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BORNEO

Birdquest's Borneo, Malaysia birding tour is a classic birdwatching experience in by far the richest part of this huge island for Bornean endemics. Our Borneo tour has comprehensive coverage from the coastal lowlands to the upper levels of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia, and produces a rich bird list, including a remarkable number of Bornean specialities.

Saturday 27th July - Saturday 10th August 2013
(15 days)

Leader: Chris Kehoe

Group Size Limit: 8

Tour Category: Easy to Moderate for the most part (one optional fairly Demanding walk)

Borneo is packed full of superb sundaic species that are shared with mainland Malaysia and Sumatra. It also has a number of unique endemics, amongst which, the most highly-prized, is the stunning Bornean Bristlehead, a species that is generally regarded as being in a family of its own (Simon Harrap)

Borneo – island of head-hunters, Orang-utans and mighty Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak between the Himalayas and New Guinea. For several centuries after its discovery by Europeans this great equatorial island remained shrouded in mystery. Fables grew up about the ‘Wild Men of Borneo’, the fearsome Dyaks who brought the heads of their enemies back to their longhouses. In the 19th century the island came under British and Dutch colonial rule, passing later, with the exception of the tiny sultanate of Brunei, to newly independent Malaysia and Indonesia. Even today settlement is largely confined to coastal areas and much of the interior remains remote.

From a wildlife viewpoint Borneo is one of the richest places on earth. Tropical rainforests originally covered almost the entire island and, although widespread felling is now seriously shrinking the forest, vast tracts remain and support an exotic profusion of flora and fauna. A visit to Borneo, a classic Asian bird tour if ever there was one, offers the chance to see the island’s rich and varied birdlife, which includes many endemic species, ranging from trogons to broadbills and from black-eyes to bristleheads, and also numerous other species restricted to the Indo-Malayan faunal subregion.

During this exciting journey we shall explore the state of Sabah in northern Borneo, which is politically part of Malaysia, visiting several very different areas in which almost all of Borneo’s avian endemics can be found.

Our journey commences at Kota Kinabalu, the provincial capital, but we shall pause only briefly here before heading off into the interior for a visit to Kinabalu Park. The majestic, rugged massif of Mount Kinabalu rises to 4101m, towering above the surrounding lowlands. Kinabalu dwarfs all other mountains in Borneo and the temperate climate at higher levels has resulted in the evolution of many endemic plants and animals. We should see many of Borneo’s specialities here, ranging from such spectacular species as Whitehead’s Trogon and Whitehead’s Broadbill to the highly localized Friendly Bush Warbler.

Subsequently we will descend to Poring Hot Springs, a locale famous for two rarely seen specialities, Hose’s Broadbill and Blue-banded Pitta, and then explore wetlands and grasslands close to Kota Kinabalu and also the Rafflesia Forest Reserve in the Crocker Range before flying across to the east coast.

The high point of our journey through the eastern lowlands will be our stay in the beautiful Danum Valley Conservation Area. Here we will visit primary lowland rainforest with its rich avifauna, and we could well see a wild Orang-utan, the king of the Bornean jungle, moving through this superb forest. Notable birds include several species of hornbill, Black-and-crimson and Blue-headed Pittas, Bornean and Black-throated Wren-Babblers, and the enigmatic Bornean Bristlehead (now elevated to monotypic family status).

We will then move on to Sukau, from where we will visit the huge caves at Gomantong, home of literally millions of bats and swiftlets, and look for Storm’s Stork and the curious Proboscis Monkey along the forest-fringed Kinabatangan River. We even have a fair chance of the elusive Bornean Ground-Cuckoo here.

We will finish our adventure at the Sepilok reserve near Sandakan which has become world famous for its rehabilitated Orang-utans, which can provide some extraordinarily close and highly memorable encounters. The reserve also offers an even higher chance for seeing Bornean Bristlehead than does Danum Valley. By the end of our travels we will certainly appreciate why Borneo is considered such an important area by conservationists, for its fauna and flora are remarkable indeed.

Birdquest has operated tours to Borneo since 1987.

(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/lodges are of normal Birdquest standard almost throughout. At Mount Kinabalu and Poring Hot Springs the accommodation sometimes consists of two-bedroom bungalows that share a single bathroom. The chalets at Sukau are simple but adequate and all rooms have private bathrooms. Road transport is by small coach or minibus and roads are good.

Walking: The walking effort is mostly easy or moderate, but there is one optional fairly arduous walk on Mount Kinabalu.

Climate: At low altitudes mostly hot, dry and sunny, but overcast and rainy weather is not infrequent. On Mount Kinabalu conditions are similar but temperatures range from warm to cool (even fairly cold early in the morning high on Mount Kinabalu). It is often very humid.

Bird/Mammal Photography: Opportunities are worthwhile.

Linkable Birdquest: The Malay Peninsula

Tour Price: (provisional): $5100 Kota Kinabalu/Sandakan. Price includes all transportation (including Kota Kinabalu-Lahad Datu flight), all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.

Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $748.

Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.

A number of nightbirds are often seen including the fabulous Buffy Fish Owl which seems particularly easy to see at Danum Valley (Simon Harrap)

Borneo is one of the best countries in Asia for seeing mammals. This small form of Asian Elephant found in Borneo is sometimes referred to as Pygmy Elephant (Simon Harrap)

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