Skip to main content

Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sandakan, Sabah late July



(view from one of the watch towers along the elevated walkway at RDC)


I have been to Sabah 3 times. Each time I only visited Mt Kinabalu as I fell in love with the mountain. Thus I post phoned a visit to the low land rainforests of Sepilok and Kinabantangan until now.

I pre booked my tickets with Airasia quite some time back. Flew Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur – Sandakan and back for 200$US.
The flights went well and I found myself at Sandakan around 8:30pm.
A half hour taxi ride driven by an elderly gentleman took me to Sepilok B&B some 400m from my birding spot: Rainforest Discovery Center.

The B&B has an older section and a newer. It is run more as a hostel then anything and I would best classify it as adequate as the personnel were friendly but rather untrained. Breakfast is a cup of coffee and two slices of bread plus a banana if you are lucky. Eggs have to be bought. Breakfast served 7 am.


Wi Fi is free and there are cold Tiger beers available howbeit twice as expensive as
in Thailand at 7 Ringit per can. The closeness to RDC makes up for any lacks though and I would use the place again. Rooms were clean.

I google earthed the Sepilok area before I left home and it showed the RDC being at the Northern edge of a larger forested area. I enjoyed 2 and a half days of absolutely great birding, walking the many trails in a varied landscape. It felt like magic land and as I look over the birdlist I can only marvel at the diversity and beauty of what I saw in this rather small area. Walking alone along these trails in anticipation and letting all my senses be tuned in to the surroundings left me with thrills and feelings of joy!

Here are some of the birds I saw and managed to photograph. See if you can tell what they are?












Comments

John Holmes said…
The RDC at Sepilok is a really great area for independent birding, and the variety of accommodation nearby keeps the cost reasonable.

We "squeezed it in" between Danum and Mt. K last year....a trip highlight.

Great photos, too.
November 8, 2011 at 1:26 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wut Tum Prathoon, Chonburi

 About an hour and 20 minutes drive from my home in Bangkok there is a temple on a little hill. The hill is surrounded by a forest that hold both resident and migratory birds.  At the temple there is a permanent hide with seating for about 8 people. The hide is for free.  A hose with dripping water and a bath is set up for the birds. This hide has some regular species that make use of the water as continuously. I have visited the hide a few times, mainly mid day when birds are hot and come to bath.  Here is a sample of birds I have seen of late.  Siberian Blue Robin, female  Emerald Dove Amur Paradise Flycatcher Streak-eared Bulbul Black-headed Bulbul Racket-tailed Treepie Sooty-headed Bulbul Eye-browed Thrush Chestnut-flanked White-eye Orange-headed Thrush Black-crested Bulbul Verditer Flycatcher Oriental Magpie Robin
1 comment
Read more

lndian Thick-knee in Bangkok!

This is the first photograph of an Indian Thick-knee from Bangkok on eBird. I stumbled across it this morning on a site in Nong Chok district of Bangkok. A big surprise that brought about a grin on my face! Like a ray of light it gave me joy!
Post a Comment
Read more

Small Pratincole, a first for Bangkok!

I didn’t go out this morning as I had some things to take care of at home. Checking eBird I noticed someone had 2 Red-necked Stints at Latkrabang. Since I haven’t seen them this year in Bangkok I thought I’d give it a go. Got there at 14:30 and the muddy field was full of little peeps. Loads of Little Ringed-Plovers, Long-toed Stints and Temminck’s Stint but no Red-necked. The field was very large so I thought I’d walk on a narrow bund for a bit. Scanning with my KOWA TSN 88 Prominar I suddenly saw something that caught my attention. I had seen several Oriental Pratincoles in my search for the stint but these two birds had slightly pinkish chests and strong eye ring. Could it really be what I started to think? Yes, Small Pratincoles on the mud resting in the scorching sun! Not only a first for my Bangkok list but a first for Bangkok period! My friend Sam Hambly also arrived in time to approach the birds a bit closer and he was as happy as I was and said 'a lot better then ...
Post a Comment
Read more