Wednesday April 22
We spent the morning walking on roads around Fraser’s Hill. Fraser’s Hill began as a mining station in the late 19th century (started by a Scotsman named Fraser). In 1913, the location was re-discovered and imagined as a “hill station”, basically a mountain retreat for British government officials to escape the heat of Kuala Lumpur. Its location at 1200-1500 meters above sea level creates a cool climate of 17-25 Celsius. The road up the hill hasn’t changed much in a century, adding to the sense of retreat, despite being only two hours from KL. The community of Fraser’s Hill retains the English countryside design elements from the early 20th century. There are classic red phone booths, mailboxes, wrought iron railings, half-timbered houses and cottage gardens. The area is also famous for its biodiversity and it is a noted birding location (over 250 species recorded).
We started the day an hour before sunrise, and needed wind breakers for the morning chill. Our outings were a combination of “waiting for a particular species to show up” and “ oh good grief there are birds everywhere”. We also saw some wonderful White Thighed Leaf Monkeys, a Red-cheeked Squirrel, a massive millipede, and an impressive rhinoceros beetle.
One of the amazing birds was the Pygmy Cupwing. Its description in the bird book is “Essentially a tiny brown tennis ball supported by tiny chopsticks... Gives the impression of a tailless rodent as it makes its way furtively through dense shrubbery and leaf litter. “
In the afternoon we walked different roads and were rewarded with more new species. One of our targets for the day, the Collared Owlet, came close to us several times, but on two of those occasions a swarm of smaller birds chased it away.
One of the families of birds that are new to us on this trip are the spider hunters. These are relatives of sunbirds (small, flitting, brightly colored nectar-eating birds with long curved bills that fill the ecological niche of hummingbirds outside the western hemisphere. Spider hunters are much larger, less brightly colored but still quite handsome, and as the name implies are insect eaters (not just spiders).
Pictured: White-thighed Leaf Monkeys, Red-cheeked Squirrel, Pygmy Cupwing, Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, Streaked Spiderhunters, example of Fraser’s Hill architecture.
































