BY 2024 - Herman and Kit's 7th (!what?!) year

[xelas]

23 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

spending too much money on birding and travelling in the short-term!

Congratulations and welcome to the club! 

[TonyQ]

Excellent additions from you  @Kitsafariand Herman

Where did he go on his short trip to Thailand?

[michael-ibk]

Great batch from Thailand!

[Soukous]

53. Red Knot

 

and what looks like Curlew Sandpipers

 

 

[Kitsafari]

On 4/5/2024 at 8:40 PM, TonyQ said:

Excellent additions from you  @Kitsafariand Herman

Where did he go on his short trip to Thailand?

 

He was at khok kham, Petchaburi, and the Kasetsart university.

[PeterHG]

Beautiful photos by Herman and yourself, @Kitsafari! 

[Kitsafari]

We've been back 3 weeks since from a 10-day birding trip in Sabah, wending our way through Sepilok at the Rainforest Discovery Centre before heading to my favourite location at Kinabatangan River, then popped into Telupid for a one-day hide experience to wait for one of the world's rarest and least known birds. We were supposed to have ended the trip in Tawau to search for the blue banded pitta but sudden park rule changes made it more challenging to find the pitta, so we abandoned Tawau for Kinabalu Park which turned out to be a blessing in disguise in the end.   

Herman is still slowly processing his photos so I'll put up the few he passed to me, and some of mine. As always, he shoots photos and I mainly shoot videos. 

I'll start the Sabah count with a spectacular bird and one of my favourite species. 

 

63.  Black-crowned Pitta, Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok

 

It took four tries before we finally got a proper good look at the pitta. It hid in the bushes on our second attempt, and on our fourth attempt, while we were having an animated and loud discussion about something, we turned and found the pitta standing on a log, wondering what all the fuss and noise was about. 

A Sabah endemic, the pitta is a specialist in the lowland dipterocarp forests, dressed in a brilliant scarlet belly coat topped with midnight blue on its chest. A dark head is splashed with a thin silver line just behind the eye while its wings are in bright blue. 

Although listed as least concern, the rapid deforestation in Borneo may further reduce its habitat. our guide though is emphatic that illegal deforestation has stopped completely in Sabah.

 

 

 

Notice how it puffs up as it makes its call in the video clip, and then it sits and listens carefully for a reply. It's so darn cute!

 

 

Edited April 30 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

64. Black-and-yellow Broadbill, RDC

 

Another favourite bird of mine, the every friendly broadbill species appeared every day we were at the skywalk in the RDC. Its calls would ring through the forest and because it hung around mid-levels, it was almost eye level with the skywalk but the dense forest presented a challenge.

 

 

[Kitsafari]

65. Everett's Thrush, Kinabalu Park 

 

Our first target at Kinabalu Park was the Near Threatened Everett's Thrush, and based on my first photo, we were already there at 5.50am, well before the sun rose. Thank goodness the thrush was out and hopping along the main road. The Bornean endemic is seen only on a few mountains in northern Borneo and is rarely seen, making the species a much sought-after species by birders. 

 

Edited April 30 by Kitsafari
fixed the count number and updated the time of sighting

[Peter Connan]

Wow!

[PeterHG]

Amazing photos of enviable species!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks @Peter Connan @PeterHG - had to break off the count as I forgot we had to leave for a dinner. 

 

66. Ferruginous Babbler, road to Gomantong Caves

 

 

Edited April 30 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

67. Fiery Minivet, RDC

 

a wave of minivets swiftly swarmed through the trees. I gave up chasing the tiny tots. 

 

Male

 

female

 

[Kitsafari]

68. Mountain Wren-Babbler, Kinabalu park

 

A lifer for me, wrangling a usable shot of this tiny and elusive Bornean endemic in the early hours of the morning was a challenge but glad it came out to peek at us. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

69. Rufous Piculet, Gomantong Caves

 

another lifer for me. Found from southern Thailand through Malaysia to Sumatra, western Java and Borneo. 

 

[Kitsafari]

70. Sabah Partridge, RDC

 

A lifer for both of us, this is an endemic to the state of Sabah. The noisy but very accommodating partridge came out to pose for a bit, and even while we were waiting for the pitta along the same route, we could hear the cries of the partridge. The bird has beautiful and intricate markings with a rich chestnut tinge to its chest. 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

71.  Verditer Flycatcher, RDC

 

Herman finally got this lifer (I've seen this a couple of times over the last few years ago( at a fruiting tree at one of the observation towers at the skywalk. Both the female and male came often to pose in the early morning hours. Distributed from Indian sub-continent through China and Southeast Asia, including Borneo, the turquoise flycatcher favours lowland and hill forests as well as forest edges. 

 

female

 

male

 

 

[Kitsafari]

72. Wallace's Hawk-Eagle, RDC

18. Oriental Pied Hornbill, RDC

 

We heard the Wallace's Hawk-Eagle's call at dawn, a screeching call. It was only in the mid-afternoon that we finally saw it. A female Oriental Pied Hornbill was checking out a box nest (the RDC had installed boxed nests for hornbills as there were not enough mature and tall trees to serve as nests for hornbills in the reserve) while the male sat on top, waiting for her approval. 

 

 

Suddenly, the female flew out and the male made a series of loud calls before flushing out a raptor that was checking out the nest box a few trees away. The Wallace's Hawk-Eagle flew out into the open, giving us ample opportunities to take a lot of shots of this iconic, small but pretty bird with a small two-fingered crest on its head. on the IUCN Redlist's Vulnerable status, the raptor is distributed from southern Thailand down to Sumatra and Borneo. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

 

73. Large Woodshrike, RDC

 

[Kitsafari]

74. Rufous Woodpecker, RDC

 

[Kitsafari]

75. Buff-rumped Woodpecker, RDC

 

A lifer for me, the smart-looking woodpecker is distributed from southern Thailand down to Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. 

 

[Kitsafari]

76. Crimson-winged Woodpecker, RDC

 

Lifer for both of us. The brightly coloured woodpecker is also distributed from southern Thailand down to Malaysia and Borneo as well as Sumatra and Java. 

 

 

[TonyQ]

Beautiful additions @Kitsafari- an excellent collection of birds

 

When we went to Sabah we were not birders, so we obviously missed a lot!

Edited April 30 by TonyQ

[xelas]

Fantastic sightings coupled with equally fantastic photography.

 

@TonyQ, when we were in Sabah (24 years ago) we were neither birders nor we have had today’s photographic technology. Time for both to return!

Edited April 30 by xelas

[Kitsafari]

Thank you @TonyQ @xelas

 

Yes time to return to Sabah! we need to return again too. I still need to go back for those missed birds and missed locations.