Sabah, Borneo, August 2014 Part 3

And so our six-week trip to Malaysia and Borneo continues. 

After birding in the east of the Malaysian state of Sabah, we caught a flight to the west coast, to the capital, Kota Kinabalu.  Here we stayed outside the centre of town, which was perfect for driving east in the morning.  We checked in just about in time to go to another Chinese restaurant, which seemed to be turning into our favourite restaurants. 

In the morning our awesome guide, Andrew Siani, drove us to the Rafflasia Centre in the Crocker Mountains National Park.  The Centre is well known for the massive Rafflasia flower but it was not in season when we were visiting.  Most of the birding was actually from the road and we had a great time in the day and a half that we were there, seeing loads of the Bornean endemics.  Considering that there are only 50 endemics on the whole island, we saw 15 endemic species in this tiny endemic hotspot.  The endemic birds that we saw were Mountain and Bornean Barbet, Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Pygmy White-eye, Fruithunter, Black-sided Flowerpecker, Bornean Spiderhunter, Mountain Serpent Eagle, Bornean Whistler, Bornean Treepie, Bornean Forktail, Bornean Leafbird and the difficult Whitehead’s Broadbill and Spiderhunter.  Here we also saw Black-and-crimson Oriole.  We had a large supply of luck as well as a talented guide and working hard to get us these birds.

Black-and-crimson Oriole, Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

After lunch on our second day, we travelled a couple of hours to a place called Poring Hot Springs, which is at the base of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea.  We were staying at a lovely lodge just out of town called Kinabalu Poring Vacation Lodge.  There were lots of tourists here, to swim in the sulphurous hot water springs.  

Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

White-crowned Shama, Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

At Poring, the main target was the endemic and extremely rare Hose’s Broadbill but we had not heard of anyone seeing one this year.  We were meeting our guide, Andrew, at 7.30 am the next morning to walk a steep footpath to the 3.1 km mark, where these birds are occasionally seen.   However, later in the evening, we received a message from Rob Hutchinson from Bird Tour Asia saying that you should start at 5.00 am and hike to get to the bird site by 7.30 am.  After receiving this news, the three of us agreed that we had no chance the next day, but would treat it as a practice run, starting out much earlier the day after.  However, in the morning Andrew told us that the spot at 3.1 km is only where you get the bird for two weeks of the year, when the trees here are fruiting.  At other times, the birds could be anywhere else but especially where there are fruiting trees.  We still didn't feel reassured and especially when it was 11.00 am by the time we even got to the 2 km mark.  Thinking that it was too late to see anything, we decided to turn back.  Just then, Andrew whispered excitedly “Hose’s Broadbill”!  What?  Where?  We could not believe it.  We looked up and a beautiful bright green and blue bird was sitting just above us.  We all got fantastic views, too mesmerised to get a camera out.  It seemed our luck was still continuing.

We had left ourselves 3 nights to try for the Broadbill, so had plenty of time to try and catch up with other birds.    We managed to see the endemic Dusky Munia, White-crowned Shama, Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker and Bornean Whistling Thrush.  We also saw the rare Rufous-collared Kingfisher as well as Scarlet-rumped Trogon.  On our last morning, we tried again for the rare White-tailed Flycatcher around a waterfall at the bottom on the trail.  We had tried each day but with no success. Dad climbed some rocks and managed to see it briefly but Mum and I missed it, which was not fun.  I was disappointed but Mum was very unhappy, especially with Dad, as obviously it was his fault he climbed the rocks and gripped us off!

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at waterfall, Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Next was the drive up to Mount Kinabalu itself for a six night stay. This was another area that also had lots of endemics, so we had to concentrate on the different footpaths as well as the road to the start of the mountain trail.  We were staying just outside the National Park, where there was also a basic restaurant that ran out of more and more ingredients and drinks over the next few days. You would think they were somewhere massively remote rather than a couple of hours from the capital.   

Pale-faced Bulbul, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Bornean Swiftlet, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Bornean Swiftlet, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

The new endemics that we targeted and saw here were Whitehead’s Trogon, Bornean Green Magpie, Bornean Stubtail, Bare-headed Laughingthrush, Mountain Blackeye, Eyebrowed Jungle Flycatcher, Golden-naped Barbet, Mountain Wren Babbler and the difficult Everett’s Thrush and Friendly Bush Warbler.

