White-billed Diver in Devon

White-billed Diver - this pic was taken 5 minutes after the shot above, but now in sunlight.

A Change of direction for this blog post as I was very privileged to get crippling views of this White-billed Diver in Brixham Harbour, South Devon this afternoon – just a few miles away from the Zoothera office. A stonking bird indeed and I’ve not seen one since I was in Arctic Norway many years ago. Also present here were 8 Black-throated Divers, 10+ Great Northern Divers and a Black Guillemot.

Way Kambas National Park 1

Following an uneventful ferry journey across the Sunda Strait we drove just under 3 hours to an amazingly good lodge just outside the entrance to Way Kambas. This is an amazing area which protects a huge area of lowland rainforest which is home to some of south-east Asia’s most wanted birds. After a delicious lunch we drove into the park and began walking along the road which is bordered by dense forest either side. A number of birds were calling but not responding at first, however we did get views of Chestnut-rumped Babbler, Yellow-bellied and Cream-vented Bulbuls, Little Green-Pigeon, Red-billed Malkoha, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike, Spectacled Spiderhunter, Fiery Minivet and some previously seen species. We also experienced our first period of rain on the tour so far that hampered our birding and we had to take shelter in the cars on a couple of occasions. But whilst doing this a male Crested Fireback appeared right next to us and was later seen walking along the road behind us. Just as it was getting dark a Red-crowned Barbet began calling above us and we had views through the scope.

Crested Fireback

Way Kambas is known for its night birds and it didn’t disappoint us either as a Large Frogmouth was called in and everyone enjoyed cracking views in the spotlight. As if that wasn’t enough, I played a short cut of Oriental Bay Owl call and we got an immediate response. Unfortunately the bird just called back from inside the forest, so we had to walk inside, clambering over fallen trees and trying to be quiet - not really expecting the bird to remain. But due to the diligence of our local guide, Harry, what can only be described as ‘mind-blowing’ views were had of a female perched a mere 10 yards away for several minutes. Wow!

Large Frogmouth

Oriental Bay Owl

Carita

This small patch of forest still holds a number of Javan endemics and as our hotel, just opposite the beach, is only a 5 minute drive away we were in a perfect position to explore the area. So on our first afternoon we walked slowly along the forest road and relatively quickly picked up the endemic Black-banded Barbet after something of a game of cat-and-mouse. But what a stunner it was and certainly worth the effort. A pair of endemic Grey-throated Tit-babblers were also found as well to make it a worthwhile afternoon. As the sun set and it gradually got dark the calls of a Brown Boobook led us to nice spotlight views and shortly after a Sunda Scops-owl was found just a few feet off the ground to complete a good day’s birding. Oh and a few of the group returned to the hotel early and had a Javan Banded Pitta in the headlights right at dusk!

Sunda Scops-owl

The following morning we were in the forest at sunrise and in the ever-improving gloom a female Javan Banded Pitta worked its was along the leaf-covered forest road in front of us. Not a bad way to start the day! Within a matter of minutes a male pitta was called in for close views as well. What a way to start the day! We spent the next few hours, before the temperature became too warm, walking through the forest getting more views of previously seen species, including great scope views of a Javan Owlet, Asian Drongo-Cuckoo, more tit-babblers, Black-capped Babbler, Emerald Dove, Banded Broadbill, both Scarlet and Sunda Minivets, Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Crescent-chested Babbler, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, and a bonus of a superb male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher.

At lunchtime a White-bellied Sea-Eagle was seen by a few of the group as they scanned from the beach across the road from the hotel. We finished the day off with another Brown Boobook and unfortunately the Javan Frogmouths were not responding this evening.

Maura Angke

A relatively small area of marsh and ponds situated on the outskirts of Jakarta is the home of Sunda Coucal and we pretty quickly found a couple of birds sat on some distant bushes which looked quite good through the scope. The meandering boardwalk here provided a good view across the marshes where Black-crowned Night-herons, both Grey and Purple Heron and lots of Oriental Darters were sat on the surrounding trees and bushes. A Chestnut-winged Cuckoo showed surprisingly well in the scope and several flocks of flyby Daurian Starlings were also something of a surprise. But it took a while before we got to grips with the sites other speciality, Black-winged Myna. However it was worth waiting for as we enjoyed several great looks through the scope. A few Olive-backed Tailorbirds were present, and a Bar-winged Prinia eventually gave itself up before we set off by 8am on another tedious drive of some 4 hours to Carita.

A Pitstop at Pamunakan

A series of fish ponds, rice fields and mangroves provide ideal habitat for a few goodies and an early start saw us ticking off White-capped Munia on the drive in. Excellent views were obtained of these beautiful little birds, and at our first stop we also had Small Blue Kingfisher, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Slaty-breasted Rail, Yellow Bittern and some other common birds. Amongst the ponds we quickly picked up a Javan Plover and had a further 3 more later in the morning. But with the temperature already rising we walked quite a way to some mangroves bordering a canal and were quite fortunate to get really good views of the endemic Javan White-eye, a few of which were feeding close by. 

Golden-bellied Gerygone

Also present in the same area were Whiskered Tern, Little Black Cormorant, Oriental Darter, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Pied Fantail, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Striated Heron, Sunda Teal and Island Collared Dove. Leaving here we drove to a great hotel on the outskirts of Jakarta and enjoyed the a/c and cold beers very much!!!

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.