Megabirds and Mammals and of the Bornean Rainforest: 4-11 May 2014 (1 Viewer)

[MKinHK]

3 May
Carrie and I flew into Kota Kinabalu (KK) on HK Express from Hong Kong arriving after dark and transferring direct to the Dreamtel in downtown KK. The Night Market produced dinner - what I’ll call Malay buffet on rice with a gigantic coconut (not as tasty as Thai coconuts) – and a killer LED flashlight I hope to use for night-spotting later in the trip.

4 May
This morning we had to wait until 10am for a bookshop to open so that I could buy a field guide. This allowed for a very pleasant couple of hours of familiarization with the common urban birds from the hotel room and a foray along the avenue of large trees along the pavement just outside. While such interludes do not have the excitement of chasing target species in prime habitat, they do provide a great opportunity to enjoy the commoner species when there are no target species to be straining for.

First up were hordes of Unidentifiable Swiftlet – tiny all-dark things that whipped along in front of the hotel windows, and the inevitable House Crow mooching along above the market. A noisy cackling in a large spreading roadside trees proved to be a fine Collared Kingfisher, from which I was distracted by a small gang of Asian Glossy Starlings and then the skies darkened as a pigeon the size of the Death Star lumbered over – a wonderful Green Imperial Pigeon – a species I would never have dreamed of as an urban bird. Its size was put into perspective by the positively titchy Spotted Dove that came by in the shadow of the monster, and a bit later by three or four Pink-necked Green Pigeons flying among the trees in the square opposite the hotel.

The next pleasant surprise was a White-breasted Wood Swallow that motored by on its stubby triangular wings flashing a white rump and dark tail – a bit (ok not much) like a stubby foreshortened pratincole. They always look a bit robotic and slightly out of it to me but they’re always great to watch – especially at eye level eight floors up!

Other birds providing a nice reminder that I wasn’t in HK any more included an adult Brahminy Kite (last seen from my hotel in downtown KL back in February) and an immature White-bellied Sea Eagle which soared in and then thermalled over the Meridien Hotel, a pair of Pied Trillers that flew out of the park and up past the corner of the hotel, seven or eight Great Egrets cruising along the waterfront and perching on the roof of the fish market, and more prosaically a few House Swifts, Tree Sparrows and 50 or so typically scumbracious Feral Pigeons.

Having found a guide book – the brand new Phillipps and Phillipps – we caught a shared minivan at about 11:30 and arrived some two hours later and 1,600 metres higher at Mile 36 Lodge – which is 1.5 km from the entrance to the park. I had just two birds en route – a second Collared Kingfisher in a bare riverside tree and, as we climbed towards the park, a Bronzed Drongo on another roadside snag.

The road from Mile 36 Lodge to the park entrance is busy but follows a ridge that offers superb views of the surrounding hills and valleys,produced one of those amazingly perfect bird waves that make you think you know what you’re doing. Attracted by a bird calling close to the road I saw a movement in a creeper-covered tree just below eye level and found myself looking at the first of seven Chestnut-crested Yuhinas –a highly distinctive Borneo endemic and my first tick of the trip. It was swiftly followed by an equally new and equally distinctive Black-capped White Eye, then a Yellow-breasted Warbler, a male Little Pied Flycatcher – the acme of monochrome elegance – and then a Mountain Tailorbird (finally, an old friend from home). A female sunbird sp. with a distinctive blue-grey head looked set to spoil the party, but its identity was confirmed and my interest was utterly blown away by the arrival of a stunningly red male Temminck’s Sunbird! All of these birds gave multiple views and for more than long enough to confirm their identities and enjoy them too!

Our afternoon walk in the park itself could never live up to that but we did still connect with a handsome Bornean Forktail – a newly proposed split from the slightly shorter-tailed White-crowned Forktail – along the stream that follows the Silau Silau trail. We saw almost nothing else for the next hour until a tiny bird popped onto a creeper; a flycatcher, but which one? Happily it flicked on and as it landed it turned to reveal a short shiny-white supercilium that is a very distinctive feature of male Snowy-browed Flycatcher.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Frogfish]

I'm looking forward to this

 

[kittykat23uk]

Great start!

