Fraser's Hill - Merapoh: Day 5

The morning of March 16 saw us packing our bags, getting ready to say goodbye to Jelai Hotel and Fraser's Hill. It was another misty morning and there were not as many birds in front of the hotel as the previous days because the lights in front of the hotel were not turned on during the night before. We slowly transferred our luggage to the cars. After finishing all my stuff, I walked around the hotel taking photos of birds for the last time before leaving. We had to leave Fraser's Hill before 11 o'clock, in order to reach Merapoh before sunset. While taking photos of birds in front of the hotel, Mam came and told us that there's a male Lesser Yellownape (Picus chlorolophus) sleeping on a tree trunk just behind the hotel, so we all went to watch it. It turned out that there's another female sleeping in the same tree as well. Both of them were perching motionlessly for so many minutes, before waking up as we seemed to be moving around too much. On a large tree behind the hotel, there was also a big group of sleeping White-thighed Surilis. I counted 11 but there could be more. Apart from the yellownapes and surilis, there was also a Mountain Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula badia) calling its loud mournful call from the top of an exposed branch behind the surilis' tree. We finally said goodbye to Jelai Hotel around 10 and went downhill to the clock tower, where we had a brief stop to take photos with it. It's such a beautiful landmark that everyone who visits Fraser's Hill has to take photos with. Around the clock tower, we also found a pair of Javan Cuckooshrikes and many Silver-eared Mesias that came to pick up moths and insects which were attracted by street lights at night. Just before leaving, I also got some better shots of the exotic Fire-tufted Barbet which generously came down to a lower branch for a few seconds before returning to the treetop.

The famous Fraser's Hill's clock tower

White-thighed Surilis (Presbytis siamensis)

Male Lesser Yellownape (Picus chlorolophus)

And the female

The Bird Interpretive Centre (left) and the feeding area in front of Jelai Hotel (right)

Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus remifer peracensis)

Male Javan Cuckooshrike (Coracina javensis)

Fire-tufted Barbet (Psilopogon pyrolophus)

We decided to go down by using the New Road, so we can also bird along the way. There were House Swallows and Glossy Swiftlets flying almost everywhere. We found a female dark morph Oriental Honey-Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhyncus) perching on a distant bare tree, as well as a scarce and huge male Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) flying by while we briefly stopped at the fruiting fig tree where we saw a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills the other day. We came across a flock of more than 10 Dusky Langurs (Trachypithecus obscurus) sitting altogether on a single branch, but as soon as we stopped to grab some pictures, most of them quickly fled away leaving only 2 of them sitting dizzily on the branch. A pair of Blyth's Hawk-Eagles (Spizaetus alboniger) was also seen soaring in circles far down the hill below, and a pair of Bronzed Drongos (Dicrurus aeneus) was seen carrying nesting materials. We then left the cool montane weather of Fraser's Hill and returned to the hot and sunny and humid weather of lowlands again around half past 11. Our next destination, Raub.

Dusky Langurs (Trachypithecus obscurus)

Male Whiskered Treeswift (Hemiprocne comata)

Raub is a small city on the way from Fraser's Hill to Merapoh. We stopped there for a quick lunch in an Indian restaurant. The food tasted really good. After lunch we went to a supermarket to buy some more instant food, water and snacks 'cause in Merapoh we wouldn't get the same comfort as in Fraser's Hill. Along the way before reaching Raub, we also had a brief stop for a pair of Grey-rumped Treeswifts (Hemiprocne longipennis) and a beautiful male Whiskered Treeswift (Hemiprocne comata) which were perching just by the roadside. There was also a distant Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) and a small flock of Jungle Mynas (Acridotheres fuscus torquatus). A worker who was cutting grasses on the roadside approached us and told us that there's a hornbill's nest which can be viewed from the roadside about 1-2 kilometres back. Even though how much we wanted to go back and see the nest, we just had to move on otherwise we wouldn't be able to make it in time.

The entrance to our birding paradise in Merapoh

Sungai Relau (Sungai means river)

Variant male Black Hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus)

Adult Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis)

Prevost's Squirrel (Callosciurus prevostii)

