Fraser’s Hill Revisited

An expected spare weekend before I moved back to India had me itching to go for one last birding trip in my current stint in Malaysia. A quick check with Weng (my local birding guide) for his availability, finalised Sunday (22nd Oct 2017) as the day for the trip. Fraser’s Hill was decided as the destination for the day in a bid to catch up with some of the stars that I had missed out in my previous trip (Jan 2017); the Malaysian Partridge and the Slaty-backed Forktail. I also hoped to see the Collared Owlet which had eluded visual sighting though we had heard it calling very close by for over 5 minutes (how frustrating!).

We left from my apartment in Kuala Lumpur (KL) by 5:20am. Traffic was  light this time with no slow-moving trucks going up to the Gap. The water reservoir enroute was almost full. We decided to not halt at the “waterfall stop” as we wanted to improve our chance of sighting the Slaty-backed Forktail. But Weng slowed down enough for us to see the Chestnut-naped Forktail at its usual spot at the base of the waterfall. We soon reached The Gap and continued. We both had our card door windows down keenly listening for any calls. Soon we were behind a truck that was determined not give us any way to overtake and go. Well this was going to reduce our chances of seeing the forktail at the side of the road while going up, given the Forktail is a shy bird that gets spooked easily. A check at the usual spot (at the end of one-way road going up) for the Slaty-backed Forktail and the Malayan Whistling Thrush did not yield results. Darn! But we still had the whole day ahead.

Weng decided to try for the Partridge. Upon reaching the spot we could hear the call of the Collared Owlet. Weng quickly parked the car and we jumped out with our binoculars and camera. Judging by the call the bird was very close; in one of the three tall trees in front of us! Several minutes of scanning the tree did not yield results. This was almost like deja vu from the last trip; only calls being heard. I was not yet ready to give up. Suddenly I saw a flutter near the top of one of the trees. Yes, the Collared Owlet landed on a branch! It was however attacked and chased away by another bird before I could take any photographs.

Our attention now turned towards locating the Malayan Partridge. We could hear its calls and hoped that it would make it appearance soon. While we waited we were greeted by an inquisitive Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, a common bird in Fraser’s Hill.

 

Here is a video I took of the beauty.

A Mountain Tailorbird and Mountain Imperial Pigeon were calling close-by. A quick scan around in the trees revealed the Pigeon.

The Partridge was not showing itself. So we drove back to look for the Forktail again. On the way we heard calls of the Dark Hawk Cuckoo. However the bird did not reveal itself. Upon reaching back to the spot for the Forktail we could hear its calls. I quickly alighted from the car and quietly walked to the area with the water flow. No Forktail yet! We heard it calling further down the hill slope on the other side of the road. Scanning the area did not yield the bird given the thick vegetation. Hmmm! Would this bird continue to elude me?

We headed back up to look for the Partridge. This time Weng parked the car a bit before the spot. We wanted to avoid any chance of disturbing the Partridge owing to any noise from the car. As we slowly walked up the road we saw a flurry of activity on the trees to the right of us. Yep it was a bird wave! (More info on Bird Wave) As with my experience with bird waves from the previous trip to Fraser’s, this time too there was a Drongo; this time a Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo. One usually finds it difficult to decide which part of the wave to focus on given bird frenzy. I tried my best scanning different “areas” of the wave. The birds we identified during the bird wave were the Blue Nuthatch, Long-tailed Sibia, Golden Babbler, Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, White-throated Fantail, Black-eared Shrike-Babbler and the Blue-winged Minla (a bird in my target list for the trip!). There were over 4 Blue Nuthatch in the bird wave, a bird that we had got to see only once during my last trip.

Once the bird wave died down we moved further up to pursue the Partridge. We decided to stay put at the usual spot for it and wait it out. Well that was the plan atleast. 15 mins later with no sighting of the bird one gets restless. Weng commented “Looks the Partridge is not going to make an appearance” and started to walk back down. Almost immediately he darted back up…and the Partridge walks into our view!! And it was well worth the wait. A group of 8 birds walk up; 4 chicks and 4 adults. The Malaysian Partridge gave us ample views and finally scurried off.

Here is a video that I took of some of the individuals in the group

We then returned to look for the Forktail. This time however there were no calls heard at the spot. So Weng drove further into Fraser’s town. As he drove past the clock tower we heard the Forktail’s call. He immediately stopped the car and I jumped out. Hurray! There it was, the Slaty-backed Forktail hopping around in a stream.

