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.