The Juvenile White-Crowned Hornbill Again!

Did i promise in my previous post that i will share my findings about this juv hornbill when i get back from my trip? Yep, i did promise but my apology for not update as soon as i get back. Okay, here is the video i compile based on my last visit on 13th April 2012. The hornbill still depend on people to give food. Hmmm... anyway, we still need to teach it to find its own food. To let it survive in the wild.

But, i am sorry for the very blurry video because i only have digital Sony camera. Uhuks... Anyway, i still get the best of this lil' hornbill. The flight feather is changing into the new feather but the tail is still no new feathers.

 

Till Then!

With the Juvenile White-crowned Hornbill

So long after my last update on our trip to the forest last month. Here is some story to share. This is an amazing bird. I never had a chance to be so close with hornbill (except in the cage of zoo) before. So, this experienced is kinda amazing and precious one for me.

This young hornbilll was found by one of our staff in the rocky stream not far from our field station (camp). It failed on (not sure how many tries) it's trial to fly. Fall into the stream and our boys caught it. While the mother up on the tree making sounds alarming the young one. But they get it and brought it back to our camp.

Referring to our staff, it was really scared and tried to flew away at the beginning but after they feed it with some bananas, it start to calm down and stay quietly at our canteen.

At the same day we have visitors (researchers) from Smithsonian Institution, and we refer to the Birds of Borneo Field Guide Book, trying to id it and get more info about its distribution, behaviour etc, we find out it eat fruits and some insects as well as frogs.

So, on the 2nd day, it start to feed on some beetle that we get from the mist nest (which we carried out some birds and bats mist netting as well). It start to do some stretch and cleaning the young furs. The little one seems to comfortable and at the same time prepare itself to flew away.

On the 3rd day, when i already left the camp, i get information from our staff it flew away. But only for a while. it came back a day later and asking for food! It perch on the high tree near the camp making sounds and our staff call it and it replies them. However, only one of our staff can get it on her arm and feed it. It will ignores others. So, they feed it frogs as well as insects and banana. Up till today, it keep coming over to the camp area asking for food. I am not feeling good about this because i really wanted it to be get back to the wild and survive there. Looking for its own food. The mother seems to be around but not close to the camp area.

Tomorrow, i will go to the camp and check on this lil fella. I already gave some advice to our staff to trained the bird to get it's own food. Here is my photo with this little fella which they name it ROMEO. (^__^)

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Till then!

Rose Ragai

Amazing Findings

Black and Crimson Pitta
Pitta ussheri

White - Crowned Hornbill
Aceros comatus

White - Necked Babbler
Stachyris leucotis

Nature Activity - Observation

From 28th Feb until 1st March, i was away to our camp @ conservation area. I was so excited bringing along all my field guide books and binocular with high expectation on a lot of findings. It is not bad to put high hope but when things ended not the way i hope, i am a bit disappointed with myself.

I only observed and identified these five species of birds and squirrels. A lot of bird species was unidentified. Two years is a big gap and i really need to get back my memories and practice more of my observation skills. Here is my observation during this visit:
a)      Exilisciurus exilis (Plain Pygmy Squirrel)
b)      Glyphotes simus (Red-bellied Sculptor Squirrel)
c)      Hemiprocne comata (Whiskered Tree-swift)
d)     Orthotomus ruficeps (Ashy Tailorbird)
e)      Stachyris erythroptera (Chestnut-winged Babbler) 


I cant get any good photos of them so here is some of the photos i get from Google search. By the way, i was enjoy observing the squirrels because they are so cute and yet very aggressive on marking their territory. 

Whiskered Treeswift
Photo Credit to Birdwatch.ph

Ashy Tailorbird
Photo credit to Google Image

Chestnut-winged Babbler
Photo Credit to Google Image

Quite an interesting one and still i am not really satisfied with this. hmmmph.... 


Till then!

Sorry for Hibernating so Long!

