Fraser's Hill, Bt Tinggi 06-13Apr07

From KH

This is my first trip to Fraser's Hill and the bird life and insect life are fascinating. We saw/heard a total of 85 bird species during our stay there from 6-11Apr. We stayed at the famous Jelai Resort where the morning birdwave was the highlight for every morning. The birds were not shy and you can get good views of many species. Taking photo is another thing, as some species are so fast that even using bino to track them is a challenge. Some of the birds you will see here are sibias, mesias, minlas, chestnut-capped & crowned laughingthrushes, streaked spiderhunters, verditer & Asian brown flycatchers, black-and-crimson orioles, black-throated sunbirds, Malaysian cuckooshrikes, white-throated fantail, grey-chinned minivets, lesser racket-tailed drongos, green magpies, golden & grey-throated babblers, mountain fulvettas, magpie robins, buff-bellied flowerpeckers, chestnut-crowned & mountain leaf warblers, mountain tailorbirds.

On the first day, we reached Jelai Resort early afternoon and there were still bird activities at the carpark. Orange-bellied leafbirds, streaked spiderhunters, Pacific swallows, etc were there to welcome us. After settling in, we headed to Jalan Richmond at 4pm. Here, besides the usually bird wave birds, we saw greater & lesser yellownapes, a pair of large niltavas, black-browed barbet, mountain bulbuls. Someone saw a speckled piculet digging a hole in a bare tree stump and even took a photo! However, despite repeated visit in subsequent days, we never saw it...

Other bird-worthy places are the various trails. The Hemmant Trail is my favourite walking trail. As you enter from the Jln Lady Maxwell entrance, you can find within the 1st 100m these: a lesser racket-tailed drongo nest, a pair of large niltavas, a rufous-browed flycatcher, a pair of nesting long-tailed broadbills, a male white-tailed robin. We have also seen nesting activities elsewhere: chestnut-capped laughingthrush at Hemmant trail, chestnut-crowned warbler at Jln Lady Maxwell, magpie robin at Silverpark Resort, etc.
The other favourite is the Telecom Loop. Here, you can find a garage full of nesting glossy swiftlets! An absolute rarity in Singapore yet arguably the most common bird here. There were also a few pairs of long-tailed broadbills, red-headed trogon, sultan tits, Blyth's hawk eagle, white-rumped munia, mountain imperial pigeon, amongst the other birdwave birds. The other loop you can take is to go down the Old Road to the Gap and back up on the New Road. We saw various Lower Elevation birds this way, including a pair of black laughingthrush carrying nesting material, a chestnut-naped forktail as well as a pair of slaty-backed forktails on Wed, a female white-tailed flycatcher, a pair of red-bearded bee-eaters, a pair of mountain imperial pigeons, and other more common birds like ashy & black-crested bulbuls, large wood & tiger shrikes, grey-headed & Asian paradise flycatchers, Asian fairy bluebird, bronzed drongos.

On the way down to the Jeriau waterfall, you'll pass by a rubbish dump. This is reportedly a good place for flycatchers, and we did see a ferruginous flycatcher, an Asian brown flycatcher, bar-winged flycatcher-shrikes, as well as a Blyth's hawk eagle on the ground! Danny saw a speckled piculet on a tall tree. The waterfall itself did not have many species to offer, but it was the sure place to find nesting silver-breasted broadbills - 2 pairs within the 10m radius of a hut! The stream is also the favourite hangout for a pair of slaty-backed forktails. Other birds seen here were ochraceous bulbuls, Everett's white-eyes, as well as grassland birds (brown shrike, yellow-bellied prinia, yellow-vented bulbul) at the waterfall carpark.

To get the Eurasian tree sparrows and rock pigeons, you have to go to the worker's quarters.

Besides the pretty birds, there were also pretty many birders! There were Jimmy Chew, David Tan, KC Tsang, Alan Owyong, Alfred Chia, just to name a few. Together with us were also many macro shooters and Nick Baker, Graeme Guy. We also saw the famous Durai of Fraser's Hill and a Johor birder.

List of birds seen/heard: BT = Bishop Trail, DM = Damar Minyak, HE = High Elevation (Excludes JW, LE, RD, WQ), HT = Hemmant Trail, JR = Jelai Resort, JW = Jeriau Waterfall, LE = Low Elevation (HW55 till NR & OR), LM = Jalan Lady Maxwell, NR = New Road, OR = Old Road, RD = Rubbish Dump, RM = Jalan Richmond, TL= Telecom Loop, WQ = Worker's Quarter, * = birdwave birds

