Brunei 2019

This summer I visited Borneo to show my son the island where he was born. I wanted to put a few pictures of our adventure on this weblog, which has been dormant again for a number of years, but thought it chronologically better to start with my previous visit from October 2019 when I had to make a small business trip back to.... Brunei!  It had been 5 years since I was last in Asia and it felt really great to be back and meet up with some former colleagues and friends. I had only limited leisure time during the week but did have a full weekend to myself. Rather than focus on my old local birding patches close to Panaga I had contacted Jungle Dave, a nature guide, in advance to scout some areas that I had not visited during our years in Brunei.

On Friday night Dave picked me up in Kuala Belait and we drove to his farmstay. When we arrived it was dark, but there was still plenty of time for a night walk in the neighboring forest. We weren't very lucky with any nightbirds, but the forest had plenty of other interesting finds and we did still see a good number of animals: Sunda slow loris, black flying squirrel, a few frogs, a sleeping kingfisher, mouse deer, bearded pig and a neat tarantula.

The next day Dave took me to a small ridge overlooking a large fruiting tree some distance away and we were immediately rewarded with a flock of around 20 large green pigeons that were gorging on the fruits. This species is not common to see and while I had encountered it twice before, these views were a lot better! Unfortunately the large green pigeon is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN with only an estimated 10.000 - 20.000 individuals left in the wild globally. Because of the relatively large distance no close-ups but I did still capture a few birds on camera.

Large Green-Pigeon (Treron capellei) - 6 birds in this shot

Large Green-Pigeon (Treron capellei)

Large Green-Pigeon (Treron capellei)

When we were about to move on, a male helmeted hornbill flew closely overhead followed by a female wreathed hornbill. Dave and I were rather surprised seeing two different hornbill species fly together as if they were a pair, something neither of us ever witnessed before. Unfortunately this all happened rather fast and I was too slow for any pictures. We did get a distant flyby of the same pair about fifteen minutes later. Reduction of suitable habitat, and especially poaching for the solid casque has drastically reduced numbers and the helmeted hornbill is now listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. For more information have a look here https://www.speciesonthebrink.org/news/conservation-plan-to-save-the-helmeted-hornbill/.

Black-throated Babbler (Stachyris nigricollis)

A well camouflaged Lesser Green Leafbird (Chloropsis cyanopogon)

The remainder of the morning we spend inside the forest. As it was now getting later the activity level was already going down and we saw only a small number of different species. We did try to get some visuals of a suspected fairy pitta we heard calling but the bird never showed. Later in the day we moved on to Wasan to look for some migratory birds. 

In the evening we tried to locate a large frogmouth, a bird high on my target list. With it's strange head and cryptic plumage this large bird has amazing appeal for me. When we still lived in Panaga I had heard this species a few time along KB road but, frustratingly, had never been able to see it. This time we did find the bird and got some excellent views! And just in time too, as rain was coming and by the time we got back at the farmstay it started to pour down.

Large Frogmouth (Batrachostomus auritus)

Large Frogmouth (Batrachostomus auritus)

On Sunday we slowly made our way back to Kuala Belait, stopping at some sites that I had also frequented during our time in Brunei. We saw a good number of different hornbills along Labi road and some of the side roads (wreathed, wrinkled, rhinoceros, pied) and it was great to hear the unmistakable calls of a small party of bristleheads in the distance.

Wrinkled Hornbill (Aceros corrugatus)

Green Broadbill (Calyptomena viridis)

Unfortunately we also saw clear evidence of active poaching, always sad to see.

A sad sight: homemade traps for wildlife poaching

Late morning Dave returned me to my hotel in Kuala Belait. It had been a great weekend of birding in this fantastic environment. The trip made me realize how much I had missed these Bornean forests, thanks Dave! 

