White-breasted Woodswallow in courtship and
finally....(Video taken in Sekinchan rice field near Kuala Selangor Nature
Park, Malaysia - 4pm, 6th April 2007 by Mr Lee kok chung)
Malaysian Borneo Birding Site (Sabah And
Sarawak)
1) Crocker Range national
park, Sabah, Borneo
The Crocker Range National Park (CRNP) is
situated in the Crocker Range, Sabah. Crocker Range was designated to be a
forest reserve in 1968. Although there are no tourist facilities at this
park, it is densely populated with birdlife and is a trekker's paradise.
Rich with flora and fauna, the Crocker Range
Park offers visitors the chance to see tropical vegetation and wildlife not
to found anywhere else but in Borneo.
2) Tabin Wildlife Reserve,
Sabah Borneo
The Tabin Wild Life Reserve was established in
1984 with the aim to protect endangered wildlife. Tabin is a fantastic place
for bird-spotting as there are so many different species of birds including
all the 7 of Sabah’s Hornbills species and the Crested Serpent Eagle.
3) Gunung Mulu National Park
The park is important for its high biodiversity
and unique karst (limestone) features. Besides that, it contains seventeen
vegetation zones, exhibiting some 3,500 species of vascular plants.
The Park also recorded 270 bird species where
out of the 29 endemic Borneo species, 26 have been recorded. There are 8 of
Borneo’s hornbill species have been identified including the wrinkled
hornbill. Other species include Bulwer’s Pheasant, crested fire back
pheasant, Storm’s stork, and the Bamboo muni which is endemic to Borneo and
has only been found in Mulu and Kinabalu
4) Kinabalu National Park,
Sabah Borneo
Mount Kinabalu is the tallest Malaysian
mountain. Mount Kinabalu comprises an oval-shaped granite dome which
resulted 1.5 million years ago by volcanic, tectonic and geological
processes.
Kinabalu Park has essentially four main
vegetation zones. However, these zones are localized variations depending
on factors such as soil type, terrain, presence or absence of soils,
proximity to streams and degree of exposure to sunlight. Mountain Bush
Warbler, Kinabalu friendly Warbler, palefaced Bilbul and Mountain Blackeyes
are among the 250 species of birds that can be found here.
5) Niah National Park, Batu
Niah, Sarawak
The oldest modern human remains in Southeast
Asia along with many other relics of prehistoric man were discovered about
40,000 years ago, making the park one of the most important archaeological
sites in the world. The Cave is home only to bats, swiftlets and other
specially adapted forms of life.
If you leave the Great cave and return along
the plank walk around clouds intermingling, you can see half a million of
swiftlets are returning to their nests, whilst half a million bats fly out
to forage in the forest.
6) Sepilok Forest Reserve,
Sandakan , Sabah
The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre (SOURC),
which is located at the entrance of Sepilok Forest Reserves has been in
existence since 1964. The Centre offers varieties of nature experiences such
as nature talks, wildlife photography exhibitions, live orang utan
observation during feeding time in semi-natural environment, filming,
photography etc
The wealth of indigenous and rare plants,
animals and birds that have found sanctuary here are to be seen to be
believed. In term of its faunal richness, it boasts over 90 species of
mammals and 209 species of resident birds.
7) Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine
Park
The park was created in 1974 and covers an area
of approximately 50 square kilometers. The park has mangroves, coastal
forests and beautiful white sandy stretches of shoreline.
The park headquarters, located on Pulau Manukan,
oversee Pulau Gaya, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Mamutik and Pulau Sulug.
A large number of birds are found in these
islands including the white-bellied sea eagles, pied hornbills, green
herons, sandpipers, pink-necked green pigeons, bulbuls, bablers,
flycatchers, swiftlets, sunbirds and the megapode or burung tambun, a
chicken-like bird which lays its eggs in mounds of sand on the edge of the
beach. Also stand a good place to see the white breasted sea-eagle, pied
hornbill, and the green heron.
