Sabah, Borneo - January 2016 (Part 1)

Here's the first instalment from a month I spent in Borneo earlier this year...

 

Present: Brandon Hewitt, Julian Teh; photography: Julian Teh

Here we were, two teenage Australian birders, awaiting our flight out of Sydney destined for Singapore, then eventually to the Malaysian state of Borneo, Sabah. Having only known each other from our facebook profiles, and with about 2,000km between us, we had only met for the first time a few months earlier and our lives couldn’t be more different. For Julian, a Canberr-ean, this was his first real taste of tropical birding but nonetheless that wouldn’t stop us from having a ripper of a trip.

After 8 hours in the air and another six hours of trying to sleep in Changi Airport, we were soon headed for Sabah’s capital, Kota Kinabalu. Birding had started before take-off with Common Myna and our first lifer for the trip, and Pacific Swallow being seen around the airfield. Upon touchdown in KK, more plane-birding – Cattle Egrets and Pacific Swallows being the only thing we could identify from the plane window.

Selamat Datang Kota Kinabalu – Welcome to Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu waterfront

 

Once we had got ourselves into the city and settled into our accommodation, we lasted about ten minutes inside doing nothing before we decided we should be out birding. After just stepping out of the backpackers we immediately noticed the Glossy Swiftlets, House Swifts and Asian Palm-Swifts gliding over the city. Walking to the waterfront and back got our lists going with most of the common birds of the city including Zebra Dove, Pacific Reef-Egret and Asian Glossy Starling. Later that afternoon we took a walk up Signal Hill, which provided a few more lifers, such as Pink-necked Green-Pigeon, Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Ashy Tailorbird and Green Imperial Pigeon. The next morning we decided that we’d had enough of KK after a visit to Tajung Aru and KK Wetland Centre. Highlights at Tajung Aru include Oriental Pied Hornbill, Common Iora, Grey Imperial Pigeon, Olive-backed Sunbird, Collared Kingfisher and Pied Triller, and at the wetland centre we picked up Brown-throated Sunbird, Common Kingfisher, Purple Heron and Orange-breasted Flowerpecker. After a day we decided we’d had enough of KK and really just wanted to go to the mountain, mainly so Julian could escape the heat, but also so we could do some real birding! So we got on the bus that afternoon. The white “Bas Mini” buses linger around the main bus terminals and operate between all the main towns in Sabah. They charge about half the price of a larger coach (RM20 each will get you to Kinabalu Park), though they don’t run on any schedule and only leave once they’re full, so you could be waiting a while.

Mt Kinabalu – Black-and-Crimson Oriole, “the commonest bird around KNP HQ” – K Phillipps

Mt Kinabalu with rainbow

The afternoon that we arrived on the mountain and the following morning was spent casually birding the common areas around KNP HQ, which allowed us to pick up a lot of the more common montane endemics, such as, Temminck’s Sunbird, Mountain Tailorbird, Bornean Flowerpecker, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Black-capped White-eye, Chestnut-hooded Laughing-thrush, Mountain Leaf-Warbler and Indigo Flycatcher. It was also good to connect with a few of the target endemics early on, like Bornean Leafbird and Mountain Barbet which we only came across once during our time on the mountain.

Indigo Flycatcher (Eumyias indigo)

 We walked up the road to Timpohon Gate (the starting point of the summit climb) four times, while normal people would just take a car. The first time would be my most memorable. While I took a rest at the lookout about half way up, I thought “if we were to see a serpant-eagle, this is where we’d see it” so I spent at least 20 minutes staring out over the valley hoping for our first raptor of the trip. Eventually Julian got bored of this and wanted to move on. I stayed put for a while longer before too moving on, and by then Julian was some 500m up the road. Just moments after leaving the lookout, I heard something move – the kind of sound that a fairly bulky bird makes taking off from a perch and making the branch shake a little. I was expecting a Mountain Imperial-Pigeon or perhaps a Bornean Treepie, but when I look to where the sound came from I immediately locked onto three Whitehead’s Broadbills; WOW! Poor Julian. When I caught up to him at a verge in the road I told him, and while he raced back down to the lookout I stayed at the verge; “I’ll just have a look around here…” and what did I hear but the unmistakeable call of a Whitehead’s Spiderhunter! Sure enough, I had it sitting atop of a flowering vine. This time I didn’t want to seem like an asshole so, with the limited reception that I had, I messaged him with “GET BACK UP HERE NOW!” And as if that wasn’t enough, a Black Laughing-thrush turned up as well while I was waiting. So with Julian on 1 and me on 2 the mood was dire for the rest of the day, but despite what Julian thought of me at the time he didn’t want to leave my side again. Around Timpohon Gate we picked up Sunda Bush-warbler and Little Cuckoo-Dove. On the way back down, ironically back at the lookout I briefly saw a Mountain Serpent-Eagle glide across the gap of forest on the road, but the midday mist descending from the mountain and the height of the treeline meant it was long gone. That was the only sighting for the trip. After lunch we headed back to the resthouse and worked out some logistics and decided we need to up our game for the coming days. The afternoon included a relaxed walk around the lower tracks around the Liwagu River where we connected with Bornean Whistling-thrush and the local Bornean Forktails, as well as tracking down the drumming of an Orange-backed Woodpecker.

