Day 5:
On our final full day at Sepilok, we decided to spend more time at RDC. Robert had to take another guest around the resort in the morning, so Jason went along with us to RDC. An Oriental Magpie Robin greeted us at the entrance, the male of race adamsi have all dark belly. An Oriental Darter was again at the lake, this time swimming in the water as we walked past it, sticking it's snake like head out of the water.
Oriental Magpie Robin - race adamsi
Oriental Darter
The first bird we encountered along the entrance of the canopy walkway was an interesting one; a brown bulbul with white eyes. If we were in Peninsular Malaysia I would have called this as a Cream-vented Bulbul, but since the Cream-vented Bulbuls in Borneo have red eyes, these white eyes individuals were a bit of an odd ones out. Until recently people had thought it was only a variation within the species, but recent studies had shown that Bulbuls with white eyes in Borneo is actually a distinct species, now known as the Cream-eyed Bulbul, the newest Bornean endemic added to the already impressive list of Borneo birds.
Cream-eyed Bulbul - the newest Bornean endemic
Another Bornean endemic came in form of a Bornean Black Magpie, this species was split from the Black Magpie and had been granted full species status. It differs from it's mainland cousin by not having any white on wings, it also have a long crest.
Bornean Black Magpie
A Lesser Green Leafbird came through, they are literally all green and you truly understand why they are called leafbirds...They have exactly the same colour with surrounding leaves! A male Black Hornbill came close to the canopy walkway and gave fairly good views.
Lesser Green Leafbird - female
Black Hornbill - male
We spotted a pair of Bornean Orangutans right next to the canopy walkway, they were a mother with her baby. They came so close that my 500mm lens could simply take close up portraits of the two! Adults have much darker face. The pair were taking wild Terap fruits, a local fruit that is native to Borneo and the Philippines.
Bornean Orangutan - eating Terap fruits
A male Diard's Trogon came through and gave excellent views, unfortunately I ran out of memory at just the 'right' moment...By the time I got my camera ready again it was gone. The female however was much more forgiving, and gave excellent prolonged views at close range.
Diard's Trogon - female
Along the canopy walkway we also saw a few Black-naped Monarch, a species very common at RDC, although getting a decent photo of this quick species is still not an easy task, I only managed a half decent record shot in the end.
Black-naped Monarch - male
We walked down towards the Kingfisher trail, bulbuls were extremely active around the fruiting trees. Of which Buff-vented Bulbuls, Streaked Bulbuls and Olive-winged Bulbuls were by far the most numerous along the trail.
Buff-vented Bulbul
Streaked Bulbul
Olive-winged Bulbul
The less common Spectacled Bulbul also showed briefly, it was however outshone by the even scarcer Grey-bellied Bulbul! This species is a widespread but scarce resident throughout Borneo, it was also a lifer for me.
Spectacled Bulbul
Grey-bellied Bulbul
Two species of Sunbirds were seen along the trail, including the Plain Sunbird and a few Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, of which I only managed a photo of the female.
Plain Sunbird - female
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird - female
Two species of Woodpeckers made an appearance, including a Maroon Woodpecker which gave a group of photographers a wild goose chase, I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time when it literally landed right in front of me! A few Buff-necked Woodpeckers were also present.
Maroon Woodpecker - female
Buff-necked Woodpecker - female
One of the most peculiar bird seen here was perhaps the Rufous-winged Philentoma, this single male showed brilliantly at close range, giving us front views and back views as we pleased. Philentoma is a bit of a taxonomy oddity, it was once placed with the Monarchs with good reasons, but recent studies had shown is more closely related the Vangas, which put it in the same family as Helmetshrikes of Africa! Other Asian birds now placed into Vangas includes the Flycatcher-shrikes and Woodshrikes.
Rufous-winged Philentoma - male
Along the trail Hoiling found a Banded Flower Mantis, a stunning species that is both incredibly bizarre and beautiful. A Gastercantha spider was also spotted.
Banded Flower Mantis
Gastercantha sp.
We went back to the Black-crowned Pitta spot and waited for a little while but it wasn't there, so we decided to head back to the resort to rest. To our delight, the fig tree near the car park had ripened within the few days we were here. It went from attracting no birds to attracting lots of birds, including many Olive-winged Bulbuls and Cream-eyed Bulbuls. It was even more delightful when we found another Grey-bellied Bulbul feeding in the tree! This time giving much better views.
Olive-winged Bulbul
Cream-vented Bulbul
Grey-bellied Bulbul
Although the bird that stole the show was no doubt the many Black-eared Barbet that had came in for the fruits. This small barbet is extremely common at RDC, where you often hear them throughout the day, but getting a decent view is not easy. With fruiting fig trees such as this one, these colourful barbets will often become quite approachable. The Black-eared Barbet had been split recently with Blue-eared Barbet, I am not at all surprise by this as you can hardly see any blue on the ear coverts on Bornean birds.
