Norfolk Birders

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Trip Report to Sarawak and Sabah in Borneo and Peninsula Malaysia   by Sue Bryan

March 23rd – April 12th 2019

Introduction

This trip was proposed by Ann, Andrew and John as they had birded Borneo many years ago and felt that they had missed several ‘difficult to see’ birds as well as some critically endangered birds. They had a target list which I was quite happy to agree to, as I had never been to Borneo before. I would have three knowledgeable birders as companions and friends and I would enjoy the birding in two new countries gaining many world ticks. At Birdfair we approached James Eaton of Birdtour Asia and Ann showed him the target list which the three of them had compiled. As flights would have to route through Kuala Lumpur it was suggested that we add a couple of days on at the end so that we could re-visit Fraser’s Hill and Bukit Tinggi to gain a few more world ticks. We had all been to Fraser’s Hill before and I was delighted as I had enjoyed my last visit so much.

Guides:  Sarawak – Yeo Siew Teck

                Sabah and Malaysia - Wilbur Goh

Itinerary

Mar 23rd    Heathrow - Kuala Lumpur

Mar 24th    Kuala Lumpur - Miri

Mar 25th    Miri - Bakelalan

Mar 26th    Bakelalan

Mar 27th    Bakelalan

Mar 28th    Bakelalan – Paya Maga

Mar 29th    Paya Maga

Mar 30th    Paya Maga – Klias Peat Swamp Reserve - Beaufort 

Mar 31st    Beaufort - Klias Swamp Reserve – Lahad Datu – Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley

Apr 1st       Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley

Apr 2nd      Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley

Apr 3rd      Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley – Myne Resort, Kinabatangan River

Apr 4th       Myne Resort, Kinabatangan River

Apr 5th       Myne Resort, Kinabatangan River

Apr 6th       Myne Resort, Kinabatangan River –Mount Kinabalu National Park

Apr 7th       Mount Kinabalu National Park

Apr 8th       Mount Kinabalu National Park

Apr 9th       Mount Kinabalu National Park – Kuala Lumpur – Bukit Tinggi

Apr 10th     Bukit Tinggi – Fraser’s Hill

Apr 11th     Fraser’s Hill

Apr 12th     Fraser’s Hill – Kuala Lumpur – Heathrow

April 13th   Heathrow

Flights

International return flights to Kuala Lumpur with Air Malaysia £582. Flight to Miri with Air Malaysia £139. Other internal flights Miri to Lawas, Lawas to Bakelalan, Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu, Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur were included in the tour price.

Tour cost £4760 each

Money

I used an ATM at Miri airport to exchange about £50 to Malaysian Ringgits for a few biscuits in shops etc. As Borneo/Malaysia is a Muslim country, alcohol was unavailable at the majority of places that we stayed.

General Information

Borneo island is made up of three countries which are Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), Brunei (Sultanate) and Indonesia (Kalimantan). It is the third largest island in the world. No visa was necessary for our trip.

Climate

As Borneo is positioned in the tropics on the equator, the weather is hot and humid for most of the year, with average temperatures of 27°C to 32°C and relative humidity of 80%. Borneo has two distinct seasons: a wet and dry season, The dry season runs from March to September.

Borneo has a diverse range of habitats. Tropical rainforests, mangroves swamp forests, peat swamp forests, montane forests, heath forests and dipterocarp forests which leads to a wonderful range of wildlife. Sadly much of the lowland forest has been removed to plant palm oil trees and plantations are now increasingly creeping up the slopes of higher altitudes as the world demand for palm oil increases.

Daily Log

23rd March

Ann, Andrew, John and I caught an overnight flight to Kuala Lumpur.

24th March

Ann, Andrew, John and I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Miri in Sarawak where we stayed in a hotel overnight after meeting up with our guide Yeo.

25th March

Along with Yeo, Ann, Andrew, John and I flew from Miri to Lawas. Here we had a brief stop enabling us to start our lists off with Striated Grassbird, Cattle Egret and Plume-toed Swift at the airport.

It was good to be back to some serious birding in a hot climate where I knew I would be adding some life ticks with knowledgeable birding friends who enjoy world birding as much as I do. We were soon adding Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, the endemic Bornean Barbet and  Mountain Barbet. Photography was challenging as many of the birds were so high in the trees and I soon developed the well known birders neck-ache!

A Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle drifted overhead as we watched Yellow-vented Bulbul. Yeo soon called us all together and we began the wait for one of the pittas that I was keen to see. We could hear it calling and we were soon all in position for the wait. Asian forests all contain leeches and sitting down can be an interesting experience with one eye kept on the likely spot for the pitta and one eye kept on the leeches keen to suck your blood! Luckily the wait was not for too long as a Bornean Banded Pitta hopped along a log giving good views for us all but too dark for photography for fear of disturbing it.

We returned to Bakelalan and walked the final stretch through the village to our homestay where we had lunch and sorted ourselves out. We added Oriental Magpie Robin, Little Egret, Pacific Swallow, Cinereous Bulbul and Tree Sparrow on our walk back. Unfortunately a tropical rainstorm put paid to any birding in the afternoon and we had a fruitless trip in the evening for a frogmouth.

26th March

We were up for 4am for another attempt at the frogmouth in the dark but sadly it did not appear. We drove back up the Bario road where birds were appearing too fast for me to see the bird, take photos and keep note of what we were all seeing. We started with a group of birds that were flying over trees in the distance and were surprised to see that they were Malaysian-eared Nightjar. I added Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush to my life-list as well as Gold-whiskered Barbet. Hair-crested Drongo, Cinnamon Bittern, Spotted Dove, Mountain Imperial Dove, Ruddy Cuckoo Dove, Cream-vented Bulbul and Wreathed Hornbill were all good to see again as well as Asian Fairy Bluebird. More life ticks came in the form of Crested Jay, Bornean Bulbul, Spectacled Bulbul, Charlotte’s Bulbul, Bornean Forktail and Pygmy Whiteye.

Most of the birds were we adding to our lists were world ticks for me and the birding was my type of birding where we could look for ourselves with open vistas in a warm climate knowing that the birds were new for me. I added Blue and White Flycatcher, Golden-naped Barbet, Bornean Treepie, Whitehead’s Broadbill, Bornean Leafbird, Crested Yuhina, Bornean Flowerpecker, Green Broadbill, Crested Partridge and Scaly-crested Bulbul.

We returned to the Bakelalan Homestay for lunch and resumed birding at 3.30pm adding Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Maroon-breasted Philentoma, Chestnut-backed Scimitar Babbler and Thick-billed Green Pigeon as well as many other birds. Towards dusk we made our way to the site where once again we failed to see the frogmouth. One of the drivers suggested to our guide another site where he had taken another group a few days before. By now it was dark and I had no camera with me. All of a sudden the rare and very localised Dulit Frogmouth flew in and perched on an open branch. I ran back to our 4x4 and grabbed my camera and managed one quick photo before I had chance to set my camera up properly before the bird flew away.

27th March

After adding Oriental Pratincole, White-breasted Woodswallow, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, White-breasted Waterhen and Red-eyed Bulbul as we walked and drove by the airstrip in Bakelalan, we had an hour’s birding along the Bario Road before walking a trail for a few hours. Along the road birding we watched Banded Woodpecker, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Large Woodshrike and the beautiful Black and Yellow Broadbill. We also added Bornean Spiderhunter, Crested Serpent Eagle, Grey-throated Babbler and Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher.

After watching a Sunda Cuckooshrike, we walked along a trail we heard an Orange-breasted Trogon, a bird I was particularly keen to see as I have worn a pin badge of one on my RSPB jacket for several years now and I really wanted to see it, as trogons are one of my favourite families of birds. It took some time before I saw it as it kept disappearing before I could lay my eyes on it. After lunch and yet more rain we added Verditer Flycatcher, Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Malaysian Pied Forktail and Black-crowned Night Heron.

