This page includes notes regarding Sabah made prior to a
trip in August 2006, including sites we didn't visit. See
the trip report for details and impressions
of Pulau Tiga, Mt Kinabalu, and Borneo Rainforest
Lodge.
My wife and I have been planning a trip to Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, for some time. I received a great deal of help from members of the Oriental Birding Club's mailing list. As many people are interested in birding Malaysian Borneo, I've put some notes together here for references. Please realize that we haven't been to Borneo yet so these notes should change after the trip. Please feel free to send corrections, additions, and suggestions to dpadams@wombatcountry.com. If you're interested in field guides and guide books, there are some notes on the subject included at the bottom of this page.
I guess the big attractions of Borneo are the many endemics and the number of decent spots left, although it sounds like the forests are pretty well degraded and under threat. Also, for those of us coming from Australia, it's pretty exciting to get across the Wallace Line and see Hornbills, Woodpeckers, and other major groups missing from this side of the line. The typical birding itinerary seems to be oriented toward finding as many endemics as possible. For example, most people go to Poring Hot Springs to look for a couple of specific mountain endemics but end up reporting somewhat difficult trails and sometimes frustrating birding. My reading of it is, this isn't the best spot to visit to see a lot of birds, but it's a necessary sort of spot to try and tick a couple of species. With a short schedule, we're going to focus on going to generally birdy areas rather than focusing on very specific birds. Since this will be our first trip to Borneo, they'll all be good!
It's a lot easier to find information about travel and birding in Sabah. James Eaton of Bird Tour Asia very generously offered detailed tips and suggestions for independent travel. Below is his summary of a two-week itinerary with some links I've added:
Bird Tour Asia is offering a trip like this during June 2007, if you prefer to work with an experienced guide. Here is a link to the report from his June 2006 Sabah trip.
It's hard to get to grips with how big an unfamiliar location is. While the meaning of distance depends on terrain and local infrastructure conditions, it can still be a help to get a general sense of proportion. Sabah is about 73,711 square kilometers (4,038 sq. miles) in area, making it about 7 times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii, 1.44 times bigger than Costa Rica, 65% of the size of the North Island of New Zealand, 59% of Sarawak, 29% of Oregon, 25% of Italy, and 9% of New South Wales.
You can get to BRL overland from KK or Sandukan, but the usual way is to fly to Lahad Datu and get shuttled overland from there. The flights from KK to Lahad Datu are not expensive and, as of August 1, 2006, are being operated by Air Asia Express.
TravellingBirder.com - Malaysia Reports
Sabah 2006 (James Eaton, Bird Tour Asia)
Sabah and Sarawak 2003 (Don Roberson & Rita Carratello)
Rainy Season in Malaysia (Not a typical birding report, but quite interesting)
Note from after the trip: See the trip report for more comments on books. Also be aware that Borneo Books in KK stocks many of the titles mentioned here, often at the best or, at least, competitive prices.
There are no great guide books and the most specific one, A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali by MacKinnon & Phillipps is out of print in English and hard to obtain. There doesn't seem to be any sort of republication schedule for this book or rumors of another edition. I have been unable to determine who currently owns the publishing rights or to contact the author or illustrator.
There is a monograph on the birds of Sabah, Ornithological Monographs #52: Ornithology of Sabah by Sheldon, Moyle, and Kennard. It doesn't have plates but it does have useful notes on habitat and the most detailed available notes on the life histories and distributions of a lot of species. It is said the notes are quite helpful for field identification, but I can't say yet. The book is available through WildAsia.net, Buteo Books (US), and NHBS (UK). The book is also available as a free download as a single large (20MB) PDF file. The download is listed with several other monographs at http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/om/index.php. The direct link for the document is http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/om/om052.pdf.
The pictures in Morten Strange's, A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia are of uneven quality. (Amazon US | UK) I'm using it using it before the trip to get some sort of ideas about what to expect.
Some people recommend bringing A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia by Craig Robson (Amazon US | UK) as a backup for the species that occur throughout the area. It does not deal with Bornean endemics. The plates are reasonable but the book uses the old-fashioned method of separating plates from descriptions and using numbers to refer to species. The book is also sometimes criticized for lacking range maps. Someone who spoke with the author explained the reason for range descriptions without maps is that there isn't enough data to present meaningful maps. Too little is known about the current distribution of many of the species. Fair enough, but a bit hard for people new to the area.
Amazon (US) and Amazon (UK)
Andrew Isles (Australia) - We're lucky to have them here.
Borneo Books (Kotu Kinabalu in Sabah)
Buteo Books (US)
Flora & Fauna Books (US)
LA Audubon Bookstore (US)
NHBS Environment Bookstore (UK)
My wife and I have been planning a trip to Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, for some time. I received a great deal of help from members of the Oriental Birding Club's mailing list. As many people are interested in birding Malaysian Borneo, I've put some notes together here for references. Please realize that we haven't been to Borneo yet so these notes should change after the trip. Please feel free to send corrections, additions, and suggestions to dpadams@wombatcountry.com. If you're interested in field guides and guide books, there are some notes on the subject included at the bottom of this page.
