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We still had the whole morning to spare before we go to Kuala Lumpur for our flight back home. As we had decided yesterday, we planned to tackle the Hemmant trail. Our agreement was as soon as we encounter a bird wave then we go back after that. Quite honestly, my wife and I were no longer expecting to see any more lifers within the planned two hour excursion into the trail.
Serendipity, however, happened as soon as we stepped out of our hotel. I saw a largish bird alight on the tree right in front of us. Curiosity aroused, I followed the dark object move up the trunk (the sun wasn't fully up yet).
"What is it?" Cynthia asked noticing the smile on my face.
"Lesser Yellownape!" I pointed to the woodpecker. "Another lifer for us!"
Our luck did not end at the Shazan Hotel parking lot. At the entrance to the Hemmant trail, the Rufous-browed Flycatcher provided a deja vu (shall I say, deja view?)
Inside the trail, the hoped for wave never came. Well, it did about several meters from the entrance as were already on the way out. There was one bird in the group (composed mostly of Mountain Fulvettas and Mountain Tailorbirds) that kept warbling but stayed under the leaves most of the time. Patience only gave us documentary shots of another lifer, the Chestnut-capped Warbler.
At the trees overlooking the golf course, we spotted some dark birds. There was a female Black-and-Crimson Oriole, an all black, unassuming bird which we had seen before at the Jelai area. Then a flash of red! At last, the male came into view showing the red breast for which it was named.
We walked jauntily back to the hotel, packed our luggage and waited for the car that will take us to the airport. When we arranged for the transport we asked the hotel manager if it was ok to request the driver to stop if we see a bird along the way, particularly at the Gap Road. He smiled and said the driver was already used to transporting birders and that stopping for a bird would not be a problem.
Noon and we're off. Unfortunately that was the time of day when only a few birds were active. Even at the Gap Road - a renowned birding place. Serendipity still happened when we saw a pair of Scarlet Minivets, our final lifer for the trip.
As we approached the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, I asked the driver if we could still stop whenever we see some urban birds to which he happily agreed. So we got pictures of the Common Myna and the White-vented (Javan) Myna. Gap-fillers they may be, but still interesting to see them in the city.
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| Common Myna |
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| White-vented Myna |
Thanks to the management of the Shazan Hotel where we were staying, we were able to obtain a ride to take us to the Jelai parking lot before the 7 am deluge of birds. Already there were a vanload of Japanese birders and the tall New Zealander we met yesterday. The early avian visitors were the drab colored Javan Cuckooshrike and the Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (both of which sent the Japanese birders in a frenzy). Then came the wave led by the imperious Sultan Tit and the usual Silver-eared Mesias, Long-tailed Sibias, and both Laughingthrushes. Having already photographed those yesterday, my wife and I tried to focus our attention (and our cameras) on the tiny skulkers that accompanied the more colorful flock. It was not an easy task since these small, not so gaudy birds were moving non-stop in and out of the foliage, some even teasingly close. Through sheer luck (and lots of determination) we were able to capture some of them:
The slightly larger Blue-winged Minla. Although we've seen this lifer yesterday, we were not able to get a good photo of it.
A Gray-throated Babbler
A Mountain Tailorbird which seem to be missing its tail
And a lifer - an Eastern Crowned Warbler!
At about half-past eight, the bird activity waned as expected. Our group was about ready to leave when one of the guides for the Japanese birders pointed to the Red Bottle Brush tree behind us. "Orange-bellied Leafbird" was his curt comment. Excited ooohs and aaahs filled the air while Cynthia and I fired away.
As the Japanese group were leaving to have their breakfast, a local bird guide, Mr. Durai, came with a couple of European (Nordic?) birders. They were a tad too late but still, it was Mr. Durai who showed us our next lifer. Apparently this bird waits until the commotion had died down before showing up. Perhaps it was ashamed of its rather drab coloring? For us the Buff-breasted Babbler is still a treasure.
