Malaysia & Borneo

 

2 – 13 June 2005 – Peninsula Malaysia

14 – 25 June 2005 – Borneo

 

Set Departure Tours

Guide: Keith Barnes

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Borneo and Malaysia are hard to beat as a rainforest birding destination in Asia. The amazing efficiency make for a wonderfully pleasant trip and the sublime forests combine with some of the most incredible birds remaining on the globe today including Great Slaty Woodpecker, Rhinoceros and Helmeted Hornbill, Long-tailed and Black-and-Red Broadbills and a band of eclectic and secretive pittas to make this perhaps the finest forest birding destination in the Orient. The real birding highlight though came in the form of a group of the gregarious Bornean Bristlehead. This remarkable bird happened to be the last bird family to be clinched by two of this tour’s participants, a serious achievement. Then of course, there is the fabulous Orang-utan, of which we saw 13 on this tour along with a band of other mammals including Siamang, Bornean Gibbon, Leopard Cat and Banded Palm Civet. This tour encountered 342 bird species and 34 mammal species including four species of Ape….a rather incredible all round trip and one where we endured quite a bit of comfort in the fine facilities available throughout modern Malaysia!

 

 

Rhinoceros Hornbill is one of the greatest birds of a trip to SE Asia

 

Inner Kuala Lumpur is pretty devoid of birds and our highlight of the first night was the amazing buffet at the hotel where we feasted on the finest Asian cuisine….always the great benefit of a birding trip in Asia! The next morning we were off at sparrows, and nailed our first bird…a Eurasian Tree Sparrow!! But much more exciting goodies were to follow and we were soon on our way up the coastal road.

 

Kuala Selangor

We arrived in Kuala Selangor and headed straight to the raised bunds in the reserve where we soon saw Brahminy Kite, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Smyrna Kingfisher and Blue-throated Bee-eater as well as the mangrove specials and a host of herons and waders. We also found the localised Coppersmith Barbet and Laced Woodpecker as well as our first Common Flameback, a spectacular woodpecker. The moaning Asian Koels kept us entertained until they eventually materialised and the hill yielded another local specialty in the form of the Lineated Barbet. Other specialty birds we were able to catch up with included the tiny Flyeater, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, Sunda Woodpecker, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher and Abbott’s Babbler. This was only a one night stop and after we had viewed the straits over to Sumatra and enjoyed a spectacular local meal we headed off for Fraser’s Hill birding the road up from the lowlands, and encountering a bunch of exciting goodies on our ascent, particularly as we approached the central Malay highlands near the Gap!

 

Fraser’s Hill

The wonderfully cool hill station resort of Fraser’s Hill has a charm of its own. We hit the trails as soon as possible picking up on a series of highly sought-after specialties including Green Magpie, Long-tailed Sibia, Silver-eared Mesia, Blue Nuthatch, Blyth’s Hawk Eagle, Fire-tufted Barbet, Black-and-Crimson Oriole, Golden Babbler and Mountain Fulvetta. We also had time to explore the famous Bishop’s trail where a Rusty-naped Pitta skilfully eluded us although we did encounter Pygmy Wren Babbler and Streaked Wren Babbler amongst some mixed flock gems such as Greater Yellownape, Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Malaysian Cuckooshrike, Blue-winged Leafbird, Chestnut-crowned and Chestnut-capped laughing-thrushes, shrike-babblers, fulvettas, fantails and yuhinas. One day we walked the New Road encountering a phenomenal eight species of woodpecker on one walk, including amazing views of Orange-backed and the dainty Grey-and-Buff Woodpeckers. Today’s other highlight came in the form of a flock of 10 Long-tailed Broadbills that whistled their way through town and both Orange-breasted and Red-headed Trogon!! Because the trees were fruiting lower down at the Gap we made a sortie to lower altitudes were we found trees dripping with Barbets and Bulbuls! Here we cleaned up on these colourful forest dwellers scoring Black-browed, Yellow-crowned, Blue-eared, Coppersmith and Gold-whiskered Barbets as well as Black-headed, Black-crested, Scaly-breasted and Grey-bellied bulbuls amongst others. On the mammal front a group of wailing Siamang stopped us in our tracks as we were heading up the hill one day. The family was calling from right next to the road and we soaked up their splendour before moving on. A brief stop in some bamboo yielded a Bamboo Woodpecker and a brief glimpse of Pin-tailed Parrotfinch! Just before we left this area we were ambushed by a spectacular male Rhinoceros Hornbill which flew from miles away only to alight on the tree we were watching and belt out its ridiculous call! Before long it was time to move off and so we started our journey to the greatest tract of rainforest left in mainland Malaysia at Taman Negara! Our journey through palm plantation was interrupted by a welcome Black-thighed Falconet.

