Sleepless in Borneo 2019

[Kitsafari]

I'm finally all caught up  - I'm so disappointed for you that despite all the hard work you had put in, the clouded leopard still refused to show. And I'm surprised too that the orangutans did not turn up, but i think you gave a very plausible reason - that the fruiting trees inside the forests have dispersed the great apes.

 

Perhaps it's time to take a long break from Borneo and try new destinations for a few years (as you are going to do this year, and meeting ST-ers for the first time, too!), then return to Borneo with a renewed vigour to see the old "friends" anew again, and see more new friends with refreshed spirits?

 

 

Edited January 27, 2020 by Kitsafari

[kittykat23uk]

@Kitsafari Yes probably a good idea. Less than a couple of weeks now before I head to Uganda (although for the last two weeks I wasn't sure if I was even going to make it because Fizzgig unexpectedly needed a dental and had developed an abscess, fingers crossed she's going to be OK now) and then after that is Svalbard. I still need to get to Ethiopia at some point, I also want to do the snorkelling with Orcas trip in Norway, maybe visit Belize, maybe try again for snow leopards in the Valley of the Cats and of course return to India and other places I've already been to.  

[Kitsafari]

well that takes care of at least 3 years, unless you want to do that all in one year!

 

Oh no for Fizzgig. I hope she feels better and the abscess clears in time. She'll have someone to watch over her while you are away, so I'm sure she'll be in good hands. as you will be. I want to hear all about Uganda!

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks @Kitsafari She's a little trooper and it's already healed up after just a week of treatment. I think the trick was getting to the source of the problem (tooth spur) and then getting her straight onto the injectable penicillin. The first time this happened a few years ago she was started on oral antibiotics, which didn't work, the abscess refilled and she had to have several surgeries over the space of a couple of months, until we got her onto the penicillin injections and manuka honey had to be smeared onto her open wound to stop infection & promote healing. So to say I was bricking it, thinking we'd have to go through all that trauma again, would be a tremendous understatement!   

[kittykat23uk]

Here's a Special video, this one has the rarely photographed let alone filmed Otter Civet, plus a couple of flying squirrels:

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

This video has a red leaf monkey and a nice little leopard cat.

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

This one has the Pygmy Elephant, brief Sunda Skunk cameo,  another Colugo and some adorable baby civets. 

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

A last video from Deramakot, Lifer Binturong, Malay Civet and Slow Loris. 

 

 

[jeffb]

This has been a fascinating report. I had never heard of the otter civet, and the leopard cats are of course beautiful. So sorry you never saw the clouded leopard! Now I have to look into snorkeling with orcas....

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks @jeffb still three more nights to come at Kinabalu. 

[kittykat23uk]

Deramakot to Mount Kinabalu National Park 14/10/2019

 

I had a final wander around the grounds of Deramakot, photographing a few birds including Dusky Munias, Sooty-capped Babbler, Red-bearded Bee-eater and Black-headed Bulbul plus a Plantain Squirrel. After chatting briefly with Stuart who had arrived the previous night, we had to get ready to go. Then we headed off for the long drive to Kinabalu, passing miles and miles of depressing oil palm in the process.  

 

PA140572 (2)  dusky munia (Lonchura fuscans) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA140618 sooty-capped babbler (Malacopteron affine) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA140617 plantain squirrel, oriental squirrel or tricoloured squirrel (Callosciurus notatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA140625  Asian red-eyed bulbul (Pycnonotus brunneus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA140635 Fungi by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA140694 red-bearded bee-eater (Nyctyornis amictus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA140714 black-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus atriceps) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA140746 Carpenter Bee? by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191014_103457 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Tomer describes the rest of the day in detail:

 

"Kinabalu

 

After reading about Fiona Reid’s success with the banded linsang at Kinabalu, I asked Mike if it was worth dedicating 3 nights to this park, or if 2 were enough. He insisted that we should do 3, so 3 nights it is! Apparently banded linsangs aren’t terribly uncommon at Kinabalu, and this may be one of the better places to look for them. Ferret badgers are rarely ever seen (never by Mike) but perhaps the trash bins is one of the better places to look. Regarding Malay weasels, which Jon Hall and a few others have seen with relative ease back in the day – they may not be as common here anymore. 