Overall
I guess the big attractions of Borneo are the many endemics and the number of decent spots left, although it sounds like the forests are pretty well degraded and under threat. Also, for those of us coming from Australia, it's pretty exciting to get across the Wallace Line and see Hornbills, Woodpeckers, and other major groups missing from this side of the line. The typical birding itinerary seems to be oriented toward finding as many endemics as possible. For example, most people go to Poring Hot Springs to look for a couple of specific mountain endemics but end up reporting somewhat difficult trails and sometimes frustrating birding. My reading of it is, this isn't the best spot to visit to see a lot of birds, but it's a necessary sort of spot to try and tick a couple of species. With a short schedule, we're going to focus on going to generally birdy areas rather than focusing on very specific birds. Since this will be our first trip to Borneo, they'll all be good!
Sabah
Summary
It's a lot easier to find information about travel and birding in Sabah. James Eaton of Bird Tour Asia very generously offered detailed tips and suggestions for independent travel. Below is his summary of a two-week itinerary with some links I've added:
To give an idea of an itinerary, we spend 14 days on Sabah, taking in Borneo Rainforest Lodge, 4-5 nights, Sukau, 2 nights, Mt Kinabalu, 5 nights, then Kota Kinabalu 1 night. If you have 2 extra days, look into visiting Mantanani Island or Pulau Tiga Resort, both really nice places if your interested in snorkeling, diving/relaxing etc. Would also recommend a night at Sepilok to see the Orang Utans, maybe a bit zooish, but you cant go to Borneo without seeing the beast! Sepilok Resthouse is a lovely place to stay to, and very cheap!
Bird Tour Asia is offering a trip like this during June 2007, if you prefer to work with an experienced guide. Here is a link to the report from his June 2006 Sabah trip.
How Big Is Sabah?
It's hard to get to grips with how big an unfamiliar location is. While the meaning of distance depends on terrain and local infrastructure conditions, it can still be a help to get a general sense of proportion. Sabah is about 73,711 square kilometers (4,038 sq. miles) in area, making it about 7 times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii, 1.44 times bigger than Costa Rica, 65% of the size of the North Island of New Zealand, 59% of Sarawak, 29% of Oregon, 25% of Italy, and 9% of New South Wales.
Malaria
Much of Sabah and Sarawak are considered medium- or high-risk areas for malaria. The general idea is DEET for insect repellant, Permethrin as an insecticide on clothes and nets (works great!), and Doxycycline, Mefloquine, or Malarone as a prophylactic. There are lots of sites out here with malaria information, here's a link to the Netdoctor (UK) page on the malaria prevention in the region.Borneo Rainforest Lodge
Every private email and public trip report I've found recommends the Borneo Rainforest Lodge in the Danum Valley. From what I can tell, this is one of the single best places for birds and animals in SE Asia. It's kind of expensive but people say it's worth it. Some people recommend staying at the field center but that option changes regularly. So, if that's what you prefer, check nearer to when you're going. The official site seems to be a travel agent, so I shopped around for deals. We've booked in here through Ping Anchorage. I compared about six agencies for bookings in Sabah and Sarawak and Ping Anchorage seemed to be cheapest. Borneo Adventure was relatively similar.You can get to BRL overland from KK or Sandukan, but the usual way is to fly to Lahad Datu and get shuttled overland from there. The flights from KK to Lahad Datu are not expensive and, as of August 1, 2006, are being operated by Air Asia Express.
