The Land Below the Wind - of small jumbos and beasts and scintillating birds

[michael-ibk]

Gorgeous scenery - and birds!

[Kitsafari]

@michael-ibk thank you for following! 

[TonyQ]

Beautiful scenery and a wonderful selection of birds.

It sounds like a place we should visit!

[janzin]

Just catching up with this fascinating report. Sabah is definitely on my list but I somehow fear I'll never get there---just so far from the USA and perhaps more strenuous than we can handle   So will enjoy it vicariously though your report and Herman's (and your) fabulous photos.

 

(No way would I tackle those stairs, I'm impressed!)

[Atdahl]

Beautiful photos and congrats on see so many endemics. 

 

When we were in KK in 2016 our guide said that the quantity of birds had greatly declined in Kinabalu Park.  Did your guide give you any indication if bird numbers were increasing at all?

 

Alan

 

PS @janzin, I had a bad ankle when we were there and despite hobbling around, up, and down the Park I saw most things and it was worth it.  Fabulous birds and squirrels there.   I just carried a walking stick which helped greatly.  I think you guys could do it!

[Kitsafari]

Thank you @TonyQ  @janzin @Atdahl for the generous comments!

 

14 hours ago, TonyQ said:

Beautiful scenery and a wonderful selection of birds.

It sounds like a place we should visit!

 

@TonyQ if and when you return, Kinabalu Park is worth a visit for the birdlife. I got a lot of lifers there. but then it's my first time birding in Borneo, so a lot of species will be lifers. 

 

10 hours ago, janzin said:

Just catching up with this fascinating report. Sabah is definitely on my list but I somehow fear I'll never get there---just so far from the USA and perhaps more strenuous than we can handle   So will enjoy it vicariously though your report and Herman's (and your) fabulous photos.

 

(No way would I tackle those stairs, I'm impressed!)

 

You made it to Australia, so Borneo will be just as easy. and you don't need to make it strenuous - just avoid Gomantong Caves and Telupid and the others will be fine as walks are not that strenuous and I should know as I'm most unfit and out of stamina, and old! In Kinabalu Park, we did mostly roadside birding, so we would drive to a spot, park the vehicle at the side of the road, then walk about 500m-1km - all manageable, then back into the car again. 

You'd also love Kinabatangan River and all you do there is sit in a boat. 

 

6 hours ago, Atdahl said:

Beautiful photos and congrats on see so many endemics. 

 

When we were in KK in 2016 our guide said that the quantity of birds had greatly declined in Kinabalu Park.  Did your guide give you any indication if bird numbers were increasing at all?

 

Alan

 

PS @janzin, I had a bad ankle when we were there and despite hobbling around, up, and down the Park I saw most things and it was worth it.  Fabulous birds and squirrels there.   I just carried a walking stick which helped greatly.  I think you guys could do it!

 

@Atdahl He didn't give any indication. There was a survey done in 2017 when the researchers found that High Traffic Noise had caused a significant decline in both species richness and abundance. Link here: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324169483_The_Preliminary_Survey_of_Bird_Populations_in_Kinabalu_Park_with_Different_Noise_Level

 

I'm unsure if their recommendations were adopted by the Sabah park management, but when we were there - during weekdays though - the traffic volume was low. I think it'll be the weekend that will produce crowds and high volume of cars. 

 

[Kitsafari]

I'd forgotten to add one more iconic bird species - the Everitt's Thrush. It's a hard-to-see endemic species which favours highlands and on the IUCN's Near Threatened list, and can reliably be seen only in Kinabalu Park. And the best time to see it is at dawn at 5+am, which meant we had to walk up along the road as the park opened only at 8am. we didn't have to walk far before we saw the bird pecking at the side of the road. it was very accommodating - the only problem was the low  light as the sun wasn't up yet! luckily this bird stayed past the sunrise so we got a slightly better light for better shots. 

 

 Low light!

 

 

finally stepping into a bit of light. 

[Atravelynn]

The Bornean Peacock-Pheasant is quite the spectacle and the hyphenated name so perfectly describes this bird.  The bird show continues with more colorful spectacles and endemics. You got the bats in the sky making patterns and shapes!  A truly beautiful and unique part of the world you are sharing with us.

