The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project

Sabangau's new butterfly project

2012-02-01T10:58:00.009+07:00

This month I have been helping with an exciting new biodiversity project for Outrop: a long term assessment of Sabangau’s butterfly life. Anyone who has ever set foot in this rich and diverse forest will know how abundant and varied a selection of these insects we have, many of them stunning to look at. In order to make these surveys easy to carry out and replicate, we are focusing on just one group: the fruit-feeders, most of which belong to the Nymphalidae family.

Prothoe franck: this beautiful species appears to favour the interior forest

To get close enough to identify these tricky creatures, we are relying on 2 metre-long cylindrical fabric traps, hung up by string suspended from a branch and each holding a small tray of butterfly bait. The latter is a delicious concoction of over-ripe /rotting bananas, sugar and “a generous slug” of malaga, a local sweet wine – a sickly sweet boozy slime that is exactly what fruit-feeding butterflies crave.

As with our bird and ant surveys, we have selected transects for our traps that represent different habitat types and levels of disturbance, namely forest edge, heavily logged forestand two (relatively) undisturbed control sites. Through this we hope to identify positive and negative indicators of disturbance, as we have done in other such biodiversity surveys, with an eventual aim to use butterflies to assess habitat type, quality and human disturbance. As different species are likely to inhabit different storeys of the forest, we have chosen to hang half of the traps one to two metres off the ground and the rest at seven to ten metres – a task that requires an Indonesian level of skill with a catapult!

So far we have carried out ten days of surveys: the first five on forest edge and disturbed transects, with ten traps on each, checked daily, giving us a total of 100 “trap days”. These were then moved to two transects in less disturbed forest. Initially, it appeared that the latter was providing a lower abundance and diversity of butterflies, as in the first couple of days we caught very little apart from the apparently abundant Agatasa calydonia (pictured, a species frequently trapped on all four transects). Later on, however, perhaps as a result of drier weather, more butterflies began to appear in the traps; by the end we had caught eight species on the two transects, almost equalling the ten found on the two disturbed transects.

Agatasa calydonia: this abundant species has accounted for over 50% of all captures this month.

The highlight of the month has been a new species for Sabangau, Polyura schreiber, which was found in a high trap right on the forest edge, on transect PH.

In both of the undisturbed transects, we were continuing to catch new species right up until the final day, so our species accumulation curve has not yet levelled off. This hopefully means we can expect to find further species still when we continue the butterfly project next month.

Polyura hebe: detail of the scales on the underwing

Care is taken to note signs of predation in the traps. We occasionally find predatory insects such as this mantis inside the traps, often with wings and legs of a devoured moth or butterfly on the bait tray below!

Nick Boyd

OuTrop partners with Orangutan Appeal UK

2012-01-26T23:10:00.002+07:00

OuTrop is delighted to welcome the Orangutan Appeal UK as a project partner. Like OuTrop, the Orangutan Appeal UK is committed to supporting orangutan conservation, and we therefore see great benefit in supporting and promoting each others' work to help achieve this goal. Founded and led by Sue Sheward after a visit to Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, the Appeal now strives to protect wild orangutans through providing support and funding for a number of projects across Borneo, and by raising awareness of their plight across the globe. The appeal is also authorised to work on behalf of the famous Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre! We would like to thank the Appeal for their support of our research and conservation efforts in Kalimantan.

Even more orangutan videos

2012-01-25T17:19:00.002+07:00

Yesterday while setting up butterfly traps on transect 1.6 we were again visited by orangutans, this time by a group of seven individuals! Southern Bornean orangutans are generally solitary animals but can occasionally travel in small family groups, however it is very unusual to find seven together and we think that this is the largest group ever recorded in the Sabangau forest.

The first individual was a large male travelling close to the ground and bending over trees as he walked. He was closely followed by Gracia, a relatively unhabituated female with a young dependent infant (see video 1). She was very aggressive towards us, throwing branches, shaking the trees and making many ‘kiss-squeak’ vocalisations. In this video you can also see her cupping her hand over her mouth to make the vocalisations louder.

In the middle of her display we were joined by a juvenile orangutan of about 10 years of age, likely to be Gracia’s previous infant (see video 2).