 

After lunch at Telupid We got to Mt. Kinabalu around 14:30ish. We met our guide, Mac, signed in, and were taken to our rooms at Hill Lodge, which is the last accommodation before the ~3.5km hike up to Timpohon gate. Around 16:30ish, after a massive afternoon rain storm Jason and I asked to be taken to the gate and then walk down to the restaurant, meeting everyone for dinner. 

 

Within a few minutes of hiking downhill we saw our first Mountain treeshrew and Bornean black-banded squirrel – both in the mist and diminishing light. But I got ID’able pictures of both. We would see both again. After dinner the rain let off, and we were out. It was pretty cold, but we saw a few Spotted Giant flying squirrels, with Mac having found the first one, and me scoping the rest. 

 

Since the road is only ~3.5km up and down, most of the tour participants got off after the first go, and only Jason and I stayed for another round, asking to be dropped off by the bins. As soon as we got up to the bins we saw a Sabah Giant Rat inside the bins, leisurely eating and circling around the edge to go out. We had a few minutes of photo session with this rat, and then we let Mac and the driver go, staying at the bins to see what else we would find. 

 

We sat down on a ledge on the opposite side of the “road” from the bins, and turned our lights off, while I kept looking with the scope. Not a minute later I saw a largish animal coming from the bins toward us. I told Jason “Light! LIGHT!!”, but not expecting anything this soon, he was still looking at the rat pictures on his camera, so we ended up missing this animal. We both thought this was too bad, as none of the rats crossed the road and climbed up to the forest behind us like this. In my head of course I was imagining we had just missed our ferret badger, but we’ll never know. The animal in the scope hardly seemed to have a tail, but the again the Sabah rats didn’t look like they had a tail in the scope either (despite having a very long tail in reality). Some of the smaller rats, however, had a pronounced tail in the scope. Staying longer at the bins, the animal that crossed and came behind us never showed up, but several more rats came up including mostly Sabah rats and a few other ones who we never got any pictures of. On the walk down we saw another couple of Spotted Giant Flying squirrels, and got to sleep around 2:30 again…"

 

I personally took it easy that evening,  waiting out the rain around our accommodation before dinner. and electing to only join the first drive up where we all saw our first Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel and  a Little Cuckoo Dove. As an aside it was just as well we did not go to Telupid to get cash to stay on at Deramakot as the only cashpoint was not working. The accommodation here in the park was the nicest of the whole trip with really comfy double beds!

 

PA140005_1 spotted giant flying squirrel (Petaurista elegans) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA140011 Little Cuckoo-dove (Macropygia ruficeps) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191014_222805

by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited January 28, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[kittykat23uk]

Mount Kinabalu National Park 15/10/2019 

 

The great thing about staying in the park, despite the expense, was the wonderful views of Mount Kinabalu from the front of our accommodation. 

 

IMG_20191015_054736 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_060805 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Here’s some notes from Tomer of the first part of the morning:

 

"Most of us asked to be taken up for sunrise. Jens went to the observation platform for photography, Jo went with Mac on a bird-watching tour of one of the side trails, and Jason and I were taken to Timpohon gate again. First, we went to the observation platform on top of the gate, and waited for several minutes as the sun came up. When nothing was happening, I decided to visit the bins again, and Jason stayed at the platform. We would text each other if we saw anything of interest. While I was hiking down, Jason had his first encounter with Whitehead’s pigmy squirrel, while at the bins I was overloaded with Mountain ground squirrels, Black-banded squirrels, Jentink’s and Brooke’s squirrels, Polynesian, Tioman and Grey tree rats (all identified by Quentin Phillips) and maybe Low’s squirrels, but not confirmed".

