Flora of Fraser's Hill

Fraser's Hill is not only famous for its birds but it has also a variety of nice flowers to look at. As we go bird watching in Fraser's Hill recently, we came across a number of beautiful flowers blooming just along the road side. I am not a plant expert so you will just need to guess for yourself what are these flowers:

This image was taken just after the rain stops.

A male Black-Throated Sunbird was seen flying just like a humming bird around these flowers.

Some really nice purple flowers.

This image is the best so far.

These flowers look like some hanging light bulbs.

This was one unique flower which we saw along the trail.

There could probably be a dozen more flowers to see out there but all these God's creations are certaintly a sight to behold.

Bird Watching @ Fraser's Hill - March 2012 - Pt II

This is a continuation from the first part when we left Jelai Resort and went straight to Pine Tree Trail.

Here is the view from Pine Tree trail. From this place one could see the valley below as well as any big birds which may fly across.

Here is the smiling Mark Winter in front of the Pine Tree trail. He certaintly doesn't look a bit like a British Secret Agent, does he? There were not many birds here although we heard a few bird calls which i was not able to id them. We walked down to just about two hundred meters into the trail and then decided to turn back. Mark however did saw a large Niltava as well as a white throated fantail from the road side.

From Pine Tree trail we drove down to a more familiar trail - the Bishop Trail.

Today we saw just a few birds here and this Large-Billed Crow was one of them.

As they were little bird activities here so we decided to walk down to Hemmant Trail.

This was the only bird we saw at this trail - a Rufous-Browed Flycatcher. We had great views of this bird as it perched quite near to the trail, showing us how it catches crickets along the way. We had to leave this trail as it rained like cats and dogs for an hour.

After having our lunch in the middle of the torrential rain, we drove to our next destination - the Telekom Loop ! We reached the place at about 14.00hrs and today this place was certaintly packed with birds.

The first bird we saw was this female Mugimaki Flycatcher which was spotted by my partner - Mark Winter. We spotted the two wing bars which separates it from other species. The female was more friendly as it allows us a few moments to observe her as compared to the male.

And this fellow is the male. Both were silent and the male was exceptionally skittish. Was lucky to get this image.

We also saw this lone CSE flying overhead and some were seen thermaling.

This is a White-Browed Shrike Babbler.

This is a Little Pied Flycatcher.

This was my lifer for today - a Black-Eared Shrike Babbler. A highly mobile bird. This was just a record shot.

This is a common Fire-Tufted Barbet. Look how well it camouflage itself. It was located from the buzzing sound it make earlier as well as the flaps of its wing.

This i believe is a female Black-Throated Sunbird. From this bird onwards, there were waves after waves of birds coming in. At one time there were about 10 - 15 birds swarming around us in an eating frenzy. This was certaintly not a bird wave but a bird tsunami!

This bird makes up the most in the bird wave - a Mountain Fulvetta.

This Black-Browed Barbet was also seen eating some fruits in the bird wave.

These are Grey-Chinned Minivet (male) which flew in to join the bird wave. It does not have the two wing patches or what some call isolated red on tertials and secondaries of a scarlet.

Accompanied by this female Minivet (looks like a Grey-Chinned to me as well). These were the only minivets seen in the bird wave.

This Black & Crimson Oriole was also spotted amongst the bird wave.

So was this Lesser Racket-Tailed Drongo without its racket tail. Here is an extract taken from a local bird forum on the difference between lesser & greater racket tails:

"for racket-tails, first by size, they are quite different, hence the name, you may be able to estimate the size only if you have enough experience with them. second, by habitat, the Greater is lowland, dont proceed highland, the Lesser is highland species, may meet in intermediate altitudes, you will find Greater Racket-tailed when you travel down to Gap Rest House. third, most useful feature is tail shape, without the rackets, the Greater is forked, the Lesser is squared (the only squared tail species in Malaysia) forth, bulge on the forehead, bigger in West Malaysian Greaters and smaller, forming a straighter line, creating a triangular head shape in Lessers".

Then came along this Golden Babbler (i think) in the bird wave.

We did not see Silver-Eared Mesias up at Jelai but they certaintly did make an appearance in this bird wave.

Finally a bird which we were not able to id from the bird wave. Looks more like a female flycatcher of some kind.

It was a great departing party which the birds threw in for us. Looks like the month of March is also a good time to go bird watching in Fraser's Hill. I will certaintly be back !

