17th October 2010:Borneo Bird Festival, Sepilok, Sabah

I opened my door at sunrise to this sight! Apparently there was a new 'happening' fig restaurant in town and it was just outside my chalet! This was one of a group of four orang utans who had dropped in for breakfast.

All the regular customers were there...









































Some male Black Hornbills.



Mrs Rhino spent a long time in an adjacent tree having a post-breakfast sunbathe.



Front and back!



A sudden look of annoyance...



A Black Hornbill gets a glare!



A bit of privacy please, while I pick my teeth! The right foot might have been an easier option though.



Not only mammals and birds were attracted to the fruiting fig.






















This is Apterygodon vittatus, a common skink in Sabah's forest.





A couple of fly-overs - Oriental Honey-buzzard and Violet Cuckoo.



I finally found where the Thick-billed Spiderhunters were feeding, but I only had time to grab a couple of shots before having to catch the shuttle bus to the Rainforest Discovery Centre.

At RDC it was the last full day at the Festival, and there was a good crowd, as yesterday.





The illustrators of a future edition of Birds of Borneo! I was amazed by the plumage detail and colour accuracy of some of the pictures in the kids' painting competition. Here are Red-naped and Whitehead's Trogon and Bristlehead - instantly recognizable!



Some impressive sculpting was underway as well!

After the last of the talks, I took Alan McBride, of Wildiaries to check out the Black-and-Crimson Pitta I'd photographed last March. It put on a fantastic show for us. Here are some of the many pics I took.



















































While we were watching the pitta, this Black-capped Babbler walked right up to us. This shot was taken with the zoom set at 100mm and at minimum focusing distance. At times I couldn't get the whole bird in the frame!



Eventually we had to walk away from the pitta, with the bird still hopping around in full view, apparently having forgotten that it is supposed to skulk in thick undergrowth!



This juv White-crowned Shama delighted festival-goers near the RDC entrance.











































A good way to end the day - at the fruiting fig restaurant!

16th October 2010: Borneo Bird Festival, Sepilok, Sabah

Today was a 'working day', in that all of the speakers gave their presentations. There were some excellent talks, a full list of which can be found here, but not much time for birding!



Although I've seen Bristleheads once, at Danum Valley, I've never seen them at Sepilok, which is 'the' site for them. They were seen each day of the festival, but I maintained my Bristlehead-free record (extending it to 8 days and counting!), and the only bird on view from the canopy walkway was this Slender-billed Crow.

Back at the Nature Resort, the usual suspects were making their way too and from the fruiting tree...







A female (top) and two male Black Hornbills.



The female Rhino enjoying the evening sun.



A Blue-winged Pitta was calling from the scrub across the lake from my chalet. This is a common bird in parts of northern Peninsular Malaysia but is apparently less so in Sabah, judging from the amount of interest it generated among local birders! It got progressively less showy as time went on, but was nevertheless quite obliging both morning and afternoon.






















This Brown-throated Sunbird was camped in the flowers outside my chalet (what are they called by the way?) and would not allow any other birds near, much to my frustration, as both Little and Thick-billed Spiderhunters were trying to come to feed as well!



The swiflets weren't flying so near today, so this was the best I got - a Mossy-nest Swiftlet.



This was a bonus, a male Blue-eared Kingfisher against some attractive reflections!



I did a short night-walk, and this Brown Boobook ('borneensis' race) was the only fruit for my labours.

15th October 2010: Borneo Bird Festival, Sepilok, Sabah

Today was the start of the Festival and RDC was a hive of activity...



The unveiling of the Borneo Bird Club logo.The BoBC has just become an officially registered society, so is now well and truly open for business. Kudos to Cede Prudente, the pro tem Chairman, and his band of merry (and hard-working!) men and women for having achieved so much in the club's young life.



The BoBC stand, and some serious Big Boys Toys on show!



The launch of the Bird Race, just before the heavens opened and everyone ran for cover!

Apart from attending the formalities, I had no other responsibilities today, so plenty of time for birding!



Our first good find of the day was a pair of Slow Lorises and a baby, apparently happily feeding at ten in the morning!

Some more bird images from my walks around the Rainforest Discovery Centre today



Banded Woodpecker



A Blue-eared Kingfisher (I didn't see the Ruddy Kingfisher which everyone else photographed by the way!)






















I'm not quite sure what this is! If it was in West Malaysia I'd have called it a Crow-billed Drongo without a second thought, but in East Malaysia the Greater Racket-tailed Drongos are heavy-billed, lack much of a crest, and have a deeper tail fork than the West Malaysia birds. I'm not familiar enough with East Malaysian GRTs to feel confident that this is or isn't one. The fact that the bird is in tail moult doesn't help - as it's difficult to be sure what the tail shape would look like in fresh plumage. Compare with this pic of a Greater Racket-tailed I shot in Kubah recently. Any ideas?






















A distant White-fronted Falconet, endemic to northern Borneo.



A small party of Rufous-winged Philentomas foraging just above the ground along the Pitta Trail was the highlight.





Perhaps it was a family group - there was one adult male and several female/juvs.

Back at the Nature Resort, the fig festival was still in full swing!



A female Black Hornbill - one of the regular crowd.



And the female of the neighbourhood Rhino family.



Streaked Bulbuls are always good to see.



Puff-backed even more so - a shame that this was such a mangy individual.




When a flock of Asian Glossy Starlings flew in I started looking for some Chestnut-cheeked, and was soon rewarded! This female/juv could easily be overlooked among Purple-backed Starlings if it was in Peninsular Malaysia. Note that it lacks the whitish lower scapulars and pale greater covert tips of Purple-backed, and is generally browner.





Males are easier to spot. This one has more extensive 'chestnut cheeks' than any illustration I've seen!

My second new bird in two days, and both in the same tree!