Expedition Fraser's Hill - Nov 2021

If you don't mind the usual weekend crowd and the sound of big bikes going around the narrow winding road and its small town centre, Fraser's Hill has still got what it takes - insects, birds, butterflies, and cool weather. The news of a very confiding Rusty-naped Pitta was buzzing in my ears for couple of days before I decided to give it a try for this illusive and cryptic bird. So after almost 4.5 years of absence, off I went to the rustic and iconic hill which should by now be part of Malaysia's heritage.

The ever famous clock in the center of the town. Still standing there "dengan megahnya" (proudly) after so many years. After getting some tips on the 'star' pitta from the "tok guru" of the hill (Aneh Durai) I went straight to the birding "port" (as birders like to call their favourite birding site). After climbing a muddy terrain I finally reached the port at 10.30am. There were already two birders patiently waiting there.

I waited and waited but the pitta did not show up. Instead it was other interesting birds (both common and uncommon) which turned up. 

White-tailed Robin

Instead of coming out in front of the "shooting" range, it decided to use the side entrance. Quietly it hop into view. This posture reminds me of a dancing bird in Papua New Guinea (the Western Parotia).

This is an uncommon bird and my first lifer of the day. In absence of the targeted pitta, this Robin provided some entertainment. 

It was everywhere - at the side, behind and finally in front of us. It looks like it was trying to check us out.

Throughout its presence it did not make any noise / calls at all!

After the Robin left, then came this Malayan Laughingthrush ! There were just three of them and they were competing for food together with the Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush. 

Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush

There were at least 6 of them - taking turns to fly in and out from the port.

Watching closely from above is this friendly little flycatcher

Rufous-browed Flycatcher

This is the most common flycatcher that you will come across in Fraser's Hill.

Besides birds, other mammals also came to entertain us.

This is a very inquisitive rat like shrew called "Gymnure".

Three-striped squirrel also came swinging by.

After a long wait then came my second lifer of the day.

Buff-breasted Babbler

It was also silent.

Then finally the 'star' bird came into view and it is a female.

According to Aneh Durai - the pitta will appear in the early morning and then its last call will be at 5.45pm. True enough it came at 5.50pm just when I am about to pack up. It came down from the middle of the port. The earlier two birders have left. Two lucky uncles came to join me at 5.00pm. At this time the port is almost dark and with my low budget camera system, this is the best I could muster. It appear less than a minute before heading back to her "home".

After securing my third lifer of the day, it's time to check-in and take my dinner.

Enjoying the cool mountain air.

After my simple dinner, it's time to go out again. This time is to look for those creepy crawly creatures of the night. I joined Steven Wong herping group which happened to be doing a 'tour of duty' as well.

The first creepy crawly creature we came across was this black spider.

Malaysian Black Trapdoor Spider (Liphistius malayanus)

There were quite a number of this Huntsman spider seen by our group of 9 pax.

Coremiocnemis hoggi (Malaysian Purple-femur Tarantula)

As we venture further, more 'things' came out. This time are some froggies.

Malayan Flying Frog (Rhacophorus prominanus)

This is the best image I have taken of a frog so far.

Look at its cute web feet !

The next frog is kinda of unique. You can actually hear it calling from a distance. 

Malayan Treehole Frog (Metaphrynella pollicaris)

Most of the time according to Steven Wong our guide and herp guru, this frog will be calling from inside a tree hole and their calls can sound like a short "pop" or a longer "poop". Interesting right !

The above frog is quite big ! This is a Malesian Frog (Limnonectus malesianus) and not a L. blythii (Malayan Giant Frog)

Now come the best part - snakes !

Gimlett's Reed Snake (Calamaria lovii Boulenger)

This is an uncommon snake.

You can seen its pale looking tongue sticking out.  Apparently its favourite diet is earthworms !

It's actually just a tiny snake - just about 25cm long.

You can see the iridescence colours of its scale.

As we were driving back, Steven Wong suddenly pressed the emergency brake and said "snake" ! Without a second thought yours truly - the hero immediately jump out of the car and asked "where"? Steven Wong then cautioned "watch out - don't move". At that time I was looking up on the trees but the teeny-weeny snake (of just 12 in long) was actually right in the middle of the road - just a few feet away from me.  