 

So I went on a trail with Mac, this was the Silau Silau trail I think. Basically it runs from the top of the road near Timpohon gate, all the way down, parallel to the road back to the park HQ. We caught a glimpse of a White-browed Shortwing early on but overall saw little of note on the dark trail. In fact overall I saw more just round our rooms and along the road, where it was a bit more open than on the trails themselves.  For example, before even going up to the top, just around my room I had already seen Jentink’s Squirrel, Ochraceous Bulbul and Bronzed Drongo.

 

PA150012 ochraceous bulbul (Alophoixus ochraceus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150018 (2) Jentink's squirrel (Sundasciurus jentinki) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150029 (2) bronzed drongo (Dicrurus aeneus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Mac admitted he was not overly familiar with the birds of this park and, whilst he tried hard, he was not able to really identify or articulate a lot of the birds we did see, hopefully with time he will become an accomplished guide, but I wish that we’d had someone more experienced as there are many endemic birds in the Kinabalu area that I’m sure I would have had a better chance to see had we been paired with a more knowledgeable guide.  I did find some nice plants and waterfalls on the trail, so I stopped for those. Having not had much luck on the trail we returned to the road and stopped at the viewpoint for some nice views of the mountain. 

 

PA150034 (2) Flower by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_073815 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_075032 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We took breakfast at the restaurant at around 08:40, which was a really good spread and we had a really nice view of a Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel feeding in the trees opposite us. This was a particularly striking individual. Mac had said that he’d seen ferret badger at the bins a few times at around 10:00 so some of us got a lift up to that spot to look for it. Well unsurprisingly it didn’t show up so we contented ourselves with the wealth of Mountain Ground Squirrels, the very confusingly near identical Brooke’s Squirrel, and more different looking Bornean Black-banded Squirrels and various rats. 

 

PA150064 (2)  cream-coloured giant squirrel or pale giant squirrel (Ratufa affinis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150215 (2)  cream-coloured giant squirrel or pale giant squirrel (Ratufa affinis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150235  cream-coloured giant squirrel or pale giant squirrel (Ratufa affinis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150286  cream-coloured giant squirrel or pale giant squirrel (Ratufa affinis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

On my first visit here I had hiked part way up the mountain trail to the picnic spot which was frequented by Mountain Tree-shrews. But unfortunately after the earthquake you can’t go up the mountain without a guide and expensive permits. So we were restricted to the stretch below Timpohon Gate. 

 

Birds were also in evidence, including the flighty White-throated Fantail, a feeding flock of Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Sunda Laughingthrush, and as we were walking back, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Bornean Whistler. The beautiful Blythe’s Shrike-babbler confounded my camera, as it started to rain. The rain got heavier and I took shelter, watching a few passing birds as Mac tried to get a signal on his phone to call for a ride back. If I recall correctly, I think Wendy and Phil were with us initially but had started to walk back some time before Mac and I did. I can’t recall what Jens and Jason were up to, I think Jens might have walked the trails. Tomer had gone for a nap. Whilst we waited for a pickup we watched some soggy Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrushes.

 

PA150397 (3) white-throated fantail (Rhipidura albicollis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150429. Bornean mountain ground squirrel (Dremomys everetti) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150469 Bornean mountain ground squirrel (Dremomys everetti) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150504 Chestnut-crested Yuhina (Yuhina everetti) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150659 Bornean mountain ground squirrel (Dremomys everetti) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150806 Sunda Laughingthrush (Garrulax palliatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150811 Sunda Laughingthrush (Garrulax palliatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150995 Bornean mountain ground squirrel (Dremomys everetti) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150999 Bornean mountain ground squirrel (Dremomys everetti) by Jo Dale, on Flickr      

 

PA151169 (2) (2) Bornean whistler (Pachycephala hypoxantha) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA151179 (2) Blyth's shrike-babbler (Pteruthius aeralatus Robinsoni) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush (Garrulax treacheri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

In the afternoon we headed back up to the bins.  I spent some time watching the squirrels and rats and then had a wander up to the viewing platform by Timpohon Gate. This are seems to be favoured by some very habituated Bornean Black-banded Squirrels on the scrounge for handouts.  They were not disappointed. A few birds were also around, including a female Bornean Flowerpecker, Mountain Leaf Warbler and female Snowy-browed Flycatcher. Having all reunited at the platform, Tomer having walked up from the accommodation, we spent a bit more time at the bins, spotting Polynesian Rats and Grey Tree Rats as well as the usual squirrels, we began to hike down as it was getting late. 

