The Land Below the Wind - of small jumbos and beasts and scintillating birds

[Kitsafari]

The thick fog shrouded the valley below the Kiau Gap platform near the base of Mount Kinabalu, hiding the 4,095m-high mountain from view. We had hoped to see raptors in the open skies, but all we saw were vapours and mist rising from the thick jungle covering Borneo's highest mountain. 

 

 

 

 

To the right of the viewing platform stood a memorial, a monument built in 2016 to remember the tragic deaths of 18 persons from a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit Mount Kinabalu on June 5 2015. A silent prayer and remembrance of those who had perished, who had included 7 schoolchildren and two teachers from Singapore. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

We were in the Land Below the Wind - the Malaysian state Sabah's moniker. Sabah had not really beckoned to me since OH and I made a long weekend trip to Danum Valley Conservation Area some 11 years ago in 2014 to see orangutans and to soak in one of the world's oldest primary rainforests. 

But after tracking reports over the past few years from the Danau Girang Field Centre, which houses in Kinabatangan River a group of researchers from all over the world in collaboration witht the Cardiff University, I was all ready to explore more of Sabah and its unique endemic Bornean wildlife - birds and mammals, with the charismatic Bornean Pygmy Elephant leading the list. That desire was accelerated when I found myself coveting the gorgeous endemic birds that OH captured on a birding trip there a year ago. 

 

OH's birds from 2023: the fabulous Bulwer's Pheasant and the stunning Bornean Banded Pitta

 

 

 

With such enticing photos, it wasn't a surprise to find myself with hubby in Sabah in April this year with another couple, also birding pals. The itinerary was first and foremost a birdie one, so any sightings of mammals would be incidental or along the way. Unlike @johnweirwho shared so many of his wonderful cat species, we saw none. Neither did we see any civets. 

 

The original itinerary for the 10-day trip in early April was : 

Day 1 - Arrival & Pickup in Sandakan Airport. Check into Sepilok area for overnight. 
Day 2 - Early morning 0530am birding activity at Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC). Full-day at RDC. 
Day 3 - Early morning 0530am birding activity at Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC). Full-day at RDC. 
Day 4 - Breakfast at 0730am & checkout at 0830am for Kinabatangan River area. At 1500pm, get ready for a river cruise outing to photography wildlife. 
Day 5 - Kinabatangan River. 0600am Morning river cruise outing. Breakfast at 0830am. Another river boat cruise until 1130am. Lunch is at 1230pm. Rest at leisure. At 1500pm, another river cruise until dark. 
Day 6 - Kinabatangan River. 
Day 7 - Morning breakfast at 0730am & checkout thereafter for our long journey (6 hours) to Tawau. 
Day 8 - Morning checkout at 0630am. Head to Telupid Town for overnight rest at Crystal Hotel.
Day 9 - Morning 0600am, check out & breakfast at Loong-Loong Restaurant @Telupid.back to Kota Kinabalu.

 

Just a week before our trip was to start on April 5, our guide informed us that the park rules had changed for the Tawau park where we had targeted to capture two pitta species - the blue-banded and the blue-headed pittas. The rules would make finding the elusive pittas that much harder, raising the chances of us leaving there empty-handed much higher. So we decided to switch Tawau with Kinabalu Park, which is at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu.  
 

[Kitsafari]

I'm starting my TR now that Johnweir is near the end of his brilliant TR - I was sneaky - I wanted to find out what treasures he had uncovered, and plenty of treasures he had indeed which I am pretty envious of. In comparison, my report will be rather thin with mammals compared with his. We probably saw only a quarter of the mammals that he had seen. My report won't be a day-by-day blow. Instead I'll do a general overview of each location, starting with those with less iconic wildlife and ending with my favourite location.

 

First, i'll get some house matters in order. 

Logistics : we flew from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu via budget airlines Scoot. SQ used to fly to the Sabah capital city in pre-Covid days but now the route is only done via its budget subsidiary. No matter - it was a very short flight of 2.5hrs. we stayed a night in KK and took a 50-minute morning flight via AirAsia to Sandakan where we would meet our guide - the shorts-attired David Tseu. For the rest of the trip, David would drive us in a comfortable and air-con (very important in hot and humid Sabah!) for the entirety of the trip.

 

AirAsia waiting to wing us into the heart of the Land Below the Wind

 

Meals : David brought us to local restaurants or food stalls for Asian food, leaning towards Chinese and Malaysian styles. Many of the meals were really good and safe (I have a very sensitive tummy). The style of guiding in Malaysia is that the trip cost generally does not include meals and beverages (unless stated in certain accommodation), so we would pay for the meals that would include David's cost as well. Food is cheap in Sabah (but please don't tell them that) and portions are generous. we were fed well - a reward for birding hard! Bottled water was always available in the van. 

