On a recent birdwatching trip to Borneo’s Highlands, I managed to photograph a Brown Boobook Owl in Bakelalan Sarawak, which is known to be a resident nocturnal bird here.
This was also my first time spotting the Brown Boobook, which I consider a ‘Lifer‘. I have seen a few owls around Sabah and Sarawak, but not this species.
Boobook Owl in Bakelalan Sarawak
The Brown Boobook, or Ninox scutulata, is a known resident of Bakelalan and is also spotted around Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo’s island. Its big yellow eyes are pretty prominent, and it is highly bright when the light is on. In some photos, the white light shining on the Boobook causes red in the eye.
They are not that easy to spot, but not that hard either. One needs to have a sharp eye, and of course, luck is the main factor when looking for these beautiful nocturnal birds.
My sighting was considered lucky, as I was out looking for the endemic Dulit Frogmouth, which is known to be spotted around Bakelalan in Sarawak. After three nights of looking for the Dulit Frogmouth, the final night was the closest I have been to hearing this highly sought-after bird’s call.
Our specialist guide had called the Frogmouth, and it responded with a call-back, only to be hidden high up in the rainforest canopy. Attempts to lure it to a lower and more open branch were unsuccessful as it played games with us. We must have waited three hours for this prized bird to show itself, which it never did.
In the end, we moved to another spot in Bakelalan to look for the Dulit Frogmouth but attempts to call were unsuccessful. However, the bird guide did mention that, at times, they would be lurking somewhere without making a sound.
When we were scanning the forest with our torches, one of us caught an eye reflection, and we were pretty excited about this. It was quite far, perhaps about a hundred meters in, and high up in the open. Looking through my 600mm lens after the soft light was focused on the subject, I saw it was a Brown Boobook.
Due to the distance, the light was not powerful enough, but most of us got the shot after many attempts. The photos here are quite decent, and I am happy with the Boobook sighting in Bakelalan, Sarawak.
Brown Boobook Names
These beautiful owls are also known by other names, such as Brown Hawk-Owl or Oriental Hawk-Owl, and are spotted in various regions. The Brown Boobook has been spotted in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka.
You can find more information about the Brown Boobook if you wish to understand this nocturnal bird, its habitats, breeding, and so on.
Conclusion
Well, as a fact-finding trip, our birdwatching exploration team spent a good three days and nights in Bakelalan, Sarawak. It was not a birdwatching trip, as most would think. Our mission was to study the accessibility, logistics, accommodations, birdwatching locations, food choices, and trails around Bakelalan and promote birdwatching in Sarawak.
While Bakelalan remains one of the up-and-coming birding destinations in Sarawak, more bird watchers have started to head here since the news of spotting the endemic Dulit Frogmouth in Bakelalan.
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