CAMPING FOR BIRD'S SURVEY

This is how our bed look like at the camp. The most important things you must have for camping like this is your mosquito net and sleeping bag. Why? There is a lot of mosquitoes and after midnight it is really cold. The other extra gadgets you must have is torch lights, insect repellent and also your personal first aid kit. That is only the basic things that i can share for camping with us.

We cook our own food. So, here is the "panorama" of our kitchen at the camp. We have all the basics for cooking from stove to other cooking utensils. Don't worry you will not get starving if go camping like this because all of foods or rations is already prepared before the trip. The clean water basically we bring from Bintulu and the rest is drinking water. 

So, here is some meals that we have at the camp. Isn't it look delicious, even though it is just a baked beans...:p

Where to take a bath? No worry. For every camp, it must located near water source. So, like this camp there is one stream nearby and we take bath there.The water is cold especially if you take your shower late in the evening but is is really refreshing.

Worry about doing something very important? Here is how the camp toilet look like. It is very comfortabale and clean. 

BIRD'S SURVEY 2008

I was equipt with all the recording equipment to get ready for the dawn chorus recording. Usually we get ready at the site around 5.45am because we need to catch the first bird that make their calls. Quite interesting results that we get from all the dawn chorus that we make for the whole trip.

This is the first day of our observation and as usual i will be very excited but at this point i really have problem in identifying birds that i observed. However, do not worry as we practice everyday by refering to the field guide book, it will not that difficult anymore. Developing the skills and information about the birds that we observed.

After our dawn chorus finished, we continue to do observation on getting the foraging data of birds that we observed. With guide from Dr. Alison and Dr. Fred, we try to collect all the information that needed for the foraging data. It isreally cool to look at the birds and follow what it is doing especially on how it get its food, where it get it etc. But to study birds in the tropic forest is a challenge because of the tree is tall and the understorey is dense too.

I am not sure what we are looking at but i think we are looking at the Prevost's Squirrel on the tree down the valley. I really like that squirrel, it is really preety and i have a chance to observed it foraging on the figs fruits. How it hang upside down without care of the presence of birds around it. It just eating and eating.

I just came back after a long trip to the field started from July, 31st until Aug, 19th. It was 20 days in the field for bird's survey with researcher from US. They are bird's expert (ornithologist) and i was lucky to learn so many things related to bird's study from them. We use several methods for this trip. We do the dawn chorus (bird's call recording), foraging data observation, mist netting for bird's of interest by calling the birds using their calls and then we do the bird banding. It is really interesting and there are some area that i still not good at like identifying the species via it's call and collecting the data for the birds that we band. However, as i said earlier practice makes perfect. Continue doing it and doing it right.

BIRD'S PUBLIC TALK

Society for Natural Science
and
Grand Perfect Sdn. Bhd.
presents
A Conservation Talk

Title: “Birds of the planted forests of Sarawak”

By Dr. Alison Styring

Date: 09 August 2008

Time: 04.00 p.m. (Registration at 4.00-4:30 p.m.)

Venue: Conference Room 2, Li Hua Hotel, Bintulu

The Planted Forest Zone (PFZ) of the Forest Department Sarawak’s Planted Forests Project, Bintulu Division, extends over about 500,000 hectares. In the coming years, about 170,000 ha will be planted with the fast growing tree Acacia mangium to supply industrial wood, while several large forested areas of the PFZ will remain for conservation of flora and fauna. The GP Conservation Programmed is based on cooperative studies with local and international experts on biodiversity, conducting biological inventories with GP staff, university students and NGOs. GP Conservation plans to catalogue the species richness of the PFZ, and to develop an effective long-term biodiversity conservation programme for the landscape.

Dr. Alison Strying came from Batom Rounge, Louisiana. She currently acts as an assistant professor in Environmental studies at the Evegreen state college in Olympia, Washington. She obtained her PhD in Biological Science from Lousiana State University (LSU) in 2002 where she wrote a dissertation research about the ecological of lowland woodpeckers in the managed forest of west Malaysia. While conducting the study, she was given the opportunity to work with a great team of students studying forest recovery for their master's degree under the supervision of Dr. Mohamed Zakaria Hussin, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Dr. Frederick Sheldon had served on her PhD committee at the LSU from 1998 – 2002. On 2005, they began concentrating on a collaborated research on the plantation project. Among her research interest are avian natural history, community ecology, field methodology, as well as survey design.

All are welcomed and registration will be done upon arrival. GP especially welcomes members of local NGOs such as the Sarawak Nature Society, Malaysia Nature Society and the Society For Wilderness to attend and enjoy this talk.