Bird Watching @ Fraser's Hill - March'2012 - Pt 1

Fraser's Hill is still one of the best place to watch birds in this region. Recently Mark Winter, an expert in shorebirds (as described in States)  / waders (as pronounced in UK)  from England who has also declared himself as a Sunderland football club supporter visited the hill. We arrived at Fraser's Hill close to 10.30am as we were birding along the winding trunk road - the first bird we saw along the way was this Crested Serpent Eagle.

Certaintly looks like a well fed eagle. This raptor was seen after the Selangor reservoir area.

We also heard and saw a Moustached Babbler which calls (as verified by Mr Choo Jiin Hwa) was really loud and clear. Unfortunately i am not able to download the calls here. After having tasted the delicious "nasi lemak" and a cup of tea in Fraser's Hill, we headed to our first destination - JELAI HIGHLANDS RESORT. Here are some of its common resident birds:

This is a Long-Tailed Sibia feeding on a papaya given by the resort's staff.

This is another common bird at this place - a Chestnut-Capped Laughingthrush.

At times you will find this bird here - a Javan Cuckooshrike.

This is a male Orange-Bellied Leafbird which you can also find at this place.

Accompanying him nearby was his female partner.

We also saw a stream of raptors, presumably Oriental Honey Buzzards (OHBs) in spring migration to their breeding home. Unlike in Tanjung Tuan, they were travelling in high speed and in a single file one after another heading eastwards.

After having a great view of the migratory passage of these raptors we headed to our next destination which is the Pine Tree Trail. (have a look at the continuation of this trip in part II). Thanks.

An Afternoon Bird Watching in Kemensah - March 2012

Recently i had an opportunity to go bird watching with an "orang putih" who wishes to see our low land forest birds. We started around 2.45pm and due to the humid conditions the images gathered were not so good. Nevertheless we were able to see some interesting birds.

This is a male Baya Weaver guarding its nest.

This is a Large Woodshrike which has just taken a dip at a nearby marsh pond.

Images of woodpeckers always fascinate me - this is a male Crimson-Winged Woodpecker.

This is a male Whiskered Tree-Swift in its breeding colors.

We also saw a group of Jungle Mynas and this was one of them.

Other birds which was seen in this area were as follows:

White-Rumped Munia - (5) - seen near the car park area.
Stripe-Throated Bulbul - (3) - seen foraging along the trail.
Red-eyed Bulbul - (5) - seen along the trail.
Asian Brown Flycatcher - (1) - was foraging silently.
Black & Yellow Broadbill - (1) - only heard its calls.
White-Throated Kingfisher - (1) - was flying across near the marsh area.
Greater Leafbird - (1) - was seen foraging.
Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot - (3) - seen near the marsh land area.
Yellow-Bellied Prinia - (1) - only heard its calls from the marsh area.
Oriental Magpie Robin - (2) - one was seen on a dead tree and one was flying around at the marsh area.

Birding at Bukit Tinggi - March 2012

Bukit Tinggi is located about an hour's drive from KL. It has a slightly lower elevation than Fraser's Hill but certaintly not short of birds variety.

Some breathtaking views from above. On the way up we heard lots of birds' call notably pin-stripped tit babblers. We also saw a raptor - believed to be a changeable-hawk eagle perched on top of a lamp post.

This is a friendly Silver-Breasted Broadbill (Male). No wonder so many photographers are keen to go to this place.

Here is another shot of the Silver-Breasted Broadbill (Male).

This is a female Silver Breasted Broadbill wearing a thin necklace.

This is another friendly bird - a Grey-Throated Babbler.

We went to a place where the Hill-Blue Flycatcher was said to frequent. Well we did not see them but saw a Siberian Blue Robin instead as verified by Yang Chong :) I believe i may have also seen a similar one at Bishop Trail previously.   

We also saw a Blue-Crowned Hanging Parrot (a female i think).

This is a Grey-Chinned Minivet (female) which has just caught an insect.

Nearby was this male Grey-Chinned Minivet.

This was the most interesting find - could this be a Long-Tailed Minivet (first summer male)? According to the local experts here it is most likely a Grey Chinned / Feiry Minivet - immature/sub adult. Perhaps i need to have a word with Craig Robson.

This is a juvenile tiger shrike which can also be found here.

This is a barbet partly hidden among the branches - could not id which type it belongs.

This is a noisy Streaked Spiderhunter.

Finally i was able to take this Grey-and-Buff Woodpecker photos - a rather small woodpecker at 14cm.

Could this be a Common Woodshrike? - found perched nearby at a nursery area. According to the experts, common woodshrike does not occur here - so this is most likely a Large Woodshrike.

This Sultan Tit had also make an appearance.

This Brown Barbet (male) concluded our birding trip at Bukit Tinggi.