Sumatra and West Java,

Indonesia

29th July – 20th August 2006

Leader; Rob Hutchinson

Sumatran Trogon, Tapan Road © Rob Hutchinson/Birdtour Asia

Sumatra main tour

29th July – 12th August

In this section of the tour we recorded a total of 293 species, of which 19 species are endemic to Sumatra plus an additional Javan endemic (Javan Coucal) not recorded during the Javan extension. We began at Way Kambas with some excellent lowland birding and Storm’s Storm, Cinnamon-headed Green-Pigeon, Jerdon’s Baza, Bat Hawk, White-crowned Hornbill and Malaysian Hawk-Cuckoo among the highlights. The hope-for night-birds all performed well with the rare Bonaparte’s Nightjar performing exceptionally well, 3 species of frogmouth (Gould’s, Sunda and Large) and owls included Reddish Scops-Owl and the fantastic Oriental Bay Owl.
Our next destination was the famed Kerinci-Seblat National Park home to some truly mouth-watering Sumatran endemics. Starting at Mount Kerinci, we did exceptionally well this year recording almost all possible endemics including Sumatran Cochoa, Schneider’s Pitta, Red-billed Partridge, Sumatran Peacock-Pheasant, Salvadori’s Pheasant, Rusty-breasted and Sumatran Wren-Babblers, Sumatran Frogmouth and Rajah Scops-Owl.
Moving to lower altitudes within the park the forests along the Tapan Road again provided great birding. Graceful Pitta was undoubtedly the highlight here but we saw all the other likely endemics; Sumatran Drongo, Sumatran Treepie, Spot-necked and Cream-striped Bulbuls, Blue-masked and Sumatran Leafbirds, together with other specialities including White-crowned Hornbill (again!), Black Laughingthrush and Marbled Wren-Babbler.
During the tour we also squeezed in 2 visits to Maura Angke Marshes near Jakarta with endemic Javan Coucal, Javan Plover and Black-winged Starling among a fine selection of bonus birds.

The tour began in Jakarta, Java, where participants arriving the day prior to the tour were able to enjoy an extra early morning visit to the ever diminishing yet bird-filled Maura Angke marshes. The morning began with Savanna Nightjar over our hotel at dawn then a short drive to the marsh where activity was high with our first Indonesian endemics, Olive-backed Tailorbird and Bar-winged Prinia both present along with more widespread Pied Fantail, Collared Kingfisher, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Plaintive Cuckoo, Sunda Woodpecker and a stunning Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker. Turning our attention to the marshes produced good numbers of water-birds including several Purple Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, White-browed Crakes which eventually gave great views and Clamorous Reed Warblers singing all around. Some of the more difficult species required persistence but this was rewarded with scope views of Small Blue Kingfisher, the rather localized Racket-tailed Treepie and best of all, a pair of the rare Black-winged Starling. Finally we were relieved to find a pair of Javan Plovers still hanging on despite extensive development although their future in the immediate area seems bleak.
In the late afternoon we took a short flight to Bandar Lampung in West Sumatra for an overnight stay and again fell asleep to the sound of Savanna Nightjars calling as they hawked overhead – a familiar sound for city inhabitants in these parts of Indonesia.

The following morning we made our way to Way Kambas National Park, a wonderful area of marshes and tall secondary forest in the Sumatran lowlands. Our birding here began in style even before we reached our accommodation with a stunning pair of Red-bearded Bee-eaters posing above the track boding well for our forthcoming birding. During our four days here we spent much time exploring the rich lowland forests but also made forays into the nearby swamps and focused heavily on the nocturnal specialities.
The quality night-birding is always a big attraction at Way Kambas and we spent most early morning and evenings wandering around in the dark with our torches in their pursuit. Perhaps as a result of the dry conditions this year was more challenging than most with few night-birds very vocal but with perseverance we managed an impressive haul; 3 species of Frogmouth began with a relatively brief Goulds Frogmouth, next a Sunda Frogmouth showing just his head and tail either side of its overhead perch was nevertheless appreciated as this is perhaps the most difficult frogmouth owing to its canopy perching habits. Finally, after keeping us in suspense over several sorties a magnificent Large Frogmouth glided overhead then after a patient wait gave stupendous views as he perched close-by, posing and even calling as he sat in the spot-light. Owls also performed – Brown Boobook calling vigorously at dusk, the diminutive Reddish Scops-Owl showed well albeit briefly when finally located, a huge Brown Wood-Owl which even glided directly overhead in our spot-light but best of all was a delightful Oriental Bay Owl clinging to a liana when he flew in to investigate our whistled imitations. Malaysian Eared-Nightjars hawked noisily overhead at dusk and our stakeout for the little known Bonaparte’s Nightjar was extremely successful as it perched in full view uttering its weird and wonderful song.

