My husband and I developed a pension for birds by chance. We
were on a holiday trip to Lake Kenyir where our hotel room fronted several large
palm and fruiting trees. To our surprise, we were treated to a bird feast where
we spotted many beautiful birds perched on the trees, in search of foods such
as berries and bugs. That really got us started on bird-watching and it is a
wonderful hobby. The thrill of finding and
identifying uncommon birds and the love of photography prompted both of us to
take up this hobby seriously.
All you need are a pair of binoculars, high-zoom camera (if you enjoy taking wild-life pictures) and preferably a bird-identification book, so you could at least identify some of the birds that you have spotted. Lastly, you must be patient as this is basically a ‘waiting’ game where you will have to wait for the birds to appear or fly pass. The best time to go bird-watching would be from 7:00 am to 10:00 am and 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm (Peninsular Malaysia) and earlier if you are at East Malaysia, where the birds are at their most active.
Our recent birding trip was to Sepilok, Sandakan, situated in the state of Sabah. Sepilok boasts some of the nation’s best tourist attractions
such at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center and the Rainforest
Discovery Center (RDC) which are home to more than two hundred species of birds
(some of these birds are found only in Borneo). You can get to Sandakan via flights from
airlines such as MAS, Firefly and Airasia. (Ticket priced at RM 219/person for
a return flight plus in-flight food). From the Sandakan airport, catch a taxi
ride to Sepilok which is about 30 minutes away (RM 35 one way). You can check
yourself into one of the many resorts and bed and breakfast establishments in Sepilok. We
stayed at Sepilok Bed and Breakfast for RM 68/night (with complimentary light
breakfast prepared for guests as early as 6:30 am daily).
This rustic-looking establishment is located strategically
at the fringe of the RDC and
is about 1 km from the Orang Utan Sanctuary, thus saving you alot of money on
transportation. Though our accommodation is nowhere near town, you can still
find food as many of the accommodations have cooks and the food served is
reasonably priced (RM 9/meal). After unpacking, we began our itinerary as
follows:
Day 1 – Day 2
Rainforest Discovery
Center (RDC)
RDC is a great conservation and education effort from the
government of Sabah. RDC was established to help showcase the wonder and
importance of Borneo’s rainforests. The RDC’s main highlights are the canopy
walks, birders’ trails, Plant Discovery Garden and a small lake for boat rides.
Projects are underway to extend the canopy walkway and to build a café where
people can stop to rest and have some food and drinks. As of 2009, RDC has also
become the official venue for the annual Borneo Bird Festival which attracts
thousands of international and local bird enthusiasts
to Sabah. The center opens daily, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (entrance fee costs
RM 5/person for Malaysians and RM 10 for international visitors).
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| A beautiful male sunbird |
My husband and I enjoyed trekking
on all the birders’ trails (e.g Kingfisher trail, Pittas path, Ridge trail,
Woodpecker Avenue) and the canopy walkway. The walkway and its towers (called
Bristlehead and Trogon towers) are also great for bird-watchers to steal a glimpse of the resident Bornean
bristleheads, one of the rarest birds in Sabah! Apart from that, there are
another 250 species of birds to look out for, including hornbills, pittas,
kingfishers and broadbills. Unfortunately we did not manage to see any
Bristlehead, but we did encounter many resident birds such as the Oriental Pied
Hornbill, Red-naped Trogon, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Brown Barbet, Black-and-red
Broadbill and Black-and-yellow Broadbill. We spent two days in RDC and recorded
about 40 species of birds in total. The more experienced birders may be able to
spot more than 100 species of birds by listening to their calls and finding
them on birding scopes.
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| A female red-naped trogon |
Day 3
The Kinabatangan
Floodplain
The Kinabatangan River is the longest river in Sabah and
provides a rich ecosystem. The Kinabatangan floodplain is a two-hour drive away from Sepilok, or two and
a half hour from Sandakan town. You can find many wildlife animals, namely the
Bornean Orang Utan, silver-leaf monkeys, proboscis monkeys, long-tail macaques,
most of which are endemic to Borneo. Of all the primates, I have to say that
the Proboscis monkey is the weirdest-looking. The male proboscis monkey has a
long pendulous nose and an
out-sized stomach. The dominant male is always seemed surrounded by many
females (a group of them is called a harem), apparently attracted to its good
looks. These elusive
creatures feed on leaves and seeds.
For birders, you can expect to see water-dwelling bird
species such as the Oriental Darter, Lesser Adjutant, Storm Stork, Blue-eared
kingfisher, Crested Serpent-Eagle and Lesser Fish-Eagle. You may also see
crocodiles, and if you are very lucky you may catch a glimpse of the Bornean
Pygmy Elephant feeding on the edge of the Kinabatangan River. Apart from the
mammals and bird life, you can also spot many insects, reptiles and amphibians
including snakes, frogs and stick insects.
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| Kinabatangan river cruise |
The day tour for the Kinabatangan River Cruise will set you
back about RM 275/person (for a two hour cruise), but it is worth every ringgit.
You can also opt for a 2D1N or 3D2N jungle stay at one of the lodges along the
river edge and cruise the river again the following day or simply enjoy the
many activities offered such as night walks and night river cruise.
Day 4
Orang Utan Rehabilitation
Center
This is a more touristy place compared to the RDC. Many
international visitors flocked to the place to witness the Orang Utan in their
element. Entrance fee is the same as the RDC but you would also need to fork
out an additional RM 10 if you are carrying photography equipment. Once there,
you are treated to a video presentation of the sanctuary and it inhabitants. The
center located on over 4000 hectares of lush forest was set up in 1964 to
rehabilitate orphaned baby Orang Utan. The feeding times for the Orang Utans
are at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm daily. The gentle creatures will assemble at the
feeding platforms once they see their guides and feeders coming with vegetables
and fruits. Apart from this primate, you can also see the aggressive-looking
pig-tailed macaques wondering about at the sanctuary, playing and goofing
around with one another.
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| Orang Utan |
After the feeding sessions, birders can also participate in
another activity where they can proceed to the birders and mangrove trails in search of forest birds such as the Rufous
Picculet (the smallest woodpecker), Flycatchers, White-crowned Sharma and Broadbills.
The trails are only open from 11:00 am
and for about an hour only. Hence, you need to be aware of the time so you
won’t miss out on this opportunity. My husband and I were very fortunate as we
were caught in a middle of a bird wave (Note: a bird wave is where many species
of birds fly together in search of food and it seems that flying in large flock
serves as a protection from predators
as well). During the bird wave, we managed to identify about seven species of
birds, namely the Greater-racket tailed Drongo, Bronze Drongo, Raffles Malkoha,
two species of woodpeckers, Black-and-Red Broadbill and a pair of green leaf
birds.
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| Black-and-yellow broadbill |
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| Black hornbill |
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