Fraser's Hill Christmas Birding

Gloria Seow, Timothy Pwee and Dave Sargeant
26 to 30 December 2008


We headed for the misty mountains of Malaysia on Boxing Day in a two-car entourage comprising Vilma D'Rozario, Ng Bee Choo, six-year old Mark Strange, Celine Low, Gan Cheong Weei, Timothy Pwee and me. This is Vilma's and Celine's fifth trip to Fraser's Hill in 2008 to twitch for the Actias selene moth, as well as Tim's and my second trip for this year. During our last stay in April 2008, I was entertained by Fraser's night life of torrent and poison frogs, reed snakes, land crab, giant bat, amazing moth variety, a Dusky Draco, and a then-unknown Acanthosaurus tree lizard. For this trip, I was determined to see more of the hill station's rarer birds. Thankfully, Dave Sargeant, a world birder who has over 7,100 birds on his list, decided to come along, flying in from Chiang Mai to rendezvous with us at our lovely Buona Vista Bungalow. Our full bird list with remarks by myself can be found at the very end.


The three birders taking a breather at the New Road.

Even Yong Ding Li flew in with his friend Morgan to join us on our first morning at the High Pines Trail in a vain attempt to see the Mountain Peacock Pheasant. We were pleased however with good views of two desired birds later that same day: the Malaysian Hill Partridge (2 adults and 1 cute chick!) and a pair of Large Scimitar Babblers.

Under the influence of my good friend and orchid connoisseur Weng L Lim, whom I finally met up with in Singapore on Christmas eve after our initial meeting at this very hill station two years ago, I was on the look-out for orchids too, and I think I found one here. Also got a blurred shot of a pink epiphytic orchid as well as the common Spathoglottis and Arundina varieties.

This praying mantis was shot outside Dave's room at the Sri Peninjau Telekom Apartments. It was particularly eerie as the eyes of this chitinous predator bored down on me, following me from right to left as I walked around it to get a better photo. Somewhat spooked, I settled for a less-than-perfect shot. I recently watched a documentary on youtube showing one such praying mantis eating a mammal - a tiny mouse! Shocking eh?

This Katydid (I think) was more cooperative. Photographed it at dusk along the New Road - a huge fella measuring around 12-14cm.

Fraser's Hill is part of the Titiwangsa range, Peninsular Malaysia's montane backbone that harbours an excellent offering of colourful feathered wildlife.

Quaint bungalows near High Pines.

Birding along the New Road. We saw three pretty Scaly-breasted Bulbuls here, a lifer for me, and one of the birds on Morten Strange's hypothetical species list - ie a new bird for FH.

At this valley along the New Road, we were scanning for the desired White-crowned and Bushy-crested Hornbills when Dave spotted a Dusky Thrush perched on a fruiting (berry-like fruits) tree which can be seen at the bottom of this picture, slightly to the left. Its rufous wing and black-speckled flanks were very obvious. We only realised later that it was a New Bird for not only FH, but Malaysia itself. We have submitted the record to the Rare Bird Committee and are awaiting their decision.

A miniscule spider. Its white polka dots have an attractive pearly appearance.

Tim was amazed that sexually-matured winged ants were emerging from this nest in broad daylight, surrounded by sterile daughter ants. We found two of such ant holes, one along the New Road and one outside Brinchang Bungalow, both dotted with winged ants.

FH town center with its much-photographed clock tower.

Tim and his photographic antics, while Dave sits and scans the valleys outside Brinchang Bungalow for hornbills. Unfortunately, we saw nothing but Wreathed Hornbills - one such flock held 10 birds flying over the ridge at the New Road.

A pair of pretty Fuchsias, as IDed by Weng.

A huge moth (Lyssa spp.) on Celine's car, attracted by the moth lights put out by the mothing gang the night before. Gan says that this Lyssa moth is of the rarer type compared to the commoner Lyssa zampa.

I thought Dave was joking when he said that he could see Genting Highlands from the Telekom Loop, but it's true. The gaudy rainbow-streaked resort with its familiar logo was visible even in the morning mist, through the bins of course. At least we could ID some of the hills along the Titiwangsa range.

Our residence for five days - The Buona Vista Bungalow - hosted by the hopsitable Auntie Ah Lan and her son Ben. This house is owned by the Singapore-based Loke family of Cathay cinema fame.

Our room opened up into the gardens.

Celine kindly loaned us her car for several morning's worth of birding. Without it, we would not have seen half of what we did - thanks Celine!

