11th March 2009

A bit busy at home for proper birding until Sunday, on the way from the Airport, stopped for a while at Tanjung Aru before picking up my lovely wife from her office. Dave saw and digiscoped Caspian Tern during their Advanced Waterbird Census Course in Miri, Sarawak recntly, hoping to see who knows it might be flying to Sabah as well hahaha :p

Dark clouds from the distance ...

Usual birds seen and heard, nothing special except this cooperative Collared Kingfisher allowed me to get few frames

Before it flew and perched here ...

Green Imperial Pigeon against the gray sky and can you guess the bird on the background ? Click on the picture for bigger image hehehe

Happy birding everyone :)

20th January 2009

With a help from Eugene who works at Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre (formerly known as Kota Kinabalu Bird Sanctuary), found this single Rufous Night Heron at one of the mangrove tree next to the office hehehe. Dennis found this bird last Sunday around 5 in the evening and managed to get eye level shot !

Rufous Night Heron

2 years ago, i found big colony of this bird together with Black-crowned Night Heron near Queen Elizabeth Hospital at small patch of land. Juvenile was also present that time but unfortunately, few months later, the colony has moved to other unknown place. So finding this bird at Wetland Centre is a relief for me and my 1st decent shot of this uncommon species for Sabah :)

Other birds seen and heard:

• Purple Heron
• Great Egret
• Brahminy Kite
• White-breasted Waterhen
• Common Sandpiper
• Common Greenshank
• Rock Dove
  
• Spotted Dove
• Zebra Dove
• Greater Coucal
• Blue-eared Kingfisher
• Blue-throated Bee-Eater
• Common Iora
  
• Pied Triller
• Yellow-vented Bulbul
• Chestnut-rumped Babbler
• Oriental Magpie Robin
• Ashy Tailorbird
• white-breasted Wood-Swallow
• Asian Glossy Starling
• Olive-backed Sunbird
• Black-headed Munia

Eurasian Tree Sparrow at last !!!

Collared Kingfisher

Little Egret

Crab sp.

Bird Tower good for raptors in flight

Breeding place for Purple Heron

Boardwalk at the centre along the mangrove

The Wetland Centre is opened from Tuesday until Sunday only and closed on Monday. Conservation fee is RM 3 per person and has resource library for visitor too. Please visit their website at http://www.sabah.org.my/kkcbs/

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