My photography trip travelogue of Borneo, Malaysia,
Thailand and Singapore workshop
Malaysian
BORNEO ( Sabah & Sarawak )
This page highlighted the trips that we have made to
explore and photograph nature in Borneo
6D5N Borneo Photography
Workshop April 2010 in Sarawak Malaysian Borneo
Bringing photographers and nature lover together. |
|
The trip summary
The 6D trip to Borneo recently was by far one of the most productive
trips we ever had. Not only we saw good sighting of elusive tropical
birds and frogs, collectively as a team of photographers during the Borneo
Rainforest Photography Workshop and through the diversity of the group, we saw and
captured more species as a group. and
Our 6 day photography workshop in Borneo
focused on three key areas:
Trip highlights
We had a fabulous and rewarding trip even though the weather condition was hot and humid with occasional shower and thunderstorm. From Asian Paradise Flycatcher
(White phase- see right), Red-bearded Bee Eater (breeding), Orang Utans, Wallace's Flying Frog and Horn Frog
( see below)
 Photography
in the tropical rainforest
Photographing in the rain forest is not easy
as the subjects are elusive and the lighting is poor. Using ISO of
800-1600 is not uncommon in order to balance the ambient light with the TTL flash
(slow synch) and maintaining desirable shutter speeds and controlling
the noise level. As a rule, it is always better to reduce the noise in
camera than to mask it in post processing. The strategy is unique to the tropical rain forest.
The rain brought us blessing to the sighting of the tree frogs. The humid and wet weather also brought moisture that create
spectacular mists in the forest when the sun's ray warms the temperature
up.
The tropical rainforest isn't always that
gloomy with rain and mists all day as there are windows of beautiful
blue skies.
|
See more images from
Sarawak by
John
Arifin
Amardeep Singh
Shirley
Ng
S.H.Lew
Raymond Poon
Henry Eng
|
Borneo Bird Festival
in Sandakan Sabah Malaysia Borneo, October 10-15 2009
Bringing bird lovers, bird photographers,
ornithologists and nature art lover together. |
|
The Borneo Bird Festival
The first Borneo Bird Festival was held
at RDC ( Rainforest Discovery Centre ) in the city of Sandakan near the
world's famous Sepilok Orang Hutan Sanctuary from 10 October to 15
October 2009. The occasion was graced by Datuk Masid manjun, Tan Sri Dr
Salleh Mohd ( president Malaysian Nature Society), YM Tenku Adlin,
Richard Grimmett, Head of Conservation, Birdlife International, Dr
Geoffrey Davidson, Sabah Tourism Board and Sabah Forestry Department of
the Rainforest Discovery Center and other bird enthusiasts from the
region.
The launch of two new bird books of Borneo
The event was also a platform for launching two new books on the
birds of Borneo; Phillipp's Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo by
Quentin & Karen Phillipps and A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo by
Susan Meyers. A wide range of topics were discussed during the
seminar ranging from bird tourism, conservation, where to see birds in
Sabah , bird watching ethics, how to photograph birds along with
activities for the school children on conducted bird tours and art
contest.
The judging of Bird Photography Contest
Last but not least was the Borneo Bird Festival Bird
photography contest with the winning prize of US$1000 for the top slot.
I had the privilege to be one of the panel judges along with Cede Prudente and Dr Geoffrey Davidson to pick the thirteen winners.
Bird watching in Sabah
Why bird watch in Sabah ? The state of
Sabah in Borneo has a record of 622 resident and migratory birds which
32 species are considered endemic to Sabah. The few sought after birds
in Sabah are Whitehead's Trogon, Whitehead Broadbill, Bornean Brown
Cuckoo, Blue-headed Pitta and the Bornean Bristlehead. RDC near Sepilok
is considered a lowland rainforest. It is one of the known locations to
see the Bornean Bristlehead.
While I was in RDC, I saw the BBH a few times but did not have the
chance to photograph it.
