Birds, Beasts and Bugs- Trekking in Sabah, Borneo

[SafariChick]

I love all the colors and contrast of them in the photos in post # 24

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks both.

 

We then walked slowly back to our lodge in the evening, which was pretty uneventful. Given the distance between the lodge and the RDC I was keen to try and organise a car for the next morning, it being fairly cheap to do so. With that done, having eaten a good cheap meal at the lodge, I wandered back to my room spotlighting on the way, but seeing nothing much of note.

[kittykat23uk]

Thursday 20^th March

 

The two different receptions caused us some difficulty this morning as we waited unsuccessfully for our taxi outside the main reception closest to my room, where we thought we had agreed that the pick up would meet us. We had booked for 6 AM but after waiting 15 minutes we didn't want to delay getting to RDC any further so we ended up walking there, much to the protest of my poor feet!

 

We returned first to the canopy walkway and the same fruiting tree now attracted an Asian black hornbill. A female fiery minivet added a nice splash of colour to the collection of brown bulbuls that we had picked up thus far and over the course of the morning we added purple-throated and red-throated sunbird, red-billed and Raffles's malkoha (sadly both of these species always seemed to enjoy hanging out on distant vegetation-covered trees). Small birds were represented by green iora, hairy-backed, red-eyed, buff-vented and cream-vented bulbuls, black-winged flycatcher-shrike, orange-bellied flowerpecker, rufous piculet, red and black broadbill, black-naped monarch and Asian paradise flycatcher (white morph). We also spotted a hawk eagle, which I think we decided was probably Wallace's (there are two different hawk eagles which look very much alike, Wallace's and Blythe's, as well as two mimics, honey buzzard and Jerdon's baza).

P3192245conv64 Asian Black Hornbill by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3192263 adj Fiery Minivet by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3192275 adj Fiery Minivet by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3192285 Buff-vented Bulbul by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3192292 Wallace's? Hawk eagle by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202297 Wallace's? Hawk eagle by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202299 Red-eyed Bulbul by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202303 Red-eyed Bulbul by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202305 Cream-vented bulbul by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

We also had another cream-coloured giant squirrel, this time in better light so we could really appreciate the colours on him. Lesser green leafbirds, and walking some of the trails revealed greater racked tailed drongo, a delightful oriental dwarf kingfisher and plated millipede.

 

P3202326 Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel, Ratufa affinis by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202327 Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel, Ratufa affinis by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202348 Lesser Green Leafbird by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202359 adj Red-throated Sunbird by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202378 adj Purple-throated sunbird by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202379 Greater Racket-tailed Drongo by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202389 Rufus-backed Kingfisher (Aka Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher). by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202391 Plated Millipede by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202413 dragonfly by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202414 Lizard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202424 adj Olive-backed Sunbird by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202440 adj Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

Birding at RDC took us up to around midday, whereupon we walked back to the lodge for lunch, stopping to photograph sunbirds and a scarlet-backed flowerpecker en route. Paul then headed to the nearest town in the afternoon to use an ATM, whist I spent from around 14.30 to 16.00 ish visiting the sun bear and orangutan rehabilitation centres.

 

The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre was better than I expected with a nice big wooded enclosure (I couldn't see the boundaries of it) where a number of sun bears seemed happy and were exhibiting natural behaviour. There was also a smaller enclosure where one sun bear was pacing around, this was a new arrival who was in quarantine. He would be released into the other enclosure once he was declared healthy enough. There are interpretors on hand to provide information about the work of the centre. Use of flash is not allowed as it is said to disturb the bears. A detailed history of this centre can be found here: http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/bornean-sun-bear-conservation-centre-bsbcc/

 

P3202458 Rescued Sun bear (In a sanctuary) by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202459 Rescued Sun bear (In a sanctuary) by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3202478 Rescued Sun bear (In a sanctuary) by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

I enjoyed watching the sun bears clambering over fallen trees and generally milling about, but I didn't want to miss the feeding time at the orangutan sanctuary. So I took my leave and headed next door. After paying at the entrance I then had to drop my bag off in a locker as no food is allowed in the sanctuary. From there, it was a short distance along a boardwalk to the feeding platform. It wasn't long before I saw my first orangutan, a young one who seemed to have some sort of problem with it's fur, it looked fairly naked and reminded me of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings! This one made its way along one of the ropes, suspended between the trees and the platform.

