Bornean Endemic Oct 2022 - Mountain Black-eye (Lifer 554/688)

 This was our third visit  to the 2000m asl port in Gunung Alab forest Reserve during our trip. We were glad that we have two session of shooting of this tiny passerine in a bird wave of Mountain Warbler and Bornean Whistler. The condition then was wet and misty against the glaring opaque white sky. You have to  plus +2 exposure compensation. So plenty of post editing. I shoot only in Jpeg so to recover details a bit lacking.

We were fortunate that there were a few trees that were fruiting there that attracted the birds to feed on. This is in mid October as a record. The rainy season came early this year 2022 which bring some good misty condition The local birders says if it is not misty you will encounter less birds. Next time we will hunt for the Bare-headed Laughingthrush  here  as we only heard it call-in KNP Ranau side but did not show. 

The mountain blackeye, sometimes referred to as the olive blackeye or simply black-eye, is a species of passerine bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the highest mountains on the island of Borneo. It is known from both Malaysian states on the island, and four of the five Indonesian provinces, but has never been recorded in Brunei. Typically found at elevations above 1,800 m, the mountain blackeye sometimes moves to lower altitudes during periods of drought. There are four subspecies, which show clinal variations in size and coloring. Birds in the north are largest, darkest, and proportionately longer-tailed, while those further south are smaller, paler, and proportionately shorter-tailed. Adults are dark olive-green with a sharply-pointed, bright yellow-orange bill and a small dark mask connecting black lores with a black eye-ring. The subspecies show varying amounts of yellow in their plumage, particularly on the face and underparts. Young birds resemble their parents, but have less brightly colored bills. It feeds on insects, nectar, pollen, and small fruits, and is a major pollinator of several species of Rhododendron. It is also a minor partner in a symbiotic relationship with the pitcher-plant Nepenthes lowii. Little is known about its breeding ecology. Its nest is a shallow cup made of rootlets and lined with bits of moss. The female lays a single egg, and the nestling takes 14–15 days to fledge after hatching. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as a species of least concern. Although its population has not been quantified, it is very common across much of its range.

Waterbird 61/70 October 2022 Rail - Buff Banded Rail (Lifer 553/688)

We were on a 9 days Ranau bird trip We have planned to try out Penampang Padifield on our last day in Sabah for the "Strawberry Finch".  While we were shooting at Gunung Alab we were fortunate to meet many fellow birders who give many insights and bird sightings. I personally like  to thank CM for his tip off for this rare sighting and photo shot of Buff Banded Rail. This lifer make up for the target bird which they say have to catch them in the early morning session and not at 10 am onwards. 

Penampang Padifield unlike Sg Balang or Batang Tiga  is a chunk of open field without accessibility of grid laterite roads. Birds can stay put 100 metres  away from you with least of concern.  To shoot birds here you need anything shorter than 800mm with TC you will be in big trouble to get your lifer. Fortunately, I brought my Nikon P1000 with a 3000mm telezoom. Though we did not manage a full body open shot we were happy as beggar cannot demand.

 

From my observation its looks like the Water Rail in Craig Robson's. From its scientific name  "Hypotaenidia philippensis" it is likely a visitor  from Filipina 

It is a largely terrestrial bird the size of a small domestic chicken, with mainly brown upperparts, finely banded black and white underparts, a white eyebrow, chestnut band running from the bill round the nape, with a buff band on the breast. It utilises a range of moist or wetland habitats with low, dense vegetation for cover. It is usually quite shy but may become very tame and bold in some circumstances, such as in island resorts within the Great Barrier Reef region.

The buff-banded rail is an omnivorous scavenger which feeds on a range of terrestrial invertebrates and small vertebrates, seeds, fallen fruit and other vegetable matter, as well as carrion and refuse. Its nest is usually situated in dense grassy or reedy vegetation close to water, with a clutch size of 3–4. (Extract from Wiki)

Photo by Subki in Tawau 2022

Parrot (3/3) October 2022 - Blue-naped Parrot (Lifer 552/688)

This parrot is a feral/introduced from Filipina. In Kota Kinabalu. it can only be seen  Tanjung Aru. It is a sure see bird there as a dozen or so parrot reside permanently in the larger (dead now) Ru tree at the far corner of the beach from away from the human activities below. Once it gone I am not sure it will go.

This was my second attempt after the failed sighting with Theresa team sometime back Luckily the keen eyes of AT got them as I was lured by the call of parrots to the opposite side. Do not expect the local traders to tell you. they will says "di sana dan another di situ dengar dia " 

This is a medium size parrot, around 31 cm (12 in) in length, primarily green except for a light blue rear crown and nape, pale blue lower back and rump, scalloped shoulders with orange brown on black coverts, and blackish underwings with green underwing coverts.

The blue-naped parrot feeds on mangoes, berries, seeds, nuts and grains. It nests in tree holes.

It was a good start to our birding excursion ....................

Avian Shooting October 2022 - Banded Kingfisher

 I never shoot kingfisher as close as this. A full framed photo at a close distance of 15ft . This is in Benta. The guy can lure him out by feeding it grasshopper or crickets. It was like its pet. We get to shoot it pretty long time The Banded Kingfisher is  one most vibrant  and striking king. More often you can hear its call but   nowhere to be seen.

guided by Cham

If you are fast you can get a shot with its feed for a quick seconds before it gulped its prey.

