Bus From Taiping To Cameron Highlands

After a successful birding trip to Taiping Lake Gardens, I was looking forward to our next main birding stop in Taman Negara but first we would spend a night in Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands.  This hill resort has completely different birds to the rainforests.

I had Sentosa Villa call the taxi driver from yesterday and he showed up in 10 minutes.  IMG_1230

I sat in the front seat knowing that as we came down the hill we would pass the trees where we had seen the Long-tailed Parakeets the day before.  I was not disappointed.  One parakeet was sitting in the tree eating.  The driver stopped while I jumped out and grabbed some photos.  A 2nd bird flew by and this bird flew off with the other one.   A nice but brief sighting!

IMG_1234 IMG_1243 IMG_1246 IMG_1254We continued on to the bus station and bought tickets for the first leg of the trip to Ipoh.  We didn’t have long to wait as a bus was already parked there and boarding.  Fares were pretty cheap, less than $5 and this was a simple bus, not the deluxe bus we were in before.

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Here’s a few shots out the window between Taiping and Ipoh.  The bus only had a few passengers.

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Was this Kingfisher lost?

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Now entering the Cameron Highlands.

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Tanah Rata bus station – end of the road.

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Greater & Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus & Dicrurus remifer)

Since these two species are so similar and are found in roughly the same area, I am going to combine the profiles of the Greater & Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus & Dicrurus remifer).  You can tell them apart by the size of the bird, the crest on the Greater RTD and the shape of the tails.  The Greater has a fork shaped tail and the Lesser’s tail is more of a wedge shape.

This is a Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo from Mae Ping NP in Thailand with the smooth head and wedge-shaped tail.

IMG_0236Here is a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo with the forked tail in Taiping.

IMG_1174Both birds have a large, varied range in South-east Asia with the Greater having a larger distribution including India than the Lesser.  I saw both birds in northern Thailand, in Doi Inthanon and Mae Ping, also in Taiping and Taman Negara in Malaysia.

RTDGreater RTDLesserLEARN MORE ABOUT THESE BIRDS

Wikipedia – Greater

Wikipedia – Lesser

Birdlife – Greater

Birdlife – Lesser

Xeno-Canto

VIDEOS

A Gretaer RTD in India.

And another one singing.

See how his tail floats while in flight!

 

And here’s a Lesser from Singapore.

Braving The Rain To Bird Sentosa Villa Grounds

We knew we were on the cusp of the rainy season although we had been pretty lucky so far.  This time the luck ran out.  After a successful birding excursion to Taiping Lake Gardens and an afternoon siesta praying the rain would let up it finally did for a bit.  I grabbed my camera and a plastic bag to keep it dry and braved the grounds despite the still threatening clouds overhead.  The grounds of Sentosa Villa are quite extensive and potentially very birdy.  I had to stick near the shelters to stay as dry as possible as bursts of rain drove me undercover.  Below are the only shots I was able to get, ironically the best one is the dancing chicken!  The Racquet-tailed Drongo showed very nicely as well.  There were some monkeys running around to keep me amused while I waited under the shelters for the rain to let up so I could dash on to the next one.  I finally gave up after an hour and went back to the room.

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Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittacula longicauda)

The Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittacula longicauda) is an elegant Psittacula found in South-east Asia.  My views of them in Taiping Lake Gardens were from a distance so I have to use a close-up from Wikipedia.

Lgtl PktAnd here’s some of my shots of the parakeets in flight.  I think the ones with the shorter tails are juveniles.

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IMG_0984They have a large range throughout the regions of Andaman islands, Nicobar islands, Sumatra, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia (including Singapore).  The easiest places to find them are Taiping Lake Gardens (blue dot) and occasionally Taman Negara in Malaysia and Singapore.

LongtailPktLEARN MORE ABOUT LONG-TAILED PARAKEETS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Malaysian Birds

VIDEOS

Parakeets courting.

Eating out in Singapore.

 

 

 

A Morning Birding Trip To Taiping Lake Gardens

After my online research had determined Taiping Lake Gardens to be the best bet for Long-tailed Parakeet in Peninsular Malaysia I was eager to get down there early and start looking for them.  It was about a 20 minute walk down hill from Sentosa Villa and of course we had eyes and ears open!

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The poor lighting completely fades out the brilliant yellow of this Black-naped Oriole.

 

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First glimpse of what I suspect to be a parakeet.

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After seeing some random LBJ’s that didn’t stick around, the cause quickly became apparent with this Brahmiiny Kite keeping a watchful eye.

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We kept walking and finally reached the lake in Taiping Lake Gardens.

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I don’t know why this guy doesn’t have a long tail – maybe a juvenile but he is definitely a Long-tailed Parakeet.  Unfortunately he was on the wrong side of the sun so the colours got washed out.  As you scroll down, there are some photos of about 12 parakeets, some of which do have long tails.  There are also some random bird shots in as I was pointing at anything that flew by!

 

 

 

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The parakeets eventually took off so we continued a slow stroll through the garden and found this White-throated Kingfisher looking for a fishy breakfast.  He did a good job of finding some!

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The scenery in the park is gorgeous!  We found a group of locals who were exercising.

 

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Asian Glossy Starling

 

 

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Some Cattle Egrets and another Kingfisher on the other side of the park.  By this time, we were headed out to find some conveniences and someplace to eat breakfast.

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Maccas – always a cheap breakfast and free wifi!

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Not sure what these guys are but they were everywhere!

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I looked all through the bird book for this very cool looking bird.  I wish I had a better photo but one minute he was there, the next he was gone.  If anyone can identify please comment below!

 

 

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We ended the morning with a walk around town, a trip to the mall to get some drinks and snacks to bring back to the hotel, then a taxi back and just barely beat the rain!

Since taxis don’t cruise the streets of Taiping, you have to go to the main market to find one.  I suggest getting the driver’s phone# so if you need a taxi from the hotel to the bus station, you can call him.  10-15 ringgits will get you to most places in town.

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Lodge Review: Sentosa Villa, Taiping

Since the Sentosa Villa website is down, I will also include their Facebook page for reference.  You can easily get there from KLIA by bus to Taiping’s bus station, then taxi to the lodge.  Sentosa Villa is located in a residential area near a bird-rich forest and there is no public transport here.

Taiping Birding mapThey are on top of a hill so you can walk down the hill to get to Taiping Lake Gardens and the town centre, then get a taxi back for around 15 ringgits.  Get the taxi driver’s phone number so you can have reception call him if you need to go elsewhere and don’t want to walk to town.

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Here you can see the beauty of the local area surrounding Sentosa Villa.

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Reception is in a separate building just as you come in.

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We were in the main building (booked the cheapest room) which is linked to reception by a covered area.  It does rain a lot here so this is a good thing!

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The room was simply furnished and spotless.

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The restaurant is about 5 minutes walk from the main buildings.  We had dinner and breakfast here and the food is excellent!

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We did cop some rain so I had to leave the walkways when birding and take shelter here.  They have wifi in the restaurant.

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Root beer floats!  I couldn’t believe how huge they were!

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I had lamb chops which were amazing and my husband said the seafood was equally delicious.

IMG_1227This is a really amazing lodge which is off the main birding trail for the usual groups visiting Malaysia but it shouldn’t be.  There are plenty of birds in the lodge grounds as you will see on the birding posts and even more just a short walk down hill to Taiping Lake Gardens.  I booked it on Hotels.com to add to my list of 10 nights for a free night but you can also book direct if you prefer.