Migrants in the Seria grasslands, April 2013

The Seria grasslands around Panaga form a good wintering ground for many waders and it pays off to drive around here as something interesting can almost always be seen. Even in April you can still spot a fair number of migrant birds on the fields and in the ditches surrounding these.
Snipe are typically not easily encountered as they are exceptionally well camouflaged. Most views are of birds flying of from a foot in front of you, leaving you wondering how you could have possibly missed it before it took to the sky. And when you then do finally see them getting a positive ID is also not straight forward.
The bird below was providing me with a brief and clear view; a possible Swinhoe's or Pintail snipe.

Snipe species

This grey heron was see sitting on a lamp post next to the main road connecting the cities of Kuala Belait and Seria. The grey heron is an uncommon visitor to Brunei, though every winter a few birds are usually seen. The Tutong sewage works in Brunei especially are a good place to find them. 

Grey heron

Even though it was drizzling and lighting conditions were far from perfect I somehow felt compelled to get this bird on camera - and am still questioning myself why: it seems rather strange to fill your memory card with pictures of a bird that is one of the very common sights back in Holland. 

A little later I found a flock of pacific golden plovers in the grasslands, nicely coming into breeding plumage - perhaps I may still get lucky and find some birds in full breeding plumage before they've all headed up north.

Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva).

Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva).

The pond herons are also still around - I suspect that the below individual is a chinese pond heron; but until the breeding plumage is developed further I can't fully rule out that this bird is a javan pond heron.

Chines pond heron (Ardeola bacchus).

The most familiar migrants to the Seria grasslands are the egrets. Every year between September and May the Sungai Seria estuary and surrounding grasslands are home to a couple of thousand birds. Of the white egrets that winter here, the cattle egret is the most common. Right now the adult birds are also coming into breeding plumage - with the distinctive orange head and plumes on the back.

Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis).

This individual was vigorously defending a little wet patch that was created after extensive morning rains. I noticed some other birds doing the same.

Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis).

The bird would become quite aggressive every time other birds came too close. Others egrets seemed more relaxed and just used the water-logged field to simply lie down in.

Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis).

While driving back home through the grasslands this Sunday, like in October, I saw another small falcon flying fast across the road. Frustratingly I again couldn't get good enough views for a positive ID. As Kolbjorn got the same frustrating glimpse from the passenger seat at least this time the frustration was shared.

Folkert, 22/04/2013

The carpark woodpecker

A very brief post to share 2 recent pictures of a brown-capped woodpecker, also known as the Sunda pygmy woodpecker, Dendrocopus moluccensis.

This is a supposedly common woodpecker in coastal forest and gardens throughout Borneo. I, however, seem to mostly encounter this species in any large car park. In fact, the number of times that I have seen these birds in a different environment can probably be counted on one hand.

Our office car park is home to a couple of these chirpy little woodpeckers also and quite regularly they are seen and heard as they make their daily rounds. In recent years I have been very good at resisting the temptation to bring my camera to work - but when a little family group of 3 were seen up-close on consecutive mornings, I finally gave in. And, during the lunch-break I was rewarded with the following shots of the female.

Sunda pygmy woodpecker (Dendrocopus moluccensis). 

Sunda pygmy woodpecker (Dendrocopus moluccensis). 

Oh, and my stealth must be improving; none of my co-workers seems to have noticed me trodding through the car park, lens in hand...

Folkert, 10/04/2013.

KB road, again

As some of you may have picked up from previous posts, the Kuala Balai road can almost be considered as my local birding patch. A broad variety of birds, and some great mammals and reptiles have been recorded in the past along this road. Unfortunately the local bird catchers realize this too and every weekend a couple of people can be seen pulling up their cages to the treetops.

Still, the birding along this road is usually rewarding. I have lost count of the number of times I visited this road over the past 3 years, but even now I pick up new species.

