Olive-winged Bulbul

Olive-winged Bulbul (Pyconotus plumosus) - note the beautiful olive wings
Location : Zone C

 Today has been another fruitful birding day.  The abundance  of Eugenia oleina trees that are in various stages of fruiting have kept many species of birds busy at the park for many days now.  The birds that appear in flocks or in small parties visiting the fruiting trees are the Philippines Glossy Starling, Brown Barbet, Yellow-vented Bulbul and today a new surprise visitor dropped by.  It was the Olive-winged Bulbul (see inset).  It has black bill, light brown feet and a beautiful olive plumage.  It is a lifer for me.  It doesn't seem to make any calls and was intent on eating the ripe juicy fruits of the Eugenia.  It looked at me curiously and was not in a hurry to fly-off  upon noticing my presence, thus allowing me to get better and clearer shots of it.

Olive-winged Bulbul and the berries of the Eugenia oleina

( This is a re-posting from a birding blog of mine as in here...>>>>http://mybirdingsarawak.blogspot.my/2016/06/olive-backed-bulbul-enjoying-eugenia.html )

The Little Blue-eared Barbet

Little Blue-eared Barbet - Megalaima australis duvauclii
Location : Zone C

Little Barbet loving the berries.

This month of June has beeb rather special in that I have encountered three species of barbet within a week duration.   First came the Brown Barbet, followed by the Many-coloured Barbet and today's sighting has been the Little Blue-eared Barbet.  All seemed to be attracted to the ripe fruits of the  Eugenia oleina tree.  From my observation it is a small bird about 10 -12 cm long.  It has a patch of red below the eye, a pale blue chin and throat, black bill and slightly greenish feet.  Even though it is a common barbet in the lowlands of Sarawak or Borneo, today's sighting is a lifer for me.  It came in as a  pair, unlike the Many-coloured Barbet which came singly.  I noticed its mate seemed to appear from nowhere to join company once its partner makes a call.  The sighting of many barbets this June makes me think that probably June is the breeding season of these birds.  

A Many- Coloured Barbet

Red- crowned Barbet or Many-coloured Barbet ( Megalaima rafflesii rafflesii)
Location : Zone C

An artist's palette

I felt very fortunate today for having met one of the most colourful birds that visit this park.  This is my first encounter with the Red-crowned Barbet.  The colours around its face resembles an artist palette.  Striking red crown, blue throat, brilliant yellow at the cheek and a soft pastel green for its underparts and jungle green for its upper parts.  It is a darling when I first saw it, a quiet bird that can remain still for a considerable length of time and did not produce any call.  It is a medium-sized bird and came singly.    Just the other day, it was the duller Brown Barbet that came by and got  me overly excited. Both birds seemed to have a liking of the ripe black berries of the Eugenia oleina. Today's sighting caused me overwhelmed with joy, happiness and amazement at nature's beauty.  Truly the park has attracted many unique Borneo birds which previously I could only see in books.  Today's sighting I hope is a prelude to more surprises and amazement in this humble wildlife sanctuary.

The Many-coloured Barbet taking a rest and remaining still for minutes on the branch of the Eugenia oleina tree.
Zone C

Is it an eagle or a hawk-eagle? I wonder.

 Before the day ends I went to Licuala Hill with the hope that I could get another glimpse of the Borneon Falconet. Upon arrival at the tall dead tree I was greeted by the Myna birds. The weather was not so clear as it is often these days of the North-east monsoon when there are more cloudy skies and torrential rains. After a while, I heard a strange sound not heard before. When I turned my eyes to the tall tree I noticed a big bird was resting where the Tiong birds were. The Tiong birds flew away when this big bird perched on the tree. I quickly focussed my lens hoping to get a picture of the bird. Got it. But I could not confirm what it was. Upon checking the guide books I am caught between a Lesser Fish Eagle and a Changeable Hawk -eagle. Perhaps one day I'll get a better picture and am more certain on the identity of the bird. Today' I'll just leave it at that, happy that I saw something new.

