Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna)

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Tara

The Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. These photos were taken in Tan’s Camellia Garden, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

They have a very large range throughout South-east Asia so you have a good chance to spot one. The blue dot marks the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia where I saw the bird above.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

VIDEO

Very nice close-up of a bird eating although I can’t tell if he’s eating spiders.

Afternoon Birding – Tan’s Camellia Garden, Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Tara

After settling in to Gerard’s Place, I asked Jay the owner who is also a keen birder to recommend a place for me to spend an afternoon birding. She recommended Tan’s Camellia Garden which is off the main road just near the road leading up to Gerard’s Place. Entrance is free and it’s a nice, quiet place to enjoy the beautiful flowers and look for some typical highland bird species.

The first bird we saw upon entering was a Streaked Spiderhunter. I took this as a good omen – gotta love any bird who helps rid the world of spiders! I’m fond of Serpent Eagles for the same reason! Go birds!

Jay left to go about her errands and I wandered around. There were some stunning flowers and butterflies so I tried some macro photography, not that I am any good at it!

I think this is a female Black-throated Sunbird.

Random birds as I walked through the garden.

If you are walking from town, look for these two strange “Christmas trees”, the entrance to Tan’s is next door.

Lodge Review: Gerard’s Place, Tanah Rata – Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Tara

I must have some kind of radar. For our one night in Tanah Rata, after going through all the choices on Hotels.com (I was working towards a free night) and reading some reviews on Trip Advisor, I chose Gerard’s Place based on the value it represented and the views in the photos that looked “birdy”. I had yet to learn that the warm, friendly and cheerful owner – Jay was also a birder!

As you enter, there is a map of the surrounding area with places to go hiking marked out.

The gardens surrounding the property are very birdy as I suspected.

Here’s a Verditer Flycatcher on the roof of a neighbor’s apartment.

The entrance to Gerard’s Place actually says “Carnation” on the front with a smaller Gerard’s Place sign below. This is why I suggest going to Father’s Guesthouse when you first arrive and letting Jay pick you up as it could be confusing when you don’t know your way around town. It’s on top of a hill and a 10 ringgit taxi ride if you are down town for dinner and need a ride back.

The guesthouse has several rooms, some with private bath and some with shared bath. We had a shared bathroom (G1) since it was only 1 night, otherwise I’d go for the ensuite.

The common room opens onto a patio with a nice view of the garden so you can sit here and watch birds. There is free wifi only accessible in the common room. We left very early on the Taman Negara shuttle, but Jay left some toast, butter, jam and coffee for our breakfast.

Beautiful flowers in the garden.

I highly recommend Gerard’s Place especially for birders. Jay will happily point out the best spots and even drop you there if she is heading into town. She is in the local bird club and has a nice book about the local birds you can buy to help you identify what you saw and keep as a souvenir. If you are headed to Taman Negara, ask Jay to book you on the shuttle, it will pick you up at the front door early in the morning.

Tanah Rata Village

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Tara

The town of Tanah Rata is so small you can easily walk anywhere you need to get to. We left the bus station and were pretty hungry so first order was to find food. It was around 2:30 so at that awkward time between normal lunch and dinner. The town is very attractive and has lots of tour operators.

These food stalls seem to be always open.

The hotel across the street also has a restaurant and a very pretty garden but the restaurant was closed.

So back to the stalls. I don’t remember what we ate but it was definitely cheap and cheerful!

Next step was to get to Father’s Guest House. We had actually booked at their sister property, Gerard’s Guest House but Gerard’s is more difficult to find the first time so the best idea is to go to Father’s and have them call Jay, the owner of Gerard’s to come and pick you up.

After birding in Tan’s Camellia Garden (separate post), I walked through the town again.

The most popular dish is “Steamboat” but I don’t eat seafood so I can’t really report on it.

Instead, I settled for afternoon tea (at 5:30pm) with scones, cream and jam – yummy! The cafe had free wifi so I caught up on emails. I got some takeaway chicken to bring back to Gerard’s as my husband didn’t come with me and preferred to relax a bit.

Bus From Taiping To Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Tara

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.

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!

We 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.