Male Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) with a juvenile male

Female bill kissing with the male and the juvenile male observing

We finally arrived at Merapoh around 4pm and were welcomed by the heavy rain. Luckily, the rain stopped shortly after we finished moving our luggage into the house. Here we were joined by even more Malaysian birders including Dr Chan Kai Soon and his wife, Mr Ooi Beng Yean, Dr Neoh and Siew Peng his daughter and Mr Lean Yeng Loon. As soon as the rain stopped, I grabbed my camera and went out with my father. Birding in Merapoh is easy, as there is only one main road for birding. The road is normally prohibited from cars, so it becomes very convenient for birders to walk along the road. However, it was already dark inside the jungle, so I walked out to the campground. As I was walking out, I heard the extremely loud call of the Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), the call which I haven't heard for almost a decade since my last trip to Hala Bala in southern Thailand. I then spotted 3 of them moving in the large fig tree just near the entrance. I found out that the tree was fruiting and there's also another variant male Black Hornbill feeding inside. The Black Hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus) is one of the rarest hornbills in Thailand and I've only seen it once in Borneo. Here in Merapoh, it seems to be the most numerous one! I was so excited to find that there were about 3 Prevost's Squirrels (Callosciurus prevostii) visiting the fruiting tree as well. This beautiful squirrel is extremely rare in Thailand and I missed it while visiting the Phru Toh Daeng swamp forest in Narathiwat Province almost 10 years ago. I saw a high water tower just behind the fruiting tree, so I went up there and found it amazing to take photos of birds and animals just at the eye level! However, no one allowed me to go up there again since there were several huge bee hives on that tower. After coming down, the Rhinoceros Hornbill family revisited the fruiting tree and stayed there until dark. It was just amazing to be able to watch and photograph these large and iconic birds at close range. The male shows crimson red iris, while the female has white iris. I had a really good time taking photos of them until I couldn't press the shutter release button anymore as it was almost completely dark. It was such a memorable first day for the second half of the trip!

Fraser's Hill: Day 1 & 2

I know that there are loads of photos I took during my stay at home in Chiang Mai, but I just want to skip them and write about my recent trip to Malaysia instead. We, my dad and I and 2 other birder friends, Mam and Mark, flew from Chiang Mai to Kuala Lumpur on the morning of March 12. We arrived at the airport around 1 o'clock and were picked up by Mam's very good Malaysian friend, Mrs Mei Ling. She then drove us straight to our first birding place, Fraser's Hill in Pahang State, north of Kuala Lumpur. It took us about 3 hours to arrive at the entrance. We stayed at Fraser's Hill for 4 nights before moving on to Merapoh, our second place in the same state of Pahang. Above is the famous clock tower in the centre of Fraser's Hill. It is a must for any visitor to come and take photos with it.

Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides wrayi)

White-thighed Surili (Presbytis siamensis)

We arrived at Jelai Hotel, our accommodation, around 5pm. There was already a large group of Thai bird photographers shooting birds in front of the hotel before us. This group just came from Merapoh and they all told us that it rained everyday, so they had difficulty in shooting birds. The day we arrived was actually the first nice weather day. Unfortunately, they had to go back to Kuala Lumpur on the next morning. There were so many birds in front of the hotel, just like what I witnessed almost 10 years ago when I was here for the first time. The most abundant species was the Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides wrayi), a bird once common in northern Thailand, but has now become very scarce. Others included the recently split Spectacled Laughingthrush (Rhinocichla mitrata major), Silver-eared Mesia (Mesia argentauris tahanensis), Javan Cuckooshrike (Coracina javensis larutensis), and House Swallow (Hirundo tahitica abbotti). There were also 2 White-thighed Surilis or White-thighed Langur (Presbytis siamensis) feeding in the back of the hotel. Its scientific name is just so strange. Siamensis often refers to any species specifically found in Thailand, since Siam is another name for the country, but this species of langur is not found in Thailand, so that made me wonder how it got that name.

Spectacled Laughingthrush (Rhinocichla mitrata major)

Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides wrayi)

Silver-eared Mesia (Mesia argentauris tahanensis)

On the next morning, we woke up and found ourselves surrounded by all kinds of birds just in front of the hotel. The reason why so many birds come here is because of the moths that were drawn here by the hotel light. In early morning, birds are also attracted by these exhausted moths and other kinds of insects like cicadas. Recently, people began feeding the birds with meal worms and tiny bits of bread as well, which made the birds even more confide. There were just too many birds for us to nicely concentrate on. The highlights would be a pair of Black-And-Crimson Orioles (Oriolus cruentus malayanus), a Malayan Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsulae) and an extremely tame pair of Little Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula westermanni westermanni). We spent time around the hotel until half past 10, then headed down to the so called New Road to try our luck for the hornbills at the fruiting fig tree.

Male Black-And-Crimson Orioles (Oriolus cruentus malayanus)

Here's the much drabber female

Malayan Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsulae)

Some more Spectacled Laughingthrush
Blue-winged Siva (Siva cyanouroptera sordidior)
Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides wrayi)

Male Little Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula westermanni westermanni)

And a very tame female

A series of photos of the colourful Silver-eared Mesias (Mesia argentauris tahanensis) to finish this post. They're such delightful little birds that can easily make your day. I could spend my time following them all day trying to capture them in different poses. Male bird has distinct red vent and rump, which are replaced with yellow in the female. They are closely related to the equally colourful Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea) which I often photographed in Beppu.