Coney Island 13Jul19

From KH

Went with Danny to Coney Island, taking the southern loop.

Rufous Woodpecker

1. Red Junglefowl 1 - heard
2. Spotted Dove 5
3. Zebra Dove 5
4. Pink-necked Green-Pigeon 2
5. Lesser Coucal 1 - heard
6. Plaintive Cuckoo 1 - heard
7. dark swiftlet sp. 20
8. Little Tern 3
9. Gray Heron 5
10. Black-winged Kite 1
11. Changeable Hawk-Eagle 1 - heard
12. White-bellied Sea-Eagle 2
13. White-throated Kingfisher 1
14. Collared Kingfisher 1
15. Sunda Woodpecker 2
16. Rufous Woodpecker 4 - a family
17. Common Flameback 1
18. Laced Woodpecker 1 - heard
19. Red-breasted Parakeet 5
20. Golden-bellied Gerygone 1 - heard
21. Black-naped Oriole 2
22. Common Iora 2
23. Malaysian Pied-Fantail 2
24. House Crow 5
25. Common Tailorbird 2
26. Yellow-bellied Prinia 2
27. Pacific Swallow 5
28. Yellow-vented Bulbul 8
29. Olive-winged Bulbul 1 - heard
30. Asian Glossy Starling 5
31. Common Myna 1
32. Javan Myna 5
33. Oriental Magpie-Robin 4
34. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker 2 - heard
35. Olive-backed Sunbird 2
36. Golden-backed Weaver 10 - with nests
37. Baya Weaver 10 - with nests

It was butterfly galore. Here's a Common Tiger and a Tawny Coster.

Great Eggflies were common.

Other insects here included this Javanese Grasshopper and this Bagworm.

Lastly, a centipede to round it up.

Punggol Waterway Park Aug18

From KH

Resident White-bellied Sea-eagles in aerial display. Three in one!

White-breasted Waterhen adult with juvenile following closely.

Juvenile Collared Kingfisher showing front and back.

Juvenile Long-tailed Shrike begging for food from adult.

Common bulbuls here: Sooty-headed Bulbul and Yellow-vented Bulbul.

Shy immature Asian Glossy Starling and male Pied Triller.

Mr and Mrs Olive-backed Sunbird.

Other denizens of this local patch: 5-cm-long centipede, Common Scarlet, dead 8-cm-long Javanese Grasshopper, female carpenter bee Xylocopa aestuans, Dwarf Honey Bee nest.

1. 20 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
2. 6 Spotted Dove
3. 2 Zebra Dove
4. 2 Asian Koel
5. 5 dark swiftlet sp.
6. 1 Large-tailed Nightjar - Heard
7. 3 White-bellied Sea-Eagle
8. 4 White-breasted Waterhen - 2 adults, 2 juveniles
9. 1 White-throated Kingfisher
10. 2 Collared Kingfisher
11. 1 Blue-throated Bee-eater
12. 1 Dollarbird - Heard
13. 3 Sunda Woodpecker
14. 1 Common Flameback - heard
15. 8 Rose-ringed Parakeet
16. 8 Red-breasted Parakeet
17. 1 Golden-bellied Gerygone - Heard
18. 2 Common Iora
19. 1 Pied Triller - Male
20. 4 Long-tailed Shrike
21. 3 Black-naped Oriole
22. 1 Malaysian Pied-Fantail - Heard
23. 1 House Crow
24. 4 Pacific Swallow
25. 4 Sooty-headed Bulbul
26. 5 Yellow-vented Bulbul
27. 1 Common Tailorbird - Heard
28. 1 Ashy Tailorbird - Heard
29. 1 Yellow-bellied Prinia - Heard
30. 20 Asian Glossy Starling
31. 1 Common Hill Myna
32. 11 Common Myna
33. 30 Javan Myna
34. 2 Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
35. 1 Plain-throated Sunbird
36. 2 Olive-backed Sunbird

Republic Crescent Aug18

From KH

Long-tailed Shrike hunting.

Asian Emerald Dove. Zebra Doves.

5-cm-long centipede.

After 3 weeks, this dead gecko was still hanging on...

Upskirt photo of an owlet moth.