Last week the weather was not too great and frankly the birding and photography was a little disappointing. Most exciting was to hear a few ruddy kingfishers and I also had brief views of one bird flying past. 

Luckily there are always some yellow-bellied prinias around to keep me entertained.

Yellow-bellied prinia (Prinia flaviventris).

This species was definitely not discovered in Brunei; most birds here only have a very faint yellow wash to the belly that gives them their name. I think the subspecies in Borneo is called p. f. latrunculus.

The male van Hasselt's sunbird can often be seen calling from an exposed branch in the top of the trees. This is a very small sunbird with some stunning colors. It was a little too early and foggy to get a proper picture of the bird below.

Van Hasselt's sunbird (Leptocoma brasiliana)

A little later I again heard the ruddy kingfishers, there were at least 3 birds calling. But again, no views...
The black-and-yellow broadbills, on the contrary, were not very shy today and a female and male were providing good views. My guess is that during the breeding period, or really just before, they seem more oblivious to their surroundings and only have eye for each other. The black breast-band shows that this is the male.

Male black-and-yellow broadbill (Eurylamus ochromalus).

There were a good number of hornbills heard and seen flying across the road. Of the four species seen this morning I only managed a quick snapshot of this female Rhinoceros hornbill.

Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros).

A small family group of rufous woodpeckers was foraging next to the road as well. This is probably my best shot of this species so far and I was quite pleased - but it even got better!

Rufous woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus).

When I was driving further I heard a scarlet-rumped trogon (Harpactes duvaucelii) calling next to the road and soon located this fine specimen.

Male scarlet-rumped trogon (Harpactes duvaucelii).

The scarlet-rumped trogon is one of the more common lowland trogons. I really find this a very pretty species and was very happy with the images I took home today. Even more so as I never had such clear, close and prolonged views along KB road before! And maybe, just maybe, that ruddy kingfisher will show itself like this one day...

Folkert, 03/04/2013.

Jarring in Brunei

I thought it would be good to share some of my recent nightjar pictures. It's not that I am obsessed with these birds, but they do know how to pose for the camera! There is a nightjar in this first one; just follow the shooting direction of the camera's.

Making friends with a large-tailed nightjar.
With Merijn, Ulmar and Kolbjorn.

We came across this large-tailed while looking for snakes and frogs for the Wetland surveys - the 'herping' was not very successful that night, not a single snake. Luckily there was still this bird that kept us entertained for a couple of minutes.

Large-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus)
 trusting it's camouflage.

Here are some more pics, all taken with a 15-85 mm lens! From previous posts you may have gathered that the large-tailed's not only form a good picture subject, but that these birds are also rather common.

Same bird close-up from the side.

And a close-up from the front.

There are another 4 nightjar species in Borneo. From these the Bonaparte's nightjar (Caprimulgus comcretus, also referred to as Sunda nightjar) is the rarest; a thinly scattered species that, due to habitat loss, is listed as threatened (vulnerable) by IUCN. I always had a sneaky suspicion that one of the nightjars I had seen could have been a Bonaparte's nightjar. With a recent evening walk Dennis Yong picked up the call and I did finally confirm this species when it briefly flew overhead.

Now, obviously, I had to go back to the locality to see if I could get some better views! The below picture is the results after 3 stake-out attempts.

Bonaparte's nightjar (Caprimulgus concretus).
The clear white tail-tips suggest that this is a male.

I am very pleased with this shot as there are only few photo's of this small nightjar, though secretly I'm hoping I'll get a closer shot without the fiery eyes one day.

Folkert, 14/03/2013.

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

Back in Brunei

I have been a little quiet the last couple of weeks, primarily because I was on leave. We spend some time in Europe with family and friends, which was very enjoyable. The winter weather was a nice change from the Bornean heat and humidity and even being snowed in for a day in the UK was fun.  Of course it is hard to complain with views like this:

View from our window, Cumbria (UK).

Maybe I ought to bring a proper camera next time: the snowy background could have made some pretty pictures of the local finches and robins!

