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.

A rainy morning at Labi road

A short post from a very wet morning at Labi road 9 days ago. These rainy overcast days can be quite good for bird watching, but are typically not the best for non-flash photography. Most of the pics taken failed my keeper tests; below some pictures that did not, even if only just!

An adult and juvenile rufous piculet provided some entertainment in the wet and dark undergrowth alongside the road. Did I already mention that circumstances were not ideal for photography without flash? The below pic is the only one I kept from a series of around 20...

A juvenile Rufous piculet (Sasia abnormis)

A group of distant red-leaf monkeys were noisily making their way through the canopy. This individual stopped briefly to check me out, but very quickly moved on when it realized I was trying to slowly get closer.

Red-leaf monkey (Presbytis rubicunda)

During one of the dry spells I noticed a small flowerpecker flying into a tree nearby and was very pleased to confirm it as another scarlet-breasted flowerpecker. The third one this year and all three birds at different locations.

A bum-view of a scarlet-breasted flowerpecker

I did get some better views this time, but no opportunities for a clean shot. Below is the best picture that I managed. How frustrating is that little branch! It is interesting that this area at the lower end of Labi road appears to still have considerable species influx from the very close by peat swamp forests.

Scarlet-breasted flowerpecker (Prionochilus thoracicus)

Finally my "pishing" had the opposite effect and the bird flew off. This juvenile plain sunbird proved a little more obliging for a few clean shots.

Plain sunbird (Anthreptes simplex)

A pair of distant grey-capped woodpeckers provided some good views. Below is the female.

Grey-capped woodpecker (Dendrocopus canicapillus)

The buff orange wash on the breast and belly, one of the features that distinguishes it clearly from the superficially similar brown-capped woodpecker, shows really well in this picture.

The first migrants are also slowly coming in; a short drive around the Seria area this weekend came up with plenty of sandpipers, 2 different plovers, long-toed stints and a single redshank. Hope to share some more on this later.

Folkert, 20/08/2013.

July 2013

I was just cleaning up some of last month's pictures. And rather than putting them at risk to end up in one of the dusty corners of my computer I might as well share them!

These first pics are from a small recce with Kolbjorn into the more remote parts of the lower Belait peat swamp. After the eye-opening field surveys conducted by Wetlands International I am really keen to get some good pics of both hook-billed bulbul and grey-breasted babbler (please see Dave's excellent blog for a good description of the surveys at http://digdeep1962.wordpress.com). Still plenty of room for improvement, but the pics of the hook-billed bulbul are getting better.

Hook-billed bulbul (Setornis criniger).

Hook-billed bulbul (Setornis criniger).

This grey-chested jungle flycatcher also showed quite nicely, though the lighting conditions were definitely not ideal for handheld shooting.

Grey-chested jungle flycatcher (Rhinomyias umbratilis).

The next pictures are from a small night drive along KB road. As usual a couple of Buffy fish-owls were on show.

Buffy fish-owl (Ketupa ketupa)

This Malay civet, also known as Tangalung, was walking ahead of my car for a while. I failed to persuade the animal to look my way when I took a few snapshots from the vehicle.

Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga). 

Finally some pictures of little terns that I accidentally stumbled upon close to the coast. This colony of around 80 birds had chosen a rather opportunistic cleared area as breeding site, but it seems to work out very well.

Little terns (Sternula albifrons).

I don't normally see many terns around Seria outside the migrating season, so this flock of little terns forms a nice change!

Little terns (Sternula albifrons).

Little terns (Sternula albifrons).

 Folkert, 31/07/2013.

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

Pelong Rocks

A quick summary of a weekend morning spend on the water for a change. I recently got invited to join a little snorkeling trip to Pelong rocks. As most of my forays are into the jungle, this was also a great opportunity to test the waters for some pelagic species. We met up with everyone in Muara and were introduced to our friendly hosts of the day: Nad and Sean, two local divers (and, as someone nicely put it, a real power couple!).

Tug boats in the harbor of Muara.

En route to Pelong rocks we noticed this wreck in the distance and innocently informed with Sean if he ever had dived there. He had not, the main reason being that this was the first time he saw this wreck! And indeed we were soon informed by another boat that the ship had only run to ground during the previous night. Luckily the crew of 11 got of unscathed.

A very recent wreck!

Back to Pelong rocks. Pelong rocks is a small rocky formation roughly 3 miles of the shore from Muara. The main outcrop has some trees on it, some of the other parts are completely bare. According to previous records both bridled and black-naped terns are known to breed on these rocks.
On the way to the rocks we did see terns, mostly bridled with an occasional black-naped tern. In the below picture a bridled tern is coming my way with part of Pelong rocks as the backdrop.

Bridled Tern, with Pelong Rocks in the background.

And a little closer.

Bridled Tern (Sterna anaethetus).

Terns seem to still be breeding on the rocky formations, though in small numbers only. We passed by the outcrops too fast & distant for a proper count, but I would estimate that around 25 birds where hanging about.

