New life in Panaga

I've been a little busy the last couple of days. Friday the 14th of September my wife gave birth to our very first child: Jacob, a healthy young boy! I am very happy and proud. And a little tired... Jacob is keeping us busy around the clock and I expect I will not be going out much the coming period!

In between naps I did have some quick peeks in the garden. Yesterday an arctic warbler was foraging up in the trees around the garden. These birds are migrants to southeast Asia and seem to be regulars in the Panaga gardens year on year. There not the easiest birds to capture on camera and this was my best attempt before the bird flew of.

Arctic warbler (Phylloscopus borealis)

In between baby feeding time I took my camera to the garden again this afternoon, secretly hoping to get another photo opportunity at the warbler. No such luck. To stay within the 'brand new life' theme some pictures of the yellow-vented bulbuls that are nesting next to the outside staircase instead. The yellow-vented bulbul is an abundant species in the Panaga gardens and arguably the most common bird around. This particular nest has already seen plenty of fledglings. This time only one of the two eggs hatched, the parents do not seem less busy though.

Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

Ready for delivery!

A lot of commoners only this afternoon. A group of 4 zebra doves where foraging close to the house. This species is introduced in Borneo and very common around the Panaga gardens. The birds are remarkably approachable. I liked this out of focus shot best of the photos I took as the blur seems to enhance the zebra-effect.

Zebra dove (Geopelia striata)

Will likely do primarily garden-birding the next couple of weeks, hope the migrating season won't disappoint!

Folkert,  22/09/2012

Teraja at 6 AM.

Finally, after a handful of hikes to the Teraja waterfall at mid morning, I decided that there would be no more excuses for the track to be explored at sunrise. Kolbjorn was again prepared to join me, so this Saturday I got up at 04:00 and after an uneventful drive parked the car at the end of Labi road and the start of the waterfall trail at exactly 06:00 AM.

We quickly gathered our gear and set off on the trail. The forest was still only just waking up when we crossed the stream into the primary forest. There was plenty of activity to be heard, alas we didn't see anything. This is, until we happened to come across a small fruiting tree with the fruits sprouting directly from the trunks and branches. We stayed for a little while and saw some flowerpeckers, bulbuls and a male fairy bluebird. The grey-cheeked bulbul was already a nice surprise, but my bird of the morning was definitely the grey-bellied bulbul, a lifer for me! As luck would have it I even managed a half-decent picture (and also the only half-decent picture taken in the forest this morning).

Grey-bellied bulbul (Pycnonotus cyaniventris)

After observing the activity for a good period we decided to continue to the waterfall. Along the way we saw some unidentified fluttering and heard quite a few interesting calls and songs.

Teraja Waterfall

After a short pitstop at the waterfall we decided to head back to the fruiting tree. Along the way we did see a little more now: yellow-bellied bulbuls, some babblers and spiderhunters and we heard a helmeted hornbill. A passing kingfisher was too quick to identify (banded?). At the fruiting tree there were some different species, incl. puff-backed bulbuls and a female red-throated barbet. Most enticingly we heard a pitta-like call that with reasonable certainty we think was a blue-winged pitta.

Barn swallow (Hirunda rustica), opposite the parked car.
Note the bend tail-feather.

Barn swallow (Hirunda rustica)  

On the way out we did see a spotted fantail, probably quite common but still a first for me in Brunei. As expected Teraja really offers good opportunities to see some great new species. But it does require a lot of dedication as good views are hard to come by! The morning's Teraja list:

puff-backed bulbul, yellow-bellied bulbul, cream-vented bulbul, red-eyed bulbul, grey-cheeked bulbul, grey-bellied bulbul, asian fairy bluebird, spotted fantail, red-throated barbet, little spiderhunter, spiderhunter sp., black-throated babbler, ferruginous babbler, chestnut-winged babbler, ruby-cheeked sunbird, yellow-rumped flowerpecker, yellow-vented flowerpecker, kingfisher sp., barn swallow

Folkert, 10/09/2012

Labi road, September 1st

Went for an early morning birding trip on Saturday morning together with Kolbjorn. We left Panaga around 05:30 and drove straight to Labi road. A first, very brief stop was at Luagan Lalak, a shallow fresh water lake roughly halfway between Labi and Sungai Liang. Luagan Lalak was very quiet and we soon headed off again. Our second locality was the side-road towards Kampung Rumah Panjang. As soon as we turned onto this my morning was instantly successful: a pair of large green pigeons was sitting high up in a dead tree. These birds are quite rare in Brunei and this was only the second time I've seen these largest of the Bornean green pigeons. As luck would have it we saw another pair (the same pair?) flying in front of a group of approximately 6 thick-billed green pigeons half an hour later. I wasn't quick enough to get any of the pigeons on camera though.

After driving on a little further we saw some hill myna's up in another bare tree. One of the birds looked suspiciously different and upon closer inspection it was a red-crowned barbet. The light was very bad and the bird high up in the treetop; the below (heavily cropped) snap was the best I could manage.

