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An abandoned coconut plantation with tall mature trees.
The hornbill is seen at the left of the picture, perching on the coconut frond.
Location : Setipuk, Jepak- Kuala Tatau Road. |
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| A mature Black Hornbill with a white huge bill and typical 'casque' (i.e. horny excrescence at the top of the bill) |
I have found a new birding place at Setipuk near Kpg. Jepak. The Setipuk site is sandwiched to the north by the open South China Sea (which I think by now should be called the Asean sea) and a mixed forested area to the south. On the borders of the site is a road that links Kampung Jepak to Kuala Tatau, the latter being a remote fishing village in Bintulu. On 30th October, while doing some oral history research in the area, I chanced upon a Black Hornbill perching on a coconut frond in an abandoned coconut plantation. It was the brays and brunts of the hornbill that helped focused my attention and then the camera lens of a simple Samsung handphone (Note 2) to the subject. It was a good record to start with. I guess the abandoned coconut plantation could be its nesting ground. I hope to re-visit the area often in future to gather more close up pictures of the bird. It is believed that hornbills naturally build holes in trees and these nest would be used by the breeding pairs for years onwards.