That afternoon, a little after four, Cynthia and I decided to continue to explore the area we went to the day before. It looked promising birdwise and we were eager to discover what lies in the jungle out there. As we were leaving the hotel we thought of passing through the restaurant area. Cynthia wanted to ask the waiters about the Barbet so I sauntered ahead.
"What time does the green bird come to the feeders?" my wife asked one of the waiters.
"It doesn't come in the afternoon, ma'am" he politely replied.
"Then what is that?" I asked pointing to the feeder.
I did not wait for Cynthia's reaction as I happily took shot after shot of the Fire-tufted Barbet perched on a tree branch (and not on the feeder where it usually stays!)
Exhilarated, we continued on our journey. Yesterday as we passed by it, we were intrigued by the Hemmant trail. Guidebooks say that it was quite a birdy place, although some warned of the presence of leeches. "Let's check it out" I told my very reluctant wife.
As we approached the entrance, Cynthia grabbed me and pointed at a tiny stump. "There's a bird there!" Inasmuch as I was the one holding the camera, I pointed it at the general direction that my wife was referring to. Indeed there was a brown thing on top of the brown stump. "Rufous-browed Flycatcher!"
"Shoot! Shoot!" was all she could say about the newest addition to our lifelist.
We both agreed that we need to take the trail tomorrow morning when there is more light.
We moved on to the verdant area beyond the food court. Once again, the skulkers were popping in and out of our sights. I finally got a Mountain Fulvetta with some nesting material in its beak.
It was now almost six pm so we turned around and was about to head back to the hotel when something yellow flashed from the shrub nearby. For the next five minutes we followed the yellow bouncing ball, me taking potshots whenever I can and hoping I would get at least one good photo. At one point it went within the tightly knit branches of a pine sapling not more than 5 feet away and at eye level! So close and I could not get a shot at it. Frustration could hardly describe how I felt then.
That night when I uploaded the results of my photographic endeavors, I was so thrilled that yes, there was one good shot of the yellow bird. It was a Golden Babbler! And yes, it was another lifer!
What a way to end our last full day at Fraser Hill.
It was an incredible experience we had at the Jelai Hotel parking lot that morning. Noon we decided to have lunch at the Food Court. That sounded quite simple, didn't it? Fact is, that food court was about half a kilometer from our hotel through a winding, undulating road. Rather daunting for people our age. To make things easy for us, we thought it would be a good idea to check out the hill station environments for birds. I even brought along our lighter gear, just in case, you know, we encounter an interesting bird along the way.
First we stopped by the Interpretive Bird Center which was some sort of a museum (with, thankfully, no stuffed specimens, but rather sculpted shapes of local birds). From there we passed the first curve of the road. To one side was a ravine overlooking the golf course and on the other a "wall" covered with thick vegetation, mostly ferns, with tall trees at the top. All of a sudden Cynthia stopped and looked at the ferns. I can tell her sharp ears heard something. Then even half-deaf me heard something too. There was some movement behind the fern leaves until out popped a noisy Mountain Bulbul. One more lifer to add to our list.
As we approached the long flight of stone steps towards the Food Court, we met a Japanese couple. The lady, obviously the birder of the two, was pointing at something halfway between the road and the hilltop. "Yellow bird", she said excitedly. I looked and saw a yellow bird called Grey Wagtail. It was interesting that the lady was thrilled to see such species whereas it would have been just a so-so bird for us.
Our lunch of Malaysian fare was forgettable. After lunch we further explored the road from the hill which had trees on both sides. It was here that we saw an unexpected lifer. I didn't know what it was until we got back to the hotel and I was able to access the internet. It was a White-browed Shrike-Babbler enjoying a caterpillar.
Not far from it was the poor bird of Fraser Hill. We call it poor because no one paid attention to it. Now don't get me wrong, this was not a tiny nondescript bird but rather a medium sized, dark blue colored beauty. When I first saw it at Jelai that morning, I shouted "Niltava! Niltava!" and eagerly took its picture. To my surprise not one of the 10 people in our group responded to my yelling. It felt like I was pointing to a Yellow-vented Bulbul to a bunch of Filipino birders.
