By now I was seeing a regular pattern of birds. Starting at the Gap, knee-deep in Bamboo Woodpeckers again (how did I manage to miss these before?!), but the same old problems getting good light and a clear perch. My best efforts below.
At my Ferruginous Partridge 'stake-out' - the same blank result. There were two Rail-babblers calling today, and one briefly walked across the track, but didn't stay long enough for a photo.
Back at the Gap, a small group of Black Laughingthrushes were obliging, but the light wasn't, as thick fog swirled in.
The weather wasn't much better at the top, and I spent some time on Bishop's Trail photographing a pair of Buff-breasted Babblers in the gloom, before rain stopped play. These are a surprisingly common bird at Fraser's Hill, as you realize once you learn their calls, but they can be quite difficult to get good views of. I was lucky with this pair, which came down to feed on the trail as I was waiting quietly to see what would turn up.
I started at the Lower Gate before dawn, being surprised to hear a Javan Frogmouth near the gate. Once it was light I soon located three Bamboo Woodpeckers - one of my Fraser's Hill 'bogey birds' finally laid to rest!
Getting good photos was another matter! Over the next few days I encountered this species daily, usually more than once, but never got a decent chance of a clear shot in good light.
A flock of Black Laughingthrushes was obliging, but I failed to get any sharp shots.
Having finally got the woodpecker, I now only have two Fraser's Hill residents left to see, both of them partridges (Ferruginous and Long-billed)! The first of these was my target for the trip, and I spent much of the morning sitting in my hide and waiting...! Two birds were calling further up the hill, one above the road and one below, but none came close, so I gave up the hunt towards midday.
This White-bellied Yuhina (Erpornis) was one of several species still active at the Lower Gate as I left.
At the top I headed for some lunch and an iced strawberry juice, but I met Ahli Chung and a group he was guiding, who told me they'd found a roosting Mountain Scops-owl on Hemmant's Trail. The drink was hastily postponed as I got precise directions and headed off to try to locate the bird. It wasn't where they'd seen it, but incredibly, while I was searching for it, a bird started calling close by, and, in response to my whistled imitation, flew straight in to perch about 5m away! It sat there oblivious to my attempts to manoeuvre myself to get a unobstructed shot and continued calling, stimulating a second bird to respond not far away!
While watching the bird, I noticed it peering over my shoulder at something behind me. On turning I saw two Yellow-throated Martens coming down the slope toward me. At about 3 metres away, they finally noticed me and ran off up the slope. No chance to move, still less photograph them, but it was an unforgettable moment nonetheless!
About a week ago I got news from Eileen Chiang, one of our keen volunteers from the Whistling-Thrush Project, that a Malaysian Whistling-Thrush was making regular dawn appearances near the top gate at Fraser's Hill. Apparently it was an unbanded bird, so not the one we caught there last October.
As it happened, I had a job in Kuantan last week, and Fraser's Hill just happens to be a convenient mid-point to break the long drive from Penang!
Having ascertained the exact spot from Durai, I set up my hide before dawn on the 19th and waited...
Pre-dawn, this Slaty-backed Forktail fed around the foot of one of the roadside lamp posts.
Several times I heard the thrush calling, but always from behind my hide! After two hours or so I gave up.
A short visit to Hemmant's Trail provided brief views of a pair of Malayan Partridges, and I heard this pair and another on Bishop's Trail duetting. No photos this time though! Leeches were out in full force after the recent wet weather - I collected 7 on one leg on a brief foray down Bishop's Tail!
I spent much of the rest of the morning on the lower parts of the road down to Jeriau Waterfall in the hope of finding Marbled Wren-babblers or Ferruginous Partridge. I found neither, and my best bird was this Speckled Piculet. Still room to improve my shots of this species!
Just over a year ago I photographed a presumed juvenile Black Eagle near High Pines. While I was birding in the garden I heard the familiar mewing call of a a juvenile and saw this bird - perhaps one from this year's brood?
Unfortunately , though the bird was flying low overhead, the clouds were also low and the light was awful!
The light got worse. This Silver-eared Mesia shot was taken just before the rain started!
And this one was during the rain - while I was sheltering under a convenient roof!
Eventually the sun broke through again over the stunning forested valley below High Pines.
As usual, Pine Tree trail was quiet, though I did see a pair of Chestnut-crowned (aka Malayan) Laughingthrushes feeding a fledged juvenile. This parent was wearing a Wildlife Department ring.
A night drive round Telekom Loop after dinner yielded no close calling Mountain Scops-owls, but this obliging Brown Wood-owl and a Common Palm Civet.
The following morning I was again at the top gate with my hide, but this time with a Cunning and Sophisticated Plan. This time I rotated my hide 180 degrees to face the other way!
As it got brighter and brighter I wondered whether I would be frustrated again, when suddenly, just before 7am, I heard the thrush call, and very soon it alighted on the road. I was treated to a full half an hour (on and off) of the bird feeding on the road in front of me, sometimes just a few meters away! Here is a selection of photos.
Here's a short video of the bird.
Sobering to think that this site is currently the only one in the world where this species can be reliably seen.
Once the thrush show was over for the morning, I hit the trails again, and almost immediately disturbed a male Mountain Peacock-pheasant which had been feeding on the trail. I left the place alone for about an hour, then revisited it, this time flushing a female from beside the trail, and finally, managing to spot the male back in the same place as before long enough to grab a few shots.
The second shot gives a more accurate impression of the tail length. Sadly he turned his head away at that moment!
A short visit to High Pines garden in the hope of a repeat of yesterday's performance in better weather provided some consolation for the absence of the eagle in the form of a Grey-bellied Squirrel...
... and an obliging singing male Little Cuckoo-dove.
Not a bad morning's birding, all before 9.30am. Now it was time to hit the road and start the long drive to Kuantan. However, I already had plans for the return leg of the journey, to try to get better shots of the obliging pheasants.
Shrinking forest. This scene was just a few kilometers beyond Fraser's Hill on the road toward Bentong - hill forest being cleared to make way for oil palm - it's still happening...
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!