 

 

Our Stay at Kinabatangan River coincided with the big Muslim holiday Hari Raya Puasa, and the cook had prepared festival cookies. I can confirm we demolish the entire tray with seconds also almost finished. And we had a box of these cookies to take away when we checked out! Yum. 

 

 

someone's hand was always in the shot. we all couldn't wait to tuck into good food. 

 

Weather: Borneo is always hot (30 degrees and above), except for areas which are elevated. Sepilok is hot and very humid but the elevated skywalk benefits from occasional wind. Kinabalu Park was lovely and cool, while Kinabatangan River can be humid but you won't even notice it while you are on the boat and on the river.  There are ground patches in the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sepilok near streams and there you will find small leeches (unlike the scarily huge tiger leeches in Danum Valley). But when we were there, the weather was generally dry so we were lucky. Leech socks come in useful although we kept to main paths so we didn't wear them. 

 

 

 

Edited June 29 by Kitsafari
spelling

[Kitsafari]

Sabah's moniker as The Land Below the Wind was earned due to its geographical location. The east Malaysian state is part of the island of Borneo, which at 748,168-sq km is the world's third largest island. Located the northern end of Borneo, Sabah sits just below the belt of East Asia that is often battered by typhoons and severe tropical storms. Sabah is hot and humid throughout the year and generally see a wetter season between September and January while a drier season is seen from February to August. Of course, the term rainforest tells you what you need to know when you enter the rainforests - it can rain any day of the year. 

 

courtesy of Ulu Malapi B&B, Kinabatangan River

It is pretty easy to self-drive on tarred roads and a highway linking Sarawak to Sabah is being built, which creates some traffic snarls especially getting into Kota Kinabalu. But driving to some of these parks require driving on potholed roads which means a 4-wheel drive is necessary. 

 

The town of Telupid sits almost in the middle of Sabah. There is not much to do here and indeed the "best" accommodation where we stayed was a tiny room that was fairly clean although I asked them to changed the bedsheet (with a tip) while I did a good clean of the dirty bathroom. Few tourists venture to this town and those who stay did overnight stays while travelling from east to west of Sabah. 

We came here for one specific target - the rare and little-known endemic Bornean Peacock-Pheasant.  A truck brought us and a group of young porters into a rubber plantation and then we got off mid-way to hike up a rather steep hill to a hide built specially to view the pheasant. The porters lightened our load, carrying our backpacks and tripods. That was so helpful especially since unfit me was huffing and puffing up the hill.  Good guide David kept by my side as the others walked ahead. 

 

Registering to enter the area

the pick-up truck and our porters

 

[Kitsafari]

Hides and feeding at hides are quite a controversial subject but we have no issue with them as long as they do not impact on wildlife. Birds in the jungles are hugely difficult to see, and if they do appear, the dense jungle make it challenging to see properly. When feeding is not done, the birds (and squirrels!) are back to foraging normally as they would naturally do. There is little impact on their behaviour as there is absolutely no interaction with them. Hides also provide an income to local villagers and in many parts of Southeast Asia has given an alternative employment to those who were poachers in their past lives. 

While waiting for the skittish and shy pheasant to appear (we waited 7 hrs for two brief appearances; we had packed lunches which couldn't be memorable because I don't recall what we ate!), other birds and mammals kept us suitably entertained in between nap times. The treeshrews were seen only at this location. 

 

Large Treeshrew - found mainly in Sumatra and Borneo

 

 

The large treeshrew next to the Lesser Treeshrew (in the forefront, apologies for the sketchy shot)

 

Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel 

 

Low's Squirrel - found in Southeast Asia. 

 

Bornean Black-banded Squirrel, as its name suggests, is a Bornean endemic

 

Black-bearded Gliding Lizard aka black-barbed flying dragon, is a species of agamid "flying lizards". Found in forests in Southeast Asia, the arboreal lizard came flying in and landed on a tree in front of our hide. 

 

Rough-scaled Brown Skink, seen frequently in most of the forests we were at. 

 

[Kitsafari]

And some feathered friends. 

 

Ferruginous Babbler

 

 

 

White-crowned Shama - found mainly in Sabah with some scatters in Sarawk

 

 

Little Spiderhunter

 

and of course the star of the show, the Bornean Peacock-Pheasant, which is on the IUCN Redlist's Endangered status with an estimated 600-1500 mature adults in the wild. The bird is rarely seen and is reckoned to be one of the rarest and least-known pheasants in the world. It is spectacular when in breeding plumage. We were too early for that. 

