New Year Birding

 2-4th January 2023

 

Spent a few days with friend from Singapore and Osman at Tambunan and Kota Belud district for the rare Bulwer's Pheasant and Whitehead's Spiderhunter. Sadly, it was really quiet and very few forest birds were heard and seen at both sites. The bird hide at Mt. Trusmadi did entertained the visitors with close up shots of Dayak Blue and Rufous-chested Flycather including the tame Bornean Banded Pitta and Siberian Blue Robin. 

At Tempasuk Plain, we got many of the migrants ducks; Northern Pintail, Eurasian Wigeon etc. It was windy but good for photography with blue skies

Bird list:

• Wandering Whistling-Duck
• Northern Shoveler
• Eurasian Wigeon
• Northern Pintail
• Eurasian Teal
• Tufted Duck
• Red-collared Dove
• Eurasian Coot
  
• Crimson-headed Partridge
• Crested Partridge 
• Rufous-bellied Eagle
• Eastern Marsh Harrier
  
• Eurasian Kestrel
  
• Sunda Scops Owl
• Orange-breasted Trogon
• White-crowned Hornbill
• Brown Barbet
• Bornean Barbet
• Mountain Barbet
• Gold-whiskered Barbet (Gold-faced)
• Bornean Banded Pitta
• Maroon Woodpecker
  
• Black and Crimson Oriole
• Ashy Drongo (Bornean) 
• Hair-crested Drongo (Bornean)
  
• Crested Shrikejay
• Bornean Treepie
• Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher
• Cinereous Bulbul (Green-winged)
  
• Penan Bulbul
• Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler
• Rufous-fronted Babbler
• Sunda Scimitar-Babbler
• Temminck's Babbler
  
• Mountain Leaf Warbler (yellow race)
• Aberrant Bush Warbler
• Chestnut-crested Yuhina
• White-crowned Shama
• Dayak Blue Flycatcher
• Rufous-chested Flycatcher
  
• Mugimaki Flycatcher
• Snowy-browed Flycatcher
• Little Pied Flycatcher
• Temminck's Sunbird 
• Bornean Spiderhunter
• Dusky Munia 
• Grey Wagtail
  

 IMAGES ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Misty morning at Mt. Alab

 Highest point of Mt. Alab on the telecom tower

Hide at the guard house and got the Little Pied Flycatcher here

Bird hide at Mt. Trusmadi

Tempasuk Homestay, Kota Belud for a night

Mt. Kinabalu along the way to Sayap Substation

Osman calling the Whitehead's Spiderhunter

Fallen tree before the gate to the substation. Campers has to walked for 300 metres to the camping site at this moment

Sayap substation, Kinabalu Park

Ducks lakes

Crested Partridge with funky red crest!

Little Pied Flycatcher

Mugimaki Flycatcher female

Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel

Temminck's Babbler

Siberian Blue Robin female

Bornean Banded Pitta female

Jentink's Squirrel

Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush

Grey-throated Babbler

Large Treeshrew

White-crowned Shama, one of the 6 Sabah's endemics

Rufous-chested Flycatcher female

Dayak Blue Flycatcher female

Rufous-chested Flycatcher

Dayak Blue Flycatcher

Eurasian Kestrel

Happy birding and new year 2023 everyone

Mt. Kinabalu at Its Best ...

31st May - 7th June

Spent few nights at the mountain with a good friend of mine, Iain from Singapore and for this trip, Iain managed to get 12 new lifer such as, Bornean Banded Pitta, Everett's Thrush, Mt. Wren Babbler, Bornean Barbet and Pygmy White Eye which he missed last time on his previous visits here.

Pictures taken with Nikon D300s + 80-400mm VR

 Indigo Flycatcher, common resident at the mountains

 Chestnut-crested Yuhina, quite lucky to an eye level shot of this fast moving endemic at Tambunan Rafflesia Centre !

Whitehead's Trogon, Jewel of the rainforest ...

 Bornean Banded Pitta, recent split from Banded Pitta

Mt. Kinabalu view from the hotel at Mt. Kinabalu Heritage & Spa

 Common type of vegetation at Mt. Kinabalu with growing ferns, orchids etc on the tree trunk

Butterfly sp. at Tambunan Rafflesia Centre

Heading back to Kota Kinabalu today and will continue for another trip from the 11th - 23rd June. By the way, testing the new 7.2 Mbps broadband from Maxis and the speed from my hotel room is awesome !

Happy birding !