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Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah

Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah

bird-watching-lens-sabah Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
The Borneo Bird Festival 2011 is held in Sabah Borneo every year. This is the third year the event is being held at the Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) in Sepilok,
Sandakan. You can be assured that there will be an exciting lineup of events and activities for everyone.

As I attended last year’s Bird Festival in Sabah, I noticed that the event brought many people from near and far to Sandakan. While the festival was targeted towards promoting birdwatching in general, it was also open to the public, where they could come and experience and participate in some of the activities here.

While for the birdwatchers, many came from across the border and overseas. This fantastic event is co-organized by SabahTourism Board, Sabah Forestry Department and Borneo Bird Club Sabah.

Borneo Bird Festival 2011

datuk-masidi-manjun-sabah Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Cede Prudente (r), Datuk Masidi Manjun (in white) and other VIPs

The 2010 Borneo Bird Festival held last year at RDC was officiated by Sabah’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment – YB Datuk Masidi Manjun. With Sabah’s Forestry Department and the Borneo Bird Club, the event saw speeches by each representative before officiating the official Bird Race and opening of the event.
The RDC in Sepilok is one of the many nature and eco-friendly places where it is opened to the public in Sandakan. It is situated near the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and caters to all things nature and flora here.

A beautifully manicured landscape awaits the curious while a discovery centre housed in a building showcases flora and fauna of Sabah Borneo. Apart from this, there is a lake where one can rent paddle boats, a flora trail and the much talked about steel canopy walk, which is currently the longest in the world.

rdc-lake-sepilok-sabah Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
 RDC Lake, Sepilok

rdc-metal-skywalk-sandakan Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
 Entrance to the steel sky walkway in Sabah

What would you get at this festival? For starters, several booths are dedicated to birding or simply birdwatching. Displays of bird photographs and information are located in a few booths.

Nikon has a booth there showcasing some birding equipment like Digi scopes and binoculars. Books and other related items are also being sold there. WWF Malaysia was also seen there last year, creating awareness for the endangered fauna. 

bird-prints-for-sale-sabah Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Bird-related items for sale at North Borneo Safari Booth 

cede-prudente-books-on-sale-rdc Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
 Books on wildlife and birds by Cede Prudente are on sale at RDC.
 digiscope-nikon-malaysia Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
A lady looks through a Nikon Digiscope.

While most of the booths are located in the main area of the festival, there are also registration booths for those wanting to participate in some of the Birding Activities. The famous Bird Race is where groups of birders will go around the RDC and spot as many birds as possible.

There is also the Guided Bird Walk at Dusk, where you see different birds. For the more serious hobbyist, there are several talks held in the main halls where speakers from around the world are invited to share their experiences and knowledge about birding.

This year’s speakers come from the USA, UK, Hong Kong and, of course, Malaysia, who share expertise and knowledge on various topics on birds and migration. 

bird-race-rdc-sabah-2011 Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
 RDC birding trail sign

 

bird-spotting-sandakan-borneo Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Bird Race participants walking around the RDC
bird-watching-tower-rdc-sandakan Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Birdwatching Tower at the Steel Canopy Walk in RDC

bird-watching-sandakan Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
A bird was spotted by me at the RDC.

bird-watcher-rdc-sandakan Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
 A birdwatcher with equipment walking around the RDC

borneo-bird-festival-2011 Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Another bird was spotted by me at the RDC, Sandakan.

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A mother doing sand art with her kids

While most of the activities were catered more towards bird watching, there were kids activities for those who came with children. Face painting, tattoos, bird art and sand painting were set up in one of the covered areas here.

I must have seen about 20-30 kids happily participating in these events. Food and drinks were also available, while a popular ice cream brand was one of the sponsors.

keruing-cafe-rdc-sandakan Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Keruing Cafe at RDC Sandakan

keruing-cafe-rdc Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Inside the Keruing Cafe, a cosy open-air place

The Keruing Cafe, which serves local food, is located at the Steel Canopy Walk entrance and is a popular place to meet up.

You get one of the best views here, while there is a chance to spot some of the rare Borneon Birds from the balcony. Below the cafe lies an air-conditioned room where known artists display their birds’ art and sell books.

nikon-digiscoping-system-sabah Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
A Nikon Digiscope attached to a DSLR body

olympus-camera-bird-watching-sabah Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
One of the birders compact cameras attached to a 500mm lens

600mm-lens-birdwatching Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
600mm lens for Bird Watching
 tee-nikon-malaysia Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Tee from Nikon giving a talk about Bird Watching

nikon-digiscoping-system Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
Nikon Digiscoping System being explained at RDC

flying-fox-rdc-sandakan Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
A flying fox was seen at the RDC Sabah.

