Gomantong Cave 11Jun18

From KH

We spent the late afternoon at Gomantong Cave. We each paid RM60 - RM30 for entry + RM30 for camera fee...

On the boardwalk to the cave, there were a few endemic Sabah Slender Skinks.

At the entrance of the cave, there was a dead Plume-toed Swiftlet, and a crab enjoying a guano bath.

Plume-toed Swiftlets are unable to echolocate, so they nest near the entrance, where there is still some light.

The Mossy-nest Swiftlets are able to echolocate and so nest further in. However, their nests are mainly made of plant materials instead of saliva, so they have no economic value and are not as sticky. As such, they generally nest on ledges. 2 eggs are laid in each nest.

The Edible-nest Swiftlets and Black-nest Swiftlets nest the furthest in and are told apart by the white nest of the former (saliva only) and black nest of the latter (being a mix of their feathers and saliva).

They share the cave with the bats and cockroaches.

As well as, Cave Centipedes. Fortunately, they stayed on the walls and we didn't see any on the cave boardwalk.

The cockroaches help to clear the dead, such as this bat on the boardwalk.

This is how the cave entrance looked like from the inside. A boardwalk looped inside the cave. The cockroaches roamed on the walls as well as the boardwalk, which is also somewhat littered with guano. All these, couple with the stench, moved us along, and we only spent 25 mins in the cave.

This male Oriental Pied-hornbill at the entrance must be up to something.

On the way out, we saw a millipede and a Spotted Fantail.

We also saw a few endemic Maroon Leaf Monkeys, and more Oriental Pied-hornbills (female, male and juvenile).

As well as, this young Orangutan and its mother.

While waiting for the bat show to start, these Verditer Flycatcher and Ashy Tailorbird kept us company.

At about 5:30 pm, the bats starting streaming out of the caves. These were mostly Wrinkle-lipped Bats.

Then, the Bat Hawks started appearing and the hunt ensued.

Soon, it was getting dark and time for us to leave. But, not before snapping a Swallowtail Moth to round up the day's activities.

1. 1 Crested Serpent-Eagle
2. 2 Bat Hawk
3. 1 Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo - Heard
4. 1000 Plume-toed Swiftlet
5. 100 Mossy-nest Swiftlet
6. 1000 Black-nest Swiftlet
7. 1000 White-nest Swiftlet
8. 1 Rhinoceros Hornbill
9. 2 Black Hornbill
10. 3 Oriental Pied-Hornbill - 1 male, 1 female, 1 juvenile
11. 1 Blue-eared BarbetHeard
12. 1 Yellow-crowned BarbetHeard
13. 1 Spotted Fantail
14. 2 Malaysian Pied-Fantail
15. 2 Slender-billed Crow
16. 5 Pacific Swallow
17. 1 Ashy Tailorbird
18. 1 White-rumped Shama (White-crowned)
19. 1 Verditer Flycatcher
20. 5 Dusky Munia