The gardens brought indoors.

The upslope to Sri Peninjau Telekom Apartments where Dave stayed.

The extensive landscaping of Buona Vista ('Good View' in Spanish) Bungalow.

Why is Tim sticking his head into the rainwater drainage tub?

To photograph frogs! The tub is the breeding grounds for the Pied Wart Frog (Theloderma asperum). There were five of these black froggies when we checked on the last morning (we found no adults on other mornings) and plenty of tadpoles. Notice its pronounced hand and foot pads which offer the powerful suction necessary for clinging onto slippery surfaces and for climbing trees. Difficult to photograph as lighting was bad and the frogs kept swimming away.

According to http://herpweb.net/species/amphibians/rhacophoridae/th_asperum.html, this red-eyed frog is a tree bark mimic and tree hole breeder. They are usually found in water-filled tree holes, bamboo cuts, or manmade objects like metal pipes. They inhabit lowland to montane forests with a distribution spanning India, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos. Snout-Vent-Length: up to 35 mm.

Malaysian Tree-hole Frog (Metaphrynella pollicaris). We finally located this placid frog that had been calling for several nights just outside our room. In the day it hides in water-filled Bromeliads, at night we found it crouched on a leaf waiting for prey to show.

This is a small microhylid restricted to montane areas of Peninsular Malaysia up to around 2000 metres asl. According to http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/amphibians/treehole-frog.htm, it is more often heard than seen, forming part of the night time chorus, giving off 'peeps' and 'whoops'. Typically, males call from the inside of water-filled tree holes, favouring the interior of thick bamboo stems. They can adjust the pitch of their piping call to match the acoustic properties of their chosen hole to achieve a resonance that carries their call a long way. Thus, they can 'play' their tree hole like a woodwind instrument.

Another view of this cute 4cm frog. Notice the greenish tint on its warty skin, a case of algae attack or a true mantle colour? Frogs have notoriously varied coloration.

Dave in the gardens, waiting! We dropped him off at Johor Bungalow where another friend Annie had arranged a cab for him to take him to the airport hotel.

And why is Tim sitting in the middle of the muddy path?

Waiting too...for the masses of butterflies to congregate again. We first saw this group feeding (similar to the ones at Ulu Perdik near KL) when we first trod on the path (Adventure Trail at the bottom of FH). Photographed two Great Anglehead lizards here, and ate raw petai (gathered from the jungle) for the first time.

Poor Timmy was down with the flu throughout the trip but gamely birded on. He wanted to back out at first, but was persuaded to come along by Vilma and moi. The day after we returned to Singapore, he was hit by the double whammy of Chicken Pox! No wonder he was suffering from high fever the day before the poxes showed. But his illness turned out to be a blessing in disguise. After waking up from a mid-day snooze, he began birding from his vantage point and happened to see two Yellow-throated Martens (a cute mammal) steal some rubbish from the bins, zip across the path, and disappear behind a certain bungalow. We were all green-eyed with jealousy!

Fraser's Hill Bird List 26-30 Dec 2008
Participants: Dave Sargeant, Gloria Seow & Timothy Pwee

The following is cut and pasted from my Excel file, with order of sequences as follows:

No.
Common Name
Scientific Name
No. Seen
Remarks
GS Lifers

1
Malaysian [Grey-breasted] Partridge
Arborophila (orientalis) campbelli
4
1st sighting at Hemnant Trail at 315pm - 3 birds - 2 adults and one chick that looked like a miniature adult. We entered the trail from the Bishop side. Sparkling views of down to 5m in not too dense undergrowth. Dave called in the birds with his Ipod set-up and I spotted a sapling movement v near us, which turned out to be the birds. Later on, found the bird stationary, calling from beside thick roots. Grey head & breast, 2 white stripes on a black wing - very striking patterning. Also saw mother and chick feeding - Tim claims that there is a feeding trail running parallel to the main footpath, although I didn't notice this 'trail', but noted that the birds were walking to and fro along a straight path. 2nd sighting was at the Telekom Loop, near the Buona Vista bungalow where we stayed. A single bird flew up from the direction of Kaniska Bungalow into the forest on the higher slopes.
L1

2
Crested Serpent Eagle
Spilornis cheela
h

3
Blyth's Hawk-Eagle
Spizaetus alboniger
1
A juvenile fly-past. Unsatisfying - I wanna see a perched adult!! Even though we birded the New Road for long hours, we did not see an adult.
L2

4
Little Cuckoo-Dove
Macropygia ruficeps
6

5
Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon
Treron sphenurus
2

6
Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
Loriculus galgulus
1
Fly-past.

