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Mount Kinabalu & the Rainforests of Borneo

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Mount Kinabalu & the Rainforests of Borneo Naturetrek Tour Report 25 September - 15 October 2011 Golden Birdwing courtesy of Derek Brown Sunda Clouded Leopard courtesy of Fredoline Florence Slow Loris courtesy of Derek Brown Western Tarsier courtesy of Derek Brown Report compiled by Chris Kehoe Naturetrek Cheriton Mill Cheriton Alresford Hampshire SO24 0NG England T: +44 (0)1962 733051 F: +44 (0)1962 736426 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report Mount Kinabalu & the Rainforests of Borneo Tour Leaders: Chris Kehoe Naturetrek Tour Leader Osman Assan Local guide Wangkong Intal Local guide Participants: Janice Fiske David Davis Derek Brown Catherine Brown Alison Bourne Gillian MacPhail Day 1 Sunday 25th September Outbound to Kuala Lumpur via Abu Dhabi We set off from the UK in the afternoon to Abu Dhabi. Day 2 Monday 26th September Outbound to Kota Kinabalu, en route to Kinabalu Park Weather: warm and overcast on arrival in KK, cooler at Kinabalu Park, dry On arrival in Abu Dhabi in the early hours there was a short wait before an onward flight to Kuala Lumpur, arriving there in the early afternoon. After a few hours in transit at Kuala Lumpur, we flew to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, a few minutes ahead of schedule at 20.00. Osman, Danny (our driver) and I were waiting in the arrivals area and a 90 minute drive delivered us to the Rose Cabin Lodge near the entrance to Kinabalu Park. After the long journey everyone was keen to get to bed. Day 3 Tuesday 27th September Kinabalu Park Weather: heavy rain at dawn, thereafter mostly overcast but dry after 08.30. Warm Plans for a 06.00 foray into the park were scuppered by torrential thundery rain so we adjourned to our rooms until breakfast at 08.00. Thankfully the rain had all but stopped as we made our first visit to Kinabalu Park at 08.45. With rain still threatening we made our way to the Liwagu Restaurant where it is possible to watch birds in and around the garden while under cover. The rain stayed off and a succession of interesting birds in the garden kept us well occupied for 90 minutes as we enjoyed first encounters with the likes of Black-sided Flowerpeckers, Chestnut-crested Yuhinas, Mountain Tailorbird, Mountain Leaf Warblers and several others including a Mountain Imperial Pigeon that perched for the scope on a distant snag. © Naturetrek December 11 1 Mount Kinabalu & the Rainforests of Borneo Tour Report At 10.00 we drove to the top of the Silau Silau Trail and slowly made our way back along the road with highlights including a scarce Mountain Wren-babbler amongst a small party of Grey-throated Babblers, Yellow- breasted Warblers, Bornean Whistlers and White-throated Fantails. As the rain stayed away we continued our walk down to the park entrance and its Balsam Cafe and were well rewarded with a couple of busy feeding flocks that contained, amongst others, Ochraceous Bulbuls and Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrushes while Squirrels appeared in the shape of a couple of Ear-spotted and a delightful Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel. After a leisurely buffet lunch at the Balsam Cafe we regrouped at the Liwagu Restaurant where a lot of bird activity in the garden there delayed us for a while with new species including Bornean Whistling Thrushes, some fleeting Sunda Laughingthrushes and our first Indigo Flycatchers. A short walk along the nearby road provided us with some fine views of Short-tailed Green Magpies and a Hair-crested Drongo amongst a large flock of Laughingthrushes. Despite an inauspicious start it had turned out to be a most enjoyable and productive day. Day 4 Wednesday 28th September Kinabalu Park; Poring Hot Springs Weather: stormy overnight but fine, if a little breezy, at dawn. Cool on Mt. Kinabalu, hot and sticky at Poring, dry At 06.00 we were on our way back into Kinabalu Park where we drove up to the highest point on the Power Station Road, the Timpohon Gate. On arrival we spent a few minutes watching several Bornean Ground Squirrels and a brief Mountain Treeshrew before making our way to a small viewing platform above the outer gate. Over the next hour or so this general area and the road below yielded several new birds, many of which had gathered to collect moths attracted to the lights, including Ashy Drongos, Mountain Blackeyes, Eye-browed Jungle Flycatcher and Sunda Bush Warbler as well as several previously seen species. After breakfast at the hotel we returned to the Timpohon Gate and took a stroll along the Bukit Ular Trail but it proved rather quiet apart from a brief Snowy-browed Flycatcher and a few previously seen species. Continuing down the road below the trail exit we found a nice feeding flock that contained our first Blyth's