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This tour packs in a lot! From the canopy walkways at Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL) to the Gomantong Caves, to the highlands of Kinabalu, we saw it all, and had great fun along the way. One of the adventures we had was a boat trip along the Menanggol River in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. Photo by participant John Keith.

After ten tours to Borneo, I never really know what to expect for weather at this season, or how the birds will respond to it. Borneo had gone through a fairly serious drought earlier in the year and I was unsure what it would be like for our trip. I was glad to see that things were back to 'normal' on that front. We had some rain during the trip, but the only times it adversely affected us was during our night drives at Borneo Rainforest Lodge (they were all cut short because of rain). Other than that, we managed pretty well with the weather and with the birds.

One of the aspects of this tour that's always really appealed to me is that we get to stay for four nights at all three of our major venues on this trip. It really makes it a lot more relaxed and the coverage of the areas is much more thorough than it would be with shorter stays, giving you the chance to catch up on birds and mammals that are giving you trouble. But there area always a few birds that you just never catch up with – hopefully that's tempered by a few noteworthy surprise finds!

Despite missing a few – including a few birds that I've never missed before – I thought that we did quite well. Personally, my excitement levels peaked for things like the Bornean Ground-Cuckoo pair that we tracked down at Sukau, that thrilling adult male Helmeted Hornbill flying across the Kinabatangan just in front of our boat, our big group of Bornean Bristleheads along the main road at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, that incredible Great Argus along the forest trails there, our quartet of 'Whitehead's' at Kinabalu Park (Trogon, Broadbill, Spiderhunter, and Pygmy Squirrel), and, of course, our Bornean Pygmy Elephants and our multiple encounters with Orangutan. There are plenty of others to crow about on the following list, so you can pick out your own favs.

Thanks to all of you joining me for my final advertised tour to Borneo. You all made it a joy to guide! I'm going to miss birding in Borneo every year after I retire, and I hope to occasionally go back there. It's such a rich and rewarding place! Thanks also to Hamit Suban for co-leading this one with me for 2/3 of the tour. We're all indebted to his marvelous eyes and ears and I, for one, will miss his good company. All the best in birding for the remainder of 2019 and the upcoming year! Dave

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

We had several surprises on the tour, none much better than finding this Oriental Bay-Owl at the end of the entrance road to BRL when we did our night-drive there. Photo by participant Jim Moore.

This gorgeous Whitehead’s Broadbill was one of four “Whitehead’s” species that we found. He came right into the parking lot at our lodge, and we all got great views! Photo by participant Tom Olson.

A pair of Storm’s Storks along the Menanggol River was very cooperative. We watched them feeding, and participant Jim Moore got this great image of one of them tossing down a small shrimp.

We had a bit of rain at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge, as this image by participant Jean Rigden shows, but we didn’t let this dampen our spirits!

This young Orangutan was hanging out at the Rainforest Discovery Center. Photo by participant John Keith.

Buff-rumped Woodpeckers were fairly common on the tour. Participant Jim Moore got a nice image of this pair.

We saw a good number of cuckoos on the tour, including this colorful Raffles’s Malkoha. The turquoise color on the face is quite unusual. Photo by participant Tom Olson.

Mammals were also quite special, and we did very well! This tiny Horsfeld’s Tarsier was another special sighting from BRL; we saw it on the same night as the Oriental Bay-Owl! Participant Jim Moore got this amazing photo of this wonderful little primate.

We saw our share of spectacularly colorful birds, too! This blazing red Crimson Sunbird showed off very well for us. Photo by participant Tom Olson.

Most of our North American flycatchers are fairly drab, so it was exciting to see this bright Blyth’s Paradise-Flycatcher. Photo by participant Jean Rigden.

Black-and Red Broadbills were fairly common near Sukau, but this one was caught carrying something in its bill. Nesting material, perhaps? Photo by participant Tom Olson.

The scenery in Borneo is quite dramatic, and we enjoyed the view from the lookout at Mt. Kinabalu. Photo by participant John Keith.

Hornbills are a big component of the Malaysian avifauna, and we saw some of the rarest and most spectacular of them. We saw Rhinoceros Hornbill, one of the biggest, every day in the lowlands. Participant Tom Olson caught one in flight, showing the impressive casque that gives the species its common name.

Participant Jim Moore got a great portrait of this wonderfully colorful Blue-headed Pitta.

The Crested Firebacks that we saw at BRL are the endemic Bornean race. Photo by participant Tom Olson.

On our night boat ride at Sukau, we had great views of this big Brown Wood-Owl. Photo by participant Jim Moore.

It can be difficult to get good looks at the Bornean Green-Magpie, but this one was certainly not shy. This was another parking-lot sighting at our lodge at Kinabalu. Photo by participant Tom Olson.

Proboscis Monkeys are endemic to the island of Borneo, and we got some great looks at these strange simians. Participant John Keith got this portrait of an especially pensive individual.

Kingfishers are another common group in the tropics, and we were able to see six species, including this impressive Stork-billed Kingfisher. Photo by participant Jean Rigden.

