Birds of Gunung Ulu Kali - Apr 2012

Me and Mr CY Tan had planned this trip for quite sometime and decided to proceed no matter whether it rain or shine on that day. Unfortunately it did rained heavily and when it stops thick fog came and enveloped the entire place. We only managed to bird for about 45 - 60 minutes in aggregate despite staying on the hill for 3 hours. Although we did not see the star birds like cutias and wren babblers nevertheless in between the extremes we saw other lovely birds of which some were lifers for both of us. Here are some of the birds we saw here:

These were my first lifers up at this place - "Chestnut-Tailed Minla". Saw a few of them and apparently these birds were only seen here and Cameron Highlands but somehow they do not occur in Fraser's Hill.

Here you can see the bird has got a moth in thick fog. They were using the little window of opportunity to fill up their stomach in between the rain and fog.

This is a common bird - a "Grey-Throated Babbler".

This is another common bird up in the highlands - a "Mountain Leaf Warbler".

We also saw this "Chestnut-Capped Laughingthrush" which was drenched by the rain just like the both of us. After this photo was taken, the thick fog came in full force.

This Mountain Bulbul flew in and perched in the middle of the thick fog. These were the conditions we birded which i would termed as extreme bird watching.

When the fog went away, we saw this "Chestnut-Crowned Laughingthrush". I understand that this bird is also called a "Malayan Laughingthrush". Although it is common up in the highlands but it is more reclusive than the former laughingtrush.

This was my second lifer up here - a "Rufous-Winged Fulvetta". We saw two of them flying between the shrubs and drain to look for insects.

We also saw this jungle moth up here. According to Mr CY Tan, in the day time these moths will not buldge from its place. After the rain stops it was indeed still at the same place. Wonder how its wings were able to withstand the heavy downpour.

We also saw a Mountain Tailorbird (juvenile/sub adult) as confirmed by Yang Chong - note it still lacks the clear supercilium and rufous crown of an adult.

Mountain Tailor Bird (Adult Male)

The photo of this adult male Mountain Tailor Bird was taken from my subsequent trip in July 2012.

On the way down we saw this Large Niltava (Male). It was very curious to see these two birders looking at him. So it flew down quite close to us.

Watching us nearby was his girlfriend - a female Large Niltava. They were both calling at each other - probably telling each other to watchout for the two strange looking and drenched human beings.

Despite the rain and thick fog we certaintly enjoyed the trip and will be back again for the star birds.

Black-Throated Sunbird (Female/Juvenile?)

This sunbird image was taken from my subsequent trip in July 2012

Streaked-Wren Babbler

These images was taken in July 2012. Waited close to 30 minutes for this fellow to come out in the open. Images look quite hazy in view of the thick fog blanketing the entire place at that time.

Note: as at 2015, Gunung Ulu Kali has been closed ! No more access to Public.

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.