2005 Tour Narrative
MALAYSIA
Malaysia has not escaped the effects of global warming. The dry conditions of the last few years, coupled with the effect of widespread fires as forest is cleared, have reduced the numbers of birds and size of feeding flocks. The birds are still there, we just had to work a bit harder for them, and the up-side was only two brief periods of rain in 10 days, only one leech found, and no need for Wellington boots.
Dennis Yong was there to welcome us upon arrival and we were soon driving past lush tropical vegetation and extensive oil palm plantations towards the ultra-modern down-town area of Kuala Lumpur, a fabulous skyline dominated by the Petronas Towers, the world’s second tallest building. After checking into our hotel and eating lunch we had our first taste of Malaysia’s birds, with an afternoon spent on the Old Gombak Road. Scaly-breasted Bulbul was a good find, and other regional specialities seen included Red-billed Malkoha and three spectacular swift species (Silver-rumped Swift, and Grey-rumped and Whiskered Treeswifts).
We made an early start the next morning to reach the coastal mangroves of Kuala Selangor before the heat of the day. This is one area that has apparently suffered a lot from the dry conditions, and some of the specialities were difficult. We found the Flyeater and Mangrove Whistler without too much difficulty, and the Mangrove Blue Flycatcher sang for us all though it only showed itself to a couple of us. Mangrove Pitta was no where to be found. There were several compensations though, with fine “scope views of a perched Black Baza and a pair of the gorgeous Ruby-cheeked Sunbird returning time and again to a nearby stump to tear off fibres for nest-building.
After lunch we headed off to Fraser’s Hill, allowing ourselves a brief stop at Uluyan, where we found Blue-tailed Bee-eaters. On then to Fraser’s Hill, a delightful hill-station, with pleasantly cool temperatures and quaint Victorian buildings sandwiched between the mosque and the Golf and Country Club! We managed to squeeze in an hour’s birding before dinner, and Dennis’s imitation of a Collared Owlet drew in a real one, which then took over the job of pulling in small birds for us. Observing Ashy-throated Minivets, Chestnut-capped Laughing Thrushes and Black-browed Barbet made for an excellent end to the day.
We spent the next two full days birding Fraser’s Hill and down as far as “The Gap”. Dennis told us that the combination of dry conditions and the smoke from lowland “slash-and-burn” activities (which may be reducing insect numbers), had resulted in a steady reduction in bird populations. We certainly didn’t encounter any “bird waves” but most of the birds we hoped for put in an appearance . And what birds they were! Green Magpie, Black-and-crimson Oriole, Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle, the fabulous Long-tailed Broadbill, good views of the difficult Large Scimitar-Babbler, a pair of Sultan Tits, Red-headed Trogon, a well-seen Malayan Hill-Partridge, and dusk forays for Grey Nightjar and Malaysian Eared Nightjar. The best bird had to be a Malaysian Rail-Babbler that finally gave brief but excellent views. Perhaps the real star was a stunning Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing butterfly gliding majestically along the forest edge.
On February 26th we had an early breakfast and walked most of the way down to “The Gap.” Highlights were a male Orange-breasted Trogon and a pair of the delightful Black-thighed Falconet. Our drive to Kuala Tembling was interrupted by a stop for a roadside Crested Goshawk nest with two well-grown young and an adult in attendance. After lunch we boarded our “pirogue” and set off for the three-hour boat-ride to Taman Negara. Oriental Pied Hornbill, four species of kingfisher and Blue-throated Bee-eaters were all nice, as were a party of seven Smooth Otters rolling on a sandbank, and we only ran aground once! We arrived in time for a short evening walk, which was a good introduction to this wonderful location, with Little Green Pigeon, Raffle’s Malkoha and the excellent Black-and-red Broadbill.
Taman Negara is an extensive area of largely untouched lowland forest with an enormous variety of birdlife. We birded here for four-and-one-half days, usually along trails leading out from the excellent complex of log cabins and service buildings of the National Park headquarters, and once by boat to a trail further along the Tembling River. Our accommodation was excellent (and air-conditioned) and I’m sure we all gained weight in the excellent restaurant! Every time we set out we encountered new birds and this was one of those rare and exciting places where one felt that every outing, even to familiar trails, would bring new birds. There were many highlights, beautiful Green and Black-and-yellow Broadbills, male Crested Firebacks, a roosting Blue-winged Pitta on a vine just above head-height on a trail, Black Magpie and the strange Crested Jay, the infrequently seen Brown-backed Flowerpecker, assorted trogons, bulbuls and babblers, and, perhaps the bird of the trip, the absolutely stunning Garnet Pitta. One afternoon we took a boat trip up the shallower Tahan River. Because of the low water level, this required a lot of hard work from our boatmen; pushing the boat up over the rapids when it threatened to run aground. The return trip was easier as we drifted down with the current, an idyllic journey on a beautiful river. The object of this outing was to see Masked Finfoot but only one of us was lucky enough to see a bird scurrying out of the water and away up a bank. There were compensations— the most beautiful Chestnut-naped Forktail and a small group of Dusky Broadbills, but as finfoot was such an important bird we resolved to try again on our last morning here.
