[gandytron]

Very intriguing article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8457642.stm

The paper can be downloaded here: http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/

It's interesting that a canopy specialist, if that is what it is, can be so cryptic but echoes a similar case with the discovery of Choco Vireo in Colombia in the early 1990s, which is a small, high canopy species that moves quickly through the forest near the front of bird waves (and is thus difficult to detect).

[Amin I. Lastar]

That was amazing gandytron, I'm living in North Borneo but i've never spotted that flowepecker before. The peckers that are usually seen in my garden are scarlet-headed flowerpecker and orenge-bellied flowerpecker.
Thank you for the information.

[gandytron]

This was posted on Oriental Birding yesterday by somebody who has just been to BRL:

"Just back from an excellent holiday to BRL seeing a glut of good
birds including all possible Pittas in just 2 days, but that will be for a
separate report. In the meantime, for both the fans and skeptics of the
Spectacled Flowerpecker debate, here is your chance to reignite those
embers. The mistletoe clump that was the site of the photos that triggered
this debate are currently budding with small numbers of open blooms.
Frequent vigils over 4D3N last weekend failed to yield any significant
numbers or diversity of flowerpeckers but I fully expect a full scale
flowering event to occur within the next 10-20 days. If you are thinking of
adding to the pictorial library involving Spectacled Flowerpeckers or doing
something extreme in the name of science like dropping a mist net from a
helicopter to collect specimens; here is your chance to do so. To all the
big gun wielding photographers out there, do note that some sources have
indicated that the management are charging an additional camera fee on top
of the already expensive package for you to tote that status symbol around
the lodge grounds; so be prepared to part with your wealth if you intend to
follow up on this!"

There have also been some good birds seen at Poring in the last few days
(Hose's Broadbill, Blue-banded Pitta and Bornean Barbet), so it's a good
time to be visiting Sabah!

[James Lowther]

Originally Posted by gandytron

To all the
big gun wielding photographers out there, do note that some sources have
indicated that the management are charging an additional camera fee on top
of the already expensive package for you to tote that status symbol around
the lodge grounds

is that not a bit....
mercenary??

not being a photographer it wouldn't affect me but seems pretty tight-fisted, given the gigantic cost of the packages anyway. and where does it stop? surcharges for using any optics or walking the trails??

[birdboybowley]

Yep, those costs are disgraceful and would always stop me from staying there. But extra costs for cameras, etc is no different from some NPs in India, for example

[Chlidonias]

many National Parks in southeast Asia charge an extra fee for cameras (or often, per camera - any sort of camera, it doesn't need to have a big lens); and of course you get charged more if they think you might be a professional photographer.

[James Lowther]

i'm not sure what the entrance fees are in those Asian NPs but my main problem is not the camera fee itself, it's the fact it's going to be added on top of an already astronomical package. It just feels like a discourteous way to treat your customer to me, like when you have to pay to use toilets in places where you've already payed a massive entry fee to get in to (another bugbear!! ). When do you stop becoming a cashcow and start to be treated like a valued client?..

[gandytron]

Getting back on track with the bird, I read yesterday on Oriental Birding that "Spectacled Flowerpecker" has again been seen at BRL recently.

[James Lowther]

well yes, that is great news!
sorry for side-tracking the thread gandy