Location : Licuala Hill

A lifer of a blue flycatcher

Eumyias indigo
Zone F

 What makes my day today is the capture of the blue flycatcher.  It's a lifer for me and for the Kambatik park.  Today is the first time I stumbled upon a blue flycatcher.  I first met it at Zone F and then followed its movement to Zone D about 100 meters away before it disappeared into the surrounding forest.  Is it a  female of the species?  Is it the Indigo Flycatcher ( Eumyias indigo) that is a native to the island of Borneo and therefore Bintulu?  The literature mentions that the Indigo Flycatcher is a resident of the highlands and less frequently seen below 3000 ft above sea level, that is in the lowland dipterocarp hill forest where the park is situated.  At first sight I saw it jumping and hopping on the leaves-covered ground for insects and was not particularly scared of my presence.  Whats striking about the upperside of the bird was the deep blue colour of its crown right down to its back.  In most descriptions the throat and breast is blue but in this specimen it is white.  Does this mean that it is a female of the species?  I have yet to determine this and it is my fervent hope that it will drop by again at the park soon with a mate. to confirm my observation.  Hopefully that day is near.

Indigo Flycatcher ( Eumyias indigo)
Zone D

A female Blue-eared Kingfisher

Blue-eared Kingfisher - female of the species
Location : Zone F

The Blue-eared Kingfisher looking attentively at the stream below for small fishes
Location : Zone F

I saw it perching first on the Ong Lumok branch then it flew a short distance away, resting on a Pong-Pong tree branch.  It was the Blue-eared Kingfisher and a female for one.   The resemblance of this bird to the Common Kingfisher is close, but the Blue-eared is much more richly coloured.  The female's  feet is orange or scarlet and the upper mandible bill is black and lower is red.  The brownish band at the side of the neck is peculiarly present in the female of the species.  In the male counterpart,  the band is blue.  The ear coverts of the female is brown, while the male is blue.  This Blue-eared is seen more often at the park because it is more of a forest bird.  On many occasions I have seen it perching on this Lumok tree branch for a bird's eye view of the small fishes below.  On at least one occasion it was seen diving and successfully grabbing a small fish as prized prey.

 

Having a brief rest at the Pong-Pong branch
Location : Zone F

An orange pipit

Orange Pipit  among the grasses..at Zone F, Provinsi Rumbia
Sighting on 6 July, around 5.30 pm.

 It was slightly late in the afternoon, around 5.30 pm  at Zone F (Provinsi Rumbia) that I came across a new species of pipit at the park. I think so. What strikes me was its orange underparts.  This colour was in stark contrast to the general green grasses around.  It later settled on a low perch near the grassy area.  It has bluish grey bill and legs of grey colour too.  Its back and wings were of light brown and so was its tail feathers. This sighting made my day.  

Striking orange breast and underparts prompt me to call this bird as ' Orange Pipit '

The Brown Barbet

 Today is the first time I encountered the Brown Barbet ( Calorhampus fuliginosus).  Two pairs of it were hunting for insects and the fruits of the Eugenia oleina.  It was a bit drizzly and they perched on twigs and branches of a dead tree at Zone C nearby the Jackfruit and Eugenia trees. I include this bird among the small to medium-sized birds at the park.  What was obvious to me was the broad bill and stout body of the barbet.  Then I could clearly see the red feet. I noticed too that the underparts are a pale brown to grey from the neck to breast.  The upperpart of the body is brown.

Rare Birds Album

 There are many moments of birdwatching when seeing birds could just be the rewards without any pictures of them.  You could be  unprepared because your camera is out of battery or the bird moves too swiftly thus giving you no opportunity to get your lens focused.  I have included inside this album a small collection of birds that dropped by at the park once and very seldom seen after the first encounter.  I call them ' rare birds'.  There are many others that I have seen but missed the opportunity to photoshoot them.  Among the missed opportunities are the woodpecker, eagles, kingfisher, little heron, pied hornbill and the very colourful emerald dove.  Wish I would be lucky the next time around....