Bridled terns (Sterna anaethetus).

In front of the main island we got out to do some snorkeling. The water was clear and the snorkeling was absolutely great! I will definitely have to go here again to show some other Panaga uninitiated this spot.

Pelong rocks; main island.

I was thoroughly enjoying looking at all the fish, still I couldn't help myself to occasionally lift my gaze skyward. These gazes were quickly rewarded with views of about 10 pied imperial pigeons hiding in the foliage of the 4 bigger trees on the island.

Pied imperial pigeon (Ducula bicolor).

When the wind picked up we left Pelong rocks and moved to some of the fish farms and our BBQ destination. Along the way a lone little tern was seen and we also passed this beacon. Judging by the white smudges on the green paint this seems a favorite hangout of the black-naped terns.

Black-naped terns (Sterna sumatrana).

Finally a capture of our reliable transport, a custom build dive boat.

The dive boat

This was a very memorable day. Thanks to Guenter for inviting me along and a very big thanks to Nad and Sean for the perfect organization!

Folkert, 16/07/2013

Wetlands International surveys II

It's been a while since my last update. I have been rather busy with work and also was in Europe for 10 days, part work and part meeting up with friends. It felt good to be back in Europe for a while, it's hard to beat enjoying good food with old friends on a long summer evening.

The second dedicated bird surveys for the Wetlands International project started when I was away last week (for an introduction to the WI project, see a previous post: wetlands international survey). WI is doing an excellent job pulling in the experts: after Dennis Yong, this time Dave Bakewell is leading the bird surveys. Dave is one of the foremost bird experts in the region and hardly needs an introduction. If you have never visited his weblog than please do so at dig deep, a great read and teeming with useful information on bird identification.

Again I have again been lucky to be invited to help out. Last Thursday I joined one of the surveys, which was an excellent way to rid myself quickly of the jet lag. We met up in the early morning to explore the more remote areas of peat swamp and kerangas forests that are typical of the lower Belait district. On the way we saw a lesser adjutant, a good omen! At our first locality we had good, though slightly distant, views of a male scarlet-breasted flowerpecker. This is not an easy bird to find and I am very happy that I got a few shots of this splendid little bird!

Crimson-breasted flowerpecker (Prionochilus thoracicus).

There was plenty of other bird activity, though most was out of reach of my camera. Rare birds elsewhere, cinnamon-headed green pigeons are a relatively common sight in the open areas and we spotted several smaller flocks. A group of thick-billed green pigeons had joined the cinnamon-headeds in the tree pictured below, before flying of:

Cinnamon-headed green pigeons (Treron fulvicollis) and
 Thick-billed green pigeons (Treron curvirostra).

With Angus, Dave and Kolbjorn.

When we moved to the next locality we soon heard a species that has eluded me for the past 3 years: the hook-billed bulbul! This is a peat swamp specialist, and there is no surprise that it is found here. Pristine peat swamp forest is getting increasingly scarce on Borneo and with the rapid disappearance of suitable habitat this species is listed as threatened (vulnerable) by IUCN.

Hook-billed bulbul (Setornis criniger). 

And so I finally added this long awaited lifer to my Bruneian list. In the below picture the distinctive white tail tips can clearly be seen - most of the head is however well hidden behind a branch and I will definitely need to try for better photographs in the future!

Hook-billed bulbul (Setornis criniger).

We continued again at dusk with the aim to get Dave good pictures of the Bonaparte's nightjar. Around the Badas area literally thousands(!) of flying foxes can be observed as they fly over to their preferred fruiting spots. The flying fox is the largest flying mammal and it is a very surreal sight to see so many big bats flying overhead in an almost continuous stream, it delivers a vague sense of being part of the latest vampire movie.
These mass wanderings seem a recurring phenomenon, as I had witnessed it before in 2010 and I suspect they are related to temporary localized fruiting periods. With the dusk setting in I failed to capture a good impression of the full scale of the bats passing by, but I did get some shots of individuals flying over.

Large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus).

Batman!

We did hear and see the nightjar, but the bird couldn't be tempted to show itself well enough for any pictures. While waiting for the nightjar a colugo soared by overhead, landing not too far away from us. These animals can truly glide, I estimate that this individual covered at least a 100 meters with a single jump/glide/flight.

Sunda flying lemur or Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus).
Note the little peeping Tom.

These trips into the more remote parts of the lower Belait seem to imply that some of the species typically associated with nutrient-deficient soil forests are especially sensitive to disturbance. While I have recorded some great birds in the past 3 years along the Kuala Balai road I have never seen hook-billed bulbul and scarlet-breasted flowerpecker there and only very rarely encounter cinnamon-headed green pigeons: one could hypothesize that the road and related activity has a clear negative effect on the presence of the aforementioned species. With the ever expanding human encroachment on nature the efforts of Wetlands International will be an important step towards building a sustainable future for the lower Belait forests. I am anxiously looking forward to the findings and recommendations of this project.

Folkert, 21/06/2013