This is when you find out who your real friends are!

We found these grooming Long-tailed Macaques on the Kinabatangan River. Let's listen in.


"First, I'll groom you."



"Now you groom me."

Hornbills on the Kinabatangan

I guess it's time to post a few pics from our recent trip to Borneo. The only place we had success with hornbills was from the boat on the Kinabatangan River. We saw six species but I was only able to photgraph four of them. Rhinocerous Hornbill was definitely the coolest.



Oriental Pied Hornbill was the most common.







We only saw a few Black Hornbills



White-crowned Hornbill is the most difficult to find of the eight Bornean hornbill species. Our guide on the river, Robert Chong, heard some in the distance and was able to call in a pair. Not a great pic.

Sal del Rey, 7/29/07

The Sal del Rey post on TEXBIRDS yesterday got me out of bed early as there were several outstanding Hidalgo County birds listed (Clapper Rail, Reddish Egret, Wilson's Plover, and 30 Semipalmated Plovers!). I arrived at 7 AM at the southeast trailhead on Brushline Rd. and hiked to the lake, along the south shore and at least half a mile up the main intake channel to the west. I was unable to find any of these but still had a nice morning. Best for me was three Summer Tanagers. Do they nest in Hidalgo County? Also saw three Turkeys, five Nilgai, two White-tailed Deer and two Coyotes. There's always lot of action at Sal del Rey.





After Sal del Rey I drove south on Brushline and found five Ruddy Ducks on a lily covered pond. They were there back in May. I bet they nested. The muddy playa behind the feedlot east of Hargil was covered with birds. There were Caspian, Gull-billed and Forster's Terns and lots of shorebirds. Best were two Wilson's Plovers (new county bird for me). Looks like the kind of place they could nest. South of Monte Alto was a large flooded field that looks like it will be great for shorebirds in a few days if it stops raining.

Here's some baby Black-bellied Whistling Ducks from Brushline Road.

Sulids at South Padre Island, 7/23/07

Honey and I spent yesterday morning fishing just north of beach access #6 on South Padre Island. We didn't catch much but these two or three Sulids were hanging around. Masked Booby has been reported earlier in the summer at SPI and that's what I origainlly thought these were. However quite a few sick Northern Gannets have shown up on the north Texas coast and I kind of think that's what these are. Your comments are welcome.







Hard to see it but this one had a white head and neck.

Santa Ana NWR, 7/20/07

Nothing exciting at warm, humid, muddy Santa Ana NWR but still an interesting morning. The female Northern Pintail has spent the summer at Pintail Lake (of course!). Had a young Yellow-green Vireo and three Black-and-white Warblers on the trail into Pintail Lakes. Four Clay-colored Robins from parking area and old manager's residence area and three calling Northern Beardless Tyrannulets along the entrance road were expected. Had an adult Gray Hawk from the hawk tower. Lots of Orchard Orioles and three young Baltimore Orioles (that's what I'm, calling them)were also around the hawk tower.

Most birders think fall migration happens in September and October. But it starts a lot earlier. I always think of July 4 as the start of fall migration. This was one of three Black-and-white Warblers already headed south.



Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 4
Fulvous Whistling-Duck 6
Mottled/Mexican Duck 9
Northern Pintail 1
Plain Chachalaca 4
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Neotropic Cormorant 4
Great Egret 2
Little Blue Heron 1
Tricolored Heron 4
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 3
Turkey Vulture 19
Gray Hawk 1
Harris's Hawk 2
Swainson's Hawk 1
Common Moorhen 2
American Coot 3
Long-billed Curlew 1
White-winged Dove 100
Mourning Dove 5
White-tipped Dove 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 10
Groove-billed Ani 10
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 2
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Green Kingfisher 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 14
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 5
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 3
Brown-crested Flycatcher 4
Great Kiskadee 1
Couch's Kingbird 20
White-eyed Vireo 5
Yellow-green Vireo 1
Green Jay 8
Bank Swallow 20
Cliff Swallow 20
Cave Swallow 10
unidentified swallow 100
Black-crested Titmouse 8
Carolina Wren 3
Clay-colored Robin 4
Northern Mockingbird 6
Long-billed Thrasher 3
European Starling 2
Black-and-white Warbler 3
Common Yellowthroat 1
Olive Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 3
Dickcissel 3
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Great-tailed Grackle 15
Bronzed Cowbird 10
Orchard Oriole 12
Hooded Oriole 1
Altamira Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 3
Lesser Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 8

Olongo Island Pictures

Well, we're back in the USA so I'm going to try to post a few pics from our recent trip. Here's some pics from Olango Island. First, here's Honey, her sister Hara and cousins Joy Joy and Arian on the pumpboat from Mactan to Olongo.



Here's a couple of the "hides" overlooking the coral flats.





Birds were hard to get close to. This Gray-tailed tattler was accomodating.



Here's some Eurasian Curlews. White rump and back made them easy to ID.



Bar-tailed Godwit



I'm calling this a Greater Sand-Plover. Or is it a Lesser?



Whimbrels in this part of the world have a pale rump and back. Some consider it a separate species.



Here's Mr. Mudskipper and Mr. Crab.

Olongo Island, Cebu, Philippines

My wife, Honey, her sister, two cousins and I spent a nice day birding at Olongo Island yesterday. Olongo Island has a protected coral flat that severs as a migration and wintering site for shorebirds. Fall migrants are beginning to show and we got the following list.

Little Egret 40
Pacific Reef-Heron 1
Little Heron 15
Greater Sand-Plover 8
Lesser Sand-Plover 3
Black-bellied Plover 3
Eurasian Curlew 6
Whimbrel 40
Bar-tailed Godwit 2
Common Greenshank 3
Red-necked Stint 5
Gray-tailed Tattler 10
Gull-billed Tern 1
Spotted Dove 5
Zebra Dove 2
Lesser Coucal 1
Collared Kingfisher 3
Black-naped Oriole 2
Pied Triller 1
Pied Fantail 3
Golden-bellied Flyeater 5
Philippine Glossy-Starling 5
Olive-backed Sunbird 3
Eurasian Tree-Sparrow 5

I tried to turn some of the juvenile Litte Egrets into Chinese Egrets but I think we were too early for them. I'll post some pics when we get home next week.