This is a juvenile female Siamese Peninsula Pitviper (Trimeresurus popeia fucatus)

Although its venom might not kill you but at this size it can still able to make you sick and suffer for many months.

To safeguard it from "kena gelek" by passing cars, we decided to place it on a nearby tree branch.

According to legends, only saints can see fairies dancing on a mushroom at night. 

It appears like this mushroom glows yellowish at night.

The next morning it's birding time again.

Saw this Large Woodshrike at about 7.30am. There were two of them.

Not too far away came this "one-tailed" Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo.

This looks like a Black-nest Swiflet

Long-tailed Sibia having its early morning snack. There were about 15 of them.

This Blue-winged Minla also came out early to look for breakfast.

As the sun came out, things look a bit brighter.

Streaked Spiderhunter

The commonest spiderhunter you can find in Fraser's Hill.

Beside the Black-browed Barbet, you should also be able to see this Fire-tufted Barbet quite often here.

It wants to do a tango.

Mountain Fulvetta

This is another common bird in this hill station.

The next bird is the most iconic and friendly bird of them all !

Silver-eared Mesia

It should be made a mascot bird for Fraser's Hill. 

Standing tall and looking majestically !

There are still a few more birds in Fraser's Hill which I have hoped to see in the future. With the new Novotel coming up from the once famous birding spot hopefully it will provide a more decent place to stay and not ruin the serenity of the entire place. 

UNTIL THEN - STAY SAFE AND ENJOY THE BIRDS AROUND YOU !

Birds, Wagler's Pit Viper etc - November 2021

When you go around looking for birds, be mindful of other creatures which may be lurking along your favourite trails. Some of them can be really special especially a nice but venomous looking snake like a Wagler's Pitviper (Tropidolaemus wagleri).

This is a female Wagler's Pit Viper 

Venomous terrestrial species of snakes in Malaysia are basically divided into 2 families, the elapidae which include cobras and kraits and viperidae which include viper and pit vipers. There are 3 subfamilies within this family of vipers: the Fea's viper (Azemiopinae), Pit vipers (Crotalinae) and Pitless vipers or true vipers (Viperinae), Iman D. Johan Arief, et al (2021). 

According to their research, Iman D. Johan Arief, et al (2021) argued that Wagler's pit viper (Trimeresurus wagleri) is among the commonest species of pit vipers found in Malaysia. Due to its highly differentiated morphological characteristics, it has now been categorised in a different subgenus known as "Tropidolaemus".

In another earlier research, Choo Hock Tan et al (2017) reported that Tropidolaemus is mainly distributed in Southeast Asia. There are currently at least four species of Tropidolaemus been recognised in the literature and media including the most commonly described, the "Temple pit viper" (Tropidolaemus wagleri), also known as speckled pit viper and Wagler's pit viper.

While variations in coloration do exist, generally the adult females have a black or dark green base coloration with yellow cross-banding while the males basically retain most of the external characteristics from the juvenile phase; they are typically slender and much smaller than the females, says Iman D. Johan Arief, et al (2021) and as can be seen from the above photo. 

The male body is generally light green in color, ornamented with red and white post-auricular stripes, as well as red and white spots on the dorsum. According to Iman D. Johan Arief, et al (2021), despite the high reports of snake bites due to pit vipers in Malaysia, most envenomation does not result in fatality. From 1965-1971, there were 1136 cases with 4 fatalities involving the Malayan pit viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma). 

Choo Hock Tan et al (2017) argues that unlike most other pit vipers, T. wagleri venom does not possess hemorrhagic or anticoagulant properties. Hypothetically, the venom of female T. wagleri would be one that is streamlined for the predation of larger warm-blooded animals such as rodents or birds, while the smaller male adults and juveniles feed mainly on amphibians and reptiles.

Addressing the qualitative and quantitative details of the venom proteins, Choo Hock Tan et al (2017) research surprisingly, revealed highly similar chromatographic profiles of both the male and female venoms. Despite their drastic sexual dimorphism, their findings imply that the venom contents of T. wagleri are consistent regardless of the sex and body size of the snake. Predation is accomplished with the venom neurotoxic activity mediated through the waglerins.

According to Iman Dr. Johan Arief et al (2021) the potency of the haemorrhagic and thrombin-like activity varies depending on the species, which may result in thrombocytopenic syndrome and haemorrhage.

