Danum Valley Kinabatangan river Sepilok Mt. Kinabalu Klias Rafflesia December 2017 & January 2018 Marten Hornsveld Vivian Jacobs

Transcription

1 Sabah Borneo Bornean Banded Pitta, Danum Valley Danum Valley Kinabatangan river Sepilok Mt. Kinabalu Klias Rafflesia December 2017 & January 2018 Marten Hornsveld Vivian Jacobs

2 Contents Introduction... 2 Supplemental information... 2 Itinerary... 3 Practicalities... 4 Danum Valley... 6 Kinabatangan River... 8 Sepilok... 9 Mt. Kinabalu Klias Rafflesia Information Center Kota Kinabalu Species list Introduction At the end of 2017 we (Marten Hornsveld & Vivian Jacobs) went for a 17-day birding trip to Sabah. We visited the standard birding sites: Danum Valley, Kinabatangan river, Sepilok, Mt. Kinabalu, Klias Forest Reserve and Rafflesia Information Center. This produced a wide range of Sabah endemics and other amazing and special birds such as Bornean Bristlehead, Bornean Ground Cuckoo, Whitehead s trio (Broadbill, Trogon, Spiderhunter) and five species of Pitta. Our trip resulted in 306 bird species. Most parts of the trip were organized independently except for our visit to the Kinabatangan river. Supplemental information This report focuses predominantly on the birding highlights and our strategy and daily schedule to find them. While more common species are not explicitly mentioned, all our observations can be found in the Species list at the end of this report, and in detail on: observation.org under both our accounts, igoterra, Marten s account. Other valuable location information can be found at the following Google map: %2C &z=9 Please feel free to contact us for more detailed information at martenhornsveld and vpj.jacobs (at) gmail.com. For every site we determined our target species (thanks to Jelmer Poestra for sharing the military Borneo birding scheme used for setting Arjan Dwarshuis s world record!) and included these in the trip report. Legend bold = uncommon to rare black = key target; only or best site red = target shared with other sites magenta = possible but unreliable, only or best site blue = possible but unreliable, also at other sites green = typically best site for more widespread species

3 Itinerary Date Morning Afternoon Accomodation 26/12/17 Departure from Amsterdam 27/12/17 Transfer Kuala Kumpur Arrival Kota Kinabalu C'haya Hotel 28/12/17 6:10 Departure to Lahad Datu & Danum Danum Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC) 29/12/17 Danum Danum DVFC 30/12/17 Danum Danum DVFC 31/12/17 Danum Danum DVFC 01/01/18 Danum Danum DVFC 02/01/18 Danum Kinabatangan Borneo Natural Sukau Bilit Resort (BNSBR) 03/01/18 Kinabatangan Kinabatangan BNSBR 04/01/18 Kinabatangan Kinabatangan BNSBR 05/01/18 Kinabatangan Kinabatangan BNSBR 06/01/18 Kinabatangan & Gomantong Cave Sepilok Sepilok B&B 07/01/18 Sepilok Mt. Kinabalu Kinabalu Mountain Lodge 08/01/18 Mt. Kinabalu Mt. Kinabalu Mountain Resthouse 09/01/18 Mt. Kinabalu Mt. Kinabalu Mountain Resthouse 10/01/18 Mt. Kinabalu Klias Forest Reserve River Park Hotel Beaufort 11/01/18 Klias Forest Reserve Rafflesia Information Center Gunung Alab Substation 12/01/18 Rafflesia Information Center Kota Kinabalu Casuarina Hotel 13/01/18 Kota Kinabalu Departure to Amsterdam Remarks Due to the time constraint we needed to choose between Sepilok and Poring Hot Spring as optional locations to visit. We choose to go for Sepilok in the end as this site reliably produces its targets. This in contrast to Poring Hot Spring which is famous for Blue-banded Pitta (which we found in Danum) and Hose s Broadbill, both notoriously difficult to find at this location. Most birders visit these locations in a different order, starting in the Sepilok area and ending in Danum, thus allowing for more time to get used to the commoner birds and their calls before birding the unrelenting lowland rainforest. We started in Danum to reduce the number of flight connections (potential delays) on our way back. Having practised bird sounds in advance, we managed to see all targets without problems.

4 Practicalities Traveling We took a direct flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with KLM. We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu with AirAsia and from Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu with Malaysian Air/MASwings. Domestic flights were quite cheap, however we experienced an hour s delay in both AirAsia flights, so keep in mind that flights may be delayed while planning your trip. Transfer from Lahad Datu to Danum Valley Field Center (DVFC) and from DVFC to Bilit, Kinabatangan was included in our booking through Inno travel/sabah Holidays. Transfer from Kinabatangan to Sandakan was included in our booking through Robert Chong. In Sandakan we rented a car with Hertz, although there are cheaper companies we opted for Hertz since they were clear on the insurance policies. Driving in Sabah is easy, the roads are fine and having a car allowed for quick changes in birding strategy and reduced traveling time between locations significantly. Keep an eye on the fuel tank, as gas stations are only located in villages of significant size. Literature We used the Birds of Borneo guide by Susan Myers, which is sufficient and has a size that works well in the field (it s also available as an ibook). All other information was gathered from trip reports found on cloudbirders.com. Weather December and January are within the peak of the north-west monsoon and therefore part of the wettest season. Borneo is never dry, this is why we didn t bother about the timing of the trip, also many birds are vocal in this period and therefore easier to find (Pittas, Whitehead s trio etc.). Overall the weather did not prevent us from finding our targets and the birds we missed can also be missed during any other trip. As this is the low season for tourism we had all the parks and forest to ourself! Also we noted that many trees in the highlands were flowering and fruiting, therefore frugivorous birds were not congregated at single specific trees but rather dispersed. Although it might seem harder to find these birds, this means you can run into them anywhere anytime. The lowland mornings are generally dry, during the afternoon rainclouds grow and rain starts around 14:00. We just birded until the rain started and again in the dry late afternoons. Some days, late afternoon and evening rains did complicate our search for nocturnal birds, but we were able to locate some of them anyway. At Kinabatangan we experienced the consequences of the wet season the most. The mornings could be really foggy, making birding impossible until 7:30 on 2 days. The river was 3 4 meters higher than usual, therefore a large portion of the forest was flooded. Ground birds suffer from this and are consequentially very hard to find. Other birds were also very quiet and therefore birding was really slow and hard. However, we were lucky to easily find the (3!) Bornean Ground Cuckoo concentrated on a dry hilltop and the other targets, except for the Large Frogmouth. Weather on Mt. Kinabalu was just erratic, within 30 minutes sunshine could become rain and the other way around. Mornings were certainly the driest and due to the cool weather bird activity was high all day long. Money We brought Euros from the Netherlands and exchanged these for Malaysian Ringgits in Kota Kinabalu. It shouldn t be a problem to find ATMs in villages of significant size. Our stay at the DVFC was relatively expensive due to the fact that we could only arrange through the Sabah Holidays tour operator (7900RM for 2 persons, 5 nights private room including breakfast, lunch, dinner and Lahad Datu Danum + Danum Kinabatangan transfer outside the regular shuttle schedule). As you are officially required to have a guide/ranger accompanying you at Danum they forced a guide upon us. Our guide luckily turned out to be a birdwatcher and independent guide called Lister Jones who helped us a lot with finding our targets.

