FLY TO KUALA LUMPUR

Our birdwatching tour to the Malay Peninsula begins with a non-stop British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur, where we arrive on the afternoon of day two.

Our local guide Lee will be waiting to welcome us and we make a short journey to our hotel at Shah Alam. Time permitting, those that wish might fancy a walk about the grounds to see their first Javan Mynas, Germain’s Swiftlets or Asian Koels. Night Shah Alam

FLY TO KUALA LUMPUR

Our birdwatching tour to the Malay Peninsula begins with a non-stop British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur, where we arrive on the afternoon of day two.

Our local guide Lee will be waiting to welcome us and we make a short journey to our hotel at Shah Alam. Time permitting, those that wish might fancy a walk about the grounds to see their first Javan Mynas, Germain’s Swiftlets or Asian Koels. Night Shah Alam

Day 3
SHAH ALAM & KUALA SELANGOR

At the nearby gardens at Shah Alam and in the botanical gardens there we will have a gentle introduction to some of the bulbuls and munias, including White-headed Munia in the cultivated fields. Our ‘target bird’ here is the fine Hooded Pitta that winters in the gardens, and we might even find a Blue-winged Pitta if we are very lucky. In local parks we have a chance of the noble Barred Eagle Owl. After lunch we head for the coast at Kuala Selangor.

After checking in at our hotel and perhaps a brief siesta, we will visit nearby mudflats (if the tide is right) and paddies that attract waders, herons and terns – including Greater Crested Terns. Local rice fields host hundreds of egrets and swarms of swiftlets. For those with energy and enthusiasm to spare there will be the option of a short outing after dinner this evening in hopes of finding Buffy Fish Owl or Large-tailed Nightjar. Night Kuala Selangor

KUALA SELANGOR TO FRASER’S HILL

The heat and humidity builds rapidly on the Malaysian coast so we will want to make the most of the cool hours of the early morning for a return visit to Kuala Selangor. With its extensive mangroves and brackish swamps, this pleasant coastal wetland is home to a very different range of birds and mammals than we are likely to see elsewhere. Our first Pink-necked Green Pigeons, Coppersmith Barbets, Blue-tailed Bee-eaters and Asian Glossy Starlings await at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park – a splendid mangrove reserve at the mouth of the Selangor River. The large and imposing Buffy Fish Owl occurs in the area – but we will have to get there early!

Brahminy Kites and White-bellied Sea Eagles soar in the skies above the fishing village, where an excellent boardwalk leads out through the mangroves. From here we have chances of seeing several specialist mangrove feeders, including Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, the lovely Mangrove Blue Flycatcher and the more sombre Mangrove Whistler – along with the big Black-capped and Stork-billed Kingfishers, Common Flameback, Laced Woodpecker and Brown-throated Sunbird. Smooth-coated Otters and Long-tailed Macaques, as well as the much scarcer Silvered Leaf Monkey can sometimes be seen. If our visit coincides with low tide, there may be waders on the mud along with gesturing Fiddler Crabs and several kinds of mudskipper.

After a lovely lunch on the banks of the river, we begin the journey northeast and by late afternoon climb up into the Genting Highlands to arrive at one of Malaysia’s best-loved birding spots – Fraser’s Hill – at the start of a four-night stay. Night Fraser’s Hill

FRASER’S HILL

Fraser’s Hill is a former colonial hill station, established by the British to escape the stifling heat of Malaysia’s coastal lowlands. Set amidst the Peninsula’s cooler montane forest and with magnificent views into the surrounding hills, it’s a delightful location in which to seek out a wealth of bird species restricted to Malaysia’s central highlands.

Lured into the forest by the ‘Siren songs’ of Siamangs and White-handed Gibbons, the range of species to be found here is indeed impressive! We will bird at a leisurely pace along roadsides and forest trails at elevations between ca. 820 and 1320 metres. Especially at the higher levels, birds tend to remain active throughout the day and our time will be filled with such treats as Dark Hawk-cuckoo, Collared Owlet, Fire-tufted and Black-browed Barbets, Greater Yellownape, Long-tailed Broadbill, Black-and-crimson Oriole, Common Green Magpie, Golden Babbler, Chestnut-capped and endemic Malayan Laughingthrushes, Silver-eared Mesia, Blyth’s and Black-eared Shrike-babblers, Chestnut-crowned and Yellow-bellied Warblers, Little Pied and Rufous-browed Flycatchers, and the energetic Streaked Spiderhunter… With luck, and an early start, we might also come across Malayan Whistling Thrush, a scarce and retiring endemic.