Although the bites of members of this genus rarely result in serious envenomation, nevertheless, their bites can be excruciatingly painful with local blistering, tissue necrosis, and haemorrhage, Iman Dr. Johan Arief et al (2021).

References:

i) Choo HockTan, KaeYiTan, Michelle Khai KhunYap, & Nget HongTan,  "Venomics of Tropidolaemus wagleri, the sexually dimorphic temple pit viper: Unveiling a deeply conserved atypical toxin arsenal" (Feb 2017).

ii) Iman D. Johan Arief, Xin Y Er, Rafiq Shajahan, Faiz Johan Arief, Naganathan Pillai, "Venomous Terrestrial Snakes in the Tropics of Malaysia: Review", (Mar 2021).

Here are some of the birds seen along the way.

This is our very own "Tweety Bird" - Common Tailorbird.

Pin-striped Tit Babbler - together with the above tailorbird, they can easily manoeuvre along the thick vines and bushes in the jungle. Have seen them picking up caterpillars, etc in those areas. 

I believe this should be a Spectacled Spiderhunter.

Quite a large bird and their calls can be heard quite a distance away. 

Blue-throated Bee-eater

Its tail streamer is usually longer as compared to the Blue-throated Bee-eater.

Indian Cuckoo

This could just be a sub-adult.

At a glance, it looks like a Peregrine Falcon.

This is a medium size migrant cuckoo with a unique call which sounds repeatedly like this: "bo-ka-ta-ko" 

I rarely see three falconets in a tree.

Black-thighed Falconet

Eating its prey which I later found out that it was a dragonfly.

Scaly-breasted Bulbul

It is smaller than other bulbuls - the olive-winged, the Red-eyed etc but their calls are more melodious.

 

They can be quite friendly too and they definitely like a cool shower.

Enjoying a cool splash by itself.

It was then joined by its partner.

Another two other members decided to joined in the fun.

Suddenly more joined in.

Finally the whole gang of six decided to gate-crashed the party.

This could be a juvenile Spectacled Bulbul

Here's a funny looking 'cicak" (lizard)

This is an earless agamid lizard (Aphaniotis fusca). Can only be found in this region.

A spider with a designer web.

Finally a unique pair of insect - they look like some small cicadas.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS !

MUCHAS GRACIAS ! FOR DROPPING IN. ADIOUS ! 

 

Painted Stork and other non-waders of the inter-tidal flats - 2021

Aside from waders, you can also find other birds mingling together in the inter-tidal mudflats in this region. Their relationships in the coastline are generally cordial. Skirmishes which occur involved mostly the same species rather than intra-species and generally related to food acquisition. One of those non-wader birds which can be found in the mudflats lately are the Painted Storks.

Painted Storks have been regularly spotted along the mudflats of Selangor. They are probably a new colony which are distinct from those from ZOO Negara. However some birders believe the ones seen here could have originated from ZOO Negara when one or two of them begin breeding around Sepang or Putrajaya herony. From these few individuals, the colony has spread to the current numbers. I have once counted 50 of them at a single site.

They are not afraid of human or passing boats - not sure whether it was because of their sheer size or perhaps they are already accustomed with the presence of human beings.

So far I haven't seen them picking up fishes from the mudflats like some terns do.

They are like gentle giants wading casually on the mud.

Taking off.

They are also an elegant flyer.

This is a juvenile Painted Stork. Looks really ugly.

The next 'big bird' you will find is the Grey Heron. They too are accustomed to humans.

Like someone who has not enough sleep. The Black-Crowned Night Heron can be found mostly near the river banks.

Pacific Swallow 

They do fly along the mudflats.

Lesser Sand Plover

It has some neat looking plumage

Common Sandpiper with a chicken-liked feet.

Here comes the terns

This should be a White-winged Tern

Whiskered Tern

Probably the most common tern which you can find along the Selangor coastline.

Just like a Little Tern, Whiskered Terns do hover and practice plunge feeding as well.

Just like the Common terns, Whiskered Terns love to follow fishing boats as well.

They can provide you with nice bird-in-flight shots. 

Here comes the Common Terns

They too are elegant flyers

THAT'S ALL FOLKS !