Hose’s Broadbill, Sarawak by Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok

Tour Dates: Wednesday 16th – Thursday 24th February 2028 (Kota Kinabalu to Kota Kinabalu)
This can be linked with our Sabah Birding Tour
Tour Price: £3,299pp plus flight 
Estimated Flight Price: Approx. £900 return
Deposit: £700 per per person
Conservation Donation from Wise Birding: £250
Minimum Number: 6 people
Maximum Group Size: 6 people

Target Birds:
Philippine Megapode, Bulwer’s Pheasant, Bornean Banded Pitta, Blue-Banded Pitta, Hose’s Broadbill, Dulit Frogmouth, Bornean Frogmouth, Mantanani Scops Owl, Black-thighed Falconet, Whitehead’s Spiderhunter, Bornean Spiderhunter, Hook-billed Bulbul, Black-throated Wren Babbler, Mountain Barbet, Bornean Leafbird, Bornean Bulbul, Bornean Barbet, Pygmy Heleia, Black Oriole, White-necked Babbler,  Cinnamon-rumped Trogon, Malaysian Rail Babbler, Metallic Pigeon and more!

Tour Summary
This short but rewarding birding adventure explores one of Borneo’s most exciting birding destinations. It is certainly a tougher trip compared to the comfort of birding in neighbouring Sabah, but we still make it as comfortable as possible and the sites can deliver a number of really impressive and range restricted birds! We visit the remote spectacular forests of Ba’kelalan and the Paya Maga IBA before finishing in Kota Kinabalu and a more comfortable and relaxed stay on Mentanani Island.  This unique tour offers an excellent chance to see many of Borneo’s sought-after montane endemics while also experiencing an adventure into the Sarawak highland communities, before returning to a relaxing island for easy birding with quality species.

Three nights are spent at a comfortable homestay in Ba’kelalan, where birding along quiet forest trails, mountain roads and forest edge targets an excellent range of Bornean specialities. From Ba’kelalan we continue to the remote village of Long Tuyo, birding little-explored forests and agricultural clearings that often produce species difficult to find elsewhere in Borneo. The highlight of the tour is an overnight stay at Paya Maga, one of Borneo’s premier emerging birding sites. The mossy montane forests, ridgelines and stunted cloud forest support an outstanding diversity of endemic birds, including Whitehead’s Trogon, Whitehead’s Broadbill, Hose’s Broadbill, Dulit Frogmouth and Black Oriole, to name just some of the headline birds! The combination of pristine habitat and very low birding pressure makes Paya Maga one of the most exciting birding destinations in Southeast Asia. The tour ends with a ferry across to the island of Mantanani Island where we spend a night for a more relaxed end to the tour and special birds.

ACCOMMODATION: 8 nights
3 nights Ba’kelalan Homestay, 1 night Long Tuyo, 1 night Paya Maga (wooden house campsite), 1 night Kota Kinabalu, 1 night Mantanani Island and 1 night Kota Kinabalu
Inclusive Meals: Full board
** At Paya Maga there is no electricity and basic meals here.**

Dulit Frogmouth, Sarawak by Scott Baker

* Arrive day before unless continuing from Sabah Birding Tour

DAY 1: Kota Kinabalu – Klias Wetland – Lawas – Ba’kelalan
We will depart Kota Kinabalu at around 04.30hrs and drive for around 1.5 hours to the Klias Wetland Centre. The site is a rich wetland ecosystem of mangrove forests, peat swamps, rivers, and floodplains and an important conservation area.
Here we will be looking for a number of key targets that include Hook-billed Bulbul, Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker, Red-crowned Barbet, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha and Grey-breasted Babbler. Once we have secured good views of the hoped for target species, we then continue by road to the town of Lawas for lunch, before transferring to 4×4 vehicles and embarking on a further 6 hour journey by land to our Ba’kelalan Homestay. This will be our base for the next three nights as we search for so many special birds! Overnight Ba’kelalan Homestay

DAYS 2 & 3: Ba’kelalan
We have two full days birding in the Ba’kelalan area which hosts many of Borneo’s special and endemic birds.  These include some real quality species like Whitehead’s Spiderhunter and Whitehead’s Broadbill as well as the stunning Hose’s Broadbill. Other key species we will be looking for include Fruithunter, Bornean Leafbird, Bornean Bulbul, Bornean Barbet, Pygmy Heleia, Bornean Spiderhunter, Bornean Green Magpie and Rail Babbler.

