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Andy Walker
Outline Itinerary
Kuala Selangor (KS) (March 10th-13th) Frasers Hill (FH) (March 13th-19th) Taman Negara (TN) (March 19th-30th) Kuala Lumpur (KL) (March 30th-31st) I flew Manchester (UK) to Kuala Lumpur via Doha with Qatar Airways. Flights ran smoothly and pretty much on time. Doha was chaos due to the massive construction project going on there but despite my concerns my bags made it! Good service on the plane etc.
Birding Highlights
This was my first proper birding trip to Malaysia. Id visited Borneo in about 2007 and India in about 2009 so I was familiar with some of the birds but neither of these trips were specifically for birding but obviously I saw as much as I could. I recorded about 320 species (I probably missed some species due to not knowing all the calls too); the following are some of my highlights: Rusty-naped Pitta 1 seen FH (Bishops Trail) and at least 1 other heard at FH (Bishops Trail) both heard calling at same time. Garnet Pitta 2 seen at TN (Sungai Tembeling River Trail after Canopy Walkway and at Tabing Hide) and another bird heard at Tabing Hide both Tabing birds heard calling at the same time. Banded Pitta 1 heard at TN (Tahan Hide area) unfortunately not seen by me biggest disappointment of the entire trip! Hooded Pitta 3 seen at TN (2 on Sungai Tembeling River Trail and 1 on Sungai Tahan River Trail) with another heard calling on the Sungai Tembeling River Trail (at the same time as the other 2 were seen). Blue-winged Pitta 2 seen at TN (1 on Sungai Tahan River Trail near Lubok Simpon and at 1 Tabing Hide) with another heard at Tahan Hide. Also 1 heard at KS. Malaysian Rail-Babbler 1 seen at TN (Cegar Anjing Hide) and 2 others heard together at TN (Swamp Loop). Goulds Frogmouth 2 seen in TN (daytime roost at Tabing Hide and at night on Sungai Tahan River Trail) with at least one, probably two others head at TN (in vicinity of Mutiara Resort). Malaysian Partridge 3 seen at FH (Bishops Trail) with others heard on Bishops Trail. Malaysian Peacock-Pheasant at least 3 individuals seen at TN with other birds heard there. Malaysian Laughingthrush Several seen at FH (Pine Tree Trail, and on/around the feeders at Jelai Resort and Shahzan Inn). Great Argus several recorded at TN (Jenet Muda Trail and beyond) though sound travels miles and generally shy. Rufous-collared Kingfisher 3 seen at TN (2 at different places Sungai Tahan River Trail and 1 along Sungai Tembeling River Trail near Canopy Walkway). Blue-banded Kingfisher 2 pairs seen along Sungai Tahan (Lubok Simpon area and near Lata Berkoh). Banded Kingfisher 1 seen at TN (Sungai Tahan River Trail) with others heard at TN (e.g. around Mutiara Resort), 1 seen in forest near Kuala Lumpur.
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Green Broadbill 2 or 3 pairs at TN (mainly seen at fruiting trees along Sungai Tahan River Trail and also from Tahan Hide). Banded Broadbill 1 male seen at TN (along Jenet Muda Trail, with others heard along Sungai Tembeling River Trail). Black-and-Yellow Broadbill Fairly common at TN (seen along Sungai Tahan River Trail, Back Loop and along Sungai Tembeling River Trail), a pair also seen in forest near Kuala Lumpur. Long-tailed Broadbill 4 or 5 pairs (at least) at FH (seen along Hemmant Trail (2 pairs found nesting), Bishops Trail, and at Telekom Loop). Black-and-Red Broadbill very common at TN. Whiskered Treeswift Several along Sungai Tahan between Cegar Anjing crossing point and Lata Berkoh . Jambu Fruit-Dove A pair in TN (Tahan Hide) visiting fruiting trees.
A good range of other species including 19 species of Woodpecker (including Bamboo Woodpecker at the Gap), 4 species of Trogons, 23 species of Flycatcher, 21 species of Bulbul (including Finchs and several pairs of Black-and-White Bulbul (both species with young) at TN in fruiting trees along Sungai Tahan River Trail, at Lubok Simpon and Tahan Hide) and 32 species of Babbler. A good range of migrants including: Oriental Honey-Buzzard (numerous, included one flock of 126 birds over FH), Black Baza (Kuala Selangor and near Kuala Lumpur), Siberian, Eye-browed and Orange-headed Thrushes, Tiger and Brown Shrike, Asian Brown, Yellow-rumped and Mugimaki Flycatchers, Arctic, Eastern Crowned and Yellow-browed Warblers. Plenty of other birds too: sunbirds, flowerpeckers, spiderhunters, warbler, bee-eaters, raptors, owls, nightjars, cuckoos, barbets, hornbills, orioles, herons, kingfishers, swifts, forktails, leafbirds, pigeons etc Ive included a range of photos in the report; most are taken at high ISO due to dark forest conditions so are a bit grainy in places but hopefully they give a good idea! All photos in this report were taken with my Panasonic Lumix FZ-200, which was great for the situation.