Whitehead's Broadbill (Calyptomena whiteheadi)

Whitehead's Trogon female (Harpactes whiteheadi)

The plan for the next few days went something like this: wake up at 4am, walk to Timpohon Gate in the dark, stake out Everett’s Thrush from pre-dawn, bird around the gate at first light, then return to HQ via a trail which was decided the day before, then go and have breakfast and lunch in one sitting. Every morning we’d come back having seen no thrush, but every day on the way back down we picked up some new birds. The first day we added Crimson-headed Partridge, Sunda Laughing-thrush, Bornean Stubtail (a personal favourite), White-browed Shortwing, Eyebrowed Jungle-Flycatcher and Fruithunter, the latter being completely unexpected. Julian felt a weight off his shoulders when we found a couple more Whitehead’s Broadbills after brunch that day. The next morning we came down the Liwagu trail where we picked up Eye-browed Thrush, Sunda Cuckoo, Dark Hawk-Cuckoo, Mountain Wren-babbler, Checker-throated Woodpecker and, completing the trio, Whitehead’s Trogon on the lower half of the trail. In the afternoons we spent most of the time walking along the roads, where we often encountered mixed flocks which are good to come across birds like Grey-chinned Minivet, White-browed Shrike-babbler, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Warbler, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and sometimes Sunda Cuckoo-shrike. The next morning we decided was a rest day and went back to photograph the trogons, adding Ferruginous Flycatcher on the way back. That afternoon we headed down the Mt Kinabalu Rd and added Long-tailed Shrike, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Dusky Munia and Bornean Spiderhunder. On our last day we returned to Timpohon Gate once more pre-dawn. We’d found out the day before from one of the guides that the Siberian Rubythroat had showed up at the power station, so we stayed at the gate for most of the morning. We were told that we could just walk into the power station as they’re pretty friendly towards birdwatchers and basically let you walk around as if you weren’t even there. Here Ashy Drongos were hawking moths still flying about the lights in the early morning, Mountain Black-eye, Blue-and-White Flycatcher and Flavescent Bulbul were also present, but no sign of the rubythroat.

 

November 2015 in Bundaberg

I saw some very good birds this month, though I haven't got the time to write a lengthy report as I would normally. On a mornings birding at Meadowvale after recent rain, the place was alive compared to when I last visited. As soon as I arrived three cuckoos were heard. Pallid Cuckoo, Brush Cuckoo and Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Cicadabirds were calling regularly, a pair of Brown Cuckoo-doves were hanging out at the creek, and a White-winged Triller was seen also - a bird that we don't often see in Bundaberg. Before it got too hot I went around to Sharon Gorge where I disturbed a Superb Fruit-Dove and allowed out-in-the-open views for a good two minutes.

I also visited the small lagoon adjacent to the boardwalk at Mon Repos where I swear I heard a Pale-vented Bush-hen call. A Noisy Pitta was a surprise in such a small patch of habitat. I returned again next month to have another shot, but no luck except for an Emerald Dove that almost flew straight for my head.

Waders at the port and Burnett Heads have been good, although the dowitcher/s haven't been seen for some time. Broad-billed Sandpipers can be seen at Gorman Park before and after the high tide covers the mudflats; at high tide they retreat to the safety of the port survey site. The Common Sandpiper has been present and is generally easy to find in it's favourite corner of mudflat. Chris Barnes reported Wandering Tattlers on the rocks north of Mon Repos beach and Grey Plovers at Elliott Heads, which are both very nice to see in our region. Other birds seen and reported in the area include Lewin's Rail and Spotless Crakes at Barolin Nature Reserve, Speckled Warblers at Stockyard Creek and Banded Lapwings on Rosedale Rd.

