Gibbon at Lata Jarum

I went butterfly watching at Lata Jarum today and guess what? Luckless. The place seems pretty sterile despite the good season for butterfly watching thanks to over development and dirty local tourists that like to pollute everything in their path. The saving grace for the whole trip was the presence of a gibbon silently on the canopy of a tall fruiting tree just not far from the parking. I first heard gibbon cries from afar and thought nothing of one closeby but as I was walking towards the cascades, I somehow took a look at the tall trees behind me and noticed the branches moving, signalling something huge. I waited and extended my 300mm lenses and was able to snap a few photo of it going quietly about its business enjoying  the fruits.

Batty came roosting chez nous!

As it was getting dark towards 19:00 and I was going outside to pull some weeds from my overgrown garden, I noticed a bat came flying rather in a "fluttering" manner looking for a spot to land and voila it chose the casing of our porch's light. Switched on the light and it didn't even glitched its big round eyes...hope this tiny guy is just resting and will leave by dark because I wouldn't want to wash the guano off my porch tomorrow!

Vistas from Fraser's Hills

We drove up to Fraser's Hills today naively thinking that on a Monday, it would be more quiet than the weekends but were we wrong. The holiday crowds were still there eventhough visibly less than the last time but the noise was unbearable so we left early after an uninspired lunch at the food court adjoining the playground. The sun was crisp and hot but interspersed with dark clouds giving unusual burst of lights over the hilly landscape.

 Series of photos of rain clouds building over Jeriau...

Orange-red figs on the trunk of a large tree on the slopes...

Old roses against the walls of the Jelai Bungalow.

 View of the Klau Valley from the descending route. The edge of the Benom Range (Bentong side) is visible just under the clouds as it descends into the plains now cultivated largely with oil palm...

 Western facade of Bukit Telaga. The flowering trees are mostly dipterocarps and is visible that they only reach the line just under the ridge. This en-masse flowering is not common and I think was brought about by the fluctuation of temperature and moisture.

 A close-up...

A lone Banded Silverline...