 

PA150090 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150098 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150111 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) -looking for banana by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150119 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150172 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150182 female bornean flowerpecker Dicaeum monticolum by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150192 (2) Mountain Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus trivirgatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150212 (2) Snowy-browed Flycatcher (Ficedula hyperythra) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150219  Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (Rattus exulans) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150222 gray tree rat (Lenothrix canus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150224 (2) gray tree rat (Lenothrix canus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

I was delighted when we spotted a beautiful Whitehead’s Trogon, flush into the trees. It perched for the briefest moment and it was already getting quite dak so I only managed a record shot. 

 

PA150226 (4) Whitehead's trogon (Harpactes whiteheadi) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We reached the lookout in time for the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen, the combination of drifting clouds, low mist and setting sun painted the mountain scene is hues of ochre, tangerine, dusky lilac and plum offset against a deep indigo sky.

 

IMG_20191015_174932 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_175242 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_175424 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

As we watched the colours became more and more intense, it was absolutely stunning!

 

IMG_20191015_175536 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_175617 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_175816 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_175938 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_180019 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_180548 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

IMG_20191015_181229 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

We returned to the restaurant for dinner and then took a night drive, which Tomer describes:

 

"We went on a second night drive, which was particularly cold! Nevertheless, we actually had a rather fruitful night drive for Kinabalu, Thermal-scoping more Spotted giant flying squirrels, a Horsefield’s flying squirrel (spot-lit by Jo, not by the thermal scope), a Common/Island, a Bornean striped and a Masked palm civet, and to our surprise – a slow loris. We hadn’t realized slow lorises even existed in these altitudes, at such cold conditions. While half of the tour participants got off after the first round again (and missed all the carnivores), Jo, Jason and I thought the extra round really paid off, and then we headed back to the bins to see the Sabah giant rats again, and some smaller rats, including a Maxomys species".

 

Horsfield's Flying Squirrel - Iomys horsfieldii by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150280 (2) long-tailed giant rat (Leopoldamys sabanus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150289 (2) Small-toothed palm civet (Arctogalidia trivirgata) AKA Bornean or three-striped palm civet by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150301 Kayan River slow loris (Nycticebus kayan) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150304  Kayan River slow loris (Nycticebus kayan) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA150306 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited January 29, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[Zubbie15]

Really a shame you didn't get a leopard, especially after all the effort you put in. But you still seemed to have a lot of cool sightings. 

 

Hmm, snorkeling with orcas, I never even knew such a thing existed. Something else to add to the ever expanding bucket list! 

[pault]

Cracking sunset!

 

And I liked the civet pups in that video. The slow loris was another highlight.

[Zim Girl]

Glorious sunset pictures.

[kittykat23uk]

Kinabalu 16/10/2019

 

I haven’t got much to say that is not in Tomer’s report of the morning, so here it is:

 

"The following day was to be our last full day at Kinabalu, and last full day of the trip. I really wanted to see the Whitehead’s pigmy squirrel, so I spent from sunrise to about 8am on the platform above Timpohon gate where Jason saw his, but to no avail. Rats and squirrels were omnipresent below the platform. "

 

I had a wander around looking for birds and spotted a bunch of photographers shooting a Golden-naped Barbet that was feeding low down on some berries. Unfortunately by the time I’d lined up a shot the bird had moved and so I missed the opportunity to get a good, close, sharp shot of this beauty, which was a bit frustrating. A Bornean Whistling Thrush was more cooperative near the loos and I also managed to grab a quick shot of a Bornean Treepie.  