From the extensive network of forest trails we have chances of finding the elusive Malaysian Hill Partridge, Rusty-naped Pitta, Yellow-vented Pigeon and Blue Nuthatch. All forest birding requires a combination of skill, patience and luck, but with Lee’s local expertise and amazing hearing our chances of success are greatly increased. One evening we will head out hoping to see Brown Wood Owl, Grey Nightjar and perhaps a Mountain Scops Owl calling – though actually getting to see one is rather more of a challenge! Nights Fraser’s Hill

FRASER’S HILL TO TAMAN NEGARA

Leaving Fraser’s Hill, we descend through undisturbed forest towards our destination this evening: magnificent Taman Negara National Park, the largest remaining tract of undisturbed forest in Southeast Asia. We head first towards the Krau Forest Reserve and nearby wetlands. The sedge-fringed lakes may hold Yellow Bittern, and the surrounding trees offer the huge-billed Golden-whiskered Barbet and Oriental Pied Hornbill. In the forest we have our first chance of Garnet and Malayan Banded Pittas, plus many bulbuls and Whiskered Treeswifts.

We’ll aim to arrive at Kuala Tahan, headquarters of the Taman Negara National Park, late in the afternoon and in good time to settle into our comfortable air-conditioned chalets at Taman Negara Mutiara Resort, which will be our base for the next four nights. This is one of the best places to hear the loud and beautiful song of the Straw-headed Bulbul, a now rare riverine species threatened by the cage-bird trade.

Each day we will set off to explore the excellent system of forest trails close to our lodgings, or take short boat rides out along the Sungei Tahan. If we locate a fruiting tree, we’ll find this welcome but short-lived food supply draws innumerable frugivores such as pigeons, hornbills, barbets and bulbuls. While many of the park’s birds and mammals can be difficult to observe in the depths of the forest, our extended stay at Taman Negara allows us ample time to try for them. Whatever we see, birding here is always exciting and over the coming days we are in for a real treat! Night Taman Negara

TAMAN NEGARA NATIONAL PARK

Walking within Taman Negara’s immense, timeless forests is a humbling experience. Largely unchanged for millions of years, the forest giants – towering up to fifty metres above our heads – dominate this environment. Birds are everywhere in the forest, but often occurring at surprisingly low densities or roving in mixed feeding flocks – so we may go some time before actually seeing one!

As we gradually become accustomed to birding within the forest however we will start to realise that there is always something to watch – from the endless processions of termites to a plethora of beautiful butterflies. We should also come across a fascinating range of mammals, among them perhaps Dusky Leaf Monkey, Greater Treeshrew and the beautiful Prevost’s Squirrel. Taman Negara is home to many of Malaysia’s larger mammals too, but the likes of Asian Elephant, Tiger and Malayan Tapir are retiring and only rarely observed.

Despite the many distractions, birds will always be uppermost in our minds. Lesser Fish Eagle, Black-thighed Falconet, Thick-billed Green Pigeon, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, the amusing Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot, Plaintive Cuckoo, Square-tailed Drongo-cuckoo, Raffles’s, Black-bellied and Red-billed Malkohas, the outsize Malaysian Eared Nightjar, Silver-rumped Spinetail, Brown-backed Needletail and the lovely Blue-banded Kingfisher are among many we could see. As emerald Red-throated and Gold-whiskered Barbets ‘chok’ monotonously away from the lofty forest canopy, there are also more than fifteen different woodpeckers to watch for – including the huge Great Slaty and White-bellied, Crimson-winged and the amazing Orange-backed. Then there are all those fabulous broadbills to enjoy: Black-and-yellow, Black-and-red, Banded and Green, while Crested Serpent Eagles soar above the trees.

Spectacular pheasants are well represented at Taman Negara. Daily, we will hear the loud resonant calls of Great Argus. Yet despite this bird’s enormous size, actually seeing one is remarkably difficult! Exquisite Crested Firebacks are usually a little easier, with small parties emerging to feed on the trails in the early mornings. Trogons invariably feature high on everyone’s list of personal favourites, a sudden burst of vivid colour bringing the middle storey to life and betraying the presence of Scarlet-rumped, Cinnamon-rumped, Diard’s and Red-naped. Above them, parties of hornbills crash through the upper branches in search of fruiting figs; Black, Rhinoceros, Helmeted and White-crowned Hornbills are among eight species present at Taman Negara.

Down on the shady forest floor, but like the pheasants always difficult to see, handsome Giant, Garnet and Banded Pittas are among several of these jewel-like terrestrial species to watch for during our stay. Dressed in more subtle shades, Taman Negara’s babblers include Abbott’s and Chestnut-winged, Fluffy-backed Tit-babbler and Large Wren-babbler… And we haven’t even started on the plethora of sunbirds, bulbuls and other small birds that await us! While an evening’s owling adds the prospect of Brown Hawk Owl, plus Gould’s and Blyth’s Frogmouths. Three nights Taman Negara

KUALA LUMPUR, FLY LONDON

We’ll enjoy a final morning of birding followed by lunch at Taman Negara before leaving this wonderful National Park and travelling back to Kuala Lumpur.

After an evening meal at a superb local restaurant, we return to the airport, say farewell to our local guide and board our British Airways late evening flight home.

ARRIVAL LONDON

Morning arrival in London, where our birding tour to the Malay Peninsula concludes.