Explorations of an Ecologist: A Quest Nature Tour To Borneo: Kota Kinabalu, Mount Kinabalu, Sepilok And The Kinabatangan River

Our Quest Nature Tours group assembled in Kota Kinabalu on the evening of October 3 and the following morning we were off. Kota Kinabalu is situated on the coast, but is only a two hour drive from the mountains that form the spine of Borneo and its highest peak, Mount Kinabalu. But before we ventured to the cool highlands, we explored Tanjung Aru beach in Kota Kinabalu to obtain our morning fix of birds. We quickly found our main target, the introduced Blue-naped Parrots, but we also became acquainted with many other lowland bird species including Pied Triller, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Long-tailed Parakeet, Pink-necked Green-Pigeon and Collared Kingfisher. Meanwhile, we spotted a Little Tern offshore and enjoyed flyover Brahminy Kites, as well as several House Crows, a recently introduced species. We also found our first reptiles of the trip - Changeable Lizards and Asian Water Monitors.

Blue-naped Parrot - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Long-tailed Parakeet - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Little Tern - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Ghost Crab (Oxypode sp.) - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Asian Glossy Starling - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Variable Wisp (Agriocnemis femina) - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Asian Water Monitor (Varanus salvator) - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Kinabalu Park was a nice introduction to Borneo for the group. Not only are the temperatures reasonable at these elevations, but bird diversity is a little lower, so it is not quite as overwhelming as it would be by starting in the lowlands. But the species that are present are rather unique; many of them are only found in Borneo's highlands and can't be observed anywhere else in the world. We lucked out with amazing views of 2 out of the 3 "Whitehead's" species: the spiderhunter and trogon (the latter being a new species for me!), though we were unable to turn up any Whitehead's Broadbills. We also found a nice diversity of the other endemic birds of these mountains including Mountain Blackeye and Bornean Leafbird.

Whitehead's Spiderhunter - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Whitehead's Trogon - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Scaly-breasted Munia - Nabalu Viewpoint, Sabah, Malaysia

Yellow-breasted Warbler - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Bornean Leafbird - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Black-sided Flowerpecker - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Bornean Whistling-Thrush - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Golden-naped Barbet - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Mountain Blackeye - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Indigo Flycatcher - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Squirrels reach the peak of their diversity in Borneo and Mount Kinabalu holds a number of interesting species. We had views of one of the tiniest squirrels in the world, the Whitehead's Pygmy Squirrel, along with Bornean Black-banded Squirrels, Bornean Ground Squirrels, Jentink's Squirrels and a Pale Giant Squirrel.

Bornean Mountain Ground-Squirrel (Sundasciurus everetti) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Kinabalu Park is usually foggy and rainy each afternoon. We lucked out with unobscured views of the peak during our first afternoon.

We were successful with several interesting lizard species, including two that I had never seen before, while we also enjoyed various orchid species and a nice diversity of insects. And finally, a very productive night hike turned up numerous frogs and lizards, a vocalizing Mountain Scops-Owl, and tons of fascinating arthropods.

Mocquard's Eyebrow Lizard (Pelturagonia cephalum) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Trilobite Beetle (Platerodrilus sp.) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Odontolabis sommeri - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Unidentified planthopper - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Green Bush Frog (Philautus bunitus) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Rhinocochlis chlorosoma - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

An orchid called Corybas pictus - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing (Trogonoptera brookiana) parasitized by braconid wasps - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus sp.) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

A hammerhead worm called Bipalium choristosperma - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Unidentified millipede (subfamily Paradoxosomatinae) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Lacon constellatus - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Long-tailed Semi-slug (Ibycus rachelae) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Best of all was this massive walkingstick, around 40 cm in length, that is in the genus Phobaeticus. This is the same genus as the largest insect in the world, a stick insect that reaches 60 cm!

Phobaeticus redtenbacheri (tentative ID) - Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

From Kinabalu Park we ventured down the east slope of the mountains with our destination being the town of Sepilok. To break up the drive we spent a few hours at Poring Hot Spring, located in the lower foothills. The canopy walkway here was spectacular and we had our first taste of lowland forest bird species, turning up Checker-throated Woodpecker, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher and Asian Fairy-Bluebird, along with a high diversity of bulbuls and sunbirds. We also found our first treeshrew of the trip while Laura spotted a Great Flying Dragon (Draco maximus) resting in a tree. These arboreal lizards are capable of gliding from tree to tree by spreading out their ribcage to form patagia ("wings"). They specialize on eating various arboreal ant species, and they were the first of many gliding species we would encounter on the tour.

Checker-throated Woodpecker - Poring Hot Spring, Sabah, Malaysia

Ruby-cheeked Sunbird - Poring Hot Spring, Sabah, Malaysia

Sabah Slender Skink (Sphenomorphus sabanus) - Poring Hot Spring, Sabah, Malaysia

Lesser Treeshrew (Tupaia minor) - Poring Hot Spring, Sabah, Malaysia

Great Flying Dragon (Draco maximus) - Poring Hot Spring, Sabah, Malaysia

Butterflies were quite numerous at Poring Hot Spring, providing plenty of subject matter for the photographers in the group. We also visited a nearby property that had several Rafflesia keithii blooming. During most of the year the plant is invisible as it has no leaves, stems or roots; it just has a haustorium which is a filament structure that grows within another plant. However, every so often it will produce a single large flower which blooms for just a few days. Its scent is reminiscent of decaying meat which attracts carrion flies, the pollinator of the flower.

