Borneo Bird Festival 2011 Sabah

Bird Festival in Borneo

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

Launching of Borneo Bird Festival
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.

Sepilok Lake RDC
 RDC Lake, Sepilok

Steel Canopy Walk 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. 

Booths at Borneo Bird Festival
Bird-related items for sale at North Borneo Safari Booth 

Wildlife Books Sabah
 Books on wildlife and birds by Cede Prudente are on sale at RDC.
 Digiscope from Nikon
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. 

Trails at RDC Sepilok
 RDC birding trail sign
 
Sepilok Bird Watchers
Bird Race participants walking around the RDC


Bird Watching Tower Sabah
Birdwatching Tower at the Steel Canopy Walk in RDC

Bird Watching at RDC Sepilok
A bird was spotted by me at the RDC.

Bird Watcher in Sabah
 A birdwatcher with equipment walking around the RDC

RDC Birding
Another bird was spotted by me at the RDC, Sandakan.

Activities at Borneo Bird Festival
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.

RDC Cafe Restaurant
Keruing Cafe at RDC Sandakan

Cafe in Sepilok
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.

Digiscoping in Sabah
A Nikon Digiscope attached to a DSLR body

Bird Watching Camera Sabah
One of the birders compact cameras attached to a 500mm lens

Sabah 600mm lens
600mm lens for Bird Watching
 Tee from Nikon
Tee from Nikon giving a talk about Bird Watching

Digiscoping System Nikon
Nikon Digiscoping System being explained at RDC

RDC Flying Fox
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.

2011 Borneo Bird Festival
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 Rainforest Discovery CentreMap 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.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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