Weng then drove us to another spot where he hoped to find the Silver-breasted Broadbill. We walked around in the area for over 45 mins but with no luck. As we were heading back to the car we heard a single call of the Broadbill but the bird refused to show up. It certainly was my boogie bird! I had missed seeing it in many other places where it should have been usually found. We did however see a Black Eagle flying overhead.

It was past noon and we decided to break for lunch. While ordering lunch we heard what sounded like the call of the Silver-breasted Broadbill. We dropped the restaurant menu cards, rushed outside and started surveying the trees as well as a cupping our ears to locate the call. I was determined to see it! But then my boogie bird had other ideas. The “call” was actually coming from a creaky see-saw in the nearby children’s playground! We went back in to the restaurant, ordered and had lunch.

After lunch we headed back to the Bishop’s Trail and Hemmant Trail area. We saw several Streaked Spiderhunters as well as Mountain Fulvetta flying around. A walk into the trails yielded good views of both the Greater Yellownape

and the Lesser Yellownape

Another spot a bit away from these trails gave us brilliant views of the Large Niltava

and Rufous-browed Flycatcher.

The Common Green-Magpie also made an appearance. There was once again a bird wave with several Golden Babblers, Blue Nuthatch, Long-tailed Sibia and Chestnut-capped Laughingthrushes. Below are some pictures I took of these beauties.

Further away the Telekom Loop where we had seen the Red-headed Trogon and the Long-tailed Broadbill in our last trip did not yield results. I did however to get to see a Black-thighed Falconet perched on a dead tree top, a typical perch for it.

We also observed a group of White-thighed Surili moving and effortlessly leaping across trees. One even had a baby clinging on to into belly.

We drove back past the the Golf course (one which had several extra holes thanks to the wild boars!) and stopped to look for the Pygmy Cupwing. We got some brilliant views of small fella.

It stayed put on a branch for quite some time allowing me to make its video

A lone Grey-throated Babbler also made its appearance briefly.

But the Cuwping was the star between the two for me.

We decided to look for the White-tailed Robin at another spot before we headed back to KL. Weng heard its call and it sounded as if it was far below the spot from where we were standing. We were both taken aback when suddenly a male White-tailed Robin appeared right in front of us in less than 10 secs. It took me some time to come back to my senses while staring at this beauty.

It was almost 5PM and we decided to head back towards KL. The road down towards the Gap produced a soaring Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle, Blue Whistling-Thrush and group of Grey-rumped Treeswift. At one spot Weng screamed “Hornbill!” and almost screeched to a stop. We jumped out the car and saw five Wreathed Hornbills fly in and perch atop a high tree up on the hill, far away for a decent picture though.

Reaching the Gap I alighted and decided to walk from the start of the “hanging” bridge to the car park for the trekkers. There were several Barn Swallows and Pacific Swallows flying around as well as perched on a building. I heard Weng calling me from the car park and frantically gestures me to come quickly. I ran towards him. As I reached he told me he had heard the Dusky Broadbill. Sure enough 3 birds flew in to the tree that we were standing under. They were however perched high up in the canopy; I could only hear them but not see them! Two of them flew over to a tree across the road allowing me to finally get to see it. Phew!

A few Black Laughingthrush also decided to pay us visit before we called it day and drive back to KL.

Getting Around

I have seen several bird watchers walking around on the roads of Fraser’s Hill. However having a vehicle would be the most convenient especially as it is hilly and walking can be very tiring. Best to save the energy for the patient wait and straining looking up into the canopy 🙂

Places to Eat

In our trip we stopped for breakfast before we began the drive up the hill. There are several options offering various options such as the local dishes like Roti Cobra, Roti Canai, Nasi Lemak as well as sandwiches. There was the 7Eleven store where you could pick up snacks and drinks

At Fraser’s Hill we choose to eat at the Restaurant Hill View. It serves chinese cuisine. It is non-halal and serves pork. I enjoyed the food. There are several other options in the same centre as well as a store where you can buy snacks.

Bird Checklist

Below are the checklists that I made for the trip:

• http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40057910
• http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40059210
• http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40059300

Mammals Sighted

• White-thighed Surili
• Pig-tailed Macaque
• Red-bellied Squirrel
• Western-striped Squirrel

Weather

It is a hill after all. So early mornings, evenings and nights are misty, chilly or even cold. There was no humidity. The day was pleasant, sunny and we could do without a jacket.