Gunung Halimun

After a long nights rest and late breakfast we set off towards Gunung Halimun at 9am and it took a full 7 hours to drive to this wonderful site. As we neared the end of our long journey the road became narrow and cobbled as we slowly drove higher up into the hills and our final destination of the Research Station. With over an hour of daylight left we had just enough time to take a short walk along the road, which passed though fantastic forest and one of the first birds seen was Spotted Crocias, a species we had missed over the last few days. After our first vehicle had stopped and seen a small flock of them, everyone then had superb views of a group of four birds that came closer and closer and eventually settled in the canopy right over our heads. A pair of Javan Leafbirds, Blue Nuthatch, Asian Paradise-Flycatcher and Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeon were also seen before the light became too dim for us to bird anymore. Our base for the next 3 nights turned out to be better than expected, although the cold water we showered in was bracing to say the least! Over the next couple of days we walked the Loop Trail and a higher trail several times and birded the road on a number of occasions but we never found Javan Trogon, however we found numerous large mixed species feeding flocks and had further views of Spotted Crocias, eventually great views of a perched Javan Hawk-Eagle, Brown Prinia, Sunda Minivet, two sightings of the rare White-bellied Fantail, Brown-throated Barbet, Javan Sunbird, a brief Chestnut-bellied Partridge and a rather extraordinary sighting of Javan Cochoa much lower down the mountain than expected.

Brown-throated Barbet - Endemic

Javan Hawk-Eagle - Endemic

White-bellied Fantail - endemic

Other birds seen here included Black-thighed Falconet, Oriental Honey-Buzzard, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Grey-rumped Treeswift, Orange-breasted Trogon, Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Eye-browed Wren-babbler, Fulvous-chested Jungle-Flycatcher, Pale Blue Flycatcher, and Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker amongst others.