Red-crowned barbet (Megalaima rafflesii)

A couple of months ago on May 26th, and before the birth of my weblog, I got some more decent pictures at the same location of this barbet species enjoying a fruiting bonanza:

Red-crowned barbet (Megalaima rafflesii)

Red-crowned barbet (Megalaima rafflesii)

We walked up and down the road for a little while and soon spotted a flycatcher. We observed this little fellow for some time, as it returned to the same branch after each sally for insects. I am still not fully certain which species this exactly is; my guess is a dark-sided flycatcher but I am open to alternative suggestions (brown-streaked?)...

Dark-sided flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica)

Dark-sided flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica)

Dark-sided flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica)

We continued to follow the road past the Kampung and as far as we could by car. In the past I think you could drive all the way to the river, but the road now stops roughly two kilometers short. After parking the car we walked probably a couple of 100 meters further into the forest. This is a very nice area. As it was getting a little later the activity did drop, but we still managed to see some nice birds including some babblers, a black-naped monarch and an emerald dove. I didn't get any great photo opportunities and most frustrating was a perfectly perched purple-naped sunbird at 1 meter, well within my minimum focus distance! This female black-and-yellow broadbill provided some reasonable views.

Black-and-yellow broadbill (Eurylaimus ochromalus)

The big birds stayed out and we didn't see a single raptor or hornbill this time. Still, we had a great morning with over 40 species recorded, and this side-road of the Labi road remains one of my favorite areas. The morning's list:

white-breasted waterhen, large green pigeon, thick-billed green pigeon, emerald dove, blue-crowned hanging parrot, stork-billed kingfisher, rufous woodpecker, brown barbet, red-throated barbet, red-crowned barbet, greater racquet-tailed drongo, crow-billed drongo, slender-billed crow, dollar bird, hill myna, blue-throated bee-eater, raffles' malkoha, chestnut-bellied malkoha, black-and-yellow broadbill, black-and-red broadbill, black-naped monarch, pied fantail, green iora, common iora, dark-sided flycatcher(?), fiery minivet, black-headed bulbul, red-eyed bulbul, cream-vented bulbul, sooty-capped babbler, scaly-crowned babbler, chestnut-winged babbler, olive-backed sunbird, crimson sunbird, purple-throated sunbird, little spiderhunter, spectacled spiderhunter, dark-necked tailorbird, whiskered tree-swift, white-breasted woodswallow, pacific swallow, chestnut munia.

Folkert, 02/09/2012

My garden birds II

Just been away for a week back home. The trip was excellent and got to meet up with a good number of friends and family members that I hadn't seen for a while. I came back on Monday and the jet lag seems a little harder to get over this time; luckily this blog provides me with something useful to do in the early morning hours.

I came home yesterday to find over 30 hornbills in the trees next to our house - far more than the usual numbers observed. The group was a mixed group of both adults and juveniles. I tried to capture a bird in flight for a change but failed to get a really good picture. The attempt below is just missing a little sharpness and I didn't get the entire bird in my frame. The bird is a female and may still be an adolescent bird. It shows the diagnostic tail pattern, with black inner feathers (though interestingly, there is also a bit of black on some of the outer feathers).

Oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris)

There were some other regular visitors about yesterday as well: a family group of silver-leaf monkeys  (or silver langurs). This family is often seen in our neighborhood. Compared to the long-tailed macaques these silver langurs are really well behaved and still skittish when humans approach. The picture below is a youngster - but it's not only the youngsters that sport the semi-mohawk.

Silver langur (Trachypithecus cristatus)

Just before I left for Holland I also tried my luck again at getting some more pictures of the sunbirds that are feeding on the drain-pipe from the air-conditioning; see the previous post. Within minutes a female brown-throated sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis) flew in. As soon as she left the male crimson sunbird turned up and stayed for quite some time, allowing me to get plenty of close-ups.

Female brown-throated sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis)

Male crimson sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja)

Male crimson sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja)

Male crimson sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja)

The last pictures I will share today are from another common garden customer, the pied fantail (Rhipidura javanica). This species is not uncommon around the Panaga gardens and along the coastal shrubs. The birds are usually very active, honoring their name by fanning their tails almost constantly.

Pied fantail (Rhipidura javanica) in the garden.

This species is also commonly seen along the Kuala Balai road. There, I once saw a very agitated bird and it was only when looking closer that I noticed the center of the bird's attention: a Wagler's pitviper (Tropidolaemus wagleri). This picture was taken nearly two years ago; the snake can be seen resting on the branch.

Pied fantail & Wagler's pitviper.

Folkert, 30/08/2012

My garden birds I

The gardens in Panaga form a good habitat for a substantial number of birds and our garden is no exception. Besides a good variety of garden birds some exceptional encounters have been been made from the leisurely surroundings of our balcony and garden. Today I'll share a first short selection of our garden visitors.