 

 

This spectacular Whiskered Tree-swift perched for a long time, allowing inspection of its spectacular whiskers

 

Taman Negara

We made our way to the lowland town of Jerantut before heading for Kuala Tembeling for the boat trip up river to Taman Negara. A huge area of mostly pristine lowland rainforest, it covers 3.3% of the country's surface area and is the largest protected area on the Malay peninsula. Aged some 130 million years old, it is touted as “the oldest rainforest in the world”. The ancient landscape  supports over 300 bird species and is undoubtedly the most important birding site on the mainland. Access to Kuala Tahan, the park HQ, was via a three-hour boat journey snaking up the forest-fringed Tembeling River. The trip offered us our first views of the aptly named Stork-billed Kingfisher darting up the river and a Straw-headed Bulbuls as well as Red-wattled Lapwing on the riverbanks. On the next days we walked the trails around the HQ, and searched for fruiting trees where we watched birds coming in. Searching through the bulbuls and babblers, we scored Blue-rumped Parrot, Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot, Thick-billed and Little Green Pigeon and Asian Fairy Bluebird. The first of several pheasants came in the form of superb views of Crested Fireback and Malaysian peacock Pheasant. The trails also yielded our first displaying great Argus pheasant, which we enjoyed greatly. The trails also yielded Red-naped Trogon and the less spectacular but more difficult Large Wren-babbler. Although we had several hornbill encounters, none showed themselves too well and we would have to wait for Borneo for unforgettable encounters with these amazing creatures. Malkohas dripped from the trees and the immaculate Chestnut-breasted Malkoha was voted the favourite by all. Drongo and Indian Cuckoos rang out their enchanting calls, whilst the spectacular Whiskered Treeswift spiralled above the canopy and Chestnut-backed Scimitar Babbler gave us a brief show. A brief sojourn by the river got us an immaculate perched Blue-banded Kingfisher and a swing via the swamp loop scored us Blue-winged Pitta and the seldom seen Rufous-collared Kingfisher. Broadbills abounded and we saw Dusky, Banded Black-and-yellow and Green within the space of an hour on the one day. Having had pretty much a field day with the local specialties we packed up and moved on to Borneo, where more excitement awaited.

 

Mount Kinabalu National Park

After our brief flight to the island of Borneo we were on our way to the HQ at Mt Kinabalu National Park. This bare granite massif of Mount Kinabalu (4101m) towers above the forests clothing its lower slopes. Mount Kinabalu is a naturalist's paradise ­ an island of montane forest in a sea of cultivated lowlands. Two-thirds of Borneo's endemic birds are found here.  Based at the park headquarters, we radiated out on the network of trails surrounding the HQ. Noisy flocks appeared at first light at the roadside and contained large numbers of Chestnut-capped Laughingthrushes, as well as Sunda Laughingthrush, Sunda Cuckoo-Shrike, Ashy Drongos, the stunning Short-tailed Magpie, Bornean Treepie, and dozens Black-capped White-eyes. On the mountain we sought out the Little Cuckoo-Dove, Golden-naped Barbet, Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Black-and-crimson Oriole, Sunda Whistling-Thrush, White-crowned Forktail, Mountain Tailorbird, Bornean Whistler and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and spent more time finding for the most elusive endemics, including Red-breasted and Crimson-headed Partridges, the vivid, electric-green Whitehead's Broadbill, the sedate and unobtrusive Whitehead's Trogon, and the diminutive Bornean Stubtail. On one of the days we headed down to Poring Hot Springs where the gardens game us Maroon-breasted Philentoma, as well as Red-eyed, Black-headed, and Streaked Bulbuls, Moustached Babbler, Grey-breasted Spiderhunter, Everett's White-eye, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, and Dusky Munia. Before long it was time to move on to the trip highlight for most, the spectacular and amazing Danum Valley.

 

 

This scarce Malaysian Honeyguide was watched near a Brown Barbet colony. This was a likely chick that had been hosted by one of the unfortunate barbets.

 

Danum Valley (Borneo Rainforest Lodge)

