Our second day in Sabah started gloomy and rainy but a lull in the rains as we entered the Rainforest Discovery Center gave us hope.
The main birding area for the next three days is the Rainforest Discovery Center or RDC. It has a 650m long canopy walk about 20 meters from the ground, several bird towers that rise even higher, and several trails at ground level. According to the Malaysian Tourism website:
"Sabah’s Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) is regarded as one of the best environmental education centres in the state. Located within the most accessible natural rainforest in Sabah, the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, which is about 23 km away from Sandakan town, the RDC aims to provide visitors with the opportunity to experience nature up-close while educating them on the importance of rainforest conservation. " (from Malaysia.travel)
We soon came up to our first tower and saw a couple of birds which we of course excitedly photographed (despite the poor shooting conditions). Excited much!
The first bird was a backlit raptor which took us sometime to identify.
Wallace's Hawk Eagle, Sabah Lifer #3
Then we saw a bird that I had seen in Thailand six years ago.
Black and Yellow Broadbill.
The bird sightings somewhat lifted our spirits. Saat walked ahead and some of us followed while the others stayed at Tower 1 to wait for more birds. Then it rained, and rained, and rained for about two hours. Our group - Saat, April, Sarita, Ugin, Paul and me, sought shelter in a birders rest area between Towers 2 & 3. The others - Ben, Alex, Henrick, Conrad, and Robert, were at Tower 1.
Rainy morning
Ugin, birding in the rain
To combat boredom, April started shooting bugs
The rain finally stopped after about two hours. Saat led the group onwards. I chose to go back to Tower 1 to check to the group that was left there. When I arrived, they were showing me better photos of the Wallace's Hawk Eagle and a couple of other birds. Then I received a message from Saat that they saw a Racket-tailed Drongo and a Leafbird. They were at the Birder's rest stop somewhere beyond Tower 3. I informed the others and decided to follow. Of course by the time I reached the place, the bird were gone (hehehe). Soon the rest of the group started arriving one by one. The place where we were at was a clearing with several buildings and trees all around. After getting some rest from walking, some of us fanned out and started exploring (the sun was mercifully out). I spotted a small bird, tracked it between the branches and soon there was a mixed flock! And everyone converged on this area as the birds kept us busy. We even requested that our lunch be brought over (we were supposed to go back to Sepilok Jungle Resort).
Green Iora, Sabah Lifer # 4
Sunda Pied Fantail, not a lifer since I saw this bird in Thailand
Ashy Tailorbird, Sabah Lifer # 5
Ashy Tailorbird, FIM
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Sabah Lifer # 6
Crimson Sunbird. male
Verditer Flycatcher, Sabah Lifer # 7
There was a lull of some sort. Then Saat pointed to a Rhinoceros Hornbill on a tall treef in the distance. We all trained our cameras but it was too far. But to our delight, the bird glided towards us...
Rhinoceros Hornbill, BIF
...and perched on a tree near our hut. We all scrambled out of the cottage to get a better view.
Rhinoceros Hornbill, Sabah Lifer # 8
The appearance of the Hornbill created a buzz. Soon another bird made an appearance
Lesser Green Leafbird, female, Sabah Lifer # 9
Lesser Green Leafbird, male
There was another lull and we all sat down to wait for lunch. Everyone was quietly scrolling through their LCD screens when we all got startled because someone became hysterical. It turned out that there as a leech in said person's hand. After the excitement died down, we had a good laugh. Then lunch arrived and we all gratefully consumed our lunch with sweet and juicy red watermelons for dessert. It was almost 1pm already by this time.
I cannot recall anymore how many minutes passed before the birds arrived again.
Green Iora, a better shot
Grey-hooded Babbler, Sabah Lifer # 10
Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Sabah Lifer # 11
Purple-naped Spiderhunter, Sabah Lifer # 12
Olive-winged Bulbul, Sabah Lifer # 13
The last bird that I photographed for the day is a female sunbird which I cannot conclusively identify but I will go with a female Olive-backed Sunbird.
Olive-backed Sunbird, female
We left the area around 2:30pm because the clouds darkened again. Of course even with the threat of rain, we still birded along the canopy walk so some got caught in the rain at Tower 3, some at Tower 2, others at Tower 1. Everyone converged in the coffee shop near the entrance to wait out the rain, have some coffee and snacks, and discuss the plan for the coming days. Our resident meteorologists were saying that the forecast the following day (and the coming week), was still more rain that even the Kinabatangan River trip was causing some worry. There was already some discussion to cancel the river trip. But since that was still several days away, we put off that decision and focused on the agenda for Day 3. The final decision was to bird at the Sepilok Jungle Resort grounds from 6am to about 8am then have breakfast before heading to RDC afterward (assuming no rain).
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