Birding Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Sabah

The mud volcano at Tabin, you do not get one of these at Danum. Such natural mineral sources are important for maintaining populations of Sumatran rhinos.

With Danum shut in the early part of the year for refurbishment (except for occasional large groups) we were diverted to Tabin in January this year. I have always wanted to visit this site and was interested to see what we could find there in our four-day stay, especially when compared to the premier site up the road (Danum).

The accessible parts of Tabin are all secondary forest. Birdwatching is mostly along the roads and there is no doubt that you can see a lot of large forest bird species this way. Raptors, hornbills and canopy-flock species were much easier to see in the more open habitat at Tabin than at Danum. But when it came to deep-forest species like the pittas and the special flycatchers and babblers, then Tabin is a poor second choice. Tabin has a primary forest core area, but this is not easily accessible to the casual visitor. Secondary habitats at Tabin also proved to be remarkably poor for dragonflies and amphibians, two groups well represented at Danum.

One of the great things about Tabin though were the lengthy night drives. These lasted 2.5 hours and even the stretches of road along the boundary with oil-palm plantation were very good for mammals. I doubt there is a better place to find and photograph leopard cats in Asia, we were finding ten animals a night on some roads! We also had plenty of encounters with Javan civet and the three large flying-squirrels were present in small numbers and were often seen in 'flight'.

I would recommend Tabin to wildlife photographers, as well as to birders with a little bit of time on their hands. It cannot replace Danum as a lowland rainforest location in Sabah but a visit to Tabin would add value to a trip that already included some time at the former. People who try are sometimes rewarded with views of a rhino, a good enough reason to return one day I reckon.

You can read more about Tabin in an article here.

Sabah round-up

Norfolk boy in the house!

My recent trip to Sabah was a roller-coaster ride. The trip was typified by appalling weather (four days of nearly non-stop rain at one point...), which meant some sites/activities were just not possible this year; the bird, dragonfly, butterfly and reptile lists all suffered. Despite this there were some great high points and the team put a brave face on it.

Leptolalax pictus - one of my favourite Sabahan frogs. The frog list was small this trip, but included two new species for me Megophrys baluensis and Chaperina fusca.

I still cannot get over the huge calling congregation of jade tree frogs (Rhacophorus dulitensis) we encountered during the wet weather at Poring. This file-eared tree frog (Polypedates otilophus) cannot believe it either!

This bronzeback (Dendrelaphis caudolineatus) was one of five species of snake identified during the trip. We found a 3.5 metre reticulate python at Tabin one night and the star snake was a king cobra crossing the road at Bukit Silam.

Fruity - this short-nosed fruit-bat (Cyanopteris brachyotis) was chowing down under the eaves of our accommodation at Sukau one night.

Borneo is the place to see wacky invertebrates, this curved spiny spider (Gasteracantha arcuata) though is a widespread SE Asian species. The dragonfly list was poor this year but included one new species for me; the splendid Camacinia gigantea in the mangroves near Lahad Datu.

Striated grassbird - a common species in open coastal habitat throughout Borneo. No new birds for me on this trip as usual but plenty of excellent encounters with some old friends.

Postcard from Sabah

The trip started fantastically with great weather during the day at Mount Kinabalu and then rain in the afternoon which encouraged some superb amphibian action during the night. This Kinabalu horned toad (Megophrys baluensis) was a much-wanted addition to my frog list.

We did well for Rafflesias in the first week with two different plants. Multiple flowering is rare, this plant is a product of artificial innoculation of the host vine, which may explain the number of simultaneous flowers. More than one plant may be involved.

The last four days of the trip have been dogged by persistent rain, which has put a dampener on things somewhat. The only taxa that seem to be enjoying it are the amphibians. We found a colony of over 75 jade tree frogs (Rhacophorus dulitensis) at Poring. Superb little things.

The chance to watch tree frogs breeding in big numbers is fantastic. Plenty of pairs in amplexus and here a jade tree frog female completes a foam nest hanging over an ephemeral, forest-edge pool. The eggs hatch inside the foam and the tadpoles drop into the water below.

A huge low centred over Sabah, but delivering rain throughout the region is really starting to get annoying. Perhaps a result of the cooler than average weather further north in China? We missed plenty at Poring Hot Springs, seeing very few birds, butterflies or dragonflies. We are now at Sukau and the water level is rising. Persistent rain makes travelling by boat unpleasant and the use of optics difficult. We have seen the Bornean pygmy elephants though so must not grumble too much!

Beast of the Decade Nomination No. 5

Another shot from Chris Gardener - I was holding the spotlight as usual. Always the bridesmaid...

Wallace's flying-frog Rhacophorus nigropalmatus! This animal encapsulates the excitement of frogging in Sabah for me. It's big, it glides and breeds in animal wallows. It is a stunner and is also named for my all-time hero - Alfred Russel Wallace. If you have not read The Malay Archipelago, then go and order it now!