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| A band-bellied crake. The rarity of the bird makes up for any aesthetic value that this picture lacks. |
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| Not an earth-shattering picture of a Brahminy kite. This is the most commonly seen raptor around Brunei, but in 4 years time I've never had the good fortune to get an up-close picture opportunity. |
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| Panaga wouldn't be the same without the ever-present collared kingfisher, its laughter being on of the most recognizable sounds in the gardens. |
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| This common palm civet that I saw on KB road was missing 1 eye, which made it rather tough-looking. |
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| Crimson-winged woodpeckers. One of the resident woodpeckers that can be heard and seen in the Panaga gardens. |
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| A good number of sand plovers were present from August onwards. This is a greater sandplover. |
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| I have a soft spot for broadbills and was very happy to come across this obliging juvenile in the Borneo highlands. |
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| Several grey nightjars were wintering along the KB road. This individual was found for a few months habitually on the same spot. |
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| August and September were again good for terns. Small numbers of gull-billed terns were seen occasionally along the coast. |
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| A harlequin tree frog. A nice pic, nothing special, but a great reminder of the Gould's frogmouth and eagle-owl we missed on that night. |
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| A stunning huntsman spider at Teraja. From web-reference this one is possible called Heteropoda davidbowie, or the "david bowie huntsman spider". |
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| Not a native species to Borneo, but there are good numbers of these Java sparrows around Wasan and at Jerudong park. |
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| Kuala Belait road, early in the morning, with a mongoose and a macaque. This road has been my local patch for the last couple of years and a final post wouldn't be complete without a including a reference. |
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| A leopard cat. There are far better pictures of this elegant little feline, but none that were taken on the Kuala Belait road like this one. |
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| A lesser sandplover mid morning at the Seria beach. |
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| I did come across a Malaysian brown snake in 2012, and had another great encounter this year. The blue tones seem a bit strong in this picture - am not entirely certain why. |
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| The Mantanani scops owl. I was very lucky to have a close encounter with this owl on Mantanani island. |
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| This oriental plover was one of two birds that graced the grassy pitch in front of the Panaga clinic with its presence. |
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| A very confiding pacific reef egret in Kota Kinabalu. |
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| This barn swallow perched nicely when I took a visitor out earlier in the year. |
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| Finally, a picture of a snake in my garden! Usually they are gone as soon as I run out with my camera. This time I already had a camera in hand, though admittedly not the right lens or body…. |
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| Sold! But not to this plaintive cuckoo, Borneo highlands in February. |
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| A sanderling, an uncommon wader that typically can be seen along the coast during late summer/early autumn migration. |
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| A silver gull that was eying me suspiciously in Australia during a family holiday earlier in the year. In 5 years Borneo I cannot claim to have seen a single gull... |
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| A slow loris. I have seen these cute animals on various occasions in Brunei, unfortunately even a caged one on the Jerudong market. I like it a whole lot better to see them like this, free in the wild. |
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| A swamp toad, one of the type-species of the Lower Belait peat swamps. |
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| My visit to the Borneo highlands was very rewarding. This temminck's sunbird came very close to my lens. |
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| A wedge-tailed eagle that I saw in Australia in May. One of the things that I have always found intriguing in Brunei was the low density of raptors and I am still not certain why this is - I doubt it has anything to do with bad luck. |
That's it. I will still compile a few annotated documents about birding in Brunei, which I will post on this blog at a later time. For now it is really goodbye to Brunei, it has been a memorable adventure.
Goodbye!
Folkert, 12/10/2014
