A Malaysian Birder

Sue birding in KL - 1 November 2018

Today, we went birding around Kuala Lumpur. Our initial plan was to go up to Fraser's Hill, however, I suggested Kuala Lumpur due to the current weather condition in Fraser's Hill which may affect the birding experience.

After picking up Linda and Yong from the airport, we made our way to the hill station, Fraser's Hill and we arrive just in time for some birding action and our primary target, Malaysian Partridge were already in the bag by the end of the day. I'm glad we got this partridge on the first day, as the visibility for the next 2 days were not so great. :(

An early morning drive out from the city centre. Our birding destination for today is no other than Krau forest, one of my favorite birding sites.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to get close to a (recently sighted) Black-backed Kingfisher. Even though it is almost 4 hours away from Kuala Lumpur. I quickly contacted a fellow birder and immediately arrange for a night drive on the very same day. It rained as soon as we arrived in the early morning, we missed the chance to shoot one target due to weather condition. We were hoping that rain will stop and that our targeted kingfisher will appear. Not too long after sunrise, the kingfisher showed up right in front of us. No hard work at all. Target acquired. After 4 hours spent in this area, we decided to go back to KL. We heard that this kingfisher didn't show up the next day, BOY...I'm glad we went looking for it that day.

This is BC and Angie first birding out of Singapore. When BC mentioned that they wanted to get Broadbill, I already have a few spots in my mind. I recommended some birding spots near KL to maximize our time in the field.

We start the trip with a morning session at the coastal open field, then a brief stop in Putrajaya Heronry before we break for late lunch. In the afternoon, our plan had postponed due to bad weather. We returned to the hotel for dinner and rest early.

The next day, we returned to the lowland forest of Hulu Langat to get a Rufous-collared Kingfisher but no sign of White-chersed Babbler or Pale Blue Flycatcher or any other usual species. Very unusual ... freaking quiet!!! We exploted a few areas in Hulu Langat but then decided to return to the hotel early due to lack of new birds to add to the trip list and furthermore, many places were crowded, unfortunately....but still a good day.

Woke up early the next day, and drove up to the highland for Mountain Peacock Pheasant and Ferruginous Partridge. Hit the targets plus a few other good ones. We spent the afternoon in a lowland forest at another bird hide where we manage a few bulbul and babbler species. We spent the next morning at this location before resting and birding near the hotel where we were stayed for 2 nights. Brilliant choice! Good opportunities for Udo to get lots of video.

The next destination is Taman Negara, one of the oldest rainforest in the world. But frankly, the weather was not too ideal for us. Nevertheless, we kept our spirit high and tried our best to look for birds to get some video. I would say, one of our best highlight is Large Frogmouth, a family of wildboar and a Muntjac.

After 3 nights in Taman Negara, we went up to the highland to enjoy birding in a much cooler environment. True enough, we enjoyed so much not only the beautifully colored birds but the surrounding. Just the best time to enjoy the birds with less crowd. :D I am very sure Udo enjoy taking video of the trogon, mesia, barbet and so on.

For our last destination, we covered the coastal side of Kuala Selangor. Very quiet in the mangrove reserve but Udo still managed to add some lifers to his bird list. I guessed the highlight from the coast would be Lesser Adjutant!

The trip starts early in the morning from the city centre. We started birding as soon as we arrived at KKB dam, followed by the Gap. Birding resumed in the afternoon after lunch and continued until night time. The next morning, the weather was not ideal for us to watch birds, therefore we decided to look for birds on our way down from Fraser's Hill. A short lunch in KKB and a short birding in the vicinity before we drove back to the city centre.

Met Harjeet in Sepang then drove towards the forest of Hulu Langat. We only managed to spent half a day in Hulu Langat due to bad weather condition but still get some of the targets we required. Best bird for the day is Rufous-backed Kingfisher!

The next day, we drove up to the highland and nailed that Ferruginous Partridge and Mountain Peacock Pheasant. Harjeet spotted the Orange-breasted Trogon when we were about to pack our equipment. Very surprised! Next, we went to Fraser's Hill. We spent 2 nights here! Great birding here! What else can I say, just look at the photos below.

Guided 2 Australian birders in Fraser's Hill recently. Both carrying portable photographic gears too. We started the day very early from Sepang with a breakfast at KKB. Along the journey to the highland, we also made several birding stops and only reached the hill station in the afternoon. We had 1 full day in Fraser's Hill on Day 2 and spent another half day (morning) birding along New Road. Although we descended from the hill station after lunch, we only reach Sepang after 6 hours. Weather was pretty descent, but it gets really hot in the afternoon with temperature reaching 35C sometimes. We managed to get most of the birds up there but we missed a few of the common species, very strange. Mountain Scops Owl was easy this time but no sign of Brown Wood Owl and Collared Owlet.

