Sabah is rich with biological and ecological wonders, including caves! Compared to its famous counterpart, the Madai Caves is a less visited tourist attraction. Nevertheless, the caves allow visitors to witness unique cave ecology and wildlife!
The Madai Caves are managed by the Idaʼan ethnic group of Sabah, who have lived around the area for centuries. The Idaʼan community is mainly involved in bird-nest harvesting. They usually carry this out three times a year, namely in April, August, and December. For birders, this is good news! Wherever there are bird’s nests, there are birds!
Hunting for Swiftlets at Madai Caves
Apart from the Idaʼan Community, who looks for edible-nest swiftlets for harvesting purposes, hunting for the nests of these swiftlets will prove useful to bird watchers and bird photographers. It will also allow us to identify the different species of swiftlets with absolute certainty. The main inhabitants of the Madai Caves are several species of swiftlets, which will be the prized targets of birders.
The main issue with swiftlet identification that birders face is that most swiftlets look very similar to each other, and they are always flying at high speeds. Unless a person is an expert and can obtain a compelling photograph that captures the bird’s main features, swiftlet identification is a nightmare! Hence, most newbie birders ignore identifying swiftlets because they can be challenging.
Identifying Swiftlets by Observing the Nest
One method of simplifying the identification of swiftlet species with absolute certainty is by observing the nest of these birds. By observing the nest, we can correctly identify certain swiftlet species and add them into our list. This applies to a number of swiftlet species such as the Black-nest Swiftlet, the White-nest Swiftlet, Mossy-nest Swiftlet and others.
For the Birdwatching Asia Team, we made a trip to the Madai Caves specifically to observe these swiftlets in their nests. By seeing the birds being perched in their nests, we can positively confirm the correct species and add them into our checklist!
During our visit to the caves, we were guided by a local member of the Idaʼan Community. He showed us around the caves, which facilitated our main purpose of the trip: to find swiftlets and their nests!
Looking for Swiftlets
Upon arriving at the Madai Caves, we got our first swiftlet species flying in large numbers above the village in front of the cave – the Plume-toed Swiftlet! This is one of the easier swiftlets to identify when in flight. It was not the swiftlet species we sought, but it was a great start!
Going into the caves, our guide pointed towards the cave ceiling, and we finally saw what we were looking for: bird’s nests! As most of the nests were harvested about a month ago, it was wonderful to find some nests already produced by the birds. There were quite some nests of Black-nest Swiftlets! However, just finding an empty nest was not good enough for us; we wanted to see a swiftlet in the nest in order to positively identify the bird!
We asked our guide to look for a nest with a bird in it. It was not easy as there were many bats around as well. Finally, after looking very hard, we found a nest with a bird in it! We have finally seen the Black-nest Swiftlet! Our guide told us that most birds are usually Black-nest Swiftlets. However, they also get White-nest Swiftlets, but very rarely. We asked our guide to take us around the caves further to look for more nests.
Mossy-nest Swiftlets
As we went around the caves to look for nearer nests to photographs, we stumbled upon something interesting that caught our attention. We saw a type of nest that was different from the rest; instead of being made out of bird’s saliva, these were made of plants. It was a mossy nest! We immediately scanned the nests to look out for one with a bird in it. We finally found one, a Mossy-nest Swiftlet!
The Mossy-nest Swiftlet is one of the swiftlets that is harder to see. Due to its low commercial value, the Idaʼan Community does not see any value in this bird. However, to us birders this was a really amazing sight to behold! We finally saw a Mossy-nest Swiftlet which we can add into our bird list! This was definitely a major find for the Birdwatching Asia Team!
More Sightings of the Swiftlets
After seeing and photographing this bird, we were looking for any other interesting finds in the caves. We ended up seeing more bats and Black-nest Swiftlets. As our adventure in the caves was coming to an end, we stumbled upon a wonderful end to our trip. We saw a Black-nest Swiftlet in a nest close to us!
