Bird watching in Sarawak

Closest to Kuching, the state capital, you have a wide array of birdlife; two of the favourite protected areas being Bako and Kuching Wetlands National Parks. The former stretches along the Muara Tebas peninsula, is part of the Bako-Buntal Bay Important Bird Area and a haven for wetland birds such as the endangered winter visitors: Far Eastern curlew and spotted greenshank. There are also resident bulbuls and large billed blue flycatchers and, for those in search of a very special gift sighting, the Christmas frigatebird is a critically endangered beautiful sight to behold.

Kuching Wetlands National Park, just 15km from the capital, makes for a fine feather friend finale to a bird watching vacation in Sarawak, before taking flight yourself. Take a boat trip through these estuarine waterscapes filled by Sibu Laut and Salak Rivers as you look out for a superb array of birds among the mangroves and creeks. These include kingfishers, white-bellied sea eagles and the rare lesser adjutant stork. And few things will make a birder happier than spotting the exquisite endemic, Bornean bristlehead. Never to be upstaged by birds, however, the park’s proboscis monkeys and Irrawaddy dolphins will also undoubtedly add to your farewell in pure Sarawakian splendour.

With spectacular views across the Kalimantan border from the magnificent heights of the Penrissen Range, this is also a place to zoom in on the immediate environs too. With forested walking trails, you can spot the pygmy white-eye, white-throated fantails as well as various flycatchers. Seeking more than flies are the stunning black and white Blyth’s hawk-eagles which soar elegantly over the Penrissen peaks.

Lambir Hills National Park in the far north is worth the trek to see why this region is celebrated as an IBA. Fairly compact, you have chances not only to see its 237 bird species but also a variety of other wildlife such as flying squirrels and various species of monkey all claiming this waterfall-rich paradise as their own. Spending a few days here is like being given a kid’s kaleidoscope, as you take in all the different colours and spectacles of birds, from the blues of the large billed blue flycatcher, kingfishers or the blue headed pitta, to the heart stopping yellows of the yellow-rumped flowerpecker or the grey-bellied bulbuls. Another treat here is the sight of a Rajah Brooke's birdwing butterfly, a fleeting fancy you will never forget.