Malaysia Trip Report March 2013 Andy Walker http://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk 3
rubbish and take it back they give you money back too, so although costs may be a little higher than back in Kuala Taha, by the time youve had a two-way boat ride and received your money-back offer it works out pretty much the same. The location is great for birding in the forest. The problem for me was it was that the resort, and surrounding area was too much like a theme park that had to be kept in pristine condition for the hundreds of tourists that pass through there to get too or from the Canopy Walk each day. I lost count of the number of times I was sat peacefully in the forest near the resort trying to stalk some secretive bird or watch a fruiting tree only to have either a crowd of loud (generally Malaysian or French) tourists come shouting along the trail, or worst a guy from the resort with a leaf blower, blowing leaves off the broadwalk trails Im not joking, you could hear him coming for miles! ITS A FOREST, THERE ARE LEAVES, GET USED TO IT!!! I did see some very good birds near the resort; however I probably missed a few too because of this and that kind of noise really irritates me! Once away from the resort about 2 km+ it generally becomes quieter but the Lubok Simpon Swimming Pool part of the Sungai Tahan and Bukit Teresek/Canopy Walk areas are honeypots for the day-tripper so get there early or late in the day to avoid the crowds. Having grumbled about some of this above would this stop me going back? In short NO. I recorded pretty much 200 species within 6 km of the resort in 10 days. Ill be heading back there sometime soon and the hostel B&B option is very good value for money. Unknown in Kuala Lumpur (1 night) for a city stopover I stayed in Kuala Lumpur on my final night but cant remember where! Was a hotel near the mono-rail for ease of access to the city centre and pick up connections to the airport etc. Was actually a really nice room and bathroom (the best of the trip) and if I can remember what it was called Id happily stay there again! I had a nice Chinese meal at the market. This was a good location for accessing the park at the Petronas Towers which was a couple of stops down the line.
capped, Collared and Common Kingfishers, Blue-tailed and Blue-throated Bee-eater, Bluewinged Pitta, Linneated and Coppersmiths Barbets, Laced and Sunda Woodpeckers, Common and Greater Flamebacks, Mangrove Whistler, Tiger and Brown Shrikes, Blacknaped Drongo, Malaysian Pied Fantail, Grey Tit, Abbotts Babbler, Hill Myna, Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Mangrove Blue-Flycatcher, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker and Scaly-breasted Munia.
Coppersmiths Barbet (left) and Little Bronze Cuckoo (right), Kuala Selangor
Frasers Hill A week here was great and really allowed a gradual introduction to the areas birds. I saw some awesome birds but I did miss a few, e.g. Mountain Peacock-Pheasant and Himalayan Cutia (the later seen by some Dutch birders the day before I arrived) and Malaysian Whistling-Thrush spring to mind There are loads of great trails (map below); I found the Hemmant Trail the most productive for connecting with mixed flocks (or bird waves as they are called here) and for getting good views of them. I also liked the Bishops Trail this is arguably where I saw the better birds. The Jelai Resort area was excellent early morning with birds attracted to the bird feeders (the resort car park lights are left on overnight so attract some decent moths and then the insectivorous birds) though this area can be noisy and busy with Malaysian and Thai photographers who tend to stand 3ft from the feeders with 800mm lenses. I walked several kms along the Pine Tree Trail but didnt see too much on this one (though this was where the Cutia was at about 1.6 km in, and this is the best spot for the Mountain Peacock-Pheasant I think). I walked round the Telekom loop and connected with a huge bird wave the biggest of the trip, staggering stuff! I got a lift down to the Gap a good change in species, spent an afternoon here before walking back up the old road very good for different species to the top though I did get soaked to the skin by a huge deluge before managing to hitch a lift up with a young Chinese couple who took pity on me! On another day I did walk down the old road from the top which again resulted in a good range of species. Just generally walking the roads produced good birds too. I also got lucky by meeting Norfolk birder Mike Edgecombe, who was very experienced in SE Asia so spending a couple of days birding with him at the beginning of my time at Frasers Hill really helped set me up, and who I now blame for my Pitta addiction!
