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

Badas, Sungai Seria and some migrants

On Friday, October 19th, I spend a morning with Merijn in the field. Merijn was over from KL to align the planning for a possible future bio-diversity study in the south of Brunei. Merijn, a fellow countrymen and a keen birder, had asked me to accompany him to some of my favorite sites.

We started the morning at Badas, and highlights included a substantial flock of cinnamon-headed green pigeons, a blue-rumped parrot disappearing into a tree-hole, a grey-headed fish-eagle and a couple of hard-to-see shrikes (that we settled on to be tiger-shrikes). As usual there were plenty of dollarbirds and long-tailed parakeets about.

Male Long-tailed parakeet (Psittacula longicauda)

Male Long-tailed parakeet (Psittacula longicauda)

As it was low tide I also wanted to spend some time at the Sungai Seria estuary. The estuary underwent some big, manmade changes last year with the aim to make the water management more efficient in preventing small floods during the wet season. As a side affect the estuary now seems far less attractive to migrant waders and the exposed tidal flat during low tide has substantially decreased. the number of waders we saw was limited and a little disappointing.

We still saw some nice birds though. There were were a couple of common kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) on the lookout for fish. Every year a few of these kingfishers can be found around the estuary. This is however the only locality where I have seen this species thus far. I did get some good pictures of the female.

Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).

Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).

One of Merijn's co-workers had found a dead von Schrenk's bittern earlier in the week in Lumut. No rare bittern's around today, but we did see several little heron's and this yellow bittern flew straight into our view. This is by far the most common bittern in the greater Seria area.

Yellow bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)

Another regular winter visitor to Sungai Seria is the Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes) and as luck would have it one flew over and landed nearby as we were about to leave. This species is listed as vulnerable by IUCN and the total global population is estimated to be less than 3500. Every year still one or two of these egrets call the Seria estuary their winter home. I can only hope this will continue in the coming years. The bird today did a good job in keeping it's distance, so no close-ups.

Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes)

The past two weeks some very good observations have been made in Brunei. Unfortunately I didn't see most of them! The special ones:

• Brown-backed flowerpecker (Dicaeum everetti), October 13, Panaga. Kolbjorn saw this species in his garden. This species of flowerpecker is very rarely recorded and might only be patchily distributed in Borneo. This is a great find and a very nice addition to the Panaga species list. For some good pictures of this species check Con Foley's website: confoley.com/brown-backed-flowerpecker

• Grey-headed lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), October 16, Wasan ricefields. Bird seen in flight by Merijn. This is a very scarce winter vagrant. The PNHS sighting list has only one other recording in Brunei, which dates back to 1995. Merijn also saw a pair of Common sand martin's (Riparia riparia), another scarce winter visitor, during this visit.

• Chestnut-cheeked starling (Sturnus philippensis). October 11 and October 13, Panaga. Seen by Kolbjorn in his garden. An uncommon winter visitor, though not as rare as the previous two species. A little envious of this one, as I was trying hard the last two winters to add this species to my list. Good thing is that this sighting does present me with a glimmer of hope for the next couple of weeks!

I did manage to add one new species to my Bruneian list as well:

• Crested myna (Acridotheres cristatellus). Two birds in the car park at the Bandar airport on October 20.

Also am fairly certain I saw a Common kestrel flying over the Seria grasslands. As I only got brief naked-eyed views from the car I am a little hesitant claiming this one, even though it's hard to imagine it being any other bird.

Folkert, 21/10/2012

Sunday morning, Badas

A new colleague, Kolbjorn, arrived recently in Brunei. Kolbjorn is a seasoned birdwatcher and so I invited him along on one of my weekend morning trips. The morning started of very promising; as soon as I was up I heard a brown boobook calling from somewhere near our garden. I picked up Kolbjorn at 06:10 and 20 minutes later we arrived at Badas. Badas is really nothing more than a pumping station that supplies water from the Belait river to treatment facilities in Seria and Sungai Liang. The area consists primarily of peat swamp forest.

KB road on a Sunday morning is typically the spot to be for many bird-cagers. In contrast Badas was nice and quiet this morning with not another human being in sight. Long-tailed parakeets were numerous as were the always present dollarbirds. No cinnamon-headed green pigeons this time, but we did see the usual little green pigeons and a lone female thick-billed. In total we recorded over 30 species. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a fair introduction to lowland birdwatching in Brunei.

A female blue-crowned hanging parrot allowed some good views. I even managed to get a little closer for a better picture. With a big tripod across your shoulder there is really no such thing as creeping closer, it is more a matter of crossing your fingers and hoping that the bird doesn't object to your presence. I did notice some grain-like particles hanging below the beak and eye. Stuck plant material or can these be parasites? Wondering if anyone has seen this before.

Female blue-crowned hanging parrot (Loriculus galgulus).

Female blue-crowned hanging parrot (Loriculus galgulus).

Note the little particles hanging from beak and face.

I was also reminded this morning that I really should work on my swiftlet and needletail identification skills... Driving back on the Badas road a dark morph changeable hawk eagle was using the power cable as a vantage point. The contrasting dark outer wingtips were very noticeable as the bird flew away.

Changeable hawk-eagle (Niseatus limnaeetus).

Changeable hawk-eagle (Niseatus limnaeetus).

There was another little surprise on the way back. Kolbjorn had already seen a green sandpiper earlier in the week and I had a glimpse of what looked like a common sandpiper a couple of days before. And now, while I was showing some of the grasslands around Seria from the car, Kolbjorn spotted two little waders in the ditch next to the road. When doubling back two wood sandpipers were confirmed. The migrants seem to be arriving early this year!

Folkert, 06/08/2012

Treron Pigeons at Badas

One of the areas close to our house that I like to go to is the Badas road. The easy access to the (degraded) peat swamp makes this an unique area, and there are some bird species found here that I rarely see elsewhere. I suspect the hook-billed bulbul to be present, but have yet to see one.

I am sharing a couple of pigeon species that I regularly encounter here. Both species usually travel around in small flocks of up to 10 birds. The first species is a common resident of Borneo; the little green pigeon (Treron olax). Together with the pink-necked green pigeon (Treron vernans) this is the commonest of the green pigeons in Brunei.

This species is very common around Badas and with a bit of luck and persistence a good subject for colorful pictures.

Male little green pigeon (Treron olax) 

Female and male,
bit closer together please and...

smile!

Though less common, Badas is also one of the better areas to find the second species I will show here: the cinnamon-headed green pigeon (Treron fulvicollis). According to web-searches this species is getting increasingly rare and is currently listed as near threatened by IUCN. The cinnamon-headed is far more skittish than the little green pigeon (and the feral pigeons in Amsterdam!). It is a  pretty bird, with diagnostic yellow socks on both male and female birds. Only the male has the striking cinnamon colored head.

Male cinnamon-headed green pigeon (Treron fulvicollis)

Female cinnamon-headed green pigeon,
enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Another male pigeon,
in same tree as the female.

Unfortunately also at Badas bird catching is on the rise. The target species for the bird catchers are usually parrots and shama's. The trapping is mostly done with cages, but nets are also commonly used. This last method is far more damaging and causes a cruel end for many birds. One of the issues is that most bird catchers really don't see what is wrong with their hobby and a lot of the bird catching is just happening out in the open.

A juvenile asian glossy starling in a net,
distressed and nearly dead.

Both through the PNHS and the BNS we have been feeding back our concerns to the authorities. I hope we'll see some more control soon!

Folkert, 23/07/2012