Bukit Fraser Off The Beaten Path

Now, when my birding friends and I planned for this trip to Frasers' Hill , all we wanted to see were birds. We certainly didn't plan on any encounters with the supernatural kind. Yes, we certainly didn't expect to see a ghost in the forest and was quite delighted with the find actually. This ghost wasn't the least bit scary. Far from it, he was brown, cuddly looking and sage-like. Too bad his name in Malay , Burung Hantu Rimba , loosely translates to 'Birdy Ghost of the Forest ' !

Type:Burung Hantu Rimba, Brown Wood Owl
Where: Hemnant Trail
Sound :Click here to hear the owl hoot

Photography Tip: Our group was bloody lucky to see this animal in the daytime. We were just trooping down a short trail that was near the Ye Olde Smokehouse when we saw this lovely creature up on a tree.

Photo Credit: This photo is taken by my friend, Mithilesh on the Panasonic FZ30.

Of all the monkeys I saw in Fraser's Hill, this little fella with the white rings around its eyes was the cutest one of all. It looked as though it had permanent white spectacles so it was a like a Elton John primate.

Type:Dusky leaf monkey
Scientific Name:(Trachypithecus obscurus),

We saw this woodpecker most of the time when we were at Fraser's hill. More common than the Greater yellow nape.

Type:Lesser Yellownape,
Scientific Name:Picus chlorolophus
Where: common in fraser's hill

While this is a fairly common bird in singapore and malaysia, it was only over here that I realised that only the juveniles have little bits of white near their wee beaks ( gabe). also there's a tendency for them to look blow-dried, you know, fluffy and all.

Type:Oriental Magpie Robin,
Scientific Name:Copsychus saularis
Where: common in fraser's hill

Beautiful little bird, while the ones in singapore are either olive or crimson, the ones over here in fraser's hill, pahang, have a iridescent black-blue bib.

Type:Black-throated Sunbird
Scientific Name:Aethopyga saturata
Where: Ye olde Smokehouse

We discovered lots of nesting swiftlets and as daft as I was, I thought that the nest that were made by these little sods were edible. ( In case you're wondering, yes, I'm chinese and we eat everything, including bird spittal. But we love deluding ourselves by giving the dish tamer names. In this case, the spit of the bird is known as bird's nest). Well, the other birders kindly told me otherwise, this one was not made of edible spit but of twigs, mud and branches. These little nests were festooned to the ceiling with little chicks in them. Guess I won't be eating these.

Type:White Bellied Swiftlet
Scientific Name:(Collocalia esculenta)
Where: Telekom Loop

This handsome bird was posing for us near the Ye Olde Smokehouse. Must admit, its belly did not look particularly orange to me. Perhaps it decided to go blond for that day..

Type:Orange Bellied Leafbird
Scientific Name: Chloropsis hardwickii
Where:Fraser's Pine Resort, Fraser's Hill, Pahang
Sound: Click here to listen to the bird sing.

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I spotted this scarlet beauty after I had tea at the Ye Olde Smokehouse. Truly a joy to behold, the male is striking red in colour and the female is a striking yellow. This vain male flew very close to us to pose for a shot and I was glad to get a clear shot of him.

Type:Grey Chinned Minivet
Video:Click here
Sound:Click hereto hear a series of chirps.
Where:The foliage behind Ye Olde Smokehouse



Photography Note:While it is a joy to look at the bird, it's a headache to get a sharp focus of this little red gem. It's only 18cm and loves to make short flights while foraging for flying termites.