(please email me if you want me to send you this as a file details below)
Malaysia Trip Report March 2013 Andy Walker http://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk 7
I really liked the feel of Frasers Hill, great birding, good accommodation, food, and climate (mid-20oCs) etc. It did get busy over the weekend which was the only downside, but in truth most of these people didnt go onto the trails, they just seemed to drive around the roads and filled up the hotels/restaurants! There were a few leaches about on the trails after the days that it rained, but nothing too bad to be honest.
Landscape view near the Pine Tree Trail (left) and typical signage around Frasers Hill (right)
Nuthatch, Orange-headed and Eye-browed Thrushes, Lesser Shortwing, Rufous-browed, Little Pied, Verditer and Mugumaki Flycatchers, Large Niltava, Pygmy and Hill BlueFlycatchers, Blue-winged and Orange-bellied Leafbird, Black-throated Sunbird and Streaked Spiderhunter.
Lesser Shortwing (left) and Pygmy Wren-Babbler (right) Bishops Trail, Frasers Hill
Little Pied Flycatcher (left) and Mugimaki Flycatcher (right) both males Jelai Resort, Frasers Hill
Silver-eared Mesia (left) and Streaked Spiderhunter (right) Jelai Resort, Frasers Hill
White-throated Fantail (left) and Large Niltava male (right) Jelai Resort, Frasers Hill
Spectacled Laughingthrush (left) and Malaysian Laughingthrush (right) Jelai Resort, Frasers Hill
Taman Negara Ten days here was fantastic, it really gave me time to immerse myself in birding in this mega-diverse forest. The whole experience of birding in Taman Negara truly out of this world! It isnt just the birds that make it such a great experience, the other animals, and the plants are pretty crazy too! It was generally between hot and very hot and pretty much always very humid for the duration Id guess at mid-late 30oCs. There were a few rain showers by showers I mean deluges, the kind of showers that soak you to the skin in a matter of seconds, and turn footpaths into raging rivers! You can generally hear them coming They also included a lot of thunder and lightning and resulted in many tree/branch falls! If it starts raining I suggest getting out of the forest ASAP! The leaches werent too bad, they just seemed to come out after it rained. I did almost stand on a 10ft black cobra which would have been bad, and I did have a smaller snake jump out of the river (Sungai Tahan) and land on the sand next to me see picture below. Id recommend finding as many fruiting trees as possible, and check these out as often as possible. You can walk the same trail 4 times a day and see different birds each time even in the heat during the middle of the day. Ive included a trail map below. The map provided by the National Park is pretty useless as the scale is no good if youre trying to navigate your way around.
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(please email me if you want me to send you this as a file details below)
I spent most of my time on the trails within about 6 km of the Mutiara Resort. I found the Sungai Tahan River Trail one of, if not the best and I walked this several times to the Tabing Hide area about 4 km I think. Some of the footpath distance markers are way out so difficult to judge! One day it took me about 5 hours to cover 500 m as there was so many birds! The Cegar Anjing area and Tabing Hide area were good. The Sungai Tembeling River Trail was also good but best early or late when the hordes of people arent on it! The Swamp Loop/Back Loop and Tahan Hide all kind of join up and are interlinked and are also good (if theres not a leaf blower on it). I hiked up to Bukit Teresek once, was a steep walk something like 1000 steps up to the first viewpoint, but there was a few different species
Malaysia Trip Report March 2013 Andy Walker http://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk 11
there that I didnt get elsewhere also a rare opportunity to get a view of the sky! Just get there as early as possible and leave before the first 100 tourists get there! I did both ends of the Jenet Muda trail but didnt do the whole thing. I walked (with some Dutch birders I met) on the trail to Belau Hide it was pretty hard going (steep, rope climbing scrabbling over roots and rocks etc) and we didnt really see anything to shout home about! Took one boat ride up to Lata Berkoh this is a really popular area in the afternoon, the people that dont kill themselves hiking up to Bukit Teresek then jump in a boat and spend the afternoon doing whatever up there, so get there early, we were lucky as we were first there so got to enjoy some decent birds before it got busy. One word of warning, make sure your boat driver knows you want to stop for birds. We arranged our boat through the Mutiara Resort stating this, we were assured this would be fine, however when we heard a couple of Strawheaded Bulbuls the boat guy just wouldnt stop, which was really frustrating! Saw some good birds along the river, and a White-handed Gibbon running through the trees across the river was one of my highlights of the holiday spectacular.
