Into the mountains

May 3

We did one more bird walk in Sepilok this morning, first near a pond behind our hotel and later on the same trails as yesterday. We saw a number of new species, and were reminded that even the same trails yield very different birds on different days.

Everywhere we have gone, we have been reminded to keep our rooms well locked to prevent the macaques from entering and ransacking. This morning we watched a group of macaques peer in the window of a parked car and then proceed to try to open the door using the handles! 

 After an early lunch we drove for 4.5 hours southwest into the Kinabalu National Park. The roads in Sabah have gone from “bad” on previous days to “terrible” today, in the words of our local guide. Some of the bumpiness was due to construction, and some just potholes in the area not yet under construction. For the first two hours, palm oil plantations lined the roads, but after that we started heading up hill, adding twists and turns to the bumpiness. 

We stopped at the 4-hour mark to do some roadside birding for species that won’t appear as high as we will be the next few days. We were pleased to get a much closer view of the tiny white-fronted falconets: they are so small (5.5 to 6.5 inches long) that it is not surprising that they primarily hunt insects.  We also got our first glimpses of Mount Kinabalu (elevation 13,435 ft) wreathed in clouds. Our hotel is in the foothills of the mountain, at about 1300 m of elevation. The cool dry air was a nice change after a week in the heat and humidity of the lowlands. A quick round of birding on the hotel grounds yielded us one more endemic, the tiny Pygmy Heleia. 

Pictured: White-bellied Woodpecker, White-fronted Falconets, female Diard’s Trogon, Pygmy Heleia, cool butterfly, male Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Black-eared Barbet 

Sepilok

May 2nd

We had one final boat trip on the Kinabatangan River this morning. The mist coming off the water as the sun rose was really lovely. We saw a few new birds and again saw elephants.

We drove two hours northwest to Sepilok, a nature reserve best known for its orangutan and sun bear rehabilitation centers. Two of our trip-mates went to the orangutan center, while we opted to walk and bird on boardwalks and trails through the forest. The first thing we saw was a small group of Bornean Gibbons very high in a distant tree. As they swung through the branches we realized that one of the adults was carrying a very tiny baby— so tiny that it had no hair yet, which means it was less than a week old. Until their hair grows in, baby gibbons must cling to the mother for warmth. 

Our objective was to see two charismatic endemic species, the Sabah Partridge and the Black-capped Pitta. Both had proven elusive when we looked for them along the river. While we were looking for them, we saw a mother and baby orangutan in thick foliage some distance from the trail.  We returned to watch them a second time, when they were a bit more visible and active. 

We had great views of the partridge and the pittas, and finally saw, in daylight, a tiny forest kingfisher we’d seen sleeping on two night walks. Near the end of the afternoon we stopped along a raised boardwalk near a tree that had a water-filled hollow in its side. This is clearly the “public bird bath” and we were delighted to watch four different species take turns coming for a bath.

Pictured: Bornean Gibbons, Orangutans (mom’s face, baby clinging on upside down), Black-crowned Pitta, Sabah Partridge, Rufous-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, female Purple-naped Spiderhunter exiting the bath 

Birding by boat

May 1st

Today we took three different skiff rides (6 am, 9 am, 3:30pm) along the Kinabatangan River and its side streams. Sitting (albeit in hot sunshine) with space to spread out your gear was a big change after all our hiking the past few days (and weeks). We were warned to prepare not only for the heat and sunshine, but to expect to remain in the boat at all times: the shorelines have snakes and leeches, and the river has saltwater crocodiles. 

We are in Sakau, an area about midway along the 575 km long river. To the north and south, the forest extends for a mile or more back from the river’s edge, but here in Sakai the forest is more shallow. This means there is less forest ofor the birds and animals to hide in, and consequently easier wildlife viewing. 

It is well-known  that birds are most active at dawn and less so in mid-day, but here, as soon as the sun is fully up (by 9 am) the heat kicks in and the birds disappear. 

On our early morning ride we saw many birds, including some new species and a much better look at a tiny kingfisher. One of the new birds was the Straw-headed Bulbul, now in decline because of the pet trade. We also watched two elephants swim across a side stream. The rest of the herd has moved to another section of the river, so seeing these two was a surprise.  In the second morning trip we saw much less activity, but we did get good views of proboscis monkeys, as well as macaques and silver leaf monkeys. 

The late afternoon ride was “monkeys and hornbills”. We saw several troops of proboscis monkeys as well as the other two species. We saw four species of hornbills, in some cases 6-8 birds in a noisy group. As has been a theme for our whole trip, we saw some unexpected hornbill species and not the one that is very common along the river. Rain had been predicted but we only had light sprinkles, and a rainbow. 

After dinner, we went for a short night walk in search of the Large Frogmouth. He seems to have moved away. We did find fire ants (yikes), frogs, spiders, and a sleeping kingfisher. It’s always fun to be out in the woods at night. 

Pictured: male Proboscis Monkeys (one young, one mature), Bornean Pygmy Elephants crossing the river, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Straw-headed Bulbul, White-crowned Hornbill, Striped Bronze-back (snake), Saltwater Crocodile. 

From Danum to the Kinabatangan River

 April 30

Today was largely a travel day, driving back to Lahad Datu (3 hours) and then 2 hours to the jetty for the boat transfer to our new lodge on the banks of the Kinabatangan River. Ironically the unpaved roads from Danum were significantly less bumpy that the “paved” roads after we left Lahad Datu.

We starting this morning’s bird walk  at 6:00 am (breakfast at 5:30) which included time on a set of hanging bridges up in the canopy, as well as another visit to the “blind”. We were rewarded with a new sunbird and terrific views of the Great Argus. Both of the trails we’d used yesterday showed evidence of elephants passing through overnight. 

