Sightings Of Buff-banded Rail

23rd September 2009

Went to paddy field at Penampang bypass with Andrew, Gwenda and Karim on the 9th August 2009 hoping to see the Buff-banded Rail which were sighted by Denis and Ck a week before. Waited until 1740 hrs before it was seen standing on a stubble and took around 10 minutes preening before off for feeding that evening.

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, 27-75 zoom eyepiece and Fujifilm F31D hand held.

Cropped 66% to removed vignetting from the zoom eyepiece with Capture NX2.

Then on the 14th September 2009, with Osman and Chris from Naturetrek, spent one whole day at Tempasuk plain, Kota Belud and saw 5 Buff-banded Rail around 1600hrs in the evening. A pair was seen "kissing" with each other and the other individuals seen on different plots of the paddy field.

This is a subpecies which is found in Philippines, Sulawesi and Sunda Islands, Gallirallus philippensis philippensis and only recently found in Borneo by Karim Madoya in 2008 at Tempasuk.

Good news is, this species now has been included in Susan Myer's new Birds Of Borneo book and Clive Mann's Annotated Checklist of Birds Of Borneo.

Happy birding !