The Helmeted Hornbill is in serious trouble due to extensive poaching, so we were excited and pleased to see this male flying across the Kinabatangan River. Participant Tom Olsen got a great flight shot as well!

We found this Black-naped Monarch in its nest overhanging the Menanggol River. Photo by participant Tom Olson.

The Fruit-hunter can be difficult to find, but we lucked into a pair of them at Gunung Alab, where they were feeding. Photo by participant Tom Olson.

This beautiful male Whitehead’s Trogon was one of several we saw at Kinabalu Park. Photo by participant Jim Moore.

Another unusual mammal that we found was the Colugo. Not only did we see it “perched”, as in this photo by participant Jim Moore, we also got to see it “fly”.

Plume-toed Swiftlet was recently split from the Glossy Swiftlet, and they were quite common in the lowlands. Participant Tom Olson got this beautiful image of a pair at their moss-covered nest.

Mount Kinabalu is quite impressive, even when half-hidden in the mist. Participant John Keith got this evocative image.

Here are our two trusty guides, Hamit Suban, and Dave Stejskal. Photo by participant Jean Rigden.

This bright flower is a Dillenia, a native flowering tree that is often planted as an ornamental. Photo by participant John Keith.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Thanks to John Keith for the following short essay on the plants of Borneo.

BORNEO VEGETATION, by participant John Keith

The immense diversity of Borneo plants, estimated at over 15,000 species, makes it difficult to characterize the vegetation in a short space. However, as several of our Field Guides group were very interested in the plants, I will try to describe highlights of what we saw.

Borneo is bisected by the equator, so the climate of the island is tropical. Temperatures are rather uniform throughout the year, with 80s to upper 90s F in the lowlands and 60s to 70s F in the higher altitudes. Annual rainfall is 200-300 inches, depending on location, with Mt. Kinabalu National Park having 150-200 inches. The rain is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year, so the rainforests are uniformly moist, with no wet and dry seasons as there are in African or South American rainforests. Natural vegetation types include mangrove tidal forests, peat swamp forests, limestone vegetation, lowland rainforests, and montane rainforests. Extensive lowland areas have been cleared for massive plantations of oil palms, rice farming, and pastures for cattle. Plant families with large numbers of representatives in Borneo are the orchids with about 1700 species, most of which are epiphytes; the dipterocarp trees with about 160; the palm family with more than 200; the myrtle family with 150; the ginger family with more than 150; and the ferns with about 500 species. Although a small family of pitcher plants world-wide, the Nepenthaceae has 50 of its total species in Borneo, and these are some of the most unusual plants there.

In addition to the enormous numbers of plant species found on the island, the diversity in a small space is phenomenal: in a forest plot of 2 to 3 acres (one hectare), there can be as many as 200 species of trees. A comparable plot in temperate eastern North America would have 10 to 15 species. The forests are quite dense, and there are several layers, starting with mosses, lichens, and ferns on the forest floor. As there is little sunlight reaching the lowest level, very limited productivity occurs there, so most birds and other animals are found in the canopy, where there is the most leaf and fruit production. Many trees, especially in the lowlands, are shallow rooted and have massive buttresses to support their great height. There are many introduced trees in Borneo, a number of which are invasive; it was a bit strange to see Norway Spruces, for example, growing along the roads in Mt. Kinabalu Park.

The canopy of the lowland rainforest is typically 100 to 150 feet high. However, the trees that are really spectacular are the emergents, such as the dipterocarps, with long straight trunks that reach far above the canopy. These trees, in the Dipterocarpus or Shorea genera, commonly are 200 or more feet tall, with all the leaves in a large cluster at the top. Until recently, the record emergent tree was 290 feet. But Tommy, our guide at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, mentioned that a new record tree was discovered that is 330 feet tall. Competing with the dipterocarps is Koompassia, a legume, another extremely tall tree. There are several species of durians, genus Artocarpus, in the fig family, with large fruits that are a favorite with both native primates and humans. Other fig genera, such as Morus, supply a large amount of the fruit eaten by birds. Two other common and colorful native trees are Dillenia, Dillenia family, with large yellow flowers, and Medinilla, Melostoma family, with pink flowers; both these trees are widely planted as ornamentals.

The forests also contain a large number of vines in different families; two with very striking flowers were Basket Vine, Aeschynanthus speciosa, in the African Violet family, and Callerya nieuwenhuisii, a legume. The single most unusual plant group in Borneo is the genus Rafflesia, which has the world’s largest flowers. These plants are parasitic on roots of the Tetrastigma vine and have no leaves, just enormous flowers about two to three feet in diameter. As the plants bloom sporadically, we were lucky that one was in bloom and accessible to us near Poring Hot Springs Park.

In summary, the extraordinary diversity of plant life in Borneo is daunting for those trying to learn plants on a short visit, but on our trip, we were lucky to have the excellent help of knowledgeable guides to identify a lot of the plants.

Totals for the tour: 277 bird taxa and 28 mammal taxa