A Babbler's babbles, A Singapore Birding Blog by a Young Singaporean Birder : First Overseas Trip, Birding in Fraser Hill Part 1

Fraser Hill Part 1

Ever since, I saw the numerous posts from Singaporean photographers on Facebook, displaying the birds of Fraser Hill, I was hooked and my parents were too. The wide spectrum of montane and lowland birds, which in Singapore we will probably never see, fascinated me. With my parents' busy work schedule and my school activities and academics, we had to use the June Holidays and included them in our road trip. As I was doing a Singapore Big Year with only weekend birding, I was reluctant to give up a month to increase my count but the experience of seeing many new and unique species of birds enthralled me. After the pandemic, I was also itching to go overseas for a different birding experience.

Our accommodation, the Pines Resort(booked online) was nice with a few maintenance issues with the shower. The water was either extremely hot or extremely cool but otherwise it is a cozy place to stay in. The place was extremely spacious and were like entire apartments. There were sometimes a lot of ants at some places. From the balcony, it is easy to enter so ensure it is locked whenever leaving the accommodation or sleeping. From the balcony, Rufous-Bellied Swallows and swifts are a common sight.

The food was amazing at the Pines and the Smokehouse although the prices at the smokehouse were slightly pricey. The service at both the restaurants and the accommodation were good too. The pines and Hillview had delicious chinese meals such as tofu, bee hoon, fried rice and even a steambot. The smokehouse had very good western food and were very filling after a long day of birding.

For Mobile we used a portable wifi router which sometimes failed to work, but from the accommodation and certain random parts of the hill, it worked fine and fast.

Testimonial:

109 species, 92 lifers and 12 out of 15 targets ticked off the list. This would not have been possible if not for guide Weng Chun's amazing knowledge of the birds in Fraser Hill. He brought us to specific spots and tried his best to find targets and also get as many lifers as possible. His extensive experience and knowledge and bird calls helped us gain many lifers and also taught me the many different vocalizations of Fraser Hill's avifauna. When I was unable to get a photograph of a Red Bearded Bee Eater because I was distracted by an Orange Breasted Trogon. Weng Chun tried relentlessly at many spots to find the Bee Eater and just before the end of our trip due to his passion and determination we were able to photograph it in the end! His wonderful guidance and passion has sparked my interest even more and expanded my spectrum of birds to Malaysia! If we ever go birding in Malaysia, Weng Chun will be the first choice!

12th June Evening,

We had heeded the advice of others and had hired the guide, Weng Chun. We arranged to meet him at the Gap when we reached. The drive up Fraser from Genting was hard with a very narrow and winding road that’s also two ways. Although the cool wind and melodious calls were soothing. Finally, after a long drive, we reached the gap. It was pouring heavily, but our spirits weren’t dampened and we drove up the old gap road to our accommodation, Pines Resort.

The view from the pines

At the resort, we encountered our first few lifers, a pair of Rufous-Bellied Swallow circled over the restaurant. They continuously soared over the field, the restaurant and the apartments. We could even photograph them from the balcony of our accommodation. While a Fire-tufted Barbet call resonated through the Pines, A Streaked Spiderhunter called and frantically jumped from flower to flower in a dense bush though only giving obscure views.

Streaked Spiderhunter

After a short wait, the rain died down, and taking advantage of the timing we headed over to Richmond Bungalow for the Malaysian Partridge. Just as we arrived there was already one, I managed to snap a few record shots before it dived back into the vegetation. They then slowly started to appear alongside the ever-present Chestnut Capped Laughingthrush which was the first to arrive.

Malaysian Partridge

Chestnut Capped Laughingthrush

A small brown bird flitting in the undergrowth caught my mom's attention and upon closer inspection, it was a Rufous Browed Flycatcher. Meanwhile, a Rusty-Naped Pitta called loudly from the dense coverage and refused to show itself. I was elated to be able to get one of my targets although it was very unlikely to even hear it. An Orange Bellied Leafbird and a Blue-Winged Minla flew from tree to tree next to the bungalow.

Note: Link attached for Rusty Naped Pitta call

Rufous-Browed Flycatcher

Orange Bellied Leafbird

When activity at the bungalow started to quieten down, we proceeded down the road leading to Richmond Bungalow where we were greeted by numerous Long Tailed Sibias and a Golden Babbler which briefly appeared right next to the road before hastily disappearing as fast as it appeared.. Following them was a Black Browed Barbet incessantly calling while building a nest.

Long-Tailed Sibia

Black-Browed Barbet

Golden Babbler

Soon we heard a Little Pied Flycatcher from a tree nearby and tracked it down. A Little Cuckoo Dove we heard earlier flew into the tree and suddenly a Sunda Cuckoo launched itself out of the tree. It was too fast for my camera to catch but it was delightful to add another lifer to my list. After the fly-bys, Weng Chun spotted a Blyth's Shrike Babbler much to our pleasure. Afterwards, we got a pair of Golden-Throated Barbets which I originally overlooked as Black-Browed Barbets.

Little Pied Flycatcher

Blyth's Shrike Babbler

Golden-Throated Barbet

We then reached an intersection in the road where we saw a White-Throated Fantail. My parents spotted two balls of colour in a bare tree which turned out to be a pair of Grey-Chinned Minivets. A Bay Woodpecker called from nearby. While attempting to find the woodpecker, we experienced our first bird wave with Silver Eared Mesias, Minivets, Hume's White Eye and Fantails.

Silver Eared Mesia

Grey Chinned Minivet

As it was getting late, we started to head back when Weng Chun heard the Long-Tailed Broadbill. After tracking it down, we found it high up in a tree and called again allowing us to get recordings and record shots. This was followed by a quick black-and-Crimson Oriole flying past us.

Long Tailed Broadbill

On the way, we hit a bird wave with Mountain Fulvettas, Black-throated Sunbirds, Chestnut Crowned Warblers, Mountain Tailorbird, Black-eared Shrike Babbler and a Pin Tailed Parrotfinch which I missed the shot of. Just as we were leaving, we spotted Rufous-browed Flycatcher again this time, much darker. Happy to end this evening trip with 35 species. We had dinner at the Pines's Chinese restaurant which has amazing Bee Hoon and Chicken before checking into our accommodation at Pines.