View out of the Tahan Hide (left) and Sungai Tahan just beyond Lubok Simpon (right), Taman Negara
Birding highlights were many. My highlight day came on my last full day which I spent birding with Rob and Di an Australian couple Id met a couple of days earlier wed been on a boat trip up to Lata Berkoh first thing in the morning which in itself resulted in some quality birds. We got dropped off at the Cegar Anjing Hide where we would walk back to the Mutiara Resort during the afternoon. We found a fruiting tree at Cegar Anjing and sat under it for 20 minutes while we had our lunch which turned into 2 hours in a heartbeat! We could hear Malaysian Peacock-Pheasant calling and then also Malaysian Rail-Babbler so we decided to head into the jungle after them. We followed the sound of the Malaysian RailBabbler and sat in the trail and waited for it to come to us which it gradually did and finally it gave brilliant views, it was great to be able to watch it walk about, stopping to call (this after days of being heard only near to the resort), the Malaysian Peacock-Pheasant by this time had shut up but I didnt really care as Id already seen a few! We then crossed (waded) back over the Sungai Tahan (dodging 15+ boat loads of tourists) and headed to the Tabing Hide. Id seen Garnet Pitta on the Sungai Tembeling River Trail the previous day, but had heard Garnet Pitta here on two previous occasions and wasnt happy that it had eluded me, so we made it a target however in the meantime we could hear another Malaysian Peacock-Pheasant calling so went off trail for it, in doing so we found a Bluewinged Pitta that flew into an opening in front of us, and then found the Malaysian PeacockPheasant! This was awesome birding! By now the Garnet Pitta was calling so we went into the forest again at a different spot after it and in no time at all wed found it, hopping along the ground right in front of us! Wow! The day couldnt get any better... but it did. It sounded like the Garnet Pitta had gone up into a tree, while scanning for it I located a dayroosting Goulds Frogmouth!!! Rob didnt/couldnt believe me until I told him where to look
Malaysia Trip Report March 2013 Andy Walker http://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk 12
then he did! This was totally crazy and was all set to the background noise of calling Malaysian Peacock-Pheasant and Great Argus! We were all buzzing on the walk back to the resort (seeing 3 Large Wren-Babblers on the way!). The beers went down well that evening!!!
Eventually though I got fantastic views of a bird near the Cegar Anjing Hide. I think the best tactic for this species is, when you hear one, find an area with a good view of the forest floor and sit it out and wait for it to walk into view! Bird of the trip Id guess (pushed close by Long-tailed Broadbill, Garnet Pitta, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Blue Nuthatch and Yellowrumped Flycatcher I could probably go on). Goulds Frogmouth: Got great views of a bird at night as it was calling near the Campsite at Mutiara Resort then had incredible views at really close range of a bird (during the day) near Tabing Hide. There was at least 2 other birds heard calling near the Mutiara Resort. Rufous-collared Kingfisher: A really impressive bird, I had one bird in the gully just before the Canopy Walkway on Sungai Tembeling River Trail. Had a bird on the Sungai Tahan River Trail not far from Tabing Hide (thanks to the Dutch birders) but then had another one on the Sungai Tahan River Trail south of the Lubok Simpon Swimming Pool which I think was probably breeding in that area by the way it was behaving. Blue-banded Kingfisher: I saw a pair regularly near the Lubok Simpon Swimming Pool, best tactic is to get there before the crowds and wait for them to fly in/by (the birds). I also had another pair on the boat trip near Lata Berkoh.
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Some of the other highlights of the 200 species I recorded at Taman Negara in 10 days included: Crested Fireback, Black-thighed Falconet, Bat Hawk, Lesser Fish-Eagle, Rufousbellied Eagle, Buffy Fish-Owl, Collared Scops-Owl, Malaysian Eared-Nightjar, Brown-backed Needletail, Silver-rumped Spinetail, Red-naped, Diards, Orange-breasted and Scarletrumped Trogons, White-throated, Banded, Stork-billed, Rufous-backed and Blue-eared Kingfishers, Black and Rhinoceros Hornbills, White-bellied, Buff-necked, Maroon, Buffrumped, Orange-backed, Checker-throated, Banded and Grey-and-Buff Woodpeckers, Blackand-Red, Black-and-Yellow, Green and Banded Broadbills, Rufous-winged and Maroonbreasted Philentomas, Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike, Dark-throated Oriole, Greater Racquettailed Drongo, Spotted Fantail, Black-naped Monarch, Black Magpie, Straw-headed, Blackand-White, Grey-bellied, Black-headed, Stripe-throated, Red-eyed, Finchs, Spectacled, Yellow-bellied, Grey-cheeked and Ashy Bulbuls, Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler, Black-capped, Moustached, Sooty-capped, Scaly-crowned, Rufous-crowned, White-chested, Ferruginous, Abbotts, Horsfields and Short-tailed Babblers, Large Wren-Babbler, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Siberian and Eye-browed Thrushes, White-rumped Shama, Chestnut-naped Forktail, Rufous-chested, Mugimaki, Dark-sided and Blue-and-White Flycatchers, Malaysian Blue-Flycatcher, Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Asian Fairy-Bluebird, Greater and Lesser Green Leafbirds, Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird and Long-billed, Spectacled, Grey-breasted and Thick-billed Spiderhunters.