 
1  Blyth's hawk eagle   1 flying at TL, 1 on ground at RD, 1 perched at HW55, 1 flying at NR
2  Oriental honey buzzard   1 circling over JR
3  Rock pigeon    WQ
4  Wedge-tailed green pigeon  1 at RM, 1 at HT
5  Mountain imperial pigeon  1 pair at OR, 1 at JR, 1 at TL
6  Little cuckoo dove   common but usually in flight
7  Indian cuckoo    1 female at LM
8  Drongo cuckoo    1 heard at NR
9  Collared owlet    heard at LE
10  Glossy/White-bellied swiftlet  common
11  House swift    common
12  Grey-rumped treeswift   NR
13  Red-headed trogon   1 perched at TL, 1 heard at BT, 3 heard at LE
14  Red-bearded bee-eater   1 pair at OR
15  Wreathed hornbill   heard at NR
16  Fire-tufted barbet   common but usually high up in canopy
17  Black-browed barbet   common but usually high up in canopy
18  Greater yellownape   common*
19  Lesser yellownape   2 at RM
20  Bamboo woodpecker   1 female at OR
21  Speckled piculet   1 at RD, 1 at RM
22  Long-tailed broadbill   1 pair at HT, 2 pairs at TL
23  Silver-breasted broadbill  2 pairs at JW
24  Banded broadbill   1 heard at DM
25  Malaysian/Javan cuckooshrike  common at HE*
26  Large wood-shrike   >5 at OR
27  Bar-winged flycatcher-shrike  2 at RD
28  Brown shrike    JR, JW
29  Tiger shrike    2 at OR
30  Grey-chinned minivet   common*
31  Asian fairy bluebird   1 at OR
32  Orange-bellied leafbird  common*
33  Black-and-crimson oriole  common*
34  Pacific swallow   common
35  Black-crested bulbul   OR, NR
36  Mountain bulbul   common at HE*
37  Ochraceous bulbul   common at LE
38  Ashy bulbul    >5 at OR
39  Yellow-vented bulbul   common at JW, but also HE
40  Lesser racket-tailed drongo  common at HE*
41  Greater racket-tailed drongo  1 at NR
42  Bronzed drongo    common at LE
43  Green magpie    HE*
44  Large-billed crow   common
45  Sultan tit    >5 at TL
46  Blue nuthatch    1-2 birds seen infrequently in birdwaves*
47  Everett's white-eye   >5 at JW
48  Chestnut-capped laughingthrush  common*
49  Chestnut-crowned laughingthrush common at HE*
50  Black laughingthrush   1 pair collecting nest material at OR
51  Golden babbler    common*
52  Grey-throated babbler   common*
53  Black-eared shrike-babbler  single bird seen infrequently in birdwaves*
54  Striped tit-babbler   heard at OR
55  Mountain fulvetta   common*
56  White-bellied yuhina   >3 at BT
57  Long-tailed sibia   common*
58  Silver-eared mesia   common*
59  Blue-winged minla   common*
60  Slaty-backed forktail   2 at JW, 2 at OR
61  Chestnut-naped forktail  1 at OR
62  Chestnut-crowned warbler  1-2 birds seen infrequently in birdwaves*
63  Mountain leaf warbler   1 at JR*
64  Mountain tailorbird   common*
65  Common tailorbird   LE
66  Dark-necked tailorbird   heard at LE
67  Yellow-bellied prinia   heard at JW
68  Asian paradise flycatcher  OR
69  Asian brown flycatcher   HE, RD
70  Ferruginous flycatcher   1 at RD
71  Verditer flycatcher   common*
72  Rufous-browed flycatcher  HE
73  Little pied flycatcher   common*
74  White-tailed flycatcher  1 female at OR
75  Grey-headed canary-flycatcher  1 at OR*
76  Large niltava    HE
77  Oriental magpie robin   common
78  White-tailed robin   1 male at HT
79  White-throated fantail   common*
80  Buff-bellied/Fire-breasted flowerpecker  common*
81  Crimson-breasted flowerpecker  1 at TL
82  Black-throated sunbird   common*
83  Streaked spiderhunter   common*
84  Eurasian tree sparrow   WQ
85  White-rumped munia   TL

Photos from Gim Cheong

I'll start the pics with my favourite "cartoon" bird - the SBB (Female Silver-breasted broadbill). I realise that for this bird, really gotta put in some -ve flash comp, or the whites/silvers tend to be blown out.

This is the full size crop of the female WTFC (White-tailed flycatcher) - unfortunately the prominent white U we saw on the neck is not visible in this pic.

Here's a Grey-throated Babbler from Jelai Carpark. These fellas seems to appear in about 20-30% of bird waves, but they keep low, near the ground, behind bushes, so not easy to have clear views. Caught this skulker at Jelai during his morning breakfast.

A little fella (Rufous-browed flycatcher) seen on Hemmant Trail. I took 3 leeches while shooting this birdy!

A male (Black-and-crimson oriole) at Jelai Carpark.

Also at the carpark (Malaysian cuckooshrike).

Here's a Little Cuckoo-Dove seen (perched!) on the morning as Kok Hui and I were driving down the Old Gap Rd.

Here's a bird (Long-tailed sibia) from the famous carpark.

I can't believe I didn't notice this (White-bellied swiftlet) during my previous visits!

A male... (Grey-chinned minivet)

Danny and Kong, this bird (Blyth's hawk eagle) was seen at the rubbish dump on the afternoon that you left for Bukit Tinggi.

This one (Mountain bulbul) was seen on Jln Lady Maxwell, between Hemmant and Bishop Trail.

Shot from the room's balcony! This 'model' (Verditer flycatcher) paraded right on the bottle-brush trees outside.