 

[thirudevaram]

MKinKK!

No kidnapping or visit to south Indian ocean?

 

[MKinHK]

Dev: thankfully "no" on both counts, but we did hear that a German couple disappeared off a yacht and a Chinese businessman was kidnapped while we were in East Sabah. Anyway . . . back to the birding

5 May
A 0545 start produced birds even before I left the hotel to walk to the park entrance. The distinctive black-bellied adamsi race of Oriental Magpie Robin was singing from a snag, two Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrushes were hunting amongst the berries, a male Temminck’s Sunbird sang from a treetop and two Dusky Munias – another Bornean endemic - popped up along the driveway. On the way to the park a Yellow-bellied Prinia sang rather differently from the Hong Kong birds from some tall roadside grasses and both Mountain Imperial Pigeon and a Ruddy Cuckoo Dove flew over the road (in different directions) and landed in view long enough to confirm their respective identities.

Things got even better with a Bornean Treepie perched in silhouette above the main gate, along with two Grey-chinned Minivets, a White-throated Fantail and a pair of Ashy Drongos, a few Chestnut-crested Yuhinas and down along the Silau Silau trail a Bornean Whistler (I had two, one of which posed nicely for pix) and maintaining the endemic theme a Bornean Forktail and a Bornean Whistling Thrush lurked in the stream bed - both rather shy. Coming back out I was enchanted to watch two Black-capped White-eyes picking their way along a spider web between two telephone wires close to the staff quarters. Coming up the steep track to the restaurant I found a pair of Little Pied Flycatchers and a splendid Indigo Flycatcher and another pair of Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrushes. I also had what was either a ground squirrel or a tree shrew whose identification I’ll leave to anyone willing to have a go.

Late morning Carrie and I booked a taxi and headed over to the dairy farm (Carrie likes cows) where apart from the cows and goats I found a Cattle Egret, a Long-tailed Shrike – which is apparently a rare bird this far west – and a pair of White-bellied Woodswallows roosting in a decayed telegraph pole. As I turned away to go back to the car I found a group of four huddled together on a branch on the opposite side of the road.

A trip to the other park gate at Mesilau to look for the amazingly weird nepenthes pitcher plant was scuppered by a suspension bridge being under repair, but our driver Paul kindly showed us two other species on a road cutting which proved some compensation. We also had another Bornean Treepie here along with a very lovey-dovey pair of Pale-faced Bulbuls –another potential split, albeit one that is not currently recognized by all authors.

After lunch we visited the Poring entrance to the park. Just before there we stopped to see a rafflesia flower. This is the world’s largest flower and even though the bloom had already begun to turn dark it was still hugely impressive and well worth the walk through the woods to a carefully tended patch where the flowers emerge (as parasites on lianas).

Better was to come at the hot springs, where a White capped Shama a fine orange, black and white robin from the same copsychus genus as Magpie Robin - perched right over the path – the final endemic of the day. I also had a couple of distant views of high-perching Black-headed Bulbuls and another squirrel, which BF’s Chlidonias, who we finally met this evening thinks is probably a Pygmy Ground Squirrel.

6 May
Another early morning start saw meet at the park entrance for a couple of hours birding with Chlidonias. I once again scored on the way, first with a large Rhinoceros Beetle outside the room and then my first actual views of a barbet delivered a fine Golden-naped Barbet, plus an Ashy Drongo. Once again there were Glossy Treeswifts aplenty around the gatehouse and a Bornean Treepie on a branch right over the carpark. As we headed down the Ligeru trail the first bird to show was an Eye-browed Jungle Flycatcher deep in the gloom. This followed a wave of larger birds, probably laughingthrushes although neither of us got onto any of them properly – a frustration as Chlidonias had seen a Whitehead’s Broadbill among the same flock yesterday afternoon.

