Borneo for Bird's Wildlife & Nature - Day 11 - 13th June 2025

The traffic of Lahad Datu and the croaking and grunting of the various Night Herons and Egrets made sure we were all up on time for our 0600 breakfast in the town and we were soon tucking into fresh mango and hot rotis with spicy dips!  Amazing how you adapt.  There were Nankeen Night Herons flying around and whilst sitting there we also found Scaly Breasted Munias and even a Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker. There was a long ahead and we were soon off to the Silam track once again but this time entered the park and wiggled our way up to as far up Mount Silam as the road would take us and we were soon parked up at the base of the radio masts where trails began. 

Nankeen & Black Crowned Night Herons

Nankeen Night Herons

Not that we walked on then far as the target birds were all around that vicinity and within the first 30 minutes we had found Grey Chested Jungle Flycatchers, Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher (which I saw on Sri Lanka), the newly split Ventriloqual Oriole and a stunning male Scarlet Breasted Flowerpecker.  From here we slowly walked down the road making frequent stops to listen and track down some of the more elusive residents.

Ventriloquial Oriole

Ventriloquial Oriole

Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher

Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher

Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher - a proper shouty little bird

Up above us a family of five Black Eagles soared and the youngsters were very vocal.  They were immaculate. At ground level a Blue Banded Pitta (the bird is mostly red!) sung repeatedly from cover and although it moved around a little bit, it was never even glimpsed but that mournful whistle is now lodged in my brain.  While waiting and watching the rest of us did quite well and found Green Ioras, Yellow-bellied Ioras, Horsfield’s Babblers, Lesser Green Leafbirds and Ashy Tailorbirds but there were another three newbies too with Brown Fulvettas in chatty little gangs, volcanic Scarlet Minivets and three Sunda Scimitar Babblers that unfortunately did not linger long.

Black Eagle

Black Eagle

Black Eagle - juvenile

Black Eagle - juvenile

Brown Fulvetta

A Red Leaf Monkey with a baby watched us cautiously from the trees.  The ones here are a shade paler than the Kinabatangan ones. There were butterflies zooming around and a couple of pitcher’s on the roadside.

Hymenocallis littoralis

Red Leaf Monkey 

Red Leaf Monkey 

having trouble with the plants here!  help!

Robberfly

Phanera kockiana

Saurauia chewlunii

Hypolimnas bolina philippensis 

It was time to retrace to town for lunch before checking into the Danum Valley Office and bidding farewell to the mighty Sham and his bus along with the excellent Nevin.  We swapped over into three off road vehicles and headed back to the Silam Track to begin the 77km trek into the jungle.  I have to admit to dozing on the way in as we were jiggled around to avoid the pot holes at speed.  There was Elephant dung everywhere but of course not producers there of…

At some stage Jane, who was sitting behind me said – ‘oooo – spider!’ The driver glanced and said ‘yes. Big one, is it inside or out?’ I peeked over my left shoulder to seen a monster spread out outside the window but under the plastic air deflector.  Jane was fascinated – I was less so.

Huntsman 

Huntsman - Helen Stedman

We stopped for a wee and I cautiously opened my door.  The damn thing scuttled away from me and sat there like some sort of Alien Facehugger.  I knew what it was and I knew that it was harmless – a Huntsman but like many humans I still have that innate fear which never stops me getting close. By the time I had got back from the loo it had made a dash over the bonnet and was now lurking in the front grill with a few legs poking out!

Eventually we arrived at the Rainforest Lodge and were quite literally greeted by our final missing Hornbill with a female Helmeted briefly perched up way up in a towering tree on the jungle slope before flop-gliding her way across the canopy.  We had not even got our bags to the room.

Six O'clock Cicadas

There was time to unpack and get out for a short walk back up the road which gave us two new Babblers with Puff-backed and Black-throated Wren-B (although the latter was proving tricky to see) and a male Bornean Blue Flycatcher that Jane expertly picked out up in the canopy. As dusk fell the Six O'clock Cicadas started up although they were technically  a little late!  Annie's description of the loud song was spot on!

We were delighted to be joined by Princess Anne

Dinner followed and then a trundle out on a golf buggy which to be fair was frustrating as there were several other tourist buggies out ahead of us and the chances of finding anything were slim. However, as we came back we could hear a Gould’s Frogmouth singing off in the distance and with some patience it came closer but remained out of sight in the trees above us.  Amazingly Clifford, our reserve guide found one at the same time sitting at waist level just a few metres away.  Bins first, cameras second.  A tiny Frogmouth with huge eyes.  It turned away from us which was not surprising and melted back away.  There were other jungle noises with a few frogs, a host of crickets and the first hoots from a Bornean Wood Owl.

Fireflies glinted above us in the trees

Gould’s Frogmouth

Back at the hotel there were House and Flat-tailed Geckos in the lobby while back at my own lodge there was a monster Smith’s Green Eyed Gecko over a foot long guarding the wall above my door so I said good night to him and called it a night.

Common House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus

Flat Tailed House Gecko Hemidactylus pltyurus

Smith's Green-eyed Gecko  - Gekko smithii