ʔeyMantɔr. We're posing on his camping site. Next to me is ʔeyCpɨk, who was a small boy the age of his son (next to him) when I first knew him. Second from right is Bl—-, who was a precocious little kid of two or three when I first knew him. These two, ʔeyCpɨk and Bl—, are two of my favourites.

Well, off I go to fieldwork...