Explorations of an Ecologist: Borneo 2018: Part 3 (Full day at Mount Kinabalu)

Part 1: Fly to Borneo, Kota Kinabalu (September 30 - October 2, 2018)
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)

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October 4, 2018

Our first morning at Kinabalu Park dawned calm and sunny. Given the unusually clear conditions Mount Kinabalu could be seen looming over us and the vocalizations of White-throated Fantails, Yellow-breasted Warblers and the endemic Bornean Whistlers rang out from all around.

Mount Kinabalu, as seen from the Hill Lodge, Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

We began our day with a drive up to the Timpohon Gate which is the closest to the summit that one can reach, short of signing up for a guided tour to the summit which includes an overnight stay. The birding at the Timpohon Gate can be excellent during mornings with calm weather and good visibility. Right away we began seeing great birds including endemic Bornean Swiftlets, several Ashy Drongos, Bornean Treepies, Little Cuckoo-Doves, and both endemic partridges - Red-breasted and Crimson-headed (heard only).

Ashy Drongo - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Squirrels are a major component of forest ecology at Mount Kinabalu and dozens of species are represented. It is said that Borneo is the epicenter of squirrel diversity on Earth. This Bornean Black-banded Squirrel was a new one for me and we enjoyed great views of it just down the road from the Timpohon Gate. Photos, however, were trickier.

Bornean Black-banded Squirrel - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

A single Black-sided Flowerpiercer provided excellent views for most of the group as well.

Black-sided Flowerpiercer - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Unfortunately, a few of my main target birds up here including the "Whitehead's trio", remained out of sight. Last year there was a fruiting Ficus that was being attended by Fruithunters and Whitehead's Broadbills, but despite our best efforts we could not find any fruiting trees this year.

We enjoyed an excellent breakfast at the Liwagu Restaurant and then hit the trails to see what we could find. Surrounded by oaks and chestnuts draped in lush mosses and epiphytes, we marveled at the orchids and other plants we came across while listening intently for the calls of various birds. A Pale Giant Squirrel was spotted at one point and it was content to peer down at the onlookers from a branch midway up a tree.

Pale Giant Squirrel - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Ben pointed out this tiny orchid, known as the Delicate Podochilus (Podochilus tenuis). It is one of the smallest orchids in the world.

Delicate Podochilus (Podochilus tenuis) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Black-tipped Archdukes are one of the common butterflies on the mountain. One particular individual had an affinity for the tilly hat of one of the travelers.

Black-tipped Archduke - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

The birding was slow for parts of the hike but we stumbled upon a nice mixed flock near the end of the trail. Sifting through these mixed flocks can often turn up gems like Whitehead's Spiderhunter so I made sure to check every bird thoroughly. While a spiderhunter did not materialize this time, we saw our first Golden-naped Barbet along with Blyth's Shrike-Babblers, Bornean Whistlers, Hair-crested Drongos, a Mountain Leaf-Warbler and several others. I was thrilled to spot a Velvet-fronted Nuthatch in the flock, a species I missed during my 2017 trip.

Golden-naped Barbet - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

One of the travelers spotted this amazing insect; a type of trilobite beetle known as Platerodrilus paradoxus. These beetles are so named due to the resemblance of the larvae to trilobites, an extinct group of marine arthropods. Females will retain the larval form as adults.

Platerodrilus paradoxus - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

That afternoon we explored the botanical gardens and Ben pointed out the diverse gingers, pitcher plants and orchids; some planted in the garden, others occurring naturally. We had brief views of a White-browed Shortwing here along with a nice mixed laughingthrush flock containing the two common species. On the way back to the lodge we spotted this orbweaver known as Argiope reinwardti.

Argiope reinwardti - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

It had been a pretty full day at this point and so a couple of hours of free time were allotted. Instead of napping I decided to walk back up the main park road towards some of the trails. One of the few Mount Kinabalu endemics I have not seen before is the Whitehead's Trogon, a beautiful and rare species found only in dark, damp stream valleys in this mountain range. The closest that I came was hearing a distant bird that may have been a trogon, but I was unable to confirm given how faint the call was.

I enjoyed the walk immensely, despite striking out on the trogon and contending with a wall of fog that moved in late in the afternoon. Highlights included two of the endemics that we had not seen at this point: Bornean Green Magpies and a Bornean Stubtail.

Bornean Green Magpie - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

An interesting call alerted me to this Mountain Treeshrew sitting still near the roadside. Treeshrews are a fascinating group that are not closely related to shrews at all, and are in fact nearer to rodents and lagomorphs (rabbits, hares and pikas), and more distantly, the colugo and primates. The Mountain Treeshrew is the famous species that has a mutualistic relationship with several species of pitcher plants, as investigated by David Attenborough and the BBC crew (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwL7K_loRjM).

Mountain Treeshrew - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

That evening I led a night hike for a few keen travelers. We stayed out for an hour or so and had a nice variety of sightings including more Balu Bow-fingered Geckos and several tree frogs. Unfortunately vipers remained unseen, yet again. Maybe next year!