The outing this month was to Wongi waterholes, south of Maryborough. I decided to camp the night before and meet up with the other folk early the next morning. Highlights include Brown Treecreeper, Little and Dusky Woodswallow, Latham's Snipe and Cotton Pygmy-Goose. Anyway, that's all from me and have a good one!

October 2015 in Bundaberg

This month it was exciting to see more of the summer migrants arrive and settle around the place... it was my birthday at the start of the month which is also exciting! I decided to spend my birthday checking out Elliott Heads to look for the Beach Stone-Curlew. I kind of knew they were there as always and as it was rather windy I figured they would be taking shelter in the Dr May's Island dune. Being a fragile and important micro-habitat for the beach birds, I like to keep off the island to minimalise erosion and, in this case, not disturb the birds from their shelter. While walking around the river mouth though I saw a nice variety of waders, such as Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Greater and Lesser Sand-Plovers, Ruddy Turnstone and Grey-tailed Tattler. I also took a walk along the nature trail at Riverview to see what was around; not much as it turned out except for Rufous Whistlers, Mistletoebird, Lewin's and Mangrove Honeyeater.

The following week was bound to be full of good birding and good times. I drove down to Brisbane at 4am in the morning to meet Julian Teh at the airport who was coming to visit us for a couple or days. His plane was due until midday-ish so I took the opportunity to try hopelessly to find me a Pale-vented Bush-hen and Lewin's Rail. Will I ever see one? Once we arrived back in Bundaberg I took Julian straight to Baldwin Swamp where several Cotton Pygmy-Geese awaited him. First thing the next morning we were out at Gengers Rd where some more lifers awaited, such as Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, Fairy Gerygone, Mangrove Honeyeater and Pacific Baza. While the Black-breasted Button-Quail was almost a lifer for Julian, we didn't manage to put eyes on one despite disturbing a couple. Later we drove all the way to Elliott Heads, and the only time I would step foot on the island was to show Julian the Beach Stone-Curlews. All worth it in the end having our legs sandblasted and Julian cutting his foot on a barnacle-covered rock. After this we got home and slept, went out again after dusk and failed on finding a Large-tailed Nightjar before meeting the parents for dinner. The next day we were due to leave for Girraween NP, a little trip for my birthday, however we weren't leaving until 1300. So we had organised to spend the morning at the Port and Burnett Heads, and ironically the Asian Dowitcher that Julian wanted so bad was nowhere to be found (I found it again a few weeks later and he wasn't happy). Before heading home we detoured to Kirby's Wall so Julian could at least get one more lifer, Collared Kingfisher. We dropped Julian off at the airport that afternoon before heading for Girraween. The trip report for Girraween will be here soon.

The outing this month was lead by me to Sharks Nest. It started out as a dismally drizzly morning as we met at 6am but the rain held back while we birded and cleared up around midday. The place was audibly quiet, however the list grew slowly yet steadily with Little Shrike-thrush, Spangled Drongo, Spectacled Monarch and Cicadabird being seen. Adjacent to the track flows the Elliott River where Brahminy Kite and White-bellied Sea-Eagle were seen cruising around. After walking to the end of the track and back it was time for a quick morning tea before moving on. A crossing in the river further upstream offered slightly different habitat as Fairy Gerygone, Silvereye, Olive-backed Oriole, Azure Kingfisher and Purple Swamphen were added to the list. I decided to conclude the outing at Elliott Heads and with some waders (always good to finish with some waders). On the way a flooded paddock from the morning's rain produced Gull-billed and Caspian Terns, White-necked Heron and various egrets. Overall a good morning birding the local area. Until I catch up with last month's blog, happy birding.

Brandon

September 2015 in Bundaberg

A little late, I know but that's OK because it's here now. You could say I've been very lazy for the last couple of months... and I have! I haven't been motivated to really write anything and I haven't been out birding as much as I would normally. Anyway, this month's port survey was relatively quiet since only a few of us turned up on the morning. Bird-wise, also quiet as although the common Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Red-necked Stints had started to return in numbers, there were next to no raptors about apart from the resident Nankeen Kestrel sitting in his favourite tree and the Brahminy Kites which you can see gliding around just about all the time anyway. The Asian Dowitcher that showed up last month was nowhere to be seen, which is odd because it had been seen throughout the month at Burnett Heads. Perhaps it has found another place to roost at high tide, along with the Bar-tailed Godwits which seemed to be absent as well. Let's just say it wasn't as productive as normal in September...

