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

[kittykat23uk]

We stayed at Sepilok Jungle Resort. It's close to the orangutan sanctuary and has a nice lake and boardwalk. But it is a fair walk from RDC although you can arrange a car through the lodge to drop you off. If I were to go again, I would be happy to stay there again, but I would also look at what accommodation options there are that are closer to RDC and make a decision then.

 

[Frogfish]

We stayed at Sepilok Jungle Resort. It's close to the orangutan sanctuary and has a nice lake and boardwalk. But it is a fair walk from RDC although you can arrange a car through the lodge to drop you off. If I were to go again, I would be happy to stay there again, but I would also look at what accommodation options there are that are closer to RDC and make a decision then.

I've also stayed at the SJR twice and really like it. They have an extensive menu and the food is very good (and cheap), the rates are very reasonable, the rooms OK (it is the rainforest, more or less, so there will be insects everywhere anyway), the small lake is lovely and environment attracts lots of birds and they have Pittas breeding in the grounds in season. There is even a decent swimming pool - though I've never tried it.

I usually walk to & from the RDC (haven't been to the Orangutan Sanctuary - not my thing) and it takes anywhere from 30 - 45 mins each way depending on how good the action is on the way there/back. There are species you can pick up that you will not find in the RDC and of course there are lots of fly-overs too. Getting a taxi back is NOT easy if you don't leave early enough or book one (or have arranged a pick-up by the hotel - this is your best bet). If they see you they will stop though and it is cheap (10 RM if I remember correctly) back to the SJR.

The Forest Edge Nature Resort where Mike stayed is the other place I have heard good things about and, if it's not in Pitta breeding season, that will be where I stay next trip, just to give it a try.

Closer to the RDC are a couple of cheaper hotels (not resorts with their own lake/grounds) and if you want to save money they look OK from the exterior and are much closer to the RDC (5-10 mins).

 

[Chlidonias]

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.

I stay at the Sepilok B&B which is literally 400 metres from the RDC. I only stay in the dorms so I can't say what the other rooms are like, but I like it. I haven't heard anyone else complaining about the rooms when I've been there.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

I stay at the Sepilok B&B which is literally 400 metres from the RDC. I only stay in the dorms so I can't say what the other rooms are like, but I like it. I haven't heard anyone else complaining about the rooms when I've been there.

Agree. Also listen out for Bay Owl if you stay there, as there was one calling close by before dawn (though we didn't see it).

congrats on the Everett's Mike! :t:

 

[MKinHK]

Seems like we have a pretty comprehensive survey of the accommodation options at Sepilok here. A bit more on the Forest Edge Resort

The grounds are pleasant, open, with a good-sized lotus pond and have a good range of species, and it backs onto some genuine forest. there is a trail into the forest that looks very promising for wet bottom skulkers - similar to the little gullies at KNC in Thailand.


Food
The food was the best we had during our holiday - and really good.

Rooms
The rooms are positioned to provide private views over forest or a pond so birding from the balcony is an easy low effort way to pick a good few species. Because of the dead mouse in the aircon we got upgraded to one of the superior rooms with four-poster beds and funky bathrooms, but the std doubles would, if mouse free, be fine.

Service
Malay friendliness, speed and efficiency (we were on a one week trip from super speedy and efficient HK, and our polite requests for times that things would be done were wafted away without too much regard). IMHO the Thais just have it in their DNA to do service better.

Distance
From RDC min. 30 minutes walk
From Orangutan Rehab Centre - 15 mins
we took a cab to and from RDC - 10 Ringgit the same price to go anywhere in Sepilok.

Pool
Paddling pool, but still refreshing for a pre dinner dip.
NB watch out for scorpions - see post 15 above.

Oddities
Two paddocks with cows (not the buffalo they are claimed to be), goats and deer inside.