Black-eared Barbet
After a few days of outdoor excursions, everyone was tired. We took a long break after lunch, I decided to sit around the restaurant waiting for birds, a male Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker showed well, while a few Dusky Munias finally stopped long enough for me to grab a photo. The resident Brown-throated Sunbirds were dancing around the flowers.
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker - male race nigrimentum
Dusky Munia
Brown-throated Sunbird - male
At 3pm we went back out to RDC again, a male Olive-backed Sunbird greeted us at the car park. As were a few Blue-throated Bee-eaters.
Olive-backed Sunbird - male
Blue-throated Bee-eater
We heard from other birders that the Black-crowned Pitta had returned, so we decided to give that a try, along the way we added Grey-cheeked Bulbul and a pair of Black-and-Red Broadbill.
Grey-cheeked Bulbul
Black-and-Red Broadbill
The Pitta was already calling when we arrived, Jason put down a few meal worms on a log on the other side of the stream and we waited. Sure enough the Pitta came in and gave brilliant views on the log. It is a truly mesmerising bird no matter how many times you've seen it. It later flew higher up onto a tree and sang from that perch for a few more minutes before flying off into the forest.
Black-crowned Pitta stakeout
Black-crowned Pitta
Since lights were fading, we headed up to the canopy walkway, a flock of birds were jumping making warning calls, obviously stressed out by something. I thought it could be an owl, but could not find anything in the trees, it could have also been a snake. A few Buff-vented Bulbuls were present, as well as a few Red-throated Sunbirds.
Buff-vented Bulbul
Red-throated Sunbird - male
Red-throated Sunbird - female
We managed to join the night walk organised by RDC, their tours are quite popular amongst tourists and often over booked. Luckily the nine of us were able to get a private tour. The local guides started the tour at the canopy walkway to look at the Red Giant Flying Squirrels again, fortunately for us they were out earlier than usual and were more active. A pair were chasing each other, and this time I was able to get a photo of one inflight!
Red Giant Flying Squirrel
We actually saw very few nocturnal animals, but we did saw an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher and the Rufous-collared Kingfisher at roost. I was hoping that the Oriental Bay Owl would make an appearance but we didn't even hear it. We got a pair of Sunda Scops Owls calling nearby, but they did not want to come out and did not respond to our play back.
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
Rufous-collared Kingfisher - male
The best find of the evening came in form of a Bornean Slow Loris! This was one of our main target at RDC and I am glad we managed to see one on our last evening. Unfortunately we never found a Western Tarsier, but just before the tour ended we added a Mouse Deer. That evening we were all too tired to do anymore walking, so we just relaxed at the restaurant.
Bornean Slow Loris
Day 6:
Our flight was scheduled at 9:30am, so we decided not to do any birding in the morning. We had breakfast and said our goodbyes to Jason and Robert, their warm hospitality had made our trip so wonderful, and I certainly is looking forward to my next visit to this incredible location!
Overall I would rate our trip as quite successful, not only did we managed to connect with most of our target species including the Bornean Banded Kingfisher, there were quite a few nice surprises along the way to make this trip even more memorable! A total of 132 species of birds were seen throughout the trip, quite a good count considering we only visited a very small area. We also managed many great encounters with many unique wildlife of Borneo, although going out both day and night was quite tiring, it was worth the effort.
A huge thanks again for Jason and Robert for their help throughout the trip, for anyone visiting Sepilok I highly recommend the Sepilok Jungle Resort.