Caught 10m into Bishop's Trail in a bird wave. (Black-eared shrike-babbler)

Here's a common bird of the carpark... (White-throated fantail)

Signature bird of Fraser's.... (Silver-eared mesia)

Seen on the morning after Danny and Kong left... (Indian cuckoo)

This one (Asian brown flycatcher) was hanging around the carpark, most people just ignored it (understandably!)

Another signature bird of the carpark.. (Streaked spiderhunter)

We were really lucky to see this bird (female Chestnut-naped forktail) twice with Danny & Kong ,and then a 3rd time with Con !!

This is a regular (Slaty-backed forktail) at Jeriau Waterfall area, this one was having it's late afternoon snack.

A couple of regulars (Orange-bellied Leafbird) at Jelai carpark. (Top male, bottom female)

This one (Greater yellownape) was caught near the Methodist House.

Also at Methodist House! (Lesser yellownape)

This one (Bar-winged flycatcher-shrike) was seen at the rubbish dump. Thought it was a Little Pied Flycatcher at first!

Caught this fella (Chestnut-capped laughingthrush) having his breakfast.

Male and Female (Large niltava) seen near Methodist House. (Male top, female bottom)

A pair (Little pied flycatcher) right behind Jelai Resort. (Male top, female bottom)

Unfortunately it is blocked.. (Black-browed barbet)

Seen on the old Gap Road. (Ashy bulbul)

The one (Long-tailed broadbill) at Teleom Loop.

At Jelai Carpark. (Chestnut-crowned laughingthrush)

A mountain bird... (Mountain fulvetta)

Along the old Gap Rd (Mountain imperial pigeons)

At Jelai Carpark, gathering those brown stuff to use as nesting material. (Pacific swallow)

This one (Oriental magpie robin) was at Silverpark Resort, bringing food to a nest under the eave of a roof.

The beautiful Green magpie.

Here's the Blue-winged minla.

Lesser Racket-tailed drongo on nest at Hemmant Trail.

Here's a poor pic of the Oriental Honey Buzzard. The feathers look very worn out to me!

Here's the Bronzed fella (Bronzed drongo).

Star bird - Black laughingthrush

Photos from Danny

Long-tailed broadbill sitting on its nest.

Here's my shot of the glossy swiftlet chicks with their eyes closed.

Photo from Con

Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon photographed on April 6th on Jalan Richmond at 5:42pm, but also seen on Hemment Trail. Believe this is a male of the robinsoni subspecies.

Beside birds, the insects are fascinating too. The cicadas are much larger than in Singapore and some are very colourful, as can be seen from this photo by Danny.

Danny and Kong left for Bukit Tinggi on Mon, while the rest of us stayed at FH till Wed. On Wed, Con went to BT, whereas my bro and I left for home.

1) Whiskered treeswift
2) White-bellied swiftlet
3) House swift
4) Red-billed malkoha
5) Indian cuckoo
6) Black-browed barbet (H)
7) Silver-breasted broadbill
8) Pacific swallow
9) Bar-winged flycatcher-shrike
10) Malaysian cuckooshrike
11) Blue-winged leafbird
12) Black-crested bulbul
13) Stripe-throated bulbul
14) Ochraceous bulbul
15) Grey-throated babbler
16) Common tailorbird
17) Chestnut-capped laughingthrush
18) Long-tailed sibia
19) Magpie robin
20) Dark-sided flycatcher
21) Asian brown flycatcher
22) Black-throated sunbird
23) Streaked spiderhunter
24) White-rumped shama
25) Green broadbill (male)
26) Black-and-yellow broadbill (seen by KC's wife)
27) White-rumped munia
28) Eurasian tree sparrow
29) Little cuckoo dove
30) Large-billed crow
31) Dusky broadbill

Dark-sided flycatcher. Stripe-throated bulbul

Female silver-breasted broadbill has a necklace. Sitting in the nest

Con has this to add on

At the Japanese restaurant area, I heard a bird calling with a very clear 3 or 4 note call that I hadn't heard before, so I put my tripod down and followed the sound down the steps. After awhile the bird came into view and I got a good look. Long decurved cream colored bill. Rufous back, black & white stripes on the head. Went back for camera, but now bird gone. This was the Chestnut-backed Simitar Babbler (also on Morten's list for FH).

Half way between the first bend and the second bend we were observing a SBB nest. It is amazing how much nest they can build in a day. I doubt the particular nest was even there when you were there. I think they started it on the morning we observed it and by late afternoon it was already about 1/2 complete.

Marisol thought she saw a Green Broadbill, we had heard it calling in the area, so I followed downhill with bins to see what I could see. I heard a sound a bit reminiscent of a chicken to the left. Then I notice quite a commotion in the bushes just over the guard rail. I looked over and saw a lot of shaking in the bush. Soon the bird head came into view and it was obvious this was no chicken. Grey head. Then I could see the sides of the body, blue spots. Very large bird. Went back for camera, but bird wouldn't come into view again. Soon the bird got out of the bush and scurried off, no more to be seen. Mountain Peacock Pheasant (male) ... also on Morten's FH list.

Moral of the story, always have camera ready :-)