Penampang Paddy Field Part I ~ Black-winged Stilt

21st October 2012

Spent 2 hours watching birds at one of the hot spot for migratory birds in Penampang paddy field yesterday hoping to see Northern Lapwing ! Despite the rain, from my car, birds were seen feeding as usual. Last year in October, there were Oriental Plover, Ruff and Little Curlew plus Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Tufted Duck and Northern Shoveler ...

The list of visitors seen :

1. 2 Grey Heron among the flocks of Egrets
2. Juvenile Rufous Night Heron
3. Striated Heron
4. Great Egret
5. Intermediate Egret
6. Little Egret
7. Cattle Egret
8. Wood Sandpiper
9. Marsh Sandpiper
10. Common Greenshank
11. Long-toed Stint
12. Black-winged Stilt ~ Mostly juvenile
13. Whiskered Tern
14. Common Kestrel ~ It was attacking the flocks of Black-headed Munia few times with Black-shouldered Kite

 Ready for the next planting

Recently harvested 

Good comparison between Marsh Sandpiper (top) and Common Greenshank (above)

Juvenile Black-winged Stilt, used to be rare in North Borneo according to my friend CK. Now you will see them every year from September - April during the migratory season.

As I mentioned on my last posting about the 4th Borneo Bird Festival, check this posting belong to Jessie http://jessie-kan.blogspot.com/2012/10/borneo-bird-festival-2012-kinabalu-park.html. 

Happy birding !

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

30th March 2010

Took this shots at Likas Lagoon the day after it rained heavily within few weeks. It is a uncommon winter visitor for North Borneo and easily distinguished between adult and juvenile based on the marking and colour of plumage.

According to CK Leong, this species used to be rare here but slowly the number that arrived every season is accumulating which is a good sign.

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82 via FSA-L1 adapter and Nikon D300s.

Black-winged Stilt

Other resident at the lagoon, Yellow-bellied Prinia

Happy birding and I will be off for bird survey at Mantanani Island next week :)

penampang paddy field

17th october 2008

my friend Denis informed me this morning the old paddy field at the new penampang road has been ploughed and irrigated for paddy planting and saw he few waders around too.

when i arrived, it was a bit windy but looking through my scope, i could see few birds such as black-winged stilts around 50 over together with wood sandpiper, marsh sandpiper and barn swallow flying around the field.

this is a good sign for waterbirds that arrives during the migration season which started last month until next april for getting enough supply before procedding to their wintering site and back to their origin for breeding.

the distance to the nearest south china sea is only around 10km so hope more will come to this place in the future :)

paddy field next to the busy road

cattle egret following the machine

flocks of cattle and little egret

black-winged stilt are back now to this place now where it used to be more than 100 birds at one time several years ago

other birds seen;

• whiskered tern
• spotted dove
• black-winged kite
• brahminy kite

digiscoped with nikon fieldscope ED82, srb-griturn Mk II adapter and fujifilm f31d

happy birding everyone :o