Borneo Bird Festival 2024 Trip Report

Spread the love

Review Borneo Bird Festival 2024

After attending the largest bird festival in Southeast Asia for over a decade, I conclude that this is still one of the region’s most diverse and interesting birdwatching events, and no other similar event comes close.

Therefore, here is my yearly Borneo Bird Festival 2024 trip report for those who missed it. This includes a general overview of the opening, surroundings, and activities held throughout the weekend at the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sabah, Malaysia, Borneo.

Borneo Bird Festival 2024 Trip Report

Known as the BBF in short, the event takes place every October in Sandakan, on the east coast of Sabah Borneo. The Sandakan Borneo Bird Club organises the event with support from the Sabah Tourism Board and various other councils, NGOs, and even the private sector.

The Borneo Bird Festival has been running for a solid 14 years now and is the only birding festival on the island of Borneo but in the Malaysian state of Sabah. While Sabah has been known as a birding destination for over three decades, it was only fair to let the event be held here.

Launching of Borneo Bird Festival
The invited special guests at the official launching of the bird festival at the RDC.

Every year, thousands of visitors attend the BBF as it is, after all, a festival, and people love festivals because there are many things to do, see and even experience first-hand. However, this can be tricky because the fine line between birders, photographers and general consumers is huge.

Like the last Borneo Bird Festival 2023, an average of four to five thousand visitors attended the bird festival over the weekend. However, this year, there was a slight drop in the numbers due to possibly other clashing events and festivals on the same weekend. Organisers find this hard to avoid.

But from my point of view, the visitors who attended this year’s bird festival were more nature-loving consumers, which is the perfect crowd that the organisers want.

For the birders and photographers who attend, it is more like a yearly get-together. Most Sabahan birders meet at the bird festival as an annual gathering. Sometimes, visiting birders from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Brunei also make their way here for the BBF.

Borneo Bird Festival Tim Appleton and Team
Tim Appleton and his entourage, Sabah Tourism Board CEO Julinus, and the Borneo Bird Club committee at the welcoming dinner.

A Special Guest at the Borneo Bird Festival 2024

To everyone’s surprise, a special visitor was invited to attend this year’s festival, and it was the grandfather of bird fairs, Tim Appleton, his wife Penny, and his entourage from the UK. This was a pleasant surprise for visitors and birders, and a massive feather was added to the Borneo Bird Festival’s hat.

Tim Appleton is also the founder of the world-renowned British Bird Fair, which has been rebranded as the Global BirdFair and was specially invited by the Sabah Tourism Board to attend the BBF and experience birding in Sabah Borneo.

Last year, during BBF2023, worldwide birding celebrity Noah Strycker was invited to attend the bird festival here in Sabah, and that, too, was quite a fantastic moment for birders, especially those who knew who he was. You can read about how our Birdwatching Asia team went birding with Noah Strycker in Sabah Borneo.

FujiFilm Malaysia Booth
FujiFilm Malaysia is a regular camera vendor that participates in the festival yearly.

Festival Vendors

The vendors are crucial to any festival; therefore, for a bird festival, several categories of vendors were involved to cater to all walks of life, from general consumers to birders and, of course, the much-loved photographers.

Every year, more vendors seem to apply to the festival: food, arts and crafts, and NGOs. This year, however, there was a slight decrease in the number of camera and optics vendors for unknown reasons.

  • Birding-Related Vendors: International camera and optic brands like Sony, Canon, FujiFilm, Optisan, and Swarovski are positioned in the main festival area. However, for this year, Nikon, Olympus OMD, Zeiss, Omicron, Kowa, and other popular brands did not attend.
  • Conservation and NGO Vendors: Every year, many conservation and NGO vendors, most based around Sabah, try to attend the BBF. For some strange reason, those from Peninsular Malaysia are not seen or may not have been invited. This must be considered if the festival wants more awareness and publicity.
  • Bird Clubs and Associations in Malaysia: Only the Wild Bird Club Malaysia was invited, but other bird clubs, such as Selangor Branch Bird Group, Sabah Birdwatchers Association, and NEST, were not present at the event. This must also be considered for future festivals as it will benefit the overall event.
  • Food Vendors: Every year, a well-balanced selection of food, drinks, snacks, and desserts is available at two areas of the bird festival. The food trucks and vendors are hugely popular, as limited restaurants or cafes exist near the RDC.
  • Arts & Craft Vendors: Highly popular among families with small children, there are a few art and craft vendors throughout the festival grounds, some in the outdoor gazebo area and others in the air-conditioned function hall.
Bird Race Borneo Bird Festival 2024
Participants of the bird race get the early morning briefing.

Festival Activities

Activities go hand-in-hand with any festival, and at the BBF, there are several activities for various visitors. I will break them down below for easy understanding:

  • Bird Race: No, not people racing birds, but a team event exploring the festival vicinity to see which team spots the most birds within 24 hours and emerges as the overall winner.
  • Bird Photography and Videography Contest: This event is open for the whole year, and photographs of birds must be submitted a few days before the festival. Winners will be announced on the last day.
  • Talks and Presentations: This is one of the events held at the indoor hall, where various people talk about birds and conservation or even share their bird photography experiences.
  • Children’s Activities: Several categories of kids’ activities, including colouring contests, are held throughout the weekend.
  • Bird Makeup and Costume Contest: This is unique; participants dress up and put on makeup to look like birds and then parade on stage like a fashion show.
Birding in Borneo
A view of some birders at the RDC Canopy Walk.

Who Attends the Bird Festivals?

Let me try to put this in a simple understanding for everyone;

  1. Birders: These are people who attend events for birding or to see birds and connect with other birders and bird-related businesses.
  2. Photographers: Most of these people want to photograph birds, and that is all. They may look at only camera vendors bringing new products or lenses.
  3. General Public: These are the masses who come in the hundreds to thousands and enjoy attending a festival. In most cases, they want to learn more about birding and conservation and enjoy the weekend with family and friends. They often take part in general contests and activities.

As festival organisers, numbers mean a lot to them, especially the supporters and sponsors. Otherwise, people won’t part with their money, and companies won’t be interested in sponsoring or supporting the event.

Watch the Borneo Bird Festival 2024 Walking Tour Video

I have created a special walking tour video of the Borneo Bird Festival 2024 below for those who want to see the event and its activities. I start at the event entrance and make my way inside on foot, slowly showing all the vendors. Eventually, I end at the outdoor section, where the Rainforest Hall is located. This will give you a better perspective of what happens at the bird festival.

When is the Next Borneo Bird Festival 2025?

As always, the next Borneo Bird Festival 2025 will usually be held on the third or last weekend of October, and it will be held at the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) in Sepilok, Sandakan. However, this is not 100% confirmed as things can change; therefore, we will update the information in 2025.

For more detailed information, you can also visit the Borneo Bird Festival website or the Sabah Tourism Board website.

David Hogan Tim Appleton Penny
That’s me with Tim Appleton and his wife, Penny, during the Borneo Bird Festival 2024.

Conclusion

I recommend subscribing to this site for those wishing to experience the Borneo Bird Festival. I will post the information when the organiser announces it in the second quarter 2025. Then, you must start booking your hotels and flights to Sandakan in advance, as the rooms around the event will sell out fast.

Finally, thank you for reading my Borneo Bird Festival 2024 trip report. If you wish to add or have questions, please comment below or contact us using the form. I wish you happy birding and a positive 2025.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You cannot copy content of this page

Scroll to Top