Birders Of Sabah Borneo Island

Borneo Bird Festival At Sabah, Malaysia

2009-11-11T21:43:00.003+08:00

10th - 15th October 2009

Was a great success with the effort from the state government by Sabah Tourism Board, a well known NGO Malaysia Nature Society, Birdlife International and two local bodies, The Sabah Society and Borneo Bird Club together with the volunteers and visitors who came and enjoyed the talks by experts about birds and the rain forest at Rainforest Discovery Centre during the 5 days events.

Some of the shots taken during the festival with courtesy from Jollence Lee as the official photographer during the event.

Equipments : Nikon cameras and lenses.

Cede Prudente

Setting up the booths.

Arleene (middle) from Sabah Tourism Board and staffs of Sri Pelancongan Sabah.

Official videographer, Raymond recording some of the pictures on displayed at Nikon booth.

Tired birder's function !

Comparing the new bird books by Susan Myers and Quentin Phillipps.

Tee from Nikon Malaysia explaining about the usage of binocular.

Chien looking through his gear for something ?

With the author of Birds Of Borneo, Susan Myers together from left to right, Salam, Cede, Hamit, myself, John B., Alphon and Andy.

Susan, Tee and Cede after testing the new Nikon EDG 85 scope.

Nikon booth displaying latest gears for birding and digiscoping plus small gallery taken from those gears.

Dan Fiel.

The Honourable Datuk Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism at Nikon booth.

Testing the Nikon Fieldscope ED82 with D5000.

Guests of honour from during the Borneo Bird Festival launching.

Sabah Society booth selling caps, key chains, t-shirt and etc.

Books launching at Keruing Cafe.

Susan Myers with Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Press at work.

Lovely staffs from Rainforest Discovery Centre.

Future birders at one of the nature trail.

Colouring contest for kids.

Resting for the next talks.

Quentin Phillipps.

Andrew Siani.

The famous Mr. Durai representing Fraser's Hill Park from West Malaysia.

Cede saw the Bornean Bristlehead !

Dr. Robert Ong presenting bird books to me and Cede after the talk about Birdwatching In Sabah.

Morning walk at Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary.

With Mr. Takajima, general manger for Nikon Japan under Sport Optics during the morning walk.

Yes we found the Raffles Malkoha :)

Tee with his favorite shooting positions hahaha !

Looking at Long-tailed Parakeet.

Time to shoot !

Breakfast time !

Mr. Takajima, Irene from Sandakan Foto and Tee.

Noredah, Halimah and Josephine with one of the staff from Yayasan Pertubuhan Alam.

I could not remembered what was the discussion about with Noredah hehehe.

Geoff Davidson.

Jollence is the man !

Maps, Noredah and Josephine.

Waiting for the Red Giant Flying Squirrel and it came out from its roosting tree hole around 6pm.

Denis checking at his video of the Flying Squirrel.

From left to right, Dan, John B, John Prudente, Kenneth and Thrope.

Borneo Bird Club booth.

With Irene at the lake.

Sketching session.

Prizes giving ceremony for the Bird Photography competition.

Ben Duncan.

Alphonsus aka The Beastmaster.

Last morning walk at Rainforest Discovery Centre.

Staffs from Borneo Nature Tours.

Bird guides.

Dr. Robert Ong for the closing ceremony.

See you on the next Borneo Bird Festival :)

My Lifer, Collared Owlet !

2009-11-09T11:47:00.007+08:00

5th - 8th November 2009

Didn't expect to get a lifer while walking along the nature trails at Kinabalu National Park, this elusive and rare resident at the mountain was seen quite close and within a range for my lens hahaha :)

Collared Owlet (borneense subspecies)

Video taken with Nikon D300s

Spent nearly 30 minutes admiring these beauty, one of the smallest Owl in the world. Other key species seen during the tour with Rex and Anne from England was:

Oriental Honey Buzzard
Peregrine Falcon
Red-legged Crake
Golden-naped barbet
Whitehead's Trogon
Orange-headed Thrush
Mt. Wren-Babbler

Mt. Kinabalu

Trilobite Beetle

Not sure what species of beetle is this ?

Whitehead's Trogon

Bornean Treepie

Pale-faced Bulbul

Anne and Rex

At home now recovering from bad fever while at the mountain. Happy birding everyone :)

Birding Trip With Patrick and Ute Nash

2009-11-02T21:46:00.006+08:00

27th - 31st October 2009

As a pre-birding tour for Pat and Ute Nash in Sabah, took them birding for few days around Kota Kinabalu city and also Kinabalu National Park before joining their group with Birdtour Asia lead by James Eaton on the 1st of November.

The weather has been bad on the 2nd day at the mountain while trekking up to Langanan Waterfall for Banded and Blue-banded Pitta plus the Hose's Broadbill. But it was compensated with an excellent view of female Rufous-collared Kingfisher.

Visit to Kota Belud district and Lok Kawi beach for migratory birds produced a Terek Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler and Long-toed Stint plus the rare Little Egret with black feet E. g. garzetta race.