5 Our stay in Kinabatangan with Robert Chong cost 8200RM for the 5 days 4 nights all-inclusive package. If Robert is not available or if you want to look for an alternative a guide called Romzi could be an option. He is well recommended by Robert and other trip reports. All places we visited have an entrance fee of ~15RM per person per day for non-malaysian visitors. Gasoline was extremely cheap (2,2RM/Liter). Accomodation Danum Valley: We stayed at the Danum Valley Field Center (DVFC). It was very hard to arrange our stay here directly through their staff as they did not reply to our s (danumvalley@gmail.com) or calls. Later we learned they did not want to take guests between Christmas and New Year since most of their staff is on holiday. We did manage to contact Inno Travel/Sabah Holidays after many attempts and only by phone (Shahana: & , Emily: ) as they also don t reply to (Shana@sabahholidays.com, emily@sabahholidays.com & inno@sabahholidays.com). Booking through Sabah Holidays is more expensive compared to arranging it directly with the DVFC, but going to the madly expensive Bornean Rainforest Lodge or not visiting Danum at all were no options for us. Note that they don t sell beer at the DVFC or only at extremely high prices when it is available. There is a fridge however that you can use to store your own stuff ;) Kinabatangan river: We asked the legendary Robert Chong ( for guiding us on the river. He is not cheap but in our opinion it was worth every penny as he has vast knowledge about the river, its birds, the local people and how to take care of the remaining forest. He took great care of us both bird and lifestyle-wise. We stayed at the Borneo Natural Sukau Bilit Resort (BNSBR) as Robert does not operate from the Jungle Camp anymore. The lodge was luxurious and comfortable and at some days, filled to the brim with stereotypical tourists. All birding was done by boat. Sepilok: We stayed at the Sepilok B&B (100RM) which was clean, affordable and has a restaurant on the perimeter. Mt. Kinabalu: The first night we stayed at the Kinabalu Mountain Lodge, which is a simple, cheap (100RM) and very well located lodge. The main reason to stay here for us was the fact that Whitehead s Spiderhunter often visits this location. The entrance road is a bit tough for simple cars as it has some potholes and some parts are very steep and slippery. We could make it with a saloon car ( don t be gentle it s a rental ). As the road was time consuming especially in the dark, we decided to move to the Mountain Resthouse at the park entrance for 2 nights. This is a cheap (70RM), comfortable and very basic budget hotel with nothing more to offer than a bed. Klias Beaufort: Stayed in the River Park Hotel in Beaufort, a clean and relatively luxurious Hotel, not too expensive though (120RM). Rafflesia: As we only learned upon arrival that the Gunung Alab Hotel/Mountain Resort was closed we were in for a pleasant surprise. The people at the Gunung Alab Hotel pointed us to the small, steep road opposite to their hotel and told us that only 2 km away would be a place to stay. This turned out the be the Sabah Parks Crocker Range Tambunan sub station hostel which was located on top of the hill, surrounded by good birding forest and was clean and very cheap (50RM). The perfect place to stay! They have no food at the hostel however so we were forced to eat at the vile Gunung Alab Restaurant (worst food of the trip, but no alternative). Kota Kinabalu: On arrival we stayed at the C haya hotel (~200RM). The last night we stayed at the Casuarina Hotel (120RM) close to the beach, in the evening we ate and drank in a huge food court at the beach. Both hotels are excellent.

