Epicbirds: to the jungles of Borneo

[@WildatHeart123]

This was a very enjoyable video. Your storytelling and narration rival David Attenborough.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you for your lovely comment, I have a long way to go to match Sir David but I’ll certainly strive to get near there one day! I’m very happy that you enjoyed the video, it was a lot of fun (and hard work) to film and edit it so I certainly appreciate your kind words.

[@glenngilbert7389]

Really well-edited and well-paced video - inspirational to say the least

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, I greatly appreciate your kind words! Thanks for taking the time to comment :)

[@prototropo]

A great narration for great photography. Thank you for the honor of seeing Borneo's winged beauties.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, I greatly appreciate your kind words!

[@julianthomas6899]

You did really well to get so many great images in such a short time

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, it was definitely worth the effort!

[@rebeccachin95]

I in Borneo for 50 years but did not even see that many species as epicbirds gentleman seen spent 5 days ! That make me envy :--)

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! It was a wonderful trip, in which region of Borneo do you reside?

[@rebeccachin95]

@@epicbirds2864 Home Sweet Home in Kota Kinabalu

[@nuroe1]

Awesome camera work, man. My partner and i thoroughly enjoyed seeing all these different species. The colourways blew us away

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you for your kind words, they are greatly appreciated!! I’m happy to hear that you both enjoyed the birds from Borneo, they certainly are colourful!

[@RS-gl9ht]

Wonderful photography! Thank you for posting.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to comment, it's great to hear that you enjoyed the video!

[@voonjanted5043]

Excellent shot at close-up angle, this video is wonderful!

[@SteveBlack-yh4bc]

Great video, what amazing and beautiful birds

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, I really appreciate your kind words and thank you for taking the time to comment. Borneo is certainly home to some spectacular birds, these are just a few of the highlights, I plan to produce another video with photos of the other species I glimpsed, but that will take a while to edit.

[@TheWildlifeBrothers]

How this channel doesn’t have 174k subscribers instead of 1.74k I don’t know, because this video was absolutely incredible! As someone who makes wildlife videos for a living, your footage and photography is off the charts, and it’s even more impressive that you could get so much diversity on camera in as challenging an environment as Mt. Kinabalu. Nice pacing throughout, a very well done video overall. Eager to see more, easily earned my subscription! If you ever find yourself in the eastern U.S., we’d be happy to show you around! We’re based in the state of Pennsylvania.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you so much for your kind words, they are greatly appreciated!! It was certainly a challenging place to film but the birdlife is remarkable and makes it all worth the effort. I thoroughly enjoy the time in the field as well as behind the computer editing, it’s a long process but something I get a great deal of enjoyment from and it’s always encouraging to read a comment like yours. I’ll be checking out your channel, it looks great - I noticed that you’ve been to Costa Rica - that’s somewhere I’d love to go in the future, I’ll be watching those videos eagerly! Thanks for taking the time to comment and for your subscription, when I get over to the US someday I’ll definitely let you know, it would be great to meet and see your region!

[@taichi500]

An excellent video. You were extremely lucky (or very patient) to see so many species. I'm going there in a few days time and I would be very happy just to see half of what you did.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip and see a lot, where are you planning to visit? The jungle is a difficult place to find birds, I went long periods of time without seeing anything while walking through the forest but eventually I would always find something (and then usually a few species all at once), it is just a matter of persistence. What would you most like to see?

[@taichi500]

@@epicbirds2864 I'll be in Sandakan for 5 nights, 2 of them on the river tour and hopefully get to the Discovery centre for a full day. Then 2 nights in Kota Kinabalu before leaving for Taiwan where I now live. I'm quite used to spotting birds in the sub-t forest here, so hopefully that helps.

[@epicbirds2864]

@taichi500 wow that sounds great. I’ve heard great things about the Kinabatangan river cruises, you’ll have a great time there and will hopefully see a good variety of hornbills along the river. The discovery centre is definitely worth visiting, the canopy walkway is fantastic. Enjoy your trip and good-luck!

[@emmaleeaman1110]

Check out Rainforest Discovery Centre & Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre that is right next door to it for sure while you are in Sandakan!

[@taichi500]

@@emmaleeaman1110 I spent a very enjoyable 8 hrs in the Discovery Centre - well worth it. Thanks.