Edited July 11 by Atravelynn

[Kitsafari]

Thank you @Atravelynn !

[Kitsafari]

I see that @Petter Sverke has just started a historical trip report on Borneo. That's brilliant - hopefully together with Johnweir's report - these reports will generate more interest in coming to Borneo to see its endemic and unique fauna and flora, just like @michael-ibk has done! bravo Michael and Andreas!

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok

 

Gibbon calls rang out as our footfalls made soft metallic echoes on the raised Skywalk in the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sepilok. a light mist drifted around us as birds awoke and began their dawn songs. just five of us - we were the only humans in the deep quiet broken by the melancholic songs of the primates and the cheery wake-up whistles of the birds. I love the calls of the lesser apes, it recalls a sense of wonderment and mystery especially when the family of gibbons sing together and the songs end in a crescendo before they move off for their early morning browse. This is what a forest should sound and feel like. 

 

 

 

The RDC was our first stop in our tour of Sabah. We flew from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan on AirAsia for a very cheap US$52-each 45-min flight.

 

 

After landing in Sandakan, we checked into our hotel then drove about 20mins to RDC. It would have been more ideal if we could get lodgings just outside the RDC but those accommodations had been booked out. David has bought tickets ahead of our trip so that we could get into the centre way before opening time at 8am.

At 6am+, we had the whole place to ourselves, enjoying the tranquil peace and witness the bird songs until the opening hours. At the same time, at early dawn, the light is low and photography can be a challenge. Birds are not as active at 6am but close to 7am as the sun rises further up, they will begin to stir. Still, I savoured those dawn hours in RDC. 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

The RDC is, from its beginnings in 1996, serves as an environmental education centre for students and teachers, and in 2007, it was opened to the public to enjoy the surrounding Kabili-Sepilok virgin jungle reserve. The centre is managed by the government agency Sabah Forestry Department. At its core, the RDC is notable for its 620-m long Skywalk and three towers - the Bristlehead, Trogon and Hornbill  Towers, with the last being the highest tower that overlooks the crowns of the trees, giving an enviable view of the hornbills that fly above the forest. The skywalk is very easy to walk on, while the trails can also be tricky as they're not smooth with plenty of rocks and roots waiting to trip you if you don't watch where you are going. But they're fairly easy to walk on. 

 

We would see the various hornbills almost every morning we were there, and once, we were very early and two Black Hornbills (on the Vulnerable status) were perched high up on the trees in a far distance, making their distinctive calls. We saw mainly these hornbills here.

 

Early Morning risers 

 

During the day, we would see a small flock flying by and at one point, one came closer to check us out. 

 

 

 

The names of the towers on the Skywalk will give you an idea of the importance of bird species. More than 260 species of birds are found here, but equally important is that more than 90 mammal species are also found in this jungle, which has been given a Class VI Virgin Jungle Reserve - essentially meaning that logging is completely banned. In 2007,the RDC was deemed to have met all criteria from BirdLife as an Important Bird Area. 

 

On our first afternoon here, we headed straight to get some of the Bornean endemics on one of the trails off the main paths, a top target being the Black-crowned Pitta - found only in Sabah. Bird feeding used to be rampant here but new park rules have banned feeding and discourage calls. But pittas are such skulkers and such silent birds, it would be near impossible to find them. The pitta is on the Least Concerned status. 

Luckily, a couple of them have territories in a particular location and one of them was hiding in the thick bushes. It would take four visits and an animated and loud discussion from us to draw the pitta out into the open to see what the commotion was. Hurrah! I've included a video clip of the beauty making the pitta calls - note how it puffs up its feathers to call, and then tilts its head to listen for an answer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 12 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

Another Sabah endemic was easier! The Sabah partridge was very friendly and accommodating, and loud! Despite its name, small scatterings of this beautiful partridge can also be found in Sarawak. This species in on the Near Threatened status. 

 

 

 

Its loud raucous calls seems to show this bird likes a lot of attention. 

