Overview


We went to Sabah for a couple of weeks in August 2006. Due to last minute changes, our itinerary was shorter and less inclusive than we originally intended. Ultimately, we visited Palau Tiga for two nights, Mount Kinabalu for two nights, and Danum Valley (Borneo Rainforest Lodge) for five nights. Overall, it was a great experience. Sabah is not crowded by world standards, the food is great (but has a lot of garlic), and everything other than premium tourist services are cheap. Local transport is inexpensive, frequent, and reasonably straightforward. People were extremely nice and helpful throughout. English was spoken enough for us to get by, but it is rarely spoken fluently outside of major hotels and tourist attractions. For another trip, it would be well worth learning at least some rudimentary Malay. Sabah is a great destination and we would love to return. Below is a summary of our trip. If you're planning a trip, also have a look at some notes made before the trip. We've also posted a few snapshots.

Pulau Tiga


We love fish as much as birds and were hoping to do some high-quality snorkeling and diving. Since neither of us like to do heavy repetitive diving and both love snorkeling, we were looking for a location with decent conditions on the beach. We picked Palau Tiga instead of one of the dive islands as it's cheaper and offers accessible snorkeling. Unfortunately, the snorkeling was poor as the reefs have been devastated by dynamite fishing and the fish stocks don't seem to have recovered. The island itself is interesting and the resort well run and comfortable.

P. Tiga is a mud volcano island and quite young, so we were surprised to find it is large (7 hours to walk around), covered in forest, and well full of animals. Birding within the forest was nearly impossible as the forest is not tall enough yet to choke out the underbrush. Therefore, birds are easily heard but not easily seen. All the same, the forest is beautiful and the hoped-for Tabon Scrubfowl (Megapodius cumingii) were common. We saw signs of their digging along the trails and spotted single or paired birds at the start of the Larai-Larai Trail, just short of the main mud volcano, and along the Vokong Trail.

Other birds seen in the gardens and along the trails include Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra), Blue-naped Parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis), Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris), Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis), Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis), Asian Glossy-Starling (Aplonis panayensis), and Plain-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis). We saw a few small squirrels of unknown species.

Unexpectedly, the island had a good range of reptiles, including skinks, geckos, lizards, a large Water Monitor (Varanus salvator), and an impressive Gold-ringed Cat Snake (Boiga dendrophila).

Varanus salvator
A large water monitor hunted in the creek near the cabins.

Mount Kinabalu


Mount Kinabalu ridgeline
Mt Kinabalu's ridgeline is spectacular from any angle.
We loved this place, it's absolutely fantastic. We stayed for two nights at the luxurious Liwagu Suites, as they were the only ensuites left when we booked. SInce we only had two nights, we decided to concentrate on the grounds and trails around the park headquarters, spending most of our time within 1 K of the Visitor Centre. In this area the following were all productive locations: the road between the VIsitor Centre and the main park entrance, the road from the Visitor Centre uphill towards the power station, the Silau-Silau Trail, and the trail towards the power station that starts from the Silau-Silau trail and runs parallel to the road and a creek. While the park has many visitors, we found the trails in this area nearly empty. Most visitors are either heading to the summit or taking a short walk on a day trip from KK.

Birding reports often describe birding in the Kinabalu Park as quiet and hard-going. While we experienced this, we also found that there were great concentrations of birds in mixed hunting parties. It pays to explore the trails to get a sense of where you might find sunlight at different times of day. Where the conditions were right, it wasn't too hard to find mixed hunting parties of insectivores. The parties seemed fairly coherent, at least at this time of year, and different parties showed different compositions. For example, sunbirds, minivets and other small insectivores were in one hunting party and laughingthrushes dominated another. While locations are often transitory, we found the trail towards the power station a good spot for a big party including Checker-throated Woodpecker (Picus mentalis), Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush (Garrulax mitratus), Sunda Laughingthrush (Garrulax palliatus), and Short-tailed Magpie (Cissa thalassina jefferyi). The laughingthrushes are noisy, conspicuous, and gorgeous. The Magpie is a vivid green that makes the bird virtually invisible in the forest. They're spectacular when you can get a look. The same flocks could be seen, sometimes more clearly, from the road at the point marked 1K. Other birding reports mention this area, so there may be some feature that makes it relatively reliable.