What can you do near Sandakan in East
Sabah
After spending a few days in Sukau at the
Kinabatangan River photographing wildlife of the floodplain forest. I spent the next 5 days at RDC . There, I met many new friends
coming from
peninsula Malaysia, Sarawak, Japan, Taiwan, UK and local birding
communities from Sandakan and Tawau just for the festival who had the same interest and
preservation of the welfare of birds and wildlife in
general. |
Karen, Quentin Phillipps
(authors of Phillipp's Field
Guide to the Birds of Borneo ) & John Arifin at the RDC Canopy
Walk
See more images of the
BIRDS AND NATURE
OF BORNEO
|
Dulit Frogmouth, My second Sarawak Bird
Photography Expedition, April 2009
Dulit Frogmouth,
the rare bird of Sarawak Borneo Malaysia |
|
The extremely rare bird
The
Dulit Frogmouth, Batrachostomus harterti is an extremely rare
bird sought after by many bird-watchers and currently, not much is known
about its behavior. A submontain species belonging to the family ‘Podargidae’,
Dulit Frogmouths are curious-looking, intriguing nocturnal birds related
to the nightjars, but are however adapted to live inside the forest.
These birds were found in a few remote mountains of Sarawak.
Our team flew over mountains and cruised across rivers deep in the heart
of Borneo’s tropical rainforest in our quest for this elusive bird. To
date, only 7 known specimens of the skin have been collected in natural
history museums between the years of 1950 to 1958. Reliable sources
state that fewer than 5 people have actually witnessed the rare sight of
the Dulit Frogmouth in its natural environment.
The first photograph of the rare bird
Indeed, by sheer chance, in the midst of our arduous night staking out
in the Borneo rainforest, we might have very well been the first to
photograph the rare Dulit Frogmouth in high quality digital images in
the wild on night of 24 April 2009, during our photography expedition to
Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.
Is this the Dulit Frogmouth ?
Since not much is known about the bird, it is extremely difficult to
identify the bird for sure.
I have checked with a few prominent Borneo bird experts in Asia and UK.
Their opinions were divided;
a)
Highly to be a Dulit Frogmouth because of its
locality, elevation (1000m) and call.
b)
Likely to be Large Frogmouth based on plumage alone.
To solve the mystery, I went back to the Natural History Museum a year
after we took the image to compare the difference between the Dulit and
the Large Frogmouth. Judging from the image and the skins, it was
extremely difficult to differentiate the two as there were so much
variation in the plumage of the frogmouths.
How to solve the mystery ?
If you have any
information about this particular frogmouth or the large frogmouth of
Borneo, please do
contact
me. |
Dulit Frogmouth April 2009 |
The Bajau Tribe
and Regatta Lepa in Semporna Sabah Malaysian Borneo
The Bajau- Sea Gypsies
Bajaus are a colorful, festive and musical people.
Photographing People
and culture of Asia during the Regatta Lepa Festival in
Semporna, Sabah. |
 The
tribes of Asia ( See Asian Geographic Magazine)
The Bajau have been a nomadic, seafaring people for most
of their history. Many still practice that same
lifestyle to this day, which explains why they are still
commonly called "sea gypsies." They chart particularly
the waters of the Sulu Sea, off the southwestern coast
of the Philippines, and the various seas that surround
the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. They come ashore only
to bury the deceased and to live temporarily while
making new boats called the " Lepa ". I had the chance
to visit Semporna in the eastern town of Sabah
(Malaysian Borneo) for the Regatta Lepa Festival in
April 2008. More stories about the Bajaus and
other tribes in the May's issue of Asian Geographic
Magazine. |
 |
My Sarawak Bird
Photography Expedition, July-August 2006
Sarawak Borneo Malaysia |
|
Elusive bird of the
rain forest
Birds in the tropical rain forest can be very colorful but very
difficult to spot in the dim and shadowy canopy.
The Green Broadbill, Calyptomena virdis for example can be all
but visible to the human eyes. Therefore knowledge of bird call and its
behavior would increase the chance of sighting. With the expert help of
Mano, I was able to see and hear birds that I would normally miss.
Photographing birds in the thick rain forest was not easy especially
with all those equipment. We trekked on the average 6 to 7 Kilometer
(Km) daily. There were days that we could only hear the calls but not
able to photograph them either they are too high up in the canopy or
just plain illusive.