With two full days in this area, we should also see a great selection of other birds and the list is long and varied but species like Black-throated Wren Babbler, Mountain Barbet, Black-thighed Falconet and Malaysian Honeyguide are also species we hope to find. Of course the night birding here is also exciting and we will be certainly be looking for the montane endemic, Dulit Frogmouth as well as other species such as Malaysian Eared Nightjar and Brown Hawk-Owl. Overnight Ba’kelalan Homestay

DAY 4: Ba’kelalan – Long Tuyo
We will spend a full final morning birding around the homestay for any species that we are still missing  and have lunch before travelling overland to Long Tuyo, a journey of around 4 hours. Overnight Long Tuyo

Black Oriole, Sarawak by Hamit Suban

DAY 5: Long Tuyo – Paya Maga
After an early breakfast we set off for the Paya Maga mountains! We will meet our porters at the agreed meeting point, who will then take our luggage, so we can concentrate on the birds unencumbered. We then begin a 4.5km hike to reach the Paya Maga campsite.

This beautiful montane forest area in remote northeastern Sarawak is home to many incredible species. It is mostly secondary forest with mixed dipterocarp trees as we slowly walk from around 850 metres to our the Camp Site at around 1,100 metres. Target species are many here and we will try hard to find some of the most sought after birds including the Black Oriole, a species that many birders visit the site for, as it is the only realistic place in the world that you can get a chance to see it! We will also be looking for other gems such as Hose’s Broadbill, Bornean Banded Pitta, Blue-Banded Pitta, Bornean Frogmouth and of course the Rail Babbler. This last species is always highly sought after by birders as it is in its own family and the forest here is a really good place to see it. Overnight Paya Maga

Bornean Frogmouth, Sarawak by Hamit Suban

DAY 6: Paya Maga – Kota Kinabalu
We will spend the whole morning birding as we slowly descend to our meeting point from the previous day. We then travel overland to Lawas, where we stopped on the first day of the tour, where we will have lunch and continue back to Kota Kinabalu.. Overnight Kota Kinabalu

DAY 7: Kota Kinabalu – Mantanani Island
Today we can have a relative lie in and have breakfast at around 06.30 before travelling for around 1.5-hours to the Rampayan Jetty in Kota Belud where we catch a boat to Mantanani Island.
The crossing takes around an hour and we will keep a look out for species such as Lesser Frigatebirds and White-bellied Sea Eagles. On arrival we will check in to our accommodation and enjoy lunch, before heading out in the late afternoon, when cooler, to look  for our target species. We basically have a full afternoon and evening and the whole morning the following days to see a small number of key species. Philippine Megapode, Pied Triller, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Metallic Pigeon, Grey Imperial Pigeon and even an outside chance for Nicobar Pigeon.

After dinner we will head out and try for the Mantanani Scops Owl, a species endemic to the small offshore islands of the western Philippines and northern Borneo. Overnight Mantanani Island

DAY 8 :  Mantanani Island – Kota Kinabalu
We will be out early to make the most of our birding and will focus our time on any species that we are missing still. We will have lunch on the island and depart by ferry during the mid afternoon.
Once back at Kota Belud, we will make a lat afternoon birding stop at the Tempasuk Paddyfields. Here, we should find a nice selection of waterbirds and easy birding. Species we will be looking for include, Watercock, Wandering Whistling Duck, Striated Grassbird, Lesser Coucal and a selection of waders. Overnight Kota Kinabalu

DAY 9:  Kota Kinabalu Airport
Transfer  to Kota Kinabalu International Airport. 

Please note this is a flexible itinerary which may need to be adjusted slightly dependent on arrival / departure times, weather conditions and the most recent information from our local guides

Leaders: Wise Birding leader plus local guide throughout tour
Included in cost: Accommodation in twin en-suite rooms, all meals, bottled water, all entrance fees, boat trips, ground transport and services of leaders
Not included in cost: International airfare, travel insurance, drinks other than water and any airport/visa fees
Single Supplement: £340
Transport: A/C Minibus and 4 wheel drive safari truck.
Difficulty: Medium – Difficult. There is a reasonable amount of walking on this tour in often difficult terrain. Expect long field days and early starts with birding on muddy, slippery trails in hot, highly humid conditions. Night birding and bumpy 4×4 vehicle transport. The majority of trails are not necessarily hard in terms of being steep, but more the fact that they are often muddy and therefore very slippery. The more strenuous walks would be up to 6Km return, but much depends on the most recent locations of key birds.
Climate: Hot and very humid and a wet tropical climate with rain typically falling as short heavy downpours in the late afternoon. For most of the tour temperatures ranging between night and day at around 24°C – 32°C. 
Tour Start Point: Kota Kinabalu airport, Borneo
Tour End Point: Kota Kinabalu airport, Borneo
Suggested Airlines: British Airways via Kula Lumpur

Rhinoceros Hornbill by Chris Townend