When both moved away were were joined by another female, with a 2/3 year old baby and mischievous male juvenile (video 3), passing over our heads and making a lot of noise. While watching them we spotted a lone gibbon passing to our east before starting up a brief alarm call. And finally, throughout the afternoon we heard a series of long-calls following them at about 200m, so it’s likely there was an eighth orangutan in the area as well.

Looks like transect 1.6 is the place to be right now!

Nick M

Two new glimmers of hope.....

2012-01-21T15:42:00.002+07:00

Two recent announcements offer renewed hope for conservation in Kalimantan, though it's probably a bit too soon to sit back and relax quite yet.....

In the first, described in detail in the Jakarta Globe, Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, issued a regulation setting aside 45% of Kalimantan to be "the lungs of the world". The regulation includes increased rules surrounding protected areas, and includes plans to rehabilitate degraded areas, connect conservation areas through ecosystem corridors and control agricultural expansion. Although hugely encouraging on the surface, the regulation offers disappointingly few details on how these aims might be achieved and on which ecosystems might be protected, and it is unclear how this plan will work alongside other government policies to see Kalimantan becomes self-sufficient in energy and a national energy producer by 2025. The percentage quoted is also questionable: according to Deddy Ratih of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, "real forests" currently only cover 30% of Kalimantan. It is also unclear whether local political leaders will automatically follow this central government plan. Nevertheless, this regulation represents a renewed commitment and plea from President SBY to support forest protection and promote greener development - something we should all applaud.

In the second announcement, described in detail in the American Journal of Primatology, a team of researchers led by Brent Loken working in Wehea Forest, in eastern Borneo made the incredible re-discovery of a species of primate so rare it was believed to be extinct. Using camera traps set up to record other species of interest in the area, the team were shocked to find images of a species of primate none had ever seen: the Miller's grizzled langur. An extensive survey conducted in 2005 found no evidence of the species, leading to fears among conservationists that it may be extinct. The scientists now plan to return to the area to conduct a thorough population assessment and, we can only hope, help put in place measures to make sure that this remarkable re-discovery is not followed by further headlines describing the species' demise...

2012-01-17T15:09:00.000+07:00

Hi everyone, I have attached a couple of videos of orangutans that were taken in the forest a few days ago. Myself and Ari were firing ropes high up into the trees to hang butterfly traps in the canopy, and a young male orangutan heard rustling in the trees and came over to investigate. He was very curious and cheeky, and followed us for about two hours as we set up our traps. We made no effort to interact with him, but he would often come down low in the trees to look at us, or would jump about and throw branches at us.

The attached videos show him grabbing hold of one of our ropes and throwing branches at Ari, and then later rushing over to look at us, taking a pee, and making a big commotion in the tree.

Enjoy,

Nick

Conference delegates visit the forest

2012-01-15T18:26:00.000+07:00

Participants from the Linking Great Ape Conservation and Poverty Alleviation: Sharing Experience from Africa and Asia held at CIFOR, the Centre for International Forestry Research, in Bogor visited the forest yesterday. They got a good taste of the swamp and the rainy season as the heavens opened while we were in the speed boat traveling on the Sabangau River.

The sky darkens!

Enjoying the speed boats

Heading into the rain

One of the large canals in the rain

Work with OuTrop: Three positions now available

2012-01-15T17:17:00.000+07:00

Would you like an opportunity to work for OuTrop? We are now seeking applications for three key positions in our management team - Project Manager, Primate Scientist and Communications Manager - visit our website for more information. Please send your applications by the 1st of February 2012.

We are also inviting applications for our next Biodiversity Intern!

New photos from the heart of Sabangau

2012-01-09T17:31:00.000+07:00

Clouded leopard - perhaps a new individual!

New photos from the camera traps in the Tall Pole forest 12km from camp are on our blog! A selection of these are below. Check back for more photos as the cameras are being checked again this week.


Leopard cat

Orang-utan on the ground again!

2012 Volunteer expeditions

2012-01-06T15:49:00.002+07:00

Outrop is now accepting new applications for 2012 volunteer expeditions! You can increase your experience of tropical research and conservation field work by participating in our long term research programs, or you can develop your own BSc / MSc project with us.

We will run two core seven-week groups during 2012:

1. Sunday 8th July – Saturday 25th August

2. Sunday 30th September – Saturday 17th November

Visit http://www.outrop.com/volunteer.html for more information. Book early to secure your place and to receive an early-bird discount!

