Serpent Eagles in the park.

A beautiful Serpent Eagle with features clearly seen in my closest encounter so far.

 Before the end of the year I woud like to put on record that in 2018 I had some quite close encounters with the Serpent Eagle at the Kambatik Park.  On one occasion (23 Oct'18) I was able to take pictures of it taking off from its perch and then in flight.
I am pleased that the Kambatik Park lives to its name as a wildlife sanctuary by attracting birds of prey.  For one it testify to the presence of wildlife that these birds prey on.  It is my hope that these majestic birds will make it a point to frequent the park in future.

Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) "Pekaka-Emas Biasa" - Malay.

Seen on 13 Dec'18 at Kuching waterfront area (Astana-side)

 Malays call the bird 'Pekaka Mas'.  I was lucky on 13 December,2018.  While enjoying the scenery at the Kuching waterfront (on the Astana side) my attention was caught by a Stork-billed Kingfisher that was intent on catching fish in the river below.  It was perching patiently on the branch of the mangrove tree called "Pedada' in Sarawak.  This is the first time that I come very close to a Stork-billed Kingfisher, approximately 20 meters distance away.  So here's some evidences for the file.

View of 'floating ' mosque with partial view of the leaves and branches of the 'Pedada' tree at right
View from the Astana-side of the Kuching waterfront.

The Large-tailed Nightjar in broad daylight

LS of the Large-tailed Nightjar, seen at Cempedak Hill, Zone G,
The Kambatik Park, Bintulu..

Ssssshhhhh…..now you see it, now you don’t.  The Nightjar is still around and what a surprise – it is settling on two eggs!!

The Large-tailed Nightjar has always been a permanent resident of the park.  Here they hunt for insects and  produce a familiar garden call which sounds like ‘tok,tok,tok’.  The sounds can be heard every day here at dusk and dawn and throughout the night.

The Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus ) has a black bill and a body that is very well camouflaged with its preferred environment of open grassland.  It does not build the typical nest and would lay its eggs on bare ground.  The eggs (see inset)  as if by rule are two in numbers and are blotched.

A glimpse of the Pied Triller's eggs.

Pied Triller 

 I am thrilled to see the Pied Triller nesting on the Poui ( Tabebuia rosea) branch at the front garden  I have been on guard to see its behaviour.  It is very protective of its nest and would sit on it for the most part of the day.  The female seemed to be quite confident in the safety of the garden.  Once in a while when I checked the nest from a few meters away on ground,  it will be alerted and would fly to nearby branches within 3 - 5 meters away but would soon be seen hopping back to the nesting branch.  In the morning it would hop to the very end of the branches and leaves to preen and to get more direct rays of the sun.  On a few ocassions  I saw the mate visiting the nest.  Just the other day I decided to discover whether it had eggs in the nest.  To reach to the nest I had the cell phone attached to a long bamboo pole.  With 10 secs timer on, I carefully move the pole through the leaves and let it hoover above the nest.  After editing the video I froze one frame to catch a glimpse of the nest and is shown below.  This is indeed a pleasant surprise and worth sharing.   My hope is that I'll be able to record its chicks soon.

Eggs of the Pied Triller

Sitting pretty on its nest.

Orange-bellied flowerpecker enjoying the Ixora berries

 Yesterday I have been observing the antics of the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonstigma) when it frequented a bunch of ripe fruits of the Yellow Ixora.  The male bird first strike the skin of the fruit, peeling it off before pecking deeper into the flesh.  On another instance, it had the berry caught between it beak before swallowing it.  At the park here this bird is considered a permanent resident.  It is around the place every day, attracted by many kinds of berries and fruits, mainly the Jackfruit. Though tiny it is nevertheless a very attractive bird for its contrasting colours i.e. orange versus blue.

 Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonstigma)

Kuala Baram Wetlands - Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

Black-winged Stilt feeding

Black-winged Kite in flight

On a short trip to Miri (28.2.18) I went to the Kuala Baram wetlands to find out what the place has to offer.  There were ponds and swampy areas just by the roadside where we parked our car.  The wetlands is situated between the coastal road and the continuous shore line. Towards one end of the road were a few kampungs and on the opposite end were seen destructive activities such as clearing and bull-dozing works and prawn farming ponds.

Since time was limited, I just waited by the roadside or a few meters away from the road shoulder.  I was quite disappointed by the facilities there. There’s tons of work to be done to make the place favourable for birders which is for the authorities to think about and do.

Anyway, there were plenty of Blue-throated Bee-eaters coming as low as the road shoulders hunting for prey. Sounds of kingfishers , Brahminy kites and Wood swallows were loud and clear.  Two birds made my day during the very brief visit, which was about two hours.   Firstly, I managed to come quite close to the Black-winged Kite with a wonderful picture of it in flight.  Secondly, I was able to add a new sighting to this blog – Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) which was a lifer for me.

I guess I will come back again to this place in near future not only to see the birds but also to the destruction of the habitat due to man’s greed and inconsideration.

An unidentified 'eagle'.

 Today - 15 January, 2018 I was very lucky to have spotted this 'eagle' at Kuching somewhere near the Astana Gardens and the Orchid Park.  I saw a pair but the other mate was a bit too far to shoot but I guess that doesn't matter.  Most important I have a record of encountering this beautiful bird.  It was repeatedly making calls to its mate and when it flew closer to it, it perched on a nearby branch close enough for a good shot.  On returning home I checked many books on its identity and couldn't get any resemblance. So I guess this 'eagle' remains unidentified.

An unidentified 'eagle' species??