The outing this month was to Barolin Nature Reserve where it was nice to see some new faces. Whilst everyone met on the Bargara Rd entrance we watched a Nankeen Kestrel go about hunting in the early morning, meanwhile a Pacific Baza flew over the treetops in the distance. We then headed around to Davidson St where we commenced the morning. Immediately amongst the blossom of the melaleuca were Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Australian Figbirds, Brown Honeyeaters, Pale-headed Rosellas and a calling male Pheasant Coucal. Further along we were surprised to find a couple of Black-faced Monarchs, as well as Leaden Flycatcher and Lewin's Honeyeater. At some point we deviated from the track to check on the Eastern Ospreys and their nest; no chicks at that point though. The parrots, such as Pale-headed Rosella, Rainbow Lorikeets, Cockatiels and Galahs, were all seen inspecting tree hollows which is nice to see. Some of us ventured along the creek to find Fairy Gerygone, Little Shrike-thrush and Grey-crowned Babblers. An overall great morning was had by everyone...

This month saw (or heard) the arrival of the PNG migrants. Dollarbirds can be seen perched on top of dead or exposed branches of trees, while the Eastern Koels are more suburban and are heard calling all over the place, and Channel-billed Cuckoos usually reside in Barolin Nature Reserve but can often be heard and seen if they are travelling from one place to another. I'm out for now... October coming soon.

Brandon

August 2015 in Bundaberg

The waders have returned!!! Yes, it's that time of year again when Burnett Heads becomes my happy place and where I will be spending most of my spare time. This month, Gengers Rd is still producing the goods, I take a visit down to Elliott Heads, I add a new bird to my Baldwin Swamp list and the port bird survey had some nice... you guessed it, waders!

On another visit to Moore Park, I easily spent half a day in the track on Gengers Rd. It was a marvellous morning with the morning temperatures starting to warm up a bit lately. There was still plenty of fruit available as Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves and the odd Topknot Pigeon fluttered between branches as I walked underneath them. By the causeway I had picked up some nice species of this habitat, such as Fairy Gerygone, Golden Whistler, Little Bronze-cuckoo, Azure Kingfisher, Royal Spoonbill, Branminy Kite and Spectacled Monarch. Further on, fresh-ish platelets at the buttonquails' most popular feeding area, but no birds present. Other good birds which showed well include Rufous Fantail, Mangrove Gerygone, Shining Flycatcher and White-eared Monarch. There were also a number of raptors out this morning; between home and Moore Park I saw Nankeen Kestrel, Black-shouldered Kite, Black Kite, Eastern Osprey, Whistling Kite, Collared Sparrowhawk, White-bellied Sea-Eagle and Little Eagle. What a great day...

Earlier in the month Mum joined me at Elliott Heads, but first we stopped at a small creek that I knew of for some light birding. This neat little place just produced some relatively common species including Little Shrike-thrush, Brown Honeyeater, Scarlet Myzomela, White-throated Honeyeater and Grey Fantail. We then headed to Elliott Heads where I could look for the bird I came to see, and after about 20 minutes walking about the vast sandbars of the Elliott River, a Beach Stone-Curlew just minding it's own business. Other waders that we saw on the sandbars include Grey-tailed Tattler, Red-necked Stint, Lesser Sand-Plover, Double-banded Plover, Bar-tailed Godwits and Eastern Curlew.

Speaking of waders, there was certainly a lot of wader activity at the port survey. There was everything from Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers to Bar-tailed Godwits and even an Asian Dowitcher all feeding like crazy. Before the survey, I spent the first hour of the morning parked beside Hermans Rd, and from the car I had good views of Buff-banded Rail, Latham's Snipe and Spotless Crake.

One afternoon I was riding through Baldwin Swamp when I swear I heard Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos... pretty unusual for this habitat, so I went to the source of the sound and sure enough half a dozen or so were mucking around in the casuarinas. This is a new bird for my Baldwin list so I was very happy and on that note, I'm out.

Brandon

July 2015 Birding

This post is only a short one, though not because nothing happened this month. Oh no. July was not a boring month for birding. However the reason why I'm being very brief has to do with where I've been. I left Bundaberg for most of the month to join in on a trip to Kakadu in search of White-throated Grasswrens with Bill and Jack Moorhead! This was an unforgettable and unbelieveable opportunity to travel across half of the country birding every day for three weeks. I won't be writing all about it in this post otherwise you'd be reading this all day, though I will be uploading a trip report soon which shall go into some detail about the whole experience. Keep posted!

