Flashback Fraser Hill 2020 - Remembering the Birds and Mother Nature

 Black-Browed Barbet. One of the 11 species of Asian Barbets, more of which is described in Mr Allen J's Notes on the Field Identification of Green-Plumaged Barbets in Peninsular Malaysia available for further reading online via eBird Malaysia portal HERE. Pictured above and below during my last trip to Fraser Hill with my wader sifu Ang early this year 2020, BEFORE Covid-19 pandemic swept through Malaysia. The calls of BB Barbet will echo throughout sub-montane forests of Malaysia. Hearing them and the calls of the Fire-tufted Barbets in Fraser Hill, is soothing to my soul.  When will we meet again. Wild Bird Club Malaysia trip to Fraser Hill in 2018, is featured HERE. The earlier encounter with the Zappey Flycatcher and the Grey Nightjar can be read HERE. I will always remember my Malaysian Honeyguide (and the post-trip visit to the hospital for an antibiotics injection when I got back to KL with a swollen foot). Fraser Hill is the Little England of Malaysia and with borders currently closed due to Covid-19 pandemic, it is the closest we will ever get to feeling the cool (cold when it rains) climate whilst the sun sets after 6.30pm. It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere by November, and it gets dark by the early afternoon in England and other Northern Hemisphere countries.       God-light, as the morning sun rays stream through the canopy of the forest near entrance to Hemmant Trail and Lady Maxwell Road, Fraser Hill.Fire-Tufted Barbet. Seeing this barbet species COMPLETES the birdwatching experience in the hills:)Long-tailed Broadbill. Short dumpy bird with a ridiculously-long (but absolutely pretty) tail. It was nesting when we spotted it. Nesting birds need as little disturbance as possible so I limited myself to taking a record shot of this broadbill for memory sake, and to highlight the importance of preserving Fraser Hill as a natural heritage and to maintain the hill's Important Bird Area status, for future generations to continue enjoying the flora, fauna and to share the beauty and joy of birdwatching!  Malayan Laughingthrush (incorrectly named as Chestnut-Crowned). As to why it is now correctly named Malayan Laughingthrush, you can read on about the taxonomic changes to Clements Checklist and the correct names of other bird species found in Malaysia in an article by Mr David Bakewell published in eBird Malaysia website HERE. Black-throated Sunbird. This particular sunbird (pictured above) had a gorgeous deep maroon red patch on its nape, as it fed on the nectar of these ginger flowers. Wild Ginger Flowers when they bloom in the forests are a sight to behold. Spiderhunters and Sunbirds would be their frequent visitors as well as other animals, insects, helping to pollinate the plants and working symbiotically to regenerate growth. Raspberry bush with some berries, grows very well in the hills. It will not survive in the balcony of my Kuala Lumpur condo. Raspberries we get in the supermarkets are all exported from either USA, Europe or Scandinavian countries. The fresh (imported) raspberries are expensive. Collared Owlet. Pictured above with False Eyes. It was seen during daytime and the smaller birds including the Streaked Spiderhunter were mobbing it. This owlet is diurnal, hunting in the daytime. It prefers to eat insects, moths and butterflies, and whether small birds form part of its diet, remains a mystery. According to David Wells' Birds of Thai-Malay Peninsular, in hand the Collared Owlet is described as being nervous, quick and aggressive as the falconet and sparrowhawk. Similarity with Falconet's nesting behaviour was also described by Wells in that the Owlet has been found to occupy tree holes previously belonging to Barbets and Smaller Woodpeckers  The real face of the Collared Owlet is pictured below. Audubon Article on the purpose and function of the false eyes for an American Owl species can be read HERE. May the territorial poot poot-oop poot calls of the Collared Owlet echo throughout the hill forests of Peninsular Malaysia for aeons. The familiar calls recorded by Marc Anderson can be heard through  Xeno-Canto website HERE.

Of Bulbul, Butterflies and Goats

Stripe-throated Bulbul was very cooperative that late afternoon. Singing away whilst perched and this was not a performance to be missed. According to Wikipedia, the word Bulbul derives from Hindi (बुलबुल) or Persian or Arabic (بلبل), meaning Nightingale, but in English, Bulbul refers to Passerine birds of a different family, the Pycnonotidae.  It would be quite easy to see the association with the Nightingale, since this Stripe-throated Bulbul had very melodious songs. An even more melodious bulbul that shares a darker fate than this Stripe-throated, is the Straw-headed Bulbul, which is listed as a Critically Endangered species by the IUCN. One of the Straw-headed Bulbul images, is published in Oriental Bird Club website HERE. The Straw-headed bulbul species was once abundant in the National Parks of Pahang, easily heard and seen but sadly this is not the case for the past few years. Beautiful pair of butterflies, fluttering all over the flowers of this plant in Hulu Selangor. The minute I sat down, one butterfly alighted on flowers and appeared to start feeding on nectar. It looks like a Swallowtail Butterfly species, and there are 18,000 species of butterflies found worldwide (except in Antartica). Swallowtail species are sadly being traded in the black market. World Swallowtail Day is celebrated online through the World Land Trust website HERE. The Great Mormon species featured in 75 cents stamp of Malaysia is published in website. It is described as occurring in 13 subspecies in different countries within South Asian and Southeast Asian region.No wonder Robert Frost described butterflies so poetically as "Flowers that fly and all but sing"Hulu Yam, the old town was worth a stop whilst I was on my way to Kuala Kubu Bahru, Selangor. The uncle selling the cakes, noodles and fried vermicelli was quite difficult to spot that day. If only his stall had a bright signboard across emblazoned with the words "UNCLE'S ULU YAM CAKES & NOODLES", I'd bet no one would miss it:)  I like the pandan-flavoured mochi, Ma Lai Kor (Steamed Brown Sugar Cakes) that he sells. Hulu Yam has a rustic old town charm to it. A herd of goats were grazing on the football field just behind a row of shophouses.  Amongst the hilly backdrop, this herd of goats was just missing the bells tied around their neck.Healthy-looking goats, with very little fur. Look to be well-adapted to hot, humid weather of a tropical country like Malaysia. Seeing this herd in Ulu Yam reminds me of the Jamnapari goat breed, which were being raised in a farm down south in Johor that my family last visited in UK Agro Farm in Kluang, Johor.

