Upcoming Birdwatching events in the Miri area

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)

We have planned several birdwatching related outreach program throughout April, though might be fun for a few of us, would more likely not be so exciting for others. These outreach programs will take place in rural coastal communities in Kuala Nyalau, Kuala Sibuti, Bungai and Kuala Baram. If you are interested, checkout the the listings on our main blog.

We've got the following planned in Miri in conjunction with WMBD and MY Garden Birdwatch, a few of them involved some form of watching birds:

14th May: WMBD, Birdwatching at Lambir Hills with Daisy O’Neill
Birdwatching in conjunction with World Migratory Bird Day.
0700-1000 hrs Meet at Lambir Hills National Park 0700hrs. Daisy will be visiting from Penang to birdwatch with participants in Lambir.
1000-1200 hrs Talk and slideshow "Birdwatching in Sarawak" at Lambir Hills Conference Hall.

21st May : WMBD, Community Outreach (Birdwatching) at Pustaka Miri
Birdwatching in conjunction with World Migratory Bird Day.
1300-1500 hrs Coloring and Drawing Contests, “Birds of Sarawak”
1500-1700 hrs World Migratory Bird Day and MY Garden Birdwatch : "Birdwatching in Miri : Common Birds in Your Garden and other Rare Birds Beyond”

28th May : MY Garden Birdwatch at Petroleum Recreation Club
0700-0900 hrs Birdwatching around KRP compound for Common Garden Birds
0900-1100 hrs Talk and slideshow on "MY Common Garden Birds".
Brunch and refreshments will be served




Register as a counter at MY Garden Birdwatch.


18th June : MY Garden Birdwatch with students in Bekenu
We will be birdwatching with 45 students from 3 schools in Bekenu in conjunction with MY Garden Birdwatch. There'll be a talk and slideshow, "Birdwatching in Miri : Common Birds in Your Garden and Other Rare Birds Beyond” at SK Bungai.

Maybe we'll see some of you guys at the events above!

Greenish Photos

My digital workflow was severely disrupted yesterday as I found that all my RAW images becomes greenish on my LCD monitor. I did some analysis and found that Ah Jon was playing with a new display card the day before on my computer. So, we figured that the colour management has messed up. Thanks God that I have a ColorVision Spyder which has quickly help me to generate a new colour profile. So, the problem is now fixed. The last time I had this problem, I need to re-install everything on my computer!

More birds from Kuala Baram

Took the opportunity to celebrate the last "Work Hard Play Hard" Friday afternoon to go commune with feathered denizens of Kuala Baram peatswamps. I packed up grilled-fish and vege lunch and found a spot under a shady leafy tree, soaked in the cool sea-breeze and absorbed fully the sights and sounds the quiet spot has to offer.

Reminds me of Archie: beer can in hand, mouth full of chips sitting on a recliner gawking at the tv. Collared Kingfisher, very common in the area.

Blue-throated Bee Eater Merops viridis were plentiful in the open areas along the seldom used length of the road. Somehow they were very nervous.

The juvenile and adult Grey-headed Fish Eagle. A second fledgeling recorded for the area, the 1st was in 2010 but we didn't see it grow to this stage. Perhaps this is the second brood, 1st successful attempt.

Words (some more to be added later) and images by Nazeri Abghani/MNS Miri

After 30 long years ...

Time really flies! I have been working here for just under 30 years and was officially "retired" on 16 March 2011! Ok, retire from the job but probably I will do something else. I have many options:
1. Pursue my interest in photography
2. Open an IT shop offering services where my son Jon is an expert
3. Go into food processing
4. IT consultancy
5. Look for a job
I know that many will ask me to take it easy and enjoy life. Unfortunately, I can't do that. Life must go on and I have to make myself useful. In just two days after the so called retirement, I have flu already!

Lack of civic mindedness

Our Bulatan Park is a beautiful place for Mirian. However, every weekend or even weekday, there are some people who lack civic mindedness. They will eat at the table and leave all the plastic around.

Why can't they just throw the rubbish into the bin which is just nearby? Lately, I found that one of the lamps near this table has been vandalised.

Nikon D7000 body is now cheaper

Last Friday, there were some new products announcement by Nikon, mostly on compact camera. I haven't received any details yet...

... However, I was told that there is one good news, ie, the price for D7000 body only is now reduced by some RM200. I have not received the official price yet. So, let's wait for a day or two. The price remain the same for kit set. I have noticed the price differential between body and kit unit ever since the camera was announced.

Fake Ligo Whole Kernel Corn product

On Saturday, Ligo ran a big advertisement in the local paper warning consumer about fake Ligo Whole Kernel Corn. I have been suspecting that this popular product has imitation for a very long time already due to the inconsistency in product quality. I just wonder what is taking them so long to warn the consumer.

So, how serious is the situation. I did a count in my cabinet yesterday and found that only 30% of the number of tins are real!! They are all bought from a large hypermarket in Miri!!

The favorite sweet corn... supposely from USA.

How can you recognise the fake product? There are many places that gave the clue. 1. Spelling mistake; 2. No distributor address; 3. Different bar code; 4: Printing colour is more orange.

This was the advertisement. Click on the picture above and you can read the email in order for you to write to them and complain.