Took a short time going through some articles on birds and coffee farm. Now I realized there are really a lot of effort on this sustainable farming practice. I would like to share the following links with you. Enjoy the articles.
There is another interesting article about crows in Malaysia which stated that the House Crow over here is genetically similar to the ones in Sri Lanka. Some believe the bird hitchhiked ships and arrived in Malaysia. Meanwhile, Zoologist Dr Hafidzi Mohd Noor from UPM said that crows from Sri Lanka was introduced in Malaysia. It was introduced as a biological control to coffee plantation in Pulau Carey in 1902 by John Edward Valentine Carey. Read more here: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/03/472669/crows-problem-epic-proportions
His voice is unmistakable! I have heard of his voice for so many years on television documentaries since my childhood. I am sure you can recognize his voice instantly! For today's post, I would like to talk about David Attenborough.
Over the years, we have seen so many naturalists making lots of wildlife documentaries. Everyone has their own unique personality / character. But whenever I think about a naturalist on TV, it would always be him, the one and only David Attenborough. I tried to watch almost every documentaries I can find featuring him. One of the most unforgettable and my favorite series is The Life of Birds. As a birder, I of course bought a copy of the DVD for my own collection.
David Attenborough joined BBC in 1952 and made remarkable journeys into the wilderness to film the wonders of nature. Such an incredibly strong passion for nature, even age could not stop him from sharing his knowledge to the world. I truly believe he has witnessed so many things in life more than anyone else and he have seen the changes to the natural world - good and bad.
Pygmy Cupwing (previously known as Pygmy Wren-babbler)
Long-tailed Broadbill
Large Niltava
My first visit to Fraser’s Hill dates back to the 1990s, when I was completing my university field practical hours. I chose WWF Fraser’s Hill as my placement site and spent a total of four weeks there. At the time, I had no idea how cold it could get up in the highlands—everything felt chilly, at least by ordinary Malaysian standards. But looking back, I’m truly glad I had the chance to experience what life was like there during those days. Back then, birds were practically everywhere, and most were remarkably approachable. A simple walk along the forest trails would bring you face to face with species like the Large Niltava or the Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, often perched close to the path. Silver-eared Mesias were abundant, their bright plumage adding color to the misty surroundings.
raser’s Hill was named after a Scotsman, Louis James Fraser. The old story many of us heard was that he went missing in the forest, never to be found. However, according to more recent accounts, Fraser actually returned to Europe, where he tragically met with an accident and died. If you’re interested in learning more about him, you can read further on his Wikipedia page.
According to Pahang Tourism, the hill station sits at 1,524 meters above sea level, although I believe this refers to the highest accessible point by foot. Generally, the main areas of Fraser’s Hill are around 1,200 meters in elevation. Temperatures usually hover between 19°C and 22°C, offering a refreshing escape from the lowland heat.
Fraser’s Hill is regarded as one of the prime birding destinations in Peninsular Malaysia. For decades, it has attracted birdwatchers from around the world. Around 250 bird species have been recorded here, though in a typical visit you might expect to see about 100, depending on the season and how much time you spend exploring. During the migration period, some species pass through while others stay on as wintering visitors.
If you’re planning a birding trip, I usually recommend spending at least three days and two nights at Fraser’s Hill. The journey from Kuala Lumpur city center is often listed as 1.5 hours on some websites and Google Maps, but in reality, it usually takes longer. The uphill road is winding and narrow, and the stretch between Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Kubu Bharu can be busy, especially during weekends and public holidays.
Once you arrive, you’ll find the effort well worth it. Some of the species you might encounter include the Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, Malayan Laughingthrush, Black Laughingthrush, Silver-eared Mesia, Long-tailed Sibia, Black-throated Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter, Large Niltava, Rufous-browed Flycatcher, Little Pied Flycatcher, Red-headed Trogon, Collared Owlet, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Large Cuckooshrike, Black-and-Crimson Oriole, Long-tailed Broadbill, Silver-breasted Broadbill, White-tailed Robin, Streaked Wren-babbler, Pygmy Cupwing (formerly known as Pygmy Wren-babbler), Black-browed Barbet, Fire-tufted Barbet, Golden Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Buff-breasted Babbler, Malaysian Partridge, and many more.