6 Danum Valley Located in the middle of mixed secondary and primary lowland dipterocarp rainforest this place is an absolute must for a bird watcher. The place is beautiful and some of Sabah s most wanted birds hide within this jungle. Danum is a fantastic eat-sleep-bird-repeat location and in this time of the year completely abandoned by tourists. DANUM TARGETS ChNeck Partridge YelEar Spiderhunter Orange-backed WP Grey-headed Babbler Rufous-bellied Eagle Crested Fireback Great Argus Buff-rumped WP ChRumped Babbler Blyths Hawk-Eagle Short-toed Coucal Wall Hawk-Eagle Buff-necked WP ChWinged Babbler Bat Hawk Whisk Treeswift Raffles Malkoha WhiteFront Falconet BoldStr Tit-Babbler Jerdons Baza Blue-headed Pitta ChBreast Malkoha BC Hanging Parrot FluffBack Tit-Babbler Large Green Pigeon Bor Banded Pitta Violet Cuckoo Green Broadbill Short-tailed Babbler Moust Hawk-Cuckoo Blue-banded Pitta Drongo-Cuckoo Banded Broadbill Moustached Babbler Bor Ground Cuckoo BlackCrown Pitta Buffy Fish Owl B-Y Broadbill Sooty-capped Babbler Red-billed Malkoha MarBr Philentoma SilvRump Spinetail Dusky Broadbill Scaly-crowned Babbler Black-bellied Malkoha Bor Bristlehead Red-naped Trogon BW Flycatcher-shrike RufCrown Babbler RufColl Kingfisher L Cuckooshrike Diard's Trogon RufWing Philentoma White-chested Babbler Blue-banded Kingfisher Bor Black Magpie Scarlet-rumped Trogon Green Iora Ferruginous Babbler WhiteCrown Hornbill Brown Fulvetta Banded Kingfisher Fiery Minivet Striped Wren-Babbler GoldWhisk Barbet Bor Wren-Babbler Dwarf Kingfisher Dark-throated Oriole Black-capped Babbler Olive-backed WP BT Wren-Babbler RedBeard Bee-eater Spotted Fantail White-crowned Shama Great Slaty WP Horsfields Babbler Rhinoceros Hornbill Straw-headed Bulbul Mal Blue Flycatcher B-R Broadbill RufTail Shama Helmeted Hornbill Puff-backed Bulbul ChestNape Forktail Giant Pitta Sunda Blue Fly Black Hornbill Olive-winged Bulbul RufChest Flycatcher Hooded Pitta Bor Blue Fly Bushy-crested Hornbill Cream-vented Bulbul Greater Green Leafbird Crested Jay GC Jungle-Fly Wrinkled Hornbill Red-eyed Bulbul Lesser Green Leafbird Scaly-breasted Bulbul Yrump Flowerpecker Red-throated Barbet Spectacled Bulbul OrBell Flowerpecker Grey-bellied Bulbul Ybreast Flowerpecker Yellow-crowned Barbet Grey-cheeked Bulbul Dusky Munia Finsch's Bulbul Plain Sunbird Brown Barbet Yellow-bellied Bulbul Great-billed Heron Pygmy White-eye RedThroat Sunbird Rufous Piculet Hairy-backed Bulbul Malaysian Honeyguide GreyStr Flycatcher Bor Spiderhunter Grey-and-buff WP Buff-vented Bulbul White-tailed Flycatcher LongBill Spiderhunter Crimson-winged WP Rufous-tailed Tailorbird Crested Partridge Spect Spiderhunter Maroon Woodpecker CB Scimitar Babbler Black Eagle Strategy There are four main areas at which we found everything: the Nature/Tongkat Ali/Waterfall trail system, the Grid, the DVFC and the entrance road. Birding in this forest is tough, as is typical for lowland rainforest. One day a trail is completely silent, the other day the same trail has a massive mixed species flock that tests your skill in finding all birds in it. In this area knowledge of bird sounds is of vital importance since this is in many cases the only way to locate the birds in the dense forest. Also, almost none of the targets can be found at specific stakeouts but only by just wandering (quietly!) through the forest. Thus, the only way to find all the birds is to spend multiple days inside the jungle, listen, walk long distances, and repeat. We spent 4 full days at Danum and this was just enough time to find all targets. Birders with more experience in this part of the world might do it slightly faster, but then again, you can t predict where and when you ll find your targets. We birded the Nature/Tongkat Ali/Waterfall trail system on 3 mornings. Due to the mixed secondary and primary nature of this forest almost all targets can be found here, and this certainly is Pitta and Babbler heaven. On all days we found Hooded Pitta, Blue-headed Pitta, Black-crowned Pitta and Bornean Banded Pitta on these trails. Also Blue-banded Pitta was found at the end of the Waterfall trail (where the path goes down to the waterfall after circling the hill) but only after persistently playing its song for almost an hour. We tried to get our eyes on this beauty but it refused to show itself. Grey-chested Jungle Flycatcher also resides in this area. Along the trails we found Bornean Wren-babbler, Black-Throated Wren-babbler, had multiple encouters with Great Argus, a singing Bornean Blue Flycatcher, Crested Jay, Diard s Trogon, Red-

7 naped Trogon, Scarlet-rumped Trogon and all the other more common species of babblers, bulbuls, barbets, malkohas and broadbills. The Grid is a set of research plots which is partly accessible. It consists of primary forest with dense undergrowth and many overgrown trails. We did not explore this as much since visibility and bird activity were low in this area. At both the trail system and the Grid it is almost impossible to see canopy birds due to the dense midstory. The DVFC area and entrance road are the solution to this problem since these provide nice clearings and distant views on large trees. Most days we would spend the afternoon birding the entrance road and the DVFC. The entrance road is good for Crested Fireback which we found on 2 days. The local researchers told us that a group of Bornean Bristleheads was hanging around the hostel area of the DVFC, and we therefore checked this location regularly until after a few days we finally hit the jackpot! We were extremely happy with this group of 6 birds, as they are notoriously hard to find nowadays and unreliable at Sepilok or Kinabatangan. In the same area we found Bornean Black Magpie, Large Green Pigeon, White-fronted Falconet, Brown Barbet and many Whiskered Treeswifts. Every night we had a Buffy Fish Owl having a party in front of our window. The dining area had a fruiting fig tree that attracted Black, Bushy-crested and Pied Hornbills as well as multiple Pigeons, Barbets, Bulbuls and a Brown-backed Flowerpecker. The Helmeted Hornbill was by far the hardest to locate and we only had it on 1 day during our entire stay at the eastern trail. Three of these Dinosaurs came flying in silently (as far as that works with hornbills) perched in front of us in the lower canopy, and quickly moved on. Wow! One morning we decided to do a drop-off at the sunrise watchtower a few kilometers up the entrance road. Walking/birding back from the tower to DVFC was very entertaining and we ran into a Banded Kingfisher and Bornean Banded Pitta at the tower, many Black-crowned Pittas calling and mixed flocks along the road. The entrance road and DVFC are especially good to find Sunbirds, Flowerpeckers and Spiderhunters including Bornean Spiderhunter. White-crowned and Rufous-tailed Shamas were common in this area and White-crowned Forktail was found along the entrance road. Additional notes The Tongkat Ali trail is also supposed to be good for Bornean Ground Cuckoo and Giant Pitta, but we did not find a trace of these birds in Danum. Later we heard that a Giant Pitta had been lingering around the Coffin trail a few months earlier, so it s worth a try in that area. Also there was no sign of the Straw-headed Bulbul anywhere along the river, which is getting harder according to our guide. The Nature trail should be good to find Sunda Blue Flycatcher but we were unable to find it here. Chestnut-naped Forktails are sometimes found along the forest streams, but likely due to the abundance of streams as a result of heavy rain we could not find any. The observation tower at DVFC is closed since the tree it s built in is dead. It is unclear if they will build a new one in the future. Also we tried to arrange a daytrip to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge since the Black-throated Wren-babbler, Bornean Wren-babbler, Bornean Bristlehead and Blue-banded Pitta are supposed to be easier in that area. They did not allow us on their property as they claimed to be fully booked although we had other information from our guide. If you want it and you feel it s worth the money (~500RM per person.) you can try to enter their property and especially their canopy walk. Treasure locations Blue-Headed Pitta: (GPS Waterfall trail: 4.961, & 4.966, & 4.961, & 4.949, ) Bornean Banded Pitta: (GPS Waterfall trail: 4.958, & 4.954, Sunrise tower: 4.981, ) Black-crowned Pitta: (GPS Waterfall trail: 4.959, ) Blue-banded Pitta: (GPS Waterfall trail: 4.944, ) Hooded Pitta: (GPS Nature trail: 4.962, ) Black-throated Wren-babbler: (GPS Tongkat Ali trail: 4.948, ) Bornean Wren-Babbler: (GPS Waterfall trail: 4.953, ) Bornean Bristlehead: (GPS DVFC hostel: 4.968, ) Helmeted Hornbill: (GPS East trail: 4.966, ) Great Argus potential lek: (GPS Tongkat Ali trail 4.958, )