Bornean orang-utans suffer from protein, as well as energy, deficits

2012-01-03T15:59:00.002+07:00

A recent paper published by Dr Erin Vogel and colleagues in Biology Letters (freely downloadable here) illustrates the challenge that Bornean orang-utans in Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan face to meet their protein requirements. Earlier work in Gunung Palung (Knott, 1998) and by OuTrop scientists in Sabangau (Harrison et al., 2010) demonstrated that these animals frequently suffer from energy shortfalls, but this is the first paper to demonstrate that similar challenges exist in meeting protein needs, although the orangutans in this study appeared to narrowly avoid severe protein deficits that might lead to tissue wasting. This finding is important, as protein is essential for the growth and maintenance of bodily tissues. Inadequate dietary protein may therefore limit reproductive potential and the ability of orang-utans to withstand human disturbance, including climate change.

All the best for 2012!

2011-12-23T11:25:00.002+07:00

OuTrop's 2012 calendars, featuring some great images from the jungles of Borneo, are still on sale on our website!

Biodiversity Tall pole expedition

2011-12-22T14:51:00.003+07:00

A dengue outbreak having written off any chance of a dry tall pole expedition in October, a biodiversity assessment was finally carried out in this stunning part of the forest late last month, by which time the wet season had well and truly arrived. Eric Perlett, Marc Dragiewicz and I collected bird, ant and butterfly data while Udin, Azis and Aman re-measured tree plots and carried out orangutan nest surveys. In spite of very wet and muddy conditions underfoot (and throughout our camp!), the rains were kind to us and allowed us four decent bird survey mornings. The species composition within the forest interior was mainly similar to that of the mixed peatswamp habitat in which we carry out most of our research, but certain species seemed more abundant there, such as scarlet-breasted flowerpecker (a very rare species in the mixed swamp) and green broadbill. Before the expedition Marc and I had started noticing fruiting fig trees and lianas attracting groups of fruit-eating birds. The tall pole topped any we had seen elsewhere, with a single tree providing breakfast for (at least) seven black hornbills, two green broadbills, two red-crowned barbets, two thick-billed green-pigeon, two greater green leafbirds, a blue-eared barbet, a brown barbet and a rather outshone pair of ashy tailorbirds.

The most interesting bird records, however, came from the intriguing adjacent burnt area. Since the fires that cleared this huge area of primary forest some years ago, it has seen impressive re-growth, dominated, as we have seen elsewhere, by the wind-dispersed Tumih (Combretocarpus rotundatus), with many trees already over 10m in height. This allows for an unusual combination of bird species preferring disturbed habitat or open areas (such as bold-striped tit-babbler, pied fantail, crimson sunbird, black-thighed falconet [pictured] and dollarbird) and those usually found in the forest interior (black hornbill, greater green leafbird, mangrove whistler, several babbler species and even a positive indicator: grey-chested jungle-flycatcher). This habitat also provided two new species for the natural laboratory in the form of Asian fairy bluebird and brown shrike. Unfortunately we only had time to do one bird survey in the burnt area, and no butterfly or ant traps, but potential biodiversity surveys carried out there on future expeditions as the secondary forest continues to grow would surely yield interesting results.

The tall pole’s mammal life was thankfully not limited to the squirrels, tree shrews and mice that paid constant visits to our camp throughout the day. At night our food was raided by a more interesting species, the Malay civet, with at least two individuals regularly turning up to tuck into leftovers and steal what they could. During the expedition we saw or heard an impressive five species of primate, namely the usual apes and monkeys (orangutan – at least five individuals, including three large males – Bornean southern, red leaf monkey and pig-tailed macaque) and, on the last morning, a Horsfield’s tarsier. Marc and I were extremely lucky to see this individual, which kindly landed on a small tree directly in front of me five metres away before posing for photos for Marc, halfway through a bird survey at 7.30am, only a week after Supian had seen one in the mixed swamp, also in daylight. Its huge eyes, long bony fingers and impressive leaps from tree to tree made it my highlight of the week.

Nick Boyd

(Photo by Bernat Ripoll)

OuTrop Shop open for business!

2011-12-16T01:14:00.001+07:00

The OuTrop online shop is now open for business! The first item available is a stunning 2012 calendar full of images of the wildlife we are working to protect. All photos were taken by OuTrop staff and students and buying one will help raise more funds for our work. Each calendar is £15 (including postage and packaging) and will be availeble from 22nd December. Please visit our website and order one here.

