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

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

A short stay at KNP HQ

With my mother-in-law in town, we decided to escape the lowland heat for a day and book ourselves for a night in one of the lodges of Kinabalu Park. Our trip to Sabah's best known mountain was not a birding trip. Still, I would have an hour here and there to explore the area around park HQ.

We arrived on August 30th just before the afternoon rain came down and while my wife, son and mother-in-law took an afternoon nap I decided to have a short walk around the area. Close to the entrance of the botanical gardens I met a Danish birder, Jacob, and while we were sharing some of our Kinabalu sightings, this Bornean whistling thrush was hopping into view behind us.

Bornean whistling-thrush (Myophonus borneensis).

Together we tried our luck at the start of the Liwagu trail. There was plenty of late afternoon activity, though the rain made for poor photographic conditions.

After diner I went out for half an hour to see if I could spot any frogs and maybe even the mountain scops owl. Judging by the noise there were definitely plenty of frogs around. I only managed to locate 3  individuals and have really no idea what this tiny species is (a microhyla?).

Frog species

Next to the house this tarantula was hiding in ambush. My best attempts to lure the spider out of its hole had completely the opposite effect and the spider retreated only deeper into its shelter.

Tarantula - note the green pads on the bottom of its legs.

Our accommodation was near perfect. This was the view of the mountain I woke up to!

Gunung Kinabalu

This whole birding thing of adding new species to your bird list can at times become quite obsessive. The last time I visited the KNP HQ with Andrew Siani, see To the mountains of Sabah, I missed a couple of common "easy" birds, which I was targeting now. Because this trip was primarily a little family get-away I kept my hopes modest and any sightings of the Kinabalu specials would be a real bonus.

One of the first birds that I noticed was a group of grey-throated babblers, a common species around the park. Still, a new species for me and I couldn't have asked for a better start!

Grey-throated babbler (Stachyris nigriceps).

The bird is ringed and so were many of the other birds I saw this morning, something Kolbjorn had also pointed out after his trip to Kinabalu a couple of months ago.

A group of Sunda laughing thrushes were loudly making their way through the forest. In their wake this Ochraceous bulbul was following: another new bird for me.

Ochraceous bulbul (Criniger ochraceus).

I decided to do the start of the Liwagu trail and then head back through the Silau-Silau trail. One of the first birds I noticed was this very obliging Bornean green magpie. Until 2011 this species was known as the Short-tailed green magpie, but it has since been split into the Bornean green magpie (Cissa jefferyi) and the Javan green magpie (Cissa thalassina). While the Javan green magpie is listed as no less than critically endangered, its Bornean cousin is fairly common around KNP HQ. Still, another lifer for me!

Bornean green magpie (Cissa thalassina).

It was fairly quiet on the remainder of the trail and by 8:30 I had made my way back to share breakfast with the family at the Liwagu restaurant.

From the window we had great views of a common Bornean endemic: two Chestnut-hooded laughing-thrushes were foraging in the bushes next to the restaurant.

Chestnut-hooded laughing-thrush (Rhinocichla treacheri).

I was quite pleased to get some neat close-ups of these smart birds. A noteworthy sighting was of a red-breasted hill partridge while taking a little walk with our son. Like last time the birds were easily heard, but proved impossible to get in front of my camera.

Chestnut-hooded laughing-thrush (Rhinocichla treacheri).

Later in the morning we made our way back to Kota Kinabalu again. I really enjoyed this little trip, though one night was really too short and I definitely need to come back for some of the trickier birds!

Folkert, 02/09/2013.

Temburong

This weekend I treated my mom -who is visiting again- and myself to a small overnight trip to the Ulu Ulu resort in Temburong, the "other" part of Brunei. Temburong is only a short 2 hour journey from Bandar; a simple hop on a fast ferry to Bangar, followed by a small bus ride and another 30 minutes upstream by longboat and you'll find yourself surrounded by pristine jungle.

The last time I visited Temburong was well over 2 years ago and especially the canopy proved very rewarding then; a lot of species allowed very close views, like this velvet fronted nuthatch.

Velvet-fronted nuthatch (Sitta frontalis).

We arrived in Temburong around 4:30 PM and I spend the last hour or so of daylight around the resort. The white-rumped shama was impossible to miss.

White-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus).

During the evening we joined a short night walk up a tiny stream from the main river. 17 people on a night walk is really too crowded and I didn't have high expectations to encounter a lot of wildlife. Still I enjoyed this, as the stream proved a good place for frogs and I got a couple a great close-ups. As I am definitely not a frog specialist any correction/addition to my ID's are appreciated. I suspect the tiny fellow pictured below to be a Microhyla species.

Microhyla sp.

I think this is Hylarana megalonesa.

Hylarana megalonesa

The below frog is definitely a horned frog species!

Bornean horned frog (Megophrys nasuta).

The next morning we got up very early to be in time for sunrise at the canopy walk. Nowadays, you can only get to the start of the trail to the canopy by boat as the bridge crossing the river is in dire need of some repairs. After a half hour walk, scaling 290 meters elevation to the base and another 40+ meters to the canopy itself, you are rewarded with a wide 360 degree view over the awaking jungle. The rising fog and the morning calls of gibbons makes this almost perfect - next time I'll bring some warm coffee for a nice finishing touch!

Canopy walkway & tower, Temburong.

I spend a little over two-and-a-half hours at the canopy walk way listening to the gibbons and recording several different birds. This male black-and-yellow broadbill was seen and heard most of the time.

Black-and-yellow broadbill

A spectacled bulbul also provided some good views. Even though this is a supposedly common species of all primary forests type in Borneo, I don't see them that often closer to home and was therefore quite pleased with this individual checking me out at close range.

Spectacled bulbul (Pycnonotus erythropthalmus).

Besides the gibbons, the calls of both rhinoceros and helmeted hornbill seemed equally far carrying. A family of 4 rhinoceros hornbills flew by over the canopy, adding to the majestic scenery with the morning fog rising through the forest. One parent lead the way.

Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros).

 And was eagerly followed by two juveniles

Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros).

At 08:30 we decided to move down and try for some birds lower to the ground. I had expected to see and hear more babblers, but the only ones I picked up were chestnut-winged babblers, which seemed to be everywhere, and a small family group of scaly-crowned babblers.

Scaly-crowned babbler (Malacopteron cinereum).

An incessantly calling diard's trogon was already heard from the canopy-walk and at least 2 different males and one female were seen on the relatively short walk from the tower back to the river.

Male Diard's trogon (Harpactes diardii).

As my mom had not joined the trip to the canopy walk because of a weak knee I felt some social obligation to not stay out all morning and returned back to the resort close to 10 AM. Together we walked around the resort grounds looking for some resident wildlife. Fruitbats were easily seen overhead at the wooden boardwalks. I think this is the Sunda short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopteros brachyotis).

Fruitbat sp.

Flowering bushes close to the river were a good spot for both leafbirds and sunbirds. 

Male Lesser green leafbird (Chloropsis cyanopogon).

A nice surprise was this yellow-breasted flowerpecker. Just a small bummer that I failed to get a proper photo. Oh well.

Yellow-breasted flowerpecker (Prionochilus macalatus).

Just before heading back to Bandar this very bold pygmy squirrel seemed completely unbothered by our presence and I even had to stand back to get the animal properly into frame!

Plain pygmy squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis).

Plain pygmy squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis).

Around 1:30 PM we left again, back to Panaga. A great little trip and I am certain that with a little more dedicated effort some great species can be picked up in Temburong!

Folkert, 21/07/2013