[@thestrongen]

The clouds and mist make it look like a fairyland!

[@shivaramannair7212]

nature in its vast bounty is stunning indeed

[@gailhowes9398]

What a wonderful video! Thank you so much as I live in Western Canada and it is the beginning of winter!

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! Hopefully the video transported you out of the cold and into the tropics for at least a few minutes! Best of luck with the winter months ahead :)

[@Rubeena.T]

This was such a beautiful and relaxing video. I have been to Borneo and covered all of the eastern parts of Sabah for two weeks but have not nearly seen as many bird species as you did in a span of five days only. Unfortunately, I was just new to all of the pure forest experiences, and I did not have any professional camera/lenses to capture the beautiful birds and animals that I had seen. Nevertheless, I still saw sooo many animals and birds that I had never seen in my life before! It was magnificent! 🥰🥰

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you very much, it is wonderful to hear that you enjoyed the video! You are definitely correct that Borneo is a magnificent place, the jungle and wildlife are truly special. It sounds like you had a wonderful time in Borneo as well, what was your favourite area in eastern Sabah?

[@Rubeena.T]

@ my favorite area was definitely Danum Valley! As it has lots and lots of primary forest. Although not exactly on the eastern part of Sabah. I also loved the Kinabatangan River! Lots of Pygmy elephants 🐘 there! 🥰

[@epicbirds2864]

Wow that sounds fantastic! Danum Valley was where I most wanted to visit, originally that was where I wanted to spend almost all my time. Unfortunately, I enquired about staying there at the field centre but the cost was excessive and I would only get one day there (I was visiting in the high season) so I decided to leave it for next time. Kinabatangan is also high on my list, I’d love to see the Pygmy elephants there as well as some of the hornbills I missed. It sounds like you had a great trip!

[@jessicadanielson4543]

Just amazing,thank you so much for sharing all these incredible birds,love barbets and flycatchers 💖

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! It’s wonderful to hear that you enjoyed the video, I also love seeing barbets, we don’t have any in Australia so they are always exciting to see for me and their plumage is often spectacular!

[@alanadare7052]

Fantastic work Michael. Outstanding film of behaviours and excellent commentary. We're just recently back from Sabah and thought it was wonderful. Congratulations on your production.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, I really appreciate your kind words! It’s wonderful to hear from you, I’m glad that you enjoyed the video and also had a great trip to Sabah! Where did you go during your trip? What were your highlights?

[@ingriddurden3929]

You did a wonderful job! Loved all the birds, most of all the woodpeckers and the kingfishers. Caught a glimplse of some beautiful orchids. Just started to think of visiting when I saw the mosquitoes... wet land, mosquitoes. Wonderful place, though! Thanks for sharing!

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you for your comment and kind words! There certainly can be a lot of mosquitoes but don’t let that put you off visiting, with some long pants/shirt and tropical strength bug repellent they can be kept at bay. It’s definitely a wonderful place to explore!

[@JohnBrembo90]

Thanks for the nice well narrated video.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, greatly appreciated!

[@i_am_x_wild]

You have alot of bangers for 2 1/2 days of work. That is amazing.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! It was actually 5 days in total, the 2.5 days was for Mt Kinabalu, I then spent around 2.5 days at Sepilok too. It was a wonderful trip, but I’d love to go for longer next time!

[@felicitygamble745]

Fantastic photography! I look forward to the Mexican video. I enjoyed meeting you on the trip from Villahermosa to Palenque. 😊

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! It was nice to meet you on the bus, I hope you are enjoying the rest of your Mexico trip! There will definitely be some videos from Mexico on the channel, but it will be a few months before they’re released as I need to finish a long documentary about India first…

[@prakashparasuram7088]

Incredible and well done

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!!

[@kenkuok3143]

Sabah jungles has variety plants for bird living. Fantasy video let me see many beautiful birds in there.👍👍👍

[@epicbirds2864]

It is a truly extraordinary place for biodiversity, thankyou for watching and I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the video!

[@letdrawwithfun]

Wonderfull doc,love it, just amazing coloured and variety of bird😍😍❤️❤️👍

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, Borneo is a spectacular region, full of wonderful wildlife! I’m happy that you enjoyed the video!