P3202575 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202601 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

The next to arrive was a mother with tiny baby in tow. The little one was so cute with his little punk hair do! Mum sat herself down on the platform and made a sunshade for little one out of a couple of large leaves. As feeding time approached a male joined her for the banquet and they fed quietly together for a while before the male moved on. Another orangutan hung on the fringes waiting for her turn.

P3202634 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202654 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202682 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202691 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202711 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202721 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202775 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

Eventually the show was over, or so we thought. But as we were leaving one naughty youngster seemed set on raiding the cafe, getting rather too close to the visitors! It was eventually ushered back into the forest.

P3202801 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202806 Rehabilitated Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

At this point I wandered back to meet Paul at the lodge for an early dinner. An oriental pied hornbill was feeding in a tree next to the restaurant and Paul also pointed me to a number of roosting Borneo fruit bats. We headed back to RDC (by car this time) to do some spotlighting. We headed first to the hornbill tower and waited as the sun began to set. The chorus of 6 o'clock cicadas began to fill the air, signalling the shift change-over to begin. A barred eagle owl flew into view a few metres away and then I spotted a red giant flying squirrel as it clambered up a tree, moving to a horizontal branch for a quick brush up before gliding off into the night.

P3202820 Oriental Pied Hornbill by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202831 Oriental Pied Hornbill by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202846 Borneo Fruit Bat Aethalops aequalis by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202884conv adj Barred Eagle Owl by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202890 Red Giant Flying Squirrel by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3202895 Red Giant Flying Squirrel by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Once it got too dark to see much, we headed down and walked some of the shorter trails, Kingfisher was one of these. We didn't see much of note aside from a large hawk moth and a rather sizeable huntsman spider. My feet started to to protest so I decided to wait by the lake as Paul continued spotlighting along the trails for a little longer. Then we called the lodge for a pick up and retired for the night.

P3202899 Giant Huntsman Spider - ID welcome! by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

[graceland]

What an idyllic safari..and your art is terrific. Loved the sun bears. You certainly find the out of the ordinary for your birding adventures..and we all enjoy it!

G.

[Zim Girl]

Love the fruit bats and flying squirrel.

[Soukous]

I'm really enjoying your TR @@kittykat23uk

Borneo has never been on my bucket list but it looks fabulous.

and to top it all you're an artist. Impressed!

[Kitsafari]

beautiful pictures of the birds and squirrels. and what a lovely picture you drew - you are an artist.

 

@@kittykat23uk a question on the rehab centres for both the sun bears and orang utans - are they fenced in, and are they habitualised to humans or do the visitors stay a distance, especially in the orang utan rehab centre? i would assume that none of them can be returned to the wild since they rely on the humans for food. which is kinda sad, but realistic in a way. i always had the impression that they were kept in cages at the rehab centres, but it looks like my impression is way off, by reading your description.

[wilddog]

Just catching up with this @@kittykat23uk. Very interesting report with come lovely images, despite your steamed up glasses. I too have had that experience!

 

Some of the birds look very small e.g the Fiery Minivet. What size would that be? I know nothing of the birds in that area.

 

Cute squirrels and what a variety!

 

Looking forward to the next instalment.

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks all, I will try and answer some questions. @@Kitsafari the sun bears are fenced, but the main enclosure is very natural and seems to be quite extensive, with lots of trees to climb and places to hide. They do hope to release some of the bears back to the wild. You view from a platform that overlooks the enclosure. There is a smaller enclosure for temporary housing of quarantined animals. The first two photos are of the quarantined bear, the second of one of the bears in the main enclosure. There are other enclosures being built away from the view of visitors where human contact will be hands off and will work towards releasing the bears.

 

At the orangutan sanctuary, this is all open to the forest, it backs onto the RDC so sometimes people can see the orangutans there, these are more than likely rescued orangutans from the sanctuary. They do aim to rehabilitate orangutan back to the wild. The viewing area is a few metres away from the feeding platform. It is said that the orangutans are fed a monotonous diet to encourage them to forage for themselves.