8 Kinabatangan River The best spot for finding Bornean Ground Cuckoo, White-crowned Hornbill and other lowland riverine targets. Also exploring the lowland riverine forest and its birds and mammals from a boat was amazing and a relaxing change from ploughing through the jungle at Danum. KINABATANGAN TARGETS Storm's Stork Raffles Malkoha WF Falconet Rufous-bellied Eagle Oriental Darter Lesser Adjutant Red-billed Malkoha BC Hanging Parrot Black Eagle 3x Sea/Fish Eagle Jerdons Baza ChBreast Malkoha B-R Broadbill Black-bellied Malkoha Pink-necked G Pigeon Bay Owl Violet Cuckoo Fiery Minivet Drongo-Cuckoo Scarlet-rumped Trogon Hooded Pitta Buffy Fish Owl Rufous-tailed Tailorbird Grey-and-buff WP Ruddy Kingfisher Bor Ground Cuckoo Diards Trogon BoldStr Tit-Babbler Great Slaty WP Blue-eared Kingfisher Moust Hawk-Cuckoo Dwarf Kingfisher ChestWing Babbler B-Y Broadbill Brown-throated Sunbrd WhiteCrown Hornbill Rhinoceros Hornbill WhiteCrown Shama Giant Pitta Crimson Sunbird Long-tailed Parakeet Helmeted Hornbill GreyStr Flycatcher Blue-headed Pitta Mal Blue Flycatcher Black Hornbill OrBell Flowerpecker Black-crowned Pitta White-chested Babbler BushCr Hornbill CinHead Gr Pigeon Black-capped Babbler Wallaces Hawk-Eagle Wrinkled Hornbill ChNeck Partridge YeRump Flowerpecker Little Green Pigeon Brown Barbet Bat Hawk Van Hasselt's Sunbird Strategy Birding at the river is relatively straightforward. You get on a boat and find some birds. The day was divided in two sessions, an early as possible session based on the amount of fog in the morning and a combined afternoon and night session depending on the rain. In our case we focused on our main targets: Bornean Ground Cuckoo, White-crowned Hornbill, Storm s Stork, Giant Pitta, Oriental Bay Owl and Large Frogmouth. As the river and nearby forest were completely flooded due to the heaviest rainfall in 15 years, birding was slow, tough and wet, but nevertheless we spent as many hours as possible in the boat and managed to find most targets. The river is nowadays crowded with tourists trying to find monkeys and elephants. Due to this increased disturbance it becomes harder to find birds along the shores, a sad example of ecotourism turning into mass tourism. We actively tried to avoid crowded spots on the river in the hope to find more birds. We required 3 days of birding on the river to have a realistic chance of finding all our targets in this season, but if bird activity is higher (i.e. normal), 2 days should be enough to find everything. Already at our first afternoon session at the Bilit oxbow lake we managed to locate a distantly calling Bornean Ground Cuckoo. This was a relief, as we had nothing in Danum, they are very hard to find in recent years and the ground birds have very limited space as a result of the flooding. We were lucky that apparently 3 Bornean Ground Cuckoos were trapped on a dry hill near the shore of the main river and managed to find and see all three birds well in the following days. It still took 10 hours from discovering them until we could put our binoculars on one of those sneaky bastards! Best strategy here was to get on land and hide ourselves while Robert mimicked their call or a tape was playing. At the oxbow lake we also had Wrinkled Hornbills, Mustached Hawk-cuckoo and various Kingfishers. During the late morning and afternoon, when the sun gets hot the sky was filled with raptors and every day a few Storm s Storks were seen. Both Fish Eagles, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Wallace s Hawk-Eagle, Crested Goshawk and Honeybuzzards were all common along the river. Most of the targets were found perched along the river or seen flying by, including Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Long-tailed Parakeet, White-chested Babbler, Blackthroated Babbler, Lesser Adjutant and Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot. After two days on the river we also managed to locate a group of 3 White-crested Hornbills upstream of Bilit. We actively tried to find Giant Pitta by playing its song along the river at spots it is known to visit from time to time, but without success. Although the area surrounding the lodge did not appear to be super exciting it delivered some nice views of Black-capped Babbler, Malaysian Blue Flycatcher, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Black-Headed Bulbul, and Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher. As a beautiful surprise we had a roosting Hooded Pitta just along the boardwalk to our chalet.