Golden-naped Barbet, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Mountain Blackeye, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Mountain Wren-babbler, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Bornean Whistling Thrush, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

For the Friendly Bush Warbler, we had to walk 2 km along the actual mountain summit trail.  We were only going a short way up but were in our boots and sensible clothes whilst lots of people going to the summit were completely inappropriately dressed in plastic shoes and shorts.  Andrew had told us that lots of people do not take the trek seriously as there is a trail all the way to the top but he said that a 22 year old German girl had died at the top only this year.  He said that altitude can be a problem as the top of the trail is at 4,095 m as with people regularly having to be stretchered down.

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

We managed to get just before the 2 km point when we saw a Friendly Bush Warbler really well, just off the trail.  After watching for few minutes, just as we were ready to head down, it started raining.  Not just a drizzle but a massive torrential downpour.  I ran back down the mountain but had to wait for ages in the rain for Mum, who struggled on the slippery stone path which had turned into a river.  Those people walking in plastic shoes and shorts seemed all the more crazy.

Friendly Bush Warbler, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Firefly species at Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Chris Craig birding at Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Back at our lodge, J Residence, there was a really steep driveway down from the road.  Andrew had a 4x4 and so we were OK getting back up the drive. Other cars were not so able, with lots of cars getting half way up and then rolling back down to the bottom at speed before having to try again.  Our room was at the bottom of the driveway and so it was quite scary watching cars hurtling back down the drive, completely out control (mainly with women drivers)!

View from our lodge, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Until this point, we had been really lucky with the weather as it had been dry the whole time.  Mount Kinabalu was completely different.  Most days we only birded in the morning with heavy rain all afternoon, stopping us from getting out at all.  Despite this, we did so well cleaning up that we were able to leave a day early, heading back to the Capital Kota Kinabalu via Crocker Mountains National Park trying again for Sunda Cuckoo, without any luck.  Mum wanted to go back to Poring Hot Springs to try again for the White-tailed Flycatcher that she and I missed, but Dad put his foot down and said no.

That afternoon we did a little tour of Kota Kinabalu, trying to pick up odds and ends.  We caught up with the near threatened Blue-naped Parrot and Long-tailed Parakeet at Tanjung Aru Beach, Malaysian Plover and Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers at Lok Kowi Beach and Buff-banded Rail and Nankeen Night Heron at dusk at Penampang Paddyfields.

Green Imperial Pigeon, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Oriental Magpie-robin, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Buff-banded Rail, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

In the morning, we spent our last half day with Andrew before he had to shoot off to meet his next party of birders.  He had arranged a boat charter to take us across to Manukan Island where we saw our target species, the Philippine Megapode as well as Mangrove Whistler and Mangrove Blue Flycatcher. It was a lovely island and a shame we did not have time for snorkelling.  

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Manukan Island, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

After saying goodbye to Andrew, we had a welcome rest in our hotel before finding the most amazing vegetarian Chinese restaurant we have ever been to with dishes like vegetarian fish curry and vegetarian duck.

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and bird guide, Andrew Siani
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

Next diving, white-water rafting, Mantanani Island, Brunei and Taman Negara, Malaysian Peninsular.

Sabah, Borneo, Aug 2014 Part 2

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

The Kinabatangan River is in the north east of Sabah, Borneo and was the most amazing place for wildlife watching.  On our third day, the herd of Bornean Asian Pygmy Elephants were feeding in an open area next to the river.  There were lots of boats watching from a distance that I think was too close and disrespectful to these intelligent animals as well as people screeching.  We insisted that our boat kept it's distance.

Tourist boats watching the elephants, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

A young Bornean Asian Pygmy Elephant, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

We also saw a group of Red Leaf Monkeys.  It's interesting that they live in the same area as Orang-utan and are the same unusual orange colour.  There was also a crocodile positioned below these monkeys and looked like it had caught one, as the monkeys were shrieking from above. Thankfully, we then saw that it was a fish not a monkey in the crocodile's mouth.  Poor fish though.