One of the more colorful birds in our backyard is surely the eastern crimson sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja).  This sunbird makes good use of the flowers and insects in our garden. When we by accident noticed that both male and female appreciate the drain from our air-conditioning a makeshift hide was quickly set up for a close-up picture. It took less than an hour of patience for the below capture. This was only the first try and I will definitely have another attempt soon.

Male crimson sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja)

Besides the crimson sunbird, also the brown-throated and olive-backed sunbirds are regular visitors to the flowers and bushes in our garden. And I've once been lucky to see a copper-throated sunbird, a species that I only very rarely see on more adventurous journeys elsewhere.

A couple of months back a pair of olive-backed sunbirds tried to raise the next generation of sunbirds below our staircase. Unfortunately the nest was raided and the chicks never made it past their first few days. The below picture shows a female olive-backed sunbird posing in the late afternoon sun, one of my personal favorites.

Female olive-backed sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis)

One of the most visible garden birds in Panaga must be the oriental magpie-robin. These very active birds can be seen anytime of the day. They are very vocal and Panaga would not be the same without their tuneful songs and chatter. The fence around our garden is a preferred spot for the magpie-robins to share their early morning compositions.

Female oriental magpie robin (Copsychus saularis)

Our garden has also had some more unexpected visitors. Quite recently, a male jambu fruit dove (Ptilinopus jambu) was lying lifeless on our driveway after evidently having flown into the kitchen window. This is a scarce bird of the forest that I really would not expect in Panaga. My wife didn't fail to notice the almost ironic location of the bird's demise when she mockingly questioned the number of persons in Panaga that would be able to identify this bird on a mere glance. I guess the bird's encounter with our window is testament to the fact that Panaga is not it's usual habitat.

Male jambu fruit dove (Ptilinopus jambu), a quick smartphone capture.

Another unusual visitor that I share here is the pied imperial pigeon (Ducula bicolor). I noticed this bird one late afternoon high up in one of our trees. This pigeon is associated with offshore islands and not typically found in mainland Borneo. This bird was seen one late afternoon next to a couple of green imperial pigeons, which are quite common. As there are no obvious small islands close to Panaga I can only speculate to what it's normal roosting ground would be: I suspect this individual to be a local wanderer from Pelong rocks of the Bandar coast.

Pied imperial pigeon (Ducula bicolor)

Pied imperial pigeon (Ducula bicolor)

I'll finish this post with a Panaga specialty: the oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris). Panaga is unique in the fact that this residential area is home to a group of roughly 80 hornbills. Late in the afternoon the birds usually be found close to our house, when they pick the large casuarina's for their nightly roost.

Male oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris)

Folkert, 13/08/2012

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

The regulars of KB road

A good birdwatching area close to our house is the Kuala Balai road. This road runs for roughly 16 km to the ghost town of Kuala Balai. The village/kampong used to be the center of the KB district and was an important trading place. The place is now completely deserted, most people having left to the coastal towns to pursue more lucrative jobs sourced by the oil and gas industry. Attempts to breath new life into the village as an eco-tourism attraction have thus far not been successful.

Map of the West Brunei, KB district.

The google map above shows the Kuala Balai road and surrounding areas. The road to kampong Kuala Balai offers some great birding and it is the spot that I frequent most on early morning and late afternoon birding trips. A good starting point for birdwatching along Kuala Balai can be found in an excellent document that Jeremy Moore put together: birdwatching and bird records in brunei.

I will first share some of my favorite regulars of Kuala Balai. The first one is the stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis). This magnificent kingfisher is seen, and heard (!), on most visits. It is the biggest kingfisher in Brunei and the one most commonly found along the second part of the Kuala Balai road. There is no mistaking this bird and the ditches next to the road (and the road itself) seem to be a favorite hunting-ground.

Stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis)

The second species, the black-and-yellow broadbill, is a lot smaller then the previous bird. The call of this broadbill species is arguably the most distinct of all Borneo's resident birds and they can be heard on most occasions. Despite their bright plumage they can be surprisingly hard to spot! The bird pictured is the same one pictured in the blog heading. It was very obliging one Sunday morning and allowed me to take some very nice pictures.

Male black-and-yellow broadbill (Eurylamus ochromalus)

Another bird with great presence is the greater racquet-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus). This species is also hard to miss. They're loud and bold birds; at Kuala Balai I've seen a drongo bullying a pair of Raffles malkoha's and I once saw a drongo chasing off a brahminy kite. Note that the distinctive racquets are not always present.

Greater racquet-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus)

The fourth and final species I'll share today is also a very common resident: the little spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra). Most of the time they can only been seen whizzing by, calling as they do so. If you do see a flowering ginger- or wild banana tree, it's worth while to wait a while as you'll stand a good chance of seeing the little spiderhunter drop by for a little snack.

Little spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra)

All pictures were taken at the Kuala Balai road. In a future posting I will share some more on the species diversity of Kuala Balai road.

Folkert, 03/08/2012