 

 

[John M.]

   Some wonderful photos!

   Now that I'm past travelling, I regret not having experienced Borneo, so close to home. 

   The closest I got to SE Asia, except for passing through, was living in PNG for 3+ years... but that was long before I used a camera for anything other than mostly family snapshots.

[xelas]

Malaysia and specially Borneo are in high demand recently! Your TR will only increase the interest of fellow Safaritalkers, me included.

[michael-ibk]

Great you started this, appreciate all the details. That Pheasant is absolutely gorgeous, breeding or not. 

[Kitsafari]

 

Thank you for reading and following along @John M.  @xelas @michael-ibk. 

6 hours ago, John M. said:

   Some wonderful photos!

   Now that I'm past travelling, I regret not having experienced Borneo, so close to home. 

   The closest I got to SE Asia, except for passing through, was living in PNG for 3+ years... but that was long before I used a camera for anything other than mostly family snapshots.

 

@John M.

PNG must have been so fascinating in its infancy in terms of development when you were there. That's a place for a really intrepid adventure to undertake! I don't think I will ever be there. 

[TonyQ]

I am pleased you are doing a trip report. A great start, beautiful photos.

Practical details are very welcome as you inspire a revisit!

The Pheasant is stunning 

[Ginny]

14 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

We were in the Land Below the Wind - the Malaysian state Sabah's moniker. Sabah had not really beckoned to me since OH and I made a long weekend trip to Danum Valley Conservation Area some 11 years ago in 2014 to see orangutans and to soak in one of the world's oldest primary rainforests. 

But after tracking reports over the past few years from the Danau Girang Field Centre, which houses in Kinabatangan River a group of researchers from all over the world in collaboration witht the Cardiff University, I was all ready to explore more of Sabah and its unique endemic Bornean wildlife - birds and mammals, with the charismatic Bornean Pygmy Elephant leading the list. That desire was accelerated when I found myself coveting the gorgeous endemic birds that OH captured on a birding trip there a year ago. 

 

OH's birds from 2023: the fabulous Bulwer's Pheasant and the stunning Bornean Banded Pitta

 

 

 

With such enticing photos, it wasn't a surprise to find myself with hubby in Sabah in April this year with another couple, also birding pals. The itinerary was first and foremost a birdie one, so any sightings of mammals would be incidental or along the way. Unlike @johnweirwho shared so many of his wonderful cat species, we saw none. Neither did we see any civets. 

 

The original itinerary for the 10-day trip in early April was : 

Day 1 - Arrival & Pickup in Sandakan Airport. Check into Sepilok area for overnight. 
Day 2 - Early morning 0530am birding activity at Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC). Full-day at RDC. 
Day 3 - Early morning 0530am birding activity at Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC). Full-day at RDC. 
Day 4 - Breakfast at 0730am & checkout at 0830am for Kinabatangan River area. At 1500pm, get ready for a river cruise outing to photography wildlife. 
Day 5 - Kinabatangan River. 0600am Morning river cruise outing. Breakfast at 0830am. Another river boat cruise until 1130am. Lunch is at 1230pm. Rest at leisure. At 1500pm, another river cruise until dark. 
Day 6 - Kinabatangan River. 
Day 7 - Morning breakfast at 0730am & checkout thereafter for our long journey (6 hours) to Tawau. 
Day 8 - Morning checkout at 0630am. Head to Telupid Town for overnight rest at Crystal Hotel.
Day 9 - Morning 0600am, check out & breakfast at Loong-Loong Restaurant @Telupid.back to Kota Kinabalu.

 

Just a week before our trip was to start on April 5, our guide informed us that the park rules had changed for the Tawau park where we had targeted to capture two pitta species - the blue-banded and the blue-headed pittas. The rules would make finding the elusive pittas that much harder, raising the chances of us leaving there empty-handed much higher. So we decided to switch Tawau with Kinabalu Park, which is at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu.  
 

 

[Ginny]

What fabulous photos!

[Atdahl]

Excellent, another report from Sabah.  It's a wonderful place and that pheasant is fantastic.  Can't wait for more.

 

Alan

[Kitsafari]

Thanks much @TonyQ @Ginny @Atdahl ! not as good as John's TR, I'm afraid.  

[Kitsafari]

The stairways to "heaven" loomed in front of me. I stared up at it, gosh, that looked like a whole lot of stairs and that was just the start, and  wondered if I could conquer the stairways. After being laid immobile for six weeks to early March, my muscles had gone wobbly and the lack of exercise didn't help with stamina and fitness. Our guide had counted a minimum of 750 steps in previous visits and gave up counting thereafter to reach the top. Luckily, David helped me delay the decision - he decided we should go the caves at the end of the ground walkway to see if we could spot raptors. 

