Borneo; Day 16 - Danum Valley

  Our final morning in Danum! We had a 90-minute walk along the road trying to pick up some last species, which landed us Grey-cheeked Bulbul, but otherwise it was similar species to the previous evening. In the end we had enjoyed our time here a lot, although the birding was slower than we anticipated and the cost was still astronomical! We boarded the vehicle back to Lahad Datu, and at 09:30 we left the Danum Valley Field Station. 

  We reached Lahad Datu at 11:30, a little earlier than anticipated. This was great, as we had a long days drive ahead of us. On paper it was almost seven hours, but with the trucks and the state of the road we anticipated it to be longer. Fortunately it did not take us that long, thanks to fewer trucks than expected and some frankly daft driving from me! It was nice to drive past some of our previous stops on the trip, including seeing Mount Kinabalu again. We stopped at a restaurant near the mountain, where I thought I might have heard the Whitehead’s Spiderhunter, but it did not come back to playback. We finally arrived in the town of Kota Belud at 19:00, but having already eaten and completed necessary errands, meaning that we could head straight to the hotel and crash! 

-Little Spiderhunter

-Brown Barbet

-Malaysian Pied Fantail

-Black-headed Bulbul

-Spectacled Bulbul

-Malaysian Crested Fireback

Borneo; Day 15 - Danum Valley

   For our second full day, we started again on the grid trail. There was a little more activity than there had been the previous afternoon, but it was still quite a slog. I added one more new species before we returned for breakfast, with a Horsefield’s Babbler, although it did not show especially well and it scuttled away before more pictures could be taken. 

  After breakfast we headed back to the area we had birded the previous morning. This was quite a productive session and we encountered several interesting species. On the forest edges we added another Bornean endemic with Cream-eyed Bulbul, and once inside the forest there were several new species for me which we encountered. Scale-crowned Babbler and Rufous-crowned Babbler were both nice to see and showed well. Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker and Rufous-winged Philentoma were also good to see and we had excellent but brief views of a Black-crowned Pitta sitting on the path before heading to cover. We landed another key target with Bornean Blue Flycatcher, but it did not show well despite singing relentlessly in response to playback. In the end we had to leave it with a few really poor views, with the song confirming the identification. 

  In the afternoon, under the gloom of an impending thunderstorm that somehow never arrived, we birded along the main road. The more open habitat gave us better chances of finding canopy birds, and so it transpired as we managed to find a group of six Bornean Bristleheads that lingered for some time. Additionally finally found our first lowland Trogon species with Diard’s Trogon, a very handsome male that seemed to prefer lingering in the gloom rather than sitting in the open. We finally found the endemic Yellow-rumped Flowerpiercer, probably the most silly endemic we had not yet found, and I also had a new species with Chestnut-rumped Babbler. 

  For our final night we once again decided to do the night drive offered by the site. Although it never reached the highs of the previous evening's effort, we had a great time. Both Malay Civet and Small-toothed Palm Civet offered very intimate encounters, with the latter containing a family of adult and two offspring. We had distant canopy views of both Giant Red Flying Squirrel and Thomas’s Flying Squirrel, the latter being another new mammal for us. Brown Wood Owl was once again the bird of the evening, although a sleeping pair of Malaysian Blue Flycatchers were also very much enjoyed.

-Diard's Trogon

-Bornean Bristlehead

-Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker

-Chestnut-rumped Babbler

-Rufous-winged Philentoma

-Purple-naped Spiderhunter

-Rufous-crowned Babbler

-Scaly-crowned Babbler

-Cream-eyed Bulbul

-Brown Wood Owl

-Malaysian Blue Flycatcher

-Maroon Leaf Monkey

-Bornean Small-toothed Palm Civet

-Malay Civet

-Red Giant Flying Squirrel

-Thomas' Flying Squirrel

Borneo; Day 14 - Danum Valley

   Jonathan and I set off into the forest at 06:00 for a short walk before breakfast. This turned into quite a productive venture. Although we were not searching for it specifically, it was great to see a Blue-headed Pitta jumping around the understorey, with its neon blue head giving it away. Additionally we saw Black-throated Wren-Babbler again, this time much better than the previous day, and had nice views of Striped Wren-Babbler. 

  After breakfast, we all went out to try and track down the Great Argus pheasant. Sadly, despite hearing the bird close many times, we were never able to see anything on it, and the bird did not seem to move. It is undeniable that the birding was very slow during this walk, with only a handful of species seen, albeit a selection of new ones for me; Whiskered Treeswift, Maroon-breasted Philentoma and Purple-naped Spiderhunter. We also ended the walk with a nice Bornean Green Pit Viper. 

