Ducks Of North Borneo

10th December 2010

Sighted by Ck Leong last week, only today I managed to get some pictures of these vagrant after my trip with the gang at Klias Peatswamp Forest Reserve (posting soon). There were 2 males and 1 female of Tufted Duck, 5 Northern Shoveler and only 1 Garganey together with the resident Common Moorhen, White-breasted Waterhen and Wandering Whistling Duck.

Apparently, the number of visiting Ducks from North Asia is smaller in Sabah, Borneo. There were new record of Northern Pintail last year by Ck Leong, and several other old records of Cotton Pygmy Goose, Mallard and Common Teal by Karim Madoya at Penampang paddy field.

With the increasing of birding and bird photography by the locals, it is possible now to get updated records of wintering Ducks, Waders and other species from September until April during the winter migration plus with the opening of abandoned paddy fields on the West Coast of Sabah with the funding by state government, there is a hope to see more wintering birds in the future.

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope EDG85 via Nikon FSA-L2 DSLR Photo Adapter on Nikon D300s

Lagoon where the Ducks is

Northern Shoveler

Garganey

Pretty looking Tufted Duck

Wandering Whistling Duck

Happy birding folks !

Eclipse Male Northern Shoveler - My New Lifer

6th December 2008

Hahaha another lucky day at my favorite patch. Both male and female was enjoying the sun with few Common Moorhen and Wandering Whistling Duck :)

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn Mk II adapter and Fujifilm F31d

Eclipse male Northern Shoveler

Female Northern Shoveler

I will be off tomorrow to Kuching town, hope can get a chance for birding at Bako Buntal village, one of the best place in Borneo for waders hehehe :p

Happy birding !

Northern Shoveler Female - Mistaken for eclipse male Garganey yesterday evening

23rd November 2008

Met with CK, Thomas and Karim at the eclipse Garganey site this morning and spent few hours observing the ducks and other birds, at the some time managed to get few digiscoped pictures of the eclipse Garganey which turn out to be my lifer, Northern Shoveler female !!!

Check my posting yesterday.

The shots below taken this morning for comparison between the eclipse Garganey and Northern Shoveler.

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn Mk II adapter and Fujifilm F31d

Female Northern Shoveler - which mistaken for eclipse male Garganey yesterday

Check this Northern Shoveler at OBI by Niraj Kumar from India click here

Eclipse male Garganey - which mistaken for female yesterday

After checking few guidebooks at home and with the help from CK and Karim, all agreed it is female Northern Shoveler which is much bigger than the eclipse Garganey and it has spatulate bill, totally different from the former.

Reference used:

• Field Guide To The Birds OF Borneo, Java, Sumatera And Bali by Mckinnon
• A Field Guide To The Waterbirds Of Asia by Wild Bird Society Of Japan
• Bird Guide - The Most Complete Field Guide To The Birds OF Britain And Europe
• Birds Of South East Asia by Craig Robson
• Online Oriental Bird Images Database

Other birds seen this morning :

• Oriental Darter
• Purple Heron
• Intermediate Egret
• Juvenile Night-Heron
• Yellow Bittern
• Cinnamon Bittern
• Wandering Whistling Duck
• White-breasted Waterhen
• Common Moorhen
• Common Sandpiper
• Spotted Dove
• Zebra Dove
• Asian Koel
  
• Plaintive Cuckoo
• Stork-billed Kingfisher
• Collared Kingfisher
• Barn Swallow
• Pacific Swallow
• Olive-winged Bulbul
• Yellow-vented Bulbul
• Yellow-bellied Prinia
• Asian Glossy Starling
• Olive-backed sunbird
• Black-headed Munia
• Dusky Munia
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker

Common Kingfisher

Plaintive Cuckoo

Striated Grassbird

Karim

Thomas and Ck

Good birding and new lifer wahahah at my small but beautiful patch :p

Thanks to my birding buddies, Ck, Thomas and Karim hehehe