An early morning birding and a lifer

A pair of Black Magpie

 I started early to do birding today by concentrating on the botanic island areas.  Attracted to the calls of the Black Magpie I moved quietly below the tall trees at Botanic Island Two.  Through the trees and leaves I noticed a small party of four  hanging out noisily and reverberating their loud calls over the neighbourhood.  Today's encounter has been one of the closest I had with these birds and thus was able to get better pictures of the bird especially the characteristic red iris against a dark face.  I next came across what I thought was a malkoha and my experience so far has been the Chestnut-breasted Malkoha. But today I met a different malkoha and a lifer at that.  It has  a bluish green back with a grey throat and breast.  Upon closer observation I noticed it has iris of pale blue surrounded by a red patch around the eyes.  Another interesting detail is the under-tail feathers showing broad white tips.  At Licuala Hill I noticed from a distance one black dot at the tip of a branch and guessed it must be the Borean Falconet.  I moved in closer to the tall tree and took a few random shots for the record.  The Bornean Falconet has been seen perching on this same tree before.  Finally after about two hours of birding at the botanic islands area I decided to go home and on the way met a Little Spiderhunter busily enjoying the nectar from the flowers of the Chinese hat plant.  It has been a successful early birding with a lifer.

Black -bellied Malkoha at Botanic island Two -  a lifer!

Bornean Falconet see at Licuala Hill

Little Spiderhunter at Zone C

Walking the Licuala trail

Licuala ferrugina in front, and in the background is the Pholidocarpus sumatranus palm (partly seen in the center)
Location : Provinsi Rattan

Fan-like leaves of the Licuala
Location :  Licuala Hill

The Licuala trail is what I have been missing for a while.  The trail covers low lying areas, slopes and hills.  A good one hour walk through the jungle will acquaint me with the status of the jungle and the wildlife.  In walking the trail, I took time to clear some of the bushes (mainly bracken ferns), small trees and jungle shrubbery that unnecessarily are in the way of a pleasant walk.  The best aid to do the clearing is our local matchet called the 'parang'.  In some areas the trail is littered with fallen leaves while in others there are plenty of logs and vines that need to be walked over.  All in all, the one hour walk was rewarding as I countered a small party of three Bornean Falconet that kept surveillance over the neighbourhood from the tallest perch above the Licuala Hill.  I noticed too a well-grown fungi species on the trail.

Note the Licuala palm at the left of the picture.

A small party of three - Bornean Falconet resting on the tallest perch at Licuala Hill
Location : Licuala Hill

Licuala ferrugina inside Botanic Island Two.

A fungi species.

Inside Provinsi Licuala

The Bornean Falconet surveys the neighbourhood

The tallest dead twig from where the falconet surveys the neighbourhood for insects and small birds
Location : Cempedak Hill, Zone G

 A sharp shriek sent me looking around for its origin.  I saw something dashing above me and my eyes followed its movement till it  landed on the tallest twig of the Cempedak tree at Zone G.  Today's sighting is a pleasant surprise for the fact that the Bornean Falconet (Microhierax latifrons) have never come this close to the house.  The best shot I got of it was about 40 meters from the tree before it flew away.  The falconet belongs to the smallest raptor species in the world.  What strikes me about this bird is the pale buffish belly and an overall black and white body.  Its sighting is always welcomed at the park.  

View of the group of trees not far away from the sighting where I worked and saw the dashing movement of the bird above ....

A good bird watching morning

Black Magpie
Location : Licuala Hill

The early morning hours when the birds are out looking for food and prey is a sure bet to catch a glimpse of many birds common to this area.  This morning starting at 7.30 am I chanced upon three species.  The Black Magpie ( Platysmurus leucopterus) was braving itself to come closer to me.  Previously this bird could only be photographed from a distance and even so hidden  among the leaves and branches.  When I heard its voice which is similar to the crow and mixed with imitative sounds of the Hill Myna I climbed the Licuala Hill to find its whereabouts.  I was handsomely rewarded with a vantage view of the bird. It showed its characteristic habit of bowing its head while perching on the branch.  The Black Magpie likes to imitate sounds of other birds.  It is in the list of large-sized birds at the park.  Next in line came one of the tiny birds at the park - the Yellow-bellied Prinia (Prinia flaviventris).  They are born here.   Despite its size the bubbling calls emitted are loud and cheerful. It prefers to hunt among the long grasses making it difficult to have a good shot.   Today, however it came out  pleased to offer me a good pose.
Not to disappoint  me,  a threesome of  the smallest raptor in the world  the falconet showed themselves at their favourite perch.  The Bornean Falconet  (Microhierax latifrons) is a regular visitor probably enjoying the abundance of insects here.  They are skillful in catching their prey, grasping them in dashing flight or sorties from the tallest spot in the neighbourhood.  I took extra trouble this morning to come closer to them by moving close to the tree where they perched.  From below I could only see a glimpse of one of the falconet through the maze of leaves and branches.
Overall, it has been a good morning for bird watching.

Yellow-bellied Prinia among the grasses

Three Borneon Falconets taken from a distance of about 100 meters.
Location : Licuala Hill

Closer view of the falconet through the leaves and branches

Bornean Falconet