 

Other iconic birds we saw the first afternoon - 

 

Diard's Trogon - we saw the next afternoon as well

 

 

 

Black-and-Yellow Broadbill

the tiny clownish-looking broadbill (on the Near Threatened status) - my favourite broadbill - was  seen almost every day. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

The holy grail for birders at the RDC is the Bornean Bristlehead, a difficult bird to see but chances are better at the skywalk. We were among the very lucky ones to see the scarcely-seen endemic species that is on the Vulnerable status with its population on the decline and our excitement was palpable, especially from two Hong Kong ladies who were almost yelling with excitement.

 

The excitement was dampened by a bad-tempered foreigner who berated them for making the noise. He said he was trying to video the views and that a park should be quiet. I couldn't bear the bullying and, ahem, rounded on him for not understanding the excitement, and that it was after all an IBA, and for not simply informing us he was trying to vlog or tiktok or whatever these social media people do, because then we would quieten down. Moreover, we were there on the tower sharing our excitement before he came up and tried to do whatever he wanted. So, tough for him. 

 

Anyway, we celebrated - Sabahian, HK and Singapore birders alike - with a group photo!

 

 

I'll highlight some more iconic birds and then move on to a couple of other things in the park. (the list of bird species we saw can be found in my Big year thread https://www.safaritalk.net/topic/22786-by-2024-herman-and-kits-7th-what-year/?do=findComment&comment=373596

 

 

Oriental Pied Hornbill (Least Concern) - The park had installed box nests high on trees to provide more nesting spaces to the hornbills. Hornbills pick tall mature trees to build their nests as they require large cavities to house both the chick(s) and the female, but it appears that there is a shortage of such trees in the park so boxed nests are provided. Depending on the hornbill species as well, different types of boxes and where they are placed on the trees are also key in encouraging the hornbills to nest in. 

We saw one female pied hornbill checking out the box while the male sat waiting above the box. But a Wallace's Hawk Eagle flew into a tree near the boxed nest, and the male hornbill was having none  of it, and tried to chase the raptor away. 

 

 

 

The Wallace's Hawk Eagle is on the Vulnerable status with a range limited only to Borneo, Sumatra, southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. This particular bird was very accommodating and unafraid of us. 

 

\\

 

 

 

Verditer Flycatcher - we saw this flycatcher only in RDC 

 

 

The Brown Barbet is found only in Borneo

 

 

Rufous-backed Kingfisher

 

 

Buff-rumped Woodpecker

 

Rufous Woodpecker

 

Edited July 12 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

Also key in this jungle is the existence of lowland dipterocarp forest, sandstone hill dipterocarp forest, kerangas forest and mangroves. Orangutans have been seen occasionaly though we did not see any here during our time there; the jungle is deep enough for the primates and other mammals to get lost in. 

 

I had always felt so dwarfed beneath the towering virgin dipterocarp forest in Danum Valley, whose crowns formed canopies without touching each other, allowing sunlight to peek through to the ground. In RDC, walking along the trails, I did not feel the same amazing density of the dipterocarp trees in Danum Valley; the trees here seem more sparse and spread out. Whether this was because the parts of the Kabili-Sepilok jungle we were in were secondary forest or not, I couldn't glean from the internet research. 

 

 

 

There are however at least 2 trees within the RDC area that are touted to be giant dipterocarp trees  - the Sepilok Giant - a 65-m yellow seraya tree, and the taller 75-m Kabili Monster which is an Obah suluk tree. These are found on a couple of the many trails and it is off these trails that you can find the special bird species and mammals. 

 

A tall dipterocarp tree

 

 

 

I think this was the Sepilok Giant. 

 

a map of the trails in RDC courtesy of mysabah.com

 

[Kitsafari]

just adding a short clip of our walk one of the longer trails

 

 

[BRACQUENE]

Fascinating TR and the birds are out of this world !! 

[michael-ibk]

I love the soundscapes!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks @BRACQUENE @michael-ibk for following along!

 

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

I love the soundscapes!

 

me too!

[TonyQ]

Beautiful birds in the RDC, and a beautiful forest. Good advice to get there before opening.

Well done to you for standing up to a bully!