Would I stay there again?
If travelling with my wife (i.e urban comfort levels required) - certainly
If birding? Maybe - I ended up spending little more than an hour at RDC owing to the distance, but got lots of birds on-site in partial compensation.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

May 8 continued
The three-hour boat trip up the Kinabatangan river to Sukau Jungle Lodge was superb. No-one told us it started with 40 minutes on the open sea, but this worked well as we passed half-a-dozen Greater Crested Terns bobbing sedately on a piece of driftwood and a distant frigatebird sp. that remained unidentified.

As we headed upriver Brahminy Kites and White-bellied Sea-Eagles flew over the tight-packed Neepa palms, mangrove and secondary forest and the odd Great andLittle Egrets stalked the shorelines. Good birds included a couple of Oriental Darters, a Lesser Fish Eagle perched on a riverside snag, a Wallace’s Hawk Eagle, three or four Dollarbirds, a couple of Stork-billed Kingfishers, half-a-dozen Green Imperial Pigeons and a couple of Asian Pied Hornbills.

The real highlights however were the primates in the riverside trees. First a fine troupe of soft tawny-brown Proboscis Monkeys – the females and youngsters with sharp little upturned noses, and a dominant male with a fine and fully pendulous and totally outrageous schnozz. We also found troupes of sooty grey Silver Leaf Monkeys (including a confusing orange “albino” adult and a bunch of more typically orange babies), Crab-eating and Pig-tailed Macaques and best of all a magnificent adult male Orangutan, complete with broad leathery cheek flanges stretched out on a bare branch and carefully choosing which of a bunch of green and orange golf-ball-sized figs to eat next. According to our guide, who was not much given to hyperbole, you get to see Orangutan this well about one trip in 30!

About 4pm we set off in a smaller boat for an evening cruise up one of the side channels. This is a good way to see some of the more retiring forest species as the boat moves slowly and quietly with only a small electric-powered motor. In addition to further excellent views of the monkeys (including the vigorous copulation of a couple of Crab-eating Macaques) we had two Blue-eared Kingfishers, a Crested Serpent Eagle, White-chested Babbler catching and eating prey, a Black-naped Monarch splash-bathing, a female Malaysian Blue Flycatcher and both Black-and-yellow and Black-and-red Broadbills, which build scruffy hanging nests right over the river. We also scored with distant and mostly silhouette views of a Bornean Falconet. It did turn its head long enough to see the round white face and fierce black bandit mask that gives such character to this sparrow-sized raptor. The big surprise and monster bonus came when our guide looked up and calmly announced that there was a Bornean Bristlehead in one of the treetops above our head! This is one of the hardest and most sought-after Bornean endemics and having missed it at Sepilok (albeit without any very serious effort) I had absolutely no expectation of seeing it here. A terrific end to a first class day!

 

[kittykat23uk]

What a great start to your time on the river.

 

[Frogfish]

Aaah you ^*&%*! Bristlehead on your first trip and on the Kinabatangan and not at Sepilok too ! I've put a lot of effort into finding one and still haven't managed it. Totally gripped !! Love the Proboscis Monkey shots too. Brilliant stuff.

 

[MKinHK]

Kevin - I'd like to say I'm sorry about the Bristlebirds, but . . . I'd be lying!

I will say that I really didn't deserve them, considering all the effort I hear about others putting into them - my mate Dylan spent over two years looking for them in Brunei without success and is not a happy camper. Still he does nail more than his fair share of quality birds, snakes, porcupines etc.

9 May - Sukau Jungle Lodge - day 2
The 0600 boat trip up the main river struggled to live up to yesterday’s glories, but even so I did add two more hornbill species – Wrinkled and Bushy-crested Hornbills both flew across the main river in the early morning light, as did both Asian Pied and Black Hornbills. I was disappointed not to stop for a distant Abdim’s Stork perched high on a bare tree, but since this was not a birding trip and non of the five other members of the group were birders I had to make do with the most cursory of views.

Other birds on the main river included two Whiskered Terns, both Greater and Lesser Coucals, three high-perched Purple Herons and both Stork-billed and Blue-eared Kingfishers. Apart form the birds the other highlights included a couple of Estuarine Crocodiles – one of two metres and one of 1.5 m –sunning themselves on the riverbanks, and looking quietly, but unquestionably menacing.

