Explorations of an Ecologist: Borneo - Part 5 (Day 3 on Mount Kinabalu)

Introduction
October 3, 2017 - Day 1 on Mount Kinabalu
October 4, 2017 - Day 2 on Mount Kinabalu
October 5, 2017 - Poring Hot Springs
October 6, 2017 - Day 3 on Mount Kinabalu
October 7, 2017 - Day 1 at the Crocker Range
October 8, 2017 - Day 2 at the Crocker Range, Kota Kinabalu
October 9, 2017 - Klias Peatswamp Forest Reserve
October 10, 2017 - Arrival at Sepilok
October 11, 2017 - Sepilok
October 12, 2017 - Sepilok, travel up the Kinabatangan River
October 13, 2017 - Kinabatangan River
October 14, 2017 - Gomantong Caves, travel to the Danum Valley
October 15, 2017 - Day 1 at the Danum Valley
October 15, 2017 - Night Hiking in the Danum Valley

October 16, 2017 - Day 2 at the Danum Valley

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October 6, 2017

I returned to Kinabalu Park near park headquarters for the final time, with a much reduced "hit list" compared to previous days. Among the remaining endemics found here, I had not crossed paths with Whitehead's Trogon (E), Mountain Wren-Babbler (E), Bare-headed Laughingthrush (E) and Everett's Thrush (E). Also missing from my list were the species found only in the upper elevations that I was not allowed to access, but they would have to wait until my next trip to Borneo I guess.

I began my day by slowly driving up the main road just before dawn, hoping for Everett's Thrush (E), but once again they remained elusive. Several birds sitting on the road did give me a brief jolt, but in each case they were either Bornean Whistling-Thrush (E), Eyebrowed Jungle-Flycatcher (E) or Sunda Laughingthrush - great birds no doubt, but not the target species.

I birded near Timpohon Gate once again as it had been very birdy here on my last visit. Activity was pretty good on this day and I enjoyed sorting through the birds. A Little Pied Flycatcher hunted for insects from a barbed wire fence, providing my first look at this common montane species.

Little Pied Flycatcher - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

The refuse bins near Timpohon Gate are a great way to obtain excellent looks at some of the local birds and mammals. Several Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrels and a gaggle of Sunda Laughingthrushes were making good use of one of the bins early in the morning.

Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Sunda Laughingthrush - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

I decided to walk the Bukit Ular trail once more as it had been quite good two days earlier. However my walk down to the trail entrance was interrupted when a brilliant green and chestnut bird alighted in a tree nearby, just long enough for me to obtain one distant photo of the Bornean Green Magpie (E). A Little Cuckoo-Dove and an Indigo Flycatcher also had their likenesses imprinted on my memory card, and while better than the shots of the green magpie, their photos were not much more than record shots.

Bornean Green Magpie - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Little Cuckoo-Dove - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Indigo Flycatcher - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

The Bukit Ular trail was very good and I managed to take some sufficient recordings of a number of species. The "best" bird was a vocal Mountain Serpent Eagle, calling somewhere off trail. It took a second before it clicked what species was making the vocalizations. Many laughingthrushes were also present in a large group, with about equal numbers of both Sunda Laughingthrush and Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush (E). The Bare-headed Laughingthrush (E) was playing hard to get!

Bukit Ular trail - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Realizing I still needed to return my room key and with the checkout time quickly approaching I briefly vacated the park for 25 minutes to take care of it as well as to settle up my bill. Upon my return to Kinabalu Park, heavy fog and light rain had enveloped the mountain.The conditions can change so rapidly here.

I walked the Silau-Silau trail, caught up with the Mempening Trail and followed that up to the road, though no Whitehead's Trogons (E), Mountain Wren-Babblers (E) or Bare-headed Laughingthrushes (E) appeared. I was feeling just a little discouraged, especially since I kind of expected to eventually see the latter two species, but you can not get them all. Besides, I had seen so much in the park already and I would be returning to Borneo in 2018 anyways.

I reached the main road after a few kilometers of mostly uphill walking, just as the rain began to fall once again. A small party of birds in the undergrowth beside the road grabbed my attention. I was pretty thrilled when the first bird I got on with my binoculars was a Mountain Wren-Babbler (E)! While supposedly common on the mountain, it took until my last few hours before I finally connected with one. The little flock contained a half dozen of the Mountain Wren-Babblers (E) along with several Temminck's Babblers, another new species for me.

