Maxwell Hill Day Trip- ex Penang

(Guiding fees, all transportation, pick up & drop off anywhere in Penang, no meals)

This trip is planned to sample the birdwatching & photography experiences in and around Taiping, a historical town located about an hour’s drive away from Penang. We will cover two diverse bird habitats in 1 day - from mangrove forests at sea level and montane forests at elevations of over 1,000 meters above sea level.

Trip Highlights

1. -explore pristine montane forests for more unusual high altitude species at Maxwell Hill at 1,100 meters above sea level.
   

2. -explore the bird and animal life in Malaysia’s oldest & single largest mangrove forest reserve at Matang.
   

Itinerary :

Depart Penang at 0600hrs for arrival at the foothill of Maxwell Hill by 0800hrs. The first jeep ride up is at 0800hrs and the ride up takes approximately 45 mins. We will ride the jeep up to a high point up the hill beyond the usual drop off point and we will bird all the way downhill until lunchtime.

Maxwell Hill is a century old British hill station located only a hour’s drive from Penang. It is the nearest accessible patch of tropical montane forest that is possible on a daytrip out of Penang. Many montane birds species (such as trogons, spiderhunters, bulbuls, broadbills and babblers) are resident there but in the migrant season, there are several more exotic montane migrants that stopover at Maxwell Hill (such as migrant thrushes, flycatchers and pipits)

Species highlights - Rufous browed flycatchers, Pygmy wren-babblers, Black throated sunbirds, Golden babblers, Ochraceous bulbuls, Large niltavas, Asian paradise flycatchers, Grey headed canary-flycatchers, Streaked spiderhunters, Mountain bulbuls, White chested yuhinas, Bronzed drongos, Pacific swallows, Black crested bulbuls, Little pied flycatchers, White throated fantails, Grey wagtails, Mountain fulvettas, Mountain leaf-warblers, Chestnut capped laughingthrushs, White rumped shamas, Red bearded beeeaters, Orange breasted trogons, Red headed trogons, Black throated barbets, Lesser shortwings, Mountain imperial pigeons, Orange headed thrushes, Siberian blue robins, Siberian thrushes, Mugimaki flycatchers, Mountain tailorbirds.

We will time our descend from the summit of Maxwell Hill at about noon to 1300hrs (as the montane bird life gets rather quiet after 1100hrs and it usually rains up there by early afternoon). Upon our arrival back at the foothill, we will proceed to drive to Taiping town for lunch (not included). Along the way, we can bird along the famous Taiping Lake Gardens where Oriental Pied Hornbills and Long Tailed Parakeets are often spotted.

Species highlights - Oriental pied hornbills, long tailed parakeets, greater racquet tailed drongos, plaintive cuckoos, white throated kingfishers, stork billed kingfishers, scaly breasted munias, little herons, black naped orioles, yellow bellied prinia, ashy tailorbirds, common tailorbirds, and in the migratory season : brown shrikes,  chinese pond herons, egrets.

After lunch, we will drive a short distance away to the small coastal fishing village of Kuala Sepetang. The famous Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve is located here and there is a elevated boardwalk taking visitors deep into the forest to the water’s edge.

The Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve has been acknowledged as the best-managed mangrove forest in Malaysia. Covering slightly more than 40,000 hectares, it is the largest single mangrove forest in Peninsular Malaysia and is an example of a sustainably managed mangrove forest.

This forest reserve is home to over 156 species of birds. Of these, 49 species are migratory. At least two important species are listed in the IUCN/ICBP Red Data Book of endangered stork species are found here - the Milky Stork and Lesser Adjutant Stork. Matang is also home to the grey heron, and during the migratory season from Sept to March, hundreds of migratory shorebirds stopover here en route to the southern hemisphere.

Other fauna found in the mangroves of Matang includes smooth otters, leopard cats, long-tailed macaques, silver leaf langurs, and a variety of bats, squirrels, civets, mongooses, pangolins and wild boars.

Species highlights - Wood and Marsh sandpipers, Common sandpipers, Common redshanks, Lesser sand plovers, Little ringed plover, Chinese & Javan pond herons. Little & Chinese egrets, Little Grebes, Lesser whistling ducks, 5 species of kingfishers (Collared, Stork billed, Common, White throated & Black capped kingfishers), Ashy tailorbirds, Yellow bellied prinia, Blue tailed beeeaters, Brown & Tiger shrikes, Yellow bittern, Chestnut winged cuckoo, Dollarbird, Banded, Greater Flameback & Sunda pygmy woodpeckers, Large tailed nightjars.

We will depart Kuala Sepetang at about 1700hrs and aim to be back in Penang by 1900hrs.

Things to pack :

1. -a wide brimmed hat
   

2. -sunblock & mossie repellent
   

3. -a camera (with your longest lens for wildlife)
   

4. -a pair of binoculars
   

5. -and rain gear just in case....
   

Prices :