Saturday, November 8, 2008

Migrants: The Invasion of Migratory Birds

Labuan - Kota Kinabalu via land. I kinda get the hang of it. Less time getting home and a few hundred Ringgit lesser! Just some muscle aches here and there...which is not a big deal.

Went back to K.K (again...been doing it for a few weekends in a row already). I met up with Alphonsus at Ron's birthday party for his sons, and what do you know? It was Tambunan the next day!

I had been dreaming to revisit Tambunan, and we left for Rafflesia Centre as early as 5.30am! We started the day quite slow, as the weather was not as sunny as we all hoped for. Nonetheless, the montanes rarely disappoint even when it rains;

1. Grey Wagtail (motacilla cinerea)

2.Grey-chinned Minivet (Pericrocotus Scolari)

3.Indigo Flycatcher (Muscicapa indigo)
A personal favorite of mine. Love the shot!
This weekend is a Labuan weekend for me. Went to the Labuan Botanical Garden only to see some of the beautiful trees being chopped down! I was furious...just trim them! But then again, It's the grave yard...ok, I accept, clean them. Have to find the birds elsewhere.
The good thing to go birding on a graveyard is-there's nobody else there! You have all the space for yourself and of course the residents there. Well, so much about birding there, frustrated I walked to the interior part of the garden, where I spotted and got a picture of two migrants;

4. Blue and White Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana)
The glossy blue is strikingly beautiful! What a lifer.

5. Black-Capped Kingfisher (Halcyon chloris)
At first glance, I thought it was a Storkbill, but when I noticed the dark head I was sure it's the Black-capped Kingfisher, and my first!. It perched at the other side of the lake and I had a hard time getting a good shot.

My blurry eyesight didn't help and I used my camera as a spotting scope! I was hoping it would move to a better perch but obviously...Perhaps tomorrow?? Hope the invasion doesn't stop soon...

3 comments:

Jason Bugay Reyes said...

congrats bro with your black-capped kingfisher and the wagtail looked like grey wagtail for me :)

Jordan Sitorus said...

oops! Duly ractified..Thanx bro!

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

Yes that no.3 (Indigo Flycatcher) shot is great, I like that rain drops - environmental shot.