18th February 2010: Fraser's Hill

There are just three resident birds at Fraser's Hill that I still haven't seen, and two of them - Bamboo Woodpecker and Ferruginous Wood-Partridge - occur around the Gap, so off I went there for my first morning.

While it was not properly light I came across a Bamboo Woodpecker drumming in a clump of bamboo close to the road, but frustratingly it flew further away without giving me a proper view - just a dark shape!



A Bronzed Drongo singing in the early morning.

Around 1km up a Marbled Wren-Babbler was calling close to the road, and it showed itself once or twice without ever staying still long enough for a photo. In any case, it was pretty gloomy in the undergrowth!

My plan today was to walk down the Phenology trail in the hope of getting the partridge. This trail starts off along a ridge, and then just goes down and down! It's a bit like walking off the end of the world! I kept going till the trail became unclear, whereupon I turned round and had to climb back up and up!



This was almost the only bird I saw the whole time I was on the trail - a resplendent male Asian Green Broadbill. It seemed to glow in the darkness and was easily visible to the naked eye!



See - it does have a 'broad bill'! Not so long ago this would have been too high for Asian Green Broadbill, but now they are quite regular - perhaps as a result of habitat shrinkage forcing birds to move into new areas, or the rising temperatures.



Back on the road the wren-babbler was still active, and this time allowed me to get a single photo of it.




Further down there was a gathering of five Checker-throated Woodpeckers.





And a pair of Rufous Piculets. Though tiny, they can make a surprisingly loud noise when pecking at bamboo with their powerful bills.



The Telekom Loop in the afternoon was quiet except for the common birds, like this Golden Babbler...



...and the ubiquitous Spectacled Laughingthrush (formerly Chestnut-capped).





This Short-tailed Gymnure turned out to be my only 'lifer' of the trip!