Impromptu Birdwatching with Curious Native Kids

Kampung Gerachi Jaya, a settlement for the Natives (Orang Asli) in Hulu Selangor, with nearest town being Kuala Kubu Bahru was interesting. A view of the Selangor reservoir from the winding road leading up to this settlement is pictured above. I was on the way to deliver food for natives at Kampung Pertak and this settlement. Due to CMCO, I was subjected to a number of questions by the policeman on duty at the road block just beyond KKB. I cooperated with him, explaining that I was delivering food and had no intentions whatsoever to cross the border into Pahang. He checked my IC then informed me to head back to Kuala Lumpur thereafter. I showed him the bag of food in my car which included some chocolates for the Orang Asli kids. This disheveled group of Orang Asli kids followed me around that afternoon after I had given them chocolates. Two of them followed me as I took a short walk up a tarred road towards a water treatment plant just above a hill. I told them that the birds were afraid and wouldn't show if they continued talking to me, but to no avail. Curious kids who had not seen a woman with binoculars and a camera before, I suppose. When they did ask questions about the birds, I was happy to answer them. When I asked whether they had seen a hornbill Burung Enggang before, they asked what it was. A long-tailed Shrike (with greyish cap on head extending to its neck and mantle) was the first seen as pictured below. The minute I zoomed in with my Digital Camera at 600mm, it turned its head away leaving it impossible to see black mask across its eyes - Sheesh!. The Blue-winged Leafbird, Crested Serpent Eagle, Spectacled Spiderhunter, Brown-throated Sunbird, Black-crested Bulbul and Hume's White-Eyes were flying around in the hill, some behaving in a skittish manner. I was worried when Siti, the Orang Asli girl told me the Orang Asli boys would practice slingshots at the birds. I explained to her that she must tell them not to hurt the innocent birds since she wouldn't like it if the boys fling stones at her, to which she gave me a positive nod:) A Book dedicated to the Laniidae family entitled "Shrikes: A Guide to the Shrikes of the World" by Norbert Lefranc and Tim Worfolk is currently out-of-print. I think it was highly likely the Long-tailed Shrike, Bentet subspecies that visited Gerachi Jaya that afternoon. 

Mixed Flock and Mixed Feelings - Birdwatching during Monsoon Season

This small road leads to a Water treatment plant in Kampung Pertak, Kuala Kubu Bahru, Selangor. I was fortunate enough to witness a bird wave on an afternoon trip at this small patch of forest BEFORE Conditional Movement Control Order was issued from 14th October 2020 onwards. Freedom of movement has been curtailed following CMCO. Going beyond Klang Valley (Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya) to birdwatch, is no longer possible. Short day trips within Selangor are possible, although birdwatching sites are decreasing with the notable example of Genting Highlands being off-limits since pre-registration with a private entity one week before is now required. When the window of opportunity for birdwatching opens, it is tempting to go all out and bird as much as possible, but with monsoon season now in full swing, that window of opportunity gets smaller and smaller by the day. A birdnote's Audio Story on Mixed Species Flocks including the calls of the North American birds, really brings back memories of my first encounter with the bird wave at this patch of forest in Kampung Pertak.
The woodpecker in my bird wave was the Buff-necked (pictured above), and then there was the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, the Red-eyed Bulbuls, Hume's White-eyes, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, the full list of which is recorded HERE in eBird Malaysia.    

A view from the bridge across the reservoir, leading to Kampung Pertak.

Tree brimming with low-hanging Petai in Kampung Pertak

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher behaving like a well-played ping pong ball during the mixed flock/bird wave

A partially hidden view of the mountains beyond

A scary encounter reminded me of the additional need to bird safely. The growls I heard along the road leading to the Reservoir near Kampung Gerachi Jaya (a different Orang Asli village), gave me cold scary chills. Whether the growls were that of a dog or bear or other mammal, that was enough to make me stay inside the car. It seems the growls and barking of a bear are similar to that of a dog. I very much doubt it was the Malayan Sun Bear that was growling that day, as that species is facing a bleak future according to an article by Dr. Wong Siew Te on "The Status of Malayan Sun Bears in Malaysia" which can be read HERE. The forests leading to the reservoir is not undisturbed, with oil palm plantation sighted further uphill so it was very unlikely that a Malayan Sun Bear was growling that day. It might have been a dog since the Orang Asli village in Kampung Gerachi Jaya was further up the hill but I did not dare to walk and bird too far from my car. 

Can imagine owls may be possible to see along this stretch of road near Kampung Gerachi Jaya