Till we meet again Fraser Hill

Waking up to a new day in Fraser Hill. My room looks out to the town square with the iconic (non-functional) clock tower. I started my walk along the Old Gap Road...... The welcome signboard display of Fraser Hill in BRIGHT red.  Little Cuckoo Doves were flying all over the hillsides. A pair of these Doves flew across the Old Gap road to perch inside fern and bushes growing on the hill embankment.

A small flock of Wreathed Hornbills were seen alongside the Old Gap Road that morning when the mist started rolling in. I heard the prominent swooshing sounds of their flapping wings, first before I saw this flock fly across the valley to perch on a tree. Always a delight to see hornbills! 

I sprained my lower back and back muscles late March which required an intravenous drip to lessen the pain. I had applied Acustop plasters for last three weeks, was on painkillers and had attended three physiotherapy sessions to reduce the swellings and back pain before making this trip. The slow walk along these lovely stretches of the Old Gap Road was very rejuvenating to me.   There is a new signpost which indicates the border between the States of Selangor and Pahang. A Police Station, Health Clinic lie beyond those red lines within the Pahang border of Fraser Hill. The old-style red telephone booth (phone inside is for decorative purpose:) is the latest on-site promotional item for the Little England of Malaysia. I missed out on the Rusty-Nape Pitta in this trip. Heard it can be seen in one of the off-beaten tracks in Fraser Hill, with one photographer injuring himself whilst in the pursuit of a picture. I was still recovering from a bad back sprain so alas, I had to assuage myself that I have heard this elusive Rusty-Nape Pitta before at the Telekom Loop, during pre-pandemic times. I pray for a chance to be able to see this Pitta species in Fraser Hill or any of the montane highlands when it chooses to re-appear, safely without injuring myself:)       The New Gap Road, is the exit from Fraser Hill towards KL or Pahang. The signboard looks to be simpler with the second alphabet in need of being glued right back securely on it.  Stopped to bird a little alongside road shoulders at the New Gap Road, which I had blogged about in my previous post HERE. It was mid-afternoon when I reached Kuala Kubu Bahru and the only meal sustaining me throughout the day was my half-a-plate of fried rice and two pieces of toast which I had for breakfast at Puncak Inn around 8.45am.  This aunty and her family are still frying away delicious meals at this quaint shophouse in Kuala Kubu Bahru. I have yet to try their wok-fried kuey teow, I tried their snacks whilst waiting for my wantan mee during a very late lunch. The prawn fritters with crunchy pieces of Jicama (Sengkuang) were delicious although it would have been lovelier eating them hot off the wok:)   

Back to Birding Basics at Fraser Hill - Monkeys and Marten included

Orange-Bellied Leafbird (Female) has the bluest of "cheeks"-  one of the montane species of Fraser Hill which I observed during my early morning walk that day. It can be found throughout the Asian continent. This female is not to be confused with the Blue-Winged Leafbird female species, the OBL female indeed having more orange on its belly and more blue on its face according to the eBird Identification.  

Magnificently long limbs for this white-thighed Surili of Fraser Hill. Glad to see this troupe still actively foraging for food in the (semi) wild.

This was one of the Surili monkeys hanging out in the top of the trees alongside Mager Road that morning...  

Picking out the young shoots of leaves for early lunch!

The view on my way down from Fraser Hill via the New Gap Road

 

Stopped alongside one of the road shoulders at the New Gap Road to birdwatch a bit even though it was past 1pm already:)

Back to birdwatching basics in Fraser Hill since my last trip there was to attend the AGM of the Wild Bird Club of Malaysia on 4 January 2020 together with my friends from Malacca & Sifu Ang, my wader guru, BEFORE the pandemic hit Malaysia which you can read HERE. Booked one night accommodation at Puncak Inn via Agoda, and headed straight for the hills from Cyberjaya after work with a short stop to pack my dinner at a Petronas Station along the North-South Expressway Central Link (between KLIA & Shah Alam Interchanges) or better known as the ELITE highway. It was a bittersweet reunion with a magical place that had re-ignited my love for birdwatching. The opening of inter-States travel meant there was no longer any police blocks from Kuala Kubu Bahru (Selangor) to/from Fraser Hill (Pahang). The dawn chorus woke me up instead of the usual alarm clock in the city. The birds seen or heard on this 1 night trip to Fraser Hill and a Yellow-throated Marten spotted at the Gap, Selangor are recorded in checklists posted below: 

https://ebird.org/checklist/S107450615

https://ebird.org/checklist/S107450957

https://ebird.org/checklist/S107451423

https://ebird.org/checklist/S107451863

Late lunch stop at Kuala Kubu Bahru. The Confectionary shop at Teng Wun was CLOSED on a public holiday so no muffins for afternoon tea or breakfast. Thank goodness there was a shoplot near Ampang Pecah, which had hot drinks and was open for business. I had to make do with a pre-packed coconut bun for my afternoon snack. The final checklist of the day before I returned to KL, is as below:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S107452840