A couple of short walks along the boardwalk through the forest behind the lodge produced a Giant Woodlouse, a tiny Pygmy Squirrel no more than six inches long, a couple of larger grey-brown squirrels and a probable tree shrew. Birds were hard to come by, but included a singing Black-capped Babbler, two Streaked Bulbuls, a friendly White-capped Shama a couple of fly-by Little Spiderhunters. A Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo did call as I was dropping of for a siesta and a pair of Dusky Munias were nest-building in the garden between the accommodation wings.

Three well-seen Storm’s Storks and a minor tussle between a pair of Asian Pied Hornbills and a pair of Wrinkled Hornbills were the best of the afternoon boat ride, while a Yellow Bittern was the only addition to the bird list. Other bits and pieces included a fine adult White-bellied Sea Eagle, a Brahminy Kite and another Black-and-red Broadbill. We did however have more up-close views of a 2.5m Estuarine Crocodile that eventually spooked and rushed in the water as if heading straight towards us provoking a panicked squeal or two from the Home Minister. Two different troupe of Proboscis Monkeys again showed well in the riverside trees, as did a couple of gangs of the more unruly Crab-eating Macaques. Just as we turned back it started to rain and we did not stop for a group of Silver Leaf Monkeys that again roosted on the thin branches of trees overhanging the river.

One question: our guide said that the Crab-eating Macaques use their tails as a lure to catch crabs hiding deep in their holes in the mud. Does anyone know if this is true, or just a tourist wind-up?

Cheers
Mike

 

[dandsblair]

Enjoying the thread

Seems like we have a pretty comprehensive survey of the accommodation options at Sepilok here. A bit more on the Forest Edge Resort

The grounds are pleasant, open, with a good-sized lotus pond and have a good range of species, and it backs onto some genuine forest. there is a trail into the forest that looks very promising for wet bottom skulkers - similar to the little gullies at KNC in Thailand.


Food
The food was the best we had during our holiday - and really good.

Rooms
The rooms are positioned to provide private views over forest or a pond so birding from the balcony is an easy low effort way to pick a good few species. Because of the dead mouse in the aircon we got upgraded to one of the superior rooms with four-poster beds and funky bathrooms, but the std doubles would, if mouse free, be fine.

Service
Malay friendliness, speed and efficiency (we were on a one week trip from super speedy and efficient HK, and our polite requests for times that things would be done were wafted away without too much regard). IMHO the Thais just have it in their DNA to do service better.

Distance
From RDC min. 30 minutes walk
From Orangutan Rehab Centre - 15 mins
we took a cab to and from RDC - 10 Ringgit the same price to go anywhere in Sepilok.

Pool
Paddling pool, but still refreshing for a pre dinner dip.
NB watch out for scorpions - see post 15 above.

Oddities
Two paddocks with cows (not the buffalo they are claimed to be), goats and deer inside.

Would I stay there again?
If travelling with my wife (i.e urban comfort levels required) - certainly
If birding? Maybe - I ended up spending little more than an hour at RDC owing to the distance, but got lots of birds on-site in partial compensation.

Cheers
Mike

I expect Sarah might prefer the comfort level you describe I can't remember where we stayed last time at Sepilok but it was a bit more basic than this by the sound of things.

David

 

[lewis20126]

I was disappointed not to stop for a distant Abdim’s Stork perched high on a bare tree, but since this was not a birding trip and non of the five other members of the group were birders I had to make do with the most cursory of views.

I'd be disappointed too - a first for Asia no less! If you edit it quicky no-one will notice... Enjoying the report!

cheers, a

 

[MKinHK]

Oops - I actually did the same thing in the boat - maybe that's why the guide didn't stop to look at it . . .