9 Night birding was not as successful as we had hoped even though we did not have any rain. We spent three nights looking for Oriental Bay Owl and the Large Frogmouth, but we only managed to hear the former and a Reddish Scops Owl, and saw Brown Wood Owl and two species of Civet. We looked for the Frogmouth at the Bilit oxbow lake and the Tenegang tributary, which is supposedly the best spot to find it nowadays, but without luck and likely the result of the flooding. We included a visit to the Gomantong cockroach-infested-feces Cave the last afternoon in the hope to find Edible-, Black- and Mossy-nest Swiftlets. Upon arrival we heard that all edible nests were just harvested and the other swiftlets were not breeding and only come to the nest after dark, turning this afternoon in just a walk around a massive heap of bat shit. Pretty cool cave though so worth a visit. As Edible-nest Swiftlet is the only distinguishable swiftlet in the field thanks to its light rump, this was the only one we could identify with certainty. Additional notes We did not see any Bornean Bristleheads at the river, the main site is the Menangol tributary but finding them here requires a lot of luck. Same goes for Helmeted Hornbill, which is extremely rare in the Kinabatangan area nowadays. It therefore seems that Danum is now more or less the only place where you have a realistic chance of finding the Bornean Bristlehead and Helmeted Hornbill. Also the Kinabatangan River supposed to be the best place to find Straw-headed Bulbul but we could not find it. According to Robert they are becoming extremely rare due to illegal trapping and he hasn t heard them for a while now. We sadly ended up not finding this beautiful bird during our trip. If you are lucky enough to find them, please obscure the exact location. Treasure locations Bornean Ground Cuckoo: (GPS on both sides of the river 5.474, ) White-crowned Hornbill: (GPS upstream river 5.465, ) Oriental Bay Owl: (GPS Tenegang tributary 5.461, ) Potential Giant Pitta spot: (GPS upstream river 5.465, ) Sepilok Previously the most reliable place to find Bornean Bristlehead, but is not the case anymore since they abandoned their nesting tree. They are still in the area, but luck is required to see them nowadays. As Sepilok s Rainforest Discovery Center has a nice canopy walk, some good trails and still harbored some targets for us in the form of Babblers, Sunbirds, Spiderhunters, Owls and is supposedly a good place to find Rufous-collared Kingfisher we opted for a short visit to Sepilok over a visit to Poring Hot Spring. SEPILOK TARGETS Long-tailed Parakeet CopperThr Sunbird RufColl Kingfisher Hooded Pitta Chestnut Munia Sunda Pygmy WP Van Hasselt's Sunbrd Banded Woodpecker Fiery Minivet Chestnut-rumped Bab Brown Barbet Large spiderhunters Grey-and-Buff WP Grey-bellied Bulbul Bristlehead CinnHead Gr Pigeon Buff-rumped WP YelRump Flowerpckr Strategy The Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) is relatively small and therefore easily covered in one morning. We birded the canopy walk at first light, moved to the forest trails when the light was sufficient to bird under the midstory and finalized the morning first at the canopy walk and later on the flower-filled parking lot. At night we looked for owls around the parking lot and the small pond at the entry of the RDC. The pond is good for Barred Eagle-owl at dusk. In the rest of the area Sunda Scops Owl, Reddish Scops Owl, Oriental Bay Owl, Brown Hawk-owl and Northern Boobook can be found. Upon arrival in the late afternoon at the Sepilok B&B we decided to explore the RDC a little and give the owls a shot. We found a big mixed species flock around the Bristlehead tower including Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Green Iora, Fiery Minivets, Brown Barbets, Arctic Warblers, and Black-winged Flycatcher Shrikes. Also

10 Black-and-Red Broadbills and two Jerdon s Bazas were flying round in that area. At the pond we waited until dusk but before any owls could get active it started to rain. We decided to go for a quick dinner and return when the rain stopped later at night, but upon our return no owls could be found. Luckily just before we went to sleep a Sunda Scops Owl started calling at the Sepilok B&B. Our morning wake-up call was taken care of by a Brown Hawk-owl also at the B&B. In the morning we started at the Bristlehead tower finding more or less the same flock but now also containing a splendid Van Hasselt s Sunbird, Rufous-breasted Malkoha, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha and Buff-rumped Woodpecker. We walked the Kingfisher, Pitta, Mousedeer and Tarsier trails and played the call of Rufous-collared Kingfisher in suitable habitat in vain. We had multiple flocks with common babblers and a calling Black-crowned Pitta at the entrance of the Pitta trail. Climbing the Hornbill tower resulted in good views of a Yellow-eared Spiderhunter, but heavy construction work around the tower made further birding unpleasant. A short visit to the canopy walk did not result in any new birds, but birding the parking lot was good since it contained a lot of flowering bushes. Many sunbirds including Van Hasselt s and Copperthroated Sunbird visited this area as well as Little Spiderhunters. Additional notes: While the official opening time is 8 am, the RDC is accessible 24/7 and nobody was bothered by birders visiting after or before visiting hours. However, we strongly encourage buying a ticket. Tickets can be bought when leaving the RDC. No sign of any Bristleheads. Mt. Kinabalu Mt. Kinabalu is an impressive location to bird. The mountain is huge and the forest at the mountain s foot contains beautiful trails through forest in which multiple 5-star dream birds roam including the Whitehead s Broadbill, Whitehead s Trogon, Whitehead s Spiderhunter and Fruithunter to name just a few. When visiting Sabah for birds, one cannot skip the mighty mountain! MT. KINABALU TARGETS RedBr Partridge S Bush Warbler Everetts Thrush Crimson-winged WP Large Hawk-Cuckoo CrHead Partridge Bornean Stubtail B-W Flycatcher Maroon Woodpecker Oriental Cuckoo M Serpent Eagle Mnt Leaf Warbler Indigo Flycatcher Ochraceous Bulbul Grey-chinned Minivet Bornean Swiftlet YellowBreast Warbler Eyebr JuFlycatcher BlackAndCr Oriole Blyths Shrike-babbler WhiteH Trogon Friendly Warbler Bor Forktail Grey-throated Babbler Ashy Drongo GoldNape Barbet Mnt Wren-Babbler Bor Whistling Thrush Fruithunter Mountain Tailorbird WhiteH Broadbill Temminck Babbler BlSide Flowerpecker Pygmy Flycatcher WhiteBrow Shortwing Sunda Cuckoo Sunda LaThrush Temmincks Sunbird Giant/Waterfall Swiftlet Mugimaki Flycatcher Sunda Cuckooshrike ChestHo LaThrush WhiteH Spiderhunter Black Eagle SnowBrow Flycatcher Bornean Whistler BareHd LaThrush Blyth's Hawk-Eagle Ruddy CuckDove Little Pied Flycatcher Hair-crested Drongo ChestCr Yuhina Little Cuckoo-Dove Orange-backed WP Eyebrowed Thrush Bor Green Magpie Pygmy White-eye Dark Hawk-Cuckoo Cinereous Bulbul Bornean Treepie Mountain Blackeye Mountain Barbet OrangeHd Thrush Flavescent Bulbul BlCap White-eye Checker-throated WP Bornean Leafbird Strategy Birding along the Power Station road (paved road to the Timpohon gate, the highest point accessible without an expensive climbing permit, see Additional notes), around the Timpohon gate and on the trails delivered all the targets, except Friendly Bush Warbler. Everett s Thrush was recently only found at early dawn either at the Power Station road around the lower entrance of the Bukit Ular trail, or at the Bukit Ular and Pandanus trails. Therefore, we started before first light around the Bukit Ular trail entry on two days. It is essential to bird around the Timpohon gate as early as possible since tourist activity increases in this area during the course of the morning. This is the location to find Mountain Blackeye, Fruithunter, Bornean Swiftlet, Waterfall Swiftlet, Sunda Bush Warbler and Mountain Serpent Eagle.