Fraser’s Hill remains a timeless sanctuary for both birds and birdwatchers alike—serene, cool, and endlessly rewarding for anyone who loves the natural world.
Watch the video above, which I’ve compiled to showcase some of the amazing bird species found in this beautiful hill station. Besides birds, you might also encounter a few primates, wild boars, and plenty of squirrels—including the adorable Himalayan Striped Squirrel, one of the cutest residents of Fraser’s Hill.
When it comes to food, there are plenty of restaurants around town. Most serve local Malaysian dishes—Chinese, Malay, and Indian—while a few offer Western-style meals.
I hope this gives you a better idea of what to expect from your birding adventure at Fraser’s Hill—a cool, serene destination filled with wildlife and character.
If you’re interested in hiring me as your birding guide at Fraser’s Hill, feel free to reach out via email at nature2pixel@gmail.com or send me a WhatsApp message at +6018-363-2738. I’d be happy to help you make the most of your trip!
An email received yesterday "How will the ☕ you drink help birds? Find out now"
I drink coffee at local coffee shop, not like those Starbucks or Coffee Beans. I am not crazy about coffee but occasionally I will order just the ordinary black coffee with sugar (no condensed milk added) and ice while on birding trips. Although, I don't believe the beans or the powder originate from shade-grown coffee plantation because it will be expensive for the coffee shop owner.
Almost all kind of farming or plantation over here in Malaysia is destructive, which means, farmer or big plantation companies will clear the forest before planting their crops. Quite unfortunately, sad but true. But after reading the text on the above link, personally I like the idea of shade grown farm. It really helps to keep the birds (and other wildlife) in their existing habitat. Really a win-win situation. I might be wrong or the writer could be half right. But I think there must be a thorough field study conducted on shade-grown coffee, otherwise how would the writer come out with the statement "more than 42 species of North American migratory songbirds that winter in coffee plantations, including orioles, warblers, and thrushes". Amazing!!!
I remember this trip very well. It was my first trip with Roger for 5 days. We covered Kuala Selangor, Fraser's Hill and Hulu Langat. His enthusiasm and passion for butterflies is amazing! I was impressed and soon, I started shooting and looking out for butterflies too. I did another trip with Roger in 2011 and will compile the photos soon.
Throughout the 5 days, we see more things - apart from birds and butterflies, we had sightings of water monitor, tarantula, trapdoor spider, colugo (YOU SHOULD LOOK AT HIS FACE! HE WAS SO AMAZED), and many primates.
Let's take a look at the video. I hope you enjoy this. There are more videos from my YouTube channel which showcases Birds in Malaysia, my Birding in Malaysia trips, and others. Subscribe to the channel and you will be notify when there is a new video uploaded to my channel. Thank you.
I have been thinking whether to start a new blog or use this blog to share my butterflies sightings & photographs. After a few days of thinking about this, I decided to stick on to this blog. Over the years, going out on birding trips and sometimes just around the neighborhood, I have been able to take photographs of butterflies of various sizes. I used to have a dedicated macro lens, but nowadays I only have a micro four thirds telephoto zoom lens to take all the shots, which I am quite happy about.
How can you benefit from this page? Many of my friends are curious whenever they see colorful butterflies in their garden or while they walk in the urban parks. Sometimes they tried to describe to me what they saw which I can't imagine. Some managed to get some photographs with their smartphone and that's helpful. Now, if I can have a page filled with photographs of the common butterflies in Peninsular Malaysia, it will truly help anyone who wanted to find out what they are looking at.
Licensed Tourist Guide specialized in birdwatching and photography tour in Peninsular Malaysia. BSc Forestry (Parks & Recreation Management).
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Birdwatching and Photography Trips
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Birds of Peninsular Malaysia
Birds of Peninsular Malaysia
Wildlife in Peninsular Malaysia
A collection of wildlife photographs in Peninsular Malaysia that includes mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Some photographs are taken with camera while some are taken with mobile phone whenever I get the opportunities to shoot while on a guiding assignment.
Insects
You will see other interesting insects during your birding adventure with me. Here are some of the photos I have extracted from my hard drives..
Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia
Collection of photographs for reference.
Notable Plants While Birding
There will be some interesting flora that will definitely catch your attention while going out on a birdwatching trip with me. I am in the midst of compiling all the plants, please return to this website for updates. Thank you.
Southeast Asia Birding
Sometimes I accompany my regular guests for birding trips out of Peninsular Malaysia. Check out what we found.
Hi! I love watching birds, taking photographs (and video), and guiding people through nature. Welcome to my blog, A Malaysian Birder. I'll be sharing all the great birds I see and the photos I take right here on this blog. I got into bird watching when I was in university studying parks and recreation management. I used to work in parks and gardens, teaching people about the environment and organizing birding walks.
Whenever I go out to look for birds, I always bring my binoculars and spotting scope to help me see them up close. Sometimes, I even bring a microphone to record their calls. It's always an adventure out in the field!
In the past, I will have my Kowa BDXD 8x32 binocular, Zoom H2N recorder, Kowa TSN-501 and my favorite Nikon1 V1 with a 70-300mm lens. This is the lightest setup I have tried and owned. From then onwards, I have used Omicron 8x26 binocular (and i bought 4 units), Leica Ultravid 8x32 binocular, Kowa Spotting Scope TSN773 with 20-60x eyepiece, Panasonic Lumix G7, Panasonic Lumix G9 with a 100-300mm lens and currently experimenting with Sony ILCE-A6700 and Sony SEL 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens.
Bird Watching Tours
There are quite a number of birding groups from Australia, United States and United Kingdom that come over to Malaysia annually visiting the traditional key sites that include Kuala Selangor, Fraser's Hill and Taman Negara. There is not doubt that the 3 sites are the preferred birding sites in Peninsular Malaysia. So if you are coming over for birding and intend to hire a guide, you can send me an email at nature2pixel@gmail.com and go over to posting section to view photos and summary of trip reports with testimonials from past clients.
Besides following the traditional route, I also customized trip according to clients needs, preference and interests. So there are some local patches that I can introduce to all bird watchers, digiscopers and photographers.
Here are a few of my favorite birding spots around Kuala Lumpur.
• Kuala Selangor - the habitats include mangrove forest. Good for woodpecker and kingfisher. Some amount of walking is required on flat terrain.
• Fraser's Hill - one of the traditional key sites for birding in Peninsular Malaysia and still the best place to visit. Elevation between 900 - 1200m above sea level. The species found here are different from the city of Kuala Lumpur. Targets may include Trogon, Woodpecker, Partridge, Laughingthrush, Leafbird, Spiderhunter and Sunbird.
• Hulu Langat - one of the most visited birding spot due to its proximity from the city centre. Walking is required but on easy terrain in this lowland forest. Sometimes need to wait at fruiting trees. Generally a good spot for Broadbill, Kingfisher, and Babbler.
• Bukit Tinggi - An alternative spot if you do not want to spend too long hours travelling to Fraser's Hill. It's about 900m to 1,000m above sea level and you get a combination of lowland and highland species at this elevation. Walking is required but just a short distance. Traditional known for Broadbill, Hornbill, Partridge and Pheasant.
• Gombak-Ampang - Generally recommended for photographers targeting Blue-eared Kingfisher and at times during fruiting season, it attracts many species of Bulbul and Barbet. Located in urban area.
• Putrajaya - If you are staying in any hotel in Putrajaya, it's a good place to look for herons, egrets, bittern and storks.
Bird Families
Check the bird families and the taxonomy updates HERE.
I am also interested to take video of birds. Here are some of my favorite videos for your viewing. Video taken with Nikon1 V1 attached to a Sigma 500mm f4.5 and most of the time iPhone SE through the spotting scope. Editing is done on smartphone Power Director for Android device and I also like the iMovie on iPhone. Enjoy.
If you are interested to get a copy of field guides to assist you to learn and identify birds in Malaysia. Click the followings to find out more.
March 2024. Fortunate enough to meet 1 of the authors before it was launched in Kuala Lumpur. Another great field guide for all birders who want to get the most updated information about birds of Malaysia.