On the drive back to Lahad Datu, about 70 km from the lodge, we saw evidence of elephants along the road. Then the shrubs along the side of the road started to wave energetically. Kevin saw a small gray trunk reach up to shake a branch, and then we got a good view of a bull (Pygmy) elephant through an opening in the roadside shrubs. All very exciting! We also saw a number of birds in the garden at our “leg stretch” break, including an endemic barbet.

The final leg of the journey was a 10-minute motor skiff ride to our new lodge. It consists of a set of cabins and a central building on the shores of the Kinabatangan River. 

Pictured: Pygmy Elephant, Brown Barbet (an endemic), male Great Argus (with his long tail feathers tucked away), Red-throated sunbird, Purple-naped Spiderhunter.

Mammals and rare birds in Danum

 April 29

Our first full day in Danum started at 5:30am for breakfast and finished at 9pm after dinner. The morning consisted of a 6+ km hike, some of it on steep terrain, in search of endemic bird species. We were lucky to see some spectacular birds today. Look up “Great Argus” to see the unbelievable tail feathers on the male. Watching one slip through the underbrush was amazing but not photograph-able. On the other hand, a female Helmeted Hornbill was quite cooperative. Her head, throat and two-tiered tail are quite distinctive. 

We were also very lucky with mammals today. We saw a  giant squirrel (body and tail each a foot long), a “normal size” Prevost’s squirrel, and a Pygmy squirrel (body length 2” and tail length 3”). The Pygmy squirrel looked like a little lizard crawling along a branch high in the canopy. 

As we walked back along the access road, a young female orangutan appeared! She climbed up vines on a roadside tree quite close to us and then moved across a branch to enter trees on the other side of the road. It was wonderful to see an orangutan truly “in the wild”. Our local park guide told us this young female has been named “Lexie” by the research staff and is 8-9 years old.

And then, as we were discussing our luck, two Colugos glided over our heads and one landed on a roadside tree. These nocturnal creatures are closely related to primates (and are sometime called “flying lemurs”) but are in a genus of their own that also shares connections to rodents. In flight they looked like a square umbrella. On the tree they resembled a flying squirrel. It was incredibly rare to see one at all, let alone two in the daytime. 

And that was just the morning!  The afternoon turned out to be very hot and even the birds were hiding in the shade. We did fill in a couple of common bird species we’d not seen. We also watched a Black-and-yellow Broadbill (a bird we’ve seen several times ) struggling with a cicada a little too big for his mouth. 

After sunset and before dinner, we again attempted a night drive. While we had to turn around because of elephants, we were able to see several interesting nocturnal species (giant flying squirrel, palm civet, Malaysian blue tarantula) and a few sleeping birds. Back at the lodge, we saw some mouse-deer (not actually deer but in their own genus). All in all, we saw 11 mammals today and about 50 bird species. 

Pictured:  female Helmeted Hornbill, Lexie the Orangutan, Black-and-yellow Broadbill with dinner (2 views), Colugo, giant 

squirrel, Red Giant Flying-squirrel, Greater Mouse-deer

Danum Valley

 April 28

Today we traveled into the Danum Valley reserve, a precious remnant of the forest that originally covered Sabah and the home of orangutans, clouded leopards and many endemic bird species. We drove the 80 km to our lodge, stopping periodically for important bird sightings. We walked the last two km on the hilly dirt access road. We passed “evidence” of the family of Pygmy elephants that crossed the road about 6:30 this morning. We saw 13 new birds (including some unique Bornean subspecies). One of these, the Bornean Bristlehead, is “the holy grail for birders in Sabah” so we were really lucky. We also saw a “plain sunbird”, quite a contrast to the colorful ones we saw on Sunday. 

This afternoon we went for another bird walk, where we saw a few new species (including red leaf monkeys) and some “old friends” from last week. After dinner we headed out for a night drive, but had to turn back as the elephants were again close to the road. Don’t let the name “Pygmy” fool you— they may be the smallest of the Asian elephants but they still stand 8-10 feet high at the shoulder and weigh 5,000 - 11,000 pounds. Annoying them while riding in an expanded golf cart is not a good idea. We went for a short night walk near the lodge instead, where we saw a Bay-Owl, a pit viper (sleeping) and two kinds of frogs.

Across the previous two weeks in Malaysia we have stayed in a variety of accommodations from “basic” to “interesting”. Today’s accommodation is luxurious, and our airy cabin is an oasis after hiking in the heat and humidity. 

Pictured: Red Leaf Monkey,  Bornean Bristlehead, Bornean Black-capped Babbler, Plain Sunbird, Rhinoceros Hornbill eating berries, Sooty-capped Babbler dissecting a stick insect (he has a leg in his mouth and the rest of the insect pinned under his foot), Oriental Bay-Owl. 

Tunku Abdul Rahman park

 April 27

This morning we went out to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, a protected area of islands and reefs off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. This was our only opportunity to see several species. Two of the species flitted past us repeatedly in a very unsatisfactory manner. We only got a quick view of these. We also saw a few other birds that weren’t on the target list for the morning, including a reef heron by the dock on the mainland. 

The third, the Philippine Megapode, at least allowed its picture to be taken. The genus of Megapodes is named for the very large feet of this quail/ pheasant type bird. We had seen another of the genus on our north Australian trip some years ago. We also saw a great monitor, some sand skinks and a group of bats sleeping on the underside of palm fronds. 

The weather was hot and humid. Not a surprise but it did likely reduce the bird activity. The rest of the day was spent traveling across Sabah to Lahan Datu on the south east coast of the province. 

Pictured: Philippine Megapode, Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bats, Pacific Reef Heron, Asian Water Monitor