 

During the 3-night stay at Kinabatangan River, we made an afternoon outing to the Gomantong Caves, only a 20-minute drive away. At past 2pm, we were way too early for the bats at Gomantong Caves. The ground and elevated caves, featured in David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies in 2015, hide over a million bats of various species, with the majority being the wrinkle-lipped bat, the Philippine horseshoe bat and the fawn leaf-nosed bat. 
The caves are also the nesting and roosting homes for swiftlets and are heavily guarded for the precious and valuable but tasteless product - birds' nest. This centuries-old much-sought after nest is made by the Glossy Swiftlet which uses its saliva to make the nest. The mainland Chinese and overseas Chinese had regarded the nests asclean as swiftlets never sits on the ground. 
There are two types of nests produced at Gomantong -the less valuable "black" nests and the more pricey "white" nests. The "black" nests are picked in the more accessible Simud Hitam (which means black in Malay) Cave at the ground-level caves while the "white" ones are picked from the Simud Puteh (which is white in Malay) Cave, higher on the cliff faces of the hills. 
These products and the caves they are in are so precious that 24-hour security is provided. But thieves face a daunting prospect even if they can do a Tom Cruiseque-heist, as they have to climb rope ladders to reach those nests as high as 90m. and there is nothing solid they can hang onto as they reach out to pick those nests. 

 

Young males hung out at the temporary-looking permanent quarters outside the Hitam Cave. they live in these quarters as long as they work in the caves. 

 

the quarters outside the Black cave

 

 

we donned on masks to prevent dust from the guano  

 

Some three domestic dogs stood guard in a cave above us, looking down on us as we walked towards the black cave. It looked cavenous inside, a high cathedral-looking atrium towering inside and branching into gloomy tunnels to caves further in. Ropes hung from the roof, neatly secured to the sides waiting for the next season of harvesting.

 

 

further in the cave were tunnels and a shed (arrowed) would sit infront of the tunnel entrance where there is a guard stationed there 24-hour. 

 

 

A Crested Serpent Eagle took a top spot, in wait to predate the bats soon to emerge. That was a signal for us to tackle that intimidating stairway. 

 

 

 

Edited June 30 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

I bided my time counting each step and avoided looking up and despairing at the never-ending stairs.

 

My friend documented my laborous climb: photo credits to our friend CP and LH

 

 

 

 

In all seriousness, it wasn't so bad once I reached the top! I was the only one who was unfit while hubby managed the climb better than I did and the two friends who are marathoners skipped up the stairs. 

A couple of brief and happy interludes to shoot a beautiful snail and a cute juvenile Rufous Piculet provided good relief.

 

'

 

A fig tree clings to the rock mid-way up the stairs

 

Rufous piculet

 

Soon, a series of workers' quarters sitting precariously on the flat rocky slopes came into view and I made it to the top platform.

 

 

 

 

The view was stupendous. 

 

 

Swiftlets circled above us and various raptors - the Black Eagle, Oriental Honey Buzzards, Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle - glided above us. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 30 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

There were two enormous caverns at the Puteh cave. both caves sloped downwards and I wondered how the workers walk within them. 

 

 

A worker sits at the top of one cave.

 

A worker (arrowed) enjoys a rest on the bed balanced above the caves. I saw them with phones so perhaps the signal is better there?

 

 

As the sunlight dimmed, the million-odd bats silently streamed out of every cavity of the hilly range. I had expected a rush of wind or sounds of fluttering wings but when the bats flew out, it was so silent we missed the start of their daily outings. 

 

 

 

The stream continued unabated, not only at the Simud Puteh Cave but also down below. The bats bunched together once they were clear of the forest and high in the air but we didn't have a good view. The light was fading and we hurried down to avoid walking down the stairs in the dark. And I had finally witnessed the flight of the bats, not as massive as I had imagined but nevertheless still a spectacle to behold . 

 

 

Bats bunching up and doing acrobatics in the sky

 

[michael-ibk]

A really fascinating spectacle!

[TonyQ]

What an amazing sight. And well done for getting up all those stairs!

[Atdahl]

Ah, I can still smell the ammonia in that cave...

 

The bat exodus is certainly worth the visit if you can time it right.  Love all the pictures and narrative.

 

Alan 

[Kitsafari]

21 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

A really fascinating spectacle!

 

It was, but it was missing an important element - the raptors were missing! they were usually there picking off a bat or two but none were around, at least not within our view.

 

15 hours ago, TonyQ said:

What an amazing sight. And well done for getting up all those stairs!