[@alanuae]

Excellent video. You did very well to see so many species in such a short time. I spent two weeks there and most interesting trip.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! Which areas did you visit? It was a fun trip for me but I have to admit it was also tough, the birds are around but they don’t make themselves easy to find as I’m sure you know!

[@alanuae]

@@epicbirds2864 Mount Kinabalu, RDC Sepilok, Kinabatangan River, Gomantong Caves and Tabin. Videos on my KZbin channel.

[@epicbirds2864]

Ahh excellent videos, I’ve been watching the first Borneo video, you saw some great birds! I also stayed at J Residence on Mt Kinabalu. To see Whitehead’s Broadbill at a nest would have been wonderful! You did well to see the Mountain Imperial Pigeons on a perch - I only glimpsed them flying overhead at speed. Did you have a guide during your trip?

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

What a wonderful little nature film. I learned a lot watching this beautiful video

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, I greatly appreciate your kind words!

[@kevincox1493]

Superb video. Great narration. I could have watched another hour. Thank you so much

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, it was great fun to film, edit and narrate this film - Borneo is an extraordinary place to travel - but also a lot of effort, so it is wonderful to hear that it is appreciated, so thank you for taking the time to comment here :)

[@JimySlow-wq9bw]

Beautiful bird amazing documentary video

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!

[@ritalawson7020]

Very beautiful birds and a black sqirrel with red on him amazing ❤

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!

[@RashidRashid-h9b]

Excellent Michael

[@epicbirds2864]

Thankyou Rashid!

[@aishwaryathakurguitar]

Amazing ❤

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!

[@RogersBirdingHotspots]

Great video, I am hoping to get there myself within the next couple of years, you have given me some good ideas on where to go, and what to expect to see. Love your commentary too.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you for taking the time to comment and for your kind words! I am sure you will not be disappointed when you make it to Borneo, the birds and jungle landscape are extraordinary. I recommend reading over as many recent field trip reports as you can (eg. via the cloud birders website for example), the provide a valuable source of information about what is seen when and where. How long do you plan to go for?

[@ericvuille1956]

THANK YOU so much...remember my beautiful Borneo i knew 2000..😃🖐🇨🇭

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the video! Borneo is certainly a beautiful region of the world!

[@naturearoundyou5119]

Nice video, thanks for sharing!

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!

[@JacobcjJacobcj-hs9dt]

Beautiful place ❤❤❤

[@epicbirds2864]

It truly is spectacular!

[@AncientWildTV]

24:12 the bird is soo beautiful, could barely see its eyes

[@palmyrafoxy6860]

gladly subscribing, shall await your next post with delight! Thank you.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you very much, your comment and subscription are greatly appreciated! There will be more to come I promise!

[@walkfree8282]

hi friend , wonderful , keep up the goood work.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!

[@freshmanforu]

Wow, well vidoed/ photographed, wonderful sharp images, we hope to return to Sabah sept 25’ we really want to see the Rhinoceros Hornbill, if you saw these at The DiscoveryCentre we’ll surely go there, we’re did you stay near the center? Looking forward to more of your birding travels….. cheers!

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you for your kind words! Where have you been previously in Borneo? I saw the Rhinoceros Hornbills on several occasions at the rainforest discovery centre (RDC) so I think you have a good chance of seeing them there, but getting good views of them is hard - I mostly saw them flying overhead or perched at the top of massive trees. I stayed at ‘Sepilok Jungle Resort’ which is very nice and within walking distance from the RDC (although a long walk and not recommended at night due to dogs). The gardens at the resort are home to stork billed kingfishers and I did see a hooded pitta in the scrub behind the property. There was one dusky munía there too along with a few other common species. Walking the road to the RDC there is a lot of mistletoe in the trees which attracts various flowerpeckers. The owner/chef is a bird watcher and can give some information too.

[@wlsnsoares]

wonderful, congratulations.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!

[@birdman5223]

Wonderful👍

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!

[@anotherthez7598]

Thank you!

[@davidsantossilvadavid6706]

Great❤

[@epicbirds2864]

Thankyou!

[@janflindtchristensen2016]

Excellent video. A real appetizer! What time of year did you make the trip, and what time of year would you consider the best for a bird photography trip?

