Birding with Peter

 17th - 20th March 2023

As this was Peter's first trip to Sabah, we decided to visit Mt. Alab, Mt. Trusmadi, Tambunan and Mt. Kinabalu, Kundasang for some of the montane endemics such as Penan Bulbul, Whitehead's Trogon and Red-breasted Partridge. Weather was good throughout except on the final morning at Mt. Kinabalu, but we took detour to Kota Belud paddy field for more birds and was rewarded with plenty of flying shots of the migrant Oriental Pratincole.

Some of the bird images taken during the trip. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

At Mt. Alab hide and you can get the Indigo Flycatcher, Little Pied Flycatcher, Mountain Leaf-Warbler and few more common montane species

On the way down to another bird hide

Waiting for the Crimson-headed and Red-breasted Partridge

Access road to Mt. Trusmadi

The best bird hide so far with comfy chairs and workstation with free flow of coffee, tea and mineral water with basic cooking facilities. This is the place for the Bulwer's Pheasant!

Peter from Singapore

Looking through the Swarovski Optik STX95 spotting scope at Mt. Kinabalu

Rainy morning at Kundasang...

Good weather at Tempasuk Plain, Kota Belud

Oriental Pratincole

The endemic Whitehead's Trogon

Mountain Leaf Warbler, another subspecies with yellowish colour

The hardly seen Red-breasted Partridge

Snowy-browed Flycatcher

Crested Partridge

Crocker Jungle Flycatcher aka Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher

Asian Emerald Dove

Unexpected Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler came to the hide while it was raining! My 2nd sighting of this bird in Sabah and considered extremely rare...

Oriental Pratincole 

Happy birding!

mountain barbet at tambunan rafflesia centre

1st june 2008

bad news, did not see any of the besra's chicks at the nest after waited nearly 2 hours this morning with karim, andrew and dennis. found out, chai who had been staying up there for 3 days, he did not see the chicks either except probably the parents not far away from the nest ...

then took breakfast at gunung emas restaurant and drove to tambunan rafflesia centre and birded the whole day around the office, which produced many endemic birds of borneo such at the chestnut-hooded laughingthrush, black-sided flowerpecker and bornean bulbul.

quite cold this morning at besra site


view of crocker range from gunung emas restaurant

mountain barbet of borneo :p


waiting for the black-breasted fruit-hunter to appeared again (which it did not !)

this is the famous jordan at amazingborneo.blogspot.com hehehe

birds recorded today at besra site and the rafflesia centre :

• crimson-headed partridge (heard)
• oriental cuckoo (heard)
• bornean treepie
• bornean bulbul
• black-sided flowerpecker
• chestnut-hooded launghingthrush
• cinereus bulbul (split from ashy bulbul)
• whitehead's trogon
• grey-throated babbler
• verditer flycatcher
• long-tailed broadbill (2nd sighting after 2003 wahaha :p)
• temminck's sunbird
• besra
• ashy drongo
• black-breasted fruithunter (a pair)
• glossy swiftlet
• sunda bush warbler
• little cuckoo-dove
• dusky munia
• chestnut-crested yuhina
• ochraceous bulbul
• black and crimson oriole
• maroon woodpecker (heard)

video of the mountain barbet feeding at one of the red fruit available at my youtube www.youtube.com/user/horukuru

planned another visit with the others this month but probably 1 or 2 weeks before the big day :)

images digiscoped with nikon fieldscope ED82, srb-griturn adapter mark II, fujifilm f31d and sony ericsson k660i

tambunan rafflesia reserve

13th november 2007

after being informed by dennis that he might saw sapphire flycatcher at tambunan rafflesia centre the day before with his wife, decided to investigate with dennis hahaha as the weather has been perfect and drove for an hour from small town of penampang (majority kadazan dusun tribe lives there) and arrived around 0720 hrs in the morning :)

few minutes later saw the sapphire flycatcher ! but then it came out to be 1st winter black and white flycatcher which is a common winter visitor for sabah around the mountains hehehe so hanged around for few hours and managed to see quite exciting number of birds mostly endemics for borneo :p

all time favorite:

bornean bulbul
ashy bulbul
mountain barbet
grey wagtail
asian brown flycatcher
1st winter black and white flycatcher
1st winter mugimaki flycatcher
dark-sided flowerpecker
chestnut-crested yuhina
mountain serpent eagle (flew very low on blue sky !)
whitehead's spiderhunter
temminck's sunbird
mountain imperial pigeon

this is the area where the best of borneo endemics can be seen easily hahaha


winding road from kota kinabalu to the centre

as usuall dennis busy with his office :p

take note that this is the area where birders would come and search for mountain leaf bird yellowish colour, bornean and mountain barbets, whitehead's spiderhunter together with the black-breasted fruit-hunter.

more info send me email :)

recce trip to Crocker Range National Park

date 27-28th august 2007

horukuru
john prudente
cede prudente
john kong
albert and wendy hutton

this time combining with well known photographers, writer and naturalist to the national park for overnight trip mainly birding and photography as well updating info about this newly accessible place.

john posing in front of his house with 2 mountain biking on top of albert's mitsubishi

hehehe myself :p


looking through the binoculars identifying figs and albert's 4x4 was overheat !


other view from opposite road


john kong admiring the view of kota kinabalu city from the top mean while cede was shooting at the mountain imperial-pigeon seen perched on the bare tree below eye level.


preparing equipments for birding


uphill again !


checking for leeches and all was infected hahaha :p

end of the trail while albert looking up at the sky maybe scanning for the mars


cede and alim were looking at the flocks of pygmy white-eye (endemic)


yehaha time to go back to the rest house


sumptuous dinner with alim and wendy and big smile from cede


28th august 2007 morning birding day. the other john and albert gone for downhill biking after the birders left


john kong and albert couldn't resist fighting the mud with their bicycles after the walked yesterday


john passing down his knowledge about camera to wendy who just bought new Nikon D40x for her upcoming trip to peru

which one better Nikon Fieldscope ED82 with 30x eyepiece or Nikon AF-S 600mm with D2Xs ...

the star for this trip; white-fronted falconet spotted by john. the smallest raptor in the world and confined only at north borneo. well it is small right by looking at my picture :p the bird is on the top of left branch


last shot for the falconet before left for late breakfast


smile for the camera hehehe :p

photos taken using john prudente Fujifilm S2PRO with combinations of 600mm, 70-200mm and 18-70mm lenses as well contributions from cede and john kong during the outing