Yesterday Kolbjorn and I went for some early morning birding in Teraja. Birding wise the morning was a hard going. There was loads of activity, but we only recorded very few species. The dense forest cover makes for difficult bird watching and the only reasonable picture I got is of this cicada.

Cicada sp.

This morning I spend some hours at KB road and around the Seria grasslands. This cinnamon bittern was trying hard not to be noticed!

Cinnamon bittern (Isobrychus cinnamomeus).

Usually there are some little ringed plovers around the ditches of the Seria estuary between September-April. This male is already in nice breeding plumage.

Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius)

Another update is on the Malayan night heron. Since the encounter mentioned in a previous post I have now seen two other individuals around Panaga, all 3 birds within a 15 km. radius. This was the first one:

Juvenile Malaysian night-heron (Gorsachius melanolophus).

A second bird, also a juvenile, I saw a couple of days later roughly a kilometer away from the locality where I saw the first bird. Upon scrutinizing the pictures I am convinced that these are 2 different birds.

Juvenile Malaysian night-heron (Gorsachius melanolophus).

A third bird, an adult this time, was already seen by some friends of ours in their garden. Robert was kind enough to call me when he saw it one late afternoon. As soon as I arrived at his doorstep I noticed the bird running for cover. Despite some later attempts I never got the bird on camera. Luckily Kolbjorn did get a very good picture!

Adult Malaysian night-heron (Gorsachius melanolophus).
Picture by Kolbjorn Schjolberg, published with his permission.

The Malaysian night heron is normally considered a relatively rare migrant, and I had always thought that this species was a real specialty of Panaga. With 3 observations and reasonable certainty that it is still under sampled, this may actually be a fairly common migrant in the coastal areas of Brunei and Sarawak. Due to it's skulking and secretive behavior it is still a very tough bird though!

Coming weeks I'll likely support Wetlands International, see link, a couple of times as field assistant. The biodiversity surveys in support of an overarching wetlands conservation study for the Kuala Belait peatswamp will start this week. Hope that will turn up some good species!

Folkert, 03/03/2013.

Panaga and KB road, 19-01

A quick recap of my weekend's birding and photography attempts. I'll start with this morning when I went for a short trip to KB road. With great weather, the whole morning was a little slow going. There was definitely a lot of activity, most of it was however well outside the reach of my bins and camera. I assumed the loud crashing sounds coming from the ditch were announcing a bearded pig and I cautiously moved back a little. I was quite surprised to see this little fellow pop up from the long grass, as the cause of all the ruckus.

Yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula ssp. saba).

The looks are a little deceiving. While the yellow-throated marten scores high on cuteness, this is a ferocious little carnivore. These animals are widespread in Asia, the martens in Borneo are a separate subspecies: Martes flavigula ssp. saba.

Yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula ssp. saba).

Yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula ssp. saba).

I am very happy with these shots. For a first time encounter you can't ask for any better posing!

The rest of the morning was uneventful. A rufous-bellied hawk eagle was noteworthy, unfortunately it was a little too distant for anything better than some simple record shots.

Rufous-bellied hawk eagle (Lophotriorchis kienerii).

Surprisingly, on my way back I again saw two red-billed malkohas. After not having encountered these birds on the KB road for 2 years, they are now rapidly establishing themselves as one of the regulars!

A second trip with my camera was yesterday evening, when Kolbjorn and I went for a short night drive along the Panaga coastal road "hunting" for owls and nightjars. The grassland just behind the beach is a good spot for nightjars and we saw at least 6 different individuals (the 6th sitting in the middle of the road on our way back). We were secretly hoping for some more exotic species than large-tailed's but not this night. Below 3 different birds:

Large-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus).

Large-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus).

Large-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus).

Not bad at all for a quick drive down the road! Planning for another night drive to KB road this week.    More on that later.

Folkert, 20/01/2013