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Birding at Fraser Hill (30-31 May 1998)

Notes by Cheaw Hon Ming: Ooi Beng Yean led more than 20 members up this premier birding spot as a warm-up round to the Fraser Hill International Bird Race on the following weekend. On the way up the hill a pair of Grey-bellied bulbul were spotted at the 76 km (to KL) marker. Thick smoke billowing at the rubbish dump made it difficult for any human or avifauna to be around the spot. Fortunately the Fraser Hill gate area and Telekom loop did not disappoint the birders. A bird wave was experienced at the start upon reaching the Hill guardhouse gate with Long-tailed sibias, Silver-eared mesias and the Grey-chinned minivets sighted in numbers including a juvenile "pondan!" minivet with both scarlet and yellow plumage. The first night was clear and starry and our members thoroughly enjoyed the "firework" display of asteroids under the "million star hotel!"

The next day was a beautiful and sunny. Laurence and Cheang reported seeing a trogon while the main group saw a group of Sultan tits, the commoner barbets and other birds along the Gap road. The group were delayed by an emergency closure of the uphill journey as an accident had happened up the hill so we had an extra hour plus of birding concentrating mainly on the few fruiting trees behind the coffee shop. A quick trip to the High Pine was rewarded with a rare sight of a well-camouflaged Large Niltava nest with three hungry nestlings � thanks to Poon's sharp eyes (or luck). No wonder the parents did not swallow the insects they had in their beaks. Later on, the hike around the Telekom Loop yielded a number of lifers for the novices. As I came out of the car at the start of the loop I saw a black bird that did not look like a crow. A few hours later, as we were about to reach our parked vehicles we saw the male black and crimson oriole and only then did we check our guide books to confirm that the black bird we saw earlier must be the female. Other than the cuckoo-shrikes, laughing-thrushes, barbets and the cuckoo doves, a lifer for many in the group was the sighting of a Speckled Piculet pecking away at a rotting branch nonchalantly despite the loud chatter of the group milling below, hardly 25 feet away. Cheang Kum Seng couldn't hide his feelings that he really regretted not having his full camera kit for the hike. It was really a rewarding and fun trip with great company and never-fail-to-please Gap Rest House food. "So enjoyable!" was an oft-repeated comment by one member.


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