Another top spot is the front of the Visitor's Centre starting from first light (just before 6, when we were there.) White-tailed Flycatcher (Cyornis concretus), Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis corallipes),Bronzed Drongo (Dicrurus aeneus), Hair-crested or (Spangled Drongo Dicrurus hottentottus), Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus), Sunda Cuckooshrike (Coracina larvata), Short-tailed Magpie (Cissa thalassina jefferyi), and Bornean Treepie (Dendrocitta cinerascens) were all in plain view.

While we didn't see any of the rare endemics, we did find a good range of other birds in the area, including Little Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia ruficeps), Golden-naped Barbet (Megalaima pulcherrima), Ochraceous Bulbul (Alophoixus ochraceus), Pied Triller (Lalage nigra), Bornean Whistler (Pachycephala hypoxantha), Mountain Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus trivirgatus), Yellow-breasted Warbler (Seicercus montis), Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis), Chestnut-crested Yuhina (Yuhina everetti), Asian Glossy-Starling (Aplonis panayensis ), Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja), and Black-sided Flowerpecker (Dicaeum monticolum). There were also various squirrels about, including Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel.

It is cool and comfortable up on the mountain, running under 17 (63 F) at night while we were there. Rains came in the afternoon so we did as much walking in the morning as possible. A public bus got us from the long distance KK bus terminal to the park headquarters in a couple of hours for 15 RM each. On the return, we caught a ride in a van that had dropped off some hikers for 20 RM each. Bookings for accommodation are handled by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges. For a map of the headquarters and the trail to the summit, visit http://sabahtravelguide.com/mapguide/default.asp?page=kinabalu_map. The headquarters map is shown below for convenience:

Mount Kinabalu headquaters map

Danum Valley (Borneo Rainforest Lodge)


Overview


Whiskered Tree-swifts perch along the road in the afternoon
What an amazing place. This site is frequently described as the best rainforest spot left in Asia. We were there for five nights and continued to see new birds on every walk, up through the final morning. The food was good and abundant, and there's always tea, coffee, and drinking water available. It pays to drink a lot as it's incredibly hot and muggy. The canopy walkway (closed for October 2006) is surprisingly good for seeing canopy birds and offers a great view. The lodge serves no scientific purpose, so it's dedicated entirely to tourist activities. Our guide was spoke good English (his fourth language), hard-working, well-trained, dedicated, and went out of his way to be helpful.

Birds


The bird diversity was amazing, so much so that we saw most birds only on one or two days. The more common birds included Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra), Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma), Malaysian Blue-Flycatcher (Cyornis turcosus), White-crowned Shama (Copsychus stricklandii), Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), Rufous-tailed Tailorbird (Orthotomus sericeus ), Ruby-cheeked Sunbird (Anthreptes singalensis), and Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker (Prionochilus maculatus). The list below includes birds we were able to see clearly and identify:

Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster Crested Serpent-Eagle Spilornis cheela richmondi
Grey-headed Fish-Eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus Lesser Fish-Eagle Ichthyophaga humilis
Wallace's Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus nanus Crested Fireback Lophura ignita
Green Imperial-Pigeon Ducula aenea Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica
Raffles's Malkoha Phaenicophaeus chlorophaeus Chestnut-breasted Malkoha Phaenicophaeus curvirostris
Barred Eagle-Owl Bubo sumatranus tenuifasciatus Buffy Fish-Owl Ketupa ketupu
Whiskered Tree-Swift Hemiprocne comata Grey-rumped Tree-Swift Hemiprocne longipennis
Silver-rumped Needletail Hirundapus caudacutus Fork-tailed Swift Apus pacificus
Diard's Trogon Harpactes diardii Black-and-red Broadbill Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos
Black-and-yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus Oriental Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx erithacus motleyi
Stork-billed Kingfisher Pelargopsis capensis cyanopteryx Wreathed Hornbill Aceros undulatus
Bushy-crested Hornbill Anorrhinus galeritus Rhinoceros Hornbill Buceros rhinoceros
Helmeted Hornbill Buceros vigil Blue-eared Barbet Megalaima australis
Rufous Piculet Sasia abnormis Buff-necked Woodpecker Meiglyptes tukki
Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica abbotti Ochraceous Bulbul Alophoixus ochraceus
Red-eyed Bulbul Pycnonotus brunneus Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier
Scaly-breasted Bulbul Pycnonotus squamatus Asian Fairy-Bluebird Irena puella
Lesser Green Leafbird Chloropsis cyanopogon Greater Green Leafbird Chloropsis sonnerati
Green Iora Aegithina viridissima White-crowned Shama Copsychus stricklandii
White-crowned Forktail Enicurus leschenaulti Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler Locustella ochotensis
Rufous-tailed Tailorbird Orthotomus sericeus Malaysian Blue-Flycatcher Cyornis turcosus
Asian Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike Hemipus hirundinaceus
Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike Hemipus picatus Rufous-crowned Babbler Malacopteron magnum
Black-capped Babbler Pellorneum capistratum Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos
Plain-throated Sunbird Anthreptes malacensis Ruby-cheeked Sunbird Anthreptes singalensis
Purple-naped Sunbird Hypogramma hypogrammicum Grey-breasted Spiderhunter Arachnothera affinis
Yellow-eared Spiderhunter Arachnothera chrysogenys Spectacled Spiderhunter Arachnothera flavigaster
Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker Prionochilus maculatus


Spectacled Spiderhunter near the lodge
The list above is a bit misleading as it does not include the many birds heard and not seen, such as Great Argus, Garnet Pitta, and Bornean Bristlehead. Additionally, we couldn't identify many clearly seen birds as we're not experienced enough with brown Asian forest birds and the available field guides didn't always help. Apart from this, the variety is so high at the site that it's likely that varying our routes by five minutes would have produced a different list altogether.

Mammals


A baby Orang Utan
The mammals are the main draw for most people at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, and they weren't disappointing. On most days, we saw Orang Utans (mother and child and an independent young male), Gibbons vocalizing, Red Leaf Monkeys, Bearded Pigs (one hangs around outside the lodge), Plain Pygmy Squirrels and Prevost's Squirrels. Evidently, it's not always easy to see Orang Utans and Gibbons so our timing was fortunate. It was great to see so many primates in the same area as it was easy to notice how differently they move through the canopy. Orang Utans move deliberately and slowly without jumping, Gibbons brachiate rapidly using their long arms, and Red Leaf Monkeys leap nosily between trees. There are other animals about, such as civets, but elephants are evidently very uncommon in the primary forest and Proboscis Monkeys don't live in this habitat.

Guiding


Canopy walkway at Borneo Rainforest Lodge
As far as we could work out, full-time guiding is a mandatory part of booking into Borneo Rainforest Lodge. Only a handful of guides specialize in birds. Be sure to request a bird-oriented guide before you arrive. We didn't book through Borneo Nature Tours—the official ground agent—directly, and our request was not forwarded on to them. Therefore, we got a general-interest guide. He was hard-working and outstanding at spotting animals in the forest, but not deeply knowledgeable about the local birds. This isn't that surprising as birders don't seem to represent a huge percentage of the visitors to the area. It's easy to imagine otherwise from reading trip reports, but, as far as we could tell, most people come for a night or two to see the rainforest and try to see Orang Utans.

Before arriving and during our introductory briefing, we were told that you could only trail we could visit independently was the nature boardwalk by the lodge. However, we started to notice people wandering the trails unsupervised. As it turns out, you can negotiate what you do with your guide. We spent the last two and a half days on our own without a guide. We tend to enjoy this more as it lets us go at our own pace (much slower than most guides) and feel like we've discovered whatever we see.

While we were there, we encountered a couple that were visiting Malaysia on a private tour with Susan Myers (http://www.birdingworldwide.com.au/), one of VENT's tour leaders. She seemed passionate and extremely expert in the local birds. She suggested we concentrate on the road in front of the canopy walkway in the morning and again starting around 4:30 PM. This turned out to be sound advice.