The boat trip that morning was again wonderfully scenic but finfoot-free. We managed Blue-banded and Blue-eared Kingfisher, and Great Slaty Woodpecker for some of us, but left the area for the long drive back to Kuala Lumpur with a somewhat disappointed atmosphere that our quarry had eluded us. But Dennis had one more surprise up his sleeve. As we approached Kuala Lumpur he said that we would make a short detour to the Forestry Institute on the outskirts. There, on a small reed-fringed pool, was a female Masked Finfoot swimming quietly in the open for all to see!! It was apparently a vagrant bird that had been there for some time and was the perfect end to a great trip. We went back to our hotel, enjoyed a farewell meal and then split up, some for the long journey home and others to go on to the Borneo leg of the tour. We had seen a wonderful variety of birds in superb surroundings, and, in particular, the wealth of pittas, trogons and broadbills showed what an exceptional birding area we had visited.
Guest narrative by John Hopkins
BORNEO
The Borneo portion of the tour began with our flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan, via Kota Kinabalu. Due to a flight delay at Kota Kinabalu we sped past Cattle Egrets, Spotted Doves, Asian Glossy Starlings, Eurasian Tree-sparrows, an Oriental Pied Hornbill, a Paddyfield Pipit and a Common Myna on our way to the Gomantong Caves.
We arrived at Gomantong in the nick of time to see (and hear) the millions of bats exiting the caves, and we did not have to wait too long before a Bat Hawk made an appearance. It was soon joined by three of its kin and together they caused havoc amongst the streams of bats in the sky, stooping to catch the unfortunate ones and eating them on the wing.
Afterwards we made our way into the cave complex which four swiftlet species call home. We easily located Glossy and Black-nest Swiftlets on their nests. Although we had to leave before seeing Edible-nest and Mossy-nest Swiftlets we did see a Red Giant Flying Squirrel in the car park and a very cooperative Buffy Fish-Owl, at almost blank point range, on our night boat ride to our comfortable Sukau Rainforest Lodge at Sukau.
At Sukau we spent a whole day river cruising. Our quarry for the day? The Storm’s Stork—and we saw eight of these! The first few were soaring miles up in the sky by the time our boat got under them and, though identifiable, appeared more like ants than storks. This also happened with our only sighting of a Lesser Adjutant. Then like magic and when we least expected it, four sailed over our heads at tree-top level and stayed circling for a good five minutes before they caught a thermal to unknown parts.
We saw many other birds associated with water, many Oriental Darters, Purple Heron, Great and Little Egrets, White-breasted Waterhen (a very tame one which went about feeding as if we were invisible), Common Sandpiper, four species of kingfishers (Common, Blue-eared, Stork-billed and a single Collared), plus Black-and-red Broadbill (several pairs busy nest-building) and several White-chested Babblers.
We also had a field day with the raptors seeing Jerdon’s Baza, Crested Honey-Buzzard, Bat Hawk, Brahminy Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, both Lesser and Grey-headed Fish-Eagles and Crested Serpent-Eagle. In between cruises, we were shown a Gould’s Frogmouth which was caught in the roof of the lodge’s jetty, had great looks at a Rufous-tailed Tailorbird in the garden, and from the boardwalk behind the lodge we whistled in a stunning Black-headed Pitta. With darkness coming on the cruises had to end and the last bird we found in the failing light was a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills at their roost. In between birds we saw the minute Plain Pygmy Squirrel, the black-sided race of the Prevost’s Squirrel, Long-tailed Macaque and a load of Prosboscis Monkeys for which Sukau is famous.
The following day we set off early from Sukau to work the road which passes through logged lowland forest to Gomantong Caves, viewing Crested Serpent-Eagle, Pink-necked Pigeon, the almost all-black race of the Oriental Magpie Robin, and Philippine Starling along the way.
