Part 2: Kota Kinabalu to Mount Kinabalu (October 3, 2018)
Part 3: Full day at Mount Kinabalu (October 4, 2018)
Part 4: Mount Kinabalu to Sepilok (October 5, 2018)
Part 5: Sepilok (October 6, 2018)
Part 6: Kinabatangan River (October 6-7, 2018)
Part 7: Kinabatangan River, Gomantong Caves (October 7-8, 2018)
Part 8: Tabin Wildlife Reserve (October 8-9, 2018)
Part 9: Tabin Wildlife Reserve (October 9-10, 2018)
Part 10: Danum Valley (October 11-12, 2018)
Part 11: Danum Valley (October 13-14, 2018)
----------
October 5, 2018
We awoke to another beautiful day in the Sabah highlands. Our group would be leaving the park after breakfast and traveling across Sabah to Sepilok, with a few stops along the way including the Poring Hot Springs. I led one last early morning walk for the keen birders in the group.
 |
| Early morning bird walk - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia |
Several birds were new for the trip including Ochraceous Bulbul, Little Pied Flycatcher, Indigo Flycatcher, and best of all - a pair of Besras. We also spotted a few more squirrels including this one which is a bit of a head scratcher. Perhaps it is an unusually pale Bornean Black-banded Squirrel.
 |
| Unidentified squirrel - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia |
Kuhl's Creek Frogs are abundant within Kinabalu Park and can be found loafing wherever there is shallow water. This one was in a ditch adjacent to the main road.
 |
| Kuhl's Creek Frog - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia |
We enjoyed another superb meal at the Liwagu Restaurant and prepared to hit the road. I photographed this interesting leaf insect near the men's washroom, later figuring out that it is in the genus Phyllium. I put the sighting on iNaturalist and it was identified to species by Royce Cumming, an American entomologist who is currently revising the Phylliidae. He indicated that this is Phyllium brossardi, a species that he, along with several others, described in 2017. This just goes to show how diverse Borneo is. It makes one wonder what else is out there, waiting to be discovered, if a recently described stick insect can be randomly found on a bathroom floor at Kinabalu Park!
 |
| Phyllium brossardi - Liwagu Restaurant, Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia |
 |
| Phyllium brossardi - Liwagu Restaurant, Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia |
Soon our bus was on the road, heading east and into lower elevations. We had been traveling for an hour or so when we pulled into the parking lot at Poring Hot Springs. In 2017 I spent an entire day hiking the waterfall trail which I have detailed in a blog post here. While this was not in the cards this year, we walked a short distance around the hot springs and found a few new species including some Black-headed Bulbuls and a Lesser Treeshrew that showed well for everyone.
 |
| Lesser Treeshrew - Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Malaysia |
Mantid diversity is off the charts in Borneo. We encountered this particularly pretty species on one of the buildings at Poring. Its intricate camouflage did not serve it well on a clear glass window.
 |
| Unidentified mantid - Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Malaysia |
The main reason for our detour to Poring was to search for an impressive flower - Rafflesia keithii. These flowers bloom for only a few days at a time and are pollinated by a particular fly that is attracted to the stench of rotting flesh produced by the Rafflesia flower. Successful pollination is quite rare since both male and female plants need to be open at the same time. Rafflesia do not possess any leaves, roots, or stems. Rather, they act as a holoparasite, spreading their tissue (known as a haustorium) through vines.
 |
| Rafflesia keithii - Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Malaysia |
A Rafflesia had been blooming for several days at one of the local farms, and though it was near the end of its cycle (and no longer smelling like rotting flesh) it was a treat so see!
The rest of our drive was rather uneventful and we passed through endless miles of oil palm plantations. While the natural areas in Sabah are quite impressive, driving across the province gives a powerful reminder of what used to be. At least in Sabah a relatively large percentage of the land area is protected (for now), something which is unfortunately not the case to the south in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan.
 |
| Xyleutes strix - Beluran area, Sabah, Malaysia |
The Sepilok Nature Resort is located within a picturesque setting within the lowlands of Borneo. Situated at the edge of the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, the individual cabins have been built around a beautiful lake. From the hammock strung across the porch it is possible to see hornbills overhead, or perhaps even an Orangutan venturing over from the nearby reserve.
 |
| Lesser Green Leafbird - Sepilok Nature Resort, Sabah, Malaysia |
Following a late afternoon siesta we reassembled and made the short drive over to the Rainforest Discovery Center. Among the highlights here are miles of trails through the protected forest and an impressive canopy walkway.
At dusk, the wildlife show began when a family of Red Giant Flying Squirrels emerged from their cavities. Several glided past, their silhouettes visible in the residual light as we watched from the canopy walkway.
 |
| Red Giant Flying Squirrel - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia |
The highlight of the walk, and possibly the entire trip for me, was this beautiful North Philippine Temple Pitviper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus) that was spotted directly beside the canopy walkway, 30 m above the ground. The viper was sitting motionless in an ambush position, waiting for an unlucky lizard or mammal to come ambling by.
 |
| North Philippine Temple Pitviper - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia |
 |
| Asian Common Toad - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia |
 |
| Unidentified stick insect - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia |
Southeast Asia has some of the world's most spectacular kingfishers. This tiny ball of rainbow fluff is a sleeping Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher..
 |
| Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia |
Our group spotted this Malayan Softshell Turtle (Dogania subplana) in a small creek. While many turtle species worldwide are in peril due to a variety of factors including habitat loss, road mortality and/or human persecution, fortunately for now the Malayan Softshell Turtle has relatively stable population numbers. It can be found throughout some of the islands of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia (and some surrounding areas), preferring small streams, especially in mountainous areas.
 |
| Malayan Softshell Turtle - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia |
The local guide spotted this stunning Hooded Pitta roosting on a branch at eye-level. A pretty spectacular way to finish off the night-hike!
 |
| Hooded Pitta - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia |
----------
Part 2: Kota Kinabalu to Mount Kinabalu (October 3, 2018)
Part 3: Full day at Mount Kinabalu (October 4, 2018)
Part 4: Mount Kinabalu to Sepilok (October 5, 2018)
Part 5: Sepilok (October 6, 2018)
Part 6: Kinabatangan River (October 6-7, 2018)
Part 7: Kinabatangan River, Gomantong Caves (October 7-8, 2018)
Part 8: Tabin Wildlife Reserve (October 8-9, 2018)
Part 9: Tabin Wildlife Reserve (October 9-10, 2018)
Part 10: Danum Valley (October 11-12, 2018)
Part 11: Danum Valley (October 13-14, 2018)
No comments:
Post a Comment