The Danum Valley Conservation Area contains some of the most accessible pristine lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gigantic trees, clambering lianas, strange-looking insects and a bewildering variety of birds are all essential features of the valley. Each dawn breaks with an ethereal mist hanging over the trees, but as the sun rises the chorus of broadbills, babblers, bulbuls and White-crowned Shamas is soon joined by the superbly evocative bubbles and trills of Bornean Gibbons. The numerous flowering and fruiting trees around the lodge attracted a good variety of birds, and the excellent network of trails led us deep into the shade of the forest. In our time at Danum Valley we saw a superb selection of species, including some cosmic endemics such as the gorgeous Blue-headed Pitta. We also saw the distinctive Black-headed Pitta as it sat calling in the deepest shadows, glowing like a hot coal. We also encountered a Bornean Wren-babbler walking like a miniature rail over the ground, being hunted by a Malay Weasel. Perhaps the greatest prize was the bizarre Bornean Bristlehead, and we nailed a party of these strawberry-headed enigmas moving through the tree tops late in our stay, which came as a great relief to several of the trip participants as they clinched their final world family! Both Rhinoceros and Helmeted Hornbills make their home in the valley and we saw both of these along with Bushy-crested, Wreathed and Asian Black which completed the hornbill show. Amongst the many other species we saw here were Rufous-bellied and Crested Serpent Eagles, Wallace's Hawk-Eagle, White-fronted Falconet, Violet Cuckoo, Raffles's, Red-billed and Chestnut-breasted Malkohas, Diard's, Red-naped and Scarlet-rumped Trogons, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Dollarbird, five barbets, Rufous, Buff-rumped, Buff-necked, and Orange-backed Woodpeckers, Black-and-yellow, Banded and Green Broadbills, Fiery and Scarlet Minivets, a host of bulbuls, babblers and leafbirds, Asian Fairy-Bluebird, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Crested Jay, Plain, Plain-throated, Red-throated, Ruby-cheeked and Purple-naped Sunbirds, Little and Yellow-eared Spiderhunters, and Hill Myna.

During our stay at Danum Valley we were lucky to have the opportunity for several nocturnal excursions, and we saw a spectacular Buffy Fish Owl and Gould’s Frogmouth during one of these. Many mammals inhabit the reserve and we were lucky to see many of the scarcer residents of the valley including no less than 9 Orang-utan’s here. Other primates included Pigtail Macaque, Maroon Leaf Monkey and Bornean Gibbon. We also saw Lesser Mouse-Deer, Sambar Deer and Red Giant Flying Squirrels. Our luck held and we saw one or two of the scarcer species, including Common Palm and Malay Civets, Leopard Cat, and Slow Loris.

 

 

The Orang-utan, the old man of the forests is a major non-birding highlight on this tour

 

BIRD LIST

This list includes all the bird species that were recorded by at least one of us. Note that this is a group list. Taxonomy and nomenclature follow: Clements, James F. 2000. Birds of the World: A Checklist. Fifth Edition. Vista, CA: Ibis Publishing Co.

 

 

1) Darter                                                                 Anhinga melanogaster     

2) Gray Heron                                                       Ardea cinerea     

3) Purple Heron                                                   Ardea purpurea  

4) Great Egret                                                       Ardea alba           

5) Intermediate Egret                                          Egretta intermedia             

6) Little Egret                                                        Egretta garzetta  

7) Pacific Reef-Heron                                         Egretta sacra       

8) Cattle Egret                                                      Bubulcus ibis      

9) Striated Heron                                                 Butorides striatus

10) Black-crowned Night-Heron                       Nycticorax nycticorax         

11) Storm's Stork                                                 Ciconia stormi     

12) Milky Stork                                                      Mycteria cinerea 

13) Jerdon's Baza                                               Aviceda jerdoni   

14) Oriental Honey-buzzard                               Pernis ptilorhynchus          

15) Bat Hawk                                                        Macheiramphus alcinus    

16) Black-shouldered Kite                                 Elanus caeruleus               

17) Brahminy Kite                                                Haliastur indus    

18) White-bellied Sea-Eagle                             Haliaeetus leucogaster     

19) Lesser Fish-Eagle                                       Ichthyophaga humilis        

20) Crested Serpent-Eagle                               Spilornis cheela  

21) Black Eagle                                                   Ictinaetus malayensis       

22) Rufous-bellied Eagle                                  Hieraaetus kienerii            

23) Wallace's Hawk-Eagle                                Spizaetus nanus

24) Blyth's Hawk-Eagle                                      Spizaetus alboniger          

25) Black-thighed Falconet                                Microhierax fringillarius     

26) White-fronted Falconet                                Microhierax latifrons           

27) Red-breasted Partridge                              Arborophila hyperythra     

28) Chestnut-necklaced Partridge                   Arborophila charltonii        

29) Crimson-headed Partridge                        Haematortyx sanguiniceps              

30) Crested Fireback                                          Lophura ignita     

31) Great Argus                                                   Argusianus argus               

32) Malayan Peacock-Pheasant                       Polyplectron malacense   

33) White-breasted Waterhen                          Amaurornis phoenicurus  

34) Red-wattled Lapwing                                  Vanellus indicus 

35) Rock Dove                                                     Columba livia      

36) Spotted Dove                                                 Streptopelia chinensis       

37) Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove                                    Macropygia emiliana                         

38) Barred Cuckoo-Dove                                   Macropygia unchall            

39) Little Cuckoo-Dove                                       Macropygia ruficeps