Halmahera

It only took just over a couple of hours to reach the Wallace’s Standardwing lek site before dawn, and despite an awkward trail and a shallow river crossing everyone made it safely! Along the way we had put the spotlight on roosting Black-chinned Golden Whistler and Common Paradise-kingfisher. As the day dawned we had pretty decent views of a displaying male standardwing in the mid-canopy which remained on view for half an hour or so, but just the one bird. Another could be heard nearby but was invisible way up in the tree tops. So there we have it - success with a cracking Bird-of-Paradise. Ok not a lek as such with just one bird on view but surely a highlight of the tour. And met with a resounding silence from everyone. Go figure! I am worried about the future of this lek but with news of another much bigger lek elsewhere, I think we'll definitely got for that one next time, and is apparently a much easier walk - thank goodness!

It was extremely hot this morning and the extra bottles of water we carried were certainly necessary, but this didn’t seem to deter the birds and we saw a Dusky-brown Oriole perched in a bare tree, a brief view of Moluccan Cuckooshrike for some of the group, both White-naped and Spectacled Monarchs, and a superb Cinnamon-bellied Imperial-pigeon.

In the afternoon we drove to a new site and spent most of the time watching a huge tree beside the road which held Pied Imperial-pigeon, a pair of Pacific Bazas, Spotted Kestrel and a flock of Moluccan Starlings. Then a pair of Violet-necked Lory's flew into their nest hole and finally a pair of Great-billed Parrots arrived and gave great views as they fed, preened and mated whilst we watched avidly in the scope. Sounds kind of wrong really! But from our vantage point at the top of a steep hill we had eye-level views of all these birds and spent over an hour watching all of the activity. Also had Rufous-bellied Triller, Blue-and-white Kingfisher, and a few Grey-throated Goshawks. Didn't take any photos this afternoon as the last 10 days or so of feeling lousy and having a bad stomach left me too weak to carry it - not to mention the long hike this morning.....

Halmahera - The Day of the Pitta!

We spent the day birding various sites from the road, with a break in the early afternoon back at the hotel in Sidangoli. At first light we were scanning from the top of a hill and had our first Cream-throated White-eyes, as well as a Red-cheeked Parrot, Halmahera Swiftlet, Blue-and-white Kingfisher, Scarlet-breasted Fruit-dove, Slaty Flycatcher, Northern Golden Bulbul, Halmahera Cuckooshrike, White-streaked Friarbird, Paradise Crow and a pair of Rufous-bellied Trillers. 

Scarlet-breasted Fruit Dove

Slaty Flycatcher

 But most of the morning was spent on our quest to find Ivory-breasted Pitta, and our first attempt to lure in a calling bird failed miserably. But there were plenty of other calling birds along this stretch of forest and on entering a different site we sat quietly on a small hill from where we could scan a narrow gulley below us. Once everyone was settled a short burst form the ipod got an immediate response quite a way off into the forest opposite us. Then a short while later it called closer and we then heard its noisy wingbeats as it flew off to our left, and was seen by some of the group. Over the course of the next hour or so we had plenty of views, initially of one bird skulking in the gulley below us, then working its way up the hillside off to our right and eventually perched up in the canopy from where it called repeatedly and was quite bold as it allowed us to work our way across the noisy leaf litter to get better and better views. All you can say is “wow”!!

Ivory-breasted Pitta

Ivory-breasted Pitta

 In the afternoon we drove further along the road and found a Sombre Kingfisher being mobbed by a pair of Slaty Flycatchers, Metallic Starling, Grey-throated Goshawk, lots more Blyth’s Hornbills, Moustached Treeswift and Moluccan Imperial-pigeon, before heading back to the hotel at a reasonable time for dinner - for a change!

Going to Halmahera - 21st September

Another early start saw us bid farewell to our wonderful hosts and spend a little time back up on the ridge, which gave us further views of all the usual species. Then we drove to Manado and took the 45 minute flight to the island of Ternate where we hopped into some taxis which took us down to the seafront. Here we boarded a speedboat and set off across the channel that separates Sulawesi from Halmahera. I was really looking forward to the crossing and hoped for a few seabirds but the whole channel was very quiet and all we had was a single Great Crested Tern, several Lesser Frigatebirds and a few Red-necked Phalaropes. As we approached Halmahera the boat slowed down and cruised close to the Mangroves where we found at least 4 Beach Kingfishers before reaching the tiny harbour at Sidangoli. Upon landing we were aware of many locals congregating to take a look at these strange visitors before driving just a few minutes away and our accommodation for the next few nights. 

