12-17th July 2022
We drove at midnight from Kota Kinabalu International Airport to Mt. Kinabalu and stayed for 2 nights and saw the Fruithunter on our first morning at Kinabalu Park HQ. Whitehead's Broadbill and Trogon were visible as well including the tiny Bornean Stubtail with its high pitch tone captured on the phone by Mel!
On our way to Sepilok, we tried the Blue-banded Pitta but no respond were heard then upon reaching the My Nature Resort, we were greeted with Lesser and Greater Green Leafbird feeding on the fruiting tree in front of the lobby with Red-eyed Bulbul and also Malaysian Pied Fantail. Bornean Bristlehead were seen on the next afternoon and it stayed until we left the viewing platform with another bonus of the rare Greater Mousedeer!
For Kinabatangan River, no sound of the Bornean Ground-Cuckoo but it was compensated with White-crowned Hornbill, Bornean Falconet, Bat Hawk and Sabah Chestnut-necklaced Partridge seena and photographed less than 5 metres from the boat!
I managed to get 6 new birds for my Sabah Big Year 2022 and with a total of 177 species recorded for the trip:
- Bornean Chestnut-necklaced Partridge (E)
- Red-breasted Partridge (E)
- Storm's Stork
- Little Green Heron
- Purple Heron
- Little Egret
- Great Egret
- Cattle Egret
- Oriental Darter
- Changeable Hawk-Eagle
- Wallace's Hawk-Eagle
- White-bellied Sea-Eagle
- Brahminy Kite
- Crested Serpent Eagle
- Bat Hawk
- Black-shouldered Kite
- Bornean Falconet (E)
- Besra
- Crested Goshawk
- White-breasted Waterhen
- Zebra Dove
- Spotted Dove
- Emerald Dove
- Cinnamon-headed Pigeon
- Little Green Pigeon
- Pink-necked Green Pigeon
- Green Imperial Pigeon
- Mountain Imperial Pigeon
- Long-tailed Parakeet
- Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
- Sunda Cuckoo
- Violet Cuckoo
- Banded Bay Cuckoo
- Brush Cuckoo
- Greater Coucal
- Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
- Red-billed Malkoha
- Raffles's Malkoha
- Buffy Fish Owl
- Oriental Bay Owl
- Boobook
- Sunda Scops Owl
- Grey-rumped Treeswift
- Plum-toed Swiftlet
- White-Nest Swiftlet
- Diard's trogon
- Red-naped Trogon
- Scarlet-rumped Trogon
- Whitehead's Trogon (E)
- Collared Kingfisher
- Blue-eared Kingfisher
- Stork-billed Kingfisher
- Rufous-backed Kingfisher
- Blue-throated Bee-Eater
- Dollarbird
- White-crowned Hornbill
- Bushy-crested Hornbill
- Oriental Pied Hornbill
- Asian Black Hornbill
- Wrinkled Hornbill
- Rhinoceros Hornbill
- Golden-naped Barbet (E)
- Yellow-crowned Barbet
- Red-throated Barbet
- Blue-eared Barbet
- Bornean Brown Barbet
- Common Flameback
- Maroon Woodpecker
- Rufous Woodpecker
- White-bellied Woodpecker
- Banded Woodpecker
- Crimson-winged Woodpecker
- Orange-backed Woodpecker
- Great Slaty Woodpecker
- Rufous Piculet
- Buff-rumped Woodpecker
- Black & Red Broadbill
- Black & Yellow Broadbill
- Whitehead's Broadbill (E)
- Black-crowned Pitta (E)
- Hooded Pitta
- Green Iora
- Common Iora
- Lesser Grean Leafbird
- Greater Green Leafbird
- Scarlet Minivet
- Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike
- Sunda Cuckoo-Shrike
- Bornean Whistler (E)
- Long-tailed Shrike
- Dark-throated Oriole
- Asian Fairy-Bluebird
- Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
- Bronzed Drongo
- Hair-crested Drongo
- Bornean Black Magpie (E)
- Slender-billed Crow
- Bornean Green Magpie (E)
- Bornean Treepie (E)
- Bornean Bristlehead (E)
- Pacific Swallow
- White-breasted Woodswallow
- Dark-necked Tailorbird
- Rufous-tailed Tailorbird
- Ashy Tailorbird
- Mountain Tailorbird
- Yellow-bellied Prinia
- Grey-bellied Bulbul
- Olive-winged Bulbul
- Yellow-vented Bulbul
- Cream-vented Bulbul
- Cream-eyed Bulbul (E)
- Red-eyed Bulbul
- Spectacled Bulbul
- Streaked Bulbul
- Yellow-bellied Bulbul
- Charlotte's Bulbul (E)
- Grey-cheeked Bulbul
- Mountain Leaf-Warbler
- Yellow-breasted Warbler
- Yellow-bellied Warbler
- Bornean Stubtail (E)
- Striated Grassbird
- Sabah Black-capped Babbler (E)
- Temminck's Babbler
- White-chested Babbler
- Mountain Wren-Babbler (E)
- Black-throated Wren-Babbler (E)
- Grey-throated Babbler
- Chestnut-rumped Babbler
- Black-throated Babbler
- Chestnut-winged Babbler
- Bold-striped Tit-Babbler (E)
- Erpornis
- Chestnut-crested Yuhina (E)
- Blyth's Shrike-Babbler
- Sunda Launghing-Thrush
- Chestnut-hooded Laughing-Thrush (E)
- Bare-headed Laughing-Thrush (E)
- Black-capped White-Eye
- Javan Myna
- Hill Myna
- Asian Glossy Starling
- Fruithunter (E)
- Oriental Magpie Robin
- White-crowned Shama (E)
- Bornean Forktail (E)
- White-crowned Forktail
- Eyebrowed Jungle Flycatcher (E)
- Snowy-browed Flycatcher
- Little Pied Flycatcher
- Malaysian Blue Flycatcher
- Indigo Flycatcher
- White-browed Shortwing
- White-throated Fantail
- Malaysian Pied Fantail
- Black-naped Monarch
- Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
- Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
- Bornean Flowerpecker (E)
- Van Haselt's Sunbird
- Olive-backed Sunbird
- Eastern Crimson Sunbird
- Temminck's Sunbird
- Rubycheek
- Brown-throated Sunbird
- Purple-naped Spiderhunter
- Little Spiderhunter
- Thick-billed Spiderhunter
- Spectacled Spiderhunter
- Whitehead's Spiderhunter (E)
- Yellow-eared Spiderhunter
- Long-billed Spiderhunter
- Dusky Munia (E)
- Black-headed Munia
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow
- Baya Weaver
Images taken with Swarovski Optik. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wit Mel at the new canopy walkway extension by Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok
Taking pics of the Yellow-breasted Warbler
Whitehead's Broadbill digiscoped with Swarovski Optik
Video recording by Adri
Bornean Forktail, another endemic from Mt. Kinabalu
With Adri and CK!
Black Hornbill
Birding at the canopy walkway, Sepilok
White-bellied Woodpecker, one of the largest in Sabah
Watching the Changeable Hawk-Eagle reusing the old nest on the tall Menggaris tree
We got the Bat Hawk!
Sleepy Buffy Fisg Owl at Kinabatangan River
Best birding with the boat at the river
Gift from the Philippines!
With the Yoko Yoko Bird Team; Mirwan, Mark and John
Another one for the picture #SwarovskiOptik Team
Happy birding and stay safe everyone!
