Sandakan 2011 - #03 A Morning On The Kinabatangan

As the sun rises earlier at one of the Eaternmost areas of Malaysia, up we were at 5 in the morning, the cockerels already beginning their morning call. We trundled down to the restaurant for a quick coffee and headed down to the jetty where our boatman was waiting for us. The skies were still cloudy and grey when we set off down the Kinabatangan River before 6.30am.

Looking forward to a bright morning.

Oh, the feeling of the chilly morning wind against my face was lovely. The river water was still a light brown shade but the level had gone down since the rain stopped the previous evening. The forest lined both riverbanks about 150metres across just beyond a thick boundary of elephant grass. I kept praying that the weather would be kind to us this morning!

Our boat had several rows of pairs of bucket seats and we were accompanied by not just a boatman but also a local guide. They were very helpful indeed whenever we spotted something and wanted to get nearer for identification and photographic purposes. The boat had both a diesel motor which was used for long-distance travelling and also a more silent electric motor for more delicate negotiating and manoeuvring. What I liked most about this boat was that it was stable and there was minimal splash, enabling us to remain high and dry throughout the entire trip. More importantly was that our equipment wouldn’t get wet!

One of our first sightings was a pair of Storm’s Storks Ciconia stormi flying directly overhead. Being still so early in the morning, it didn’t occur to me to remove my camera from the tripod and my tripod was also fixed too low. We were lucky that we saw 3 more storks perching further downstream. Although lighting was not much improved, it was much easier especially when our boatman cut off the engine and we came to an almost complete halt.

Still far, far away. The third was hidden from this view.

The next bird which caught our attention was a raptor. As the light was still dim, getting a good shot was challenging. After a while we concluded that it was a Wallace’s Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus nanus nanus. The leg feathers completely covered the tarsals and there were multiple tail bands. A short, sharp crest stood stiff and erect at the top of its head. It did not seem bothered to fly away even though we got quite close to it, probably because its wings were still wet from yesterday. We saw around two more of this species along the river. I like the way the crest sticks out, the feathers are usually separated from each other and makes it look rather cute!

Look at the crest!

Not far away on the opposite side, I spotted a colourful thing perched on a solitary bare tree partially submerged in the river. As we drew closer, I made it out to be a Black-and-Red Broadbill Cymbirhynchus macrorhyncos macrorhyncos and it flew to a mass of dried twigs on the same tree. A nest! We didn’t proceed nearer as to not disturb it and continued our journey.

Nest above the water. I'll bet it has a nice view. Unless the river floods.

Keeping a good watch.

Along the riverbanks, a mixture of breeding and non-breeding plumage Great Egrets Ardea alba pranced gracefully with their long slender necks held high above the water. The birds in breeding plumage looked stunning indeed with their jet black bills, red legs and bright cyan facial skin. Little Egrets Egretta garzetta garzetta were slightly less common and most of them were also ready for courtship.

Love the composition. And the plumes.

Another in transition to breeding plumage.

The grace of an Egret is not easy to translate into pictures.

Other notable species that we saw were a pair of Pink-necked Green Pigeons Treron vernans, a pair of Little Green Pigeons Treron olax, a pair of Crested Serpent Eagles Spilornis cheela pallidus and abundant numbers of Slender-billed Crows Corvus enca compilator. Here in East Malaysia, the Slender-bills are far commoner than the Southern Jungle Crows Corvus macrorhynchus and House Crows Corvus splendens. The opposite is also true in West Malaysia.

Purple Herons Ardea purpurea manilensis would fly over every now and then and once a lone Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax also flew past.

It was this lone Lesser Fish-Eagle Ichthyophaga humilis humilis which gave us a pleasant surprise. Normally, this species and also the Grey-headed Fish-Eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus are superbly skittish and are so sensitive to the slightest movement we make. The moment its eagle eyes spot a single strand of hair moving, whoosh! Off they go! But this bird that we saw today couldn't care less if we were a troupe of monkeys using loudspeakers. Alright I might have over-exaggerated, but it just illustrates how different this one behaved.

The most cooperative bird throughout our entire trip!

When I first spotted it perched on a fern-covered tree, we were excited but took a very slow and cautious approach, for fear that we might spook it. Our boatman even used the electric motor to cut down the amount of noise we made. But after hanging about almost directly at the base of the tree for more than 5 minutes, it just continued standing there looking down on us. Our cameras didn't stop clicking from the moment we saw it until then. In fact, we had to give up shooting it when we found no better angle. Even our guide and boatman were surprised as they too had never seen this species stay for this long. And to top it all off, on our way back, it was still there!

On the next leg of our journey, we had magnificent views of a pair of Stork-billed Kingfishers Pelargopsis capensis cyanopteryx. Being a different subspecies from the one we get in Peninsular Malaysia (P.c.malaccensis), the first thing that struck me was how bright this one appeared. The crown of this subspecies is a buffish orange with only a slight tinge of dull brown towards the forehead, unlike the other which has a whole head of dull brown

Calling and fanning its wings and tail - to stake its territory and to attract a mate.

These Kingfishers were calling and displaying profusely from the top of a bare tree before coming lower to hunt. As the sun had finally made an appearance, the effect of the sun's rays hitting these magnificent birds was just breathtaking. They stood out like glowing embers in the morning sun. One of them was very obliging and allowed us stunning views at a pretty close range. Our guide was again astonished at how cooperative this bird was as this species apparently rarely stops for such wonderful views.

As beautiful as amber.

Not much further down, we entered the Ox-Bow Lake. To access the lake, we had to pass through a small inlet where there are warning signs of crocodiles along the banks. The trees hung over both sides of the inlet and their canopies formed an arch above us. At some points we even had to duck our heads to avoid the low branches. I relished every moment of this serenity and wished that more people could appreciate such beauty.

The calm and peaceful inlet into the lake.

The beginning of the Ox-Bow.

The main highlight of the Ox-Bow Lake was a fruiting fig tree with a large flock of Green Imperial-Pigeons Ducula aenea polia and at least a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills Buceros rhinoceros borneoensis (an adult female and a young male). The birds kept very well hidden and so we waited patiently for one to alight fleetingly on an exposed branch. Suddenly, a Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus microstictus appeared out of the blue, zoning in onto the fruiting tree and dove in, causing a big ruckus and explosion of Pigeons scurrying away. The Hornbills were nowhere to be seen.

Having a good feast.

However, this proved to be a blessing in disguise for us (despite it probably being a brush with death for the Pigeons) as they flew right over our heads to perch on a bare tree on the opposite side. The sun was in the right direction, bringing out their metallic green wings to full glory. It was just splendid.

Such a pity its right wing was cropped off.

To bask in the sun after escaping a near fatal fate.

It was about 9am by the time we finished. As we hadn't had our breakfast yet, we decided to head back. The best part of the journey back was a Saltwater Crocodile Crocodylus porosus, spotted by our boatman's keen eyes. It was basking in the shallows and it looked like it just had a good meal. When we tried to approach it, it slipped slowly into deeper waters, keeping only its eyes and nostrils visible.

"Never smile at a crocodile..."

We also said goodbye to our Lesser Fish-Eagle friend still solemnly watching over the river.

We couldn't have asked for more after such a wonderful morning with sufficiently kind weather. There weren't as many things to see already, partly also because we were so satisfied that we didn't really bother looking out for more. The sun disappeared behind the clouds as though closing the curtains on a great show and the sky turned gloomy again.

Back from a cruise not to be forgotten. It was worth every single minute!