Red Leaf Monkey, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Freshwater Crocodile, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

At Kinabatangan River we also saw Stork-billed Kingfisher, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Grey-headed Fish Eagle as well as the endemic White-fronted Falconet and Dusky Munia. 

Stork-billed Kingfisher, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Rhinoceros Hornbill, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Bird Tour Asia had also seen the rare Oriental Bay Owl a couple of days before, but exactly where the elephants were now.  It was frustrating not to be able to go looking for it as it was too dangerous to go walking anywhere near the elephants.  Then one of the boatmen told us that he had been woken up the night before by one calling.  So that night, we went looking for the owl and finally managed to see it, after tracking it down in the forest for over an hour.

Oriental Bay Owl, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Whilst we were at this lodge, we met a family from London with teenage sons and a 12 year old daughter called Maya. How spooky is that?  The mum commented on the large amount of snacks that they had bought from a supermarket.  Mum “suggested” that they wrap the food up well, so that they didn’t attract large jungle rats into their room.  The lady said she wasn’t bothered about a little rat, which must have seemed like madness to someone with a rodent phobia, like Mum.

On our last afternoon, we went on a day trip to Gomantong Caves, which were infamous.  I had heard about these caves long before our trip.  Our world birding friend, Digby Munns, had told me about his visit to the caves in the 1980’s.  The caves were an essential part of Borneo birding, as they had various nesting species of swiftlet as well as lots of bats.  Inside, you had to climb a mountain of guano (bat poo), which was also crawling with cockroaches. I had also seen footage of David Attenborough and Steve Backshall making the iconic climb. 

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Andrew Siani also had a story about the cave.  He said that he once took a tour into the cave, climbing onto the guano.  He suddenly heard a loud noise and turned to see a female client flat on her face in the guano and cockroaches.  He and the other guide helped her up, cleaned off the guano and cockroaches from her face as quickly as possible and with as much empathy as they could manage, before rushing outside to laugh their heads off.

It was all much more civilized now.  There is a boardwalk around the cave now but I had heard that it was still covered in cockroaches and smelt really bad.  As we entered on the boardwalk, the foul smell hit us.  I tried not to look anywhere but straight ahead of me. 

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Mum had made it clear that she was only going inside long enough to see the Mossy-nest Swiftlet that she needed.  She told Robert Chong, the owner of the lodge and our guide for the afternoon, that after that she was leaving the cave. However, Robert had a great sense of humour and after she had seen her target swiftlet, persuaded her to carry on to see a “special” bird.  Obviously there was no special bird, but Mum had walked through the worst of the cockroaches, crawling over the boardwalk and hand rail.

The other birds we saw, which we had seen already but were great birds, were Glossy Swiftlet, Black-nest Swiftlet, Edible-nest Swiftlet.  The nests of the Edible-nest and Black-nest Swilftlets are cleaned and used in soup and are extremely valuable.  They are only removed under licence now, so that the nests are only taken after the young have fledged.

Just outside the caves we also saw a Black-and-yellow Broadbill and a mother Orang-utan feeding on daurian fruit, whilst her little baby looked on.  She obviously didn't care about the bad smell of the fruit.

Black-and-yellow Broadbill at Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Orang-utan mother and baby at Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Our next destination was Danum Forest, Sabah’s largest primary rainforest. First we stayed at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, a really luxurious lodge with great facilities.  Our guide here was Dennysius, who worked tirelessly trying to find the target birds for us. Our friend, Alan McBride, is friends with the owners and was amazing contacting them for us to make sure we got VIP treatment from Denny and the Lodge, which we did.  

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on canopy walkway at
Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken and copyright Chris Craig

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on canopy walkway at
Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken and copyright Chris Craig

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Chris Craig forest birding
at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken and copyright Helena Craig

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Chris Craig forest birding
at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken and copyright Helena Craig

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Chris Craig forest birding
at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken and copyright Helena Craig

Here we staked out more Pittas, which are really hard to see birds. We did fantastically well, seeing Blue-banded and Blue-headed Pittas as well as the sought after Bornean Ground-babbler and Chestnut-necklaced Partridge.  Each one took us almost a day's effort to see.