  After lunch we birded a bit on the Grid Trail across the river. There had been a short rainshower but it had passed and we were ready to go. Sadly, the afternoon birding was extremely slow, and we saw very little in the trail. A few flyover Hornbills were about the best that we could muster, with Wreathed Hornbill and Rhinoceros Hornbill. A Helmeted Hornbill was calling close but never came. It was actually a very frustrating afternoon. Fortunately, at the end of our walk, we stopped on the bridge over the river and here I had two new species, both Barbets that I had previously not really searched for; Golden-whiskered Barbet and Black-cheeked Barbet. The highlight however, was a Whiskered Treeswift that came and perched on the bridge about a half a meter away from me, giving incredible views. 

  At night we did a night walk as opposed to a night drive. This meant we spent more time within the confines of the forest, where we found several sleeping birds. Most of these were common species, although a male Bornean Crested Fireback was nice, as well as a really fluffed-up Hairy-backed Bulbul. The mammals were great once again however. There was a very obscured Greater Mouse Deer in the understorey, which we got terrible views of. As we got back to the field centre we spotted a Malay Civet on the lawn, but it scuttled away before we could get some nice photos. However, as we walked away I scanned behind with the thermal and spotted that it had returned. However, once we got the lights on it we realized that it was in fact a different civet, a Philippine Palm Civet, which was new for us! 

-Danum Valley

-Whiskered Treeswift

-Maroon-breasted Philentoma

-Purple-naped Spiderhunter

-Black-throated Wren-Babbler

-Striped Wren-Babbler

-Blue-headed Pitta

-Hairy-backed Bulbul

-Least Pygmy Squirrel

-Sambar

-Philippine Palm Civet

-Greater Oriental Chevrotain

-Bornean Keeled Pit Viper

Borneo; Day 13 - Lahad Datu & Danum Valley

   Although the plan for the day was to travel to the famous Danum Valley, we had a bit of time before breakfast, so I took the opportunity to visit a couple of places around Lahad Datu to try and find the Nankeen Night Heron. My first location, a channel flanked by mangroves but opposite a harbour was incredibly busy and with the high tide, I decided not worth the effort. So I travelled to the other side of town, where there is a heronry. Here I was able to find an adult Nankeen Night Heron on a nest, as well as a juvenile. However, the area felt a little sketchy, so I did not linger too long once was mission was completed.

  At the hotel we packed and had breakfast, before heading to the offices of Danum Valley. We arrived a little early, but since we were the only clients going to the field station today we were able to set off at 09:00, as opposed to the originally scheduled 09:30. It took two-and-a-half hours to reach the field centre, and once there we had a good few hours to unwind before our first activity in the afternoon at 15:30. The only thing we saw of any note was a rare Asian Forest Tortoise, sat in the road as we headed to Danum. 

  In the afternoon we met our guide Jonathan and we set off into the forest on our first trail. The target for the afternoon was Blue-headed Pitta, although we did not find it. Instead we found two other great targets, the first being the iconic Bornean Bristlehead, which gave us the run around in the canopy before we got good views. The second gave us an even bigger run around; the Black-throated Wren-Babbler. Despite singing seemingly right in front of us, even with the thermal it remained out of sight, until a great eyes-only view of the bird as it emerged in front of us, before it once again flew away.

   The backup cast was not bad either, with a new mammal for us with Maroon Leaf Monkey, and a smattering of other new birds. First was White-crowned Forktail, the local subspecies of which is in line for a split. We then added Thick-billed Spiderhunter, Olive-backed Woodpecker and Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler. On our way back to the lodge we added Buff-necked Woodpecker and had nice views of the White-fronted Falconet again. 

  At night we did a night drive along the forest road. This involved getting into the back of a wagon, which had been fitted with seats, and then driving for about 90 minutes. The spotlighting was done by a member of the site team, although we positioned ourselves right behind the spotter, from where I was able to use the thermal to see things.

  And it was a great success. We enjoyed two fantastic mammals, with a Malay Civet running in the road, but also a surprise Sunda Leopard Cat! For the cat, we had already stopped to look at some sleeping Black-and-red Broadbills, when it walked across the road in front of us. Additionally, we saw Sambar deer, as well as a Brown Wood Owl and a sleeping Malay Fireback.

-Nankeen Night Heron

-Bornean Bristlehead

-Olive-backed Woodpecker

-Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler

-Brown Wood Owl

-Sunda Leopard Cat

-Malay Civet

-Maroon Leaf Monkey

-Asian Forest Tortoise

-Harlequin Tree Frog