Fraser's Hill 15-18Apr10

From KH

Once again, it's time for our annual migration to Fraser's Hill. 93 species were seen/heard this time, with a number of lifers. Sighting highlights are:

1) Streaked and Pygmy Wren-babblers, and Lesser Shortwings: didn't know they are roadside birds!
2) Male Hill Blue FC at Old Gap while leaving for home!
3) Grey-capped Woodpecker at Old Gap
4) Striated Swallows at Silver Park.
5) Dark Hawk-cuckoo at Silver Park and Hodgson's Hawk-cuckoo at Old Gap
6) Raptors: Black Eagle, BHE, CHE and a Japanese Sparrowhawk.
7) Malayan Whistling Thrush heard behind guardhouse. Didn't know they call late in the afternoon too! Waited in the morning, heard but no show.
8) White-hooded Babbler, female Red-throated FC and Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler only seen by JS.
9) Juvenile Crake, possible Slaty-legged as the legs were not red.
10) An Otter jumped out of the undergrowth while we were engrossing with the Pygmy Wren-babbler. There was a stream in the undergrowth.

Male Red-headed Trogon

Black Eagle under harsh lighting, resulting in a "Rainbow Eagle"!

Impressed Tortoise. There's a crack in its shell, but it's well and alive.

From JS

Here's the list of birds seen/heard at Fraser's Hill (including Highway 55) from 15-18/4/10.

1. Hairy-backed Bulbul (2)
2. Red-eyed Bulbul (2)
3. Mountain Bulbul
4. Yellow-vented Bulbul (>5)
5. Ochraceous Bulbul (3)
6. Black-crested Bulbul
7. Malaysian Hawk-cuckoo (h)
8. Dark Hawk-cuckoo (1)
9. Drongo Cuckoo (1)
10. Indian Cuckoo (h)
11. Collared Owlet (h)
12. Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (1 nest located)
13. Bronzed Drongo (1 nest located)
14. Orange-bellied Leafbird
15. Blyth's Hawk-eagle (4)
16. Crested Serpent-eagle (2)
17. Black Eagle (2)
18. Japanese Sparrowhawk (1)
19. Large-billed Crow
20. Common Myna (1)
21. Javan Myna
22. House Swift
23. Glossy Swiftlet
24. Swiftlet
25. Silver-rumped Spinetail (2)
26. Pacific Swallow
27. Striated Swallow, badia (>15 seen at Silverpark Resort)
28. White-bellied Yuhina
29. Yellow-bellied Warbler
30. Rufous-crowned Babbler (h)
31. Grey-throated Babbler
32. White-hooded Babbler (1)
33. Golden Babbler
34. Buff-breasted Babbler (>5)
35. Black-browed Barbet (>5)
36. Streaked Wren-babbler (>7, 1 juvenile confirmed)
37. Pygmy Wren-babbler (2)
38. Eye-browed Wren-babbler (h)
39. Fire-tufted Barbet
40. Red-throated Barbet (1)
41. Brown Shrike (>3 Breeding)
42. Fire-breasted Flowerpecker
43. Black-eared Shrike-babbler
44. White-browed Shrike-babbler (>5)
45. White-throated Fantail
46. Large Scimitar-babbler (h)
47. Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler (1)
48. Mountain Tailorbird
49. Dark-necked Tailorbird (2)
50. Mountain Fulvetta
51. Black-throated Sunbird
52. Lesser Yellownape
53. Greater Yellownape
54. Lesser Shortwing (5, 2 wrayi male)
55. Long-tailed Sibia, wrayi
56. Little Cuckoo-dove, malayana
57. Emerald Dove (1)
58. Mountain Imperial-pigeon (>2)
59. Rufous-browed Flycatcher, malayana
60. Pale Blue Flycatcher, harterti? (1)
61. Verditer Flycatcher, thallasoides? (>3)
62. Red-throated Flycatcher (1 non-breeding/female)
63. Little Pied Flycatcher (>3)
64. Hill Blue Flycatcher (1 male)
65. Asian Paradise-flycatcher (3, 1 white morph  male)
66. Speckled Piculet (>4)
67. Spectacled Laughingthrush
68. Malayan Laughingthrush (>3)
69. Grey-breasted Spiderhunter (1)
70. Little Spiderhunter (1)
71. Streaked Spiderhunter
72. Magpie Robin
73. Javan Cuckooshrike (>9)
74. Lesser Cuckooshrike (1 male)
75. Black-and-crimson Oriole (>5)
76. Silver-eared Mesia
77. Crake (1), possibly Slaty-legged
78. Red-bearded Bee-eater (h)
79. Blue-throated Bee-eater (>25)
80. Grey-chinned Minivet
81. Blue Nuthatch (>7)
82. Large Niltava (4, 1 juvenile male seen)
83. Rusty-naped Pitta (h/s?)
84. Common Green Magpie (>3)
85. Red-headed Trogon (>4)
86. Long-tailed Broadbill (>3)
87. Sultan Tit (>6)
88. Everett White-eye (>10)
89. Blue-winged Minla (>3)
90. Ferruginous Partridge (h)
91. Slaty-backed Forktail (2)
92. Malayan Whistling-thrush (h)
93. White-tailed Robin (h)

Adult Streaked Wren-babblers. During this trip, we first encountered these birds along the road outside Bishop Trail and there was a family of 4-6 of them. We saw another few along Jalan Lady Guillemard. And then another two birds at Telecom Loop, again along the roadside.