 

Orangutans are discouraged from petting the visitors, but some of them have other ideas and the staff have to step in to discourage any interaction. That's also why you can't bring any food in with you!

 

@@wilddog the minivet is about 15cm in size, similar to sunbirds.

[Big_Dog]

Glad I caught this. Wonderful birding pics, and who'd have thought squirrels could steal the limelight like that!? Awesome ones of the giant and flying specimens.
Also loved the endearing little sun bears; lovely animals! Looking forward to more!

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks @@Big_Dog

 

The spider has been identified as Heteropoda boiei a member of the giant crab spider family which incidentally also contains the southern African the genus Palystes which are known as rain spiders. Some may recall I had a run in with one of those last year in Sabi Sand...

 

Friday 21^st March

 

Anyway our short time at Sepilok was almost over and we were due to be picked up at 9 am for our transfer to Kinabatangan Jungle Camp. So this meant we had a little bit of time over breakfast to bird around the lodge before heading out. I took a walk around the pond and a pair of noisy collared kingfishers were chasing off an intruder. A small water monitor lizard climbed up onto a mound to sun itself and both plantain and Prevost's squirrels traversed aerial highways. Other birds seen included slender-billed crow, Javan mynah, dollarbird (a type of roller) and a bat hawk.

 

P3202904 Female red-throated Sunbird by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3212912 by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3212916 adj South-east Asian Water Monitor - Varanus salvator by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

As it happened, the driver arrived earlier than expected and so went on to another lodge to pick up some other guests before doubling back to collect us. Then we were on our way. The last part of the journey to KJC is by boat from the small village of Bilit. We arrived to a warm welcome. Robert the owner and guide for our trip was keen to know what we wanted to see. I expressed an interest for general mammals and colourful birds, pittas, trogons etc, and of course I just had to mention my interest in cats and my hope for that elusive clouded leopard. Robert didn't sound too hopeful, saying that in all the years he's guided here, he's only seen leopard a couple of times (including, he later told me, a female with two cubs who strolled right through the clearing in front of the restaurant at two in the afternoon one day- talk about being gripped off!!). My heart sank a little, because I felt sure that they were seen more regularly than that, like maybe once a month or something!

 

But at least the pygmy elephants would be a highlight for this section of our trip right? I mean I've read quite a few trip reports and everyone seems to see a herd of pygmy elephants on this river... Robert shook his head and explained apologetically that there was a herd but they were hanging around 2 hours away by boat. One or two had been seen recently on night cruises but that was about it...

 

The other people we arrived with were a birder and his non-birder wife. The birder pulled out a list and Robert sat down with him to go through it, explaining we'll look for this and that, this one is difficult, this one we don't get, that one is easy and you'll definitely see it and so on. Lunch was served on the restaurant deck overlooking the clearing and we enjoyed watching the local residents which included some huge monitor lizards, I mean these guys looked almost as big as komodo dragons! A pair of rare Storm's storks, a sought after bird, were resident at the lodge, one having been rescued a few years ago by Robert. He had left the lodge for a while but had now returned with girlfriend in tow. A Prevost's squirrel came to claim a share of banana.

 

P3212931 Prevost's Squirrel by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3212934 Prevost's Squirrel by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3212954 South-east Asian Water Monitor - Varanus salvator by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3212996 South-east Asian Water Monitor - Varanus salvator by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

P3213028 Storm's stork by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

 

We had seven boat trips booked over our three night stay, as well as a trip to Gomantong caves.

 

The lodge is set back from the river, connected by a boardwalk. As we walked along it, we were shown two brown wood owls.

 

P3212982conv56 adj Brown Wood Owl by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

[SafariChick]

@@kittykat23uk love the orangs you saw - the baby is darling and I watched the videos, love the quiet interaction between Mom and baby while they are eating. How crowded was the viewing area? I've read some reviews saying it can be quite crowded but looks like you had a good view.

Those monitor lizards are impressive! Sounds like your quest to see the clouded leopard was a bit like mine to see puma in Costa Rica - I had heard they were seen 2-3x per month at Bosque but apparently not lately. But you still had a lot of great sightings.

[TonyQ]

@@kittykat23uk

Very enjoyable with lots of really good bird pictures - and the fruit bats are great

The baby Orang is so cute - and it is great seeing them move on your video - especially hanging from the rope.

