Borneo for Bird's Wildlife & Nature - Day 8 - 10th June 2025

A final early morning pre-main breakfast trip back on the Kinabatangan with certain target in Lee’s mind.  It began with a pair of robust Straw-headed Bulbuls duetting in the overhanging mangroves where Red & Black Broadbills were also seen. 

Straw-headed Bulbuls 

Straw-headed Bulbul

We repeated many of the earlier boat trip birds including four of the Hornbills.  The Rhinoceros Hornbills were at last seen in proper daylight and we watched two pairs at close range including one around a huge nest box way up in large waterside tree.  Just how the rangers got it up there I do not know.  White-bellied Woodpecker was heard drumming and Storm’s Storks gave the best views so far with one preening for an age in a tree almost above us.

Storm’s Storks

Storm’s Storks

Storm’s Storks

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rhinoceros Hornbill - female - white eyes

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rhinoceros Hornbill - male - red eyes

Rhinoceros Hornbill - what a bird

A troop of Long-tailed Macaques descended around us to feed on Water Hyacinth tubers and literally threw themselves from the trees into the water around us to get to the patch.  Some of them were stuffing their faces just a metre from us.  It was a fantastic experience. 

Long-tailed Macaques 

While watching the Macaques the Blue-rumped Bee-eaters performed

Blue-rumped Bee-eater

We had yet another go for Bornean Ground Cuckoo with no vocal response whatsoever but a pair of Malaysian Blue Flycatchers did appear in the understorey and put on a show.  We also tried in vain for Bristlehead and a couple of black flying birds peaked hope but were Common Hill Mynas but they were also a new bird for us so all was good.  Dollarbirds perched up in the morning sunshine and Cinnamon-headed Green Pigeons were likewise sunning at the tops.

Cinnamon-headed Green Pigeon

Malaysian Blue Flycatcher

Oriental Dollarbird

The magnificent Idea stolli virgo power gliding across the whole width of the river

Dillenia suffruticosa 

Oriental Darter

Prevost's Uber Sexy Squirrel

Orthetrum testaceum

All too soon we had to be back for breakfast and then back on the boat for the five minute journey back to the mainland to rejoin Sham and the bus.

It did not seem to take too long to get to the Gomantong Caves road and we stepped once more in the hot and sultry air for a walk along the trails to the famous Swiftlet and Bat amphitheatre. There were Butterflies and Dragonflies everywhere.  Most were simply stunning.

Junonia atlites atlites 

Lamproptera curius curius 

Vindula dejone dajakorum 

Vindula dejone dajakorum 

Neurothemis fluctuans 

Orthetrum testaceum 

Rhyothemis phyllis -  clouds of these Flutterers

Rhyothemis phyllis 

The board walk through the damp woods was immediately productive with a juvenile Western Hooded Pitta that hopped up on the handrail and then posed just long enough for scope views and while watching it a Maroon-breasted Philentoma and I have to admit to having not even heard of the family! 

Western Hooded Pitta - Mr Lee

Maroon-breasted Philentoma

Crashing branches not far from us in the trees revealed the next somewhat hairy treat – a female Orang-Utan with a three or four year old infant.  The views were tantalising to start with but after a while all got good views of our ginger friends.  Seeing wild Orangutans in Borneo is never a guaranteed thing so we were over the moon to find our own.  They were automatically Jane’s ‘Bird Of The Day…’.

Forgive me but they were my first Orang-Utans 

It was not much further to the actual caves and we were the only people there.  They are vast, towering limestone Cathedrals hollowed out from all directions and the system is more like a huge arch with a vast opening at either end.  

The dark mass in the middle is just bats...

Unfortunately the bi-annual Edible-nest harvesting had taken place the week before and you could see thousands of little white scars affixed to the sheerest walls.  There were some of the Edible-nest Swiftlets still around and a couple were beginning to start all over again.  Three other species were actively nesting with Mossy-nest and Black-nest on separate walls and a cleft held hundreds of twittering Plume-toed.  

Black-nest Swiftlets - note how the nest narrows and tapers up to where the bird's head sits

Edible-nest Swiftlet nest were a week before

Mossy-nest Swiftlet

Plume-toed Swiftlets

Swiftlets were zooming all around and a particularly scabby and very tame Crested Serpent Eagle was standing guard at the entrance and dropped down to pick up a bird floundering on the cave floor. 

Crested Serpent Eagle

This was probably a preferable death to being ripped to pieces by the chunky Cave Crabs, frankly terrifying Cave Centipedes and a zillion Cockroaches scavenging across the vast mountain of Swiftlet and Bat detritus raining down from above.  I wore my hat, covered my mouth and tucked my trousers in my socks!  The smell was not overly bad just rather overpowering.  You did not touch a handrail and tried to watch where you put your feet on the boardwalk. 

