I used to have a lot of difficulty identifying the Javan Pond-heron Ardeola speciosa as during the winter migration we usually had eclipse birds which were quite difficult to tell  apart from visiting eclipse Chinese Pond-heron.   Nowadays it is quite possible to see the Javan in breeding plumage in the padi fields of Kota Belud in north-west Sabah.  I took this picture last month and there were quite a few others in breeding plumage.  I also saw them in the padi fields outside of Kota Kinabalu recently.  Now we just have to confirm whether they have taken residency.

Here’s a positive bird story. Despite constantly losing roosting areas around Kota Kinabalu, the Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron Nycticorax caledonicus is still seen in different open areas at nightfall. By day the birds roost in colonies in the most unlikely of places. This bird was seen in a colony of Rufous and Black-crowned Night Herons in a small group of trees in a well populated area and next to a busy road. For sure, they are not as scarce as previous reports have put them to be.