Birding Report for Fraser’s Hill, Selangor/Pahang – 5th to 7th November 2010 Deepavali is falling on a Friday this year, making it a good long weekend for a birding trip far from home. A friend of mine invited me to join him at Fraser’s Hill this year for birding. Fraser’s Hill is a well‐known birding destination in Malaysia and probably the best montane habitat in Peninsular Malaysia, many thanks to its good accessibility and a good availability of nice accommodation available for few days of birding. The whole group consists of people of different interest, most of them were photographers that were interested with macro photography on insects and small creatures while a few were interested in bird photography and birding, adding variety to the trip. This was my third time on Fraser’s Hill and my second birding trip there, and therefore would expect many highland birds as lifers which I had missed during my previous visits. A view of Fraser’s Hill We arrived at the foothills around 1.45pm. We stayed at Silverpark Resort and is greeted by a variety of lowland aerial feeders at the reception, including Glossy Swiftlets (Collocalia esculenta), House Swifts (Apus affinis), Pacific Swallows (Hirundo tahitica), Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) and Rufous‐bellied Swallows (Cecropsis badia). There were up to eight individuals of Rufous‐bellied Swallows seen on the roof top and flying around from perch, this species has evidently increase in number uphill in late years. Our first stop is High Pines at around 5.75pm after taking some rest and having some food. At the High Pines, I spotted a raptor flying in the skies, it was a sparrowhawk (Accipiter spp.), but being too far and too briefly viewed before it was blocked, it is either a Japanese (Accipiter gularis) or Eurasian Sparrowhawk (A. nisus) by observable features, any sparrowhawks would be interesting on Fraser’s Hill as they were barely recorded positively due to difficulty of identification. I also picked up three of my lifers here, the Javan Cuckoo‐shrike (Coracina javensis), White‐throated Fantail (Rhipidura albicollis) and Malaysian Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsulae). The last is high on my expected list, being a near endemic that is only found in Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand, after its recent split from its original species, the Chestnut‐crowned Laughingthrush (T. erythrocephalus). This species would “fall” onto the ground and stay there for a while giving good sights to us but unfortunately it was in the shades and not ideal for photography. There was also a White‐thighed Surili (Presbytis siamensis) seen at the entrance, a common monkey at Fraser’s. An odd grasshopper species seen at High Pines Our luck wasn’t really good as this period was a raining season, we were planning to look for owls and nightjars at night but rain pours. At 11.00pm, we insisted to try our luck in the light rain. We headed to the Jeriau road and starts to point our torch lights on trees and soon someone alert us that an owl is spotted. The rain was getting heavier but we don’t have the time to worry about it for that moment. Under the spot light, we saw a handsome Brown Wood‐Owl (Strix leptogrammica) perched on the tree, when it flew too far away, we gave up and continue to spot the area for any other owls or nightjars. I soon found a reflection far away and saw the bird flew, when it was back on perch, through the binoculars, I saw a Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus). Both of these nocturnal birds were my lifers, fulfilling my wish to see an owl on Fraser’s Hill. We continue to head to the New Gap Road and spotted a much closer Grey Nightjar there, there were also at least 2 frogs, a bat and a rodent spotted with our torchlights. The Brown Wood‐Owl is regularly seen here The next day, we headed to Jelai resort for their morning birds. I immediately spotted two of my lifers there, a pair of Greater Yellownape (Chrysophlegma flavinucha) and a Common Green Magpie (Cissa chinensis) in flight, my previous visit only ends up with only calls of Common Green Magpie. We also manage to witness the impressive acrobatic flight of the Mountain Imperial Pigeon (Ducula badia), which will often dive suddenly from the skies and suddenly take flight again. We were hoping to see some trogons here but luck is obviously not on our side. Some lowland birds were also seen, including an Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) and a Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) and a pair of Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis). The others are happy to see new birds of theirs, including the Spectacled Laughingthrush (Rhinocichla mitrata), Silver‐eared Mesia (Mesia argentauris) and Blue‐winged Siva (Siva cyanouroptera). Soon after, we headed downhill to the Gap Rest House, on the way we saw an adult Dusky Langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) and its baby. The Gap Rest House was an important site to watch lowland forest species at Fraser’s Hill as these species does not move up to the uphill areas. The Black‐