Back at the fern-laden roadside. This time we were rewarded by a male Little Pied Flycatcher busily hawking for insects and a Mountain Fulvetta characteristically moving non-stop in search for food.
Passing by the area where we saw the wagtail, an Oriental Magpie Robin was looking for grub on the ground.
At the playground the huge Streaked Spiderhunter was unmindful of us taking its picture.
Later that afternon before dinner a short foray in the hotel neighborhood gave us a Javan Cuckoo Shrike.
A bird that suddenly perched on the electrical wire above us drew the attention of my wife. "There's a bird up there!" Cynthia exclaimed. I looked and it was an uncommon (in Malaysia) Yellow-vented Bulbul. Did I hear someone yell "Niltava"?
It is not often that a verbose person like me to run out of words to describe what we saw and experienced on that shivery cold early morning at the parking lot of the Jelai Hotel which sits on top of a hill. So please just allow me to show you some of the birds we saw:
At daybreak we were waiting for the action to begin:
We were joined a little later by more birders/photographers..but 'nuff said, here are the birds;
First, the Verditer Flycatcher
Then came a pair of Little Pied Flycatchers
A White-throated Fantail
Everybody went ga-ga when the Sultan Tit showed up at close range!
As if that wasn't colorful enough, the Common Green Magpie popped into view
Of course, the iconic bird of Fraser's Hill, the Silver-eared Mesia, can never be ignored
Blue mood with a male Large Niltava
could the female be far behind?
A Grey-chinned Minivet added a flash of bright red-orange to the melange of colors
Rounding up the collection of Jelai birds was the very active Mountain Fulvetta
At half past eight avian activity died down somewhat. Only the usual Sibias and Laughingthrushes remained. We (four Chinese, three Thai, a lady from Hongkong, a Japanese couple, one really tall New Zealander, a Malaysian [Weefar], and two Fil-ams [me and Cynthia]) were all smiles as we slowly and reluctantly went down the hill to our respective hotels.
While having breakfast at the Shazan Hotel, the Manager who was at another table signalled to us. "Barbet" he said softly. We looked at the feeders outside the restaurant and lo and behold, a Fire-tufted Barbet was having breakfast of its own. Let that be a teaser though because I will be posting its photo in my Day 3 blog.
Ask "where is the best place to see lots of birds at Fraser's Hill" and you will get only one answer: the parking lot of the Jelai Hotel. "Be there between 7 and 8:30 in the morning" was the unanimous suggestion.
We were at Bukit Tinggi earlier that day and arrived at Fraser's Hill a little after 2 pm. After checking in at the Shazan Hotel (which will be our home for the next four days) and an hour or so of resting (we were up since dawn), our friend Weefar, drove us to this fabled, though somewhat incongruous, place. Although it was not the recommended time to visit Jelai, we were assured that there will be birds there.
The very first one we saw was the Silver-eared Mesia. Its vivid colors and incredible tameness made it the iconic symbol of Fraser's Hill.
Mingling with the Mesia were the "regular" residents of the Jelai area: the rather plain but very noisy Long-tailed Sibia.
The super friendly Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
and its shyer cousin, the Malaysian Laughingthrush
Right next to the hotel entrance blooms a red bottle brush tree. Here the Black-throated Sunbird refreshes itself.
Joining the sunbird is the unbelievably huge and aptly named Streaked Spiderhunter.
Rounding up the avian population were a Mountain Bulbul
and a very calm looking male Mugimaki Flycatcher.
Soon darkness started to envelope the hills. We boarded Weefar's car still reeling from the beauty and friendliness of the birds. "Wait until tomorrow morning," our friend warned, "you will be overwhelmed."
Based on what we experienced that afternoon at Jelai, we knew he's telling the truth.