7
Green-billed Malkoha
Phaenicophaeus tristis
1
At New Road, while scanning the valleys for the White-crowned & Bushy-crested Hornbills.

8
Dark [Large] Hawk-Cuckoo
Hierococcyx (sparverioides) bocki
h
Tim saw it, just opposite Silver Park resort. He is good at triangulating calls to locate the bird. Just when I was about to binocular it, the bird flew tauntingly away. There was also a bird calling just outside our bungalow.

9
Mountain Scops Owl
Otus spilocephalus
h

10
Collared Owlet
Glaucidium brodiei
5
We almost saw it at the New Road. Dave recognised its call emanating from a dark patch of roadside trees at the New Road. Lots of small birds were presumably mobbing it as there was a chorus of small bird calls too. Finally, we saw a fat shape zip across the road, chasing one of these tiny passerines.
11
Malaysian Eared Nightjar
Eurostopodus temminckii
1
Dave said he saw a nightjar sallying outside his Sri Peninjau apartments.
12
Glossy (White-bellied) Swiftlet
Collocalia esculenta
c
Abandoned nests at Buona Vista Bungalow. Lots circling the skies.
13
Himalayan Swiftlet
Aerodramus (brevirostris) brevirostris
10
14
Silver-rumped Spinetail
Rhaphidura leucopygialis
2
Lifer at the New Road!
L3
15
Pacific (Fork-tailed) Swift
Apus pacificus
30
16
House Swift
Apus nipalensis
50
17
Red-headed Trogon
Harpactes erythrocephalus
2
Female at Bishop Trail, mixing with Black Laughingthrush and Large Scimitar Babbler.
18
Bushy-crested Hornbill
Anorrhinus galeritus
h
19
Great Hornbill
Buceros bicornis
4
20
Wreathed Hornbill
Rhyticeros undulatus
14
The only hornbill we saw after hours of scanning the various valleys at the New Road. Largest flock was 10 birds flying over the ridge.
L4
21
Fire-tufted Barbet
Psilopogon pyrolophus
c
Cicada-like calls v common
22
Gold-whiskered Barbet
Megalaima chrysopogon
2
Lifer feeding at the same fruiting tree as the Dusky Thrush on the New Road, at the prettiest valley.
L5
23
Red-throated Barbet
Megalaima mystacophanos
2
Seen only by Dave.
24
Black-browed Barbet
Megalaima oorti
c
25
Brown Barbet
Calorhamphus fuliginosus
10
26
Lesser Yellownape
Picus chlorolophus
2
27
Greater Yellownape
Picus flavinucha
2
28
Bay Woodpecker
Blythipicus pyrrhotis
2
Dave called it out. Just outside tennis courts at High Pines. Good bird waves there at around 5pm. Tim was resting from a fever at the tower near Brinchang/Jelai, and witnessed 2 Yellow-throated Martens steal rubbish, zip across and disappear behind Jelai bungalow at 430pm.
L6
29
Eastern Large Cuckooshrike
Coracina (macei) nipalensis
4
Similar looking to the Malaysian Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina javensis)
30
Grey-chinned Minivet
Pericrocotus solaris
40
First time seeing such large flocks of more than 10 birds. Dave said he has seen flocks of hundred odd birds!
31
Tiger Shrike
Lanius tigrinus
Juvenile seen by GS and TP.
32
Brown Shrike
Lanius cristatus
2
At New Road only.
33
Black-and-crimson Oriole
Oriolus cruentus
1
First few birds at Buona Vista Bungalow, also saw it at tennis courts at High Pines.
34
Bronzed Drongo
Dicrurus aeneus
4
35
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus remifer
20
36
White-throated Fantail
Rhipidura albicollis
10
37
Common Green Magpie
Cissa chinensis
1
38
Large-billed Crow
Corvus (macrorhynchos) macrorhynchos
10
39
Sultan Tit
Melanochlora sultanea
6
40
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
10
41
Pacific Swallow
Hirundo (tahitica) tahitica
20
42
Asian House Martin
Delichon dasypus
20
43
Striated Swallow
Cecropis striolata
4
44
Mountain Tailorbird
Orthotomus cucullatus
10
45
Dark-necked Tailorbird
Orthotomus atrogularis
4
46
Black-crested Bulbul
Pycnonotus (melanicterus) flaviventris
25
47
Scaly-breasted Bulbul
Pycnonotus squamatus
3
Previously unrecorded in FH, but predicted to occur - as it appears on Morten Strange's 'Hypothetical Bird List'. Easily the prettiest bulbul with attractive yellow mantle and black scalings on its belly/flanks.
L7
48
Stripe-throated Bulbul
Pycnonotus finlaysoni
4
49
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Pycnonotus goiavier
2
50
Ochraceous Bulbul
Criniger ochraceus
2
51
Cinereous [Ashy] Bulbul
Hemixos (flavala) cinereus
2
52
Yellow-browed (Inornate) Warbler
Phylloscopus inornatus
4
53
Eastern Crowned Warbler
Phylloscopus coronatus
2
54
Mountain Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus trivirgatus
4
55
Chestnut-crowned Warbler
Seicercus castaniceps
1
56
Buff-breasted Babbler
Pellorneum tickelli
4
Bishop's Trail. Nice views of a skulker
L8
57
Large Scimitar Babbler
Pomatorhinus hypoleucos
4
Dave called it out. Finally got it only at the very end of the Bishop's Trail. Good views of a responsive pair. Also heard on the High Pines Trail.
L9
58
Chestnut-backed Scimitar Babbler
Pomatorhinus montanus
1
Old Road, while waiting for Marbled Wren Babbler. Very beautiful. Seen before in Bedugul, Bali, Indonesia.
59
Marbled Wren-Babbler
Napothera marmorata
2
Despite trying for over an hour for this bird in the undergrowth, I didn't even glimpse it, just kept hearing its constant calls until it grated somewhat on my nerves. Both Tim and Dave saw it. Tim - when it popped its head out for 1 sec, Dave - when he bashed upwards when the Babbler finally crossed the inaccessible patch of tangled upslope into the less dense patch.
60
Streaked Wren-Babbler
Napothera brevicaudata
2
61
Pygmy Wren-Babbler
Pnoepyga pusilla
h
Calling from another resam filled patch, impossible to see in such conditions.
62
Golden Babbler
Stachyris chrysaea
20
63
Grey-throated Babbler
Stachyris nigriceps
10
First seen in Inthanon. Good views this time at birdwave along Telekom Loop.
64
Pin-striped [Striped] Tit-Babbler
Macronous (gularis) gularis
4
65
Black Laughingthrush
Garrulax lugubris
5
Bishop's Trail - appeared just before the Large Scmitar Babbler. Red bill v prominent and beautiful.
L10
66
Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
Garrulax mitratus
30
67
Silver-eared Mesia (Leiothrix)
Leiothrix argentauris
20
68
Black-eared Shrike-Babbler
Pteruthius melanotis
4
69
Blue-winged Minla
Minla cyanouroptera
30
70
Mountain Fulvetta
Alcippe (peracensis) peracensis
40
71
Long-tailed Sibia
Heterophasia picaoides
50
72
White-bellied Yuhina (Erpornis)
Erpornis zantholeuca
2
First seen in Inthanon.
73
Everett's White-eye
Zosterops everetti
25
First seen in Panti.
74
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
Sitta frontalis
2
At the Old Road, while waiting for the Marbled Wren-Babbler
75
Blue Nuthatch
Sitta azurea
2
76
Dusky Thrush
Turdus (naumanni) eunomus
1
New species for Malaysia, submitted this record to the Records Committee for consideration. Fruiting tree at the New Road, nicest views of the valley here. First seen in Japan.
77
Siberian Blue Robin
Luscinia cyane
1
78
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Copsychus saularis
4
79
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Muscicapa daurica
6
80
Mugimaki Flycatcher
Ficedula mugimaki
3
Handsome black male at Telekom Loop.
81
Rufous-browed Flycatcher
Ficedula solitaris
2
Cute FC at Bishop Trail.
L11
82
Little Pied Flycatcher
Ficedula westermanni
1
83
Verditer Flycatcher
Eumyias thalassinus
4
84
Large Niltava
Niltava grandis
2
85
Orange-bellied Leafbird
Chloropsis hardwickii
10
86
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker
Dicaeum ignipectum
8
87
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
Dicaeum cruentatum
10
88
Black-throated (Black-breasted) Sunbird
Aethopyga saturata
20
89
Streaked Spiderhunter
Arachnothera magna
c
90
White-rumped Munia
Lonchura striata
4
91
Grey Wagtail
Motacilla cinerea
4
Common on the roads, esp. at the New Road.