28th March

We left Bakelalan and drove for 4 hours to Long Tuyo. En-route along the Lawas road we saw Pink-necked Pigeon, Asian Emerald Dove, Yellow-bellied Prinia and Black-bellied Malkoha.  We had lunch at Long Toya and left the majority of our luggage in a home-stay here after watching a Brahminy Kite and a Dusky Munia as we unloaded. We had to pack our clothes and requirements for two-night stay in a wooden shed into a small bag. This had to be carried along a 5km trail uphill through jungle. We had lunch and were then taken in our 4x4s along the road and then up a track as far as the vehicles could take us. We had several stops where fallen trees were dealt with, using machetes. Eventually the vehicles could get us no further and in the heat of the day porters helped with carrying of food, water and some of our items for the rest of the trek. It was very wet underfoot and I discovered to my horror that my boots leaked. I had waterproofed them before leaving home. I was not a happy bunny! I sloshed around through the wet vegetation, crossing streams using fallen logs and negotiating small rivers with uncertain log bridges. Thank goodness I had been advised to take a walking pole. It certainly proved useful in places. Leeches were dispensed with as we walked, as several were dropping onto us as we brushed up against vegetation. Birding is all good fun. How our porters managed with the huge weight of our supplies on their backs, goodness knows!

29th March

We were up before dawn to look for the frogmouth once again. The bird was still not keen to reveal itself as I sloshed around in my wet boots.

The trail uphill was more or less a stream which made my soaking boots very unpleasant to walk in as we left the accommodation in search of our target species. I was glad of my walking pole as we kept together so that we did not miss any sighting, as we filed uphill along the narrow track. I added Olive-backed Woodpecker before we entered a spot a few hours after our departure where Yeo knew our quarry might be. We had failed at the first site but he was determined with a bit of effort and quiet we just might spot it. We are all experienced birders and able to get onto a bird quite quickly given a fair chance. All of a sudden a bird flew in and landed briefly before darting off again. However sometimes with John being so tall and Ann and I being much shorter we are often challenged with vegetation in the wrong position. It was to be several minutes before we all saw the bird to our satisfaction of being able to tick it! Hose’s Broadbill was now firmly on our lists much to everyone’s delight. I knew today would be difficult underfoot and needing a walking pole and so I had reluctantly left my camera behind so there will be no photos today!

A Spotted Fantail flew out onto the trackway before we watched a Hairy-backed Bulbul, White-bellied Erpornis and Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker. We walked a trail for Scarlet-rumped Trogon where we saw two individuals as well as a Temminck’s Sunbird as we made our way back down the trail for lunch.

We were all shattered by the morning’s excursion and had a small revolt after lunch as none of us wanted to go birding in the afternoon, as being the age we all were, all in need of some sleep and rest! I sat in the hut and watched the skies whilst others slept and added Rhinoceros Hornbill and Whiskered Treeswift to my list. After our evening meal we had all recovered and in the dark we walked the trail again in search of our elusive frogmouth, dipping yet again Grrrrr....

30th March

Once again we were up before dawn in search of the frogmouth without success. Our guide was not the sort to give up and he missed breakfast to keep trying for us. We enjoyed our breakfast without him and he asked us to try once more after we had finished eating as he thought he could hear the frogmouth calling. Once more we entered the trail without too much expectation. We spread out and looked. I looked up at what I thought was a dead leaf but could not make my mind up if it was tail feathers or not. I deliberated over whether to call it or not, as I was not keen to make a fool of myself! I decided to call the others over but they could not see it through the very narrow window I was looking through and I knew I couldn’t risk taking my binoculars down from my eyes looking through the thick vegetation that the possible tail was in. Fortunately I managed to get one of the others onto it and Yeo got onto it by stepping a few feet away from me where he had a better view. The Bornean Frogmouth was eventually on all our lists. Result!

A Whiskered Treeswift bade us goodbye as we left the hut. Our porters loaded everything back up and we made our way back downhill along the 5km trail. It was hot and sticky and still very wet underfoot in places. I added several more lifers to my list as well as a few trip ticks. We saw Plain Sunbird, Silver-rumped Needletail, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Finsch’s Bulbul and Greater Coucal before we met the 4x4s waiting for us at the bottom of the hill. Our porters must have been glad to offload their backpacks.

We were driven back to Long Tuyo to have lunch and to collect our luggage from the homestay. We motored on for the next few hours to Lawas where we said goodbye and thanked to Yeo who had been an excellent guide and met up with Wilbur who was to be our guide in Sabah and Peninsula Malaysia for the rest of the trip.

We swopped over vehicles at a hotel, loaded up our luggage and drove the hour’s journey to the Klias Peat Swamp Reserve where we added several more specialised lifers for me. Red-naped Trogon, Hook-billed Bulbul, Black-naped Monarch and the difficult to see Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker was added as well as Buff-rumped Woodpecker and Edible-nest Swiftlet. After dark we saw Reddish Scops Owl.

