Wildlife of S. E. Asia and S. America. A Photo Journal by Francis Burlingham.: Fraser's Hill. A Malaysian Hill Station Rich in Wildlife.

Introduction

Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to live in Thailand, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia and now Brunei. In my spare time I have had the opportunity to travel fairly widely, camera in hand, in search of wildlife. In these posts I aim to share some of these experiences and show you some of the extraordinary wildlife that can be found in these regions. All of the photographs you see within the posts and pages here are my own unless otherwise stated. Copyright © Francis Burlingham 2015

Wednesday, 13 January 2016

Fraser's Hill. A Malaysian Hill Station Rich in Wildlife.

Fraser's Hill is one of my favourite spots in peninsular Malaysia on account of it's pleasantly cooler climate and the numerous opportunities for spotting wildlife. Much can be seen without even having to walk any of the trails through the forest, the small roads around the area providing viewing opportunities for many birds and primates. The views from the top are also very beautiful, and are worth enjoying with a tea and scones at The Old Smokehouse.

Long Tailed Sibias (Heterophasia picaoides) often join you here on the hunt for crumbs. The area is a favourite for birders.

These two colourful birds are also common in the area. Psilopogon pyrolophus (Five Tufted Barbet) and Garrulax mitratus (Chestnut-capped |Laughing Thrush).

Sometimes you don't have to go far from your hotel to find wildlife. The bank on the roadside on the way towards the centre of Fraser's Hill is full of tarantula holes and they can be easily spotted with a torch at night. Here are just three of the many I found.

This beautiful Gekko monarchus (Spotted House Gecko) had taken up residence in the light fittings in the restaurant.

Whilst I was at Fraser's Hill over the Christmas holiday period I was delighted to finally get some reasonable shots of Siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus). I have regularly heard these large gibbons whilst walking in the Malaysian rainforest and seen them several times, however the fact that they stick to the high tree canopy and are often wary and moving away, makes them tricky to photograph. I have often heard and occasionally seen them on the road to Jeriau waterfall in Fraser's Hill. This is where I finally got these shots.

Mother and baby relaxing in the late afternoon sun.

Hanging around.

I spent a good 45 mins watching this small family group feeding and slowly moving through the trees over the road to the waterfall. For once they did not seem overly concerned by my presence.

Jeriau waterfall is worth a visit and there is always plenty to see in the area, both on the walk to the fall itself but also on the road past the entrance that heads uphill to a dead end by a golf club. There are many interesting tree ferns and lots of wild orchids and unusual plants.

A Giant River Toad (Phrynoidis juxtaspera) living in the waterfall.

This non native bottle brush plant has been planted at the waterfall car park where it attracts many butterflies and birds including this Black Throated Sunbird (Aethopyga saturata).

There is a healthy population of these White Tiger butterflies (Danaus melanippus) at Jeriau.

These rarer Yellow Glassy Tigers (Parantica agleoides) can also be found here along with a huge variety of other butterflies.

There is plenty of invertebrate life and I found this huge stick insect on a previous visit.

Bamboo orchids (Arundina graminifolia) thrive on the roadsides where the soil has been disturbed.

Fig trees provide food for many birds and mammals.

Fraser's Hill is found within the Titiwangsa Range of mountains that form the spine of the peninsular and the mountain rainforest in the area is in fairly good condition although some of it near the hill station is secondary forest. Having said that there is still plenty of undisturbed primary forest as well.