Aarrgh!

Last week, Kolbjorn and myself went for an evening walk on one of the more remote sidetracks of Labi road. We arrived shortly before dusk and walked a good distance before the sun was fully set. The area that we walked through is mostly peat swamp and the track had a nice stream next to it with a deep rusty brown color from all the leaching tannins. The walk was livened up by the sounds of two rhinoceros hornbills deep into a domestic dispute, a great slaty woodpecker and some very skittish red langurs.
The real reason we were there was to search for some night birds. We had just turned from the furthest point when we heard a very distinctive call close by, one that I couldn't straight away place. A search on the iPhone quickly revealed the culprit: a Gould's frogmouth. And not just one, but two birds. I still don't know how we managed it, but we somehow completely messed up this opportunity and never got a visual. The birds fell silent very soon and were only heard very distantly afterwards. Maybe the playback we used was akin to a serenading cat, whatever it was we never saw a glimpse.

It goes without saying we felt a little defeated, but at the same time also very elated; we only just had started the walk back and with a start like this the remainder of the walk surely would be brilliant. So, in way, it wasn't a total surprise that we got a response from a barred eagle owl less than 200 meters later! First one and a little later a second one. We managed this time to record the two birds duetting, but again, no visuals! One owl even flew over our head, but picked a branch just facing away from us, and the dense undergrowth prevented us to walk in. We spend close to an hour trying to get a view, but to no avail; the birds wouldn't give themselves up.

Luckily this Harlequin tree frog, that we found a little further down the track, was more cooperative and didn't object at all to take center stage. In fact, every time it jumped it seemed to end up in an even better photographic position.

Harlequin tree frog (Rhacophorus pardalis)

Supposedly this is a common species, though that does't mean I see it very often. I fact, I actually can only recall to have seen it in Danum before.

Harlequin tree frog (Rhacophorus pardalis)

Harlequin tree frog (Rhacophorus pardalis)

Just before we reached the car we stumbled upon this spiny turtle. My knowledge of turtles isn't that great and I didn't realize at the time that this is actually rapidly becoming a very rare species. The IUCN lists this turtle as endangered, as unfortunately these animals still end up way too often on dining plates and in soup bowls somewhere in SE Asia.

Spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa)

The population in Brunei is still considered as relatively stable, though if I were this little fellow I wouldn't stray off into more populated areas.

Spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa) 

And, since this still is a blog about birds, I'll end this post with some shots of the birds I got on camera the last two weeks. A collared kingfisher; while these are very common around Panaga, they're actually not that approachable and unplanned close-up opportunities are not common. This one was sitting on the fence of a beam pump.

Collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris)

While on my way to Bandar I briefly stopped at Wasan rice fields. There were quite a few black-winged stilts around.

Black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

And a couple of white-winged black terns.

White-winged black tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)

And finally, a superb record from Brunei. Recently a second photographic record of the spectacled flowerpecker was made in Labi hills by local photographer Mr. Asmali Asli. See also:

http://www.borneobirdimages.com/news?id=56
http://www.sabahmagazine.com/spectacled-flowerpecker-second-photographic-record/

This species was only discovered in Danum in 2009 and it is therefore truly excellent to have the second encounter in Brunei. Moreover the pictures are fantastic! I have been at Labi ridge numerous times and never had the luck to find a species with this type of allure there. In a way I am almost glad to leave Brunei so I won't be able to give in to obsessive, and more than likely unsuccessful, chases of this very elusive species.

Folkert, 29/09/2014

Panaga and surroundings, 2nd week of September

Last weekend we ventured to the Baram delta. For anyone who wants to follow suit a word of advice: do not go at high tide!!! Hardly any exposed beach and we didn't see much… the trip would have been a complete waste of time if it wasn't for some distant greater crested terns (a Bornean lifer for me) and the good tidal lesson. Perhaps I'll have another attempt next week.

Closer to home migration is in full swing and small groups of red-necked stints can be found frequently on the beach.

Red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis)

This bird was one of a small group foraging in the late afternoon.

Red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis)

Their close relatives, the long-toed stints, can be found in the small creeks, puddles and pools of the coastal grasslands

Long-toed stint (Calidris subminuta)

Long-toed stint (Calidris subminuta)

While on my way home from lunch this week I noticed a lesser adjutant circling over the grasslands. Luckily I had a camera in the car to record the encounter. I saw it landing behind the trees lining the river edge of the Sungai Seria, but work duties prevented me from seeking out the bird.

Lesser adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus)

The last confirmed sighting from Seria dates back to 2009 - so this is quite a good record. The next day I tried to see if the bird was still around. My search along the river edge only turned up this crocodile.

Crocodile

This morning I spend a short hour at Badas. I did see a couple of birds, o.a. grey-chested jungle flycatcher and the customary hook-billed bulbul. From a photographic perspective it wasn't the most productive hour; I failed to get a single bird on camera. The only picture I had when I walked out the forest was of this butterfly...