I have been waiting for this trip to commence ever since it was confirmed with Cindy many months ago. Although I was not expecting so many guests, I though should accept it as a challenge and do my best to fulfill everyone's expectation of a birding trip to Peninsular Malaysia. And it turned out to be a pretty successful trip.

We started the trip with a pre-dawn walk near the hotel for Savannah Nightjar and Large-tailed Nightjar, which were a success just before sunrise. After a breakfast in the hotel, we traveled to the coastal side hoping to catch the endangered Lesser Adjutant. Unfortunately, we were unable to add it onto our list but we managed Yellow-bellied Prinia, Dollarbird, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk and a few others. Next, we proceed towards our hotel in Kuala Selangor for an afternoon siesta. We resumed birding shortly and added Oriental Pied Hornbill, Ashy Tailorbird, Pygmy Woodpecker, Collared Kingfisher, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Pink-necked Pigeon, Pied Triller, and many more. At night, we went searching for the nocturnal species and added Buffy Fish Owl.

On our 2nd birding day, we birded Kuala Selangor Nature Park. We done pretty well in this area and gotten our main targets Mangrove Whistler, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher and Cinereous Tit. Of course, there were other birds in our morning session here. In the afternoon, we moved on to a more cooling environment for birding - Fraser's Hill!

We spent 3 nights up on this hill station. A truly wonderful experience and temperature for all in this group. We started birding even before sun rises and ended each day with a night session. Let's see, some of the highlights we recorded include (but not limited to) Red-headed Trogon, Malayan Partridge, Malayan Laughingthrush, Silver-eared Mesia, Large Niltava, Pygmy Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Flycatcher, White-tailed Robin, Pygmy Cupwing, Blyth's Shrike-babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Golden Babbler, Buff-breasted Babbler, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Gold-whiskered Barbet, Blue-eared Barbet, Black-browed Barbet, Fire-tufted Barbet, Common Green Magpie, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Greater Yellownape, Lesser Yellownape, Blue Nuthatch and so much more. The bird waves were really amazing for us too.

Our next destination after Fraser's Hill, is none other than the famous Taman Negara dubbed one of the oldest rainforest in the world. We spent 4 nights here and recorded many good species including the critically endangered Helmeted Hornbill. We walked the trails and go on boat rides throughout the period. Weather could be better, we were struggling at some points during the walks but always rewarded with good birds at the end of the day. Among the highlights during the period are Blue-banded Kingfisher, Banded Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Greeen Broadbill, Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, Black-and-Red Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Sunda Scops Owl, Crested Partridge, Malayan Peacock Pheasant, Moustached Babbler, Scaly-crowned Babbler, White-chested Babbler, Abbott's Babbler, Black-capped Babbler, Pin-striped Tit-babbler, Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot, Thick-billed Pigeon and Little Green Pigeon.

Bird of the trip for me....Large Frogmouth. We tried several nights in Taman Negara and finally got it with a few guests who were willing to wake up early to hunt for it. We made use of the available hours in the morning and rewarded with Malaysian Blue Flycatcher, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Red-throated Sunbird, Spectacled Spiderhunter, Blyth's Paradise Flycatcher, Bronzed Drongo, Straw-headed Bulbul, Wrinkled Hornbill (again!), Rhinoceros Hornbill, Black-naped Monarch, Scarlet-rumped Trogon,

We departed from Taman Negara after lunch and made a brief stop in Lanchang before continue to Bukit Tinggi, our final birding stop. We added Sooty-capped Babbler, Short-tailed Babbler, Black-capped Babbler, Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, Cream-vented Bulbul, Black-headed Bulbul, Hairy-backed Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Buff-vented Bulbul, Rufescent Prinia, Little Spiderhunter,

On our final day, we nailed the 2 main targets - Mountain Peacock Pheasant and Ferruginous Partridge but we also managed to include Scaly-breasted Bulbul, Bushy-crested Hornbill and few others.

Apart from the birds, we also had a fairly good wildlife sightings including Long-tailed Macaque, Pig-tailed Macaque, Silver Leaf Monkey, Dusky Langur, White-thighed Surili, Plaintain Squirrel, Red-cheeked Squirrel, Grey-bellied Squirrel, Red-bellied Squirrel, Western Striped Squirrel and others.

"I would like to thank you about your excellent trip organzation and caring for me during this photography trip. Also, I would like to thank you for your continuous efforts to bring birds to me and trying to find as many bird as possible." - Saad, Saudi Arabia

This is the first time I am guiding a birder from Saudi Arabia. Saad is a very calm birder, lots of patience and looking out for detail of the birds. We covered the lowland forest near KL and Krau forest before spending a night in Fraser's Hill - my favorite birding spot in Peninsular Malaysia. Birding activities in the lowland forest were relatively slow compared to usual days but up in the highland we were rewarded with many lovely species that you never get tired of.

I also had my unusual sighting on this trip. An uncommonly seen babbler, Collared Babbler or formerly known as White-hooded Babbler.