 

Thank you. Well, i do have to give myself a pat for being a senior citizen and still surviving that climb.  

 

14 hours ago, Atdahl said:

Ah, I can still smell the ammonia in that cave...

 

The bat exodus is certainly worth the visit if you can time it right.  Love all the pictures and narrative.

 

Alan 

 

Thanks. I didn't noticed  - but the mask really helped. 

[Kitsafari]

Kinabalu Park

 

Kinabalu Park is often the first stop for birders once they land in Kota Kinabalu. It is quite accessible from the capital city with just a 2-hr drive on good roads. We stayed in the town of Kundasang, in a very comfortable low-rise lodging called Zen Gardens and it was indeed quite zen-like as it was quiet and well away from the town centre. Rooms were housed in separate blocks that were spread widely and surrounded by mature and very shady trees in the hotel grounds. From the hotel, it was just 10-15 mins by car to Kinabalu Park. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the room or the accommodation but the room was very comfortable, spacious and clean with A/C/. 

I hadn't realised that there is a variety of accommodation in the park itself, but the area does look crowded. We would have our meals at the Books and Gift Shop at Kinabalu Hall  - a small cafe which served cheaper but quickly prepared common meals. It was a good spot however to look out (and interrupting our lunch several times) for one of the very elusive Whitehead's endemics - the Whitehead Spiderhunter, which was seen at a flowering tree behind the cafe. 

 

 

The 754-sq km Kinabalu park, a World Heritage Site, was first established as a protected area in 1964 - becoming the first park in Sabah. The park HQ and visitor centre sits around 1,520m above sea level. This is the entrance through which hikers eager to conquer Borneo's - indeed Malaysia's - highest mountain Mount Kinabalu and its several peaks will come to. The hikes start from the Timbohon Gate at 1,866m high, where we visited twice to find, but failed to do so, the Golden-naped Barbet and endemic the Mountain Black-eye. 

 

 

 

view from the platform above the gate

 

waiting for the barbet and black-eye both of which called but were no-shows. 

 

[Kitsafari]

Being that elevated made walking, and thus birding!, around the park very pleasant and enjoyable, and a welcomed change from the hot and humid Telupid where we had come from. We stayed on the main road which was fairly safe as there were few vehicles plying the main road. There are off-trails that probably provide better chances of seeing mammals but I hear that leeches are also good to catch there so I was pretty glad we didn't take those trails. 

The views were also spectacular. 

 

Mount Kinabalu on a clear morning

 

 

 

 

 

Kinabalu Park is viewed as the capital of squirrels which are a portion of some 100 species of mammals that are found here. The majority of mammals are arboreal or nocturnal species which means sightings are not common. These include treeshrews and squirrels, as well as primates such as the Borneon Gibbons, langurs, Orangutans, the slow loris and the Tarsier. 

Our 2-day birding at the park did not yield any major mammal species, not that we were looking out for them, although my fellow companions saw the endemic Whitehead's Squirrel while I was resting my aching back in the car. Reading other mammal trip reports, it would seem that birding rather than mammalwatching is far better in this park.

But there were also small critters that add to the diversity and richness of this thickly forested place.

 

 

 

 

This snake was small (about a foot long) so I wasn't so afraid to go closer for some shots. Known as Calamaria Virgulata or Short-tailed Reed Snake or Bole's Dwarf Snake, the reptile  is found in Java, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Non-venemous to humans, the snake is rarely seen and faces threats of deforestation and slash-and-burn agriculture as well as being eaten by larger snakes. 

 

 

 

No Id for this spider

 

Ciocada Tacua Speciosa

 

click beetle

[Kitsafari]

Of 29 endemic bird species in Borneo, at least 17 are confined to the mountains, notably Mt Kinabalu, which makes the park a birding hotspot. The park is home to half of Borneo's 518 bird species. Many birders from all over the world come here for very special birds - the trio of Whitehead's endemic birds and the very elusive bare-headed laughingthrush, among others.

We were very lucky we garnered sightings of the three Whitehead's endemics, the bare-headed laughingthrush and the Bornean Stubtail. Here are some of the iconic birds we saw at Kinabalu Park. 

 

Whitehead's Broadbill

 

Whitehead's Spiderhunter

 

Whitehead's Trogon

 

 

 

Bornean Stubtail

 

A video clip of its little dance 

 

Bornean Green Magpie

 

Bornean Treepie

 

Bornean Whistler

 

Chestnut hooded Laughingthrush

 

Mountain Tailorbird

 

Mountain Wren-Babbler

 

Chestnut-crested Yuhina

 

Indigo Flycatcher