This October, the Borneo Bird Festival at RDC Sandakan will attract birders from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. This will also be the 13th year of the birding event in Sabah.
Over the years, the Borneo Bird Festival or BBF, has attracted many birdwatchers, birders and photographers to this part of Sabah, which is home to over 300 recorded species of birds.
Borneo Bird Festival at RDC Sandakan
The Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) is a strategic location for the birding event due to the multiple facilities available throughout the Sepilok-Kabali Forest Reserve, which is home to an exciting and diverse array of wildlife and vegetation made up of Dipterocarp and mangrove forests.
At the RDC, several nature trails lead through the forest, taking you from tropical mid-montane forests to lowland mangrove swamps. The Sepilok-Kabali Forest Reserve is also home to the world-famous Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and the Bornean Sunbear Conservation Centre.
But the star here is the recently fully-completed RDC Rainforest Sky Walk or canopy walk, which is quite an amazing steel structure. The 620-metre-long canopy walk is also perfect for birdwatchers and photographers.
Unlike conventional canopy walks in Malaysia, this version is a solid steel rainforest skywalk that can easily hold hundreds of people anytime. There are three birding towers where birders can go up to spot birds. As I have been birding here for over ten years, you can also read this review of the Rainforest Discovery Centre Canopy Walk I did in 2010.
Borneo Bird Festival 2022
- Date: 22-23 October (Sat & Sun)
- Venue: Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) Sepilok, Sandakan
- Entrance with Malaysian IC:
• Adults & Seniors – RM7.00
• Children/Teens (5-17 Years) – RM3.00
• Infants/OKU – Free - Entrance with Passport:
• Adults & Seniors – RM20.00
• Children/Teens (5-17 Years) – RM10.00
More Information is available on the Borneo Bird Festival Website.
Contests at Borneo Bird Festival
There are currently four types of contests available at the upcoming event, which is;
- Sabah Bird Race – Download Rules and Registration
- Bird Photo Contest – Download Rules and Registration
- Bird Photo Race – Download Rules and Registration
- RDC Tower Race – Download Rules and Registration
Registration for the Borneo Bird Race and Photography Contest
For now, I am awaiting the organisers to provide me with the relative information on how you can sign up for the events here. Once I get it, I will update the information here. Update 23 August: The Borneo Bird Festival Contest and Entry Forms are available for download.
I have also done a breakdown article for those interested in finding out more about where to stay in Sepilok. If this is your first visit, you should read the article I shared, which details the accommodations around the RDC in Sepilok.
And for those wondering what else is there, you can read this article on what to do at Sepilok when you are here for the bird festival.
Conclusion
I hope to see you at the Borneo Bird Festival at RDC Sandakan this October, as it has been a good two years since I last came here due to the Covid19 lockdowns and so on. Also, I would like to highlight that Sony is the main sponsor for this year’s bird festival here in Sabah.
The Borneo Bird Festival 2022 is one of the birding events you should not miss as it takes place on the island of Borneo and the experience of birdwatching here differs from that in Peninsular Malaysia.