Other key species seen and photographed :

Tabon Scrubfowl
Chinese Egret
White-fronted Falconet
Common Ringed Plover
Malaysian Sand Plover
Golden-naped Barbet
Mangrove Blue Flycatcher
Mangrove Whistler

Taken with Nikon D300s with 70-200mm 2.8 VR

Pacific Golden Plover

Sulug Island

Rufous Night Heron

Pacific Reef Egret

Blue-naped Parrot at Tanjung Aru Beach

Mt. Kinabalu

Eyebrowed Jungle Flycatcher, endemic to Borneo

Grey-chinned Minivet

Black and Crimson Oriole

Water buffalo

Pat and Ute at Kota Belud

Paddy field

Next birding tour is on Thursday at Kinabalu National Park. Happy birding everyone :)

Birding With Iain Ewing

2009-10-26T06:52:00.006+08:00

17th - 25th October 2009

Spent 9 days birding with Iain who works in Singapore and managed to see some of his target birds such as Storm's Stork and Blue-headed Pitta. My lifers was the Giant Pitta (after many years !), Straw-headed Bulbul and Cinnamon-rumped Trogon hehehe :)

Key species seen :

Storm's Stork
Wallace's Hawk Eagle
Cinnamon-rumped Trogon
Rufous-collared Kingfisher
Giant Pitta
Blue-banded Pitta
Blue-headed Pitta
Bornean Bristlehead
Large-billed Blue Flycatcher

Some of the shots taken during the trip with Nikon D300s and 70-200mm VR 2.8

Record shot of the endemic Blue-banded Pitta

Bornean Crested Fireback

Resident wild boar at Borneo Rainforest Lodge

Cattle Egret

Blue-headed Pitta, another Bornean endemic

Malay Civet found feeding nearby the restaurant at Danum Valley

The famous Wang Kong for his ability to mimics most of the birds that is found in Danum Valley

Bird eye view of the lodge from View Point at Danum Valley

Proboscis Monkey with a baby at Kinabatangan River

Wagler's Pit Viper

The endangered Storm's Stork

Sunset at the river

Buffy Fish Owl

Jerdon's Baza

Brown-throated Sunbird

I will be off again for few nights at the mountain with Pat and Ute Nash this week and happy birding everyone !

On Birding Tour Now

2009-10-24T13:36:00.003+08:00

Hio all,

Been busy after the Borneo Bird Festival recently at Rainforest Discovery Centre from the 8th until the 16th and currently at Sepilok on birding tour. I will be back to Kota Kinabalu tomorrow then continue birding for few nights at Kinabalu National Park.

By the way, this is one of the picture of Blue-banded Pitta taken at Danum Valley few days ago. Not a great picture as I was using fill in flash from my camera and the result was a bit blur :p

Taken with Nikon D300s and 70-200mm 2.8 VR

Elusive endemic Blue-banded Pitta of Borneo.

I would probably update my blog from my recent trips by next month. Have a nice day and happy birding :)

Another Common Ringed Plover

2009-09-28T23:16:00.006+08:00

28th September 2009

After watching this bird for few years at the same spot, only today had a chance to digiscoped this uncommon visitor to Borneo. Other species seen at Lok Kawi Beach:

Little Egret
Eastern Cattle Egret
Pacific Golden Plover
Grey Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Malaysian Plover
Greater Sand Plover
Lesser Sand Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Wood Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper
Rufous-necked Stint
Whiskered Tern - With juvenile
Little Tern - Mixture of non and post breeding birds

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn adapter and Fujifilm F31D

Popular beach among the locals for collecting shells and bivalves.

Lonely Common Ringed Plover

Lesser Sand Plover

Pacific Golden Plover

Ruddy Turnstone

Little Tern

With the recent typhoon from Philippines that brought strong winds to Sabah, I'm hoping for another surprise during this Northern Hemisphere winter migration hehehe :)

This post is dedicated in a loving memory to my uncle, Eric Joe Robles. May his soul RIP. Amin ...

My Lifer Aleutian Tern

2009-09-27T18:33:00.004+08:00

27th September 2009

Thanks again to Chris who found this bird yesterday at the waterfront in front of Hyatt hotel and only managed to drop by for a while this afternoon. After waited for 1 hour, single Aleutian Tern in post breeding came along with Whiskered, Common and Black-winged Tern but in flight shot with my scope was impossible !

There were a few records of this species mentioned in Susan Myer's Birds of Borneo book as it was found in Sarawak last time and this could be the new species for Sabah :)

According from Chris, the name Aleutian came from a stretch of islands on the Alaska where this bird breeds and migrate during the Northern winter yearly to other South East Asia countries.

I didn't get any shot of this Tern but it is available at OBI database here by Michelle and Peter Wong from Hong Kong.

Other birds seen:

Pacific Reef Egret
White-bellied Fish Eagle

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope Ed82, SRB-Griturn adapter and Fujifilm F31D

Sunny day after the storm early this morning

Chris, John, Jean and CK. Saw the bird after I took this picture hahahah :p

Intermediate Egret

Whiskered Tern juvenile

Happy birding !

Sightings Of Buff-banded Rail

2009-09-23T10:56:00.006+08:00

23rd September 2009

Went to paddy field at Penampang bypass with Andrew, Gwenda and Karim on the 9th August 2009 hoping to see the Buff-banded Rail which were sighted by Denis and Ck a week before. Waited until 1740 hrs before it was seen standing on a stubble and took around 10 minutes preening before off for feeding that evening.

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, 27-75 zoom eyepiece and Fujifilm F31D hand held.

Cropped 66% to removed vignetting from the zoom eyepiece with Capture NX2.

Then on the 14th September 2009, with Osman and Chris from Naturetrek, spent one whole day at Tempasuk plain, Kota Belud and saw 5 Buff-banded Rail around 1600hrs in the evening. A pair was seen "kissing" with each other and the other individuals seen on different plots of the paddy field.