Juvenile Streaked Wren-babbler - one of the family members outside Bishop Trail.

Another Wren-babbler, a Pygmy Wren-babbler. When KH first sighted it, he thought an egg was rolling on the road!

Male Lesser Shortwing. It makes a very musical tune and responds well to playback. However, it always remain in the undergrowth, making clear shots tough.

A family of three Speckled Piculets were found at the Old Gap. The juvenile is shown on the left, while the right shows an adult feeding the youngster.

Adult Dark Hawk-cuckoo. The photos below were taken on our first day right outside SilverPark. It made this distinctive ascending call that made it easy to identify. However, it still took some sharp eyes to locate it.

Now we have photographic confirmation of the existence of these hypothetical birds. This juvenile Hodgson's Hawk-cuckoo was seen at the Old Gap. While the photo shows the front view, we had a good view of the back, showing the prominent white tertials.

The Japanese Sparrowhawk was seen at SilverPark, while we were shooting the Striated Swallows. It was flying very high up. Only sharp-eyed JS could've spotted it!

This bird is not even on the hypothetical list! It's a immature/female Red-throated Flycatcher. JS saw it flicking its tail.

This Black Eagle was sighted close to the Jeriau Waterfall carpark.

A House Swift in flight.

A female White-browed Shrike-babbler.

From Danny

Refer to the Striated Swallow below, notice the streaked throat, rufous rump and deep folk tail - only found at SilverPark ?

Mountain Imperial Pigeon at Telecom Loop. It perched there all the time until we lost interest.

Regarding the Crake:

After checking out on the possible crakes from Internet, I have ruled out the 1st winter banded-bellied, as the underpart bars are confined to the belly behind the legs, the bird we saw had extensive thick black bars. I tested out yellow lights (like my car headlights) on different color surfaces in the dark, red came out clearly but grey/blue/black tended to appear yellowish. The crake we seen had plain headsides and wings, no red on legs, ruling out red-legged crake. I am for 1st winter slaty-legged crake.

Fraser's Hill 11-13Jul08

From GC

Spent last weekend at Frasers. No Mountain Peacock Pheasant for me :-( There were other birders and one of them saw it on the Pine Tree Trail as he rounded a bend.

Only lifer was the family of Brown Wood Owls (2 chicks) at the army camp

and Bat Hawk at the Waterfall Car Park.

Hypothetical species in Morten Strange's Birds of Fraser's Hill - Red Junglefowl confirmed! A family seen. In the book, there are 2 checklists, one for species recorded there and one for species caught by mist netting only plus unconfirmed sightings. Red Junglefowl is in the hypothetical list. A family of them was seen on 13 July 08, around 7.30am, on the road near the rubbish dump. Being Junglefowls, they are unmistakeable, and they had grey legs. Driving down, rounding a bend, i saw 4 of them - a male, a female and 2 almost fully grown chicks, which looked somewhat like the female. The male went up bank into the forest on the left and the 3 others continued down the road. I stopped to get my camera ready and when i drove on slowly, they were not seen again.

Good views of a female White-browed Shrike-Babbler in the lower storey!

Good views of a female Red-headed Trogon. A pair seen on Bishop's Trail. Managed to get a pic of the female. This time, the female less shy than the male!

Good views of MWT.

Good views of Buff-breasted Babblers in a mist net! (University Malaya conducting mist netting).

Turned out to be a vertebrates trip!
1. Yellow-throated Marten - 2 cute furry fellas bounding about at the rubbish dump on 120708 around 1850h. Went to get camera and I just knew it, they were gone!
2. River Toad - on the road just up from Jeriau Waterfall car park on 110708 1950h.
3. Low's Squirrel - common i think.
4. Himalayan Striped Squirrel - common
5. Wild Boar - 3 seen on the road just below Jelai Resort 130708 pre-dawn.
6. White-thighed Surili - common
7. Butler's Wolf Snake caught by caretaker's husband at Richmond Bungalow. He released it into the forest. 110708 1442h.
8. Impressed Tortoise on the road leading up to Methodist House, 110708 1459h.
9. Twin-spotted (?) Tree Frog - pre dawn on 120708.
10. 2 small frogs seen separately, jumping on the last 1km of the waterfall road at night, but didn't stop to take photos.

A young Malayan Banded Wolf Snake (Lycodon subcinctus).

Another one from Fraser's Hill - Impressed Tortoise (Manouria impressa). This one was right on the road! I think it's a montane specialist. The ID features are the flattened carapace and pink nose.

A River Toad (Bufo asper) encountered at night, on the road near Jeriau Waterfalls.

I think this is a Low's Squirrel (Sundasciurus lowii), seems different from the Slender Squirrel.

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 :-)