1. 3 Spotted Dove
2. 1 Asian Emerald Dove
3. 8 Zebra Dove
4. 8 Pink-necked Pigeon
5. 1 Lesser Coucal - Heard
6. 2 Asian Koel - Heard
7. 1 Little Bronze-Cuckoo - Heard
8. 20 dark swiftlet sp.
9. 1 Brahminy Kite
10. 2 White-bellied Sea-Eagle - Heard
11. 1 White-throated Kingfisher
12. 2 Collared Kingfisher
13. 5 Blue-throated Bee-eater
14. 2 Dollarbird
15. 1 Sunda Woodpecker
16. 1 Rufous Woodpecker
17. 1 Commoon Flameback
18. 1 Laced Woodpecker - Heard
19. 1 Banded Woodpecker - Heard
20. 3 Rose-ringed Parakeet
21. 10 Long-tailed Parakeet
22. 1 Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot
23. 1 Golden-bellied Gerygone - Heard
24. 4 Common Iora
25. 1 Pied Triller
26. 1 Long-tailed Shrike
27. 5 Black-naped Oriole
28. 1 Malaysian Pied-Fantail - Heard
29. 2 Large-billed Crow
30. 3 House Crow
31. 2 Pacific Swallow
32. 5 Yellow-vented Bulbul
33. 2 Common Tailorbird
34. 1 Dark-necked Tailorbird - Heard
35. 5 Oriental White-eye
36. 2 Pin-striped Tit-Babbler - Heard
37. 1 Oriental Magpie-Robin
38. 25 Asian Glossy Starling
39. 4 Common Myna
40. 30 Javan Myna
41. 3 Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
42. 1 Plain-throated Sunbird
43. 5 Olive-backed Sunbird
44. 2 Baya Weaver

Gomantong Cave 11Jun18

From KH

We spent the late afternoon at Gomantong Cave. We each paid RM60 - RM30 for entry + RM30 for camera fee...

On the boardwalk to the cave, there were a few endemic Sabah Slender Skinks.

At the entrance of the cave, there was a dead Plume-toed Swiftlet, and a crab enjoying a guano bath.

Plume-toed Swiftlets are unable to echolocate, so they nest near the entrance, where there is still some light.

The Mossy-nest Swiftlets are able to echolocate and so nest further in. However, their nests are mainly made of plant materials instead of saliva, so they have no economic value and are not as sticky. As such, they generally nest on ledges. 2 eggs are laid in each nest.

The Edible-nest Swiftlets and Black-nest Swiftlets nest the furthest in and are told apart by the white nest of the former (saliva only) and black nest of the latter (being a mix of their feathers and saliva).

They share the cave with the bats and cockroaches.

As well as, Cave Centipedes. Fortunately, they stayed on the walls and we didn't see any on the cave boardwalk.

The cockroaches help to clear the dead, such as this bat on the boardwalk.

This is how the cave entrance looked like from the inside. A boardwalk looped inside the cave. The cockroaches roamed on the walls as well as the boardwalk, which is also somewhat littered with guano. All these, couple with the stench, moved us along, and we only spent 25 mins in the cave.

This male Oriental Pied-hornbill at the entrance must be up to something.

On the way out, we saw a millipede and a Spotted Fantail.

We also saw a few endemic Maroon Leaf Monkeys, and more Oriental Pied-hornbills (female, male and juvenile).

As well as, this young Orangutan and its mother.

While waiting for the bat show to start, these Verditer Flycatcher and Ashy Tailorbird kept us company.

At about 5:30 pm, the bats starting streaming out of the caves. These were mostly Wrinkle-lipped Bats.

Then, the Bat Hawks started appearing and the hunt ensued.

Soon, it was getting dark and time for us to leave. But, not before snapping a Swallowtail Moth to round up the day's activities.

1. 1 Crested Serpent-Eagle
2. 2 Bat Hawk
3. 1 Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo - Heard
4. 1000 Plume-toed Swiftlet
5. 100 Mossy-nest Swiftlet
6. 1000 Black-nest Swiftlet
7. 1000 White-nest Swiftlet
8. 1 Rhinoceros Hornbill
9. 2 Black Hornbill
10. 3 Oriental Pied-Hornbill - 1 male, 1 female, 1 juvenile
11. 1 Blue-eared BarbetHeard
12. 1 Yellow-crowned BarbetHeard
13. 1 Spotted Fantail
14. 2 Malaysian Pied-Fantail
15. 2 Slender-billed Crow
16. 5 Pacific Swallow
17. 1 Ashy Tailorbird
18. 1 White-rumped Shama (White-crowned)
19. 1 Verditer Flycatcher
20. 5 Dusky Munia