Photo taken at Muaya Waterfall, Sipitang

First of all i wanna say sorry for 'hibernating' so long from this blog. It is not that i forgot on update this blog but, i don't know what to write in this blog anymore. Hmmmm.... I don't have stories to share here up till now.  Why? Because i am not quite experiencing anything new on nature so far. Most of the time i am in the office or visiting villages.

Nature, forests, animals, plants? Hmmm... not really focused for the time being. I am moving to a new job middle of December last year, so still in the process of settling down. Lots f things need to be done at the beginning of adapting to a new place, new people and new working environment. Pheww!

So, hope you guys be patient with me because i will keep on eyeing on my adventure with the Mother Nature after this. Will share my story again here too...

Till then!

Pledge to abstain from eating Endangered Wildlife with WWF

Photo credit to Arbec

Eating endangered wildlife..... Let me think first!.... Did i eat any of wildlife listed as endangered species? As far as i can remember, i ever eat Malayan soft-shell turtle (Amyda cartilaginea) before. Hmm.. need to check for it's status first, lets see.

Errr... it's VULNERABLE (VU) in the IUCN Red List Category and Criteria not yet ENDANGERED. It is also listed on CITES Appendix II. Anyway, if there is a demand for the meat of this guy, i am sure five years from now he will go up to another level, maybe Endangered then Critically Endangered species. Let's me give you an ideas why is this guy includes in VU category (lets see some document first, so i will not give you guys the wrong information). Here we go:

A taxon is Vulnerable when it is not Critically Endangered or Endangered but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future, as defined by any of the following criteria (A to E):

A) Population reduction in the form of either of the following:

1) An observed, estimated, inferred or suspected reduction of at least 20% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on (and specifying) any of the following:

a) direct observation

b) an index of abundance appropriate for the taxon

c) a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat

d) actual or potential levels of exploitation

e) the effects of introduced taxa, hybridisation, pathogens, pollutants, competitors or parasites.

2) A reduction of at least 20%, projected or suspected to be met within the next ten years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on (and specifying) any of (b), (c), (d) or (e) above.

B) Extent of occurrence estimated to be less than 20,000 km2 or area of occupancy estimated to be less than 2000 km2, and estimates indicating any two of the following:

1) Severely fragmented or known to exist at no more than ten locations.

2) Continuing decline, inferred, observed or projected, in any of the following:

a) extent of occurrence

b) area of occupancy

c) area, extent and/or quality of habitaty

d) number of locations or subpopulations

e) number of mature individuals

3) Extreme fluctuations in any of the following:

a) extent of occurrence

b) area of occupancy

c) number of locations or subpopulations

d) number of mature individuals

C) Population estimated to number less than 10,000 mature individuals and either:

1) An estimated continuing decline of at least 10% within 10 years or three generations, whichever is longer, or

2) A continuing decline, observed, projected, or inferred, in numbers of mature individuals and population structure in the form of either:

a) severely fragmented (i.e. no subpopulation estimated to contain more than 1000 mature individuals)

b) all individuals are in a single subpopulation

D) Population very small or restricted in the form of either of the following:

1) Population estimated to number less than 1000 mature individuals.

2) Population is characterised by an acute restriction in its area of occupancy (typically less than 100 km2) or in the number of locations (typically less than five). Such a taxon would thus be prone to the effects of human activities (or stochastic events whose impact is increased by human activities) within a very short period of time in an unforeseeable future, and is thus capable of becoming Critically Endangered or even Extinct in a very short period.

E) Quantitative analysis showing the probability of extinction in the wild is at least 10% within 100 years.

SO? Do you still feel eating Endangered wildlife? Me? NOPE, i will not eat them anymore. I still want to see the population come back and with hope they will not EXTINCT! The younger generations need to know the species of wildlife that we enjoy seeing them NOW!

To SUPPORT this CAMPAIGN just click this link: Pledge to "LIVE GREEN": Save Wildlife, Save Ourselves.

Till then!!!

Cheers!
Rose Ragai