crested Bulbuls (Pycnonotus flaviventris) are pretty regularly seen here. My first lifer here is the Blue‐eared Barbet (Megalaima australis), they were seen on the trees but were very hard to be spotted. After a while, I was wondering what the other saw and move to the back of the Rest House to check out which them. A new bird photographer who is new to the game and learning how to identify the birds showed me a photo we captured and immediately excites me right away as I saw a Lanceolated Warbler (Locustella lanceolata) in his camera LCD display. He pointed to me that the bird had just showed up right in front of us just around 3 meters away. I had never seen this species before and hope to see it, but I only manage to briefly see it escaped deeper and greeted by a Dark‐
necked Tailorbird (Orthoromus atrogularis), which was also pretty brave. But the Lanceolated Warbler is still around, and I soon spotted it, but to take a decent photo was very difficult as the bird was pretty active, it could be seen walking in the scrubs, unlike other skulking birds that often hop from one perch to another rather than walk. This species is a fairly common migrant across the Peninsular but was very shy and not spotted by many birders. It was regarded as rare at Fraser’s Hill and we must be very lucky to see such a co‐operative one. I also heard my first Yellow‐crowned Barbet (Megalaima henricii) from the hills but no bird was seen. Interestingly, we saw the Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) so low down which was exceptionally low for this species. The Lanceolated Warbler is one of the star bird of the trip Four of us decided to walk up the Old Gap Road while others continue their photography at the Gap Rest House and would fetch us later on while they get uphill. As we walk up the hill, we manage to see a few raptors flying overhead, including a pair of Oriental Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhyncus) flying uphill and a Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela). The raptor to be watch out in Fraser’s Hill, the Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis) showed up both time and was seemingly very unhappy with these other raptors in its territory. The Black Eagle has a very distinctive silhouette that makes them very easy to be identified in flight. We met at least two bird waves along the way and saw quite a number of birds joining them. I picked up some of my lifers there, including a pair of Eastern Crowned Warblers (Phylloscopus coronatus), a pair of Velvet‐fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis), a male Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) and a Chestnut‐backed Scimitar‐Babbler (Pomatorhinus montanus). Joining the wave, there was also a pair of Mountain Tailorbirds (Phyllergates cucullatus), quite a number of Bronzed Drongos (Dicrurus aeneus). However I missed out the Black‐browed Barbet (Megalaima oorti) and Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus) that was seen by others here. I also spotted 3 hornbills briefly flying pass but too brief to be identified, I had only seen the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) before, which was not found at Fraser’s Hill, therefore is a lifer to me. Before we return to the car and move uphill, a friendly Buff‐
bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum ignipectus) appeared almost eye level and provided us with very nice view of this pretty bird. The Black Eagle is a symbolic raptor species on Fraser’s Hill, easily recognized by its distinct silhouette After lunch, we headed to Jeriau Waterfall in hope to get the trogon and forktail, two which were high on my expected list. However none of these were seen, probably due to the busy crowd of the long weekend, most of the possible areas to spot the forktail were filled with visitors swimming in the streams, the more tolerant Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) however was spotted. I was still capable of picking up a lifer here, the White‐bellied Erpornis (Erpornis zantholeuca), this name is probably an alien to those who previously refer to it as the Yuhina, recent studies had shown that they were not even related to the Yuhinas and were renamed. One of us had such sharp eyes and spotted a quiet and static Blue Whistling‐Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus) sitting quietly in the forest beside the stream. We headed straight to the Telekom Loop from Jeriau Waterfall to check out for more bird waves of highland species. We briefly saw 2 hornbills flying pass the area and the first Fire‐tufted Barbet (Psilopogon pyrolophus) for this visit here finally. Suddenly, it starts to rain and a small flock of noisy birds flew in, these were the Everett’s White‐eyes (Zosterops everetti). We had to get back to the car and leave as the rain gets heavier, but we soon met another bird wave and stop to inspect. In the brief wave, we saw the Mountain Fulvetta (Alcippe peracensis), some Spectacled Laughingthrushes and also the Golden Babbler (Stachyridopsis chrysaea), which was my lifer. After that, we proceeded to Lady Maxwell Road that was not raining as heavily. I finally saw my first Black‐browed Barbet (Megalaima oorti) here after previously hearing quite a number of them, making this another lifer of mine. Also seen many Javan Cuckoo‐shrikes and a few Lesser Racket‐tailed Drongos (Dicrurus remifer) perched here on the electrical service lines. To my surprise, there was a Yellow‐vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) there as well, this species was also making its way uphill like other lowland birds and were more regularly sighted uphill in recent years. As it gets darker, four swifts flying overhead caught my attention, they flew very fast and when one of them passed by me, I saw that there were some thin feathers sticking out from the square tails. These were needletails (Hirundapus spp.) but because the lighting was poor, they were not identified. These are the first Hirundapus needletails that I had met. It was another rainy night, so we stayed at the resort and share the photos that we took during the trip. A view from Telekom Loop The Long‐tailed Sibia can almost be seen anywhere on Fraser’s Hill and often not alone During our last day, we headed to Shazan Inn right after breakfast to watch some common birds feeding at the bird feed while the photographers would get their shots. The Spectacled Laughingthrush and Long‐tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides) were very common at the bird feed. The Silver‐eared Mesias were also around but came down less to the bird feed, there were at least three Malaysian Laughingthrushes that came and surprises me. The Spectacled Laughingthrush is a very common bird at Fraser’s Hill The bird feed had offered a good opportunity to see the Silver‐eared Mesias and Malaysian Laughingthrushs. We headed back to Telekom Loop due to our disappointing visit during the previous day. I was unlikely to miss a Little Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni) that was photographed by a non‐
birder but missed by me, what I got was three leeches instead. But I did manage to spot a Fork‐
tailed Swift (Apus pacificus) near some House Swifts. Another Yellow‐vented Bulbul was also sighted here. We then finally met up with a major bird wave with many different species, including a pair of Black‐and‐Crimson Orioles (Oriolus cruentus), a pair of Grey‐chinned Minivets (Pericrocotus solaris), four Mountain Bulbuls (Ixos mcclellandii), Golden Babblers, Javan Cuckoo‐shrikes, a pair of White‐
throated Fantails, Black‐throated Sunbird (Aethopyga saturata), Spectacled Laughingthrushes, Silver‐eared Mesias, a Green‐billed Malkoha (Rhopodytes tristis) and two of my lifers, the White‐
browed Shrike‐Babbler (Pteruthius flaviscapis) and the Black‐eared Shrike‐Babbler (Pteruthius melanotis). I missed another Little Pied Flycatcher here, which was quite saddening. I hoped that my luck would be better the next time I visit. As we were watching the bird wave, a Black Eagle soared low over the canopy. Before we headed downhill, we went to Sri Berkat but it rained again but there were good opportunities to watch the Black‐throated Sunbird feed at the flowering plants. The male Black‐throated Sunbird is definitely a very interesting gem on Fraser’s Hill The Streaked Spiderhunter is very common but not always easily photographed as it actively feeds in the flowering plants In conclusion, although it rained frequently over the three days, we still got good chances of observing up to 64 species of birds, and I still manage to obtain 18 lifers, 1 heard‐only lifer and 2 other birds that was first met by me but failed to identify up to species level. List of birds seen and heard: 1. Oriental Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhyncus), 2 seen flying uphill along lower Old Gap Road 2. Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela), 1 seen at lower Old Gap Road, heard at Telekom Loop 3. Sparrowhawk species (Accipiter spp.), possibly Japanese (Accipiter gularis) or Eurasian Sparrowhawk (A. nisus), 1 seen in flight briefly at High Pines 4. Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis), 1 seen at Old Gap Road twice and another at Telekom Loop 5. Mountain Imperial Pigeon (Ducula badia), some at Jerai and Lady Maxwell Road 6. Little Cuckoo‐Dove (Macropygia ruficeps), some seen in flight around Lady Maxwell Road 7. Green‐billed Malkoha (Rhopodytes tristis), seen at Lady Maxwell Road and Telekom Loop, another unidentified malkoha at lower Old Gap Road possibly also of this species 8. *Brown Wood‐Owl (Strix leptogrammica), 1 seen at Jeriau Road 9. *Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus), 1 seen at Jeriau Road, another at New Gap Road 10. Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta), widely seen 11. ***Needletail species (Hirundapus spp.), 4 seen flying at Lady Maxwell Road but poor lighting to view the characteristics 12. Fork‐tailed Swift (Apus pacificus), 1 seen along House Swifts at Telekom Loop 13. House Swift (Apus affinis), widely seen 14. ***Hornbill species (Bucerotidae spp.), 3 seen flying pass at lower Old Gap Road which may had been Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) and another unidentified hornbill at Telekom Loop 15. Fire‐tufted Barbet (Psilopogon pyrolophus), seen at Telekom Loop 16. Gold‐whiskered Barbet (Megalaima chrysopogon), heard only from Gap Rest House 17. *Black‐browed Barbet (Megalaima oorti), seen at Lady Maxwell Road 18. **Yellow‐crowned Barbet (Megalaima henricii), heard from the hill at Gap Rest House and Telekom Loop 19. *Blue‐eared Barbet (Megalaima australis), some are seen at Gap Rest House 20. *Greater Yellownape (Chrysophlegma flavinucha), a pair at Jerai resort 21. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), seen at Silverpark 22. Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica), widely seen around the area 23. Rufous‐bellied Swallow (Cecropsis badia), sometimes considered as a race of Striated Swallow (Cecropsis striolata), at least 8 of them are seen at Silverpark 24. *Javan Cuckoo‐shrike (Coracina javensis), seen at High Pines, lower Old Gap Road, Lady Maxwell Road and Telekom Loop 25. Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divarticatus), some seen at Jeriau waterfall 26. Grey‐chinned Minivet (Pericrocotus solaris), at least a pair seen at bird wave at Telekom Loop, a female seen at lower Old Gap Road may had been a Scarlet Minivet (P. flammeus) but no photographic evidence is available to confirm the sighting 27. Blue‐winged Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis), quite a number along lower Old Gap Road 28. Black‐crested Bulbul (Pycnonotus flaviventris), 1 seen at Gap Rest House 29. Yellow‐vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier), seen at Lady Maxwell Road and Telekom Loop 30. Mountain Bulbul (Ixos mcclellandii), 4 of them seen and heard at Telekom loop 31. Bronzed Drongo (Dicrurus aeneus), quite a number are seen in bird wave at lower Old Gap Road 32. Lesser Racket‐tailed Drongo (Dicrurus remifer), seen at Lady Maxwell Road and Telekom Loop 33. Greater Racket‐tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), 1 seen flying at Gap Rest House 34. Black‐and‐crimson Oriole (Oriolus cruentus), a pair seen in bird wave at Telekom Loop 35. *Common Green Magpie (Cissa chinensis), seen at Jerai in flight 36. Large‐billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), seen at High Pines, Silverpark and Gap Rest House 37. *Velvet‐fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis), a pair seen in bird wave at lower Old Gap Road 38. *Chestnut‐backed Scimitar‐Babbler (Pomatorhinus montanus), at least one is seen in bird wave at lower Old Gap Road 39. *Golden Babbler (Stachyridopsis chrysaea), seen at Telekom Loop in bird waves 40. Pin‐striped Tit‐Babbler (Macronus gularis), heard only at Gap Rest House 41. Spectacled Laughingthrush (Rhinocichla mitrata), formerly more commonly known as Chestnut‐
capped Laughingthrush, widely seen around Fraser’s Hill to lower Old Gap Road 42. *Malaysian Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsulae), recently split from Chestnut‐crowned Laughingthrush (T. erythrocephalus), seen at High Pines and Shazan 43. Silver‐eared Mesia (Mesia argentauris), seen at Jerai, Shazan, Telekom Loop and Sri Berkat 44. *White‐browed Shrike‐babbler (Pteruthius flaviscapis) , female seen in bird wave at Telekom Loop 45. *Black‐eared Shrike‐babbler (Pteruthius melanotis), female seen in bird wave at Telekom Loop 46. Blue‐winged Siva (Siva cyanouroptera), formerly also known as Blue‐winged Minla (Minla cyanouroptera) seen at Jerai and Telekom Loop 47. Mountain Fulvetta (Alcippe peracensis), seen at Telekom Loop 48. Long‐tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides), commonly seen over Fraser’s 49. *White‐bellied Erpornis (Erpornis zantholeuca), previously White‐bellied Yuhina (Yuhina zantholeuca), 1 seen at Jeriau waterfall 50. Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis), seen at Jerai, Shazan and Jeriau waterfall 51. Blue Whistling‐Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus), 1 seen at Jeriau waterfall 52. *Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus), a pair is seen at lower Old Gap Road 53. *Lanceolated Warbler (Locustella lanceolata), 1 seen at Gap Rest House 54. Dark‐necked Tailorbird (Orthoromus atrogularis), 1 seen at Gap Rest House 55. Mountain Tailorbird (Phyllergates cucullatus), a pair at lower Old Gap Road 56. Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), 1 seen at Jerai 57. *Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus), 1 seen in bird wave at lower Old Gap Road 58. *White‐throated Fantail (Rhipidura albicollis), seen at High Pines and Telekom Loop 59. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), seen near Old Gap upper gate and Jeriau waterfall 60. Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus), 1 is seen at Jerai 61. Black‐throated Sunbird (Aethopyga saturata), widely seen uphill 62. Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna), commonly heard and seen, including one at Gap Rest House 63. Buff‐bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum ignipectus), 1 male is seen at lower Old Gap Road 64. Everett’s White‐eye (Zosterops everetti), seen in bird waves at Telekom Loop * represents lifers of this visit ** represents heard‐only lifers of this visit *** represents first time encounter of this group of birds but not identified up to species level