Of North Borneo Birds and others: Kinabalu Park 28th and 29th August 2009

Edited on 30 March 2018 text with green background.

Left for Kinabalu Park (KP) on early 28th Morning with usual gang, Mr Kong Ket Leong and Mr Liew Lun Fatt. Another member Mr Ku Kok On was already at Kinabalu Park as he made his ascent to the peak a day earlier.

Reach KP early evening, and the falling rain provided no opportunity for any meaningful birding activity. Sat at the Liwagu Restaurant veranda, enjoying the cool breeze and the occassional Mountain Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus trivirgatus (now Seicercus trivirgatus) and Black-capped White-eye Zosterops atricapilla that came to the nearby tree to feed.

We stayed at Zen Garden Resort, being quite out of the highway and so was not fully booked during this busy school holiday.

Early morning (6.00 am) of 29th August was spent walking the Bukit Ular Trail near the Power Station, hoping to have a glimpse of the elusive Everett's Thrush Zoothera everetti. Luck was not with us that morning as the only species we saw along the whole stretch of the trail was a family of Grey-throated Babbler Stachyris nigriceps, most of them having rings on their feet.

Grey-throated Babbler

On our walk back from the other exit of the Bukit Ular Trail to our car, there were plenty of Sunda Bush-Warbler Cettia vulcania (now Sunda Bush Warbler Horonis vulcanius) along the road.

Sunda Bush-Warbler (now Sunda Bush Warbler Horonis vulcanius)

The morning was unproductive and we decided to set for Masilau to try our luck and we were rewarded with a group of Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea foraging along a stream. Grey Wagtail is a winter visitor form northern Asia.

Grey Wagtail

A Bornean Flowerpecker Dicaeum monticolum, a Bornean endemic, near the Information Building,

Bornean Flowerpecker

and a Pale-faced Bulbul Pycnonotus leucops, another Bornean endemic, recent split from Flavescent Bulbul Pycnonotus flavescens.

Pale-faced Bulbul

On our way back to Kinabalu Park for some refreshments at Liwagu Restaurant and managed to capture some Little Cuckoo Dove Macropygia ruficeps feeding along the way.