 

PA160321 Jentink's squirrel (Sundasciurus jentinki) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160339 (2) golden-naped barbet (Psilopogon pulcherrimus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160346 (3) golden-naped barbet (Psilopogon pulcherrimus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160360 (2) Bornean whistling thrush (Myophonus borneensis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160365 (2) Bornean Treepie (Dendrocitta cinerascens) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

 

Back to Tomer:

 

"At one point we went back to the bins, which barely had any activity this morning since they have been cleared out by the park staff. Jason took a long trail that goes around the valley and ends up at the restaurant, while Jo and I decided to try another spot where people reported seeing Whitehead’s, before heading to breakfast. But we didn’t find one. I seriously just thought to myself “we should stop chasing other people’s ‘old’ sightings because it hasn’t been working. Let’s just go to breakfast, and I bet one will just show up on the trees across the restaurant as we eat”. I kid you not – I imagined the squirrel coming to this tree across from the restaurant that’s visited by squirrels every morning. 20 minutes later, as I was getting my round of fresh fruits I saw Jo taking a picture of something, and I asked her what it was. She replied “Whitehead’s pigmy squirrel”. I was mindblown – this is exactly how I imagined it. We enjoyed breakfast and the pigmy squirrel for several minutes as it climbed up, down, and around the tree – disappearing and reappearing at different spots. What a fabulous little squirrel – it has to be one of my favorites".

 

I was of course delighted to see this little squirrel as I had only seen one once before and failed to get any decent photos that time, to the extent that I had at the time resorted to painting one as a reminder of my sighting. We spent most of breakfast watching it feeding on the moss covering the tree trunk. 

 

PA160404 Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus whiteheadi) AKA Tufted Pygmy Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160410 Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus whiteheadi) AKA Tufted Pygmy Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160432 Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus whiteheadi) AKA Tufted Pygmy Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P4215853 adj2 copy Whitehead's Broadbill and Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Back to Tomer:

 

"After breakfast we went back up to Timpohon gate in hopes of the ferret badger coming to the bins, which Mac saw a few times back in 2014 right around 10am. But this was not to happen today. I went for a long nap, and when Jason came to the room he spent most of the morning watching the mountain treeshrew that runs around the back yard of the Hill Lodge cabins. When I woke up, it was still raining on-and-off and I spent the afternoon watching the treeshrew and a Jentink’s squirrel that was hanging around as well". 

 

PA160475 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160479 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160484 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160500 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160502 Borneo black-banded squirrel (Callosciurus orestes) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160511 Orchid by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160008 mountain treeshrew (Tupaia montana) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

I also spent a bit of time watching the little Mountain Treeshrew whilst waiting out the afternoon showers. Whilst all this was going on Mac was busily trying to sort out our transfers out the following day. Everyone had different flights stretching from the late afternoon to early evening and it seems that AAB had only arranged for one transfer to take everyone in time for the earliest flight. Well obviously that was not all that convenient for those of us with later connections and, had we been consulted, we would surely have asked for at least two, perhaps three cars to take us at different times so as to enjoy our final morning. It seemed to take a lot of toing and froing along with some, shall we say, “robust discussions” before everything was finally sorted out, but we got there.  

 

PA160021 mountain treeshrew (Tupaia montana) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160061 mountain treeshrew (Tupaia montana) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160100 orchid by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

After dinner we had our final night drive. On the way up, I spotted something bounding across the road from right to left and gasped as I realised it was an exquisitely beautiful Banded Linsang! Sadly it didn’t seem intent on stopping so it was quickly lost to the forest. This was the second time I’ve seen a banded linsang, the first being on my original trip to Borneo at Danum Valley Field Centre on a night drive. Both times the sightings were too brief for a photograph. Here’s the painting I made of the first one, the most distinctive and unmistakable thing about the linsang is that long banded tail. It just can’t be confused with anything else really, such a beautiful, lithe creature! 

 

Banded linsang by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Unfortunately for those in the centre seats, that being Phil and Tomer, they didn’t get to see the Linsang. Tomer was particularly gutted by this, here’s his description of the events from his point of view:

 

"Tonight was to be our last night drive of the trip, and it sure was interesting. I will never forget that dreadful spotlighting session, where my contacts had previously started to itch, so I put on my glasses instead. The only other time I took my contacts off and replaced them with glasses, I put them back in before the night drive, because it was very uncomfortable to use the scope with glasses, and I didn’t want to give up doing it, as I was the only person who had one, and it was always finding things for us. 