We finally had the opportunity to obtain a good photograph of this bird. Our previous sightings of the bird were from a far distance; hence, we were happy about this last sighting!
We have yet to see the White-nest Swiftlet. This is a species that we will definitely look out for when we visit other cave areas. Nevertheless, we were happy with our sightings of two different swiftlets that we can positively identify by having a good look of the bird together with its nest! The total number of swiftlet species that was seen during this trip was 3 species!
Visiting the Madai Caves
The Madai Caves is a convenient stopover if one is traveling from Tawau to Lahad Datu. The nearest town is Kunak. The entrance fee is RM 10.00 per person. Upon entering the Caves Area, if you wish to hire one of the local villagers as a guide, the charges are usually about RM 50.00 per trip.
It is worthwhile to engage a guide as they are knowledgeable around the caves area and may find the wildlife or birds for you. In addition, you will be supporting the livelihoods of the local people.Do check out the official website of the Sabah Tourism Board for latest information of visiting the Madai Caves as well as latest charges for entrance fees,
The bird’s nest in the caves is harvested 3 times a year – in April, August and December. If you wish to witness the Idaʼan Community collecting the nests, you can visit the caves during this period. In order to maximize your findings of birds, it is suggested that you visit the caves before the nests are harvested.
For the Birdwatching Asia Team, we visited the Caves in the month of October, which was not long after the August harvesting period. Hence, the number of active nests were quite low. We were extremely lucky with the sightings that we had.
Other Wildlife to see at the Caves
On another note, we were told by our guide if we visited the caves early in the morning or late in the evening, there is a chance for us to see Bat Hawks! These raptors will appear at dusk or dawn to prey on bats entering and leaving the caves! Unfortunately, we visited the caves close to noon and hence we are unable to witness this. Perhaps we could consider this for our next visit!
The other inhabitants of the caves are bats! There were lots of bats including one species that we identified. Where there are bats, there are also lots of bat droppings or guano. This guano emits a nitrogenous gas that not many people are able to handle. If you are not able to handle the gas, do refrain from walking in the caves as it may make you nauseous or dizzy. It may even cause you to faint if you are not able to handle it well.
In addition, the cave is full of insects, particularly cockroaches. If you have entomophobia and is not able to handle insects and cockroaches, we recommend that you do not travel into the caves.
Things to Prepare Before Going into the Caves
If you are coming here on your own without a guide, we recommend that you bring your own lights. However, if you hire a local Idaʼan guide in the caves, then this will not be entirely necessary, as the guide will have lights.
The paths inside the caves are not fully paved. In many instances, you may need to walk off the path and your shoes may get dirty with guano among other things. Having a pair of booths or hiking shoes will be helpful in these cases. There is a small stream to wash your footwear after the short hike in the caves, but it will not rid your footwear completely from the substances from inside the caves.
Prepare to bring a set change of clothes if you do not wish to smell after your excursion into the caves. The paths inside the caves can be slippery, and you may get your clothes dirty. Also, bring plenty of water to stay hydrated while inside the caves.
Conclusion
For a birder wanting to see most of the world’s species, looking for and identifying swiftlets is essential. One way to correctly identify some species of swiftlets is by observing the bird’s nest. There is no better way of doing this than by witnessing the birds’ nests in caves.
The Birdwatching Asia Team did this during our short Madai Cave visit, and we obtained two lifers – the Black-nest Swiftlet and the Mossy-nest Swiftlet. When travelling between Tawau and Lahad Datu, visiting the Madai Caves is a perfect detour to see and witness these nesting swiftlets! With much luck, one can see all three species of nesting swiftlets and other birds in the caves!
Visit our other sections in Birdwatching Asia for more information on birdwatching locations in Malaysia and other parts of Asia. Also, if you are planning a trip to Sabah, check out our articles regarding birdwatching in Sabah, as we have covered the State extensively for its birdwatching sites. We hope that these articles will enable you to maximize your birding trip in this part of the world!