Durban Climate Talks: A Green Light for REDD+?

2011-12-15T23:21:00.002+07:00

The 17th round of UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa has now drawn to a close, after two weeks of intense negotiations. In addition to attempting to secure a roadmap for reducing carbon emissions through the combustion of fossil fuels, conservationists have also been watching with anticipation to see what, if any, progress has been made on the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) initiative. REDD+ has huge potential in the peat-swamp forests of Indonesia, where OuTrop works, as these forests store vast amounts of carbon in their peat, which has led to a number of REDD+ pilot projects attempting to become established in the region.

So, what did all of these negotiations achieve and has it all been worthwhile? The main achievement of the negotiations appears to be an agreement that the world's governments will commit to doing something later, with agreements on binding emission reductions to be made in 2015 that come into force in 2020. While this may not be considered much of a result, major positives from this are that it has been agreed that the burden of emission cutting will be shared among all countries, including the big developing-country emitters, China and India (although the legal implications of the wording of this agreement remain unclear). There was also agreement on the broad design of a $100 billion global Green Climate Fund, although details on where the money might come from were disappointingly lacking.

The general progress of REDD+ negotiations provided a similar set of positive and negative outcomes. Progress was made on how to set reference emission levels and how to measure emission reductions, but the strength of social and environmental safeguards remains questionable, and there have been no advances in terms of long-term funding. This led CIFOR's Principle Scientist, Louis Verchont, to state that, while "we are now seeing the technical barriers to REDD+ fall by the wayside".... "we do not have progress on the 'politics behind the money' and without this we cannot talk about sustainability of REDD". The ongoing lack of certainty in binding emission reductions and operational framework in which carbon trading through REDD+ could function also creates continued doubt about long-term REDD+ market opportunities. Despite this uncertainty, the World Bank announced mid-way through the conference that donor support for REDD+ has increased over the last few years, indicating that much hope still remains.

So, in short, some good positive movement has certainly occurred, including for REDD+, although there is still some way to go. Considering the current dire economic climate under which these negotiations have been conducted, maybe this is the best that could have been realistically hoped for, although that will serve as little comfort to those people and habitats already feeling the heat as our climate continues to warm....

UN Secretary General visits Kalampangan restoration site

2011-12-15T01:13:00.004+07:00

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, recently visited the Kalampangan Research Station and restoration site. Guided by CIMTROP Director and our long-term supporter, Dr Suwido Limin, Mr Ki-moon learnt about the problems of peat loss, drainage and fire, and resultant carbon emissions and biodiversity loss.

This highlights the international relevance of these issues at an important time, immediately preceding the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 17th Conference of the Parties meeting in Durban, South Africa.

December Newsletter

2011-12-11T15:51:00.007+07:00

Our latest quarterly Newsletter is out!
In this issue we talk about some of our expeditions to the interior forest of Sabangau, give an overview of our new Biodiversity research projects, present some of our favourite photos from the forest, and give updates on our orangutan research, kelasi project and community patrol team.
And if you are looking for ideas for Christmas presents, please take a look at our new 2012 calendar, OuTrop t-shirts and other souvenirs!
Read it on our web site.

Following Salvador

2011-12-10T11:33:00.006+07:00

Hi everyone, I have just returned from three brilliant days following a large flanged-male orang-utan in the Sabangau forest, and wanted to share some of my experiences from the follow. This is my first orang-utan follow for over seven years, as my last work here was in 2004 as an assistant on Dr Helen Morrogh-Bernard PhD project.

We went out to search for orangutans early on Monday morning, and met him after ten minutes when I heard him breaking wood about 50m from the transect. I went to investigate, saw his eyes glaring at me through a gap in the undergrowth, and was greeted by a few angry ‘kiss-squeak’ vocalisations. I called in the other researcher to join me, and we followed the orang-utan at a distance as he moved away slowly. At first he was a little uncertain of us, climbing on to high logs, stopping, looking back, listening, and trying to work out if we were a threat or not. However after a while he relaxed, stopped looking at us, and went about his behaviour as normal, allowing us to get close enough to get really good views of him feeding and walking on the ground. As long as we stayed a respectful distance behind him, didn’t get too close and didn’t make too much noise, he seemed happy that we weren’t a threat and was content to ignore us.

