Here comes October

Stingless bees colonies at the park

A hollow tree trunk at Botanic Island Two serves  well for a stingless bee hive.

Stingless bee collecting pollen from 'Sepenuh'
(Eurycycles amboirensis)

 I have more time to study wild bees population at the park now.  Its one of the advantages of having conserve the wilderness in the park.  I am on my new journey to find out more about  these interesting insects.  My focus is on the stingless bees (melipones), which are naturally  plenty in the park, are not harmful and can be kept as pets.  They come in various sizes and so far I have managed to keep three species for propagation purposes.  I am considering also to add more species by getting them from outside origins and introducing them to the park.  As starters and teasers here's some pics I took recently.

A stingless bee hive built on the leaf base of the 'Travellers palm' ( Ravenala madagascariensis)

Young juveniles

Sipping stingless bee honey which has a sweet and sour taste directly from its honey pots.

Busy like a bee. Stingless bees moving house, finding a new man-made home.

Black birds are back for black berries.

 The black birds are back again.  They are coming in big flocks.  They make the park sounds busy and noisy.  These birds belong to the Philippines Glossy Starling species. At present they come here to enjoy the delicious berries of the Eugenia oleina trees.  Since these trees are planted at every corner of the park, the excitement is seen everywhere.  These birds flock to the branches that are laden with the black berries and then they might take a rest at nearby perches.  They arrival are most welcomed here.

The Tree Shrew came to town

Tree Shrew
They belong to the order of Insectivores which is split into six families and the shrew belong to the Soricidae family.

 It has been a while since I last saw a Tree Shrew.  This morning I saw one pleasantly playing among the branches with its body and long tail drenched.  It is a permanent resident of the park and this squirrel-like animal is known to being confined on the island of Borneo. Being insect-eating mammal, it favours tiny insects and invertebrates.  This morning encounter lifted-up my spirit as I surveyed the park in light drizzle.  The weather has been very rainy the last few days and the rains has brought at least two flash floods during this week.  From my experience Tree Shrews are hard to photograph because they move fast among the trees and branches.  They however look very inquisitive especially at the flashes of the camera.

Banded Swallowtail

The Banded Swallowtail butterfly is seen sipping the nectar from the flowers of the Yellow Ixora.

Location : Zone C

August is the month of Malkoha

A male Chestnut-breasted Malkoha identified by the pale blue iris.
Location : Botanic Island Two

 This month the Malkohas seemed to be coming in droves.  The uncommon Black-bellied Malkoha was sighted the other day.  On many occasions the sounds or calls of the Malkoha have been heard at many locations in the park this month.  Today was special in that a male Chestnut- breasted Malkoha was caught in good sight.  He came along with a partner but the female was not so easy to photograph.  The pair was seen moving around the trees and branches at Botanic Island Two.  They glided between the canopies with striking glossy blue-green bodies.  What is attractive of the bird is the pale green bill and its medium sized body.

Malkoha in flight

Re-connecting with nature again

The Tiongs ( Hill Myna birds) at Licuala Hill

Physalis minia - showing more ripe
fruits

 It is so good to be back at the nature park.  It is a place to re-connect with nature after having been away for two weeks in Kuching,  The first thing I checked out in the late afternoon was the Tiong birds.  I have left them for about two weeks and today they assured me of their confidence in the safety of  the park.  I saw a pair moving about the tall branches at one of tallest perches at Licuala Hill.  From the distance I observed that the birds looked somewhat bigger now.  Having encountered them I then proceeded to get back home sooner, consoled by the thought that the nature park has passed a stringent litmus test as a wildlife sanctuary with the continued and uninterrupted presence of the Hill Myna birds.

Licuala palms at Licuala Hill, just below the tall tree where the Tiongs perched this afternoon.

Close-up of the Tiong birds (Hill Myna)

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.  

Checking out the birds

A pair of Black Hornbill
Location : Licuala Hill, Zone I

Zone E

 I was very keen to checkout the birds early this morning.  At Licuala Hill the largest of the birds that visit this place was there waiting for me.  A pair of Black Hornbill was seen perching on one of the tallest perch at Licuala Hill.  I thought a good walkabout was in order as I became much spirited with the sighting of the hornbills.  I went to another tall perch at Cempedak Hill and observed a Pink-necked Pigeon in good light. Click, click, click... my camera was in fast shooting mode.  Yes, I got it.  The Pink-necked Pigeon in colours of the rainbow.  My walkabout proved fruitful as later I was greeted by the Yellow-bellied Prinia at the Kruak wetlands area.  It has an attractive bubbling call. Finally, to cap my walkabout I caught sight of the panicky Pied Fantail.  It is healthy to walk up the hills here to do bird watching.  I feel this is the kind of sanctuary that makes me feel great in my efforts to attract wildlife to the park.  Birds are really wonderful and pleasant neighbours.

Yellow-bellied Prinia has an attractive bubbllig call
Location : Kruak wetlands

Pink-necked Pigeon at Cempedak Hill, Zone G.

Pink-necked Pigeon in flight

Pied Fantail
Location : Zone G

Up close and personal

Black Tipped Butterfly on damp cement floor
Zone C

Skink on 'Belian' plank.

 In between work I noticed two wildlife close by -  a butterfly and a skink.  I decided to get close and personal with them when I took a brief rest from work later.   The Black Tipped Archduke ( Lexias dirtea merguia) was flying low and moved close to the ground.  When it rested on the damp and littered old cement floor close to where I rested,  it gave me a rare opportunity to get as many pictures I wanted.  The butterfly was in its best form and colours.  On moving to another spot for another brief rest I chanced upon a skink that looked curiously at me.  The skink seemed to be motionless and thus enabled me to get sharper images of it and for stock photography.

Black Tipped Archduke

Skink
Zone C

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Highlights today at the park - 12 April'16

Dragonfly caught in a spider's web
Zone C

Butterfly
Botanic Island Two

In reproductive pose
Zone C

Great Mormon butterfly
Zone C

Great Mormon butterfly
Zone C

Green-crested lizard
Zone C

Spiders inject digestive juices into the victim which dissolves its body tissues that the spider sucks.
Spiders are thus defined as fluid feeders.