We did score big however when an Everett’s Thrush scuttled off the path and stood preening for a couple of minutes giving us both pretty good views. It looked to me like a slightly dingy Grey-backed Thrush with the longer bill typical of a forest specialist and deeper orange underparts. This might sound like a somewhat disparaging description for one of the most sought-after and difficult species at Mt Kinabalu, but I like Grey-backed Thrushes, and I wonder if Everett’s might be the descendants of migrant Grey-backed Thrushes that decided they liked the mountain and stayed to breed.

We also had brief views of a typically noisy pair of Grey-cheeked Bulbuls, which flew in rasping harshly at each other before delivering a sweet and rather pleasant song. Leaving Chlidonias to continue into the forest I headed back out, adding killer views of another Eye-browed Jungle Flycatcher feeding right on the path and showing the supercilium much better than the first individual. I also had another small bird wave. The first bird to come into my pishing was a White-throated Fantail that bounced out of the foliage onto a tree trunk some 30 feet up, hung there like a nuthatch for a few seconds and then simply dropped out of the sky like a stooping Peregrine before spreading its tail, slamming on the brakes and landing in branch a couple of feet above me head. It brought with it a gaggle of Chestnut-crested Yuhinas, four Yellow-breasted Warblers another male Indigo Flycatcher and a couple of Black-capped White-eyes. Another Mountain Imperial Pigeon put in a brief appearance on the walk back to the lodge, before we headed off down the mountain to catch our flight to Sandakan.

Cheers
Mike

 

[kittykat23uk]

Nice! It wasn't until we got to Tabin that I realised I hadn't actually seen any pitcher plants. Found a few small ones there though. I wish I could have made time to see the rafflesia.

 

[subbuteo71]

Fantastic, Mike. Mt Kinabalu is probably my favourite place to visit- the tropics but not hot! Everett's Thrush is a proper mega, even if it is a bit grey-backed thrushish... I've never been to the hot springs- worth a visit?

 

[Chlidonias]

... and another squirrel, which BF’s Chlidonias, who we finally met this evening thinks is probably a Pygmy Ground Squirrel.

plain pigmy squirrel (on description)

 

[Chlidonias]

Nice! It wasn't until we got to Tabin that I realised I hadn't actually seen any pitcher plants. Found a few small ones there though. I wish I could have made time to see the rafflesia.

did you go up to Layang-Layang above Timpohon Gate? There are (should be) loads of all sorts of pitcher plants along that stretch.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Lol no, don't you remember? I don't do mountains! So I only went as far as the first shelter and sat there watching the ground squirrels and tree shrews.

 

[MKinHK]

A few more pix from Mt K before switching to East Sabah for parts 2 (Sepolik) and 3 (the Kinabatangan River):

Pic 1: The rafflesia (already darkening and fading) was of the largest species - keithei

Pic 2: Mt K from the east side on the way back from Poring late afternoon. Anyone know what the dark shadow above the mountain is - never seen anything like it

Pic 3: Eye-browed Jungle Flycatcher

Pic 4: Which squirrel or treeshrew? (at Mt KNP gate)

Pic 5 Bornean Whistler

Cheers
Mike

 

[kittykat23uk]

Looks like Bornean mountain ground squirrel to me.

 

[Chlidonias]

Pic 1: The rafflesia (already darkening and fading) was of the largest species - keithei

did they tell you keithii was the largest species? Sounds like you can't believe anything they said about their flowers!

R. arnoldi of Sumatra is the largest, much bigger than keithii.

 

[MKinHK]

Thanks for the ID on the squirrel kittykat23uk.

Thanks for the clarification on rafflesia Chlidonias. To be fair I was told it was the larger of the two species they have on their site - they also have the red and white pricei here.

May 6 continued

And what a change! Having flown past a cloud-shawled Mt Kinabalu and over some good-looking forest-covered hills, our approach was over a patchwork of palm oil plantations and lowland forest and mangroves veined with broad twisting rivers. Shortly before landing I even picked out the Rainforest Discovery Centre at Sepilok – nothing else in this area has canopy walkways! As we taxied to the terminal a juvenile Brahminy Kite seemed determined to make our acquaintance and twenty-odd Cattle Egrets were feeding on the recently cut grass around the runway. For the first time on the trip there were Mynas – Javan have recently colonized according to P&P along the roadside along with the usual Pacific Swallows, White-breasted Woodswallows and Asian Glossy Starlings.