We think that this individual is Salvador, a large male that turns up in our research area two or three times each year. He can be identified by a small scar on his upper lip, a white cataract in his right eye, a damaged middle finger on his left hand (the finger remains straight when he closes his hand around a branch), and two damaged toes on his right foot. He is huge and very impressive when he stretches out his body, but is very relaxed with researchers and treats us to good views and interesting behaviour.

Following large male orangutans is quite different to following females or smaller males. Whereas the smaller orangutans travel high in the trees, the large males are very heavy and often prefer to walk on the ground. They are massive animals, so when they are 10 metres away on the ground you can always feel your heart beating a bit faster!

Salvador travelled on the ground for about six hours that day breaking open rotten wood to search for termites, feeding on Pandan leaves, and picking jelly-coated fungi out of puddles At midday he met a female orang-utan (without baby), and stopped dead, went very quiet, and watched her pass by. He followed her from a distance and joined her to feed in a tree, but otherwise showed very little interest in her. They both ate in a Hangkang tree until about 3.30pm, when the wind picked up and we felt a few drops of rain. The female immediately moved away to a nearby tree and made her nest to sit tight for the night. However, Salvador was too preoccupied with food and kept eating in the tree until the heavens opened. He then moved away to a large-leaved tree nearby (Terontang), broke off two branches, held them over his head like an umbrella, and curled up in a ball to try and shelter. There was a massive storm, so heavy that we could hardly look up at his tree, but we couldn’t leave him until he had made his night nest as we wanted to follow him again the next day. After an hour and a half of torrential rain, he suddenly threw his umbrella down to the ground beside us, made a big long-call, and then turfed the female out of her nest! She had no way to resist this big orang-utan, so she had to slope off in the wet to make another nest nearby. They say that chivalry is dead…

The next day he spent about eight hours on the ground feeding on termites and pandan again. Both of these foods are high in protein, and it seems that most large male orangutans have to focus on these food sources in order to maintain their massive body size. In some places the forest understorey opened out, and we could get some excellent views of him eating termites from only about 10m distance. The forest is very wet at the moment, and several times we saw him washing logs in a puddle before feeding, and we think this behaviour has not been observed before. After cleaning the logs, he would bite off pieces of rotten wood with his teeth, and noisily suck out the termite grubs from inside.

On the third day he seemed to change his feeding strategy, and spent a lot more time up in the trees, eating fruit, leaves, bark and epiphytes. Again we had some wonderful views of him, once biting of chunks of Jelutong bark from trees, or delicately picking small epiphytes from horizontal branches. He met another female with a baby and older juvenile, but again he showed absolutely no interest in them. At about 10am he found a large fruiting liana in a high tree, and gorged himself on the fruit for about four hours. At about three o’clock, he slowly crept down out of the tree, looking a bit groggy with a belly full of fruit. He spotted an old orang-utan nest nearby, drew in a few fresh branches, and collapsed flat out on his back straight to sleep!

I’d have to say he’s one of the laziest orangutans I’ve ever followed, only making one new nest in three days, often travelling on the ground rather than in the trees, and not even bothered to investigate a couple of good-looking females. However, it is such a privilege to be able to see these animals behaving normally in their natural environment, and I found this a truly magical experience.

Horsfield's Tarsier spotted in the Sabangau forest

2011-11-21T17:11:00.015+07:00

Congratulations to Supian from our Kelasi behaviour team for these great photos of a Horsfield's Tarsier (Tarsius bancanus ssp borneanus), one of the rarest primates in the Sabangau forest. Tarsiers are small nocturnal primates and these days they are found only in South East Asia. They have previously been recorded in Sabangau but are seen perhaps only once a year.

Tarsiers move by hopping between vertical tree-trunks and vines, feeding on insects and small vertebrates. The photos give a good clear view of the muscular hind legs, long clasping fingers, huge round eyes (for night vision), forward-pointing ears and long tail. The cute face also helps.

New Study Illustrates Impact of Hunting on Kalimantan's Orang-utans

2011-11-17T18:11:00.002+07:00

A new study, published in PLoS One this week by Erik Meijaard and colleagues, illustrates the large impact that direct killing of orang-utans by humans in Kalimantan is having on the orang-utan population (the paper can be downloaded for free here). The 32-person research team conducted interviews with 6,983 respondents in 687 villages across Kalimantan to query respondents about their wildlife and orang-utan encounters, orang-utan conflicts and killings, and relevant laws.

