Dalit Beach

1st March 2009

Supposed to go and stay overnight at Teluk Usukan Resort with friends for birding, but could not make it last minute. I have to go next time probably next week ?

So i paid a quick visit to Dalit Beach where I used to go picnic with my grandparents, uncles and aunties when I was living with them in primary school. Lots of changes after with the Rasa Ria Resort was built few years ago. But what I like, the beach itself still in pristine condition hehehe no rubbish at all !

Nice weather for swimming

Walked around and saw 2 Lesser Frigatebird circling above the small hill where the resort is running an awareness program with few Orang Utan for their visitors. Other than that, single Yellow Wagtail with lots of Barn Swallow, Spotted and Zebra Dove and Collared Kingfisher calling from the bush.

Along the beach, I saw at least 25 Kentish Plover, 4 Red-necked Stint and 20 over Lesser and Greater Sand Plover. Some of them is in breeding plumage and few juvenile around too.

Pictures not very good due to the shimmer heat from the sand. Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn Mk II adapter and Fujifilm F31D

Greater Sand Plover

Kentish Plover

Happy birding !

Bird Count January 2009

3rd January 2008

A bit busy during New Year's Day with family for bird count, so woke up around 7am this morning and left home at 8.30am for my official bird count this year covering few villages in Tuaran district.

My 1st bird was the commonest Yellow-vented Bulbul followed by Spotted Dove and Rock Pigeon. When i arrived at my favorite patch, saw few Wandering Whistling Duck, Common Moorhen and Zebra Dove. No Northern Pintail and Shoveler ...

Then moved on to Dungang village where some of the paddy field plots have been grown with rice and others just started being ploughed by machine. Great, Intermediate, Little and Cattle Egret feeding around the field and suddenly, Cinnamon Bittern flew past and landed at one of plot nearby.

Paddy fields at Dungang village

Sabandar Beach

My last stop was at Sabandar Beach and few picnickers were having fun and what a nice ending of my count when i saw around 33 Lesser Frigate Bird flying low ! Hahaha :p

Total species seen and heard: 49 birds

• Oriental Darter
• Lesser Frigate Bird
• Grey Heron
• Purple Heron
• Cattle Egret
• Great Egret
• Intermediate Egret
• Little Egret
  
• Cinnamon Bittern
• Wandering Whistling Duck
• Brahminy Kite
  
• Black-winged Kite
• White-breasted Waterhen
• Common Moorhen
• Pacific Golden Plover
• Little Ringed Plover
  
• Kentish Plover
• Marsh Sandpiper
• Wood Sandpiper
• Common Sandpiper
• Long-toed Stint
• Black-winged Stilt
• Whiskered Tern
• Pink-necked Green Pigeon
• Rock Pigeon
• Spotted Dove
• Zebra Dover
• Common Kingfisher
• Stork-billed Kingfisher (heard)
  
• Sunda Woodpeker (heard)
• Barn Swallow
• Pacific Swallow
• Pied Triller
• Common Iora
• Yellow-vented Bulbul
• Magpie Robin
• Striated Grassbird
• Ashy Tailorbird (heard)
• Yellow-bellied Prinia
• Pied Fantail
• White-breasted Wood-Swallow
• Yellow Wagtail
• Asian Glossy Starling
• Crested Myna
• Olive-backed Sunbird
• Dusky Munia
• Scaly-breasted Munia
• Black-headed Munia
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Images was digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn Mk II adapter and Fujifim F31d

Little Egret

Scaly-breasted Munia

Wood Sandpiper


Yellow-vented Bulbul

I will be conducting few bird counts with friends for the West Coast of Sabah and Kota Kinabalu was covered by my friend Ck on the 1st January 2009. Members of Borneo Bird Club @ BoBC at different districts will conduct their bird count soon.

Happy birding folks !