You have to compose your shot from a back perspective or side view to get nice features

Frogmouth 4/8 - Blyth's Frogmouth

It was an adventure into the Benta's rubber & durian plantation heartland I managed to join Denise & hubby Loo and Stella for a foursome guided hunt of this rarely seen resident bird. The trip from Kl is about less then 2 hours  to Benta chinese village town.....but for me who drive like the demon maybe 1.5 hours for the 100 odd klicks  journey. Upon arrival it was breakfast before I tapau nasi lemak for lunch for all. We then switch car onto Cham's 4x4 single cabin truck as the trail into the plantation is not  conducive for even my SUV as its hilly,  scarred and muddy. 

I was given the privilege to sit shotgun ....oldest guy ma; while the others sit in the open back They were so nice .....Thanks guys. The slow journey to the port take him about half an hour. Upon arrival we were asked to wait at the trail  as he walk into the pocket jungle growth in the rubber plantation. Within 15 minutes he already spotted the pair at a ravine as I was tagging along as his  "spotter" Amazing right. So I walk out to call the guys to the port.

Shooting frogmouth while they are roosting in the day is very easy as they don't move much from its perch. We were lucky they were together. Unlucky it was not an open perch as the female was partially obscured by foliage. 

The Blyth's Frogmouth is split from its conspecific & identical Javan cousin but it is smaller in size from my observation. The Javan is more stout & broader too.

So anyone interested to see this pair can contact the resident guide Cham He can only accommodate a foursome at a fix guide fee. Hp 012-3161863. Yes he can also  out a friendly male Banded Kingfisher  for you  to shoot till your heart content. Amazing guy. 

Avian sighting July 2022 - Watercock (Male)

In July I was in Port Dickson. I was chaperoning my daughter and friends holidaying  at Tanjung Tuan Regency. I was rather the designated driver for them going here and there.

On the last day I went to Sg Rambai to try to get some better shot of the feral Munia in the morning for a 3 hours birding. Most of the field are now overgrown and so ground bird sighting is difficult Saw the ruddy crake and slaty-backed too but no good photo this time. Later a big black bird was flushed and flew across the laterite road.  It was to my delight my elusive male Watercock. This is my first record shot of the male bird. You can clearly differentiate it from the moorhen in term of size  and protruding red shield and yellow beak, 

The bird was with its mate  but no photo of the latter. The male response to your call as they are rather territorial and fight for  turf and mate.

Female Greater Coucal sunning in the open field

Duck 7/15 - Knob-billed/African Comb Duck Lifer 551/688) June 2022

When TK news of this mega lifer  was sighted in Melaka I did not hesitate to go down south the following day before it go awol. Retired already ma I can go anytime. . The first Knob-billed record sighting was in Pulau Burung, Batu Kawan Penang some years back in 2016. So back to our second record sighting ; Facebook was already a buzzed with posting  and we expected a good crowd there during the weekend. We missed the bird in the morning as the bird was skittish and flew away when a farmer on a bike disturbed its feeding. As the crowd get bigger at the site and the duck was not returning to the open field; some left quietly to hunt for it at the vast padi field enclave. Some stayed and waited for its return. At about  4pm we sighted the duck circling the locale but did not land  as we were too intimidating. Some left again to look for it. Almost coming to dusk we got a call Mark as we drive out to the opposite field  to our relieve the duck was roosting in high grass field. And there we have our lifer shot but no full body photo. The guys 15 of us then decide get closer  to flush it out and get some flight shots. 

Never good in BIF shooting Some times birders have two camera setup for handheld with ready BIF setting. Here I was not ready for that with my Fuji XT2. Just set to high speed on auto .

The nearest breeding colony of Comb is in  Thale Noi Southern Thailand. They say there is a 500 strong colony there. The bird seen here is likely an early arrival in late June and  by the looks of it, the bird is an immature  bird. Who know there will be more frequent sighting in the future.  

  

My pathetic BIF shot 

Comb is one of the largest species of duck. Length can range from 56 to 76 cm in length, wingspan ranges from 116 to 145 cm in and weight from 1.03 to 2.9 kg . Adults have a white head freckled with dark spots, and a pure white neck and underparts. The upperparts are glossy blue-black upperparts, with bluish and greenish iridescence especially prominent on the secondaries (lower arm feathers). The male is much larger than the female, and has a large black knob on the bill. Young birds are dull buff below and on the face and neck, with dull brown upperparts, top of the head and eyestripe. Knob-billed ducks are generally larger in size when compared to comb ducks, and flanks are usually lighter (light grey, in females sometimes whitish).

A Black Kite we capture in the morning  ?

Immature knob-billed ducks look like a large greyish female of the cotton pygmy goose (Nettapus coromandelicus) and may be difficult to tell apart if no other birds are around to compare size and hue. However, knob-billed ducks in immature plumage are rarely seen without adults nearby and thus they are usually easily identified too.

The knob-billed duck is silent except for a low croak when flushed.

Uncertainty surrounds the correct systematic placement of this species. Initially, it was placed in the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae. Later, it was assigned to the "perching ducks", a paraphyletic assemblage of waterfowl most of which are intermediate between dabbling ducks and shelducks. As the "perching ducks" were split up, the knob-billed duck was moved to the Tadorninae or shelduck subfamily.

It breeds in still freshwater swamps and lakes in the tropics. It is largely resident, apart from dispersion in the wet season.

This duck feeds on vegetation by grazing or dabbling and to a lesser extent on small fish, invertebrates, and seeds. It can become a problem to rice farmers. Knob-billed ducks often perch in trees. They are typically seen in flocks, small in the wet season, up to 100 in the dry season. Sometimes they separate according to sex.

African birds breed during and after the rainy season and may not breed if the rain is scanty. Knob-billed ducks nest mainly in tree holes, also in tall grass. Males may have two mates at once or up to five in succession. They defend the females and young but not the nest sites.

Females lay 7 to 15 yellowish-white eggs.