[@epicbirds2864]

Thankyou! I visited Borneo in July, which is a good time to visit but ultimately it depends on what you’re interested in seeing, I would recommend contacting a local guide to find out when the birds you’re interested in are easiest to find.

[@janflindtchristensen2016]

@@epicbirds2864 Thanks, Michael 🙂

[@tamakastudio]

it's hard to spot woodpeckers nowadays. Borneo is a gem of Malaysia. love this vid. following you

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to comment and I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the video enough to follow the channel, there will be more videos to come :)

[@AlaparthiSundararamaiah]

What a heaven it is

[@timmywood9677]

My favorite cat species is from Borneo the clouded leopard they are aboriginal hunting birds and monkeys high in the canopy. My dream bird I would want to see would be the Philippine eagle

[@epicbirds2864]

I would love to see clouded leopards, have you seen them in Borneo? Unfortunately I didn’t have time to visit the areas such as Dannum valley or Deramakot reserve where they are more likely to be found. Next time! I agree that seeing Philippine Eagles would be amazing!

[@tietan867]

Just curious, did you have a guide when you traveled there? It’s one of my bucket list destinations.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you for your comment, I didn’t use a guide for this trip, I travelled alone. I only had around 5 days and since it was my first visit to the island, I thought I would be overwhelmed with new species just exploring the forest by myself. In the future a guide would definitely be helpful to find some target species that I missed, but I saw a lot and had an amazing time doing everything at my own pace this time. Where are you planning to go and what do you want to see?

[@rainforest_eye]

Great work! Nice survey. Makes me consider switching to Canon..

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you! I just started checking out your Sumatra documentary- great work! -which camera gear are you currently using?

[@rainforest_eye]

@@epicbirds2864 Thank you. I am currently using my iPhone 14, Nikon Coolpix 1000, diji drone and Nikon D7000. Ultimately it's more intermediate with numerous limitations. Plan on switching to a mirrorless next and maybe a more documentary style camera as well in the future.

[@epicbirds2864]

You’ve done a great job with the gear you already have, but I’m sure you will enjoy using a mirrorless camera when you get one. I’m currently using the canon R5 and love it, the only problem I have is that it tends to overheat when I’m shooting a lot of video (especially 4K at high frame rates), but that has apparently been fixed in the new model - just something to keep in mind! If you’re looking into a new mirrorless camera for wildlife photography I’d strongly suggest checking out Jan Wegener’s KZbin channel, he always offers excellent insight.

[@rainforest_eye]

@@epicbirds2864 thank you for the advice. I appreciate it!

[@kyrithevans7943]

It's funny to me hearing you get so excited about woodpeckers. I'm in the US and woodpeckers are common for us, but some of the other birds you filmed are like nothing I've seen before.

[@epicbirds2864]

That’s a great point, Australia (along with New Zealand, New Guinea and Madagascar) is actually one of the few regions without woodpeckers. My first woodpeckers were Japanese Pygmy woodpeckers which I saw in Korea and that was a birding highlight for me, I’ve particularly appreciated seeing them ever since. You are lucky in the US, there are some beautiful woodpeckers (and birds in general)! Thanks for your comment!

[@kevincox1493]

@@kyrithevans7943 yes we only get three types of woodpecker in the UK. I think in the US you get lots. But I think the gentleman making the video was particularly interested because those woodpeckers were only found in Borneo - nowhere else. Endemic I think they call it.

[@DS-hp6tc]

Burung burung itu Cantik

[@amiejambu8493]

Nice BRO video you✌️😄👍

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you!

[@richardjohnson5529]

Thank you for all the beautiful sightings. I try to do my small bit by boycotting products that use palm oil in them in the hope to save whats left of our wild places and the animals that call them their only home.

[@chiewkenvy296]

not bornean black banded squirrel, is prevost's squirrel, for orange bellied flowerpecker, correction yellow rumped flowerpecker which endemic to borneo

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you for picking up those errors, greatly appreciated! I’m not sure how I mixed up the flowerpeckers, I’ll see what I can do about a correction in the video.

[@adnanbinabdullah9615]

​@epicbirds2864 that's not a problem bro! Really appreciated your video..been working for few years in Sabah before but had no time to really go for bird watching!

[@epicbirds2864]

Thank you, greatly appreciated! Sabah would be an interesting place to work, hopefully you’ll get some time to get out into the jungle soon!