On our last day, we found a snake which was not venomous, called a Malayan Vine Snake. It was great because I got to hold it.

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig with a Malaysian Vine Snake
at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

We also saw a mother and baby Orang-utan.  The baby was really cute and sat in a tree above us throwing down small sticks. We were really lucky to see them as the Orang-utan researcher hadn't seen any for a few days.

Orang-utan baby at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Next was Danum Valley Field Centre, where we met interesting researchers who were bird ringing.  It would be amazing to go back here when I’m older to do bird ringing myself.  We also chatted to John Payne from Borneo Rhino Alliance, who came for a rhino conference and was really inspiring.  Andrew Siani travelled here with us and was really great finding the target birds.  

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at Danum Valley Field Centre, Danum Valley
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

When we arrived at the research station, Maya and her family were there. They had arrived the day before and the first thing they said was that Mum had been right about attracting rats. They had left their food out the night before and a large rat had come into their room and was eating their crisps. Maya was sleeping on the floor and wasn’t too happy about a rat running around her. They had chased the rat out for it only to have gone into the room next door, where the teenage brothers were sleeping. One of boys told us that he was sitting on the toilet with only his i-phone for light (as there was no electricity after midnight) when a big rat had poked it’s head up though the shower drain cover and then ran in. He had chased the rat back into the bathroom and shut the door, where it stayed most of the night eating their toiletries. This was not what Mum had wanted to hear, with her massive rodent phobia. So she put a load of big stones on our drain cover and as we did not have handle on our bathroom door, taped it shut with duck tape (which we never travel without!). She then stayed awake most of the night, waking me and Dad up every now and again by searching the room with her torch. Dad didn’t know about the duck tape until four o’clock in the morning when he tried to go to the bathroom but couldn’t open the door, discovering hundreds of pieces of duck tape!

We managed to catch up with Bornean Ground-cuckoo, which we had searched for endlessly at Kinabatangan River. Here, Dad saw one briefly but it was another two hours of patience before Mum and I saw it really well. This is a very rare bird and also an endemic bird, which means that it only lives in Borneo. We also saw Bornean Banded Pitta, Bornean Wren-babbler, Wallace’s Hawk-eagle, Rufous-tailed Shama and Thick-billed Spiderhunter, as well as another view of Bornean Gibbon and Red Leaf Monkey. 

Rufous-tailed Shama, Danum Valley Field Centre, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Thick-billed Spiderhunter, Danum Valley Field Centre, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Red Leaf Monkey, Danum Valley Field Centre, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Next the West coast of Sabah, Borneo.

Sabah, Borneo, Jul 2014 Part 1

Our four week trip to Borneo started with us arriving at Sandakan on the East coast of Sabah.  The Island of Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is made up of Malaysian States of Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesian Kalimantan and the tiny State of Brunei.  The island has fifty endemic birds. 

Our Guide, Andrew Siani, met us at the airport and then drove us back east to Sepilok.  Here we did some birding before being dropped at our lodge, Sepilok B&B, where Andrew told us that there were Malaysian Eared Nightjar at dusk and dawn.  We had a quick look at dusk but were up too late for them in the morning.  As we came out to meet Andrew at 5.45 am, we had just missed a Nightjar.  It was a new bird, and none of us were very pleased that we missed it. 

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and her Dad in Sepilok, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

We then visited the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sepilok, very close to our lodge.  Here there was remnant rainforest.  Our main target was the endemic Bornean Bristlehead.   They had not been seen for three weeks, but we still looked for hours first around the canopy tower and then in the forest for two days walking the footpaths in the forest.  Although we missed the Bristlehead, we did get fantastic views of the endemic Black-Crowned Pitta (also called Black-and-crimson Pitta).  Then, on our second day, at the other end of the Pitta trail, we suddenly heard one call.  We waited in silence, on a well positioned bench, until after what seemed like ages, we saw four of these amazing birds, which obligingly hung around in the trees above us.  We felt amazingly lucky as although it’s possible to see these endemic birds elsewhere, they are even more rare.  We also saw the near threatened Blue-rumped Parrot, Black Hornbill, Buff-necked Woodpecker and Black Magpie.