In the few days before we left there was still some local birding opportunities to be had. Jane and I spent a half day down near Coonar, specifically the Wildflower Reserve and Sharks Nest. It was a fairly relaxed morning with no real focus, except that Jane wanted to check out the Sharks Nest area - an area along the Elliott River popular with fishermen but also productive for birds in the remnant coastal vine-scrub. The Wildflower Reserve has suffered a major burn, which is a disappointment. The birdlife has completely diminished from the area apart from the Brown Honeyeaters returning to the new Banksia bloom. Towards the far end of the reserve is less damaged and produced some nice bush birds, such as Red-backed Fairywren, White-browed Scrubwren, Golden Whistler, Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Eastern Whipbird. The rest of the morning was spent at Sharks Nest which was quite productive with honeyeaters and friarbirds and up to five Shining Bronze-Cuckoos. Nothing particularly special but it was a nice morning out.

From one morning in Hervey Bay a Red-capped Robin was reported this month, which is an unusual sighting this close to the coast. Though, such a record of this bird is not a first and can be explained by the drought conditions currently affecting the interior.

This month at the Port survey the morning was lovely and crisp, we had beautiful home-made muffins for smoko and there were birds aplenty. Some of the overwintering waders present were Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Common Greenshank, Eastern Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwit, and among them were the resident waders - Red-capped Plover, Black-fronted Dotterel, Red-kneed Dotterel and Pied Stilt. The most special bird during this time of year is Double-banded Plovers which escapes the New Zealand winter on the south-east coasts of Australia... we saw two this morning. Other recurring birds at the port include Gull-billed and Caspian Terns, Chestnut Teal, Mangrove Gerygone, Nankeen Kestrel, Spotted Harrier and Brahminy Kite. What a month this was...

Happy birding;
Brandon

June 2015 in Bundaberg

I'd hate to sound repetitive, but I'm afraid that this post will probably sound vaguely familiar to last month's... I went for another visit to Gengers Rd one bliss morning to try again for the Black-breasted Button-Quails. Gengers Rd is a reliable site close to Bundaberg were to see rainforest species amongst the other usual birds. Regularly seen here are Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves, Spectacled Monarch and Rufous Fantail, and birds seen by others include Noisy Pitta, Pale-vented Bush-hen, Topknot Pigeons and White-eared Monarch. The most surprising birds of this visit was a pair of Satin Flycatchers and a Little Eagle along Moore Park Rd. Since I first reported the button-quails at Moore Park, most of the locals have been visiting the site quite regularly over the last few months, which has produced some good records during this short period of time. This is, I think, very important data as the area is very close to residential land which is susceptible to development and is probably the last patch of sufficient coastal rainforest scrub in the region. The silver lining of this site is that Black-breasted Button-Quails are in fact endangered species and are very habitat-specific.

There are fewer and fewer waders at the port during our survey this month, however there is still some Red-necked Stints and Curlew Sandpipers flying about erratically, presumably ready to take off on migration. Just as well too because the Peregrine Falcon seems to have claimed the observation platform as its own. Raptors are generally easily come across at this time of year, and some that were about the port were Nankeen Kestrel, Australian Hobby, Brahminy Kite, Black Kite, Swamp Harrier and Spotted Harrier. Also at this time of year we can focus on some of our resident waders and appreciate them more than we do during summer - residents such as Red-capped Plover, Black-fronted Dotterel, Red-kneed Dotterel as well as the Double-banded Plovers which reside away from the NZ winter.

A local birder, John Hall was out and about this month and saw a couple of nice records for the region - Fairy Prions offshore from 1770 and a Red-backed Kingfisher, usually an inland inhabitant, on the way to Elliot Heads. I decided to check out a little conservation park in Bullyard as I'd never been there before, and it was quite interesting. The habitat featured eucalypt and stringybark dominated woodland that followed a rocky ridge which gave way to sclerophyll at the bottom and also had patches of brigalow woodland. Some of the highlights include White-throated Treecreeper, Varied Sittella, Variegated Fairy-wren and a calling Australian Owlet-nightjar.

Jack, Jane and I spent a day at Stockyard Crk and Cordalba SF. It was relatively quiet throughout the morning, particularly around Stockyard Crk where only the usual suspects seemed to be around. At Cordalba, however, we were able to add a few more species to the list, such as Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Little Lorikeet, Dusky Woodswallow, Fuscous Honeyeater, Jacky Winter and Buff-rumped Thornbill. Overall a great day to be out birding, and a great month for birding...

Brandon