SIXTH LESSON: SMALL MAMMALS INVENTORY – TOUGH ONE

We prepare the live-wire cage trap and it is 150 of it to be set up in the secondary forest and the plantation. Everyone is working hard to finish set up the traps in two days because we need to have 7 trap nights for that trappings.

The traps will be set up 25m apart so at every station i will take the GPS point so it will be easy for mapping that point in the map.

This is not the small mammals that we trap using the cage traps. It is a primate, the Western Tarsier Tarsius bancanus. Actually, one of my workers caught it by hand when we check the traps. This was my first time see this animal alive in the wild and i feel very excited. When i hold it, it grab my finger tightly and it didn't bite me (i am just lucky that it doesn't bite me).

After we took photo of it, we released it back into the forest where we caught it.

This trip is my first trip of my own project. My study is to do comparison of small mammals assemblages in different types of habitat e.g plantation, conservation area (large secondary forest) and remnant forest (secondary forest that left for buffer zone). During this first trip i was struggle very hard with help from GP-CON staff, workers and actually i am working together with one student from NZ. He is doing another study where he is looking at the movements of the small mammals accross the plantation landscape. What can i say about this experienced was, it really teach me to become more serious in work out a scientific research in the field. Why i say it so? Because at some point where i get very tired and stressed, i was thinking of quit doing it. It was the craziest thing that has come into my mind during this trip. How come someone that feeling very blessed because have a chance to work on her dream job ever thinking of quiting this job? However i feel very lucky because i have so many people around me that support what i am doing and what i have been through.

The results of this trip is also very impressive andi really didn't imagine that i can make it very well. Hmm..it's not because i am the only one doing it but because our team work during the trip. I have this one boy as my worker. He is really good. He doesn't mind to help me prepare the specimen until almost 2 am in the mroning. He doesn't complaint and just be there and help me. Without his help i think i maybe get sick because of loads of works to be done.

As a conclusion, the first experienced will never forgot because it will become the trigger to move on and improving it.

FIFTH LESSON: HERPETOFAUNA INVENTORY

In April 2006, my boss asked me if I want to join the herpetofauna inventory which is led by Dato' Dr. Bob from Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. As usual I am very excited to learn something new, even though deep in my heart I was a little bit scared because I have snakes, lizards and frogs phobia. I can not stand with frogs because of its smooth and slimy skin. Meanwhile for snakes and lizards, because some of it venomous. However, I will never say NO because I need to gain this valuable experienced.

This is my first experienced stay in the camp, which I have to sleep on the hammock. I was really enjoyed that trip because I really like to stay inside the forest. Our camp was build next to the river and we take bath in that river. I still remember my first experienced caught a frog during that survey. It was Rana glandulosa and it's almost escaped from my hands because it is too slimy.

During that trip, I learn to identify frogs into species level. It was very tough at first because all names were new to me. However, I was lucky because there were two assistants from Sabah Museum join our trip and they taught me a lot on identification. Bro Pat really teaches me a lot and I admire his skills on herps identification and his work in the field is really fantastic. When we go for frogging at night, his ability on spotted the frogs or lizards or snakes were really amazing.

I also help them with lab work where we take all the frogs, lizards and snakes as a museum specimen. We prepared it as a wet specimen and take liver tissues for DNA purpose. Once, I was warned by Dato' Dr. Bob, when I lost the tag number for the tissue tube. He was really angry and warned me for always be alert and careful when handling specimen tag. He told me that, specimen or tissues tube without tag number is useless. So, be aware that every specimen has the information needed. From that moment, I always remind myself to be careful when prepared any specimens. He is so true about it.

This field trip teaches me a lot on basic things about herpetofauna study. Even though one day I will not become a herpetologist but the experienced and skills that I get is very valuable and can not be replaced.

I thank all of team members in this trip, RFI, CSY, NM, Pat and Fred for the interesting and priceless experienced and knowledge. The spirit and passion shows by Dato' Dr. Bob Inger on carried out this field work and his determination really touch me and encouraged me to keep on doing something that i have my passion on. He was 85 years old that time (year 2006). Age is really doesn't matter to him.

P.S. I don't have photos during this trip and i attach my photo with Dr. Bob during our BCTPF conference early last year.

SORRY FOR LONG SILENCE

I was a little bit busy lately and didn't have spare time to post new entry to my blog. I have problem with my blog settings where i can not publish photos in my blog entry. I keep trying to figure out what happen and will write more after this.