Backyard Birding: Tufted Duck of Tuaran

I am one of those lucky people who happens to live in one of the hot spots in Borneo. With vast paddy field and plains, it's the perfect pit stop for the tired and hungry migratory birds from the north.

Anyway, unfortunately for some of the birds...they could not make it until the cold season ends at home. No one can blame the natural hardship that they had to endure during their journey to a warmer climate. Butgenetically speaking, I am positive they are built to do that.

My concern is the people...You just imagine it, I'm sure you'd know where my frustration came from. The hunting, the trapping, the killing...goodness me, are we still living in the dark ages?? We have agriculture, farming, etc... are we that short of protein? I personally don't think so...

Enough about my assumptions, the following photos are a species of uncommon winter visitor to Sabah, Brunei and Sarawak the Tufted Duck, both male and female. They are known to migrate to the said locations between October to January. A lifer to me, this is one of the priceless backyard birding experiences to me. Enjoy:-

Exclusively Tuaran: A Place for the Rare

We couldn't make it to Teluk Usukan Resort last weekend. My friends and I had family matters to attend to. As expected, plan 'B' should and would emerged from somewhere.

Ron with Asian Paradise Flycatcher in his head mentioned Tuaran Beach Resort (TBR). Wanted to see with my own eyes the Black and Red Broadbill in my own backyard ...'No' was not an option.

Alven our new guy had the rare encounter just a few days ago. Personally, I never expected to see it in Tuaran. Chai with his new lens, came a bit later to test his combo, an impressive Canon 50D + 300mm F4 + 2X TC!

TBR it was;- I did not see any of the above, instead I got these;

1. Copper-throated Sunbird (Leptocoma calcostetha)

A male Copper-throated Sunbird (Leptocoma calcostetha) doing the courting ritual above me. He was at the same branch long enough but the branches between him and the camera made me struggle for a decent shot. (Lifer #1)

2. Copper-throated Sunbird (Leptocoma calcostetha)

The female was curious to see what Ron and I were doing!

3. Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

I was on the way back home when I spotted these! A rare migrant from the north. (Lifer # 2)

4. DollarBird (Eurystomus orientalis)

I struck the jackpot when I saw a Dollarbird perched on a powerline! At first I thought it was a cuckoo. Shot from inside of my new ride, introducing the;-

5. Mitsubishi Triton

This new family member should be able to take us to places that was once unreachable...hopefully.