Temburong

This weekend I treated my mom -who is visiting again- and myself to a small overnight trip to the Ulu Ulu resort in Temburong, the "other" part of Brunei. Temburong is only a short 2 hour journey from Bandar; a simple hop on a fast ferry to Bangar, followed by a small bus ride and another 30 minutes upstream by longboat and you'll find yourself surrounded by pristine jungle.

The last time I visited Temburong was well over 2 years ago and especially the canopy proved very rewarding then; a lot of species allowed very close views, like this velvet fronted nuthatch.

Velvet-fronted nuthatch (Sitta frontalis).

We arrived in Temburong around 4:30 PM and I spend the last hour or so of daylight around the resort. The white-rumped shama was impossible to miss.

White-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus).

During the evening we joined a short night walk up a tiny stream from the main river. 17 people on a night walk is really too crowded and I didn't have high expectations to encounter a lot of wildlife. Still I enjoyed this, as the stream proved a good place for frogs and I got a couple a great close-ups. As I am definitely not a frog specialist any correction/addition to my ID's are appreciated. I suspect the tiny fellow pictured below to be a Microhyla species.

Microhyla sp.

I think this is Hylarana megalonesa.

Hylarana megalonesa

The below frog is definitely a horned frog species!

Bornean horned frog (Megophrys nasuta).

The next morning we got up very early to be in time for sunrise at the canopy walk. Nowadays, you can only get to the start of the trail to the canopy by boat as the bridge crossing the river is in dire need of some repairs. After a half hour walk, scaling 290 meters elevation to the base and another 40+ meters to the canopy itself, you are rewarded with a wide 360 degree view over the awaking jungle. The rising fog and the morning calls of gibbons makes this almost perfect - next time I'll bring some warm coffee for a nice finishing touch!

Canopy walkway & tower, Temburong.

I spend a little over two-and-a-half hours at the canopy walk way listening to the gibbons and recording several different birds. This male black-and-yellow broadbill was seen and heard most of the time.

Black-and-yellow broadbill

A spectacled bulbul also provided some good views. Even though this is a supposedly common species of all primary forests type in Borneo, I don't see them that often closer to home and was therefore quite pleased with this individual checking me out at close range.

Spectacled bulbul (Pycnonotus erythropthalmus).

Besides the gibbons, the calls of both rhinoceros and helmeted hornbill seemed equally far carrying. A family of 4 rhinoceros hornbills flew by over the canopy, adding to the majestic scenery with the morning fog rising through the forest. One parent lead the way.

Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros).

 And was eagerly followed by two juveniles

Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros).

At 08:30 we decided to move down and try for some birds lower to the ground. I had expected to see and hear more babblers, but the only ones I picked up were chestnut-winged babblers, which seemed to be everywhere, and a small family group of scaly-crowned babblers.

Scaly-crowned babbler (Malacopteron cinereum).

An incessantly calling diard's trogon was already heard from the canopy-walk and at least 2 different males and one female were seen on the relatively short walk from the tower back to the river.

Male Diard's trogon (Harpactes diardii).

As my mom had not joined the trip to the canopy walk because of a weak knee I felt some social obligation to not stay out all morning and returned back to the resort close to 10 AM. Together we walked around the resort grounds looking for some resident wildlife. Fruitbats were easily seen overhead at the wooden boardwalks. I think this is the Sunda short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopteros brachyotis).

Fruitbat sp.

Flowering bushes close to the river were a good spot for both leafbirds and sunbirds. 

Male Lesser green leafbird (Chloropsis cyanopogon).

A nice surprise was this yellow-breasted flowerpecker. Just a small bummer that I failed to get a proper photo. Oh well.

Yellow-breasted flowerpecker (Prionochilus macalatus).

Just before heading back to Bandar this very bold pygmy squirrel seemed completely unbothered by our presence and I even had to stand back to get the animal properly into frame!

Plain pygmy squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis).

Plain pygmy squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis).

Around 1:30 PM we left again, back to Panaga. A great little trip and I am certain that with a little more dedicated effort some great species can be picked up in Temburong!

Folkert, 21/07/2013