The monitor lizard is very impressive

[kittykat23uk]

Interlude 3

 

Thanks both. In the phillips's guide there is a section on each of the main reserves. In there it says of Danum Valley "clouded leopard regular". My mate Keith knows a guy who worked at DVFC for a while and said he saw leopard several times, but I got the impression that they spent time far away from the usual trails and/or did longer night drives than is possible to organise as a regular visitor. In another report I read somewhere, I think one guy was staying at DVFC and was fortunate enough to see leopard several nights running while out spotlighting. So combined with my luck against the odds in December looking for Iberian Lynx, I was quite optimistic that we might chance upon one with all the night walks/boat rides and drives we had planned.

But speaking to the guides there, they maybe had on average 1-2 sightings each a year. I do know that one year people were fortunate that a guide at BRL found one resting in a tree, you can see the amazing pictures on Naturetrek's website. But that was a couple of years ago. In fact searching for images of clouded leopard reveals only a handful of wild shots that are not taken with camera traps. On Flickr there is a shot taken by a guide on the Kinabatangan, and I know Coke Smith posted an image of one that he missed, but that others in his group saw along the Kinabatangan.

So I think one would have to be extremely fortunate to come across one of these elusive cats. I get the impression that aside from leopard cat, the chance of seeing any of Borneo's other felines is quite low.

[kittykat23uk]

Below is a video of the activity around the lodge and the highlights from our first boat trip. You can see one of the storks carrying something in it's mouth. I think this is probably a blind snake! These harmless snakes burrow in the leaf litter and could be mistaken for a large earthworm.

I was also shown a black and yellow broadbill in it's pendulous nest.

After relaxing at the lodge until about 15.30 it was time for our first boat trip. We got really lucky and saw our first orangutans feeding high up in the trees along the river, once they moved further away from us we carried on. Both brahminy kite and a lesser adjutant stork soared over the river and a lesser fish eagle perched in a tree. We passed a submerged tree, on which were perched egrets and anhingas.

P3213045 Wild Orangutan by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213073 by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213081 adj by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213092 Anhinga and Great egret by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Then a large troop of proboscis were seen crashing through the trees. Another of the mammals that I really hoped to see and we spent a fair amount of time watching their antics.

P3213122 Proboscis Monkey by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213118 by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213123 Proboscis Monkey by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Robert tried hard to locate some good birds and we managed to spot Bornean falconet some distance away, this is the world's smallest falcon. Wrinkled hornbill, another of the species I really wanted to see, flew over but were too distant to appreciate well. A dollarbird made sorties from a high perch.

A bird that did pose really well for us was a spectacular black and red broadbill. What a little stunner this bird is! We also picked up whiskered tern, green imperial pigeon, crested serpent eagle and common sandpiper.

P3213131 adj Bornean Falconet by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213181 Black and Red Broadbill by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213186 Black and Red Broadbill by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Towards the end of the boat trip we travelled down one of the tributaries, a bat hawk was perched some distance away and we then spotted some silver leaf monkeys (languars) who were starting to bed down for the night, then another troop of proboscis monkeys were seen. The sunset provided a spectacular backdrop to our last sighting which was a stunning rhinoceros hornbill. Unfortunately with the dusk light it wasn't in a great spot for photography, but what a bird to end our first boat trip on!

P3213201 adj Bat Hawk by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213269 Proboscis monkeys by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213273 Sunset on the Kinabatangan River by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213274 Sunset on the Kinabatangan River by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

[kittykat23uk]

We returned to the lodge for dinner and watched as bats made sorties through the open corridors. Our day was still not over as we returned to the boat for a night cruise. We first came across a buffy fish owl in the spotlight, then a skulking black-crowned night heron was picked up. A sleepy troop of proboscis monkeys rested in the trees by the side of the river and a stork billed kingfisher seemed to be tucked up for the night. How our boatman spotted the one-eyed reticulated python hiding in the vegetation we do not know!

P3213278conv adj Buffy Fish Owl by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213281 Black-crowned Night Heron by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213283 Proboscis Monkey by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213291 Stork-billed Kingfisher by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

P3213301 Reticulated Python by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

[Atravelynn]

You have really excelled with all the interesting squirrels and they are not easy creatures to photograph. Remember that guy who was a squirrel nut (no pun intended)?