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Little Green Broadbill (left) and Banded Kingfisher (right), Taman Negara
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Lots of interesting animals various squirrels and tree-shrews, Palm-Civet, White-handed Gibbon, Mouse-Deer, Indian Muntjac, Long-tailed Macaques, Wild Boar, several snakes, lizards, geckos, Giant Millipedes etc. There were plenty of pretty awesome looking Butterflies of all shapes and sizes!
Kuala Lumpur Area I met up with Weng Chun, a bird guide out of KL, it was really good to be able to spend a few hours in his company and Id recommend anyone who wants a guide for their time in Malaysia to get in touch with him. We went to a nice forested area just out of KL (after a really nice Roti Cania at a roadside stall) and connected with some great birds including 3 Black-thighed Falconets, Black-and-Yellow Broabill, Banded Kingfisher, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker etc. Before my flight I also grabbed an hour in the late-morning at the Petronas Towers though not a single Swiftlet was present! Did see plenty of other birds even though it was very hot: Brown Shrike, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Black-naped Oriole, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Asian Koel etc.
Surprisingly good birding in the park under the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur
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If you want any more detailed information about specific species mentioned above (Ive not mentioned all species Ive seen!) just drop me an email, likewise if you want any further specific information about logistics/birding locations etc.
Background Information/References/Resources
I made the use of several trip reports that I found on the internet, one on Frasers Hill (by Bjorn Anderson 2007) and one on Taman Negara (by Paul Jones 2007) were particularly useful as they had some info on the trails at these locations and a list of birds to go through. I also had an old (1990s) trip report by Phil Heath courtesy of Tony Stones who lent me his copy though obviously quite old the maps in it were still useful and information on some of the wildlife was useful too. Of great help was hearing from people who had birded there recently thanks to Tim Cleeves who went through all sorts from logistics and accommodation to target species with me at an early planning stage based on his recent trip, and thanks to Chris and Keren Wormwell and Halftwo from Birdforum land who provided very up-to-date info from the weeks leading up to my trip. Whilst in Malaysia I had the great benefit of bumping into Mike Edgecombe from Norfolk as well as three Dutch birders (who were touring round The Philippines, Malaysia and Borneo for three months) all who had phenomenal knowledge of the birds by sight/sound which really helped and made birding enjoyable with them. I also met a couple of really helpful local guides, Weng Chun, Peter and Andrew again all shared gen (I have their details if anyone requires a guide). I also met a few birders over there from Australia (David and Sue; Rob and Di) and America (Branden) and it was great sharing knowledge and tapping into their expertise and just generally having a good laugh and some beers with too. If Ive missed anyone sorry, not intentional! I used the Allen Jeyarajasingam: A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore (Second Edition) 2012. This was an interesting experience. Most people Ive spoken with whove used this book think it is woeful in some regards (which I tend to agree with); however the data within the species accounts is very useful though as always with field guides out of date. It is a shame that there are no distribution maps. The species plates are hit-and-miss (difficult to link pictures with species due to the plate layout) and some of the colours (e.g. sunbirds/spiderhunters) are way off the mark and the babblers just dont look anything like real life! I also took Craig Robson: A Field Guide to the Birds of South East Asia (2011 Edition) this has extended plates, a bit of a larger format and updated species accounts/taxonomy, but still no maps. With this book the plates are generally very good, e.g. the Babblers and Sunbirds are a lot more accurate, but the Malkohas are pretty poor. The main difficulty is the sheer volume of species covered and for those not familiar with the countries birds it would be easy to make mistakes. All in all I think having the two books works as a good compromise. I tended to take Jeyarajasingam out into the field and leave Robson in the room for reference. If theres more than just one person in your group I suggest taking both out. I also used Birds of Tropical Asia 3 which proved very useful.
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Summary
I had a really fantastic time and saw a great range of birds. Its Thailand for me next but will definitely be heading back to Malaysia sometime soon; there are still plenty of good birds to see! Frasers Hill is a world class birding location whatever your birding interest or level (and great for the photographer), and Taman Negara is simply stunning! If you would like any further information please drop me an email to andywalker1000 AT hotmail.com subject Malaysia Birding Thanks, Andy 20th May 2013.
Birding in the rainforest my usual pose for the three weeks! (sporting my excellent Craghoppers Gear)
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