 

But tonight I just thought “Eh, it’s the last night drive, and we have already seen so much more than I expected here”. The dumbest part was that I found a setting I could use the scope without my glasses, so I actually had my glasses tucked under my poncho, hanging on my hoodie. So every time I spotted something it would take me almost 30 seconds or so to fish for my glasses, find them, manage to get them out from between the hoodie and the poncho, and finally wear them. These 30 seconds happened to be 20 seconds too long when a Banded linsang crossed the road, and everyone saw it but me! 

 

It may have been a very brief sighting, but I realized I was missing something special as everyone became very quiet and I was in the back-middle seat, trying to fish for my glasses, thinking “come’on, glasses! I need to be standing up already, I’m missing something special – I know it! S**t, where are the damn glasses? Oh, here they are! S**t, why am I not standing up yet?!”. So by the time I put them on and stood up to see what was going on, everyone simultaneously announced it was a banded linsang, and it was already gone. Not a tail, not the back-end. Nothing. Suddenly, Jens jumped out of the vehicle and walked over to where the linsang entered the bushes, but I asked him to come back, and for everyone to turn off their lights so we can try to squeak it back in as Fiona Reid did. But it was gone. And I was so mad at myself. What a mistake – and it was all my fault. 

 

Other than this episode, during the night drive we saw some more spotted giant flying squirrels and a few striped civets again, and I thermal-scoped a Jentink’s flying squirrel, at the exact same spot where we saw the Horsefield’s flying squirrel the previous night (both have been confirmed by Quentin Phillips), making it our 8th species of flying squirrel for the trip! There was another spotted giant flying squirrel on the same tree. When we got back up to the bins, there were some more of the same rats again, and Jason and I were the only ones that decided to walk back down slowly as opposed to drive back down to the lodge, hoping we would catch up with the linsang. But it didn’t happen, which of course left me with a sore feeling as I went to sleep.

 

PA160117 long-tailed giant rat (Leopoldamys sabanus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160120 Maxomys Spp. (Whitehead's Maxomys?) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

At around 2230 we all ended up back at the accommodation where Tomer scoped a Collared Scops Owl right behind his room

 

PA160178 (3) Collared Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160210 (3) spotted giant flying squirrel (Petaurista elegans) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA160215 (3) Jentink's Flying Squirrel. Hylopetes platyurus. by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A few notes about Mount Kinabalu: It seems that not a lot of mammal watchers go there anymore, but with such a high concentration of small rodents, it’s not surprising that banded linsangs are seen more frequently here than in other places. In fact, I bet just the bins (when they’re full) themselves are a hotspot for the occasional small carnivore. I wouldn’t be surprised if badgers and weasels are frequent in the area as well. There hasn’t been a Malay weasel reported form Kinabalu by mammal watchers in years, but it could just be because there haven’t been as many reports. Another note – October is the wettest month according to Quentin Phillipps’s book. I’m not sure if this is good or bad. In theory, one would think this is bad. But there are substantially fewer visitors, so this could have played in our favor. The fact is that we saw no fewer than 20 confirmed species on Mt. K in just 3 nights. I wonder if this could be even more during the dry season, if a combination of thermal scope and a raised vehicle is used. The last note is that I think having a vehicle, and specifically a high safari vehicle could make a large difference between not seeing much and seeing a lot. Other than at the bins, plus a couple of giant flying squirrels and civets, we didn’t see much while walking at night."

Edited January 30, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[janzin]

wow, so many squirrels! I had no idea Borneo was a hotbed of squirrel activity The tufty-eared one is really sweet.

 

Gorgeous sunset shots too. 

 

Wonderful report all-told although I totally feel for you and your frustration on missing the you-know-what.  Still, it seems you got quite a lot of mammals!

