My Birding field trips: Fraser's Hill

Fraser's Hill 6/8/2007 - 8/6/2007

After we departed from Merapoh, some of us head to fraser's hill. Fraser's hill that is in between of Merapoh and Kuala Lumpur. We departed from Merapoh around 3.45pm from the durian stalls after bidding good journey to 3 of our friends.

We touch fraser's hill at 7:40pm. I did a slow drive cause I'm not familar in negotiating all the bends and curves. I also have been fore-warned by a petrol station attendant at Bentong "Please do not stop for anyone near the roadsides.. dangerous might got robbed... OOH be careful cause normally alot of trucks would use this trunck road.... would reach there about 2 hrs from now."..

What a double triple stress with all this reminders and the sky is getting dark in just about 30mins from now... and we notice the mile stone is about 40++km to fraser's hill. Well not as bad as the petrol station attendant mentioned only a few on comming pick -up and no logging truck...definately we never noticed any miserable soul stand at the roadside. What a relieve when I saw the millestone to fraser's hill denotes a lesser and lesser figures. Wedivert to fraser's town to picked up our dinner, having in mind to have something nice from the hill view restaurant but it was closed for that day. Well anyhow a nice plate of rice would indeed please our tummies. I walked into the informations center discovered that Durai was there, as usual when birders met up with each others we exchange birding news.

Safee and Richard Tay catched up with us as we are having our dinner, tonite these two more friends are accompany us. The next day we have Jason and his families members.

To unload our baggages to my company pent house apartment is another challege.. 4th floor without lift.

Well due to it is a weekdays Fraser's Hill is indeed a dead town only with the locals and would bump into a few foreigners birders only..but still this visit I still not sighted yet
Hill Partridge even I can have Bishop trails for only 4 of us..:-(

During our recent visit, It has not been rained for weeks, the ground is very dry, bird lifes also
very dry. I keep lamentating where are the Black Throated Sunbird and Streaked spiderhunter. As we sat down for our lunch and mid-morning breakfast, we seems to feels something is missing, the long tailed sibia, the streaked spiderhunter and the black throated sunbirds... There are none sighted there.

Neverthless we still have
Chestnut Capped Laughingthrush, Chestnut Crowned Laughingthrush, Long Tailed Sibia, Little Cuckoo Dove, Silver Eared Mesia, Blue Winged Minla, Striped Tit-Babbler,
White Browed Shrike Babbler, Artic Warbler, Black Eared Shrike Babbler, Minivet Spp.. Mountain Fulveta, Slaty Backed Forktail, Mountain Leaf Warbler, Canary Flycatcher,
Black Browed Barbet, White Throated Fantail, Javan Cuckoo Shrike, one Streaked Spiderhunter, Red Headed Trogon, Rufous Browed Flycatcher, Golden Babbler, Blue Nuthatch,
Velvet fronted nuthatch, Ochraceous Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Black Crested Bulbul, Yellow Vented Bulbul, Orange Bellied Leafbird, Pacific Swallow, Dusky Broadbill, Lesser Yellownape, Greater Yellownape, Grey and Buff Woodpecker, Fire-tuffed Barbet. Bronze Drongo I could not believe my eyes that Oriental Magpie Robin is not restricted to certain part of fraser's and I also got a shocked that Rufous Tailed Tailorbird has creeped up to the new road (near pine hills resort)... According to our friend Mr Durai they existence start to be noticeable ever since from this April '07.

Our the Best Bird show was the show up of BROWN-WOOD Owl in front of my company's apartment at pine hill resort.

Mountain Bulbul Hypsipetes mcclellandii size 24cm
Family/Sub-family Pycnonotidae
Species name author Horsfield, 1840
Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Black and Crimson Oriole Oriolus cruentus Size 23cm

Streaked Spiderhuter Arachnothera magna Size 19cm
Family/Sub-family Nectariniidae
Species name author (Hodgson, 1837)
Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)