This is a subpecies which is found in Philippines, Sulawesi and Sunda Islands, Gallirallus philippensis philippensis and only recently found in Borneo by Karim Madoya in 2008 at Tempasuk.

Good news is, this species now has been included in Susan Myer's new Birds Of Borneo book and Clive Mann's Annotated Checklist of Birds Of Borneo.

Happy birding !

Birding With Chris And Osman

2009-09-15T14:16:00.006+08:00

14th September 2009

Spent the whole day around paddy fields and beaches at Lok Kawi and Tempasuk, Kota Belud with Chris and Osman trying to complete their Bornean species in order to qualify for Borneo 400 Club initiated by Ck Leong hehehe.

Some interesting migratory birds seen yesterday:

Asian Dowitcher - My 2nd sighting of this elusive bird.
Buff-banded Rail - Spotted by Chris after the rain around 1600 hrs. Then saw at least 5 individuals playing hide and seek.
Watercock - Female seen but no male around.
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - My lifer hehehe :p

Other species seen:

Purple Heron
Cattle Egret
Pacific Reef Egret
Great Egret
Little Egret
Javan Pond Heron - Many with post breeding plumage.
Cinnamon Bittern
Wandering Whistling Duck
Black-winged Kite
Brahminy Kite - With few juvenile around.
White-breasted Waterhen
Common Moorhen
Black-backed Swamphen
Grey Plover
Pacific Golden Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Malaysian Plover
Whimbrel
Grey-tailed Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Common Greenshank
Marsh Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper - The commonest species during the winter migration.
Terek Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Snipe sp.
Rufous-necked Stint
Long-toed Stint - Abundant.
Curlew Sandpiper
White-headed Stilt
Black-winged Stilt
Oriental Pranticole
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Little Tern
Pink-necked Green Pigeon
Rock Pigeon
Spotted Dove
Zebra Dove
Plaintive Cuckoo
Lesser Coucal
Common Kingfisher
Collared Kingfisher
Barn Swallow
Pacific Swallow
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Pied Fantail
White-breasted Wood Swallow
Yellow Wagtail -With juvenile around.
Asian Glossy Starling
Brown-throated Sunbird
Olive-backed Sunbird
Black-headed Munia
Scaly-breasted Munia
Dusky Munia
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Before the rain

Buff-banded Rail paradise !

Osman

White-breasted Wood Swallow

Oriental Pranticole

Chris is off to Poring Hot Spring this morning trying his luck for Blue-banded and Bornean Banded Pitta with Hose's Broadbill. He needs 15 more species for the club :)

Happy birding everyone.

Birding With Tee At Lok Kawi

2009-09-07T13:47:00.013+08:00

7th September 2009

After the Nikon workshop on Sunday, a quick visit to Lok Kawi Park this morning with Andrew, John and Tee from Nikon Malaysia produced the same Rufous-collared Kingfisher which was digiscoped few months ago on the same spot hehehe :)

Shot for today :

Rufous-collared Kingfisher

Off the track shooting the Rufous-collared Kingfisher

John, Andrew and Tee. "Yes video and still images, hahaha said Tee !"

Black-headed Munia

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

Juvenile Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker

Tee's favorite shooting position hehehe with Nikon Fieldscope EDG 65 + Coolpix 5100

Happy birding everyone !

Birding With Naturetrek Group

2009-08-30T20:26:00.011+08:00

27th - 30th August 2009

Latest lifer from my recent trip with Naturetrek led by Hamit from Borneo Eco Tours at Tabin Wildlife Reserve was a Malaysian Honeyguide perched on a Menggaris (Koompassia excelsa) tree with full viewed from different scopes hahaha !

At the same time, the group managed to completes 8 species of Hornbills at the reserve with White-crowned and Helmeted Hornbill seen along the Tomanggong Road and Mud Volcano plus Large green and Thick-billed Green Pigeon as a bonus.

Heard Blue-headed and Banded Pitta but only Black and Crimson Pitta willing to showed itself for a while. On the way back from the Mud Volcano, Red-naped Trogon was seen and photographed.

Another star bird seen was a pair of Blue-banded Kingfisher hehehe. It was found hunting for food along the stream behind the river lodge. Last time when I saw it was in 2008 with Ck during my first trip to Tabin. So good to see it again :)

Some of the pictures during the trip;

Mt. Kinabalu from Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

Female Banded Kingfisher.

Enjoying the view a pair of Wreathed Hornbill.

Female Wreathed Hornbill.

Wreathed Hornbill.

A pair of Black Hornbill resting near the restaurant.

At Mud Volcano site.

Orang Utan with few months old baby.

Green Paddy Frog digiscoped from one of the pond.

Monitor Lizard.

White-fronted Falconet waiting for prey.

Old honeycomb.

White-crowned Shama seen daily around the lodge.

White-crowned Hornbill.

Waiting for Banded Pitta along Mud Volcano trail.

My favorite resident Malaysian Blue Flycatcher.

One of the uncommon bird in Borneo, Blue-banded Kingfisher.

Female Blue-banded Kingfisher.

The group continued with Osman at Kinabalu National Park for few nights. Wished them luck with the Whitehead's Trio :)

And Tabin Wildlife Reserve continue to impressed me with variety of birds and mammals seen from this trip. Next target bird for the reserve is Bornean Bristlehead. Is it possible ? Yes !

For more info, please visit Tabin Wildlife Reserve website at www.tabinwildlife.com.my

Happy birding.