Species
|
Note
|
|
1
|
Great Argus
|
Heard
at SJR
|
2
|
Feral Pigeon
|
Common around towns
|
3
|
Spotted Dove
|
Very common
|
4
|
Asian Emerald Dove
|
Commonly
heard and seen
|
5
|
Zebra Dove
|
Very common
|
6
|
Little Green-Pigeon
|
A few
perched on high tree of SJR
|
7
|
Pink-necked Pigeon
|
A few seen at SJR
|
8
|
Thick-billed Pigeon
|
A few seen at SJR
|
9
|
Jambu Fruit-Dove
|
One
female seen at a fruiting tree along Kingfisher trail, another female seen at
SJR
|
10
|
Green Imperial-Pigeon
|
Common around Sepilok
|
11
|
Greater Coucal
|
Commonly heard at SJR
|
12
|
Raffles's Malkoha
|
Common
at SJR and RDC
|
13
|
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
|
Only
one seen at RDC along Kingfisher trail
|
14
|
Violet Cuckoo
|
Seen well
on canopy walkway of RDC, heard at various places
|
15
|
Plaintive Cuckoo
|
A few heard at RDC
|
16
|
Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo
|
Heard
at RDC
|
17
|
Indian Cuckoo
|
One heard at RDC
|
18
|
Plume-toed Swiftlet
|
Very common
|
19
|
Black-nest Swiftlet
|
Very common
|
20
|
White-nest Swiftlet
|
Big flock seen at Labuk Bay
|
21
|
Asian Palm-Swif
|
A few seen at RDC
|
22
|
Grey-rumped Treeswift
|
A few seen at RDC
|
23
|
White-breasted Waterhen
|
Common around Sepilok roadside
|
24
|
Oriental Darter
|
One
bird seen at RDC lake on two separate days presumed to be same bird
|
25
|
Purple Heron
|
One seen at Labuk Bay
|
26
|
Intermediate Egret
|
Commonly seen by roadside
|
27
|
Black-winged Kite
|
Two
seen enroute to Labuk Bay
|
28
|
Changeable Hawk-Eagle
|
One
perched at SJR
|
29
|
Wallace's Hawk-Eagle
|
Common
at RDC
|
30
|
Rufous-bellied Eagle
|
One
adult at RDC, a juvenile at SORC
|
31
|
Crested Goshawk
|
One seen
at RDC canopy walkway
|
32
|
Brahminy Kite
|
Fairly common throughout
|
33
|
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
|
One seen at SJR
|
34
|
Oriental Bay-Owl
|
Up to
two heard clearly at SJR, came closer but never showed
|
35
|
Sunda Scops Owl
|
Two
heard clearly at RDC, close but no show
|
36
|
Barred Eagle Owl
|
One
heard at SJR
|
37
|
Brown Boobook
|
Two
heard at SJR, came closer but no show
|
38
|
Red-naped Trogon
|
A pair
seen at SJR, one male seen along Kingfisher trail
|
39
|
Diard's Trogon
|
One seen
at SJR, another pair seen along RDC canopy walkway
|
40
|
Helmeted Hornbill
|
One
large hornbill with long tail flew past, no calls heard but long streamers
could only be of this species
|
41
|
Rhinoceros Hornbill
|
One
flew overhead at SJR
|
42
|
Bushy-crested Hornbill
|
A few
heard and later seen at SJR
|
43
|
Black Hornbill
|
Singles
or pairs seen throughout
|
44
|
Blue-eared Kingfisher
|
Fairly
common at SJR and RDC
|
45
|
Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher
|
Commonly
heard at RDC, one seen perched during RDC night walk
|
46
|
Banded Kingfisher
|
A pair
seen near 'back door' of RDC
|
47
|
Stork-billed Kingfisher
|
Common
at SJR and lake of RDC
|
48
|
Collared Kingfisher
|
|
49
|
Rufous-collared Kingfisher
|
A male
constantly seen along Kingfisher trail, possibly nesting nearby
|
50
|
Blue-throated Bee-eater
|
Common around Sepilok
|
51
|
Dollarbird
|
A few seen at SJR
|
52
|
Bornean Brown Barbet
|
Common
at SJR and RDC
|
53
|
Black-eared Barbet
|
Common at
SJR and RDC, many seen at fruiting tree at RDC car park
|
54
|
Gold-faced Barbet
|
One
heard at RDC
|
55
|
Rufous Piculet
|
Fairly
common at RDC, one seen at SJR
|
56
|
Grey-and-buff Woodpecker
|
Fairly
common at SJR, a pair seen at RDC
|
57
|
Maroon Woodpecker
|
One
seen along Kingfisher Trail at RDC
|
58
|
Buff-necked Woodpecker
|
Very
common around Sepilok
|
59
|
Common Flameback
|
One
heard at Labuk Bay
|
60
|
Crimson-winged Woodpecker
|
Heard
only at RDC
|
61
|
Banded Woodpecker
|
A few
seen at RDC and often heard
|
62
|
White-bellied Woodpecker
|
Two
seen on separate days at SJR
|
63
|
Long-tailed Parakeet
|
Commonly
seen flying past at SJR and RDC
|
64
|
Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot
|
Commonly
seen at SJR
|
65
|
Green Broadbill
|
One
seen behind SJR
|
66
|
Black-and-red Broadbill
|
Common
around SJR and RDC
|
67
|
Black-and-yellow Broadbill
|
More
often heard, seen a few times at SJR and RDC
|
68
|
Black-crowned Pitta
|
One at
RDC on two days, presumably same bird
|
69
|
Hooded Pitta
|
A few
seen at SJR
|
70
|
White-breasted Woodswallow
|
|
71
|
Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike
|
Common
at RDC
|
72
|
Rufous-winged Philentoma
|
One
seen along Kingfisher Trail at RDC
|
73
|
Common Iora
|
One
seen at SJR
|
74
|
Green Iora
|
Common
at RDC
|
75
|
Fiery Minivet
|
A few
seen at RDC
|
76
|
White-bellied Erpornis
|
A few
seen at RDC
|
77
|
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
|
Common
at RDC
|
78
|
Malaysian Pied-Fantail
|
One
nest observed outside RDC, common throughout
|
79
|
Black-naped Monarch
|
Common
at RDC
|
80
|
Bornean Black Magpie
|
A few
seen at RDC
|
81
|
Slender-billed Crow
|
Fairly common throughout
|
82
|
House Crow
|
Seen at KLIA
|
83
|
Pacific Swallow
|
Common
|
84
|
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
|
Up to
three birds seen along canopy walkway at RDC
|
85
|
Black-headed Bulbul
|
One
seen briefly at Kingfisher trail
|
86
|
Spectacled Bulbul
|
One
seen briefly at Kingfisher trail
|
87
|
Grey-bellied Bulbul
|
One at
Kingfisher trail, another seen at RDC carpark
|
88
|
Yellow-vented Bulbul
|
Very
common throughout
|
89
|
Olive-winged Bulbul
|
Common
around Sepilok
|
90
|
Cream-vented Bulbul
|
Common
around Sepilok
|
91
|
Cream-eyed Bulbul
|
One seen
at RDC canopy walkway
|
92
|
Red-eyed Bulbul
|
Common
around Sepilok
|
93
|
Hairy-backed Bulbul
|
A few
seen along Kingfisher trail
|
94
|
Grey-cheeked Bulbul
|
A few
seen along Kingfisher trail, one at SORC
|
95
|
Yellow-bellied Bulbul
|
A few
seen along Kingfisher trail
|
96
|
Streaked Bulbul
|
Common
around Sepilok
|
97
|
Ashy Tailorbird
|
Common around Sepilok and Labuk Bay
|
98
|
Rufous-tailed Tailorbird
|
Common around Sepilok and Labuk Bay
|
99
|
Yellow-bellied Prinia
|
Seen around SJR and Labuk Bay
|
100
|
Bold-striped Tit-Babble
|
A few
seen at SJR and a pair at Labuk Bay
|
101
|
Chestnut-winged Babbler
|
Common
around RDC
|
102
|
Rufous-fronted Babbler
|
One
heard at RDC
|
103
|
Chestnut-rumped Babbler
|
A few
seen at RDC
|
104
|
Black-capped Babbler
|
Common
around RDC
|
105
|
Asian Fairy-bluebird
|
One
seen at SJR
|
106
|
Oriental Magpie-Robin (adamsi)
|
Common
throughout Sepilok
|
107
|
White-crowned Shama
|
Common
at SJR, a few seen at RDC
|
108
|
Asian Glossy Starling
|
Common
|
109
|
Common Hill Myna
|
Common
at SJR
|
110
|
Common Myna
|
A few seen at KLIA
|
111
|
Javan Myna
|
Common
|
112
|
Greater Green Leafbird
|
One
seen at RDC
|
113
|
Lesser Green Leafbird
|
A few
seen at RDC canopy walkway
|
114
|
Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker
|
Common
around Sepilok
|
115
|
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
|
Common
at SJR
|
116
|
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
|
Common
at SJR
|
117
|
Plain Sunbird
|
A few
seen along Kingfisher trail
|
118
|
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird
|
A few
seen at RDC
|
119
|
Brown-throated Sunbird
|
Common
at SJR
|
120
|
Red-throated Sunbird
|
A few
seen at RDC canopy walkway
|
121
|
Van Hasselt's Sunbird
|
Seen
from Bristlehead Tower
|
122
|
Copper-throated Sunbird
|
One
seen at RDC car park
|
123
|
Olive-backed Sunbird
|
A few
seen at SJR and RDC
|
124
|
Crimson Sunbird
|
Common
at SJR
|
125
|
Long-billed Spiderhunter
|
One at
SJR
|
126
|
Little Spiderhunter
|
A few
seen at SJR and RDC
|
127
|
Purple-naped Spiderhunter
|
One
seen at RDC
|
128
|
Spectacled Spiderhunter
|
One
seen at RDC canopy walkway
|
129
|
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
|
Common at SJR
|
130
|
Baya Weaver
|
A few
colonies around RDC and Labuk Bay
|
131
|
Dusky Munia
|
Common
at SJR
|
132
|
Chestnut Munia
|
Common at SJR
|
