some birds from Borneo

May the Great Bird of the Galaxy Bless your Planet
a few weeks in Thailand...I think our planet has been blessed with Thailand! (Amongst many other places, I hasten to add...) I'm just back from leading a tour all over the country, starting with Khok Kam and Pak Thale on the Gulf of Siam in search of Spoonbilled Sandpiper, Nordmann's Greenshank and lots of other great shorebirds and waterbirds.  

is this the best place in Australia?
Lamington National Park in QueenslandOK, so that's a contentious issue, I know but it is one of my favourite places in Australia. The forest is just beautiful, the wildlife is approachable and exciting, and best of all it is almost tropical! The general area is a World Heritage Site - the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves. It's very close to Brisbane so readily accessible. The plateau is a huge one of upland subtropical rainforest and remnants of stunning Nothophagus or Antarctic Beech, some of which are said to be over 5000 years old.

Bornean Pygmy Elephants
Well, these are some old photos but being in Thailand, particularly in Khao Yao National Park where there is so much evidence of elephants around (namely huge piles of dung!), has led me to think a bit about these fabulous beasties.  These are pictures I've taken of elephants in Sabah over the last few years. Until fairly recently, it was thought that elephants were introduced into Borneo a couple of hundred years ago and that they are feral. Some molecular studies in 2003 showed that the Bornean

a photo essay: some Asian frogmouths & nightjars
 Palawan Frogmouth @ St. Paul's National Park Pale-headed Frogmouth @ Kerinci-Seblat National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia

Townsville to Cairns, birding in FNQ!
That's Far North Queensland. I've been leading a VENT tour of birders starting in Sydney, then on to Townsville through the Atherton Tablelands to Daintree and then on to Cairns. This area has some of the best birding in Australia, and certainly is the most popular area for birding visitors. The birding is great with a varied range of habitats from open woodland to tropical rainforest. The reptiles are also terrific. In fact, it's all good!