Nikon Fieldscope EDG 65 and FSA-L2 adapter with D3

2009-08-26T15:31:00.009+08:00

20th - 21st July 2009

Tested the new Nikon Fieldscope EDG 65 with digital photo adapter FSA-L2 connected on Nikon D3 courtesy from Tee of Nikon Malaysia.

Mounted on Manfrotto 501 video head.

The range of the FSA-L2 starts from 400mm to 1650mm with fixed aperture F13 and manual focus. Shooting with FX body, there is a vignetting at 400mm and disappeared at 750mm.

Some of the sample digiscoped from a recent trip at Kinabatangan River and Rainforest Discovery Centre. Shooting between 1600 to 2500 ISO.

Pied Fantail.

Brown Barbet.

Ruddy Kingfisher - Uncommon species in Borneo.

White-fronted Falconet - Another Bornean endemic.

Blue-eared Barbet nesting.

Monitor Lizard.

Long-tailed Macaque.

Proboscis Monkey - Endemic to Borneo.

Red Giant Flying Squirrel in flight !

Freshwater Crocodile digiscoped from the restaurant.

Cede at the back with Tee, Irene and Kim cruising along Kinabatangan River.

Tee with EDG 85 and Coolpix P5100, and Cede with his Nikon 500mm VR and middle is the EDG 63 and D3.

The new scopes from Nikon is one of the best scopes I have tested against with my current ED82 and ED50.

My only concern with the scope is the weight are over 2kg for the EDG 85. Other than that, I'm impressed with sharpness, colour renditions and brightness of this scopes and the new wide zoom eyepiece.

The game has just begun from Nikon for their competitors !

Tawai Forest Reserve, Telupid

2009-08-09T13:14:00.010+08:00

3rd - 7th August 2009

Team up with Javanus from WWF, John, Denis and Syamsul at Telupid district, about 3 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu for a surveyed of birds and mammals at few forest reserve around Telupid. The project was initiated by the state government under the forestry department and World Wide Fund group as part of Heart Of Borneo (HOB) project and to promote tourism in the district itself.

Sites covered was, Microwave station about 400m asl, forest edge around the base and river next to the pump house belongs to water department. Total species seen was 100 birds and the main productive site is along the access road to Microwave station, managed to see over 50 species in one single morning.

The base on the edge of the forest reserve.

Chief cook, Syam

Workplace for data entry.

Haze season through out the state at this moment.

John observing White-bellied Woodpecker high on a death tree.

Access road to Microwave at the reserve. Entry to this place is restricted.

Denis, John and Javanus.

Looking for White-crowned Forktail on a stream.

Me and John

In between the break from birding, me and John visited my father's village at Langkabong and trekked to one of the unknown waterfall. Saw Oriental Darter, Dollarbird and Gold-whiskered Barbet including the uncommon Red-crowned Barbet calling from the distance.

The waterfall itself has a potential for attracting visitors from outside Telupid and surrounded by forest reserve. Water is cool and very refreshing.

Tuntungan Waterfall.

Crimson Sunbird.

Jerdon's Baza.

Diard's Trogon.

Milipede.

Butterfly.

Images digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn adapter and Fujifilm F31D.

Next trip would be next month on the other forest reserve and I will be driving to Kinabatangan River tomorrow for another birding tour.

Happy birding !

Myne Lodge At Bilit Village

2009-07-30T21:20:00.009+08:00

28th-29th July 2009

Inspection trip with Ck, Andrew and Gwenda at Myne Lodge which is about 6 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu via land or by flight to Sandakan city on the East Coast of Sabah then continue by land for another 2 hours to the lodge.

The resort itself offers visitors spacious rooms equipped with aircondition and hot shower plus balcony for easy birding and sunset watching on each room :) Other than that, birders has options either birding along the access road for Sooty-capped Babbler, Great Argus, Black and Crimson Pitta and many more or explore the nature trail and cruising along the river.

Nice looking room.

Connecting room via balcony.

Chalets built on the hill.

Restaurant is ready with coffee and tea through out the day.

Gwenda and Ck

Andrew

Observation deck overlooking the Kinabatangan River where Storm's Stork and Wreated Hornbill was seen in flight.

Pier where the river cruise starts

Access road to the lodge with walking trails around 2 km

Tenegang River

Some of the birds during the trip:

Yellow-bellied Prinia

Collared Kingfisher

Scarlet-rumped Trogon

Crested Serpent Eagle, the commonest raptor along Kinabatangan River.

Half moon digiscoped from the lodge.

Long-tailed Macaque enjoying the view from the cable across the river.

A pair of Wrinkled Hornbill and female is on top.

The gang hehehe

Images digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn adapter and Fujifilm F31D.

For more info, please visit their website at www.myne.com.my

Thanks to Ck for the trip and happy birding :)

Birding With Eustace Barnes And Charlotte Cook

2009-07-27T22:33:00.008+08:00

10th - 25th July 2009

Had a nice trip with one of the well know bird guide for South America, Eustace Barnes with his client, Charlotte Cook recently and managed to see more than half of the endemic birds of Borneo such as Whitehead's Trogon and Mountain Serpent Eagle with 23 mammal species throughout the trip.