Sipidan/Sandukan/Sukau/Gomantong Cave/Kinabatagan River
This area is noted for hornbills, monkeys, and the endemic Storm Stork. By all reports, it's fantastic. The impression I get from trip reports is that you spend your time on river tours looking for animals. Most tourists are interested in mammals, so it's worth emphasizing that you're also keen on birds. The Sipidan Orang Utan Sanctuary sounds like it is a crowded mob scene during the feeding sessions. Pre-packaged tours give you about an hour in the place, which sounds like very little fun. Better, would be to sleep near Sipidan and spend some time along the boardwalks. This is, for example, supposed to be a good place to try and find Bristleheads. Likewise, the pre-packaged visit to the Gomantong Cave sounds far too short for birders. Any of the tour agencies can sell you a package but I'm not sure how much customization you can get. For a local guide, I had two people recommend Robert Chong at labukbb@yahoo.com. He's reported to be excellent and his wife runs a B & B.Mount Kinabalu
This is one of the 'must bird' locations and just a couple of hours drive from KK. There are places to stay around the main park entrance and then again further in at Poring Hot Springs. Poring doesn't actually sound that enticing so we're just going to stay around the park headquarters. This should be booked ahead as lots of people come to this park to summit the mountain. All accommodation appears to be handled by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, both around the park headquarters and at the Mesilau Resort. If you are booking within the park, SabahTravelGuide.com has a useful map of the area so you can see where you're booking into. Alternatively, you can book Mt. Kinabalu packages through any of the travel agencies.Tabin Wildlife Reserve
Tabin is less-birded area and I only got a couple of reports from here. It sounds very good for animals and generally interesting. It's a bit expensive and, if you're going to BRL and Sukau, not entirely different.Kotu Kinabalu City Bird Sanctuary
WWF maintains this wetland reserve , formally known as the Likas Wetland Sanctuary, just outside of KK that you can reach by taxi for a few dollars. A few people mentioned this place in reports and it sounds quite nice. I hope to get as it sounds like a good way to get an introduction to the birds. I emailed the local contact at kkcbs@tm.net.my and was told:The Bird Sanctuary which is open daily except for Monday, 8.00am till 6.00pm. We are situated at Likas, you can take a cab from KK town that will cost you around RM12- RM15 depending where you take the cab. The cab driver should know how to get here. FYI, the bird list is available at the registration counter for RM2. Thanks again for your interest.
Islands
There are a number of off-shore islands near KK and around the coasts of Sabah. Some of it, such as Pulau Sipadan, is reputed to be amongst the best diving on the planet. My wife and I are keen snorkelers and sometimes divers. For birding, Pulau Manukan (15-30 minutes from KK and a very popular destination) and Pulau Tiga Resort (2 hours by car then 20-30 minutes by boat from KK) are noted for having the Tabon Scrubfowl. We hope to visit both islands on our trip and I can add a review of the underwater conditions once we're back.Trip Reports
Trip reports fro Sabah are not too hard to find but for Sarawak are much less common. Apart from a universal love of Borneo Rainforest Lodge, there is a lot of variety in what people report. As always, birding in tropical forests can be very exciting or incredibly slow. Luck is always a help ;-) Below are a few links to serve as a starting point :TravellingBirder.com - Malaysia Reports
Sabah 2006 (James Eaton, Bird Tour Asia)
Sabah and Sarawak 2003 (Don Roberson & Rita Carratello)
Rainy Season in Malaysia (Not a typical birding report, but quite interesting)
Field Guides and Travel Books
Note from after the trip: See the trip report for more comments on books. Also be aware that Borneo Books in KK stocks many of the titles mentioned here, often at the best or, at least, competitive prices.
Birds
There are no great guide books and the most specific one, A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali by MacKinnon & Phillipps is out of print in English and hard to obtain. There doesn't seem to be any sort of republication schedule for this book or rumors of another edition. I have been unable to determine who currently owns the publishing rights or to contact the author or illustrator.
There is a monograph on the birds of Sabah, Ornithological Monographs #52: Ornithology of Sabah by Sheldon, Moyle, and Kennard. It doesn't have plates but it does have useful notes on habitat and the most detailed available notes on the life histories and distributions of a lot of species. It is said the notes are quite helpful for field identification, but I can't say yet. The book is available through WildAsia.net, Buteo Books (US), and NHBS (UK). The book is also available as a free download as a single large (20MB) PDF file. The download is listed with several other monographs at http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/om/index.php. The direct link for the document is http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/om/om052.pdf.
The pictures in Morten Strange's, A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia are of uneven quality. (Amazon US | UK) I'm using it using it before the trip to get some sort of ideas about what to expect.
Some people recommend bringing A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia by Craig Robson (Amazon US | UK) as a backup for the species that occur throughout the area. It does not deal with Bornean endemics. The plates are reasonable but the book uses the old-fashioned method of separating plates from descriptions and using numbers to refer to species. The book is also sometimes criticized for lacking range maps. Someone who spoke with the author explained the reason for range descriptions without maps is that there isn't enough data to present meaningful maps. Too little is known about the current distribution of many of the species. Fair enough, but a bit hard for people new to the area.
Mammals
For the mammals, there is A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo by Payne and Francis, illustrated by Phillipps. This book was widely available, but it's starting to look like it may have gone out of print. Amazon US and UK list it through resellers but NHBS (UK) and Andrew Isles (AU) still list it as a stock item.Guide Books
I've used Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei (Amazon US | UK) for general planning and it seems competent.Where to Buy Books
Below are a list of booksellers I've found helpful when looking for natural history titles:Amazon (US) and Amazon (UK)
Andrew Isles (Australia) - We're lucky to have them here.
Borneo Books (Kotu Kinabalu in Sabah)
Buteo Books (US)
Flora & Fauna Books (US)
LA Audubon Bookstore (US)
NHBS Environment Bookstore (UK)