Nohatch
Mad scientist
During the first half of March I will be participating in a scientific field project in western Sarawak, and I would very much appreciate your feedback on potential birding sites to visit while I'm over. The fieldwork will be done on little boats along lowland rivers and the adjacent coastal area, including inside the Maludam NP, and will take up approximately a week. This means I have 2 days either end for independent birding - I'm very happy to hire a car and strike out on my own (part of the fun!), but I don't want to head too far away from Kuching (a couple of hours drive max).
Currently I am thinking of the following itinerary:
Day 1: fly into Kuching airport at 10 am, get a car, visit the Chupak paddy fields (hour or two around midday), drive up to Borneo Highlands Resort (afternoon birding & overnight).
Day 2: bird the BHR all morning, leisurely drive down the hill with stops at lower altitudes, visit the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre (for a bit of primate/tourist spotting), return car in Kuching.
Days 3-12: Field and lab work - sampling will be done in highly disturbed (palm oil), semi-disturbed and natural river catchments. This should provide good opportunities to see lowland peat forest species. In addition we'll sample in the mangroves and out to sea, so hopefully good for wintering shorebirds and a couple of pelagic species.
At the end of day 12 I'll pick up another car and overnight in Kubah NP.
Day 13: all day birding in Kubah NP
Day 14: early morning birding in Kubah NP, then drive to Santubong NP (couple of hours hiking), finally low tide shore-birding in the Bako bay area, before returning to Kuching airport (8 pm flight out).
I'd appreciate any feedback on this itinerary! Is it worth making the detour to Chupak on day 1 for example? Am I planning too much time in Kubah NP? Are there other sites I should be adding?
Many thanks!
Joost
Currently I am thinking of the following itinerary:
Day 1: fly into Kuching airport at 10 am, get a car, visit the Chupak paddy fields (hour or two around midday), drive up to Borneo Highlands Resort (afternoon birding & overnight).
Day 2: bird the BHR all morning, leisurely drive down the hill with stops at lower altitudes, visit the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre (for a bit of primate/tourist spotting), return car in Kuching.
Days 3-12: Field and lab work - sampling will be done in highly disturbed (palm oil), semi-disturbed and natural river catchments. This should provide good opportunities to see lowland peat forest species. In addition we'll sample in the mangroves and out to sea, so hopefully good for wintering shorebirds and a couple of pelagic species.
At the end of day 12 I'll pick up another car and overnight in Kubah NP.
Day 13: all day birding in Kubah NP
Day 14: early morning birding in Kubah NP, then drive to Santubong NP (couple of hours hiking), finally low tide shore-birding in the Bako bay area, before returning to Kuching airport (8 pm flight out).
I'd appreciate any feedback on this itinerary! Is it worth making the detour to Chupak on day 1 for example? Am I planning too much time in Kubah NP? Are there other sites I should be adding?
Many thanks!
Joost
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