Itinerary for the trip:

Day 1 : Kota Kinabalu.
Day 2 - 7 : Tambunan Rafflesia Centre / Kinabalu National Park.
Day 7 - 11 : Danum Valley Forest Reserve.
Day 11 - 14 : Kinabatangan River
Day 14 : Kinabalu Park
Day 15 : Kota Kinabalu / Airport

Key species seen out of 259 birds recorded during the tour :

Storm's Stork.
Mountain Serpent Eagle - Last day while driving back to Kota Kinabalu from Kinabalu Park. What a luck !
White-fronted Falconet - 1 individual seen perched on a tree en route to Lahad Datu.
Long-toed Stint - Early arrival of this species at Kota Belud paddy field.
Whitehead's Trogon - A pair seen at usual place along Silau-silau Trail a bit off the track.
Rufous-collared Kingfisher - Close up with this species at Poring Hot Spring.
Bornean Barbet
Orange-backed Woodpecker
Whitehead's Broadbill - Shared the same fruiting tree with Mountain Barbet at Tambunan Rafflesia Centre.
Black and Crimson Pitta
Blue-headed Pitta
Fruithunter
Kinabalu Leafbird
Scaly-breasted Bulbul - A bit high on tree but thanks to the spotting scope by Nikon.
Bornean Bristlehead - At Bornean Rainforest Lodge.
Bornean Wren Babbler
Grey-headed Babbler
Everett's Thrush
Kinabalu Friendly Warbler - Only seen brief but twice by Eustace.

Pictures digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82 and ED50, SRB-Griturn adapter and Fujifilm F31D

Good weather at Mt. Kinabalu

Colugo or Flying Lemur

Banded Kingfisher female

Crow-billed Drongo

Red-naped Trogon

Anyone know this ?

Charlotte and Eustace

Formation of clouds surrounding Mt. Kinabalu

At Tambunan

Kota Belud paddy field

Entrance and exit to Gomantong Cave

One of the hole seen from the cave

Morning cruise at Kinabatangan River

Pied Hornbill

Scarlet-rumped Trogon

Eustace and Charlotte currently at West Malaysia for another couple of days at Fraser's Hill and Kuala Selangor Nature Park. Hope they will see their targets there :)

Happy birding !

Bilit Rainforest Lodge At Bilit Village

2009-07-04T11:25:00.012+08:00

1st - 3rd July 2009

Spent few days at this lovely new lodge which begun its operation last year and has been receiving constant visitors to enjoyed the wildlife such as Orang Utan and Proboscis Monkey along the Kinabatangan River and the facilities offered by the lodge itself is superb !

Internet room plus Wifi (Wifi didn't work well unfortunately, hope they will fix it soon).
Optional caterpillar shoes and leech socks for visitor chargeable daily RM 15 per person for trekking at oxbow lake.

Each building that houses 2 rooms is connected by walkway

View of the restaurant from the pier

Pier with boats for cruising along the river

Map of the lodge plus trails to Oxbow lake

View of the forest and good place for birds such as Dusky Munia, Crested Serpent Eagle and Blue-eared Barbet

Spacious room with 2 twins and 1 single bed with air condition and fan

Living room with satellite television

Dining area

The bird life around the lodge and surrounding areas is good and the closest smaller river from the lodge is the Tanegang Besar. Heard Bornean Ground Cuckoo and saw a Hooded Pitta on the 2nd day in the morning but it was only brief.

Aboundant Raptors such as Lesser Fish Eagle, Bat Hawk and Crested Goshawk together with 5 species of Hornbill i.e Rhinoceros and Bushy-crested Hornbill.

JD the boatman, Alven and Chai waiting for the Bornean Ground Cuckoo

Wrinkled Hornbill

Chestnut-breasted Malkoha

Lesser Fish Eagle seen daily

Green Broadbill digiscoped at Oxbow lake

Common resident at the lodge, Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Lesser Adjutant

Blue-eared Kingfisher

Oriental Pied Hornbill

Crested Serpent Eagle caught sleeping

Images digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn Mk II adapter and Fujifilm F31D

The lodge is situated at Bilit village which is around 120 km from Sandakan city on the east coast of Sabah. Daily direct flights from Kota Kinabalu is available and for journey via land, it takes 5 hours drive passing through one of the best landscape scenary in Borneo.

For more info, please visit their website at http://www.tropicalg.com/

Thanks to Chai Cherong Absolute Borneo for the trip and Alven for the laugh hahaha :)

Nikon Photography Workshop And Fieldscope EDG 85

2009-06-26T09:05:00.016+08:00

20th - 21st June 2009

The 1st Nikon Photography Workshop in Sandakan held at Rainforest Discovery Centre was a big success with more than expected last minute participants registered on the first day even though all seats was booked a week before the event.

At the same time, Nikon Malaysia decided to unvield the new Nikon Fieldscope EDG 85 in Malaysia with a selling price around RM 13k for body and the eyepiece. It was officiated by the Honourable Mr. Au Kam Wah, State Assembly for Elopura Parliment during the workshop.

From a quick test done by me and few others friends, it is cleared that the EDG 85 is brighter, sharper and more contrast than the ED82 using the same 38x eyepiece on both scopes. The test lasted until sunset and colour fringing is invisible for the EDG 85 while looking at bird against the grey sky.

Now I need the EDG 85 and compare it with my friends's Kowa 883 and 884 to see who is the king of spotting scopes !

Some of the pictures taken during the workshop and courtesy of my best friend, John Prudente and Tee from Nikon Malaysia.

