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

[xelas]

@Kitsafari, what is the best month to do birding both in Singapore and in Sabah? The previous two visits to Malaysia were both in August. 

Edited May 1 by xelas

[Kitsafari]

3 hours ago, xelas said:

@Kitsafari, what is the best month to do birding both in Singapore and in Sabah? The previous two visits to Malaysia were both in August. 

 

 

For East Malaysia or Sabah in particular, May to October is viewed as the best time because of fruiting trees which attract waves of birds. June to August is the drier periods but these are rainforests so rain is inevitable but it's not the monsoon periods. We were very lucky as we had mostly good weather with bits of rain in between but we were never caught in the rain. One afternoon in RDC was washed out because of heavy rains but we were blessed with fine weather in Kinabatangan River. 

The thing though is that April to October is a dead period in Singapore. You will get all the resident birds but the exciting arrivals of migrants will only occur from October to March/April. 

 

[Kitsafari]

the next few updates are of more ordinary birds. 

 

77. Brown Barbet, RDC

 

A Borneo endemic, the Bornean Brown Barbet as the locals like to call it was a lifer for me. A real  Brown job, the bird has bright red legs and was busily preening itself with its mate on a fruiting tree on our first morning at the tallest tower on the skywalk.

 

[Kitsafari]

78. Lesser Green Leafbird, RDC

 

One of the birds that swiftly moved through the fruiting trees but the male never came closer for a better shot. This species is on a near threatened status. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

79. Brown Streaked Flycatcher, RDC 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

80. Green Iora, RDC

 

[Kitsafari]

81. Cream-vented Bulbul, RDC

 

The cream-vented bulbul variant in Sabah has red eyes and a pale cream vent, unlike the red-eyed bulbul which has a brownish vent. 

 

[Kitsafari]

82. Streaked Bulbul, RDC

 

A rather attractive olive-brown bulbul that is distinguished by white streaks on its throat and breast. The bulbul, distributed from southern thailand to Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo, is on the Near Threatened status. 

 

[Kitsafari]

83. Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, RDC

 

 

[Kitsafari]

84. Olive-winged Bulbul, RDC

 

Taken in low light at 6.30am in a light drizzle.

 

[Kitsafari]

85. Hairy-backed Bulbul, RDC

 

Another one of the wave but stayed far back in the trees. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

86. Black-eared Barbet, RDC

 

A lifer for me, the tiny barbet flew in a couple of times to feed on the red ripe fruits of the fig tree. Found from Malaysia to Sumatra and Borneo. 

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

Excellent new additions, love the woodpeckers!

[pedro maia]

Lots of cool and colourful species, and a pita, I never saw one and find them amazing.

 

And what a start, with the spoonie!

[marg]

@KitsafariHello Kit!  I just discovered this posting.  Sorry for the delay.  First, I am glad that you have recovered and have been able to return to traveling.  And, WOW!  such sightings.  Both Herman's and your photos are great!  It is amazing how many different birds there are in this world.  We just need to make the effort to find them.  Hello to Herman too.

[PeterHG]

So many lifers for both of you and a lot of them are also beautifully coloured species. And again excellent photography, of course.

[michael-ibk]

So many wonderful birds. Excellent photos under no doubt very tasking conditions. I don't need to return to Sabah, I just have to get there for the first time. And Singapore. Soon I hope!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks so much @Zim Girl @pedro maia @marg @PeterHG @michael-ibk

On 5/2/2024 at 1:46 AM, marg said:

@KitsafariHello Kit!  I just discovered this posting.  Sorry for the delay.  First, I am glad that you have recovered and have been able to return to traveling.  And, WOW!  such sightings.  Both Herman's and your photos are great!  It is amazing how many different birds there are in this world.  We just need to make the effort to find them.  Hello to Herman too.

 

@marg hope you and John are keeping well and enjoying the wildlife in your garden. 

 

On 5/4/2024 at 1:00 AM, michael-ibk said:

So many wonderful birds. Excellent photos under no doubt very tasking conditions. I don't need to return to Sabah, I just have to get there for the first time. And Singapore. Soon I hope!

 

Hope you get here, and hope you get here while I'm in Singapore! our guide was quite good - I can recommend him. But be prepared for the humidity - it's rainforests after all. 

[Kitsafari]

87. Black-crowned Night Heron, Kinabatangan River

 

[Kitsafari]

88. Black-naped Monarch, Road to Gomantong Caves

 

A beautiful, all azure-blue songbird, the male and female were busy building a nest not too far from the road. The male spots a black spot on his nape.  

 

[Kitsafari]

89. Stork-billed Kingfisher, Kinabatangan River

 

Also found in Singapore, we did not stop for good photos of this kingfisher which was a shame because this species in Sabah does not have a very brown head, but has a more greyish head. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

90. Blue-eared Kingfisher, Kinabatangan River

 

Also distributed as an uncommon native species in Singapore, there was always a Blue-eared Kingfisher every 500m along the tributaries of the river. After many shots, we stopped taking photos of it. 

 

 

But a pair in good light provided the best opportunities. Initially, the guide thought it was a courtship but on reaching home and looking at the photos, it was actually a juvenile begging for food from the adult. The juvenile has rufous cheeks and brown ear coverts, almost looking like a common kingfisher, while the tips of its bill were white. It is also smaller than the adult. Pse excuse the series of shots!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

91. Rufous-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, RDC Sepilok

 

a very diminutive and skulky kingfisher distributed from southern Thailand down to Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

We saw 6 species of kingfishers in Sabah, five of them along the Kinabatangan River and its tributaries. But we didn't stop to photograph two of them - white-collared and common since they were fairly common in Singapore. The last kingfisher was the 

 

92. Ruddy Kingfisher, Kinabatangan River

 

A very uncommon visitor to Singapore, this glowing purplish, maroonish-brown kingfisher has a large red bill. We only had one sighting but fortunately the kingfisher stuck around a bit before flying further into the trees. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

93. Lesser Adjutant, Kinabatangan River