Borneo Bird Festival

Recently I attended the 3rd Borneo Bird Festival 2011 held at Sepilok near Sandakan, Sabah.

The Sabah Tourism Society invited myself and other speakers from the USA, UK, Hong Kong, Philippines, India, and Malaysia. We were to share ³valuable information and knowledge about birds, birding² (Borneo Geographic) and avitourism (birding tourism). Though much of my time was taken up with preparing the presentation, I did get to do some birding.

Though a bird festival, there was something for everyone and many local families attended. Paddle boats were available on the nearby lake and many took advantage of them. Up the hill was a cafeteria and to one side the canopy walkway.

The famous Orang Utan Sanctuary was within walking distance of our accommodation, the Sepilok Jungle Resort, and the Rainforest Discovery Centre where all the action was to take place, was a five-minute drive away. The resort owner, Datuk John S. K. Lim, a member of the Sabah Tourism Board and PATA, had built this homely and comfortable lodge himself.

The gardens at the resort featured many lakes and fascinating plants ranging from tall trees to minute herbs. The birds were spectacular ­ from the common Brown-throated Sunbird, and spiderhunters, to a pair of Pied Hornbills , Crested Serpent Eagle and Borneo Falconet perched high in a tree. Then there was a little Blue-eared Kingfisher fast asleep on a branch in the dark near the dining area ­ the staff excitedly showed it to me. Swifts and swallows were common above many clearings and included House, Pacific and Fork-tailed. Brown Needletail, and Pacific Swallow. Dollarbirds were common and raucous.

The rainforest contained some very tall emergents,, many of them dipterocarps, a family possibly of Gondwanan origin (though not found in Australia). Borneo has the largest number of species ­ 155. Some plants I recognised from the Top End, eg a Melastoma, on which we found a Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker feeding (the fruits resemble and taste like black currants, and I like them too!). And there were huge-leaved, three-veined Smilax sp. Butterflies and odonata abounded in the forest and many were truly magnificent. However, I must admit a little emerald damselfly literally caught my eye ­ it perched on a leaf for several minutes following me with its large, beautiful eyes as I struggled to take a decent portrait (camera wouldn¹t focus).

Our first birds were two gorgeous little kingfishers, Ruddy and Oriental Dwarf. Anna and John of Singapore were among several birdwatcher/photographers to peg out this spot, a road above a shady stream in the rainforest. Anna, not as keen as her husband who had attached himself to his telescope, had brought along a stool and suggested cheekily that I take a photo for my research on birding couples. As we watched some men came along with signposts for the various trails, this one being the Kingfisher Trail and others the Pitta Track and Woodpecker Avenue. In fact the signage was very good. There were also posters along many of the roads featuring the birds.

Through the forest canopy ran a magnificent walkway, and early one morning we walked there with Hamut, a local guide. He showed us where a sunbear had climbed twenty metres up a vertical, unbranched trunk, to tear its way into a beehive. On other walks there we spotted a small flock of rare Grey Slaty Woodpeckers and Slender-billed Crows, a rather gorgeous Red-bearded Bee-eater, and two broadbills – the Common Black and Yellow, and the scarcer Banded. There were woodpeckers, leafbirds,d barbets and bulbuls ­ we feasted our eyes on delights at every turn. And of course there were more than birds.

Throughout the forest were large nest boxes often many metres up a very tall tree. One marvelled at the dedication of the staff who placed them in such difficult spots. Emerging from such a box one night, was a large squirrel. In fact we saw numerous squirrels ­ Plantain, the beautiful red-bellied, black Prevost¹s Squirrell, and most spectacular of all the Giant Flying Squirrel. We watched a pair of them gliding from tree to tree at sunset.

Our most intimate contact came when we met a Giant Squirrel that had made its home right next to the walkway. For some time it sat in its hollow only its nose showing. Meanwhile the number of photographers and schoolchildren grew. We walked away to return an hour or so and the squirrel was perched outside his home, happily gnawing away at something, and not at all fazed by the growing crowd.

On our last day we visited the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Sanctuary. I was not particularly interested in joining the crowd to watch the young apes being fed. Instead we wandered through the mob and on down the deserted walkway. Not another soul was in sight as we walked quietly along. In the quiet I heard a babble coming from a little hut-like corner formed from low branches bending down to touch the shrub beneath. Peering into the dark I saw a bird a little larger than a Sacred Kingfisher sitting quietly on a twig and singing to itself ­ White-crowned Sharma. It was one of those rare, often fleeting moments when one is privileged to share the world of another.

And just a few tens of metres on we encountered another such experience. On the boardwalk stood one of the sanctuary¹s employees. He hadn¹t seen us and yet he was conversing, not talking to, but conversing with, someone out of sight. As we drew closer his companion came into view ­ a young Orang Utan. Swinging from a vine it seemed to engage the man, its face turned towards him. Another one of those rare and privileged moments.

Later that afternoon we joined Steve and his friend Wendy, John and Anna and Bharat on a drive to the Probiscus Monkey Sanctuary situated on the coast among mangroves. The monkeys were relatively tame, the babies climbing onto people¹s arms and exploring their watches and jewellery. And a Pied Hornbill delighted us all as well. The bird was wild, the staff said, but visited every day to interact with visitors. It perched willingly on people¹s arms, and I had the distinct impression that it quite enjoyed the company!

A startlingly bright Crimson Sunbird rummaged among ferns that I recognised – Achrostichum speciosum. Dollarbirds cackled overhead, a smart Magpie Robin perched on a dead tree trunk and a large Black Eagle gazed down upon us from the top of a tree. On leaving we walked for a while, sighting more birds ­ Black-headed Munias, White-breasted Waterhen and Slaty-breasted Rail.

By the last day of the festival there appeared to be at least a thousand visitors, both locals, and internationals. Certainly not all were birdwatchers, but of those who came, most were Asian. Having spent most of my adult life guiding birders, I was pleasantly surprised. Nowhere did I encounter the surliness or near-hysteria that I¹d sometimes seen when birders miss a prize tick. Instead the attitude was one of ³oh well, I might see it later²!

At Sepilok, everyone I met was quite knowledgeable about their wildlife, from my driver who knew the local butterflies to tiny schoolchildren all equipped with binoculars donated by Forestry, and carrying signs depicting the local birds. My landcare group is now thinking of funding the purchase of binoculars for local school children.

Although hot and humid, the Sabah climate turned out to be cooler and more comfortable than the Top End. It rained most days and one night there was a severe thunderstorm and a short power blackout ­ I felt quite at home as we have such weather during the Top End wet season. One pleasant surprise was the lack of mosquitoes and leeches. I saw two of the former in five days, and no leeches.

Michael and I are returning to Sabah next October and we hope to take my daughter and new grandson. I can¹t think of a better spot for young Elijah¹s first overseas trip.

My sincere thanks to Carl Clifford for the part he played in getting me to Sabah.