10 May - Sukau and Gomantong Caves
We were fortunate enough to have a boat to ourselves for our 6-8am cruise this morning. We pushed off with a low mist hanging over the river out of which an adult White-bellied Sea Eagle emerged and pulled heavily away downstream. We headed off down the bristlehead channel (500m downstream on the opposite bank) and switched to the silent electric motor - one of the great pieces of thoughtful planning by this lodge. Almost immediately the guide picked up three monstrous White-bellied Woodpeckers determinedly shredding a dead tree as they hunted for grubs, giving me my first views of this magnificent woodpecker for 25 years. A male Malaysian Blue Flycatcher catching an insect right at the water’s edge stopped long enough for pix that showed the diagnostic all-blue throat and three or four Black-and-red Broadbills included a pair perched right above the usual untidy tangle of a nest hanging low over the water from a thin branch. The disappointment of the morning was hearing but not seeing a Hooded Pitta giving its distinctive “bow wow” call very close to the edge of the river, but always far enough back that we never had the faintest sniff of a view.

We again had Proboscis Monkeys close to the river’s edge and a 2.5m Estuarine Crocodile pretending to be asleep on the bank was all the more menacing for being so close within the relatively narrower tributary. We finished off with a couple of highly photogenic Oriental Darters, wings spread to dry on a couple of riverside perches.

As we were free from 8 am until our 3pm visit to the Gomantong Caves I spent a couple of hours at the riverfront restaurant and the adjoining boardwalk. This was much more productive than the boardwalk through the jungle at the back of the lodge as it afforded fine views of a broad stretch of river and the sky overhead. In 30 minutes here I racked up a second flyby from the adult White-bellied Sea Eagle, first one and then a second Storm’s Stork, both distant, but both enjoying the first thermals of the day, a Wallace’s Hawk Eagle that hinted at coming close, but slipped over the horizon without ever really delivering, and two different Crested Serpent Eagles.

The boardwalk to the lobby looked over a more open garden, making it much easier to see birds, the highlight of which were two or three Bornean Brown Barbets feeding on a tree with pinky rambutan-sized fruit. Other bits and pieces included a pair of Common Ioras, two typically frenetic Pied Fantails and Rufous-tailed Tailorbirds, which share the trait of Red-headed Tailorbirds of resembling those couples who argue non-stop in public – often loudly, sometimes aggressively, and absolutely always without the least regard for anyone or anything else going on around them.

The supporting cast here included the button-cute Pygmy Squirrel, a mating pair of Lantern Bugs (which have yellow noses rather than the red of HK lantern bugs) and a Green Tree Lizard that, in the course of a couple of minutes turned from the deepest chocolate-maroon to a beautiful rich green right before our eyes.

In the afternoon we headed off to Gomantong Caves – home to thousands of bats and swiftlets, whose nests are harvested to make birdnest soup, plus a gazillion cockroaches that feed on the droppings, and some long-legged centipedes that looked evil enough to give Stephen King nightmares (or the plot for a new novel) and presumably feast on the cockroaches and any birds or bats that fall dead or injured to the floor. The main cave must have been 50 metres high, 30 wide and 40 long and stank horribly of rotting guano for every step along the 200-odd metres of boardwalk, which was an inch deep in guano and scuttling cockroaches.

As we drove over we passed a couple of Long-tailed Shrikes eight or so Spotted Doves and an Asian Pied Hornbill on the roadside wires – the latter being possibly my funkiest ever wire bird! Shortly after the turnoff for the caves our guide Wan found a Crested Serpent Eagle hanging its wings out to dry after a rainstorm that had obviously just passed. As we arrived at the car park Wan scored again with a small group of Red Leaf Monkeys quietly minding their own business in a couple of trees just back from the roadside. They look like an orangutan-coloured version of the Silver Leaf Monkeys we had seen as we arrived from Sandakan and seemed quite happy sitting under the canopy as the last of the rain drifted away. Yet another Crested Serpent Eagle was drying off on a snag on the other side of the road. Having paid our entrance fee, my attention was drawn by a probable Wallace’s Hawk Eagle perched at the far end of the car park.