A total 15% of respondents that were deemed reliable (i.e. had correctly identified pictures of orang-utans and other similar-looking forest primates) reported that orang-utan conflicts had occurred in their village. More tellingly, killing of orang-utan(s) at some time was reported by at least one reliable respondent in 42% of villages around which orang-utans had been seen and in 21% of the total villages surveyed. Hunting was mostly for food, in alleged self defense and because orang-utans were perceived as pests.

The authors estimate that between 750-1,800 animals were killed by people in Kalimantan in the last year. Although it is difficult to confirm whether such figures are 100% accurate, this study nevertheless indicates that killing of orang-utans is widespread and common across Kalimantan and, hence, is likely to be having a serious negative impact on their population. This supports previous studies illustrating that orang-utan densities in East Kalimantan were more closely associated with distance to the nearest village known to hunt orang-utans than to any other variable (Marshall et al., 2006) and OuTrop team members' observations showing the widespread and intensive hunting of large fruit bats for food across Central Kalimantan (Harrison et al., 2011). Habitat loss and degradation remains the predominant threat for most animals in Kalimantan but, for certain species at least, it seems that we ignore human appetites for forest culinary delicacies at our peril.

New birds in Sabangau: Suspicions and confirmations

2011-11-14T17:46:00.009+07:00

Since Sabangau's birder-in-chief Marc Dragiewicz arrived around a week ago we have been out in the field nearly every day, eagerly trying to identify some new bird species that have recently been heard or seen in the area.

One particularly pleasing new identification is the violet cuckoo (Chysococcyx xanthorhynchus). In August I started noticing a repeated high-pitched whistle from above the canopy, and having consulted books and recordings, started to suspect it was a flight call of the violet cuckoo, a species that had only been seen once before by Marc D about five years ago. I was not content with this diagnosis without having seen the bird clearly, but two months later Marc at last found an adult male feeding in a mixed flock. With its iridescent violet sheen over the head, breast and wings, its zebra-striped belly, a deep orange bill and a red eye-ring, there was no mistaking this stunning bird, which treated us to clear views for a good five minutes. Two days later we saw two males from the weather tower, flying from treetop to treetop, doing both the flight call that I had been hearing previously and a beautiful trilled song.

Unfortunately not all species are so easily confirmed on sight. A few days ago I saw three frogmouths (a group of elusive, nocturnal, well-camouflaged birds from the family Podargidae) on a transect survey along the edge of the forest. I had a good view of a pair in some asam asam shrubs, and later managed to get to within a couple of metres of a rufous-coloured individual to produce a sketch on the back of my data sheet.. For all three birds I suspected Blyth's frogmouth (Batrachostomus affinis), a species not yet confirmed in Sabangau, but frogmouths are notoriously difficult to identify on sight alone due to their wide variation in colouring and feather patterns. However, Marc and I have been investigating a loud, descending series of whistles (possible frogmouth calls) that we have been hearing shortly after 4am every morning, and we are hopeful that a local expert will be able to identify them.

Other birds that have not yet graced me with quite a good enough view/song to identify with confidence include:

Plain sunbird (Anthreptes simplex) - have previously been seen by a canal on the adjacent Megarice site. We have seen drab-coloured birds in Sabangau, but as yet have been unable to see the male’s iridescent forehead patch.
Brown-backed needletail (Hirundapus giganticus) - a bird resembling this huge swift shot past us in the tower on Thursday evening. Clearer view with diagnostic features in mind needed next time!
Snipe (Gallinago sp.) - a single bird recently flew over me while surveying in the deforested sedge area. The likely candidates are pintail snipe (Gallinago stenura) and Swinhoe's snipe (Gallinago megala), however these are among the world's hardest species to separate in the field so, whether or not I see it again, I may be forced to leave this wintering wader at genus level.
Sooty-capped babbler (Malacopteron affine) - has been seen in a neighbouring forest and had one unconfirmed record in Sabangau. As with the plain sunbird, a clear view of the cap is needed, in this case to separate it from the closely related rufous-crowned babbler (Malacopteron magnum) and scaly-crowned babbler (Malacopteron cinereum).