[Atdahl]

Ah, great photos of all these special birds.  Love the video of the forest sounds.  There is nothing quite like an echoing gibbon call...love it!

[Kitsafari]

Thank you @TonyQ @Atdahl for the generous comments. 

[Kitsafari]

There was a great variety of insects but I was unable to take photos of a lot of them. Some small critters that I did get some shots of - some with IDs and some unidentified - were: 

 

Shieldbug

 

 

Leafhopper nymph

 

Green Draco Lizard

 

Striped Tree Skink

 

Treehugger

 

Tiger Beetle

 

Tussock's Moth caterpillar

 

Tree Lizard

 

Rough-scaled Brown Skink

 

 

 

 

 

 

some flora

 

Lingzhi Mushroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

The large squirrels were plentiful, high up in the trees but thanks to the 7th-storeyed Hornbill Tower, we were at eye level with these squirrels. 

 

Prevost's Squirrel (Sabah race)

There are many sub-species of this Southeast Asian medium-sized squirrel. The Sabah race has only a faint whilte line - sometimes so faint it's indiscernible - compared with wide white lines dividing the black upper back and the reddish-brown underbelly. They were quite common all over the RDC park and easy to spot given its size. From the tip of its nose to the end of the body, the squirrel can measure up to 11inches with the tail as long as that too. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pale Giant Squirrel, also known as the Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel lives up to its name. One cannot miss the light-coloured squirrel which is one of the largest squirrels in the world. Its length from head to body is up to 15in with a fabulous tail as long as 17in and can weigh as much as 1.5kg.  Found only in the forests of the Thai-Malay peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, the squirrel is on the IUCN's Near Threatened status and faces threats of habitat loss and hunting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larger than the giant squirrel was the intimidating-looking Pig-tailed Macaques. These primates always manage to look thuggish, and I would be scared to face them or get too close to them. It was of course silly of me to think that since I've never ever had seen any of them showing signs of aggression. In fact, the male simply strolled past us when we came across a  group crossing the shortcut to the Kingfisher trail.  These impressive primates are one of the most muscular macaques I have seen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

RDC also conducts night walks along the skywalk, with the main event being the flights of the Red Giant Flying Squirrel (least concern), and the nocturnal Horsfield's Tarsiers (on IUCN's vulnerable status) and Bornean Slow Loris (an endemic that is alson on the vulnerable status). 

 

We started the pre-night walk like everyone else, waiting on the skybridge for the flights of the Red Giant Flying Squirrel. On the Least Concern status, the flying squirrel is a large mammal that is fairly well distributed from the western Himalayan range to central China down to Indochina and through Thailand and peninsular Malaysia to Indonesia and Borneo. The squirrels have made their homes in some of the boxed nests near the skywalk, and close to the Bristlehead Tower. 

 

A comfortable wait for our guide David and us - we were the only ones up on the tower

 

 

while the others were on the Skywalk

 

We were early, so I looked around for more interesting things... like the boxes those flying creatures were squirrelled in. No sight of them yet. 

 

A Horsfield's Gliding Gecko was camouflaged and frozen on one of the boxes near us. 

 

while a fabulous lime-green small spider (no ID) crept around my arm on the bannister

 

The sky was changing colours with the setting sun

 

 

While most of the people signed up for the night walk waited on the skywalk, David felt we would have better views on the tower. As it turned out, it was on balance 50-50. there were two nests occupied across the tower, while the one closest to the tower was empty. The light was really low so photography and videography were basically non-existent for my camera.

 

Then the nightly symphonies of cicadas and insects began. The squirrels emerged, and it was difficult to make them out in the fading light and our torches were of no use at the distance they were away from us. We were totally unprepared when one of the squirrels flew towards us and landed on the tree right in front of us. I was as usual slow, Herman managed one good shot, while our taller friend who's quicker managed a couple of good shots. Those on the skywalk had a good clear view of the second squirrel as it soared above them to a tree. On hindsight, i think I should have just set the camera down and watch them, knowing that I would struggle with my camera. I won't share the video because I'm certain it'll send you to the doctor for vertigo. 

 

my feeble attempt

 

OH's better effort