BIRDS SPOTS IN FRASER'S HILL

 

Hello all birders. Gong xi fa cai to all birders who celebrates the Chinese New Year in Malaysia and around the world. For my part i am taking the opportunity to spend the holiday at my favorite location which is Fraser's Hill tomorrow.The good thing is that I will be there for five days to do some birding, the bad thing is that it will be crowded with families who are celebrating the new year at the hill station. All of the hotels are fully booked in advance especially during weekend. I only managed to get a room with the help of a lady friend who happens to be the daughter of the hotel owner. Well, what is a friend for right?

Anyway, i have been going to Fraser's Hill numerous times over the last few years and have recorded quite a number of bird species all over the hill. I have always wanted to map the locations and species that i have encountered so i can share with all birders especially those who visit Fraser's Hill for the first time. 

The above map is the observed locations of various bird species by me on Fraser's Hill up to today. It will be updated from time to time. Please keep in mind most species do not stay still at any one place as they would go around looking for food and insects in the early morning and late afternoon,but they have the habit of visiting certain spots that they had tried before and successful in finding food. There seem to be certain patterns with some species based on my observations like the Fire-tufted Barbets which seem to visit certain trees with orange colored fruits in certain areas, while the Black-throated Sunbird love to visit certain red flower plants for nectar while the Drongos like to perch deep in the shade of the forest along the roads. The Blyth's hawk-eagle like to fly high in a certain flight-path over the hill looking for prey and at certain times can be seen if you just hang around the Fraser's Hill golf course during the afternoon. The Spectacled Laughingthrush, Silver-eared Mesia and Long-tailed Sibia like to come in wave just next to a food stall near to the Paddock area practically a few meters only from the eating area, probably attracted by the smell of fried banana. The time of the season has a big impact on the appearance of certain species. A certain spot can be good in some months of the year but can be lousy in other months.

I hope this map can help the first time birders at Fraser's Hill where to look for the species that they are interested in. Currently this map has only 40 species that i have encountered so far which is a small percentage of the total 255 species of bird recorded in Fraser's Hill.

Happy birding.