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

[Kitsafari]

94. Bornean Whistler, Kinabalu Park

 

A lifer for me. This whistler is often moving through mid-levels of the trees with other species. Its back is dark olive while its belly is yellow. As its name says, this is a Bornean endemic.

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

95. Temminck's Sunbird, Kinabalu Park

 

A medium-sized brilliant scarlet sunbird, the Temminck's sunbird looks similar to Crimson Sunbird except that it has a red tail and a white belly. Found mainly in foothills and montane forests of Southern Thailand down to Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. 

 

[xelas]

Going somewhere, @Kitsafari? Moving to Africa??

 

Very nice kingfishers, and the sunbird is spectacular. The conditions for photographing have been challenging at times?

Edited May 5 by xelas

[Kitsafari]

6 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

...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. 

 

 @xelas   you must be referring to this! Not moving to another country! but i have a packed travel schedule until April next year. 

 

The conditions for photography were not as bad as I had expected, actually. In Sepilok, we were almost eye-level on the skywalk with the mid-levels while in Kinabalu Park some birds were tough, but most were along the road, surprisingly. you could see, for eg, the warblers flitting through the trees, so the issue there was not a question of seeing them but catching those fast buggers.  

of course you have the stubborn ones like this pitta on our second attempt: 

 

 

[Peter Connan]

I always feel that if one sees a lifer it will be a far-away fleeting glimpse, but some of yours really pose beautifully!

Stunning birds and some great photos as always from you and Herman!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks much @Peter Connan we were surprised the birds were quite co-operative!

 

[Kitsafari]

96. Crested Serpent Eagle, Gomantong Caves

 

We saw this smart-looking eagle several times along the Kinabatangan River, but the best sighting was the one that was waiting for the daily flights of the bats in the evening. This one strategically placed itself just outside one of the caves that was more easily accessible to people and the bird nest workers. Millions of bats fly out of the caves that dot the hillsides in the evening and raptors and hornbills often fly above waiting to score. Surprisingly, on the evening we were there, the raptors were not hunting on our side of the limestone hills.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

97. Rufous-bellied Eagle, Gomantong Caves

 

Distributed in the same range as the Crested serpent eagle, the Rufous-bellied Eagle is found from the Indian sub-continent through to Indochina and the rest of Southeast Asia. The population is however declining and the species is on the Near Threatened list. Several individuals, including immature ones, were flying above the caves in the late afternoon. Two clashed in the skies as one flew into another's territory - as seen in the second photo.  

 

adult and an immature (more whitish face)

 

 

Edited May 7 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

98. Oriental Bay Owl, Ulu Malapi Lodge at Kinabatangan River

 

We did a night walk behind the B&B lodge we stayed at along Kinabatangan River. Surprisingly, the thick wooded area behind the lodge is a haven for not only birds but also the Bornean pygmy elephants. the night we were doing the walk, the elephants were on the opposite side of the river, so it was safe to walk.

I dipped on this species when the guide and I chased it in the dark thick forest of Tan Phu in Vietnam in November. But this time, with the help of the lodge owner Zac (great spotter and boat driver too!), our guide managed to lure in this amazing looking owl which was very surprisingly accommodating.  Although ebird describes it as a "small" owl, it looked medium-sized to us. 

A lifer species for both of us. 

 

  

 

 

Edited May 7 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

99. Large Frogmouth, Ulu Malapi B&B

 

The frogmouth lives up to its name - certainly the largest frogmouth we've seen, it's as large as the owlets. Described as cryptic and difficult to find, we were very lucky the bird flew in to respond to the playback calls. It stayed in the area for a fair bit, giving us opportunities to find tight windows in the darkness of the night to shoot/film it. With its black eyes and wispy pale whiskers above its eyes, it looks like a distinguished professor. The lowland rainforest bird is unfortunately on the vulnerable list. 

A Lifer for both of us.

 

 

 

A clip of its calls. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

100. Bornean Bristlehead, Kinabalu Park

 

We lucked out. Considered the "grail bird" in Borneo, the enigmatic Bornean Bristlehead is not regularly seen and had not been seen for a few days before our arrival. One of the local birders noticed birds in a distant tall tree, our guide took a look through the bins and then yelled get to the tower. we all raced up the tower, and spied a flock of bristleheads in the trees about a km away. To our excitement, the birds flew in our direction and landed on a tree next to the tower. My shots were all rubbish. Herman got a great shot of this special and rather odd-looking bird, which is on the Vulnerable list and which has to be on our first century for this year.

Needless to say, it is a lifer species for both of us. It is a Bornean endemic. 

 

Edited May 7 by Kitsafari

[xelas]

5 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

which has to be on our first century for this year.

 

Congratulations on the first of many more centuries; it will be difficult to get a more splendid bird(s) to this one!

[PeterHG]

What a great bird to celebrate your first century with!

[Peter Connan]

I think you could have a Big Year thread with just that one photo in it, and it would still count as a good one! An epic bird to reach any milestone on.

Edited May 7 by Peter Connan

[Tdgraves]

Congratulations on the opening century, although the 100th is a stunner, so are most of the rest of them!

[Zim Girl]

Great bird for your first century!

[TonyQ]

A wonderful bird to reach 100, but so many superb birds and photos!

[pedro maia]

Congrats on the first century with an amazing bird, amongst many others.

[Kitsafari]

Thank you for all the kind comments @xelas @PeterHG @Peter Connan @Tdgraves @Zim Girl @TonyQ @pedro maia

 

 

[Kitsafari]

101 . Mountain Tailorbird, Kinabalu Park

 

A small but pretty warbler found mainly in underlayer of hills and sub-montane forests in eastern Himalayas through Indochina and down to Southeast Asia, including Borneo and the Philippines. There were at least two of them. Like all tailorbirds, the birds moved fast in the bushes. The Mountain tailorbird is even smaller than the common tailorbird.

 

 

[Kitsafari]

102. Storm's Stork, Kinabatangan River

 

Sitting unfortunately in the Endangered List, this beautiful stork was found aplenty along the river and its tributaries, which likely makes this area the stork's last stronghold. There is only an estimated 300-1750 adults in the original regions the stork was found, from southern Thailand to Borneo. This lifer was a top target for us, since I first heard of this stork and its perilous future in a webinar in 2020 during the Covid lockdown. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

103. Charlotte's Bulbul, RDC

 

A Bornean endemic, this bulbul has creamy/white eyes with pale underparts tinged with yellow and a clean white throat. This was a juvenile and I couldn't get other shots to show its eyes. 

 

[Kitsafari]

104. Common Sandpiper, Kinabatangan River

 

[Kitsafari]

what is a BY thread from me without EBCs? here are some...  

 

105. Ashy Tailorbird, RDC

 

[Kitsafari]

106. Fluffy-backed Babbler, RDC