Halmahera

After a night of aircon and a lie-in we drove to a nearby forest and finally managed to nail Halmahera Flowerpecker and Moluccan Hanging-parrot, and also had a brief view of a Great Cuckoo-dove and a pair of Gurney’s Eagles before it got way too hot to hang around and we headed back to town for lunch. In the afternoon we drove back down the island and headed to our site for some late afternoon birding close to Sidangoli. Along the way we passed a scenic bay where loads of Lesser Frigatebirds were following a flock of terns that comprised Gull-billed, Roseate, Black-naped and Great Crested. We then spent several hours chasing Moluccan Owlet-nightjar and despite getting very close to a calling bird, the forest was just too dense to catch site of it and we had to leave around 9pm to get our dinner. 

Halmahera (Tobelo)

Another foray along the road produced a few more new birds this morning, with Dusky Scrubfowl, Red-flanked Lorikeet, White-bellied Cuckooshrike and cracking views of Blue-capped Fruit-dove, as well as a few more common birds. After lunch we drove the 4 hours north to Tobelo where we made a night-time excursion about an hour or so away from the town. Here we walked for 20 minutes through the forest to the coast and boarded a small dugout canoe that took us along a narrow channel to a secluded beach. Our luck was really in tonight as within 10 minutes we were watching the main prize here, a Moluccan Scrubfowl in the spotlight for several minutes. Wow! This is definitely not a guaranteed tick as other groups/tour companies had been here and not seen this bird....

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.