As I walked over to confirm it two more raptors perched in yet another tree had a silhouette like nothing I’ve seen before, with a short crest appearing to stick out horizontally from the back of the head. These were of course the Bat Hawks that were my major reason for visiting the caves and I was delighted to have clear but distant views of this pair perched together. Once again the ultra zoom of the SX50 came into its own, pulling the birds closer and allowing me to see the white throat patch and large golden eye on what was otherwise looked like a good-sized all-black falcon.

On the way back along the boardwalk to the carpark of the cave a pair of Blue Flycatcher sp. chasing each other about stopped long enough to check us out and allowed me to see the unusually sturdy bill and what looked a black chin beneath the bill of the male and a rufous-tinge to the head and breast of the female left me unsure between Bornean Blue Flycatcher and Large-billed Blue Flycatchers and probably will have to go down as one that got away.

We came back to a small rise above the car park to wait for the emergence of the bats from the cave as dusk fell. The exodus began in small groups, and for almost half an hour a constant stream of bats emerged from the cave in a constant stream that rippled across the sky like a giant smoky ribbon. Dramatic as this was the experience was made even better as we watched the two Bat Hawks hunting for their evening meal. As they swooped in the ribbon of bats would twist away and the hawks would cruise after them on black pointed wings, but by no means successful on every pass. They were joined by two much more clumsy Brahminy Kites which I was amazed would have the ability to catch anything so agile as a swift or a bat, but Wan watched them catch and drop a couple of the bats, making no effort to go after them. Having wanted to see Bat Hawks ever since I first went to SE Asia in 1989 this was a great bird to connect with, especially when they could be watched in such a dramatic setting

On the way back out of the park first an unidentified forktail and then a civet crossed the road. I barely got onto them, but this really didn’t matter as just five minutes before returning to the jetty we pulled over by two other tour vans whose occupants blew us away by showing us a family of three Bornean Pygmy Elephants feeding in a field of tall grass right by the roadside! The light was all but gone, but judicious use of torches allowed everyone to see them pretty well and even in the gloom I was able to watch the female pluck and begin to munch on a good-sized trunkful of grass, her calf in close attendance. This felt like a wonderful unearned bonus as we’d already given up hope of connecting with these impressive creatures and was a real highlight of the trip.

On a day that just would not quit we followed a swift dinner with an hour-long night cruise. We started with eye-shine from an Estuarine Crocodile that sadly disappeared before we got anywhere near it and followed with a range of sleeping birds perched in trees on the riverbank. These included Blue-eared and Stork-billed Kingfishers a couple of Pied Hornbills, two Back-crowned Night Herons staring hopefully into the water from mid-stream flotsam and our first Rhinoceros Hornbills of the trip – a pair snuggled up close on a bare branch. After a further 20 minutes of fruitless searching we had started to head back when the beam of the spotlight revealed a hunched brown shape on an overhanging branch. Agonisingly, we had to take the beam off it to circle round, but as we came back the hunched shape was confirmed as a magnificent Buffy Fish Owl, complete with scruffy ear tufts, sparse and very fine dark streaks on a warm buff breast, broadly-barred dark coverts, typically bare fish owl toes and huge yellow eyes. This was yet another species I’d missed in 1989 (dengue fever being my reward for dipping near Krabi in Thailand) and provided the most superb end to a fantastic day!

Cheers
Mike

more pix to follow

 

[kittykat23uk]

Great stuff! I really wish we had gone to the cave later in the day to watch the emergence! And you got elephants too!

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Ouch, that Bat Hawk pic's actually quite painful! So that's what they look like. Oh well...one day...

 

[MKinHK]

Gomantong turned out to be a great success - The Bat emergence was very much part of the plan, but elephants were a complete surprise.

That Bat Hawk pic was a good 25 years in the making Larry. One of the few birds I've dipped on two different continents!