11 The best trails to bird in our opinion are the Bukit Ular, Pandanus/Kiau View and Silau Silau/Mempening trails, but all trails can produce good birds. The first days we started at the Timpohon gate/bukit Ular and birded downhill towards the afternoon. Bird activity was good all day long during our stay, so whenever it is dry, there is no need to stop birding! We also included a visit to the Kinabalu Mountain Lodge area since this is supposed to be a good spot for Whitehead s Spiderhunter. This turned out to be a good choice since many good birds reside in that area and along the access road. The first night we spent at the Kinabalu Mountain Lodge in the hope to find Whitehead s Spiderhunter at the start of our visit to the mountain, as this is the hardest member of the Whitehead s trio to find here. Although we did not manage to find it here the first morning started with a bang by hearing Mountain Scops Owl, Crimson-headed Partridges, Red-breasted Partridges, Mountain Barbets, Golden-naped Barbets and a Whitehead s Broadbill calling from the hills surrounding the lodge. A short walk around the lodge and on the entrance road delivered 3 Fruithunters (only ones seen of the trip!), Black-and-crimson Oriole, Bornean Treepies, Chestnut-Hooded Laughingthrushes, Bornean Spiderhunter, Indigo Flycatcher, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Temminck s Sunbirds, Flavescent Bulbul, White-browed Shortwing, Temminck s Babbler and Greythroated Babbler. Later we heard from the owner that the Whitehead s Spiderhunters like to hang around the start of the entrance road to the Mountain Lodge (around the Haleluyah Retreat Center) but also in this area we could not find them this morning. The afternoon was spent on the Bukit Ular trail. We met Alex on the mountain, a UK birder (and only other birder encountered) who told us that this trail holds a Whitehead s Broadbill territory, is the best place to find Bornean Stubtail and holds a Whitehead s Trogon. We did manage to find the Bornean Stubtail, and we got a short visit of a Mountain Serpent Eagle trying to land on our heads in the fog. The Broadbill and Trogon remained elusive. It started raining and we moved downhill. Attracted by the rain a Bornean Forktail was walking along the road below the Liwagu restaurant. Late afternoon was spent at the KM 1.5 marker of the Power Station road since this is also a Whitehead s Broadbill territory. We heard it and Vivian saw it flying by at lightning speed, but better views were still much desired. During our search we noticed a group of about six Mountain Wren-babblers foraging on the forest floor just along the road. As we wanted to save some time in the morning, instead of navigating the access road to the Mountain Lodge, we moved to the Mountain Resthouse for the following nights. The second morning we successfully tried to find the Everett s Thrush around the Bukit Ular trail entrance by driving up early and patrolling the Power Station road until light was suitable to bird the Bukit Ular trail. At 6:15 during the patrol we noticed a thrush-shaped bird sneaking through the leaf-filled gutter along the road. The bird was extremely skittish and directly flushed. It landed on the concrete lining of the road for a moment, allowing us to identify it as an Everett s Thrush, but then quickly flew out of sight into the forest. Darn zootheras. Birding at the Bukit Ular trail was slow and we hardly found any other birds besides Bornean Stubtail, Black-capped White-eye, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Eyebrowed Jungle Flycatcher, Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush, Mountain Leaf Warbler, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Bornean Whistler and Yellow-breasted Warbler. Craving for views of a Whitehead s Broadbill we moved downhill to the KM 1.5 marker and resumed our search there. As we have (somewhat operational) walkie-talkies we split-up, Vivian on the start of the Silau Silau trail and Marten on the road. Within 2 minutes Vivian was alarming that she had a Whitehead s tchtchtprr. It turned out to be a slick couple of Whitehead s Trogons, finally! As there was no sign of the Broadbill we moved to the Liwagu Restaurant for lunch and noted that there was a lot of bird activity in this area. Suddenly we heard a super excited woodpecker-like call from the forest opposite of the restaurant. We chased the sound and found a green cock-of-the-rock going completely nuts just in front of us. Indeed, a splendid male Whitehead s Broadbill, what a bird! The afternoon was spent on the Pandanus/Kiau View trail and delivered Bornean Leafbird, Bornean Green Magpie, Sunda Cuckoo, Dark Hawk-cuckoo, Hair-crested Drongo, amongst many other common birds. It suddenly started pouring but during our retreat out of the forest we ran into a massive flock of Laughingthrushes along the end of the Kiau View trail. After a very wet and chaotic attempt to check the flock we managed to see multiple Sunda and Bare-headed Laugingthrushes mixed in with tens of Chestnut-