We spent the night in Beaufort.

31st March

We drove back to the Klias Peat Swamp Reserve where we added Black Hornbill, Chestnut-rumped babbler, Chestnut-winged Babbler, Long-tailed Parakeet and Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot but not the babbler that Ann and Andrew were hoping for.

After breakfast we boarded the vehicle once again and drove towards Kota Kinabalu. En-route near Beaufort we stopped and added Great White Egret, Wandering Whistling Duck, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Purple Swamphen and Moorhen on some roadside pools. On the coastline we added Terek Sandpiper, Turnstone, Grey Plover Greater Sandplover and Pacific Golden Plover. We drove to the airport at Kota Kinabalu where we caught a flight to Lahad Datu in Sabah.

We cleared customs and were met at the airport by a minibus belonging to The Rainforest Lodge at Danum Valley. We were driven for several hours along a track leading through primary forest where we added Common Hill Myna, Slender-billed Crow, Chestnut Munia, White-crowned Sharma, Green Imperial Pigeon, Lesser Green Leafbird, Plaintive Cuckoo and Bat Hawk. I was pleased with the number of lifers I was seeing and was already halfway to the number that I expected to see!

We unloaded our luggage and were delighted to find ourselves in a deluxe cabin with our own balcony spa...a bit of a contrast to Paya Maga!

After our evenng meal we went for a night drive where we saw Bornean Colugo, a flying lemur as well as a Lesser Mouse Deer.

1st April

I woke up with a terrible migraine and began to wonder if I was not going to be able to go out today. After taking some medication I could just about function but could not carry anything as I was struggling to keep my balance and focus my eyes. John said he would carry my supplies as it was as much as I could do to even carry my binoculars around my neck let alone look through them. I did not want to miss the key species of this wonderful reserve. We walked some trails and I was soon adding more lifers. Red-billed Malkoha, Bornean Crested Fireback, Rufous-winged Philentoma, White-fronted Falconet, Banded Broadbill, Great Slaty Woodpecker, White-crowned Forktail and Bornean Brown Barbet were all seen before the excitement of stopping to watch a Chestnut-necklaced Partridge on one side of the road and then realising that a Black-crowned Pitta was showing on the other side of the road! What a shame that I had no camera!

We continued down the track adding Dark-sided Flycatcher, Mugimaki Flycatcher and Indian Cuckoo. A Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle flew over but we could hear a Great Argus calling its amazing ‘Oh Wow’ call from somewhere deep in the forest. This was a bird that John so wanted to see and his excitement levels were already almost uncontrollable. We had a guide from the lodge with us as well as Wilbur and the guide thought that he would be able to find a trail path near to where the Great Argus was calling from. Stealthily we made our way along the trail with the ‘Oh Wow’ getting louder as we crept along. We could sense the bird nearby but the thickness of the vegetation meant we could not see it. John thought he could see a few feathers and I could see some moving spots. It had obviously stopped and so had we, as we desperately tried to find a gap in the vegetation to see it. Wilbur instructed us to stand still as he was convinced it would cross over the path. We waited with baited breath and little by little with a step at a time the Great Argus did just that and we all had stunning views. John could not contain himself as one of his most wanted birds was now on his list and on ours!

A little further along the path we stopped to admire our first Orang Utans. I could only use my iphone for taking pictures as I led on my back on the ground to watch them until Wilbur lent me his camera. I risked the leeches but was disappointed by the results from my iphone but was delighted that I had seen some. We continued on our way adding Maroon Woodpecker when all of a sudden a pitta hopped along the path in front of me. It was a female Blue-headed Pitta. It was not keen to show itself to the others and did an amazing disappearing act behind a log.

We returned for lunch and I tried to sleep as I was still feeling very poorly. I slept to 3.30pm and joined the others for a short walk. Another guide had found two more Orang Utans and so we diverted to see them before walking along trails that produced Rufous-tailed Sharma, Blue-throated Bee-eater and a Bornean Blue Flycatcher. We returned to the lodge and in the evening found a wonderful golden-coloured Longhorn Beetle (Cerambycidae) glistening on the floor of the restaurant.

