Borneo; Day 4 - Mount Kinabalu

   For our second day in Mount Kinabalu we knew a little bit more about what to expect and so knew exactly how we were going to approach the days birding. To start with, we arrived at 05:45 and immediately began walking up the Power Plant Road. Using the thermal we could easily pick out birds using the road, even in the half-light. Sadly we still did not find the Everett’s Thrush, but we found a couple of Bornean Whistling Thrushes, Bornean Forktails, Bornean Shortwings and a new target seen with Eyebrowed Jungle Flycatcher, of which we spotted several sitting by the side of the road in the gloom.

  Once the road was open for the vehicle at 07:00 we drove all the way to the top, to the Timpohon Gate, where we hoped to clean up on the targets higher up. On our first visit we had not walked through the first entrance gate, so decided to this time. It added another 150 metres which we could explore before the closed off gate only for hikers. At the gate there was a nice veranda and café, so we sat here for a short while watching for birds and we were rewarded with excellent views of Pale-faced Bulbul and a host of other species that we had seen before during our time up here. 

  At 09:00 we headed down to the Mempening Trail, which we decided to walk in its entirety, before returning via the Silau-silau trail. On the way down we made a short stop of the Kiau Gap Viewpoint where we had our first Bornean Treepies, before starting the trail. Despite the improved weather from our visit the previous day, there was noticeably less activity. However, this was all soon forgot about when about halfway along the trail we finally encountered one of the Whiteheads trio, and arguably the most spectacular; the Whiteheads Broadbill. A hulking great vivid green bird with incredibly plumage sat at eye level off the trail. We were thrilled to finally see this species! 

  Topped up with adrenaline from our encounter, we completed our circuit. By now it was late so there was less activity, but we still had a nice group of three Bornean Green Magpies on the Silau-silau Trail, as well as more Bornean Treepies. The walk along the road back to the car yielded nothing at all, and since it was midday we headed to the Liwagu Restaurant for lunch. Even then the birding did not stop, as two Bornean Leafbirds came to one of the trees from the restaurant veranda, another target species connected with! 

  After lunch the weather, as per usual, became cloudy and rainy. Surprisingly however, it cleared up again shortly after, allowing us to spend a bit of time exploring the bottom of the Power Station Road, but with very little to show for it. We had another Eyebrowed Jungle Flycatcher, but little else. The clouds returned at 15:30, so we headed to the hotel, ready to rest up and prepare to give it one final go tomorrow!