12 hooded Laughingthrushes. Back at the Power Station road we ran into an also soaked Alex again and decided it was time to find shelter in the Liwagu restaurant to celebrate this epic birding day with a welldeserved beer. The third morning we attempted to find the Everett s Thrush again at the road and Bukit Ular Trail, but this time there was no sign of the bird. We did find the cute and rare Pygmy (Blue) Flycatcher, multiple Eyebrowed Jungle flycatchers and Bornean Whistling Thrushes along the road. As the weather was finally clear for once in the morning, we quickly moved to the Timpohon Gate before the climber invasion started. At the gate we found an exquisite couple of Mountain Blackeyes and Marten saw a Waterfall/Giant Swiftlet flying by. At the KM3.5 marker Bornean Swiftlets have their nests, and since this was the first day with some sun in the morning we aimed to find and identify these guys. We managed to see swiftlets here. But only when we moved to the Kiau Gap View platform a few hundred meters down the road we got sufficient views showing clearly the greenish gloss on them to be certain. Nonetheless this split seems to be quite debatable It was becoming windy and foggy, so we moved downhill and spent some time at the lodge area across the Liwagu restaurant to find Black-sided Flowerpecker and a group of Bornean Leafbirds. As we still had no sign of the Whitehead s Spiderhunter and Alex had seen them on both the Mempening and Kiau View trail we finalized the morning by walking these trails. The Mempening trail was quiet but delivered a Sunda Cuckooshrike and a heard-only Fruithunter. At the Kiau View trail birding was more exciting and suddenly we heard the typical call of a Whitehead s Spiderhunter, but it was foggy and seemed to be a flyby. A pair of Crimson-headed Partridge was walking along the trail and gave good views. A few hundred meters further we heard a singing Whitehead s Spiderhunter! While trying to get closer a cloud crept into the forest and sight was dramatically going down. The Spiderhunter came closer but the moment turned into a gruesome humiliation as it was calling from the barely visible canopy only a few meters away from us. Then silence, some more searching, it seemed gone, and suddenly it flies away without us seeing it. SO CLOSE, but at least we heard it well. A nice male Whitehead s Trogon showed well along our way back down, easing the pain. We finished the trail and realized the Spiderhunter was our final target on the mountain and we could exploit this by moving on earlier than planned, buying us some extra time at the Crocker Range, which is in fact the best place to find Whitehead s Spiderhunter. Additional notes Mt. Kinabalu suffered an earthquake in 2015 that killed 18 people climbing the mountain. The locals believe that western tourists desecrating the sacred mountain, by dancing naked on the top, caused the earthquake. For this reason, people are not allowed to pass the Timpohon gate without guides anymore. The fee is enormous and a permit must be arranged far in advance. Therefore, finding the Friendly Bush Warbler independently is not possible anymore. Also due to landslides and the earthquake, the Bukit Ular and Liwagu Trail are officially closed. Indeed, the higher parts of these trails are now impassable but the lower parts are still fine. We just ignored the sign at the lower Bukit Ular trail as birding here is essential. We noted that there were a lot of fruiting and flowering trees on the slopes. This meant that frugivorous birds do not congregate massively at single fruiting trees. Whether this complicates finding them is unclear, at least you can run into them anywhere anytime and are not hopelessly lost if you can t find a fruiting tree. When trying to find the Whitehead s Broadbill we learned that the call they commonly make is not the sound described in the book and in the first recordings found on Xeno Canto (like XC398449). They are unresponsive to these calls. The sounds they actually make and which are needed to lure them in are XC & XC Using playback on the Whitehead s Spiderhunter should only be used as a last resort. Playing the sound will put them into full-spiderhunter mode, meaning they will fly off and move over great distances through their entire territory only perching for a few seconds to call before taking off again, making them even more impossible to track and see. Finding Pygmy White-eye/Ibon on the mountain is unlikely but the bird is supposedly doable in the Mount Kinabalu Heritage Resort & Spa area in Kundasang (GPS 5.976, ) relatively close to the park. We did not visit this location but found them at the Rafflesia Information Center road instead.

