Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia


Saturday 1st of July 2017 and well, waking up at Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel. The only reason I chose this hotel was because I discovered several web pages about bird watching and Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel.

Travel with E.T.A - Birdwatching activities with birdwatchers from all around the world

The Star Online - Annual bird race takes it up a notch with ‘international’ status

GENTING HIGHLANDS A BIRDWATCHING HAVEN


Sounded like a place for me so here I am. And as I had my alarm to go off at 5 o'clock so I had time to drink tea before going for breakfast. Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel is the obvious choice of hotel if you come to Genting Highlands for bird watching. The hotel is located next to Awana Genting’s Golf Course. You can contact the hotel for a birding Guide, 200 Ringits for half day.

If you know your birds you don't need the Guide, just follow my Genting Highland birding map.

Click HERE for a full window map

But I used the guide, morning and afternoons and it was a great help, especially with the identification. But I'm new to the birding hobby. They Guide will pick you up in a Golf Cart. We started by driving past the parking house and we stopped the gold cart at a small pond and we walked form there. The purple line on the map

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
The walk path from the pond

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Halfway up the walk path looking back

You walk on a small walk/ bicycle path from the pond until you come to the small road above the pond. We turn right and walk down to the mountain side. There is a three way intersection. To the left down the mountain and on the right side we have a gate to a camping area.

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Coming up to the road and we turn right

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
We entering an important bird area

We turned left and we walked along the road on the side of the mountain. Below the trees on the left hand side and above the trees on the right hand side. So we were at eye to eye level to many of the birds. 50 meters down the road is an opening and a concrete crash barrier where you can sit down and look out in to the trees.

It will not take long before the Little cuckoo-doves and Long-tailed Sibias are landing to eat in the tree. Yes, as in the rest of the world, fruits and berries will most likely mean birds in the trees.

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Walking along the mountain side

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Walking along the mountain side

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia - Little-cuckoo Dove
Little-cuckoo Dove

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Walking along the mountain side

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Walking along the mountain side

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
We reach the gate at the end of the road

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
I'm 99% sure that this is a Shrike

Blue-eared Barbet, Psilopogon duvaucelii

Blue-eared Barbet, Psilopogon duvaucelii
Blue-eared Barbet

We reached the gate at the end of the road, an area where my Guide used to see Kingfishers. We walked back up the mountain again. We stopped at a tree to see if we could see the barbets we had seen walking down the mountain. Not a bird in sight. We sat down to see if the bird would come out again. After a few minutes, suddenly, in the trees on both side of the road. There were so many birds. It was spooky, all kinds of birds and suddenly, they were gone without any pictures.

Colourfull Ioras, Minivets and Barbets. Malaysian Fantails and something I thought was a Rofus-browed Flycatcher and many more. But no pictures even though the birds was very close.

We ran in to a friend of my Guide. He was out birding and we were soon discovering a Blue-eared Barbet in the tree. My Guide and his friend have been working here since 1997 and none of them had seen a Blue-eared Barbets here before. If you ever come for bird watching here in Genting Resorts World Genting - Awana HotelHighlands I can recommend you to contact Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel. They will set you up with their environment department where my Guide works. They are surveying the Genting Highlands, the whole mountain is privately owned and as they want to conserve the mountain (As much as possible, making money is more important)

My Guide have saved a few areas and they had been moved animals from the area where they wanted to build the new shopping centre. And my Guide have seen Black Pumas and some other cats. My Guide had found scratch mark from a tiger during one of his inspection “treeks” So they had to close the whole area for people.

So these two guys knew the area and they are the ones making Genting Highlands famous for bird watching and now it is a protected area. So even if you know your birds it can be worth spending 200 Ringits for at least half a day walking around with the Guide.

Pin-striped Tit-babbler, Macronus gularis, นกกินแมลงอกเหลือง
A very poor picture of a Pin-striped Tit-babbler


My Guide's friend joined us walking back up to the three way intersection. At the three way intersection we discovered a whole lot of Pin-striped Tit-babblers. I tried to get a picture of the very beautiful bird, but I came up with nothing. When you reach the three way intersection from the hotel you turn left and walk down the mountain. Turning to the right and the road is blocked by a gate. But there is a path around the gate. Yet another Smiley on www.aladdin.st And there is also a walk path from the small walk/ bicycle path from the pond up to the road.

There is a sharp bend and there you should be able to discover the walk path. See my bird watching MAP Should be quite easy to discover. But I recommend the gate “BY PASS” as there are many birds on the small road.