Cave Centipede

Cave Cockroaches

Cave Crab

And talking of the Wrinkle-lipped Free-tailed Bats, there were large aggregations of them on the upper walls but it was not until Sham shone his wonder torch to the highest point of the cavernous ceiling that you could discern a monstrous black mass that seemed to undulate with the beam.  I could only imagine just how many were up there.

Wrinkle-lipped Free-tailed Bat

Back in the sunshine we watch the dragonflies again before retracing our steps through the boggy trees.   The Orangutans had moved on but several White-crowned Shamas were flitting around and more often then not all you could see were the white tail sides and snowy cap. 

White-crowned Shama

White-crowned Shama - love that tail!

Neurothemis fluctuans 

Angie spotted a little warm coloured bird under a log and we at first thought that it was a mouse before it resolved itself into a Black-capped Babbler.  To me it most resembled in actions and gait, one of the New World Vermivora creeping around almost pipit-like on the forest floor.  It was totally unconcerned with us and crossed under the boardwalk before perching up just a few feet away.

Black-capped Babbler

Without moving at all we managed to pick up several more new birds with Buff-necked Woodpecker, a hefty Red-throated Barbet, a shiny blue Verditer Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Flowerpeckers and stumpy little Horsfield’s Babblers.

Buff-necked Woodpecker

All too soon it was time to move on although I did try and sneak some more dragonfly time in and found a small Water Monitor.

Oh and a Javen Myna pic from lunch

Sepilok called and it was not really that far till we arrived at the Jungle Resort and before too long the crew had reassembled for a walk around the forested grounds beyond.  It was a somewhat undulating and sweaty circuit and Woodpeckers held sway with three new species.   We made up for only hearing White-bellied earlier in the day (it seems like days ago!) and spent some quality time with a pair as they poked around the trees.  The female was a bit raggedy but the male was immaculate.

White-bellied Woodpecker - female

White-bellied Woodpecker - female

White-bellied Woodpecker - male

White-bellied Woodpecker - male

Two similar looking species followed with Crimson-winged and Banded – both species being decked out in lemon, olive and red like the Kinabalu Checker-throated Woodpecker. All three were scoped for an age. 

Crimson-winged Woodpecker

Banded Woodpecker

A Violet Cuckoo was singing and Lee picked it up quite high up.  Another delightful dinky Cuckoo and properly purple!  Shortly after this we found a comical looking Black & Yellow Broadbill but more of those tomorrow…

Violet Cuckoo 

Antlion sp

Back at the rooms there was time to slightly freshen up and then we were straight back out and on the bus to the Sepilok Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) for an organised night walk but we were puzzled by the early arrival – the sun having not actually set yet.  There were hoards of people too and it soon became clear that we were here for some other sort of evening spectacle – Giant Red Flying Squirrels that come out of their roost boxes and dusk and glide out across the jungle.

We were way up on a canopy walk (non-bouncy) and the trees towered above us but to be honest in the late light we did not really have any idea just how high we were above the forest floor.  The boxes were pointed out so that we could keep an eye on them and then suddenly there was a hubbub from the crowd to the right and a large fluffy beast scampered up the tree.  In fact there were two and you could see their diagnostic black tipped tails dangling over branches.  Both were gaining height and before too long one leapt and spread that amazing sail of flappy skin between its limbs and power glided all the way across the clearing to the tree next to us.  It was spot lighted most of the way and somehow I managed to follows it in the camera most of the way but in doing so missed the second one following along behind.

Giant Red Flying Squirrels

Giant Red Flying Squirrel

Giant Red Flying Squirrels

Both posed for us for a while before climbing once again into the leafy canopy to take the next leap of faith into the darkening jungle.  Almost everyone else melted away at this point but we ambled on and Sham quickly found us another Bornean Colugo peering down at us with that very strange face.  A plainer animal than the one at Poring Springs but Nevin said that they are incredibly variable.  Unlike the Squirrels we did not see this one fly.

Bornean Colugo

Bornean Colugo - odd in every way

The only frog we saw on the entire trip...

Lee asked us to wait at a junction while one of the local guides went to work and before too long we were ushered into the undergrowth where somehow he had found a tiny little Tarsier out looking for his insectoidal dinner.  This tiny primate is all head and eyes and they do not reflect light so just how the guide found him I do not know. 

Tarsier - a few pics, I know but I may never see another one

We hunkered down no more than six feet away and watched him.  The lights and our presence did not seem to phase him in the least. What a treat.  Once we had had our fill we left him to his nocturnal foraging and carried on along the track finding our second Slow Loris licking sap from a trunk and an immature Tiger Tarantula waiting at the mouth of his burrow.

Slow Loris

Slow Loris

Tiger Tarantula

And a puzzling chunky rodent. Is it just a Brown Rat?

You may not have been able to see our smiles in the dark when we returned to the bus but they were all there.  We would return the following morning to explore the reserve in daylight.