Butterfly

This woodswallow that had perched just above my car offered some small solace. Often overlooked, like many of the more ordinary birds, they are really quite handsome.

White-breasted woodswallow (Artamus leucorhynchus)

Folkert, 13/09/2014

Sungai Seria, end of August

I've been checking the river mouth of the Seria river the past 2 weeks, as this is the time when most waders pass by. Usually a couple of sand plovers are around and with high tide they can come sufficiently close for some nice pictures. Here is one resting on a single leg:

Lesser sand plover (Charadrius mongolus).

And this bird rather doesn't use any legs at all.

Lesser sand plover (Charadrius mongolus).

This is also a good time to see sanderlings. Even on their way south, these are very active feeders, constantly running on the shoreline looking for little morsels.

Sanderling (Calidris alba).

Their dutch name is "drieteen strand loper", which means as much as three-toes sandpiper. An adequate description; sanderlings miss a fourth hind toe as can be seen in the picture below.

Sanderling (Calidris alba).

August and September are also good months to spot terns on the sandy shores next to the estuary. Mostly the flocks consist of little terns, which is a breeding species in Brunei.

Little and common terns

But now and again some other tern species join their smaller cousins, such as these common terns.

Common tern (Sterna hirundo).

The gull-billed terns are a size bigger and easily spotted. They're not always around and never numerous, typically just one or two birds. This bird is still in breeding plumage.

Gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica).

 I think this bird is already loosing its breeding plumage.

Gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica).

Whimbrels are never seen in large numbers here. This was one of three birds, that flew in only for a very short period. Here it is taking off on its way further south.

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus).

The grass lands are getting a little busier too. The number of egrets is clearly on the rise and little ringed plovers can be seen here and there. A few golden plovers were seen foraging just behind the beach wall in the shallow grassy pools.

Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva).

The last pic is not of a migrant, but of a thinly scattered forest species: a young male scarlet-breasted flowerpecker. I bumped into this bird in the weekend and I think this is my best shot of this species (or at least the sharpest…) so far.

Scarlet-breasted flowerpecker (Dicaeum thoracicus).

I am possibly planning a small recce to the Baram estuary this week or next, which should be a good location for some additional waders.

Folkert, 31/08/2014

Updates from Panaga

I haven't been posting a lot on this blog this year. The fact of the matter is that I have still been out a few times, but just haven't found the time to document it here.  So, without ado…here are some brief highlights of the last few weeks. 

Mid July I spend a couple of early morning hours in the Badas area. First time that I came across a small bird wave there. In its wake I heard and spotted this male green broadbill. 

Green broadbill (Calyptomena viridis)

Obviously a nice encounter as this is a stunning species. What's more, this was also the first time I encountered a green broadbill in the peat swamp forest, so not a bad record either.

The most prominent species in the bird wave were some drongo's, two different malkoha species and a pair of crimson-winged woodpeckers. A couple of scaly-crowned babblers also passed close by.

Scaly-crowned babbler (Malacopteron cinereum)

And the wave wouldn't be complete without a couple of hook-billed bulbuls, this is after all a peat swamp area. I am still hoping to get that killer shot one day...

Hook-billed bulbul (Setornis criniger)

Another highlight was an evening walk through the Teraja forest last week. We walked in late afternoon and walked back when darkness had fully set in. The real aim was to record some night birds. Of course we didn't hear a single owl, nightjar or frogmouth (the real target) on the way back, but the walk was still excellent. It is always a special feeling to walk in perfect darkness surrounded by all the sounds of the forest. We still managed to see some animal life, like this rough-sided frog, a common lowland species.

Rough-sided frog (Hylarana glandulosa)

We also came across a stunning huntsman spider. Not sure if these awesome colors serve a specific purpose, but I did know that I wasn't going to pick it up!

Huntsman spider sp.

A pair of bright eyes in the canopy proved to be a black flying squirrel. Only the second time I've ever seen this species.

Black flying squirrel (Aeromys tephromelas)

Finally, the migration season has started in earnest. I had a spare hour last Sunday after lunch and decided to try for some pictures of the terns that can typically be seen close to the shore this time of year. While looking for the terns a flock of mixed waders landed right in between some foraging plovers. I was quite pleased to see 3 curlew sandpipers.

Curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

The curlew sandpipers were joined by close to 10 terek sandpipers, which is a species that is not often recorded on the beaches close to Panaga.

Terek sandpiper (Xenus cinerea)

The plovers were also showing well. Here is a greater sand plover.

Greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii)

And here 2 lesser sand plovers.

Lesser sand plover (Charadrius mongolus)

In addition to species shown here I also saw red-necked stints, redshank, golden plovers and numerous common sandpipers and wood sandpipers in the coastal grasses and mudflats. 

A final update is that I recently learned that my time in Brunei is coming to an end. End October we will move on to our next location in the United States. Still a few weeks to reach the magic 400 species in Borneo - I'll either need a good dose of luck in Brunei or another venture across the border!