Bornean Bristlehead, Sepilok, Sabah Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

We headed back to our lodge in time for a late breakfast, which was toast and fruit, one of which was durian fruit.  I had already heard about it, as it was meant to be the stinkiest fruit in the world.  I have seen jack fruit before, so thought durian might not be much worse.  Mum put a piece on her plate, but then put it back and started informing us how the smell was stomach turning. She had obviously never heard of one before. 

In the afternoon, we visited Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre at feeding time.  Here they adopt orphaned baby Orang-utan, bottle feeding them by hand.  When they are 6 years old they are rehabilitated into the wild, but continue being fed for a year or two.  It is therefore young Orang-utan that come back for food, playing with their friends and still enjoying their contact with humans.  It was lovely to see these fantastic creatures, knowing that each one had been saved from death and would eventually live independently in the wild.  I know they’re not wild yet, but that did not matter to me.

Orang-utan at Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig

At dinner, we met a large group of teenagers on a four-week school expedition. It was interesting talking to their tour leader and teachers about what they had been doing. They had done some tough stuff like spending a week hiking around Mount Kinabalu (but not hiking to the top) and building a boardwalk at the Sun Bear refuge in the pouring rain.  The Sun Bear Rehabilitation Centre was closed when we were there as a bear had escaped and remained on the loose!

The next morning Dad gripped us off with early morning views of Malaysian Eared Nightjar, which we didn't catch up with the rest of our trip.  Then we travelled south west to the Kinabatangan River.  The journey took several hours and was shocking.  Over the entire journey the road passed though nothing but palm oil plantations.  Palm oil is used to plump out processed food and its use has taken off massively.  It is planted on deforested land and supports virtually no wildlife.  We did not see a single bird in all those hours. I knew about the existence of palm oil, but the extent of it was unbelievable.  In lots of places we reached the top of a hill and could see in every direction for miles and miles, but all you could see as far as the eye could see was palm oil. 

Palm oil plantations, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Palm oil plantations, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Once we got to the Kinabatangan River, we travelled downriver by boat to our lodge, Kinabatangan Jungle Camp.  The birding was mostly from motorized canoes, so my legs got a chance to recover from Fraser’s Hill!  It was amazing here for animals and birds.  Here, on the edge of the river, we saw around 30 Bornean Pygmy Asian Elephants with young, wild mother and baby Bornean Orang-utan, Bornean Gibbon and Proboscis Monkeys, all of which were endemic.  The sad thing was that on one side of the river there was primary forest with all this wildlife, whilst on the other side there was nothing as the forest had been chopped down for palm oil plantations.  I can not believe that these plantations at least have not been cut down and the area reforested. 

Pygmy Asian Elephant, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Proboscis Monkey, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Bird Tour Asia had seen Bornean Ground Cuckoo here two days before we arrived.  This was an amazing record of an impossible to see, mythical species.  With this in mind, we spent a lot of time in the same place, listening, with no luck, for the Ground Cuckoo.  However, we did see Hooded Pitta, a colourful and shy bird.  The downside of seeing so many elephants was that it was too dangerous to get out of our boats and walk around.  Birders have been killed taking risks like that before. And that wouldn't be fun. 

Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Hooded Pitta, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

We also saw a lovely Pied Fantail on its tiny nest, hanging above the water and a White-Crowned Shama.

Pied Fantail, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

White-crowned Shama, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

On our second evening, we went out night birding and saw 7 Buffy Fish Owls, the owl that we had spent hours looking for on my first evening with Mum.  

Buffy Fish Owl, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

As well as the owl, we also saw two Black-and-red Broadbill and a Bornean Blue Flycatcher roosting.

Black-and-red Broadbill, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Malaysian Blue Flycatcher, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

The next day, we also saw a Storm’s Stork, which is really rare.  This one was wandering around the lodge grounds.  Robert Chong, the owner of the lodge, had rescued it from flood water a few years before.  Now, it came back every few months and we were lucky enough to be there.  

Storm's Stork, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo
Photograph taken by and copyright Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig