Down from the hills

Friday April 24

This morning we traveled back down the mountains from Fraser’s Hill, walking sections of the “gap road” and driving other sections. In the early 20th century the road through the gap was so narrow that it operated one way, alternating at different times of day. There was an inn at the beginning of the road for motorists to rest if they got their timing wrong. Now there are two narrow twisting roads from the valley up to Fraser’s Hill, each one way. The creators of the turns in both roads had passenger vehicles in mind rather than 11-person vans or supply trucks, so navigating was a bit slow and careful. As we came down the hill, the vegetation and temperature changed, first to bamboo and then palms, and a decided increase in warmth. 

As we re-entered the lowlands, it was a bit horrifying to see massive stretches of forest cut down, this time for durian plantations rather than palm oil. Our local guide said “any forest that is not controlled by the government will be developed”. 

In the afternoon we drove on major highways west towards the coastline. The roadsides were again lined with palm plantations, some mature and some recently replanted after a harvest. We did a little birding near our hotel and then drove to rice paddy fields, where we saw many new kinds of birds. 

We have been very lucky with the weather on this trip; rainstorms came at night when we were indoors. That luck ran out today when a huge thunderstorm burst upon us while we were out walking, several of us without our rain gear. We got thoroughly soaked, and then sat in the vans for another hour for the storm to subside and for the lightning to move far enough away for it to be safe to emerge. 

The plan had been to go “owl-ing”, and as it happened one of the owls was roosting just across a water channel from where we sat in the vans. Once we were able to come out to see him properly, we also got to see several other birds. At dusk, a huge number of swallows ( we estimated about 250) gathered over a rice paddy feasting on insects. Then as night fell, two kinds of nightjars flew around us, and, during a short walk, we saw two additional kinds of owls.

All told it was a day that began at 6am and finished at 11pm… but we saw great things. 

Pictured: Large-tailed Nightjar, Sultan Tit, Sunday Scimitar-Babbler, Dusky Eagle-Owl (a little bedraggled from the rain), Bronzed Drongo on nest, Spotted Wood- Owl 

Creatures of all kinds

 April 23

We spent the morning and afternoon exploring more of the area around Fraser’s Hill. We continue to have good luck with some unusual species but less luck with more common ones. Part of the challenge to finding the birds is distinguishing bird calls from the chorus of cicadas, particularly as the temperature rises in the afternoon. 

Near the end of the day, we were able to see a Blue Nuthatch, a bird we had been hoping to see. After it flew off, we stayed and watched for a while. We thought the nuthatch had returned, and then realized that the newcomer was actually a large cicada!

This morning we also listened to the resonant vocalizations of a large male Siamang. Siamangs are the largest gibbon-like apes, and are in a genus of their own. Both males and females have inflatable throat sacs that explain how their calls have such power. They are endangered in both Indonesia and Malaysia, primarily due to habitat loss from the creation of vast palm oil plantations. Fraser’s Hill is one of only four protected areas in Malaysia that host Siamangs. They are so black that they are hard to spot in the trees, until they leap to the next one, as happened today. 

Pictured:  Blue Nuthatch, Silver-eared Musia, Black-throated Sunbird, Chinese Red-headed Centipede, Tacua Speciosa Cicada. 

And mammals too!

 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. 

Pre-dawn to Dusk

 April 21

After another massive rainstorm overnight, we headed out at 4:45 this morning to go “owling” before dawn. As our guide said, it seems all the owls are on holiday. We were able to see two different types of Frogmouth, after a lot of hard work by our guides to call the birds towards us.

After breakfast we left the national park, ferrying back across the river. We stopped for an hour or more of birding along the side of a busy road, searching for the elusive Crested Jayshrike, a dark nervous bird that flits low to the ground in dense underbrush. We did get a few quick looks at it. Fortunately some other species flew in to amuse us during our search. As we wandered along the roadside, we suddenly heard the trumpeting of elephants. Our guides insisted we quickly reverse our direction; elephants are aggressive and a threat to curious tourists every year. 

The remainder of the afternoon we drove southwest (but not as far as Kuala Lumpur), up out of the lowlands to our next location at Fraser’s Hill. The drive was a bit longer than planned as the drivers had to search for a station with diesel fuel. The price of diesel has increased 300% over the past month and some stations have no supply.  

As we climbed up to higher elevation the landscape changed to hardwood trees and bamboo. We stopped several times to look for “bamboo forest specialist” bird species and did see a few. It is a delight to be in coolish temperatures again.  But 4:45 am to 7:15 pm makes for a long day! 

Pictured: Yellow-breasted flowerpecker, Blyth’s Frogmouth, Large Racket-tailed Drongo chasing a Rhinoceros Hornbill, Yellow-bellied Warbler 

Unexpected surprises

 April 20

There was a massive rainstorm last night, so we awoke to slightly cooler temperatures and even higher humidity than yesterday. The mosquitos and the leeches, which had not been evident yesterday, were clearly happy with the new conditions. To be fair, leeches are an important food source for ground birds like pittas, and many creatures munching on mosquitoes. Our group is well prepared with leech socks (to prevent leeches getting inside your shoes or to your legs). We’ve only had 3 leeches across our group of 8 so far, and all were found before they latched. So it’s worth the reduction in our stylish appearances. 

Carrying on from yesterday’s treks uphill and downhill through the rainforest, today we climbed 400+ boardwalk steps up to a shoulder on the neighboring hill. This is certainly an aerobic birding trip! We then went down a muddy rooted track to an area with good chances for rare birds. We didn’t see the one we came for, but we did see several other spectacularly beautiful birds, including one that we had searched for repeatedly yesterday (the Garnet Pitta). We also saw two types of broadbill that we were not expecting to see during this hike. It continues to amaze us that these brightly colored creatures are so very hard to find! 

On our return trip we walked carefully around a Wagler’s pit viper perched on a small tree next to the stairs. It was ready to spring (it had wrapped its tail around the stem of the plant so that when it did spring it could return to its perch). We were grateful that it did not, as a full dose of venom is fatal in 30 minutes without treatment. But he was beautiful. On the way to lunch we saw a cloud monitor on the lawn… another reminder that we are staying in the wilderness! 

After lunch we chose to return to our cabin on a woodland track, and were rewarded with a flock of Malayan Crested Firebacks. These large pheasants skulk through the forest. We were hoping to get a glimpse of one; we were lucky enough to have a whole flock wander through an open area just off our trail…five males and three females. They look like they are going to a masquerade party.

In the late afternoon we returned to the blind near the cabins. Although many of the species enjoying the fruiting trees were the same as at prior visits, we also had some amazing new birds including two kinds of hornbills. 

Pictured: Garnet Pitta (another skulker), Green Broadbill, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Malayan Crested Fireback, Wrinkled Hornbill (eating a fruit), our group in full regalia including leech socks, Wagler’s Pit Viper. 

A full day of birding

 Sunday April 19

Today was one of the few times we have “birded all day” without other activities. We headed out at 5:30am for a pre-breakfast walk. The objective was to find nocturnal bird species before sunrise. While we heard several we did not see any. On a couple of occasions large bats fluttered past. However, time spent at a bird blind at sunrise gave us a a lot of good activity, including a troop of dusty leaf monkeys. The blind looks out onto a field containing a group of large trees that bear fruit that several bird species enjoy.

After breakfast we headed out again, and walked on boardwalks through the rainforest until lunchtime. Our local guide commented that we were seeing a lot of unusual species and few of the common ones. We told him he could catch up on the common ones tomorrow. We went out again about 3pm and birded until sunset. Most of the time we were on boardwalks that followed the terrain— which means a lot of steps! We saw many wonderful species today; most were colorful and most were also difficult to find in the dense forest; their flitting behavior compounded this issue.

We are staying at the main accommodation for the national park. The camp began over 25 years ago with a handful of cabins but has steadily expanded as the park’s popularity has grown. We are in cabin 105, the last one in the row and a kilometer’s walk from the dining hall. This makes for a bit of time management to get to our group departures on time.

Pictured: Banded Broadbill, Blue-banded Kingfisher, mother and baby Dusty Leaf Monkeys, stairs on the trail 

First post from Malaysia

 

Saturday, April 18

We traveled without incident from New York to Singapore and then on to Kuala Lumpur. The flight to Singapore took slightly over 18 hours. We were surprised that the intended flight path went over Greenland, past Svalbard, and south through China past Chengdu. We were surprised again when the actual flight path diverted south over Eastern Europe and then hugged the southern edge of the Himalayas (past Islamabad and Kabul) then over Kolkata and south over Thailand. 

The airports in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were beautifully decorated inside including green spaces and water features— quite different from most US airports! 

On Friday night we met the other four members of our birding tour (a couple from England and two gentlemen from different parts of Australia) and one of our trip leaders, a birding professional originally from Belgium. We ate at a “hot pot” restaurant. It was fun to watch each of the foods be cooked in boiling pots (one mild and one spicy) right on our table. 

Saturday morning we left before dawn to drive for an hour north of KL to a birding location up in the mountains. Dawn comes late in this part of Malaysia (about 7am) because all of Malaysia is in a single time zone. When we go to Borneo, sunrise will be at 5:15, and were we to go to Sulawesi it would be even earlier. 

This morning’s birding trails are on property controlled by a resort whose buildings emulate a medieval French village. Watching macaque monkeys play in front of half-timbered houses was bizarre. The morning birding was a mix of standing behind a blind and walking slowly along roads to spot birds: 28 new species before lunchtime. It was a relief to start the trip at higher elevation where the temperature and humidity weren’t too severe.

Many of the birds we saw today were striking, not only for their colors but for their names. We’ve never seen leafbirds, tailorbirds, spider hunters, or flowerpeckers before. 

After lunch we drove Northeast for 3.5 hours to our lodge in the Taman Negara  National park. Actually Taman Negara means “national park” in Malay. The park protects an ancient rainforest. We will be in the eastern, lower elevation part of the park. 

Pictured: “Colmar Tropicale”, short-tailed gymnoes (a small tree shrew), Orange-bellied flowerpecker, flying rhinoceros hornbills, female rufous-collared kingfisher 

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