Thankfully not all new species to Sabangau involve so much effort to confirm, as Marc and I were happy to discover when a juvenile tiger shrike (Lanius tigrinus) turned up in a tree above the camp kitchen just as we returned from a survey. This migrant may be hanging around for the whole of the northern winter as we saw it again in the same place several days later. I just wish all birding were so convenient!

Sampai jumpa,

Nick Boyd

Following Big Male Orangutans in October

2011-11-11T15:37:00.008+07:00

Over the last few weeks the forest has been a place of transition. The smoke-filled air of the dry season is passing, replaced by menacing storm clouds and rain on an almost daily basis. The forest is relishing the change, indignant at months of being neglected by the rains; the tree-top food stores are again open for business. Long calls have been ringing out across the forest as many flanged males are entering the area in search of those most valuable of resources, food and females. So onto the follows...

Wilberforce (Oct 25^th- 26^th )

I found this male out at the edge of the research site, having received reports of a male long-calling in the area the previous day. He was shocked to see me standing there below him, making it clear he wasn’t happy about the situation by breaking several branches and throwing them at me, although I must add, with less than deadly accuracy. This continuous barrage of kiss squeaks and branch breaking was punctuated with long-calls, but these were short bouts and aimed at us to display his irritation at being followed.

By mid-afternoon he had met an adolescent female of about nine years age. She was a similar size to Indy (one of the most regularly followed females) and still without an infant, but although they were in each others company all day, they did not interact and never moved close; maybe his insecure behaviour wasn’t what she was looking for in a boyfriend. By six ‘o’clock he was finally thinking about making his nest, by which time the forest was pitch-black, treating us to a a long, dark walk home in retribution for the inconvience of being followed all day. The next morning the female arose early from her nest and moved off in search of another male more to her liking, not to be seen again. Our focal, the male, had a short lie-in until the follow resumed with his characteristic kiss-squeaking and branch-breaking which continued for the rest of the day. By the mid-morning he slowed, found himself a suitable area and sat quietly on a small branch barely capable of bearing his weight, before moving off again some two hours later. Over the course of the day he ate very little, with only two instances of feeding on anything other than leaves, once on the fruit of Jangkang Kuning and once on the wind-dispersed seeds of a large Tumih tree.

At 13:20 we heard another orang-utan nearby. In response, the focal shot out of the tree in which he was eating, and rushed towards the sound of the approaching orang-utan. They met on the ground and a fight ensued. Above the action a small female sat watching avidly, gripped by the battle, as were we. After 15 minutes of biting and exchanging blows (we could hear the impacts), the defeated and battered Wilberforce escaped the onslaught, climbing a nearby tree before fleeing with the other male in pursuit. Soon the other male was between us and the focal orangutan, who was now disappearing into the distance. Therefore we were forced to change our data collection to the victorious male. The new male, still accompanied by the small female admirer, hung low in the trees, watching his defeated foe disappear into the distance; but once far enough away he turned his aggression to us with a charging display that left our hearts in our mouths.

Victor (Oct 26^th- 27^th )

This new male was also not well habituated, but in being a much more confident individual, this was manifested in charging at us, rather than the usual kiss-squeak vocalisations. Within the two-hour follow on the 26th he had already charged us twice, with little warning or reason to do so. Soon after the orang-utans awoke the following day we heard another long call from a nearby individual. The male and female swung out of the tree from which they were eating and disappeared off in the direction of the long call, but by the time they had arrived the stranger had vanished. Interestingly, it was the female that had led the male to the area as if urging him on, hoping to choose the stronger of the two adversaries as her chaperone, if and when they met. The male followed the small female like a lap dog, stopping when she did, and eating only when he was waiting for his partner to finish her meal.

However, the only social interaction of note came soon after the other male’s long-call; the female moved close to the male, hung less than a metre from his face and moved to touch him, but he just ignored her until she finally left the tree. This pair also had a long rest period, bedding down in small day-nests to avoid the mid-day heat.

It wasn’t long after this siesta that the two orang-utans met another female whom proceeded to kiss-squeak continuously at me and Unyil (my partner for the follow). This noisy inconvenience obviously annoyed the male, because soon after he again rushed towards us, this time from about 20m away, to intimidate us for a fifth and final time on this day; on this occasion also trying to topple a tree onto us as we crouched. The original pair left the kiss-squeaking female just before three o’clock and we didn’t see her again. They moved off for a final meal of Jangkang Kuning seeds before making their nests just after four o’clock.

More to follow next month!

Ben