The Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) in Sepilok, Sabah, is a renowned birding locale to the birding fraternity. Administered by the local authorities, it is right on the doorstep of My Nature Resort so spending a few days here means you can visit the RDC as and when….of course no sooner had we made the short walk over to RDC when it started raining again, making for a pretty miserable morning and afternoon.
the short road from My Nature Resort to the side gate of RDCThe main entrance to the RDC where the ticketing booths are….we entered by the side gate near our resort
We followed the trails and sheltered in some of the hides….along the way…
the quaint Pill millipede which curls up when startled…… into an endearing little ball! One even rolled down a slopeelevated canopy walk..sturdy but few birds in the rainwe reached one of the towers and sheltered there….and found the Wallace’s Hawk Eagle’s nestquite magnificent Wallace’s Hawk EagleScarlet minivet from a million miles away…and here the female not so scarlet miniveta group of monkeys watched usthe pig tailed macaquemale black winged flycatcher shrikefemale black winged flycatcher shrikeTrogons are always a delight and this back view of a Diard’s Trogon was prettyglimpse of the stunning red breast of Diard’s Trogon
We returned in the afternoon at 330pm to the Pitta Path to try and find the Black crowned Pitta, endemic to Borneo….whilst waiting….
the smallest woodpecker , the rufous piculet zipped past andpaused for just a momenta fleeting glimpse was also had of the cartoon like, cute black and yellow broadbilluntil finally a burst of colour in front of us down a steep slope….the beautiful Black crowned Pittabeautiful from every angle
Seeing a pitta, any pitta is always a thrill and this lifer was even more so! Made the whole day worthwhile and we returned to the resort satisfied. The next day we took a short walk to the car park area in front of the RDC ticket office just to try our luck……we saw a few common things, and then Razis yelled quietly(if that’s possible) ‘Pitta!!’ He’d heard a pitta amongst the bushes fringing the road! We followed the sound and …..
this cutie was finally found hiding in the dark shaded bushesan equally stunning Hooded Pitta with its delicate green chest and red ventHooded pitta: 2 pittas in 2 days…doesn’t get much better than this!I just had time to take a hurried shaky blurred shot of this maroon woodpecker before he flew….
We spent quite a bit of time trying to locate the Bornean Bristlehead but sadly were unable to find him…. nevertheless, the RDC provided some stunning sightings of beautiful birds.
The Natural Traveller 