Borneo; Day 6 - Telupid Forest Reserve & Sepilok

   Today was a very special day, as we would travel to the Telupid reserve to see the Bornean Peacock Pheasant. This species had been missing in Sabah for 50 years before it was discovered at this location during the lockdown. Since then a hide has been set up where the bird comes daily, and hundreds of birders have been to see it. We arranged our visit with Elfean, who manages the guests. We met him early morning at a restaurant on the main road, before we drove into the forest, jumped into 4x4s and then hiked a kilometre before reaching the hide.

  After all that we were pretty knackered given the humidity. Now all we had to do was wait for the bird to appear. Which it helpfully did within five minutes of our arrival. The fog of the morning meant visibility was not great, despite it already being 07:45. However, the bird returned several times before we departed at 09:30, allowing for excellent views of him calling and foraging. Only on one occasion did he perform his display, and sadly the angle was against us so we could not appreciate it at all. We were told by David, who was also there with his clients, that the presence of the Bornean Crested Fireback pheasants meant that the females would not come to the hide, thus he had nobody to display to. Still, we had an incredible performance throughout the morning.

  Other birds were thin on the ground. The aforementioned Bornean Crested FIrebacks came and went throughout the morning, with two males and a female. They were noticeably more timid than the Bornean Peacock Pheasant (who stood metres away from one of the guides whilst he threw additional corn out, without a care). Bornean Black-capped Babbler and Leaflitter Babbler were two more species that were new for me, as well as being Bornean endemics, but neither stopped for an especially long time. There was also an abundance of squirrels, with a few new species for us. Finally, there were our first real leech experience, with at least two attached to me during the morning.

  As we were leaving Elfean suggested visiting a new hide they had set up for Western Hooded Pitta. This had apparently only being going for a couple of weeks, and since the price was very good, we decided to visit. Because it was so new, they were still using playback as well as worms. The bird made us wait a little before he finally came, but in the end there were two individuals, and they showed phenomenally well, especially considering it was already 10:30 in the morning!

  All wrapped up, we headed on our way. We had to drive almost three hours to our next stop Sepilok, but it ended up taking much longer as we had to endure quite the trial in order to acquire cash! No ATM in Telupid had cash, and three others we tried on the way would not work. By the end, we did not reach Sepilok until 15:00. That gave us enough time for a quick shower and rest, before heading out again to the Rainforest Discovery Centre, where we would spend the next two days.

  For the afternoon, or what was left of it, we went into the Rainforest Discovery Centre and began exploring. We decided to spend the evening on the canopy walkway, which was magnificent although fairly quiet on the bird front. I still managed two new species with Rufous Woodpecker and Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, but otherwise not much of note. On the mammal front it was much better. The Giant Red Flying Squirrel which lives in the reserve was sat of its roosting hole, allowing us to see it clearly, and we had great views of several Pig-tailed Macaque.

  But all of this was blown away by our encounter as we walked back to the car along the walkway. Walking along the banister towards us was a Orangutan! Either a female or an immature male, it walked slowly right up to us without giving a care, then proceeded to walk past us, before sitting down and pondering the world. It then lumbered into the forest and off it went. For a first experience with an Orangutan, it does not get better than that! 

  At 20:00 we returned to the Rainforest Discovery Centre to go on a night walk through the area with a guide. We were a bit put-out by arriving to the sight of maybe 30 – 40 people also waiting for the same activity. Despite this, we took the plunge. In the end we were divided into groups, our group being 10 people, but we had a great night with several goodies seen.

  On the mammal front we had two interesting species, with a Sunda Calugo and a Western Tarsier. They both showed nicely near the start of our walk. Rarer mammals were presumably put off by the number of people in the area. The birds were even better, with three species of kingfisher seen, including the much wanted Rufous-collared Kingfisher, as well as Blue-eared Kingfisher and Rufous-backed Pygmy Kingfisher. Then, at the end of the walk, the guide somehow spotted two Oriental Bay Owls sat deep in cover. A brilliant way to round out a brilliant day!