Our forays into the swamps were typically bird-filled but with the region gripped by a drought we found the swamps and most forest pools dry and thus despite a big effort the White-winged Ducks proved elusive. Several Lesser Adjutants and a single Storm’s Stork provided some compensation – the latter circling overhead carrying a leafy sprig would appear to indicate local breeding.
Birding the lowland forest along the access track was very rewarding with a fine selection of babblers, bulbuls, malkohas and woodpeckers sprinkled with scarcer inhabitants; shy Black Magpies treated us to usually good views, Banded Pittas (here of the particularly striking ripleyi sub-species), and the usually shy Rufous-tailed Shama posed in open branches right above our heads for more than 10 minutes! Even rarer were the exceptional scope-filling views of Malaysian Hawk-Cuckoo and fantastic prolonged views of a calling Jerdon’s Baza perched in the forest and was complimented by several diminutive Black-thighed Falconets surveying the area from their canopy viewpoints and an evening fly-by from a Bat Hawk.
Further views of Red-bearded Bee-eaters, regular Rufous-backed Kingfisher sightings and Scarlet-rumped, Red-naped and Diard’s Trogons all provided spectacular splashes of colour.
Fruiting tress were in short supply so frugivores were scarce, we managed some good ones however; Several Cinnamon-headed Green-Pigeon showed during our excursions into the swamps – a universally scarce species that is most regularly encountered here. Striking Red-crowned Barbets were seen and we saw 3 broadbill species with the clown-like Dusky Broadbills particularly popular. Only 2 species of hornbill were seen but these included excellent scope views of Bushy-crested Hornbills and the rare and elusive White-crowned Hornbill.
Early mornings and late afternoon were a good time to watch for Phasianidae coming out onto the track to feed and in this way we saw Red Junglefowl, several Crested Firebacks and best of all a large group of bizarre Crested Partridges with their punky red crests clearly visible.

The forest here is rich in mammals and we had several memorable encounters including a group of Siamangs booming out their amazing song from the canopy, a Red Giant Flying Squirrel that we watched gliding between large trees no less than 3 times one evening and a delightful Leopard Cat which wandered along the track towards us completely unperturbed by our presence.
Leaving Way Kambas to return to Jakarta, a change in flight schedules left us with some free time in Jakarta and some of the group took the opportunity for a return visit to the Maura Angke reserve. This proved excellent with several new additions including Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Common Iora and Mangrove Whistler. The marsh gave Slaty-brested Rail and Cinnamon Bittern among the water birds seen previously but best of all was the single Javan Coucal – a declining Javan endemic, among the commoner dark-backed Javan race of Lesser Coucal.

The following day we flew to Padang in West Sumatra (seeing our first Javan Munia at Jakarta Airport) and in the evening arrived in  the village of Keresek Tua, at the foot our Mount Kerinci, where we received a warm welcome at the friendly guesthouse, our home for the next four nights.
The narrow and sometimes steep trail up Mount Kerinci and the lush forest understory do not make the birding easy here and many of the best birds are elusive ground dwellers so we are always slightly apprehensive about finding them – fortunately this year all these fears proved unfounded.