Black-chinned Golden Whistler

Moluccan Scops-owl

After a siesta we drove into the hills and scored with our first endemics on this new island with Moluccan Goshawk, Grey-faced Fruit-dove, White Cockatoo and Black-chinned Golden Whistler. Numerous Blyth’s Hornbills were seen and giving some impressively close flybys and one male was even seen visiting its nesting hole and feeding the female walled up inside. A pair of Eclectus Parrots showed well from our viewpoint and were seen mobbing a White Cockatoo at one stage. As dusk fell we managed to finally call in an owl quite quickly, when a Moluccan Scops-owl was spotlighted beside the road.

Tangkoko - 20th September

We headed over to the mangroves this morning which made for a pleasant change from forest birding and passed a Sulawesi Goshawk and Osprey along the way. 

On route to the mangroves

Upon entering a narrow channel into the mangroves, several Pink-necked Green-pigeons were seen, along with Dollarbird and for some people a Small Sulawesi Hanging-parrot. 

Inside the mangroves - note bad fashion choices!

It took a couple of trips along the channel before we nailed Great-billed Kingfisher, a hulking Sulawesi endemic. After a very fast flypast we had two views of a perched bird, giving great looks and much appreciated by everyone.

Great-billed Kingfisher

Leaving here we sailed back to the forest, passing a Blue Rock Thrush along the way and then spent the next couple of hours searching for Red-bellied Pitta, but there just weren’t any about. A fine Red-backed Thrush was outshone by a pair of Purple-winged Rollers but apart from that the forest was very quiet. A brief stab at Sulawesi Nightjar on the way back to the lodge resulted in a quick flight view but by late morning the temperature was soaring and we were in need of some cold drinks!

We spent the afternoon at the viewpoint scanning the treetops across the valley which were literally brimming with birds. Exceptionally confiding Golden-mantled and Yellow-breasted Racquet-tails were feeding in some close trees, whilst flocks of Ornate Lorikeets wheeled around below us. A Moluccan Red Lory was something of a surprise and was undoubtedly an escape, but a Blue-backed Parrot was more at home here. There were lots of fruiting trees attracting numerous Green, Grey-headed, White-bellied and Silver-tipped Imperial-pigeons, and a fine adult Rufous-bellied Eagle was seen. But it wasn’t until late afternoon that we eventually found a group of 6 Sulawesi Black Pigeons feeding quietly in a fruiting tree. As the light fell a Sulawesi Nightjar began calling and gave another brief flyby.

In the evening we had a celebratory beer, some birthday cake for myself and David and even a little dancing. The less said the better!

Tangkoko - 19th September

First light saw us carefully scanning the narrow creek in search of Ruddy Kingfisher which failed to materialise so we headed out on a long walk through the dry forest, getting a brief flyover from a pair of White-rumped Cuckooshrikes. 

Ochre-bellied Boobooks

Amazingly we came across a pair of roosting Ochre-bellied Boobooks which were totally unfazed by us. Another roosting Sulawesi Scops-owl was also found, just to make a mockery of our lengthy night-time attempts earlier in the trip.  One of the highlights of the morning was watching a male Knobbed Hornbill bringing fruit into its walled up female in a tall tree, and we could just about see her moving around in the narrow slit of dried mud… 

Knobbed Hornbill

Knobbed Hornbill

A pair of Purple-winged Rollers gave tantalising brief views flying over the canopy above, a White-necked Myna showed well, as did a confiding Yellow-breasted Racquet-tail and a Stephan’s Dove flew by. A troop of Sulawesi Crested Macaques provided some non-avian interest - and it was good to see Great Uncle Albert again! As we walked back down to the creek one of the park rangers found a pair of Ruddy Kingfishers which gave nice views, although to far to get a photo. It's a species i've always wanted to get a good photo of and must admit I was a bit disappointed to walk away empty handed on that score, but also relieved we'd finally got it on the list!  On the way back to the lodge we took a diversion and followed a new trail in search of Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher which we failed to locate, although a pair of Ivory-backed Woodswallows were rather nice. 

Ruddy Kingfisher

During lunch a Ruddy Kingfisher was found by one of the lodge’s staff along the narrow stream behind our bungalows and this one was very confiding and was absolutely beautiful, showing its lilac mantle to good effect in the shadows. I sneaked down during lunch as everybody else was rooted to their dining chair enjoying a fish and rice lunch - but not me! And amazingly it stayed on its perch whilst I hid behind some tall plants, and as the wind disturbed the leaves I could get a clear shot. Great!

After lunch we were back in the forest, this time nailing Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher, as well as having seconds of Red-backed Thrush. As usual there were numerous Green-backed and Lilac-cheeked Kingfishers to keep us occupied throughout the day.