Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes)

24th April 2010

One of the rarest winter visitor to Sabah and seen only in small number from September to April every year. Best place to check this bird on the West Coast is at Lok Kawi Beach and Likas Bay. For the East Coast, birders should check at Sim-Sim water village and Bambangan Village, Sandakan

According to Birdlife International, estimated around 2600 - 3400 birds that breeds on the small islands of Russia, Korea and mainland China. Main wintering ground for South East Asia is at Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak at Borneo Island with around 50% of the global population that spent their winter here based on the winter counts in 2004/2005.

One bird was seen at Lok Kawi beach mixing with Little and Great Egret. I was looking for the resident Malaysian Plover, but without success.

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope EDG65 via FSA-L2 adapter and Nikon D300s.













Happy birding !

Pictures From The Paddy Field

13th - 22th Feb 2010

Intensive searched for the Grass Owl in Tuaran and Long-billed Plover at Penampang recently did not produced any satisfying results. The Long-billed Plover was found by Denis at Penampang with CK Leong making this area as one of the hot spot for migratory species comparable with Tempasuk Plain that turned up recently such as:

• Great Bittern
• Common Teal
• Common Kestrel
• Peregrine Falcon
• Long-billed Plover
• Dunlin
• Temminck's Stint
• Buff-banded Rail
• Sand Martin
  
• Pied Wagtail
• Black Drongo
• Black-collared Starling

Collection of pictures digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, FSA-L1 adapter and Nikon D300s at both places

Brahminy Kite

Chinese Egret

Little Ringed Plover

Wood Sandpiper

Long-toed Stint

Straited Grassbird

Olive-backed Sunbird

Yellow-vented Bulbul


Yellow-bellied Prinia

I will be off for few nights at the mountain next week. Happy birding :)

waders at likas mudflat

10th october 2008

this area was part of the south china sea before the existing roads was built several years ago and one of the nearest place to see some of the migrant that spends their winter here such as pacific golden plover, whimbrel and whiskered tern.

other species seen this afternoon;

• pacific reef-egret
• little egret
• great egret
• chinese egret - 3 birds !
• common sandpiper
• grey-tailed tattler
• greater sand-plover
• little heron
• purple heron
• collared kingfisher
• rock dove
• spotted dove

great egret

pacific reef-egret


flocks of little with great egret feeding

collared kingfisher

hoping more waders will turn up to this place as the illegal settlement nearby was demolished recently by the government, means less disturbance and rubbish that used to float during high tide would be seen in the future.

who knows new species such as white-faced plover or the rarest spoon-billed sandpiper ?

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

happy birding :o