Registration counter

John Kong with Landscape Photography and Capture Nx2

Participants throughout the state

Kavid Yan from Nikon Malaysia for Nikon Creative Lightning

Jollence Lee in Wedding Photography

Seng, Mark, Me and Syakila

Mr. Sim (middle) Regional Manager for Nikon Malaysia with Kelvin Chan for Portrait Photography

Group Photo

John Kong with his new Mac !

Cede Prudente for Nature Photography

From left to right; Kavid, Irene, John Prudente, Carol Prudente and Mr. Sim

Hahaha future Nikon ads ? :p

Crested Serpent Eagle captured with 18-70mm lens !

John Bakar

Gary Albert

Dan Fiel @ Dulce

Dan and Carol

Birding and Digiscoping in Sabah by me :)

Officiating the new Nikon Fieldscope EDG 85

Enjoying the view from the new scope

The straight EDG 85 construction is similar like Nikon Telephoto Lens and getting on the target if faster than the old ED82

Pied Fantail

Rufous Night Heron

Special thanks for Irene and her staffs from Sandakan Foto for the workshop. See you on the next workshop hehehe :)

My next birding tour is on the 10th until 25th of July and at this moment, attending my brother in law wedding ceremony until this Sunday.

Happy birding !

Rajah Brooke Birdwing Butterfly Vs Plain Pygmy Squirrel

2009-06-17T12:52:00.004+08:00

16th June 2009

As I walked back from the Kingfisher spot yesterday heading to my car, I couldn't believe I saw clean perched and eye level of this biggest butterfly in the world ! Hahaha after many years seeing this beauty in flight resembled like black colour bird, now I got the shot using my scope :p (Almost impossible to digiscoped when it was flying around)

And one of the smallest squirrel in the world is this resident species in Borneo, Plain Pygmy Squirrel measuring from head to taill, 13 inch. Feeds on algae that grow on a tree trunk and one of the fastest squirrel i have seen moved and jumped from tree to tree.

As usual, birding a bit slow nowadays with less activity in the forest. Only 2 species of birds was digiscoped recently.

Large Woodshrike

Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot

I will be off to Sandakan this Friday attending workshop and giving talk about birding and digiscoping in Sabah during the Nikon Workshop at Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok.

Happy birding and hope to see you there :)

Green Broadbill

2009-06-01T09:58:00.003+08:00

31st May 2009

Spent the Harvest Festival with Andrew and Gwenda at Lok Kawi hoping for the Black-backed Kingfisher. Despite arriving in the afternoon, action only begun after 3pm hahaha :p

This is the shots of Green Broadbill and considered as uncommon species in Borneo. The female yesterday was more cooperative than the male and while digiscoping the female, I did not realized the male was only less than a metre below ! So I got the female and Andrew had the male :)

Digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn Mk II adapter and Fujifilm F31D

Metallic green colour of this male

Female

Happy birding everyone.

Rufous-collared Kingfisher

2009-05-26T19:04:00.006+08:00

26th May 2009

Thanks to Chai for the info of the Rufous-collared Kingfisher at Lok Kawi Park. Today I went there with Karim and less than few minutes waiting, suddenly the male flew past us and landed exactly in front of me :p

Enjoy the pictures and digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn Mk II adapter and Fujifilm F31D

This particular male was seen at one time perched only a metre from Karim !

Female was a bit shy for the camera. Hope can get better angle next time hahaha :p

Good birding :)

Nikon Photography Workshop 20th - 21st June 2009

2009-05-24T16:40:00.010+08:00

In conjuction with Sandakan Fest 2009, Sandakan Foto and Nikon Malaysia will be conducting a Nikon Photography Workshop for the public. Talks will be conducted by experts in their respected fields and details of the program as shown below :

Location : Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok, Sandakan

Dateline for sign up : 13th June 2009 (Saturday)

20th June 2009 Workshop A

0830 - 0930 hrs : Registration & Tea Reception (RDC Balcony)
0900 - 1700 hrs : Basic Digital Photography by Kelvin Chan (Kuala Lumpur)
1200 - 1300 hrs : Lunch (Lakeside Pavilion)
1500 - 1530 hrs : Tea Breal (RDC Pavilion)

Registration Fee : RM 25 (With Voucher RM 25 Redeemable at Sandakan Foto)
Limited Participants : 50

20th June 2009 Workshop B

0830 - 0900 hrs : Registration & Tea Reception (RDC Corridor)
0900 - 1200 hrs : Introduction To Landscape Photography by John Kong (Kota Kinabalu)
Nature Photography by Cede Prudente (Sandakan)
1200 - 1300 hrs : Lunch (Lakeside Pavilion)
1300 - 1700 hrs : Post Production With Capture NX2 by John Kong (Kota Kinabalu)
1500 - 1530 hrs : Tea Break (RDC Corridor)

Registration Fee : RM 40 (With Voucher RM 20 Redeemable at Sandakan Foto)
Limited Participant : 30
Prerequisite For Participants : Laptop with Nikon Capture NX2 installed & few own images to work with

21st June 2009 Workshop C

0830 - 1000 hrs : Photography Business by Jollence Lee
1000 - 1030 hrs : Tea Break (RDC Balcony)
1030 - 1200 hrs : Nikon Creative Lighting System by Mr Kavid Yan (Nikon Technical Support)
1200 - 1300 hrs : Lunch (Lakeside Pavilion)
1300 - 1700 hrs : Portrait Photography by Mr Kelvin Chan (Kuala Lumpur)
1500 - 1530 hrs : Tea Break (RDC Balcony)

Registration Fee : RM30.00 (with Voucher RM20 Redeemable at Sandakan Foto)
Limited Participants : 40
Prerequisite : Nikon DSLR with optional speedlight (Hands-on
models shooting at 3-4pm to be held at the RDC Pavilion)

21st June 2009 Presentation And Demonstration

1530 - 1700 hrs : Bird Watching Equipment : Digiscoping & Binoculars by Jason Reyes (Kota Kinabalu)

See you there :)

Blackberry Bold 9000 For Birding

2009-05-22T17:40:00.008+08:00

22nd May 2009

Blackberry Bold 9000 which is good with emails especially for birders on the move and at certain area where I need to access the Internet with only GPRS coverage, the speed is unbelievable hahaha much better than other operators I have used last time.