 

A clouded leopard and cubs strolling past the restaurant. Wouldn't that be a sight!? That's way it always pays to bring along a camera.

 

The orangutans and sunbears in the sanctuaries are lucky ones. Great you also saw orangs in the wild along with proboscis monkeys--even a flying one. Fantastic stop action on that. Your night shots are outstanding. Hopefully all of these beautiful sightings make up for the scarcity of some of the mammals you were hoping to see.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Atravelynn

[Treepol]

@kittykatuk23 what an big adventure you had in Borneo. Impressive wildlife in sun bears, orang-utans, proboscis monkeys and so many squirrels. Borneo must be the squirrel capital of ther world!

 

So many wonderful photos of colurful birds - the sunbirds, minivet, kingfisher and hornbills are especially memorable.

 

I am planning to visit in April 2015 and my mother would also like to come along, however she is worried about the heat and humidity. I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions mid-TR. Mum is reasonably fit and very excited about spending 6 weeks in Africa this August-September (Mashatu, Kgalagadi, Central/North Namibia/ Caprivi/ Moremi and probably CKGR). I've found average temperatures of between 28-32C for Borneo in April but am wondering about the humidity - would you say it is about the same as the Pantanal in July-August?

 

If we stay in air-conditioned accommodation as far as possible would this be enough to mitigate the heat and humidity during the day?

 

Are the mornings and late afternoon more bearable than midday, or isn't there much difference?

 

The viewing from the canopy walkways and towers at the Rainforest Discovery Centre looks good - how difficult are they to access - do you have to climb a large number of stairs to access these or is there a ramp from part way uphill?

 

Did you find game viewing from the river to be less humid than on land, would this be a good option for Mum?

 

Looking forward to more when you have time.

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks both. @@Treepol when on the river the humidity isn't so bad. But in Danum and Tabin it is very humid and gets hot very quickly, . At kinabalu its not as bad as you are at higher elevation. But low cloud and walking lots also got me hot and sweaty. In Danum I was basically drenched almost as soon as we walked out the door. No air con either just fans in the room. I was taking a couple of showers a day just to try and get some relief. Add in long walks too and its hard going..

 

the walkways varied. At sepilok there is a ramp I think. The hornbill tower has steps going up.

[Safari Cal]

Great TR @@kittykat23uk, just got back from Sabah on Sunday myself. I might just wait to you finish yours and write ditto at the end of it . Love the photos and the accompanying narrative, you saw so much at Mount Kinabalu, very impressive. The Sunbears are a relatively new addition at Sepilok, fantastic opportunity to get close to them.

 

In answer to a couple of questions posed. Air Con is really only available in KK, out and about the Eco-Lodge credentials mean a fan is the best you can expect, you WILL get sweaty. There are other lodges at Sukau that do serve wine but not spirits, however expect to pay around MR100 per bottle (they don't serve by the glass). Leech socks are a necessity, you can buy them at Danum in the gift shop or on Ebay. I got leached twice, under my arm and on my stomach, the leach socks do work, but if the leach is about waist height then you're probably going to get bitten. You don't feel the bites, but if you get a full dose of anti-coaglent expect the bite to bleed for a few hours.

 

In Apr you can expect humidity to be around 80-100% in Danum within the rainforest itself, it was nearer 100% when I was there this year, and I found it very hard going (being Scottish and more suited to colder climates!). Like Jo, I had at least 2 showers a day to get a little respite.

 

If you can afford it, I recommend you go for a deluxe cabin. You can fill the plunge pool , with a slow running tap when you are out, and when you get back from your trek you can jump straight in and cool down... I started sweating again as soon as I got out though!

 

The best early morning misty shots of the rainforest are at the DVFC, it's a 45 min drive from BRL but worth the £30pp cost which includes breakfast and a bit of a night drive en route. You have to ask though as it isn't well advertised.

 

Can't wait to read more Jo and thanks, getting ready to use my 'ditto' trump card.

[kittykat23uk]

Just as long as you don't top trump me with a stunning clouded leopard shot, otherwise I might do something I'll regret on the boat trip! ;D