Blue Eyed Birder: Borneo for Bird's Wildlife & Nature - Day 12

It is not that the last few weeks has erased the memories of the Danum days. It is more that the what we saw on what walk sequence is slightly squiffy! We walked up and down the entrance road three times and despite trekking the same route in the sweltering heat and almost 100% humidity, every time we went out we saw a new suite of species. It was exhausting but brilliant.

I was still having foggy camera problems since the drowning of day one and the humidity was not helping. My day started with a pre-breakfast walk around the chalets in the dark listening to the first (still unknown birds) welcome in the dawn and I heard a rustling and sniffling in the bushes and suddenly there was a curious black and white skunky-like creature with a fat nose and punky hair do. I am rarely completely bamboozled but this beast threw me and I had to ask Lee what it was when we had breakfast. The answer was Malay Stink Badger!

We started down at the river where a Lesser Fish Eagle all too quickly flew low up river. There were Yellow-bellied Prinias, Dusky Munias, Stork-billed Kingfishers and White-crowned Shamas but no sign of the hoped for Bristleheads and Blue-banded Kingfishers. Pacific Swallows were coming down to collected mud and in the gardens we found Bold-striped Tit-Babblers and Rufous-tailed Tailorbirds before heading up the track.

A side track took us towards the river where we could hear the ‘song’ of Blue-headed Pitta. Like the Blue-banded we could hear it but not see the bugger but unlike Silam we did find this black, blue, white and vivid chestnut beast hopping through the leaf litter. Babblers were a bit of a theme of the day with good views of some like Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler, Horsfield’s, Grey Hooded and the delightfully engaging Striped Wren-B. Black-throated Wren-B was as usual more difficult to connect with.

Another groovy Lantern Fly

Of course there were Bulbuls with a selection of brown ones as expected with Red-eyed, Charlotte’s, Grey-cheeked and Spectacled along with Hairy-backed (who comes up with these names!) and the greeny Finsch’s which was new.

Charlotte’s Bulbul

A few flocks were found but were difficult to pin down but we found Scarlet Minivets, Greater and Lesser Green Leafbirds, Yellow-rumped Flowerpeckers, Bornean Blue Flycatchers, Ventriloquial Orioles, Raffle’s Malkohas, Green Ioras and Verditer Flycatchers. Red-throated Sunbird was a new one for us and we could hear the Bornean Gibbons off in the forest and to our delight a family party were watched dangling around on Stretch Armstrong limbs. They started singing and the moment was complete.

Raffle’s Malkoha

Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker

Bornean Gibbon

Bornean Gibbons - volume up

Bristlehead was obviously still a key target and I can’t fault Lee’s determination but we actually heard one without the tape and watched a group of five come singly across the river. They always remained high in the canopy but that red head and thighs could be seen at great range and looked great in the scope. The loosely stayed with us for about and hour and occasionally would be picked up in the canopy we were checking. We had been caught out a couple of times by Common Hill Mynas flying over so it was good to see this iconic bird at last.

Bornean Bristlehead

Bornean Bristlehead - Mr Lee

Little and Bornean Spiderhunters were seen moving between trackside ginger blooms but were always on the move but at least the White-crowned Forktails put on a proper show and were, for me at least, one of the stand out birds of the trip. I am not quite sure what it is about them but they combine classic black and white plumage with stripes that go the wrong way, a flappy crest, crazy tail and stop-start Ringed Plover gait.

White-crowned Forktail

Blue Bronze-back

Melastoma malabathricum

Ginger sp

This looks a bit like Pepper it could even be galls!

Malaysian Pied Fantails chased across the path and at lunchtime I saw a Spotted Fantail from my lodge which became the only bird of the trip not experienced by anyone else on the trip. One of the three walks took us up onto the canopy walkway which was very impressive although it was a bit boingy for some. We could hear a Scarlet Rumped Trogon and back down the bottom we quickly found him and watched him glow while a Diard’s Trogon sung above the path where a group of Red-leaf Monkeys crossed over.

Scarlet Rumped Trogon

The track sides were full of Butterflies and a few Dragons and there were once again super-sized Pill and Flat Millipedes.

Ancistroides nigrita othonia

Athyma pravara pravar

Caleta elna elvira

Cethosia hypsea hypsea

Curetis sperthis sperthis - it has orange tips on the upperwings

Lamproptera curius curius

Symbrenthia lilaea marius

Flat Millipede

Pill Millipede

Pill Millipede - not sure if these are two species

Back home I would have opened this leaf roll to have a look... not here

A Crested Honey-Buzzard drifted over as well as Swiftlets and Spinetails and a monster Cicada was found on a trunk about 80 feet up. It must have been over six inches long and had been there a while sucking sap as there was a trail of effluent stretching out behind it down the trunk for at least half the height! The large furry golden Ants with abdomen horns were cool but I was wary of putting a hand on one!

King Cicada

A funky Buprestid

Stick Insect

Praying Mantis

Funky ant

Picture-wing fly

Bugs...

I think it was towards the end of the third walk that I heard a completely different song from eth canopy. Lee got excited and told us to stay on the path while he went in to search for the Bornean Banded Kingfisher. It sung now and then but we could see no movement at all but Lee’s persistence saw him gesture us to go off trail and into the trees, being mindful of the Leech possibilities.

Bornean Banded Kingfisher - ridiculous bill

Bornean Banded Kingfisher.

To see this stunning Kingfisher required a jaunty angle through the telescope – a periscope would have been better! To see him with bins required assuming a position somewhat akin to a disabled frog. I even tried a couple of pics but Lee got much better through his scope.

Bornean Banded Kingfisher - Mr Lee

As dusk fell we had a look for the Bornean Crested Firebacks by the staff quarters again as the Six o’clock Cicadas kicked off and Sabah Partridges could be heard deep in the woods.

Sambar were feeding down by the river

After another fine dinner (OMG – the sealed glass dessert room was a joy for a multitude of reasons) we ambled out for a short walk around the grounds to try to see the Bornean Wood Owl and it only took a few minutes to find one perched up above the track. It soon took wing and glided silently into the forest that was full of insect sound. Back at my room my trap had attracted a few beasts.