Sabah - Borneo Tour Report 2014

8th February - 25th February 2014

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Either for rarity value, excellent views or simply a group favourite.  

  • Malayan Partridge (ext)
  • Red-breasted Partridge
  • Chestnut-necklaced Partridge  
  • Crimson-headed Partridge
  • Bornean Crested Fireback
  • Great Argus
  • Storm’s Stork
  • Mountain Serpent-Eagle
  • Bat Hawk
  • White-fronted Falconet
  • Bornean Ground-Cuckoo
  • Dark Hawk-Cuckoo (ext)
  • Barred Eagle-Owl
  • Blue-banded Kingfisher
  • Blue-eared Kingfisher
  • 6 Trogon species
  • Helmeted Hornbill
  • Bushy-crested Hornbill
  • Rhinoceros Hornbill
  • White-crowned Hornbill
  • Golden-naped Barbet
  • Fire-tufted Barbet
  • Mountain Barbet
  • Yellow-crowned Barbet
  • Golden-naped Barbet
  • Bornean Barbet
  • Blue Nuthatch (ext)
  • 11 Woodpecker species
  • 6 Broadbill species
  • Giant Pitta
  • Black-crowned Pitta
  • Blue-banded Pitta
  • Bornean Bristlehead
  • Bornean Whistler
  • Bornean Black Magpie
  • Crested Jay
  • 18 Bulbul species!
  • Bornean Stubtail
  • Black-throated Wren-babbler
  • Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler
  • Bare-headed Laughingthrush
  • Sunda Laughingthrush
  • Pygmy Ibon
  • Chestnut-crested Yuhina
  • White-crowned Shama
  • Eye-browed Jungle-Flycatcher    
  • Everett’s Thrush
  • Chestnut-naped Forktail
  • Bornean Forktail
  • Bornean Spiderhunter
  • Bornean Orang-Utan
  • Proboscis Monkey

SUMMARY
Black-crowned Pitta by Nick Bray
The first ZOOTHERA tour to Sabah & Fraser’s Hill in Peninsular Malaysia resulted in a very respectable 310 species, with 42 Bornean endemics recorded. We began at the Rafflesia Reserve in the Crocker Mountain Range which gave us our first endemics – Mountain and Bornean Barbets. We then spent the next few days at Mount Kinabalu where low cloud and rain hampered our birding but we still managed to find some great birds with Red-breasted & Crimson-headed Partridges and an Everett’s Thrush being particular favourites. Moving on to Sepilok and the fabulous Rainforest Discovers Centre with its excellent network of trails and superb canopy walkway we were fortunate to find Bornean Bristlehead almost immediately. We spent many enjoyable hours floating along the Kinabatangan River getting Storm’s Stork, Bornean Pygmy Elephants, troops of Proboscis Monkeys and best of all, an incredible encounter with Bornean Ground-Cuckoo. We finished with a flourish at the incredible Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley with a female Giant Pitta and Great Argus. There was also Crested Fireback, Chestnut-necklaced Partridge, Bat Hawk, Blue-banded and Black-crowned Pittas, fantastic Helmeted Hornbills and many other classic south-east Asian species.  And who could forget our 3 sightings of truly wild Orang-utans that makes a visit to this wildlife-rich island so amazing? Our extension to the cool montane forests of Fraser’s Hill gave us Malayan Partridge, Fire-tufted Barbet, Malayan and Chestnut-capped Laughingthrushes, some great broadbills and brought our hornbill list up to 9 species. This was an incredible adventure and a fantastic wildlife experience with a creditable 37 species of mammal, making this a superb all-round wildlife holiday.

 

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