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

More migrants in Brunei

A small overview of some encounters from the last two weeks. To start of 6 red-throated pipits were found around Seria's billion barrel monument by Zack during his visit to Panaga. The pouring rain did not provide perfect light conditions but I did get a few pictures in before we moved on for some tasty keow teow in Seria town.

Red-throated pipit (Anthus cervinus).

According to Phillipps' field guide this is the commonest migrant pipit throughout Borneo. For the area around our hometown in Brunei this is not the case. This was only my second sighting and the red-throated pipit is here an uncommon migrant at best; Richard's pipit is more common (even though it is easily confused with the resident paddyfield pipit).

Red-throated pipit (Anthus cervinus).

Another scarce migrant that was seen around the Seria grasslands was this common kestrel flying next to the road. The best I could do was this photo, shot from within my parked car at an impossible angle.

Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).

This surely must be one of the worst shots ever taken of a common kestrel! At least I could count on this water monitor to keep still in front of the camera.

Water monitor (Varanus salvator).

A night drive last Saturday along KB road produced a number of civets. This red giant flying squirrel was seen foraging high-up in a tree.

Red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista).

The main reason for the trip however was to attempt a close-up of a grey nightjar. Closer inspection by Kolbjorn of two birds he had photographed earlier in the week revealed that they were in fact grey nightjars, rather than the common large-tailed nightjars! Luckily the birds were easily found again: the individual that we had both already seen earlier (and photographed independently) was still at the same area we'd found it before.

Grey nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus).

The bird allowed a close approach (I was crawling on all fours on the wet tarmac) and I got a decent eye-level picture. The grey nightjar is listed as a scarce winter visitor that can turn up anywhere on migration. The subspecies that is seen here is Caprimulgus indicus jotaka.

Grey nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus).

We saw at least two more grey nightjars on the road. For comparison I have included a picture of a large-tailed nightjar. Besides the clear differentiation in wing pattern (note the 'droplets' on the grey nightjar), I also find that the posture is remarkably different. I checked against some other large-tailed nightjar pics and in general the large-taileds have a much more crouched position than the more upright posture of this grey nightjar.

Large-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus).

The difference between the two species is very obvious and I almost cannot believe I didn't notice this in the field the first time. In my defense I hardly paid attention to the birds earlier as I just assumed them to be large-tailed nightjars. I guess it goes to show that assumption is indeed the mother of all.... Ah well, we got it right in the end. Also, a word of apology to Zack, who was visiting 2 weeks ago: the nightjar we saw on KB road was with 99% certainty this grey nightjar rather than the large-tailed I took it for!

Folkert, 24/01/2014

Wetlands International surveys

If you're expecting loads of nice bird pictures, this post may be a little disappointing... There has however been some great birding in Brunei last week, even though the total number of birds seen is rather low and the photographic evidence even more meager. But what a week!

In an earlier post I mentioned that Wetlands International just started with an 18 month project for the lower Belait district. This is a collaborative effort between Brunei Shell Petroleum and Wetlands International. There are several objectives to this project that foremost aim at a sustainable future for the fragile peat swamp forests of Brunei's lower Belait district. For more information please see this link.

The Biodiversity surveys form an important part of the project and since last week some globally recognized experts are surveying the area, including Dennis Yong. Dennis is one of the foremost Malaysian naturalists and his skills with picking up and identifying bird call are truly impressive - he seems to not only identify almost every single call, but is also able to mimic most calls directly from memory. And he is a really nice guy!

I feel very fortunate to also have been given the opportunity to help out. This week I have been assisting in the field on a couple of occasions, and especially Saturday was very memorable: the first time I have taken a boat ride up river from the Kuala Balai road to venture a deeper into the peat swamp forest. Saturday early morning we (Kolbjorn, Dennis, Merijn and myself) had arranged to meet up at the end of the Kuala Balai road. On our way over Kolbjorn and I had some splendid views of a ruddy kingfisher. We dipped however massively on the clouded leopard(!) that was seen by Dennis and Merijn next to the road, and only 10 minutes after we had past the exact same spot.
Our upstream destination was a little rickety rail track leading to a small logging concession, only accessible from the river. The rail track runs through some good peat swamp forest. On the river we spotted a chestnut-winged cuckoo (Clamator coromandus), which provided some good views. This is an uncommon/rare winter visitor to Borneo and was a lifer for me.

We arrived at the start of the trail/track around 08:00 and there was enough activity going on. We heard plenty, including 5 different hornbill species, good views were however few and far between. The most enticing call was surely the hook-billed bulbul. Attempts to call it in were unfortunately unsuccessful, and I hope to have another opportunity soon. Kolbjorn soon spotted a scarlet-breasted flowerpecker (Dicaeum thoracicus), a male, foraging in front of us. Another lifer for me and what a stunner! From habitat description the presence of this bird is not unexpected; to actually see one is an entirely different matter!

Besides the birds, we did also see some other forest life. This sambar deer was seen next to the track before it shot off with an ear-piercing alarm call.

Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor).

This giant squirrel observed us from a tree and then made for the deeper forest, possibly showcasing how it's cousins, the flying squirrels, evolved with some huge jumps. 

Cream-coloured giant squirrel (Ratufa affinis).

There were also plenty of cool insects around. This Kytadid does an excellent job in mimicking a leaf.

Kytadid sp.

On the way back on the river we noticed a group of 5 straw-headed bulbuls. I had seen these birds previously in Danum and on the river upstream from Limbang, though never before in Brunei. The straw-headed bulbul is listed as vulnerable, mainly because of trapping for the cage-bird trade. To see it in Brunei is a good record. The 3 pictures I got are absolutely useless - but since this blog is mostly about the Brunei birding I decided to stay within the theme and include one anyway:

Straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus)

A final noteworthy record is the Bonaparte's nightjar (Caprimulgus concretus), also listed as vulnerable by IUCN. A bird was calling for several minutes early Tuesday evening. We had almost given up getting any views when luck finally struck and the bird flew into the beam of my flashlight from which we could follow it for around 5 seconds with some good close-up views - and more than enough for a positive ID!

All and all a very good week, 3 lifers added and some great calls identified. Am already thinking about the next trip upriver.

Folkert, 10/03/2013