Folkert, 19/08/2014

Badas again

The Badas area is one of my favorite spots in Brunei. It is mostly prime peat swamp forest with some smaller areas of Kerangas. One plus point is that it is close to home. The other is that the area hides some type specialists that are hard to find elsewhere, examples are hook-billed bulbul, bristlehead, grey-breasted babbler and cinnamon-headed green pigeon.

Besides these specialists the species diversity is relatively large, abundance however not so much. Especially in the forest itself birding can put a real test to your patience. What's more, when you do finally get to see a bird it will typically do anything in its power to ensure that you will not leave with a good picture.

A small group of dusky broadbills I saw recently pretty much stuck to the canopy. Of course, when one of the birds decided to come down it chose the only branch directly overhead.

Dusky broadbill (Corydon sumatranus)

Due to the habit of rarely perching still for more than a few seconds flowerpeckers are not the easiest birds to get on camera under any circumstance. But this rare brown-backed flowerpecker also valued a rather large personal space and for 20 minutes I was chasing only brief glimpses after which it left the scene completely; these heavy crops are the best material I ended up with.

Brown-backed flowerpecker (Dicaeum Everetti)

Brown-backed flowerpecker (Dicaeum Everetti)

To offset this frequent frustration there are of course also the more satisfying sightings. I think someone wise once mentioned that the best sighting for a birder is a mammal (… or reptile in this case). I don't believe that is entirely true, but a second sighting of this Malaysian brown snake last weekend on the Badas road came pretty close.

Malaysian brown snake (Xenelaphis Hexagonotus)

Malaysian brown snake (Xenelaphis Hexagonotus)

Malaysian brown snake (Xenelaphis Hexagonotus)

I had seen this species once before on KB road and the picture I then managed even made it to the second edition of the Snakes of Borneo field guide by Robert Stuebing et. al. that was launched recently. Supposedly good pictures of this snake are hard to come by - this part of Brunei seems to be the exception to the rule.

Folkert, 03/07/2014

Brunei, 1st and 2nd of June

On occasion we get some visitors in the tiny state of Brunei. Claude is a consultant for SEA ALARM, which is an organization that facilitates in oiled wildlife response planning (see also their website: http://www.sea-alarm.org) and he is in Brunei to give a course for BSP. Claude had asked if I'd be OK to show him some good birding sites.

So, on Sunday morning I took Claude to Teraja for some lowland forest birding. We were a little unfortunate with some of the brighter plumaged birds; we heard 3 different trogon species, but didn't see a single one! But, we still managed to rake up a good number of birds and I was particularly pleased with good sightings of both long-billed spiderhunter and grey-bellied bulbul. Attached 2 pictures from this morning. Firstly, this Horsfield's babbler that provided some very un-babbler like good views.

Horsfield's babbler (Malacocincia sepiaria).

On our way back we came across this Green crested lizard and I couldn't resist a few shots.

Green crested lizard (Bronchocela cristatella).

Yesterday evening I took Claude for a night drive through the forest. One of the first animals we saw was this slow loris. By far the best views of a loris I ever had, a fantastic moment! The Bornean slow loris is a very small primate that unfortunately is threatened (listed as vulnerable) both by habitat loss and illegal poaching, primarily for the pet trade.

Slow loris (Nycticebus menagensis).

What both pictures nicely show is the 'grooming claw' on the hind foot, which the loris uses for, you guessed it, grooming.

Slow loris (Nycticebus menagensis).

I had seen a distressed looking loris last year for sale in the Jerudong market. A very sad sight and I hope these pics attest to the fact that it is far better to view them in the wild!

Folkert 03/06/2014

KB road, May 27th

It's been a while since my last writings on this blog. The main reason is that I've hardly been out; mostly   busy with work and we went on a short holiday to Western Australia in between. I did manage to shoot some pictures there, which I will share later.

Last Tuesday we had a day off and I took the opportunity to spend a couple of morning hours on KB road, where I hadn't been in ages. KB road has lost a little of its appeal in the last two years. I still like the area, but favor it for evening and night drives. During the day, and especially in the morning, I find the ever present bird catchers a little off-putting and prefer to go to quieter areas around Badas and Labi road.

Still, there is usually always something interesting to be seen. Driving up the road this purple heron was on a high look-out.

Purple heron (Ardea purperea).

I spend at least 30 minutes trying to call in a white-chested babbler. The bird was only a few feet away but I never got more than a short glimpse. Two great slaty woodpeckers where a little easier to see. The male almost looks black against the bright blue sky. I hadn't seen this species, the largest of all woodpeckers, for a long time and it was nice to get re-acquainted.

Great slaty woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus).

I got some good views of a banded bay cuckoo, a bird more often heard than seen. Alas, as soon as I moved for my camera the bird flew of.  Blue-throated bee-eaters are a very common sight. This is a juvenile, its blue throat just starting to appear.

Bleu-throated bee eater (Merops viridis).

Finally, a picture of a small crab species that can be frequently seen scuttling sideways across the road. I am certain that they form a delicious snack for the local kingfishers.

Crab species

All in all, a very enjoyable morning.

Folkert, 29/05/2014.