Looking out of the window onto a very wet Llandudno, Wales, this morning our thoughts once again turned to where we were last year, we had just left Malaysia heading for India. Here is our diary entry recalling the amazing birding we enjoyed with our friend Keith Barnes from Tropical Birding.Magic Malaysia November 2008
The world record was broken and we left Australia on a very satisfactory 3718, could we keep the momentum going? With our great friend Keith Barnes from Tropical Birding (www.tropicalbirding.com ) along for our flying visit to Malaysia there was never much doubt the answer was going to be yes! Keith is a birding machine and from the moment we met at Kuala Lumpur airport, on the 8th November, it was obvious he was well up for the challenge!
We picked up a hire car at the nearby Concorde Hotel where we had a quick look around the gardens. Plain-throated Sunbird and Black-naped Oriole were on the list and we were on the road. A three hour drive had us twisting up Fraser’s Hill through forest on either side, great looking habitat. We dumped our gear at the Shahzan Inn hotel, near the top and were straight out birding. Forest birding can be slow going but here we just kept hitting flocks and new birds throughout the afternoon, racking up an amazing 47 new birds for the day!
How to pick out highlights from such fantastic birding? But here are just a few, a Blyth’s Hawk Eagle soaring low overhead, Fire-tufted Barbet sat out in full view scoffing fruit, a gang of Chestnut-capped Laughing Thrushes, a crazy looking Long-billed Spiderhunter looking like a cross between a nuthatch and a curlew! We kept going till dark the pace and the birds never letting up, dinner tasted so good after such an adrenalin fuelled day.
 
The 9th was again spent on Fraser’s Hill and lower down the entrance road known as The Gap. Having had such a stunning day yesterday we braced ourselves for a much slower one, but not so, Keith’s knowledge of the area and its birds had us adding new birds throughout. Incredibly we added another thirty-seven new birds to our year list despite only driving a few miles from the hotel and birding some of the very same spots we did yesterday. What a wonderful place to bird! Dawn saw Malayan Whistling Thrushes feeding on the roadside, as the light improved we found six Black-thighed Falconets sat in one tree, tiny raptors barely bigger than a sparrow. A Red-bearded Bee-eater perched high in the canopy where nearby a Green-billed Malkoha fed in a tangle of vines. A Tiger Shrike was a great find late pm and showed off until fading light eventually had us give up and head back up to the hotel for a well earned scoff. Early morning of the 10th we birded from the roadside below The Gap, the forest here was alive with birds and we just did not know where to look next as new birds came thick and fast. One of the early highlights was a pair of Wreathed Hornbills sat in a dead tree, monster birds. Edible-nest Swiftlets and Brown-backed Needletails competed for our attention overhead. A pair of large yellow and black Sultan Tits wowed us as they moved through with a mixed feeding flock. A flash of black and white in a roadside ditch gave away a Slaty-backed Forktail, bit like a giant wagtail and a real looker. Keith heard a Velvet-fronted Nuthatch calling and seconds later we were watching a pair at very close range looking as though they were searching for a nest site, what beauties. Next up was a Black-naped Monarch a blue and black flycatcher and gorgeous to see at close range! We had to drag ourselves away, time was passing quickly and we had a good drive ahead of us. We did not get far, at the second bend we saw two huge owls roosting below the road. Total panic as we scrambled to grab cameras and scope. The owls were not going any where and we were soon soaking up stonking views of Barred eagle Owl. What amazing birds with Groucho Marx style eye-brows!
Off we went again and this time made it to our next destination Taman Negara lodge in lowland rainforest, very humid. We had spent so long birding below the gap we had little time to explore before dusk. Dawn on the 11th and we immediately started hitting new birds just yards from our accommodation with Streaked Spiderhunter and Lesser green Leafbird. As we entered the forest Keith heard a call, Black and red Broadbill, a must see bird here. We scanned the canopy, nothing, the bird called again, there! Wow what a cracking bird complete with blue bill and large black eye. The further we went into the forest the more new birds we found, babblers, bulbuls, woodpeckers, flycatchers, just amazing birding. We added twenty-six new birds and enjoyed very good looks at most.A dawn boat ride on the 12th took us upstream, past a handsome Black-capped Kingfisher, to another forest trail. Literally as we stepped off the boat we had Banded Broadbill right above us! The trail here was much less used and crept along hunting for Pittas, we soon heard a Banded but it refused to show. Further on a Garnet Pitta called way off but again impossible to see in the dense forest. Finally our luck changed and after a very tense wait a Blue-winged Pitta bounced into view, what a cracking bird. With so many good birds along the trail Alan had forgotten to keep checking for leeches climbing up his legs and got nailed leaving behind some very fat creatures!
Late afternoon we crossed the river opposite the lodge and birded some secondary growth and picked up another seven new birds best of which was a colourful male Scarlet-backed Flower-pecker.All too soon it was dawn on the 13th and very sadly time to head for the airport, our short time in Malaysia had flown by with a whirlwind of amazing birds. What a fantastic country, not only wonderful birds but the most friendly people and exceptionally good food, we will be back without doubt. We recorded 200 species in just five birding days at just two forest sites, no coast or wetlands were visited, of these a staggering 181 were new for The Biggest Twitch! A huge thank you to Keith for his expert knowledge and great company on our all too brief visit. Check out www.tropicalbirding.com for details of trips to this mind blowing destination, you will love it!
Bird species total 3904