Birding Kinabalu Park Labor Day Weekend

It was supposed to be an MNS Miri Birdwatching outing together with some birder friends in the area ... as it turned out not many turned up. It became a walk down memory lane for the kids and I. The rest? Beats me what they up to.

Going Kinabalu Park has always felt like going home: the familiar winding road up the park headquarters, Balsam Coffee House, the trails, the clouds and the cool mountain air. And the birds of course.

"Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak between the Himalayas and the highlands of Irian Jaya, 290 species of birds have been documented. This is well over half the number of birds recorded in the State of Sabah (514) or just about half of that of the entire island of Borneo (579). 265 species are resident while 33 species visit the mountain during the migratory period."

Above quoted from Lamri Ali's foreword to Birds of Mount Kinabalu by Geoffrey W. H. Davison and John Gale.

I first came here back in 1991 on a back-packing trip with friends roaming around Sabah on leave from offshore work. Since then, I've been back to the park at least once a year, if not for birdwatching just to sip coffee, watch the peaks and fleeting sunbirds at Balsam Coffee House. I've walked most of the trails around the park other than those leading to the peak. What remains is still that two week sojourn at Laban Rata or a hut somewhere just exploring montane birds ... climbing is not my thing really, a chopper would do.

This trip is Ali's 3rd trip to the park and Aisya's second, both loved it for the walks, the birds, the cool air and the ASTRO!


The peak from the breakfast table at Balsam Coffee House.


Short-tailed Green Magpie


Indigo Flycatcher








Bornean Mountain Whistler


Black-capped White-eye


Ochraceous Bulbul




Sunda Whistling Thrush






White-crowned Forktail


Two youngsters trying to look nasty after being persuaded to walk the Annex-Balsam path.