Along the track as we walked we added several more lifers for me including Grey-cheeked Bulbul and  Bushy-crested Hornbill as well as a few more trip ticks including Bronzed Drongo and Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. We decided to walk another trail where a few more lifers gave us fun before we saw them well in the shape of Bornean Bristlehead and Moustached Hawk Cuckoo. Through the trees we could hear hornbills calling and I was lucky enough to be in the right position to see through a gap to see Helmeted Hornbill. As we returned to the lodge for lunch we added Oriental Honey Buzzard and Black Magpie.

After lunch we were driven back to Lahad Datu where we changed vehicles and drove to Gomantong Caves. As the others had been before only Wilbur and I walked to the caves along a boardwalk. I was warned not to hold the handrail as it would be covered in droppings and warned about the smell. Wilbur and I walked all the way around inside the cave as Wilbur explained the difference in the nests and how the locals harvested the nests by climbing the ropes hanging from the ceiling and then how they would be offered for sale and consumption! The smell was overpowering!

We left in the dark and continued our journey to the Myne Resort on the Kinabatangan River where there was a Buffy Fish Owl sitting in the car park!

4th April

We stayed at the Myne Resort on the Kinabatangan River so that we could have several days of sitting in a boat admiring the birds along the river. We added many common birds that I have seen before but Blue-Eared Kingfisher was new for me as was Malaysian Blue Flycatcher. The morning’s boat ride was a bit disappointing but the afternoon boat ride made up for it as we saw 7 different species of hornbill including Wrinkled Hornbill which was a lifer for me. Storm’s Stork was also a lifer. We stopped by the bank to admire a pair of Hooded Pittas but the vegetation prevented any attempt of a photograph.

We had another boat ride on the river in the dark but failed to see the Oriental Bay Owl we had as a target.

5th April

We were up before dawn and after breakfast we had another boat ride followed by another boat ride after lunch. With the weather being hot and sunny it was a lovely way to spend a day’s birding relaxing and admiring the birds as we boated down the river and into some of the channels.

New birds added to the trip list included Black and Red Broadbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Crested Goshawk. Jerdon’s Baza, a life tick, White-chested Babbler, Asian Drongo Cuckoo and White-bellied Woodpecker another lifer.

I enjoyed the challenge of photography from a moving boat, especially some of the species of monkeys which were always on the move!

6th April

We had another early morning boat ride. However due to another boat being in the channel ahead of us by about 5 minutes, they unfortunately flushed the ground cuckoo away from the bank edge and we failed to see it. We only added Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher to our trip list. However I managed a few more photographs and we had very close views of a White-bellied Sea Eagle.

We birded again down the road in the early afternoon as I was keen to see the trogon but despite our best efforts we could not find it. We admired the study being done on the Indigo Flycatchers and found several ringed birds and talked to the scientist studying them. Rain stopped play once again and we returned to the Pine Resort to catch up on notes and photographs.

9th April

Once again we were up before dawn for what now seemed like a familiar vigil for the Mountain Scops Owl and once again despite hearing it we failed yet again to see it. Grrr...

We said goodbye to Mount Kinabalu and dove to Kota Kinabalu airport where we caught our Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur. However we had some concerns as we boarded the aircraft as it had fogged up inside and we could barely see our way to our seats. However we lived to tell the tale and arrived at Kuala Lumpur safely.

Wilbur drove us to a Pizza restaurant where we met up with James Eaton who had arranged our tour. It was good to see him as we listened to his exploits. After adding House Crow to our trip list we waited until it was dark and drive to a park where we saw a Large Frogmouth. At least this one didn’t take too much effort to see! We continued to Bukit Tinggi where we stayed in a flat for the night.

10th April

We left the flat at Bukit Tinggi at 6am and drove to the Japanese gardens. Here we sat on logs and waited at a feeding station in the jungle of vegetation for our target species. We were entertained at first by some familiar species of Oriental Magpie-robin, White-crowned Sharma, Scaly-breasted Munia, Purple-naped Sunbird and Black Laughing Thrush (Scimitar Babbler). A Tiger Shrike appeared before our first target arrived. We had excellent views of Ferruginous Partridge before a female Mountain Peacock Pheasant arrived complete with a chick. Bingo!  Later on we also saw two young male Mountain Peacock Pheasants.