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

Green shots (3)

Zone D

Zone E

Zone E, as viewed from inside Botanic Island Two

Heliconia latispatha

Heliconia latispatha at the Heliconia Valley
Zone D

The Plantain Squirrel

Plantain squirrel at the Durian tree branch

 It was very interesting to watch the Plantain Squirrel this afternoon. It was first seen among the leaves and branches of a Durian tree.  It then moved down among the oil palm fronds.  At this time of the year when food in the jungle is a little bit scarce many squirrels are seen coming out of the forest more often to enjoy the oil palm fruits.  Well, I guess it pretty ok.  Their presence makes the park lively and are good subjects for wildlife photography....enjoy the pictures. 

Photoshoot session with the Plantain Squirrel

 December is a time for less fruits.  The constant rains since November normally do not allow for enough heat to help out with the ripening or flowering process.  This is the cyclical phenomena faced by oil palm cultivators on the island of Borneo, despite having  the equator situated above the island. The plantain squirrel will grab whatever ripe fruits available before the night falls.  It was a surprise photoshoot session this late afternoon.  The squirrel did not notice by presence and gave me the golden opportunity to come close and personal with the cute little model.  Here's more shots of the unaware model in action.....

Plantain Squirrel
Zone C
All images taken on 14 December'14, Nikon D5100

Coconut Groove

Coconut Groove, looking east.
Note the greenery of the Botanic Island One at the background.

Feather-like leaves of the coconut
This is a yellow variety.

 I thought it would be a good idea to just transplant one coconut tree as an instant plant this morning.  This is a yellow variety of the coconut palm.  It was installed at the Provinsi Borneo and would become the center piece of the Coconut Groove.  It is planned to add more facilities to this location because it would act as the center of attraction for enjoying coconut fruits and coconut water.  Probably a shed or two would serve the purpose well.  All around this Coconut Groove are already planted many other fruits trees e.g. Lumok, Jering and Durians.  The place is next to the Botanic Island One, thus the temperature of the area is moderated in large part by the greenery of the botanic island. Towards the south of the groove is a row of Eugenia oleina trees which are currently producing young leaves in beautiful hues of the sunset and autumn.

Instant coconut tree (center)  just planted this morning at Coconut Groove, looking north.
Location : Provinsi Borneo

Row of Eugenia oleina trees in flushes...looking south

The squirrels are coming..

Plantain squirrel at the oleina tree
Location : Provinsi Borneo, Zone D

 The squirrels are coming to town.  Early in the morning they jump from branch to branch, trees to trees and sometimes run fast on the ground below.  They are attracted to the oil palm fruits especially those ripe ones, biting more than they could chew.  Other fruits that are target to their sharp teeth are the Jackfruit, Cempedak fruit and Lumok fruits that are in abundance and starting to ripen at the park.  Everyday is a fruity fiesta.  At the moment they are not considered as serious pests but merely part of the occupational hazards of operating an eco-farm.  By the way, squirrels fetch a good price in Bintulu town.  They are sold for more than RM 15 per living specimen at current market price.  They are considered a delicacy among many native people of Bintulu.

Squirrels are expert tree or branch jumpers...

A healthy looking specimen.  This one can fetch RM 15 at the Bintulu 'Tamu' or jungle produce market.

Planting the 'Golden Torch' in beds

Heliconia 'Golden Torch' planted in beds
Location : Heliconia Valley, Zone D

Heliconias belong to the Banana family-
Musaceae

 Try planting the Heliconia 'Golden Torch' in beds.  The pleasure is when they start to produce their colourful bracts.  Once established they will provide unlimited supply for daily cut flowers.  They add striking yellow colour to the landscape everyday.  It is necessary to remove or cut the aerial shoots that have flowered to encourage new shoots.  This gardening practice will result in healthy looking and clean beds.  The 'Golden Torch' have vigorous rhizomes and is easily propagated by division.  They love semi-shade or partial sun conditions.  Many birds are attracted to its inflorescences especially the sunbirds and spiderhunters.  To see how I use the Heliconia 'Golden Torch' in floral art Kambatik style , follow this link ...>>>http://dailycutflowers.blogspot.com/2009/06/hail-to-heliconias.html

Heliconias when grown in beds provide flowering shoots daily througout the year.
Location : Heliconia Valley, Zone D

In Plain Sight - Provinsi Lady Palm (Part 5)

Provinsi Lady Palm, view looking west

Slender-stemmed palm -
Rhapis excelsa

 The Provinsi Lady Palm is named after the slender-stemmed palm with thick clustering habit.  The Rhapis excelsa grows naturally as an undergrowth palm but is now a popular palm for gardens and parks.  Its leaves are very useful for floral art.  Many nurseries sell them in big pots as ornamentals.  Today there are dwarf varieties of the Lady Palm. As part of the Kambatik garden concept it is advisable to plant the Lady Palm with heliconias.  Having them within arm's length and readily available in our garden will certainly assist us in creative floral art. Below are more pictures of the provinsi Lady Palm....

The heart of Heliconia Valley is located at Provinsi Lady Palm
Location : Zone C, looking north

View looking south

View looking south
Location : Zone D

View looking south

Walk on leaves

Partial view of Heliconia Valley, Zone D

 There is something earthly, energizing, romantic  and probably sexy walking on brown leaves.  The cracking noise of leaves squashed underneath the foot, step by step, reverberates through the peaceful jungle air.  They speak of country peace, balming one from earthly confusion, world's apart from the tense air of concrete jungle where urban souls sought to fight in the name of competition and success.  To live by nature comforts  my soul.  It prospers the plants and wildlife ( and hopefully prosper others). 

Footpath at Botanic Island One

The Corn plant in flower

Corn plant - Draceana fragrans
Family : Agavaceae - Agave family

 The Draceana fragrans is normally used as a foliage plant or an indoor plant.  At Botanic Island One, there is one specimen that is grown as a treelet to allow its growth naturally. It is about 6 meters tall now and as at today produces flowers.  My estimate is that the treelet is about 6 years old. It has been noted that the plant grows initially as an unbranched treelet but finally will produce branches at its base.  The stem can be cut into short pieces. The short stems can be grown in hydroculture by placing them in water to make an indoor tabletop decoration.

Draceana fragrans grown as a treelet
Location : Zone D
At the background is Botanic Island One

The Perlings are coming!

A flock of perlings attracted to a fruiting jungle tree at Botanic Island One

Philippines Glossy Starling
(Aplonis panayensis)

 Two days ago they send in the scout.  Yesterday a few birds were seen flying around the park.  Today a flock of these black birds came to town.  They were feeding tiny green fruits of a tall jungle tree at Botanic Island One.  Later in the day the flock concentrated on an Eugenia oleina tree that was full of tiny berry-like fruits.  They seemed to have a liking to these black fruits and were not bothered to share the tree with the bulbuls and flowerpeckers.  Once they found a fruiting tree they would come back again and hopefully I can take more pictures of them tomorrow.

An adult perling has glossy dark bluish black body and characteristic bright red iris.
This perling is resting on the Eugenia oleina branch.

Views of the park

Zone D, Provinsi Borneo looking west

Working at Zone D and E  this morning allowed me to take images of the better views in the areas.  At Zone D (top picture), the tree at left is the Durian tree.  The grass has just been cut this morning and it is the intention to plant low hugging grasses to the Provinsi Borneo area soon. More views of Zone E are shown below.

Zone E, looking south-west

Zone E, looking south-west

Today's klikz

Pick of the park - Chinese hat plant

Holmskiolda sanguinea (Chinese hat plant)
Family : Verbenaceae - Teak family
Location - Zone C and D