We were off to a good start with looks at the endemic White-crowned Shama. We soon ran into two more Storm’s Stork (flying low and affording superb long looks); Jerdon’s Baza; a Crested Goshawk; Little Green Pigeon; a flyby Violet Cuckoo; Raffles’s and Red-billed Malkohas; Dollarbird; two huge flocks of Bushy-crested Hornbill; Grey-and-buff Woodpecker; a much sought after Black-and-yellow Broadbill; a lone Fiery Minivet travelling with its cousin, the Scarlet; Red-eyed, Hairy-backed and Buff-vented Bulbuls; Black Magpie (the Bornean race may well qualify as distinct species); Slender-billed Crow; the Bornean brown-capped race of the Sooty-capped Babbler; Black-throated, Chestnut-winged and the distinct Bornean race of the Striped Tit-Babblers; a stunning white male Asian Paradise-Flycatcher and two pairs of Ruby-cheeked Sunbird performing a courtship dance.
It then came the time to move on to Lahad Datu. The drive into the Borneo Rainforest Lodge was uneventful since this was during the heat of the afternoon. We decided to stop by the canopy-walk before checking into our accommodation. The birdlife around the grounds of the lodge, however, made up for our uneventful drive. In the short period of time before it got too dark, we spotted a pair of Black Eagles, many Silver-rumped Swifts, a male White-crowned Hornbill, a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbill and two male Crested Firebacks of the distinctly-marked Bornean race. And before we retired to bed, a quick look around gave us a Brown Wood-Owl.
Buoyed by our success the previous evening, we made for the Segama trail with high hopes. On our way, we refound a Crested Fireback in the garden. We didn’t have to go very far before we came across a Horsfield’s Babbler. This was soon followed by a couple of Chestnut-necklaced Partridges, a magnificent male Bornean Blue Flycatcher and a Striped Wren-Babbler. Our best bird was to come moments after seeing the wren-babbler satisfactorily. A soft wailing call sounded—the contact note of the Bornean Bristlehead. It was coming across the river from us. We were lucky at the first opening we came to as we had a great view of the trees where the calls were heard coming from. The first bristlehead was spotted very quickly because of its brightly-coloured head. We found four more in the tree and had a good long look in the telescope.
It would be hard to top the bristlehead but a Great Argus would do. We had been hearing the bird all morning. As we rounded a corner, there it was—a male, six foot long, in all its glory standing clearly visible just by the path. It stood there while we enjoyed its beauty until it slowly walked into the forest and melted away.
The first heavy rain for the Borneo Rainforest Lodge after a month-long dry spell, came in the afternoon and thankfully stopped just before our afternoon walk. We chose to go to the canopy walkway and found a Banded Bay Cuckoo, Whiskered Treeswift, Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike and Asian Brown Flycatcher along the way. Sitting on the canopy walkway was a pleasant way to spend a hot humid quiet afternoon. For our vigil, we were rewarded with great views of the Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Great Slaty Woodpecker (a trio which performed the weird wing-flapping “dance” while yelping away), Wreathed Hornbill and Asian Fairybird.
After dinner, we went on a night-drive to do a bit of spot-lighting, seeing a number of mammals: Colugo (or Flying Lemur), Red Giant Flying Squirrel, Slow Loris, Sambar Deer and Lesser Mouse-deer, and another Brown Wood-Owl.
The previous day’s rains turned on the pittas. Acting on a tip-off, we left early to look for the endemic Blue-headed Pitta. We found the location easily and after a bit of coaxing, a stunning male perched off the ground and then hopped around us. Ferruginous and Chestnut-rumped Babblers were also seen along this birdy trail.
While looking for Black-throated Wren-Babbler, a Large-billed Blue Flycatcher came in straight away allowing us a scope view. A Helmeted Hornbill was heard hooting close by. We found an area where we could look up and see some sky, and true enough, two huge hornbills with long tail feathers flew through which was quite gratifying. Eventually a wren-babbler flew in yelling its head off but it did not stay in one position long enough for us to see it through the binoculars. We had to be satisfied by this brief view for it soon vanished into the brush.
We woke up to a very wet morning. It had rained all night and was still pouring buckets so we birded from the verandah of the lodge. We were fortunate to find a treelet in fruit and in between bouts of heavy rains a pair of the endemic Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker, a pair of Lesser Green Leafbird, a beautiful Grey-bellied Bulbul and three of its duller cousins, Red-eyed, Spectacled and Buff-vented fed in it. In some flowering bushes close by Little, Yellow-eared and Streaky-breasted Spiderhunter. The latter is listed as Bornean but re-classified in the latest work on the birds of Borneo as Streaky-breasted. We were also kept busy by the many Grey-rumped Treeswifts and Silver-rumped Swifts brought out by the rain, a Black-and-red Broadbill, a pair of Pacific Swallows nesting under the building, an Arctic Warbler, Black-naped Monarch, two Pale Blue Flycatchers and several Dusky Munias in between.