Common Birdwing (Troides helena) - Poring Hot Spring, Sabah, Malaysia

Rafflesia keithii - Poring Hot Spring area, Sabah, Malaysia

We spent just a single night in Sepilok but made the most of our time here. The big draw for many tourists here is the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center which houses and releases orangutans back into the wild. At one point, a wild male orangutan joined the rehabilitated individuals at feeding time - he wasn't about to miss out on a free meal! We also stopped by the Sun Bear Rehabilitation Center, where our group found a new species of flying dragon for the trip, as well as various bird species including White-crowned Shama and Chestnut-breasted Malkoha.

Bartlett's Flying Dragon (Draco cornutus) - Sun Bear Rehabilitation Center, Sabah, Malaysia

The other big draw in Sepilok is the Rainforest Discovery Center which is home to a massive steel canopy walkway that stretches for over 600 m alongside imposing Koompasia trees. An evening and a morning on the canopy walkway provided spectacular views of the mature forest here, while also providing interesting birds like Wallace's Hawk-Eagle, Black and Oriental Pied Hornbills, Red-naped Trogon, Fiery Minivet and more. Unfortunately, the Bornean Bristleheads remained elusive but we would have additional chances at this unique Bornean endemic species later in the trip.

Canopy walkway at the Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

Wallace's Hawk-Eagle - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

Red-naped Trogon - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

During the morning session we lucked out with a small group of North Bornean Gibbons, a species of ape which can move incredibly quickly through the canopy by swinging along the branches. At dusk we watched several Red Giant Flying Squirrels gliding between the impressive dipterocarp trees, some of the largest tree species in the world.

North Bornean Gray Gibbon (Hylobates funereus) - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

Burmese Lascar (Lasippa heliodore) - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

Powdered Baron (Euthalia monina) - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

Dark Posy (Drupadia theda) - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

My mammal highlight from the Rainforest Discovery Center was the point-plant views we had of a Horse-tailed Squirrel chowing down on a nut. This species is a specialist of very large nuts and the numbers have plummeted across Borneo in recent decades for an unknown reason. It was the first time that I had ever seen one; we would see two more later on in the trip!

Horse-tailed Squirrel (Sundasciurus hippurus) - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

We also went on a ranger-led night walk at the Rainforest Discovery Center. Our group was successful in observing three different North Philippine Temple Pitvipers; I found the first one, my co-guide Ben found the second, and we were told about the location of the third. I had only seen this species once before so we considered ourselves lucky to find three!

North Philippine Temple Pitviper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus) - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

Mammals were well-represented on this night walk, especially nocturnal primates. First was a Philippine Slow Loris that was feeding on the sap exuding from the trunk of a tree. Later, our ranger spotted a mother and baby Horsfield's Tarsier. These tiny primates have the largest eye to body ratio out of any mammal. They prefer to eat small insects, but they have been known to snag bats in flight with their long fingers!

Philippine Slow Loris (Nycticebus menagensis) - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

Horsfield's Tarsier (Cephalopachus bancanus) - Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

The next leg of the trip was spent along the Kinabatangan River in a wide swath of riverine forest. The rivers and tributaries provide access to the forest; indeed, all of our travel was done by boat. It felt like a scene out of The Jungle Book as we slowly drifted down the tributaries, watching hornbills fly over and four species of monkeys feeding in the riverside trees. We found many endemic Proboscis Monkeys and spent time observing their group dynamics. A small population of the Endangered Storm’s Stork lives in this area and we lucked out with several sightings of this rare species. The normally scarce White-crowned Hornbills were particularly confiding this year; a highlight was watching a pair duet, followed after by the male attempting to present the female with a freshly picked fig. We found our first Sunda Colugo of the trip on a tree at our lodge. And we discovered many interesting birds such as Lesser Adjutant, Sabah Partridge, Crested Goshawk, Brown Barbet and Blue-rumped Parrot.

male Proboscis Monkey - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

male White-crowned Hornbill - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Watching Proboscis Monkeys at dusk - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Crested Goshawk - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Blue-eared Kingfisher - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Sunda Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Storm's Stork - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

female White-crowned Hornbill - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Lesser Fish-Eagle - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Banded Lipinia (Lipinia vittigera) - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Silvered Leaf Monkeys (Trachypithecus cristatus) (including pale morph) - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) - Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia

While most of our boat excursions were during the early morning or late afternoon, we also spent several hours one night drifting quietly along a small tributary looking for nocturnal wildlife. We had wonderful experiences with Buffy Fish-Owl, Reddish Scops-Owl and Oriental Bay Owl, along with roosting kingfishers, a Large Flying Fox and a number of Saltwater Crocodiles. Kinabatangan is always a highlight of this tour and it did not disappoint this year.