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
We walk around the fence to BY PASS the gate

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
A view point and it is easy to see that we're on an EYE TO EYE level with the birds

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
A view point and it is easy to see that we're on an EYE TO EYE level with the birds

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
A view point and it is easy to see that we're on an EYE TO EYE level with the birds

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Long-tailed Sibia - EYE TO EYE level

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
The long house

Green-billed Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus tristis, นกบั้งรอกใหญ
Green-billed Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus tristis, นกบั้งรอกใหญ

When you are inside the camp site you walk on the mountain side for 30 meter or so and you reach a viewing platform. The viewing platform is a perfect bird watching spot as you are in the tree tops. When you reach the SW corner of the camp site there is a track leading down to the “Forest floor” This was an amazing area, we saw a lot of birds here when we stood on top of the track.

The two most interesting birds was the Banded Broadbill and the amazing Blue-crowned hanging parrot. There were also Minivets in the trees. Before going down the stars on the track down the mountain you can stay on the edge and look out the tree tops. You are very close to the trees and there are many birds.

Walking down to the forest floor was a waste of time as we didn't spotted one single bird.

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
The track down to the forest floor. Take the time to spend some time on the edge on the right hand side

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
The track down to the forest floor

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
The track down to the forest floor

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
The track down to the forest floor

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
On the forest floor looking back up

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
On the forest floor

Back up from the forest floor and we discovered several Everett's white-eyes and Minivets in the trees, of course, I never got any pictures. We saw two birds of prey, Crested Serpent Eagle and the Peregrine falcon. But they were flying around far away so no pictures.

So if you are doing bird watching at Genting Highlands you should visit the Long house and Camp site. Plenty birds in the area. Time had passed very quickly and it was time to go back to the hotel again. My Guide discovered a leech on my leg, my first ever leech, so you will have to protect yourself. But they are not dangerous.

We spotted a Malaysian Eared Nightjar walking through the bushes from the camp site to the road. And of course, no photo of the bird.

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Everett's white-eye

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Track to the walk/ bicycle path

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
The hotel from the forest

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Back at the pond and our golf car

We stopped at the parking house on the way back to the hotel. The parking house is 4 or 5 levels with open sides. And as it is located on the hill side we can see the trees and bushes in the back. And as we go up and down we can cover the whole hill side from the parking house. On the sides we can see the tree and depending on what level you’re at you can see right in to the tree. And of course, from the top you see the tree tops.

And the area behind the parking house is popular with the Malayan whistling thrush, an endemic bird so I really hope to see that bird.

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia-Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel
In the parking house

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia-Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel
In the parking house

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia-Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel
We're back at the hotel

My Guide would come to pick me up at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and I went to my room for tea and oatmeal. But what is that? I went to investigate and I found a coffee shop next to the swimming pool. I checked out their menu and I asked for a double burger and Earl Grey tea. I can have my oatmeal in the evening.

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia-Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands, Malaysia-Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel

The burger was OK, of course, would have been better with tea and oatmeal in my room. When I was back in my room I had time to check out my pictures from the morning birding, only disappointments. Maybe time to give up the whole birding thing. And I'm not very impressed by the Canon 5D. They give you the full song and dance about their super auto focus. Hell, the camera cannot even focus on a big bird and I missed many pictures.

We had planned to do the bird watching in the Garden in the afternoon. Malaysia-Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel have a garden/ park, AWANA Garden. And AWANA Garden is also declared as an IMPORTANT BIRD AREA. And after 6 o'clock we will go to look for birds on the golf course. They close at 6 so after that we're allowed to get inside for some birding.

My Guide was waiting for me in the golf car outside the hotel. He asked what I wanted to do as we cannot do any birding due to the heavy rain. I looked out from the hotel entrance and I saw that it was pouring down. What to do? There will be no birds when it is raining. We went over to the parking house to have a look for the Malayan whistling thrush.

Of course, no birds was to be seen in the rain. So I was about to give up when my Guide called me. There was a Malayan whistling thrush taking cover under the bride. Too far away and it was too dar under the bridge for any good pictures.

Malayan whistling thrush or Malaysian whistling-thrush, Myophonus robinsoni
Malayan whistling thrush taking cover from the rain

I followed the Malayan whistling thrush trying to get a few pictures and the bird was scared. But when we gave up we were soon discovering that the bird was following us. So I got a few pictures. At the front of the parking house they have a line of the BOTTLE BRUSH trees, I call them bottle brush trees as the flowers looks like red bottle brushes.