What I like about this Blackberry is:

Big screen for browsing the Internet and replying emails.
QWERTY keypads which is good for typing hahaha :p
Faster Internet connection especially with GPRS.
Wireless capability. (Twitter and Facebook updated daily while birding at Borneo Rainforest Lodge recently).
Connected for 24 hours with Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, Goggle Talk, Twitter, Facebook and Yahoo ! Go services.
Blackberry Messenger which is free among Blackberry users around the world !

For birding, this device is capable to delivered my need because:

As a backup for my Ipod Video with included 1G memory card (up to 8G). Adding bird songs from my laptop into the memory card is easy with card reader.
2 mega pixels camera and good for landscape shot.
Good quality recording from the Voice Notes recorder for a short distance birds.
Wire free from my Blackberry using bluetooth to my Philip speaker via Bluetooth dongle by I.tech.
Using the built in 3.5mm stereo input for connecting my Philip speaker with Blackberry in case my bluetooth dongle is out of battery while on the field.

Blackberry Bold 9000 connected with my portable Philip Speaker via 3.5mm stereo input

Blackberry Bold 9000 transmitting sounds with bluetooth to my portable Philip Speaker via Bluetooth dongle from I.tech

The results:

Impressive recording from the Voice Note recorder using the built in mic and sound from the speaker.
Much better sound from my Blackberry connected either via bluetooth dongle or with the 3.5mm input to the Philip speaker.

Well done Research In Motion company, you are the best ! Good tool for birders.

More info regarding Blackberry smartphones, check this websites:

www.blackberry.com - Official website for Blackberry.
www.crackberry.com - Forum for Blackberry users.

For those who need my Blackberry PIN for inquiry regarding birding tours and etc in Borneo, kindly email me at horukuru@crackberry.com

Happy birding everyone :)

Digiscoping with Nikon Fieldscope ED50 and FSB-U1

2009-05-13T21:17:00.011+08:00

4rd - 10th May 2009

Irene from Sandakan Photo passed me the ED50 together with a new universal adapter FSB-U1 from Nikon Malaysia when I was in Sandakan last week hehehe as I've been eyeing this scope after trying it last year during the Sandakan Bird Fair and impressed with the sharpness and colour renditions the little scope delivered.

Nikon Fieldscope ED50 with 13-40x MC II zoom eyepiece while cruising along Kinabatangan River

My current digiscoping kit now which is lighter than the big brother, ED82.

After tested it heavily on rain and shine, the Nikon Fieldscope ED50 lived up to its reputation as being the best compact scope at this moment which is waterproof up to a metre when immersed underwater, fogproof and uses ED glass to minimized colour fringing.

Using the 13-40x zoom eyepiece with the ED50 allowed me to get lots of details on 40x max, even though the field of view is a bit narrow, but for IDing birds from the distance, the scope did not disappointed me hehehe :)

Check this website regarding comments and reviews of the ED50 at Bird Forum;

My only concern with this little scope is the tripod mount which looked like a cheap plastic. There are few birders who had a problem with broken tripod mount and discussions regarding this is available here;

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=80876

The scope is selling less than RM 2500 body only and the weight without eyepiece is around 460g and came along with its stay on case. Light carbon fibre tripod is a nice combo with this scope :)

Meanwhile, the new universal adapter FSB-U1 which I tested on the field needs to be improved in order for Nikon to get their share in universal digiscoping adapter market with other brands such as Swarovski, Kowa and SRB-Griturn;

The hinge is a bit loose when I swung out the adapter. Felt a bit unsecured while carrying the scope in case you knock on something i.e tree trunk or branches.
It swings out for 90 degree only to the right which is a bit troublesome for left sighted birders. They won't be able to use the adapter and it would be much better if it swings out to 180 degree like my SRB-Griturn Mk II adapter.
Only usable with Nikon DS eyepiece and the eyepiece sleeve is not changeable. So if you are using your Zoom or MC eyepieces for viewing, you need to purchase the DS eyepiece to start digiscoping.
Pricey for local Malaysian market, selling for more than RM 1000. If the price around RM 500 - RM 600, I will buy it first !

Best things about this adapter is;

Quality materials used for making this adapter.
Feel heavy which is good to minimized vibrations as seen from my digiscoped pictures.
Can used it while raining too without worrying it will get rusty.
I setup my Fujifilm F31D camera on the adapter took me less than a minute hehehe. Adjusting the vertical and horizontal knobs is easy and fast. Once I got the exact centre for my camera lens on the eyepiece, it stay put forever.
No vignetting at all with my Nikon DS16x eyepiece on the ED50 (24x on EDIII and 30x on my ED82 Fieldscope).

