Likas and Kinabalu Park. End of May 2017

30th and 31st May is Harvest Festival in Sabah, we have two days public holidays, this year it falls on Tuesday and Wednesday, by taking Monday off, we have an extra long weekend of bird photography.

We drove from Tawau at 6 am on 27th May (Saturday) to Kota Kinablu in late afternoon to photograph our first lifer, which is non other than a poor stranded Common Coot. We later had an eating and drinking session with our local bird photography sifus before moving on to Kinabalu Park, where we managed to get hold of our room keys at 11.30 pm from the security guard as the reception had closed for the day many hours ago.

These were photographed during the trip.

 Common Coot Fulica atra is a vagarant of North eastern Borneo, so far only recorded from Western Sabah and Brunei. The last record was a lone bird in 1st February 2010 (Here).
Pictured here is a bird which is stranded in Likas, Kota Kinabalu this season. This poor coot has some form of feather disease where the barbs on its primaries and secondaries are mostly rotten, showing almost bare rachis when wings are stretched out. I would expect the poor cooty to be flightless for quite a while. Unlucky for the cooty, lucky for us, this is my #439 Bornean bird.

 Chestnut-hooded Laughing-thrush Rhinocichla treacheri, one of the commonest birds in Kinabalu, making puppy-like sound while foraging for insects in first light.

 Borneo Birdwing Troides andromache - male, a endemic of Bornean mountians, many of them seen foraging around.

 Temminck's Sunbird Aethopyga temminckii-male, foraging amongst blooms with Olive-backed Sunbirds Nectarinia jugularis.
Temminck's Sunbird is essentially a montane species, occasionally it is recorded in lower altitude, Olive-backed Sunbird is essentially a lowland species but occasionally recorded in montane settings.

 Juvenile Little Pied Flycatcher Ficedula westermanni, another approachable flycatcher of Kinabalu Park.

 Bornean Bald Laughing-thrush Melanocichla calva

Bornean Bald Laughing-thrush, the uncommon endemic laughing-thrush and one of the most sought after bird of montane forests in Borneo, lucky to meet this foraging party, this is my  #440 Bornean birds.

 Ashy Drongo Dicurus leucophaeus, a common roadside bird, often seen foraging from perches on high wires and tip of branch.

Mountain Treeshrew Tupaia montana

 White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis another friendly bird of montane forests.

 Plantain Squirrel Callosciurus notatus, commonest squirrel in lowland also occur in montane forests.

 Jentink's Squirrel Sundasciurus jentinki is a montane species.

 Grey-throated Babbler Stachyris nigriceps, is a difficult bird to get a clear shot when it decides to keep foraging in thick bushes.

 Pale-faced Bulbul Pycnonotus leucops, a quite approachable bird with some resemblance to the common lowland Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier as both have yellow vent.

 Bornean Flowerpecker Dicaeum monticolum often foraging in low growing Pink Maisen Medinilla Speciosa bushes.

 Blyth's Shrike-babbler Pteruthius aeralatus female, quite abundant in montane forest.

 Little Pied Flycatcher Ficedula westermanni -male a striking cute white and black Flycatcher.

 Bornean Birdwing Troides andromache- female

 Sunda Bush Warbler Cettia vulcania, firendliest bird I have seen in montane forests.

 Bornean Green Magpie Cissa jefferyi, often seen in small party and making a lot of noise.

 Hair-crested Drongo Dicrurus hottentottus, I am still trying to get a shot of a bird with standing  hair crest.

 Sunda Cuckoo Shrike Coracina larvata, unmistakable big bird of the montane forests.

 Black and Crimson Oriole Oriolus cruentus, usually seen singly amongst mixed foraging flocks.

 Sunda Laughing-thrush Garrulax palliatus, another laughing-thrush of montane forests, usually in mixed feeding flock in small party.

 Chestnut-crested Yuhina Yuhina everetti commonest birds in Kinabalu Park, often foraging noisily from tree to tree in group.

 Mountain Tailorbird Orthotomus cuculatus common in areas around Kinabalu Park.

 Red Helen Papilio helenus

Bornean Black-banded Squirrel Callosciurus orestes

 Malayan Lacewing Cethosia hypsea

 Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus torquatus, this bird is soaring at altitude well above 1,500 m around the Park area. Managed to see a soaring Mountain Serpent Eagle Spilornis kinabaluensis as well, but unable to take a photogrpah.

 White-browed Shortwing Brachypteryx montana - male

White-browed Shortwing - female.

This pair was seen crossing the trial and I waited for them to cross again with a pre-focused spot, too bad, as they must have noticed my presence and were dashing across at high speed, only managed to get record shots. This is my #441 Borneo birds. 

Checker-throated Woodpecker Picus mentalis, an interesting bird that occurs both in lowland and montane forests.

Whitehead's Broadbill Calyptomena whiteheadi, lucky to encounter two birds perch just next to the trail.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

Standard References for my blog.

Red Giant Flying Squirrel

Red Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista petaurista, a generally nocturnal mammal, becomes active only shortly before dusk. 

There is a small group resident in trees near the canopy walkway at RDC, Sepilok Sandakan. They will emerge from their nest holes shortly after the sun sets each evening and climb to a high branch to make their spectacular glides into the deeper forests. It is a daily event which most of the visitors would happily and patiently wait at the canopy walkway to observe.

The photographing of them is another matter altogether as the fast fading light level makes obtaining a decent photo a real challenge. These were taken there with high ISO with 500mm on a D300.

ISO 2000

ISO 2000

ISO 3200

A photograph of the same taken at night with flash will look like this.



Happy birding.

The other "Whitehead"

While we were at the Nikon Kinabalu Photography Workshop in early May 2010, all of us were trying to locate the endemic and elusive Whitehead's Trogon Harpactes whiteheadi to photograph. It was reportedly seen along Liwagu Trail by another photographer earlier, there was also report of a nesting pair nearby. We did made an effort to trace this bird, but luck was not with us as we tracked the road running along the Liwagu Trial and was not rewarded with any sighting.

On the final day while on the same old beaten path we encountered this small beauty which was foraging on the lower trunk of a medium sized tree, we quickly took photograph of it. It is the other "Whitehead", not one of those well known Whitehead's Trinity birds, but one of the two lesser known "Whiteheads" that dwell in the mossy montane forest of Borneo.

It is the Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel Exilisciurus whiteheadi,  at least a consolation for some of us who missed  the Whitehead's Trogon but got this instead, as it is still a "Whitehead's". Like the other "Whitehead's" this is also endemic to Borneo and known only from its mountains.

Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel

Happy birding.

Reference :
Junaidi Payne and Charles M. Francis (2005),  A Fieldguide to the Mammals of Borneo, Kota Kinabalu : The Sabah Society.