I took shelter under one of the pavilions at a trail head, taking the time during the heavy rain to type up notes on my phone. I find that writing up trip reports accurately when I get home is quite difficult as the days seem to blend into each other, so I made a conscious effort on this trip to type up a journal on my phone for each day. After about an hour the rain had diminished enough for me to hit the trails again and my notes were all caught up, so I decided to take the long portion of the Mempening Trail down the mountain, a new section for me. For the whole walk it was foggy with intermittent rain and I did not see a whole lot, avian or otherwise. I did run into a couple from Belgium who were on a herping trip, and they regaled me of stories of a Malcolm's Pit Viper they had found the previous evening. Feeling a twang of jealousy I made a mental note that on future tips to Mount Kinabalu I will have to do some serious nocturnal herping, even if it means I have to sleep in and miss the best hours of the day for birding. The trials and tribulations of a short trip, where it is impossible to search for everything...

view of Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

As I finished up on the Mempening Trail and began heading back to my car I was thinking about how successful of a time I had enjoyed on the mountain. While I did not see everything I hoped to, I at least made a big dent in my "hit list", and missing a few endemics here and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Like I said, it gives me motivation on my next trip here. When approximately 200 m from the car I encountered one more big flock during a short reprieve from the rain, representing the first birds that I had seen in about an hour. The flock was made up mostly of laughingthrushes and Bornean Treepies (E), with small numbers of Bornean Green Magpies (E) and a pair of Banded Woodpeckers. I almost did not believe my eyes when two Bare-headed Laughingthrushes (E) materialized out of the fog among the two common laughingthrush species!

I had almost given up on the idea of finding Bare-headed Laughingthrush (E) flocking with the other two species. Some of the trip reports I had read mentioned seeing Bare-headed in small groups on their own and I had already scanned through several big mixed flocks of laughingthrushes without any success. I have to say it was pretty satisfying to watch the two Bare-headed Laughingthrushes (E) as they moved with the mixed flock. I was surprised how obvious the bright red bill was, while the bare head and yellow coloration on the face was not easy to see unless the bird moved to a branch that was not back-lit. While they were difficult to stay on, I had numerous sightings of the pair before the flock continued on, and I think I had a big grin on my face the entire time. I did not even try for my camera safely protected from the elements in my backpack since there was no guarantee I would be successful given the quick movements of the birds, the backlit conditions, and the amount of branches getting in the way. I just enjoyed the views and tried to stay on the birds as long as I could. It was a satisfying way to finish my time on Mount Kinabalu!

Oriental Magpie-Robin - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Oriental Magpie-Robin is a common denizen of open areas, towns and farmland. One individual was present near park headquarters, providing great views each day as I exited the park.

Oriental Magpie-Robin - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

I drove out of the entrance gate to Kinabalu Park for the last time, hitting the road for a two hour drive that would take me to parts of the Crocker Range to the south. I was hoping to dig up a variety of montane species that are difficult in Kinabalu Park, while also exploring a new area. The drive itself was fairly uneventful, though the frequent potholes kept me alert at the wheel. It seems that roads only get paved in 200 m stretches here before giving way to gravel.

I even managed to see a few new birds on the drive, including Zebra Dove, Philippine Cuckoo-Dove, and a candidate for the bird with the greatest name, a few White-breasted Woodswallows. Shortly after dusk I pulled into the only place offering accommodations in the area, the Gunung Alab Resort, consisting of a few very basic rooms above a busy restaurant and bar. Luckily there was one room available so I paid for two nights and settled in. I attempted to have a shower and managed to get moderately clean, despite the fact that only ice-cold water trickled out of the tap at a rate of perhaps one liter per minute. That evening I was pretty happy with my investment of earplugs as there was a rocking party going on at the bar downstairs. Perhaps in another life I would have been down there with everyone else but birds beckoned, as did the impending 5 AM alarm, so I drifted off to sleep instead.

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October 16, 2017 - Day 2 at the Danum Valley

Wednesday, 24 January 2018

Borneo - Part 5 (Day 3 on Mount Kinabalu)

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