 

[Kitsafari]

what a delightful tufted pgymy squirrel!

and a stunning linsang even if you caught a few seconds of sight. 

Beautiful birds you captured, as well as those rats!

 

 

[michael-ibk]

Sorry about the Cat which shall not be mentioned, I totally understand the frustration. That said, from a two report reader's view, you had so many great sightings, I love the diversity of species you've shown us. Thanks for that, and go have fun in Uganda! 

[kittykat23uk]

Kinabalu 17/10/2019

 

I spent my last morning birding with Mac around the restaurant and surrounding trails. We spotted a couple of little gems. In addition to the regular Ochraceous Bulbul and Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush, we also saw Asian Glossy Starling, Ruddy Cuckoo-dove, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch in better light, a Grey-chinned Minivet, Back-capped White-eye and the stunning Bornean (Black-sided) Flowerpecker. A pretty Indigo Flycatcher was also seen nearby. Finally, as I was packing up, a Dark Hawk-cuckoo was flushed from the trees in front of my room.  

 

PA170222 (2) ochraceous bulbul (Alophoixus ochraceus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170246 Asian glossy starling (Aplonis panayensis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170282 chestnut-hooded laughingthrush (Pterorhinus treacheri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170303 ruddy cuckoo-dove (Macropygia emiliana) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170371 (2) velvet-fronted nuthatch (Sitta frontalis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170447 grey-chinned minivet (Pericrocotus solaris) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170477 Medinella berries by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170480 backlit forest by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170511 (2) (2) black-capped white-eye (Zosterops atricapilla) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170528 Waterfall by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170600 adj black-sided flowerpecker (Dicaeum monticolum), also known as the Bornean flowerpecker, feeding on Medinella berries by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170613 black-sided flowerpecker (Dicaeum monticolum), also known as the Bornean flowerpecker, feeding on Medinella berries by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170684 (2)  indigo flycatcher (Eumyias indigo) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170684  indigo flycatcher (Eumyias indigo) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170695  indigo flycatcher (Eumyias indigo) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170715 (2) grey-chinned minivet (Pericrocotus solaris) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170746  grey-chinned minivet (Pericrocotus solaris) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

PA170764  Medinella berries by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

So that was basically the end, we said our goodbyes as people departed for the airport and I embarked on my journey home which all went very smoothly. 

 

PA170781 Dark Hawk-Cuckoo by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Here's a final video of the squirrels we saw in Kinabalu

 

 

Of course, there was a sting in the tail of this tale. We had kept in contact with Stuart and his group over the course of our final three nights. For the first two nights, we were relieved to hear that the weather at Deramakot had been particularly bad. In fact the first night it had rained so much that no one had gone out and their second night had not been much better, so at that point we were pretty glad that we had moved on, plus the spectacular sunset and productive night drives at Kinabalu were more than I could have hoped for, compared to my last visit. But then we heard the news about their third and final night, and it gutted us to the core. I bet you can guess what Stuart and his group saw…

 

Well, never mind! Onwards and upwards, I suppose I better start getting packed for my next trip… 

 

The end 

Edited January 31, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[Zubbie15]

Thanks for sharing @kittykat23uk, even if you didn't get your nemesis it sure seems like it was productive overall. I guess that's, in a way, part of what makes these trips so fun though, no matter how well things are planned there's no guarantee of success. Have a great trip in Uganda! 

[Galago]

Great report and wonderful photos, thank you. I really felt for you with the sting in the tail though. 

[kittykat23uk]

Thank you @Galago and @Zubbie15 Stuart sent me a video of it which I refuse to watch! For a full mammal list this can be found at the end of Tomer's report. TL/DR Here's the link to Tomer's more concise report along with the mammal trip list: https://www.mammalwatching.com/wp-content/uploads/Borneo-Oct-19-Trip-Report.pdf

Edited February 1, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[kittykat23uk]

3 hours ago, Antee said:

I am glad you saved the Leopard for me this summer  
I am looking forward to some dark nights of spotlighting for it. And for the Marbled cat... 
 

 

Ha! Well thanks, I guess... 🤔