The Borneo Bird Festival 2017 will occur at Crocker Range National Park and in Kota Kinabalu City from October 20 to 22. This is also the ninth year that the festival, the largest bird festival in Malaysia, has been held here in Sabah.

Organised by the Sandakan Borneo Bird Club, the event has seen over 30,000 people visiting the festival over the years. International visitors have also grown due to the marketing programs conducted by the Borneo Bird Club at world bird fairs.

Borneo Bird Festival 2017

This year, Crocker Range National Park, the unique venue, was selected to assist in cross-promoting tourism and awareness of the largest protected park in Sabah. This is also the first time the event is being held at the national park.

Around the park, you can also find the unique Rafflesia Forest Reserve, touted to be one of the unique places in Sabah. Crocker Range Park has also been recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by the International Coordinating Council for Biosphere Reserve (CRBR), a program under Unesco in 2014.

Birders in action at the last Borneo Bird Festival in Sabah, Malaysia

As for the 9th Anniversary of the Borneo Bird Festival, activities have been planned throughout the three-day event at Kota Kinabalu and Crocker Range National Park. For the Sabah Bird Race 2017, participants will be transferred to Crocker Range from Kota Kinabalu and back. This will be a full-day event that ends at 4.00 PM.This year’s theme is also “Protect Our Songbirds and Hornbills,” which aims to raise awareness of the heavy poaching and hunting of these beautiful birds in Sabah. There will be talks specifically on this, and everyone is invited.

The Borneo Bird Festival 2017 Programme, updated September.

The main venue is the Imago Shopping Mall in Kota Kinabalu City, where most birdwatching products, books, equipment, and talks will be held. The main launching event for the Borneo Bird Festival 2017 will also be held here. At Imago Shopping Mall in Kota Kinabalu, bird photos will be exhibited, and children’s activities will be held.

The main event, the Sabah Bird Race and Sabah Bird Photography Race will see many participants of all ages participate at the national park venue.

Omicron Binoculars, one of the participants at the Borneo Bird Festival 2017

Another fun activity at Crocker Range will be the guided bird walks conducted by naturalists and the senior bird watchers of Sabah. This will allow beginners to participate in a walk to spot birds and flora around the park.

As the indoor activities will be held at Imago Shopping Mall in Kota Kinabalu, you can expect many vendors selling bird memorabilia, books, cameras, binoculars, and scopes. Brands such as Omicron, Kowa, Minox, Leica, Swarovski, Nikon, Sony, Canon, and more will showcase the latest equipment and accessories.

Kowa Malaysia, at a booth during one of the bird festivals in Malaysia

Other vendors include nature resorts around Sabah and bird clubs from Malaysia and Asia that cross-promote their birding activities. Talks by renowned naturalists, bird watchers, and representatives from non-governmental organisations are also highlights of the event in Kota Kinabalu.

In general, the Borneo Bird Festival is the best place to get first-hand information about the hobby of bird watching and photography in Sabah.

This is a list of Important Birding Areas in Sabah or IBA. Crocker Range National Park is marked on the left side.

Bird Watching At Crocker Range National Park

As Crocker Range National Park is one of the top bird-watching spots in Sabah, several endemic birds can be spotted here. You can view the list of Endemic Birds of Borneo to learn more about this.

Crocker Range National Park is well known to be a hot spot for Bornean montane endemics, namely the Bornean Barbet, Bornean Falconet, Bornean Leafbird, Whitehead’s Spiderhunter, several species of Hornbills, the Great Argus Pheasant and many more.

Visitors at the recent Borneo Bird Festival

Borneo Bird Festival 2017 Information
Date: 20-22 October 2017
Day: Friday to Sunday
Time: 7.00 AM till 6.00 PM

Venue: Crocker Range National Park & Imago Shopping Mall, Kota Kinabalu City
Website: Borneo Bird Festival

How to go to Crocker Range National Park?Generally, you need to drive there from Kota Kinabalu City, which takes around two hours. There are currently no buses that go directly to the event, so you are required to take a taxi, UBER, or Grab from Kota Kinabalu.

You can also rent a car and self-drive to the event—a basic car costs around RM150.00 daily. Many car rental companies are found all over Kota Kinabalu city. If you need more information, you can also visit the Sabah Tourism Board office at Gaya Street in KK City.

Manis Manis Resort at Crocker Range National Park

Are There Hotels Around Crocker Range National Park?

There are only a couple of them. One is Manis Manis Rooftop of Borneo Resort, located at the national park. If you want to stay here, this is the best place. Other hotels are located in the Keningau area. There is another resort, Uli Kimanis Resort, at the other end of the national park, so please double check.

Most of the hotels in Keningau are standard budget or basic hotels. We recommend you look at the hotels in Kota Kinabalu. The organisers will provide a shuttle service back and forth for participants and visitors. Please contact the organisers about this.

Photos Taken During The Borneo Bird Festival

A Wallace Hawk-Eagle photographed in Sandakan during the last birdwatching event

Marshall and some of the participants during the 2016 Borneo Bird Festival in Sandakan, Sabah

Participants from the Borneo Bird Festival at Kinabalu Park in 2015

A Scarlet Rumped Trogon photographed at the Borneo Bird Festival in Sabah

Bird Watching in Malaysia

In 2014, the Tourism Ministry of Malaysia investigated bird watching in Malaysia. The country is keen on developing this unique hobby and promoting it to the world. Malaysia is well known for several species of birds, which are found in many different areas of the country. A total of over 780 species of birds are found throughout Malaysia.Wikipedia has a complete list of Malaysian birds, including their English and scientific names. I also have a dedicated birding website for Malaysia, and Southeast Asia called Bird Watching Asia if you want to explore more.

Crested Serpent Eagle circling the Borneo Bird Festival in Sabah

Little Spiderhunter, spotted around the Borneo Bird Festival event area

Sabah was one of the pioneers who steered birding to where it is today, and big thanks go out to the Sandakan Borneo Bird Club, who initiated the inaugural Borneo Bird Festival nine years ago with the assistance of the Sabah Tourism Board.

Now, Bird Watching in Borneo has grown from a niche hobby to a general hobby, with many locals and international participants taking part in the many birding events held around Sabah and Malaysia. The upcoming Borneo Bird Festival 2017 is one birding event not to miss for any enthusiast, locally or internationally.