A day of surprises lay in store for us today, beginning with a new trail that Royke has discovered and which turned up a number of excellent birds. We had great luck in seeing 23 endemics along this trail which meandered along the edge of the forest and we began with a fine trio of
Crimson-crowned,
Yellow-sided and
Grey-sided Flowerpeckers, several
Grey-cheeked Green-pigeons, a close perched
White-bellied Imperial-pigeon,
Sulawesi Serpent-eagle,
Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher and
Yellow-vented Whistler. The trail from here crossed an area of damp woodland and clearings and we picked our way along on wooden planks that had been carefully placed so we wouldn't sink into the mud. Some brave souls had donned wellingtons for the walk……. Mmmm rather them than me!
We spent some time scanning the flocks of
Grosbeak Mynas and soon found lots of
Fiery-browed Mynas, but best of all were several groups of
Sulawesi Crested Mynas flying by and landing in some tall, dead trees. Although a pair of
Knobbed Hornbills slowly flying across the hillside was also very nice and we could hear the sound of the wind rushing through their immense wings.
 |
| Black-fronted White-eye |
Once the trail entered the forest we found our first
Black-fronted White-eye, and then more endemics appeared with
Slender-billed Cuckoo-dove,
Large Sulawesi Hanging-parrot,
Yellow-billed Malkoha,
Pale-blue Monarch,
Rusty-bellied Fantail,
Sulawesi Honey-buzzard,
Sulawesi Drongo and
Cerulean Cuckooshrike.
 |
| Cerulean Cuckooshrike |
A fruiting tree held a couple of
Black-naped and a
Superb Fruit-dove, although our views of a male of the latter species were stunning a little later in the morning. A spot of raptor watching proved worthwhile and yielded
Sulawesi Hawk-eagle,
Rufous-bellied Eagle, and another
Sulawesi Honey-buzzard. A nice cup of coffee was well deserved upon reaching our waiting vehicles and then we birded a short distance along the road in the heat of late morning which seemed like madness. But only until at least three endemic
Ivory-backed Woodswallows were scoped on the forested hillside opposite us. Wow! A male
Sulawesi Cicadabird was also much appreciated but we had to retreat to the relative comfort of our hotel and lunch, followed by a short siesta.
 |
| Blue-fronted Flycatcher |
In the afternoon we drove up higher to Lake Tambing where a walk along the concrete path produced nice views of a pair of superb
Blue-fronted Flycatcher,
Piping Crow, flocks of
Yellow-and-green Lorikeets,
Black-billed Koel,
Rusty-breasted Cuckoo and a typically skulking
Chestnut-backed Bush-warbler.
 |
| Black-billed Koel (female) |
Across the road we made our first attempt at
Great Shortwing which only called back from the dense forest, but a showy
Snowy-browed Flycatcher came as a little compensation. As the light began to fade we stopped for coffee before beginning our evening owling session which got off to a good start with nice views of
Cinnabar Hawk-owl - but my continuing incompetence at photographing nightbirds continues! We then drove down into the lowlands and tried to call in
Sulawesi Masked Owl which failed to respond apart from calling back briefly. However a
Speckled Boobook began calling and was eventually spotlighted high in the canopy beside the road to round off an excellent day's birding.
 |
| Olive-backed SUnbird |
I'm including this pic of an Olive-backed Sunbird - just because it's a nice composition but a trashy bird!