While waiting to check in at the Forest Edge Nature Resort a magnificent pair of Long-tailed Parrakeets- bright green, with a crimson face, black chin and scarlet bill - landed in a tree right next to reception. We were also visited by an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker and a pair of Chestnut Munias were busy building a nest in a bush just a few metres away. Several Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots zipped over and a Black Hornbill drifted right on huge wings. The lotuspond in front held a couple White-breasted Waterhens and a rather vocal Plaintive Cuckoo, while an Indian Cuckoo – sounding rather more monotonous that the migrant birds now in Hong Kong – provided background accompaniment.

The show continued with a Dollarbird that floated regally overhead, a very tame Red-headed Tailorbird disemboweling a grub in a bougainvillea, multiple Cream-vented/Red-eyed Bulbuls (tbc) low down, four Dusky Munias in the goat pen and a fine Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo singing in the tree right outside our vey nice replacement room (the first one had a dead mouse in the air-conditioner!). Blue-throated Bee-eaters flew through a couple of times and what I initially thought was a Brown Barbet on a bare branch could not have been as it had a pale throat and I can find nothing closer than what would be a very surprising Malaysian Honeyguide. Any other thoughts on what a heavy billed passerine (heavy enough to make me think it was a barbet), perching horizontally on a high bare branch with a dark cap and pale throat and underparts might have been - would be most welcome.

A pair of Common Ioras were squabbling in a pond-side bush and a handsome male Brown-throated Sunbird was far-more interested in plumbing the depths of a hibiscus to pay us much attention. Other bits and pieces included a Collared Kingfisher on another bare tree and the usual Unidentifiable Swiftlets drifting, soaring and swooping overhead.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

May 7
Unable to sleep in an unfamiliar bed I’m writing up the previous day’s birds (its currently 0424!) a Large-tailed Nightjar is “tok . tok . tok . tok”- ing, away outside. P&P – a book I am thoroughly enjoying for the depth of background information and the entertaining style - note that some insomniacs have counted over 100 repetitions!

At 6am I headed down towards the nature trail, picking up a couple of whip-thin Grey-rumped Needletails and four Dollarbirds, plus what I think is a Thick-billed Spiderhunter (see pic) caught in silhouette on an isolated branch, and a bit later a Little Spiderhunter feeding on some berries in the forest. The trail looked like fine pitta territory, with steep wet-bottomed valleys full of rattans and piles of dead leaves. However it was a drumming far overhead on a large tree that caught my attention. I looked up and found a Buff-necked Woodpecker that was far too small to be making so much noise. As I looked my attention was whisked away by a big whoosh of leaves and branches and peering cautiously through the branches I was utterly stunned to be looking into ginger-fringed face of an Orangutan!

It was sat on a branch about 25 yards away and only gradually became aware of me. I had more than enough time to feast my eyes on this wonderful creature before it noticed me and was clearly not at all sure what to do. It started making some “hoo” noises with pursed lips. In the meantime I had grabbed some shots through the branches and I even managed a short movie clip of it making these gestures. After a while of staring at me it began to move about a bit and another balder-looking Orangutan appeared just behind it. This one showed much less well but did shake the branches Seeing two together was just superb, although the other was too well hidden for anything remotely resembling a decent photo. [post script: after visiting the orangutan centre the next day I learned that the behavior shown by these animals is typical of wild orangutans, as the rehabbed apes tend not to see people as a threat and are unlikely to respond

I eventually tore myself away, and picked up a few birds on my way round. The aforementioned Little Spiderhunter was feeding very close-by among some white berries and I was privileged to watch the courting display a pair of Greater Green Leafbirds. The female basically sat still on a branch and the male hopped and hung and danced above, below, beside and all around her in a highly energetic display. So energetic was the male that I thought “if that won’t do it for you, then nothing will!” The only other bird of note was an Emerald Dove that zipped past with typical urgency, flashing its metallic green wings

The three leeches and the heat that was already building was enough for Carrie to decide not to take her chances finding the Orangutans, so while she got herself up I had a terrific time birding from the west-facing balcony of our cabin (Abai) as a stream of good birds either came through at very close range – like the Eastern Crimson, Purple-throated and Ruby-cheeked Sunbirds and the Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker, or in the air or treetops, such as the Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Green Imperial Pigeon, and Blue-throated Bee-eaters. I also thoroughly enjoyed a furious tussle between two Red-headed Tailorbirds, which started by shouting at each other from a line supporting three Chinese lanterns.