Shrike-babblers and several showy Mountain Leaf Warblers while a Whitehead's Spiderhunter flew over. After lunch at the Balsam Cafe news of flowering Rafflesia keithii near Poring Hot Springs prompted a 40 minute drive there where two of these spectacular endemic flowers were seen. We spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring the Chalet Road and adjacent areas at Poring where we had our first encounters with Flying Lizards, Prevost's Squirrels and a delightful Plain Pygmy Squirrel. A host of new birds were seen at this lower elevation too with highlights such as a nesting pair of Red-throated Barbets, a Spectacled Spiderhunter, Cinereous Bulbuls (at a surprisingly low elevation for this upland species), Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike and Green Ioras. Day 5 Thursday 29th September Kinabalu Park; Kota Belud Weather: fine, warm. Hot and sticky at Kota Belud 2 © Naturetrek December 11 Mount Kinabalu & the Rainforests of Borneo Tour Report Our pre-breakfast excursion took us back to the Timpohon Gate area. In addition to a host of previously seen birds, the undoubted highlight was a fine male Fruithunter, closely followed by a very obliging pair of Golden- naped Barbets feeding in a fruiting tree. Further down the road we enjoyed good views of three new mammals in the shape of Jentinck's, Giant and Kinabalu Squirrels. After breakfast we set off on an extended hike along the Mempening Trail, returning to the Balsam Cafe for lunch via the Silau Silau Trail. Fleeting views were had of both Rufous-breasted and Crimson-headed Partridges while some also saw a brief Malay Weasel while scanning for the former. A large feeding flock contained our first Black-and-crimson Orioles, an impressive Orange-backed Woodpecker gave some good views and pair of White-crowned Forktails was seen along the stream. After lunch an hour long drive delivered us to the Tempasuk Plain near Kota Belud, an area of extensive rice cultivation near the coast and a complete change of scene. New birds came thick and fast in this new habitat with masses of Munias crowding the ricefields, various Egrets following the plough and several species of waders congregating on recently harvested paddies. Highlights this afternoon included both Yellow and Cinnamon Bitterns, Black-winged Kites, Wandering Whistling Ducks and a pair of Pied Trillers, the latter at an elevated section of road where we enjoyed panoramic view of the whole plain. Day 6 Friday 30th September Kinabalu Park; Mesilau Weather: mostly fine and sunny, warm Today we concentrated on the road above the Liwagu Restaurant before breakfast. Some Squirrels confused us despite good views but splendid Grey-throated Minivets and several other birds were seen including a furtive Red-breasted Partridge in a roadside gully, a few Sunda Laughingthrushes were amongst a large flock of their Chestnut-hooded cousins and Sunda Cuckooshrikes performed well. After breakfast we returned to the Bukit Ular Trail but it was again rather quiet there, though very pleasant nonetheless. After lunch we drove for 40 minutes to Mesilau, at over 2000m this area offers easier access to higher elevation species than the main park area. Along the way we stopped to watch a Long-tailed Shrike on the wires near Ranau, this species seems to have recently colonised the area. Once at Mesilau most of the group opted to join Osman and a local guide on a hike up the Nepenthes Trail in search of Pitcher Plants and returned 90 minutes later having found some fine specimens of five different species. Ali and I explored the lodge area and adjacent Kagopon Trail in search of a few missing bird species and were rewarded with fine views of White-browed Shortwing, several Bornean Stubtails and a handful of Flavescent Bulbuls (now treated by many as the endemic Pale-faced Bulbul). After dinner we walked the short distance to the Fairy Garden Hotel to admire the collection of moths and other insects attracted to the lights there. © Naturetrek December 11 3 Mount Kinabalu & the Rainforests of Borneo Tour Report Day 7 Saturday 1st October Kinabalu Park, en route to Sepilok; Sepilok Weather: fine, hot and sticky at Sepilok Before breakfast we spent an hour birding along the road adjacent to the Silau Silau Trail in Kinabalu Park which provided final looks at several of the characteristic species of the mountain, though nothing new. After breakfast we set off eastwards towards our next base at Sepilok, a journey of a little under five hours with a couple of leg stretches en route, one of which produced a surprise Storm's Stork. We arrived at Sepilok Nature Resort in time for a buffet lunch and to have a quick look around the attractive grounds, where several new Sunbirds and others were found, before walking the short distance to the Orang- utan Rehabilitation Centre just around the corner.
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