13 Treasure locations Fruithunter: (GPS: Kinabalu Mountain lodge: 6.012, ) Whitehead s Broadbill: (GPS KM1.5: 6.018, ; GPS HQ: 6.010, ) Whitehead s Trogon: (GPS Upper Silau Silau: 6.018, ; GPS Kiau View: 6.012, ) Whitehead s Spiderhunter: (GPS Kiauw View: 6.012, ) Everett s Thrush: (GPS Bukit Ular Entrance: 6.023, ) Bare-headed Laughingthrush: (GPS Kiauw view: 6.015, ) Mountain Blackeye: (GPS Timpohon gate: 6.029, ) Bornean Forktail: (GPS HQ: 6.008, ) Bornean Swiftlet: (KM3.5 putative nests: 6.024, ; Kiau Gap View: 6.023, ) Bornean Stubtail: (GPS Bukit Ular trail: 6.027, ) Klias Klias Forest Reserve is a conserved peat swamp area 2 hours driving from Kota Kinabalu. The peat swamp forest habitat provides a different set of species including the two peat swamp highlights Hook-billed Bulbul and Grey-breasted Babbler. The reserve can be birded from a 2 km long triangular boardwalk loop (GPS Klias HQ: , ). KLIAS TARGETS Hook-billed Bulbul Sunda Frogmouth BrownBack Flowerpckr Striated Grassbird WhiteBell Woodpecker Grey-breasted Babbler Dark-necked Tailorbird Black-throated Babbler BlueCrown HangParrot Cinhead Green Pigeon BarBell Cuckooshrike Olive-winged Bulbul Cream-vented Bulbul ScarlBreast Flowerpckr Red-crowned Barbet Crimson Sunbird Gold-whiskered Barbet Strategy There is a 3km long boardwalk into the forest of which the triangular loop at the end is the main birding area as the forest at the start is secondary/trash forest. Therefore, just skip the beginning of the board walk. Go in early as temperatures rise quickly followed by low bird activity. Spending only one morning on this location should be sufficient to find all targets. Going in at night or before dawn should make it possible to find Sunda Frogmouth here as well. We arrived after dark in Beaufort and due to rain decided not to waste time on searching for the frogmouth. Instead, we went to bed early so we could go the Klias Field Center before dawn (4:00) and give the Sunda Frogmouth a try. We were in for a nasty surprise in the form of a newly placed gate that was locked and blocked us from entering the compound and boardwalk with only a Long-tailed Nightjar to accompany us. After relentlessly beating the fence for two hours we managed to wake up somebody inside who opened the gate, but the sun was already rising and no frogmouths were active anymore. We skipped to the triangular loop quickly and started birding walking the loop. Along the boardwalk we heard and found multiple Blackcapped, Chestnut-winged, Chestnut-rumped, Black-throated, and Bold-striped Tit- Babblers, White-Bellied Woodpecker, Long-tailed Parakeet, Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot, Raffles s Malkoha and Dark-necked Tailorbirds amongst several more common birds. We quickly located a singing Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker, supposedly the hardest target to find here. About 100 m further we ran into two very quickly moving Hook-billed Bulbuls, barely giving us time to identify them. Finding Grey-breasted Babbler proved to be very hard. We spent the remaining hours of the morning going in circles around the loop and playing their calls every once in a while. The highlight during our remaining search was a calling Cinnamon-rumped Trogon which insisted on hiding in the dense midstory. We took a break from the heat in the shadow of the observation tower along the boardwalk, when Grey-breasted Babblers suddenly responded from deep inside the forest. They stubbornly refused to come out of the forest and remained in the thick undergrowth, therefore we sadly failed to get our eyes on these guys. At 11:00 the forest was extremely hot and silent so we decided to move towards Rafflesia.

14 Additional notes As stated above, the compound that contains the access to the boardwalk is now closed off with a fence and a gate. It is probably still open at the end of the afternoon/dusk, or at least you have a better chance to run into people who can open the gate. We noticed that there are cabins and dorms for rent within the compound. Staying at the Field Center is highly recommended for people who want to be at the boardwalk after closing hours. Beaufort is a nice and relatively big village with plenty of sleep and food possibilities. At a satay restaurant we visited on our way out, a friendly local paid for our lunch, great hospitality. En route we pulled over in a small marshy area (GPS: 5.700, ) along the road that delivered some nice birds including Black-winged Kite, Black-and-White Bulbul, Striated Grassbird, Black-backed Swamphen, Wandering Whistling Duck, Grey Imperial Pigeon, Pied Triller and Ruddy-breasted Crake. Rafflesia Information Center The Rafflesia Information Center (RIC) is located on the Crocker Range mountain ridge which hosts several (mountain) birds that are harder to spot on Mt. Kinabalu, such as Bornean Barbet, Bornean Leafbird and Pygmy White-eye. Besides the RIC gardens and road should be a reliable spot for Whitehead s Spiderhunter, the surrounding forest can be birded from the road. RAFFLESIA TARGETS Ruddy CuckDove Blyths Hawk Eagle Cinereous Bulbul CrHead Partridge Long-tailed Broadbill Bornean Barbet Dark Hawk-Cuckoo Fruithunter Pygmy White-eye Gerygone Mountain Barbet Sunda Cuckoo Whi Spiderhunter Mnt Serpent-Eagle Bornean Bulbul GoldWhisk Barbet Bor Spiderhunter Mnt Serpent-Eagle Bornean Leafbird Brown Barbet RedBr Partridge YellowBellied Warbler Strategy During our visit, the Rafflesia Information Center was closed for tourists until further notice. Therefore, we only birded the road between the RIC (GPS: , ) and the Waterfall (GPS: , ). We parked at the RIC at dawn and just walked along the road. We found all targets within a day and managed to get good views of Whitehead s Spiderhunter which we only heard on Mt. Kinabalu. In case of more time, it could be worthwile to the area around Tambunan sub station hostel. Roadside birding was good with many flocks and a lot of bird activity, despite the cars and trucks rolling by regularly. In a large white-eye flock, we found a pair of Pygmy White-eyes. We also had good views of Blackand-crimson Oriole, Cinereous Bulbuls and multiple Bornean Spiderhunters, and heard Dark Hawk-cuckoo and our only Rusty-breasted Cuckoo. The Waterfall is a place of past glory, apparently after a landslide had occurred, completely deserted and overgrown, with scattered leaking water pipes and the remains of a trail barely visible. Birding was good here as well, with Bornean Forktail, Long-tailed Broadbill and another Bornean Spiderhunter present. On the roadside in the Waterfall curve we saw Bornean Barbet, Bornean Bulbul, Bornean Leafbird, Blyth s Hawk-eagle and Rufous-bellied Eagle. Near the curve a small roadside gazebo was a good stakeout to watch the roadside canopy (GPS: 5.769, ). A lot of red-flowering trees were present here. From a flowering tree at this location, we heard a Whitehead s Spiderhunter calling and saw it fly off at high altitude and with dazzling speed several times before we had good views. Hypothesizing that the flowering tree was part of the Spiderhunter s feeding and territorial patrol, we decided to wait below for its return, hoping to get better views. About 30 minutes later, we turned out to be right as the bird came flying towards the highest branch of the flowering tree, uttered a few of its calls and flew away again after 30 seconds, but this time we had good views! Desiring more of this wonderful bird, we sticked around and indeed, again after about 30 minutes it visited the top of the tree