The rains finally stopped and we rushed out to the access road towards the canopy walkway, seeing Greater Coucal, several babblers, plus Plain and Purple-naped Sunbirds along the way. Next we worked a forest trail which headed towards to lodge where we found a Crested Jay, Red-bearded Bee-eater and, in a feeding flock, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Buff-rumped Woodpecker, Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Grey-cheeked, Yellow-bellied and Streaked Bulbuls, and Hill Myna. And soon after the flock passed on, the heavens opened up again and we were drenched totally and had to call it a day.
The weather stayed like this all-afternoon long and on our drive out to Lahad Datu. Still we managed to see some Green Imperial Pigeons, Crested Serpent-Eagles, a single Black Hornbill and Rhinoceros Hornbills along the way.
We left Lahad Datu on the first flight and arrived at a drought-hit Kota Kinabalu. We made away to the mudflats outside the city but found earthworks were in progress to fill up the area for development. Across the road was a reclaimed lagoon and we were rewarded with the sight of many egrets. Amongst the many Great Egrets was a sprinkling of Little Egrets, a Pacific Reef-Egret and several Grey Herons. Though not numerous we also saw a number of shorebird species including Grey, Pacific-Golden, Kentish and Mongolian Plovers, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Wood and Common Sandpipers and Grey-tailed Tattler. We moved back to the mudflats and after carefully screening the few white egrets there were rewarded to find two Chinese Egrets, the target of our visit.
At the Likas marshes were more egrets and new discoveries like Wandering Whistling-Duck. There were more than 100 birds, which is considered a straggler to this part of Borneo. Also seen were Yellow Bittern, Common Moorhen, Purple Swamphen and, in a distant tree, an Osprey.
Later we arrived at Kinabalu Park in time for a short rest before going out birding again. On our walk along the Park’s roads we soon found a number familiar species from Peninsular Malaysia plus several montane Bornean endemics as well. New species seen included Bornean Treepie, Temminck’s Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Mountain Leaf-Warbler, Yellow-breasted Warbler, Indigo Flycatcher, Bornean Whistler, Black-sided Flowerpecker and Black-capped White-eye.
At first light we gathered at the car park where the streetlights are left on all night long. This is the first feeding stop for many of the birds living in the area and is well known to the birding community. Soon we had birds everywhere in the trees pulling off the moths and other bugs which had gathered the night before. In the end we came away with a list of new birds such like the Sunda Cuckoo-shrike, Grey-chinned Minivet, Ashy and Hairy-crested Drongos, Black-and-crimson Oriole, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Sunda Laughingthrush, Blue-and-white Flycatcher (an adult male) and Temminck’s Sunbird.
Much of the day was spent near or on the Silai-silau trail. Highlights included Bare-headed Laughingthrush (listed as Black on the list but best kept different), a male Whitehead’s Trogon, an Eye-browed Jungle Flycatcher (a scare inhabitant in these parts), and in the afternoon, Golden-naped Barbet, Sunda Whistling-Thrush, followed by a pair of White-crowned Forktail on the Silau-silau River.
Up at the Power Station we quickly found the Cave Swiftlet there and Mountain Black-eye. On the walk back White-browed Shrike-Babbler and Flavescent Bulbul were found. Heading home we turned off the road into the Mempening trail and chanced upon a family of the cute and confiding Mountain Wren-Babbler and pulled in a Crimson-headed Partridge. In the afternoon we worked the lower end of the Silau-silau trail. A Snowy-browed Flycatcher was unknowingly flushed from its nest, a pair of the stunning Whitehead’s Broadbill sat long enough to view in the scope and we also saw Short-tailed Magpie.
A bright sunny morning greeted us which was great as we were off to the Summit Trail for the bird which may be better called the Hostile Bush-Warbler instead of Friendly. We set off at gentle pace from the Power Station at 6,000 ft and kept busy watching “old friends” like the Ashy Drongo, Indigo Flycatcher, Black-capped White-eye, Little Cuckoo-Dove, and Golden-naped Barbet, while we climbed upwards, always keeping our ears and eyes opened for our quarry. A Bornean Stubtail showed beautifully as it sat in the open and stayed there even when a climber had to go by. As it was getting late in the afternoon, we retraced our steps down the mountain to a spot where we had heard Friendly Bush-Warbler on the way up. We finally found one perched up in a small bush where it stayed for a good two minutes singing its heart out. We savoured every moment before it hopped off its perch and was gone.
Our last morning at Kinabalu Park we again birded the Silau-silau trail. While tracking down a White-browed Shortwing we were interrupted when advertising call a Whitehead’s Spiderhunter was heard! After much effort we finally found the spiderhunter, though not for long.
The time then came for us to go back to our rooms to finish packing our bags, get some breakfast and make for the airport.
Dennis Yong