Overall I like this universal adapter and useful for birders who preferred to view and shoot at the same time rather than the fixed adapter which required to unscrew the adapter to view through the eyepiece.

Highly recommended !

For those who are interested, this scope and adapter is available at

Sandakan Foto (S) Sdn Bhd
Labuk Road: Ground Floor, L12, Block C,
Bandar Kim Fung, Batu 4,
Sandakan.

Tel : 089-238728
Fax :089-216728
Email :sknfoto@pc.jaring.my

Look for Irene, and you will get discount for the Nikon Fieldscope ED50 if you mentioned my name :)

Price list;

Nikon Fieldscope ED50 = RSP RM 2358
Nikon DS16x eyepiece = RSP RM 1108
Nikon DS27x eyepiece = RSP RM 1258
Nikon MC II Zoom eyepiece = RSP RM 1428
Nikon universal adapter FSB-U1 = RSP RM 1238

90 degree position without the camera

On the Nikon Fieldscope ED82

Few images taken with the ED50 and FSB-U1 :)

Bornean Blue Flycatcher

Hooded Pitta

Red-naped Trogon

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Happy birding folks

Bornean Bristlehead Mission

2009-05-01T21:20:00.008+08:00

28th April - 1st May 2009

Stayed at Sepilok Nature Resort for few days together with John and his wife Carol. John's mission of this trip was for the Bristlehead which proved to be too difficult this time at Sepilok Forest Reserve than usual.

On Tuesday when John arrived, one of the Ranger on duty during the feeding time of the Orang Utan saw 8 Bornean Bristlehead nearby the Platform A in the morning. Earlier before, Gabili saw Giant Pitta trapped among the fallen logs under the walkway !

Spent early morning until evening at Rainforest Discovery Centre and heard it responding to the call once late Wednesday from the Trogon Tower, but could not see the it. Another day passed by without the bird ...

On the very last day this morning, decided to walk along the Bird Trail together with James who accompanied us and luck was on our side when we heard the bird calling from the canopy of Menggaris tree on the way back to the platform.

So we walked as fast as possible to the platform and exactly at 0800 hrs in the morning, saw 3 Bornean Bristlehead with perfect view through my scope after intense search and waiting since last Tuesday. The hard and smart work paid off hahaha :p

It was one of my best trip so far and managed to record new lifer for me, the Rufous-tailed Shama singing nearby the old Bird Tower at Sepilok and total species seen was 99 birds altogether.

John need to complete another 17 families :)

Some of the shot during the trip digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn adapter and Fujifilm F31D from the Bristlehead and Trogon Tower :)

Female Rufous-collared Kingfisher

5 Slender-billed Crow looking after their nest

Oriental Pied Hornbill

Grey-capped Woodpecker

Crested Serpent Eagle with its meal, Bronze-backed Snake

Red-eyed Bulbul seen daily

Purple-throated Sunbird

Black-headed Bulbul

Dusky Broadbill

Violet Cuckoo quite vocal these time

Green Imperial Pigeon at the same perch every morning

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Yellow-eared Spiderhunter

One of the nest of this Black-naped Monarch and has 2 chicks now hehehe and thanks to Alphon

Wild Orang Utan

Rufous-tailed Shama :p

This is John enjoying the view of his dream bird !

I will be off again this Sunday to Kinabatangan River, Tabin Wildlife Reserve and Danum Valley Forest Reserve until the 10th May.

Happy birding folks !

Birding With Colin And Pam

2009-04-25T08:07:00.007+08:00

17th - 23rd April 2009

Had a great time birding with Colin and Pam at Kinabalu Park, Kinabatangan River and Tambunan Rafflesia Centre for a week and during that time, managed to see 182 species with 28 endemics for Borneo.

Key species seen :

Bornean Ground Cuckoo - Twice seen within 2 days in row at the river ! Thanks to Kecil, the boatman who navigated along the river perfectly for this species.
White-fronted Falconet - A pair along the river.
Red-breasted Partridge - Few individuals seen and then crossing the trail.
Whitehead's Trogon - 2 males and 1 female.
Giant Swiftlet - Saw twice in a day at Timpohon Gate flying very low and my lifer too hahaha :p
Bornean Barbet - 1st bird seen at Tambunan.
Whitehead's Broadbill - Nearly gave up on this. Thanks for the help from Andy and Cameron :)
Fruithunter - Saw the nest and while walking on the other trails after breakfast, saw a juvenile being fed by the parents.
Everett's Thrush - No luck at the usual stack out trail, on the way back from Power Station in the evening, saw 1 hopping on the side of the road and Colin managed to get a record shot hahaha :p
Whitehead's Spiderhunter - Seen twice in flight only ...

Some of the shot taken during the trip, digiscoped with Nikon Fieldscope ED82, SRB-Griturn adapter and Fujifilm F31D

View of Crocker Range from the Timpohon Gate

Mt. Kinabalu in the evening from Kundasang Town

Nice hotel with excellent rooms and wireless Internet too :p

Juvenile Fruithunter

Whitehead's Trogon

Whitehead's Broadbill on nest

Kecil, the boatman has an Eagle eye !

Cruising along the longest river in Sabah, Kinabatangan

Scarlet-rumped Trogon digiscoped along the access road to Gomantong Caves

Buffy Fish Owl, the commonest species found on the river

Gunung Alab road

Happy birders, Colin and Pam from England

My next trip would be in Sepilok for the Bornean Bristlehead from the 27th April until the 1st of May.

Happy birding eveyone :)