[@ron2kool56]

I like birds

[@albediorock]

Could share what tour company or guide did you use please?

[@epicbirds2864]

Thanks for your comment, I traveled alone in Borneo and didn’t use a guide or tour so unfortunately I can’t recommend any specific guides or tours. Are you planning to visit Borneo soon?

[@santarosadoc]

Do you guys recommend a Bird Watching Tour?

[@epicbirds2864]

I travelled by myself for this trip, so unfortunately I can’t recommend a specific birding tour. When I’m researching where to go I read a lot of trip reports from bird guides, tour operators and individuals on the ‘cloud birders’ website. You can often find contact details for local guides in those reports. I didn’t get around to hiring guides as my trip was only 5 days and was organised at relatively short notice; I felt that because I only had 5 days I would be overwhelmed with new species to film/photograph anyway and would wait until my next trip to hire a guide for specific birds (rail babblers, ground cuckoo, new pittas etc). Are you planning to visit Borneo or somewhere else?

[@nigeltan6862]

@@epicbirds2864 Thanks for the informative sharing! I am planning to visit Sabah this coming December and would like to know if you rented a car there or book a grab to and fro Mt Kinabalu?

[@epicbirds2864]

Sorry, I missed this! I imagine that you have already been on your trip and I hope that you enjoyed it! I didn’t rent a car, I used a taxi to get from Kota Kinabalu to Mt Kinabalu and then hired a driver to get from Mt Kinabalu to Sepilok. I was originally planning to use a bus but the bus times are irregular and it was raining, I wasn’t keen on waiting at the road side with all my baggage in the rain until a bus turned up so I took the private driver. You could definitely hire a car though and it would make transport to and from locations (as well as from accommodation to sites each day) much more convenient. Only downside would be the need to overtake a lot of slow moving trucks on the mountain roads.

[@Sthuont]

Borneo isn't north of the equator, it literally straddles the equator extending both to the north and south of it.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thanks for picking that up! I originally planned to talk about Sabah in that line (which is above the equator), but changed the introduction script to say ‘Borneo’ instead before I recorded (along with a lot of other changes). Unfortunately I never noticed the error that change produced.

[@aquaculturefarm12]

good

[@divyang43]

Mount kinabalu is not the second tallest mountain in Asia. It's almost half of mount K2 that lies in the Karakoram range. Kinabalu might be the tallest in the Malay Archipelago. Excellent video though.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thankyou for pointing that out, I’ll try to make an edit

[@emmaleeaman1110]

Mt. Kinabalu is the tallest mountain in SE Asia. In all of Asia it’s not the tallest, but in SE Asia it is yes the tallest mountain

[@mdkopiluddin2811]

welcome best my country Bangladesh everyday I love you love good video........... 💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘🇧🇩💘💘💚💚💙💙💙❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💗💗💗♥️♥️♥️💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@keangwooichoo6138]

National geographic channel

[@epicbirds2864]

Thankyou, I have a long way to go before I reach that level, but it is certainly a lot of fun and I am glad that you enjoyed the video!

[@keangwooichoo6138]

Must be expensive lenses you are using.

[@epicbirds2864]

Thankyou for your comment! I shot this film using a Canon R5 fitted with a Canon RF 100-500mm RF f4.5-7.1 L IS USM (with 1.4x converter) for wildlife shots and for scenery/ambience shots I used either the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 or Canon EF 16-35mm f4 L IS USM. Some scenery was also shot on my iPhone 12 pro. It is a fantastic setup for what I want to do, but you are right, camera gear for wildlife photography is not cheap. In the big scheme of things these are probably mid-range when it comes to price - the 100-500mm lens is a fraction of the price of a 600mm prime lens for example.

[@mohanchandra9001]

Sorry I think wifi defect. Athe ini punnaaravum kinnaaravum kurumbumokke pinne pinne pinne mmm kaattu kaattu kaattu katta bhoolooka kurumban mmmmmmmmmmm umma❣️

[@PatriciaBaughman-k4n]

Martinez Cynthia Young Helen Rodriguez Kenneth

[@dongnavarz4608]

Sabah Philippines not Malaysia !!! There was no such thing called Malaysia in the history of Sabah before 1963. Sabah was illegally transferred by tje British to Malaysia .