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 :-)