11 May: Sukau - Sandakan
We had no early boat trip this morning as we were returning to Hong Kong and had to catch a 2:30 flight from Sandakan to KK. Instead, having been woken by a herd of Crab-eating Macaques stampeding along the corrugated iron roof of the accommodation block, I headed down the boardwalk trail, which proved to be rather good in the early morning. Oriental Pied Hornbills were lurching about up in the canopy and a range of species were singing away. I had high hopes of seeing a host of birds round a tree ant hatching, but all I could find here were three small (but not pygmy) ground squirrels. A little further along the trail a Grey-cheeked Bulbul appeared on both sides of the boardwalk and a curious Spectacled Spiderhunter – substantially larger than the others I’d seen, and with fine yellow eartufts perched at eye level for a few seconds to check me out.

Peering up into the treetops I found a group of three foraging Bornean Brown Barbets and even better a pleasingly distinctive Black-winged Flycatcher Shrike foraging in the early morning sunshine. Just a few paces further on a piercing but melodious two-note call from the forest floor eventually revealed itself as an elegant and self-possessed Black-capped Babbler that wandered calmly around in the leaf litter under the boardwalk and out the other side without for a second disturbing the leaves. The combination of a black head with a fine white supercilium and rich rufous underparts somehow had a hint of Tristram’s Bunting about it, combined with the composure of an Olive-backed Pipit was hugely compelling as it negotiated that buttress roots, leaf litter and fallen branches.

Adding yet further to the quality of the morning a shrill call had me looking up and straight at a tiny and brilliantly glowing Rufous-backed Kingfisher perched in full view on a bare branch about 20 metres away. It sat for just a few seconds, a glowing nucleus of crimson bill, violet orange–pink body and purple-black wings, before zipping away, leaving me with a mile-wide grin to lighten the darkness left by its departure.

As I got to the turn at the right hand leg of the boardwalk a spattering of white droppings stained the caterpillar ravaged giant plantain right on the corner of the boardwalk. Peering cautiously upwards I found yet another Crested Serpent Eagle dropping its tail and staring intently across the forest floor. I fired off a couple of shots before it noticed me and lurched off to another less disturbed vantage point. That was it for the morning and pausing only to negotiate another troupe of Crab-eating Macaques above and on both sides of the boardwalk I headed back for breakfast and to check out, delayed only by the half-dozen Pied Hornbills that dropped into the palms in the lawn between the accommodation wings for a quick feed – no more than 5 metres away!
The final birding of the trip was the ride downriver back to Sandakan. The highlights were a fine tally of eight Storm’s Storks and – new for the trip – four substantially paler, heavier and longer-winged Lesser Adjutants soaring above the river, along with three different White-bellied Sea Eagles, and a couple or three Wallace’s Hawk Eagles. We saw precious little other wildlife – just one each of Silver Leaf and Proboscis Monkeys for which we did not stop. Out on the open sea I once again had a group of Greater Crested Terns – three this time - resting on some flotsam, and one more actively foraging, but the utterly unexpected bonus was finding a pod of five Irrawaddy Dolphins cruising south. As we stopped to look we had great views of the diagnostic combination of blunt heads and stubby rounded fins as they broke the surface – a wonderfully bizarre way to end a trip looking for the birds and mammals of the Bornean rainforest!

Cheers
Mike

I love that the Malaysian Police Force was clearly named by a homesick Glaswegian and that the Sandakan mosque looks like a typical arch-criminal's mansion in a Bond Film.

 

[Frogfish]

Really enjoyed the report & your photos Mike - and it sounds very much as if you and the Mrs had a wonderful time in Sabah.

No wonder the Rufous-backed Kingfisher gave you a massive grin - it's just a spectacular jewel !

 

[MKinHK]

Thanks Kevin - especially as your report was the straw that broke the camel's back in encouraging me to actually book the trip! Only sorry that it meant that I was not in HK when you came through.

I've attached a few more pix below. All are from Sukau.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Frogfish]

Thanks Kevin - especially as your report was the straw that broke the camel's back in encouraging me to actually book the trip! Only sorry that it meant that I was not in HK when you came through.

I've attached a few more pix below. All are from Sukau.

Cheers
Mike

Ha ha no problem Mike .. I'm delighted you seem to have had a wonderful trip. I'd have been very disappointed for you both if you hadn't.