As we headed out for breakfast and the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) an Oriental Darter circling overhead was a somewhat unusual and wholly unexpected addition to the hotel list, a Streaked Bulbul was by the goat trough and both Dusky Munia and Tree Sparrows were in close attendance at breakfast.

The RDC started excellently with an endemic Bornean Brown Barbet dropped into a pathside tree right at head height, showing the curious reddish neck, throat and upper breast. That apart it was too close to midday and rather hot and still. The best birds were a female Raffles’ Malkoha and three or four brightest yellow Black-headed Bulbuls, plus a couple of elegant Silver-rumped Swifts that drifted around at and above treetop height.

The final birds of the day were an actively courting pair of Rufous-winged Philentomas – a beautiful and rather large flycatcher – and another Streaked Bulbul, both at the Sun Bear Rehabilitation Centre, which was a real pleasure – both for the bears and for another freelancing young Orangutan which came to check us and out and see if it could steal some of the food being fed to the bears.

 

[Frogfish]

So glad you got to see the wild Orangutans, Mike. When I try to explain to someone the emotions of being alone and yet so close to a wild orangutan in the forest, of looking straight into their eyes, of feeling privileged, honoured, of being utterly mesmerised, you can see it's difficult for them to empathise. I imagine it's the same though for anyone experiencing such a moment with any great ape.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Good to read that you saw orangutans. I also saw a rather bald-looking one at the sanctuary. He looked a lot like Gollum!

 

[MKinHK]

The Orangutans were magnificent indeed - you put it very well Kevin.

I actually meant to add the next morning's birding as well as this explains the last two pictures:

May 8
An early start delivered three new species in very short order in the morning as a superb Black-and-yellow Broadbill popped up in one of the trees right in front of the verandah. I’d forgotten how small they are, but the combination of the black head, bright yellow eye, black-tipped aquamarine bill and distinctive white then black neck collars and the yellow slashes on a black back were too distinctive ever to be forgotten. The same session produced my first Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, which was more distinctive for the white face below a flat red cap, and a Red-throated Barbet, which perched perfectly, showing me the diagnositic combination of a red throat and hindcrown and yellow fore crown.

As we were waiting to check out I wandered down to photograph the Baya Weavers nest building in a palm tree just beyond the edge of the property and also grabbed a photo of the impressively large Malaysian Forest Scorpion that had the bad manners to sting one of the other guests as she was getting ready for a morning's sunbathing by the paddling pool.

The best birds at the Orangutan Rehab Centre were an adult and juvenile Greater Racket-tailed Drongo perched close to the exit path, plus Raffles’ Malkoha and Red-throated Barbet, although both were heard only. Two Orangutans came out to to be fed - although this was not nearly as exciting as my previous encounter and the real highlight was the Prevost's Squirrel eating a melon rind while hanging vertically head down. While we were waiting one of the guides found a Ragler’s Viper coiled in a tree - that triangular head shape is as pronounced as on any viper I've ever seen! The next stop was lunch in Sandakan, before we headed off up the Kinabatangan River - which proved to be the highlight of our trip.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Love the orang, mike. There's nothing like seeing them in the wild just a few meters away!

 

[subbuteo71]

I'm glad you saw orangutans, they are not necessarily easy to see at all. My first encounter was not quite as serene as yours, as it tried to take a dump on me. I appreciated its candour.

Was this encounter also in the Rainforest Discovery Centre? I was very impressed with it and disappointed to not have longer there. Can you post details of where you stayed as I have three little people keen to return- our accommodation in Sepilok was not great.