Night Drives and Night Walks

We took a night drive the day we arrived and it left us with pretty mixed feelings. We've done our fair share of spotlighting and always try to minimize the impact on the animals. The spotlighting drive was too aggressive. The tour consisted of driving around at fairly high speed with an incredibly bright search light. It was far, far stronger than what you need to spot eye-shine. Once an animal was found, the spotter tended to pin it down with this blinding light and try to provoke the animal into movement (she even did this to a poor sleeping tailorbird!) We quickly stopped pointing out the animals the spotter was missing as we didn't want them disturbed. We did a night walk with our guide on another night and that was very good. If you know how to spotlight and have a torch, I'd say go out with a guide on foot or on your own as quietly as possible. We did end up seeing a wide variety of animals, snakes, frogs, and birds at night. For what it's worth, we also saw Mouse Deer along the nature trail around breakfast time by walking very slowly and quietly.

Bugs


Enormous moth resting on a boot
Borneo is justly famous for its bugs. There were many stick bugs, leaf bugs, ants, beetles, moths, butterflies, and leeches. Lots and lots of leeches. Evidently, the leeches are active after the rains and we were there at the end of August, just as the rains were starting to return. (June is probably a great month to visit as it's not too wet and trees are fruiting.) You can buy leech socks at the gift shop (16 RM) or stick your pant legs into your socks. If the leeches are out, you'll have to clear them off from time to time. We didn't get any bites, but, if you do, you can buy a Danum Valley Blood Donor certificate for 5 RM.

Booking


Borneo Nature Tours (http://www.borneonaturetours.com/ or http://www.borneorainforestlodge.net/) seems to be the official ground agent for Borneo Rainforest Lodge. (Note that more than one Web site claims to be the official site.) They are also in charge of the guides so contact them directly to make a request for a guide that specializes in birds. You can get to Lahad Datu by ground or air on Air Asia Express (http://www.airasia.com/site/en/fax/).

Books and Field Guides


Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei (Amazon US | UK) proved to be a competent guide, augmented with Web research.

For birds, out main reference was A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali by MacKinnon & Phillipps. This title is out of print and unobtainable in Sabah. There doesn't seem to be any sort of reprinting 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. If you can find a copy of this book used, get it before you visit. Be forewarned that the binding breaks easily and the plates are not ideal for many of the harder to distinguish families.

Update: At last, there are two modern field guides for Borneo! I’ve got both on order and am looking forward to using them. The word on the street is that the titles differ but are both worth having. Birds of Borneo: Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan by Susan Myers (Amazon US | UK) is authored by a leading guide in the area. We met her at Danum Valley and she’s the real deal. The notes are said to be excellent. Phillipps' Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo: Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan by Quentin and Karen Phillipps (Amazon US | UK). Karen Phillipps is the illustrator for all of the plates and was the illustrator for the now out-of-print A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali by MacKinnon & Phillipps.

We also brought 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. This was well worth the trouble. Many of the plates, such as Bulbuls, are vastly superior in Robson than in MacKinnon & Phillipps.

The only widely available bird guide in Sabah [at the time we visited] is A Pocket Guide to the Birds of Borneo (25RM at Borneo Books.) This small pocket guide includes the plates from The Birds of Borneo (4th Edition) by Bertram E. Smythies, revised by Geoffrey W H. Davison in 1999. These plates are largely form the 1950's and the color in the small guide is not as good as in the full-size The Birds of Borneo. For 25 RM (a few dollars or pounds), the pocket guide is worth having. However, the larger The Birds of Borneo is not a field guide. It weighs about 3 kilos and is designed as an ornithological compendium. Ideal for working scientists with an office, not of use to birders in the field. If you do want to get a copy of the larger book, the cheapest price I saw was at Borneo Books for 270 RM (about A 100, US 75 or, UK 40, see http://www.xe.com/ for current exchange rates.)

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.

For the mammals, we found