You can find them almost all over the world and it is a sure thing if you want to see birds. But it was raining and at a first glance there wasn't any birds. We spotted a Streaked Spiderhunter but the bird was gone even before I had a chance to even think “photo”

Malayan whistling thrush or Malaysian whistling-thrush, Myophonus robinsoni
Malayan whistling thrush or Malaysian whistling-thrush

Malayan whistling thrush or Malaysian whistling-thrush, Myophonus robinsoni
Front of the parking house

Malayan whistling thrush or Malaysian whistling-thrush, Myophonus robinsoni
Front of the parking house

Malayan whistling thrush or Malaysian whistling-thrush, Myophonus robinsoni
Top of the parking house

Malayan whistling thrush or Malaysian whistling-thrush, Myophonus robinsoni
Hotel entrance from the parking house

Otherwise no visible birds in the trees but when we looked closer we discovered birds taking cover from the rain. Yellow-vented bulbuls sitting in the trees taking cover from the rain. And you had to look very careful to discover them. They were soaking wet and you could see that they really didn't like the rain.

We saw another bird that we had a little problem to identify. The bird was hiding and it was really not easy to get any pictures, it was impossible to get a good picture. But me and my Guide are almost 100% sure that it was a Fire-breasted flowerpecker.

Yellow-vented bulbul, Eastern Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus goiavier, นกปรอดหน้านวล
Yellow-vented Bulbul - Taking cover from the rain in the trees in front of the parking house

Yellow-vented bulbul, Eastern Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus goiavier, นกปรอดหน้านวล
Yellow-vented Bulbul - Taking cover from the rain in the trees in front of the parking house

Yellow-vented bulbul, Eastern Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus goiavier, นกปรอดหน้านวล
Yellow-vented Bulbul - Taking cover from the rain in the trees in front of the parking house

Yellow-vented bulbul, Eastern Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus goiavier, นกปรอดหน้านวล
Yellow-vented Bulbul - Taking cover from the rain in the trees in front of the parking house

Yellow-vented bulbul, Eastern Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus goiavier, นกปรอดหน้านวล
Yellow-vented Bulbul - Taking cover from the rain in the trees in front of the parking house

Fire-breasted flowerpecker, Dicaeum ignipectus

Fire-breasted flowerpecker, Dicaeum ignipectus
Fire-breasted flowerpecker - Taking cover from the rain in the trees in front of the parking house

Fire-breasted flowerpecker, Dicaeum ignipectus
Fire-breasted flowerpecker - Taking cover from the rain in the trees in front of the parking house

We cancelled the plan to go to the golf court and we were about to give up when we were ready at the parking house. But we walked through the hotel to the other side. There was also some of the BOTTLE BRUSH trees. We were lucky, I saw a Streaked Spiderhunter. YES!!! This was the bird I wanted to see. YIPPEE

The bird was eating from one of the red BOTTLE BRUSHES and I had the chance to get a picture. It is a really beautiful bird. By now the rain had turned in to a drizzle and we decided to cross the road to enter Awana Garden.

Streaked spiderhunter, Arachnothera magna

Streaked spiderhunter, Arachnothera magna
Streaked spiderhunter

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
Malaysia-Resorts World Genting - Awana Hotel

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
Walking up to the plant nursery

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
Walking up to the plant nursery

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
AWANA Garden - plant nursery

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
AWANA Garden - plant nursery

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
AWANA Garden - plant nursery

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
AWANA Garden

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
AWANA Garden

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
AWANA Garden

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
One of the entrances to AWANA Garden

Birding/ Bird watching in Genting Highlands - AWANA Garden
One of the entrances to AWANA Garden

Well, we were unlucky with the weather, but I was very happy, I had seen (and got on photo) an ENDEMIC bird, the Malayan whistling thrush and the Streaked Spiderhunter. And I have seen many more birds, many of them very beautiful. So yes, I was looking forward to tomorrow morning's birding. And YES! I had oatmeal for dinner/ evening meal in my room.

We have seen the below birds today:

Scarlet Minivet
Grey-chinned minivet
Black-crested bulbul
Streak-eared bulbul
Mountain bulbul
Little-cuckoo doves
Mountain Imperial Pigeon
Long-tailed Sibia
Black-browed Barbet
Blue-eared Barbet
Golden-whiskered Barbet
Fire-tufted Barbet
Pin-striped Tit-babbler
Common Ioras
Drongos
Fantails.
Malaysian Eared Nightjar
Everett's white-eye
Blue-crowned hanging parrot
Green-billed Malkoha
Crested Serpent Eagle
Peregrine falcon
Streaked Spiderhunter
Malayian Whistling Thrush
Fire-breasted flowerpecker
+ many more that I have not been able to identify.


Click HERE to find out what we will see tomorrow.

Sverigedemokraterna


       
                  
OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.
Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.
So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Flag of Skåne / Skånska flaggan Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.


                                       

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