Those who would like to simply visit this place for the weekend will be surprised at how much nature you will be exposed to. Make sure you arrive here early in the morning and avoid the mid-day heat.

Imagine
bringing the kids for a family getaway to Sandakan; here, you will have
the chance to visit the RDC, Sepilok, Kinabatangan River, Gomantong Caves and Turtle Island, to name a few of the unique places.

borneo-bird-festival-sabah Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah
The Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Poster
I also attended the previous year’s event, and you can read my story on the 2010 Borneo Bird Festival in Sabah, which also has many photos. 

Hot to go to RDC Sepilok:

  • Located
    just out of Sandakan, RDC Sepilok is about 23 kilometres from the city. Getting to RDC Sepilok is pretty simple as it takes about 30-40
    minutes by car or van. (Self-drive or tour company)
  • The public bus service
    from Labuk Bus Company departs from the Sandakan Town Council at
    RM2.10 (US$0.60) one way, but the bus stops at the junction of the
    main road. You then need to walk about 1.5km.
  • Taxi service from Sandakan is available with a return trip costing about RM100.00 (US$29). Do negotiate with your taxi about the prices.
  • Getting to Sepilok from Kota Kinabalu (KK) is also possible. A bus
    ride would take about 7-8 hours from KK to Sandakan and cost
    around RM30-50 (US$9-$15).
  • A better option is to fly to Sandakan as there are direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. AirAsia offers some cheap tickets if you book early. Malaysia Airlines also has some reasonable ticket prices if you want to compare.
  • I would recommend taking Grab Car to the event.

Getting to the RDC via car or bus:

  1. Drive along Jalan Labuk from Sandakan Town
  2. Turn left at the Mile 14 roundabout (with a giant Orangutan statue)
  3. Drive along until you see the large, pictorial RDC sign and turn right
  4. Drive for about 500m to the RDC car park
  5. The public bus service
    from Labuk Bus Company departs from the Sandakan Town Council at
    RM2.10 (US$0.60) one way, but the bus stops at the junction of the main
    road. You then need to walk about 2km or thumb a ride.
  6. You can take Grab from Sandakan.

Opening Hours for the RDC:

  • Daily 9am – 6pm
  • Birders start as early as 7am

What to bring to RDC;

  • You should bring
    mosquito or insect repellent, a poncho or an umbrella if it rains as
    the walkways are not covered. 
  • Bring some snacks and bottled water as
    well. 
  • A pair of binoculars are worth bringing if you want to see birds. 
  • Wear proper shoes here, as some of the walkways can be slippery. 
  • You
    may want to bring some snacks if you have kids, as there is no food
    available except for a kiosk that sells drinks and some local
    snacks.
map-to-rdc-sabah Borneo Bird Festival 2011 SabahMap to Rainforest Discovery Center, courtesy of RDC

For further details on this event, you can contact:

North Borneo Safari
Lot 4, 1st Floor,
Block 22, Bandar Indah,
Mile 4, 90000 Sandakan,
Sabah, Malaysia.
E-mail: inquiry@northborneosafari.com
Telephone: +6089 235525

You can also follow Malaysia Asia on Facebook for more information, pictures and links about Malaysia and Southeast
Asia. If you are interested in learning about birdwatching or attending
this event, you can contact the relevant people mentioned
above.
Conclusion

For more information, you can also visit the Borneo Bid Festival’s official website, as they update the info just before each event. The complete itinerary of events is also available there.

This is one of the excellent family activities that you can do in
Sabah and a great way to expose your children to nature. This three-day
event will take place from the 14th till the 16th of October and is
the 3rd Borneo Bird Festival 2011 in Sabah.

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comments user
Thristhan

Wow, look at those beautiful Cameras and their lenses. Have not seen a flying fox before, nice capture.

comments user
Malaysia Asia

Thanks Thristhan. Next time you're free, we should make a trip to Sabah, not the commercial side of it but the nature side.

comments user
Mame

We wish you a lovely birding festival. Last week, Uganda hosted its Big Birding day – a 3 day festival which run from Thursday 29th Sept to Saturday 1st Oct. On Friday from 00:00 till Saturday 00:00, people were allowed free access to all national Parks and game reserves, forests and ramsar sites, to go watch birds.

Uganda is one of world's best bird-watching destinations, offering 1041 species ie half the total found in Africa.

To find out more information about Uganda, see http://WWW.GUIDE2UGANDA.COM

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