Photographing birds
from the canopy walk
One of our unique encounters was the sighting of the Red-bearded
Bee-Eater Nyctyornis amictus from a canopy walk. Mulu
National Park has a 480 meter long canopy walk. It is 20 meter above the
ground in the middle of the tranquil and beautiful tropical rain forest
over looking the river. The feeling of walking along the canopy walk
(treetop walk) is like a lizard crawling from one
tall tree to another, 20 meters apart on a
thin rope with a 50 meter plunge below you. Suspended by just
ropes, with a 30 centimeter wide foot path I was trying to balance my
body and to overcome any thoughts of acrophobia, moving one single small
step at a time to complete the entire walk. It was during this
unexpected moment that I had an eye to eye encounter with the beautiful
Red-bearded Bee-Eaters Nyctyornis amictus, with scarlet breast
and crown lilac (male) perching on the branch near me.
Gunung Mulu National
Park- The only World Heritage area in Sarawak
Gunung Mulu National Park invites you to a breathtaking experience of
some of the world’s most enthralling wonders of nature. It has a 2377
meter submit which will take 4 days and 3 nights to reach the peak. The
main attraction of the park to most visitors will be the caves and the
bats. Experience the grandeur of the world’s largest cave passage
created millions of years ago. We walked about 3 km from the park head
quarter to Deer cave which brought us to the bat observatory. Every
night (if the weather is good) you will witness one of the magnificent
displays of mass exodus of bats from the cave to feed. The bats will
spiral out of the cave in a very orderly fashion for almost an hour (or
more). Someone told me that the visual effect is like looking at our
computer screen saver, it went on and on and on forever. Among the most
sought after bird during this time were Bat Hawk, Machaeramphus
alcinus and Rufous-bellied Eagle Hieraaetus kienerii
preying on the millions of bats coming out of the cave.
Bako National Park –
Second most popular National Park in Sarawak
Bako is the oldest National Park situated near Kuching, the largest town
in Sarawak.
Unlike Mulu
and Niah, where they are situated in the rugged mountain, Bako is
situated at the coastal line with more open forest. With rainforest,
abundant wildlife, jungle stream, interesting plant life, secluded
beaches and trekking trails, Bako offers visitor an excellent
introduction to the coastal rain forest of Borneo.
About 150 species of
birds have been recorded here. Bako’s lush vegetation represents seven
different eco systems ranging from the mixed dipterocarp forest to the
desert-like scrub. Besides birds and plants, Bako is the home of about
150 rare Proboscis monkeys found only in Borneo. The male has an
odd-looking huge pendulous nose and a large “ beer” belly. We saw them
in groups coming down to feed in the early morning and late evening at
the mangrove forest not far from where we stayed.
Planning your
itinerary:
Sarawak has so much
to offer .Your entry point should be the city of Kuching or Miri. Bako
national park can be reached by taxi or bus from Kuching where visitor
will arrive at the Bako village. Boat can then be chartered at the
village to go to the park head quarter. Accommodations in the park
include chalet units, jungle lodge, hostel-style rooms and camping
ground. Stay at least 2 to 3 nights in the park. |
Getting there was
part of the fun
From
the town of Miri in the island of Borneo, we took a Fokker 50 propeller
aircraft headed for Mulu National Park about 100 km due east. Looking
down through the window, I saw nothing but the dense and luscious
tropical rainforest with occasional winding rivers that snaked through
the jungles. What used to take travelers almost a full day of ridding
through dirt roads and winding rivers on boat to reach their destination
now took us just 40 minutes by flight. As what the previous travelers
always say "getting there is just part of the fun ".
Mano & I teamed up
in this trip to survey the birds in the state of Sarawak, the largest
state in Malaysia in the island of Borneo. Mano is a professional bird
guide and tour leader for almost 30 years. I know Mano as a good friend
some 20 years back through bird watching.
How we embarked on
the 15 day bird watching trip
Our
bird expedition started from
at the border of
Kalimantan, Indonesia. The trip took us 15 days. Each national park has
its own uniqueness in what it can offer to visitors. Mulu and Niah have
world class caves, Simalajau and Bako both have open coastal forests
(including mangroves) and beautiful beaches. Lambir is well known for
its dense lowland forest habitats and myriad waterfalls network.
Finally, for Gunung Gading is best notable for its magnificent flower
the Rafflesia, reputed to be the world’s largest, measures almost 1
meter in width when in full bloom. With the different habitats in the
various national parks, we hope to see and photograph as many birds as
possible. |
|