Barred Eagle Owl, Gunung Kerinci                      Rajah Scops-Owl, Gunung Kerinci

Our first day began pre-dawn with a Sumatran Frogmouth – a fantastic ‘hairy’ creature that was attracted in for close range views. As dawn broke we hit the trail and quickly began picking up endemics; firstly a pair of bulky Rusty-breasted Wren-Babblers sang noisily at close range, then the usually skulking Sumatran Wren-Babbler (a recent but long overdue split from Long-billed Wren-Babbler) also performed, singing in the open from nearby branches. Further endemics followed in the form of Chestnut-winged and Shiny Whistling-Thrushes then and elusive Schneider’s Pitta eventually broke cover, using a large log to cross the trail but all too quickly disappeared again. In the late morning the usually shy Red-billed Partridge began calling from nearby and amazingly a short time later they had responded to our imitations and we were soaking in the rufous breast, white-speckled black hood and bright red bill of the birds as they call back from the understory. In the afternoon we spent much time enjoying the varied feeding flocks which roam the forest with various combinations of Sunda & Grey-chinned Minivets, Sunda Warblers, Fire-tufted and Black-browed Barbets, Long-tailed Sibia, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes, Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo, White-browed Shrike-babbler and exquisite Blue Nuthatches. We also found a fruiting tree with good numbers of Sumatran Green-Pigeons and finished the day in style with a huge, fluffy-white juvenile Barred Eagle-Owl calling and bobbing its head as it stared down from its overhead perch.

Our pre-dawn night-birding the next morning produced only a frustrating encounter with a calling Rajah Scops-Owl which quickly moved away before we had a chance to see it, but it did allow us a head start for our morning hike higher up the mountain and this paid dividends was we saw our only Pink-headed Fruit-Doves of the tour then after a patient wait interspersed with tantalizing calling a male Sumatran Cochoa was located in the same fruiting tree with the shining blue crown and wing patches contrasting with the jet black body of this rare species which was rediscovered here as recently as the mid-1990’s. Heading back down the mountain our luck was to continue when 2 Mountain Scops-Owls were spotted roosting by the side of the trail and showed in the open at close range – an unforgettable encounter with this widespread but difficult-to-see species. The morning finished with a male Salvadori’s Pheasant feeding on fallen fruits in the middle of the trail which was to prove our only sighting of the species. By late afternoon the bird activity was as usual much lower but this is a great time to search for ground-dwellers as they ventured out onto the trails to feed and our persistence paid off when another Schneider’s Pitta, this time an azure-backed male, was spotted and everyone was able to enjoy great views as he fed along the trail ahead of us.
The following morning again began with a pre-dawn excursion but things were not looking promising when our tape failed to draw any response. Sharp ears appeared to detect a movement nearby but we could not find the search of the noise until a scan of nearby trees found the bulky form of a Rajah Scops-Owl sat right behind, studying us with piercing orange eyes from just a few meters away, and there he sat in the spot-light before eventually disappearing again into the night leaving us to gloat over excellent views of yet another rarely seen and little known species. Not long after dawn the distinctive two-note call of the shy Sumatran Peacock-Pheasant was heard from high on the slope above us, and although the bird was obviously distant we scrambled into the forest a little way and played back the calls. The bird went quiet and we waited patiently until suddenly there he was walking down the bank towards us before circling us in a wide arc, almost continually of view allowing exceptional views of this usually elusive bird.

Graceful Pitta, Tapan Road                                   Spot-necked Bulbul, Tapan Road

With the mountain engulfed in heavy rain we headed early to our next destination, from the town of Sungei Penuh we spent the next 3 days birding  along the Tapan Road that winds down through wonderful sub-montane forest from Bukit Tapan at 1400m asl down to the village of Maura Sako at 400m asl. The steep sided gullies along the road are home to Sumatra’s second endemic pitta species – the stunning Graceful Pitta. This was our main target here and we were successful as early as our first morning when the soft whistled song betrayed a birds presence and we could watch the bird on the bank above without even having to leave the roadside! With much disturbance from workers along the upper parts of the road it was to be a few days more before we saw them again – this time 2 birds which responded very well to our whistling circling around us at close range on the banks of a steep gully – undoubtedly one of the highlights of the tour.
We also saw our first Sumatran Trogons here after they proved strangely elusive on the mountain and had a single sighting of Red-headed.
The road also holds several other endemics which are more difficult to see at higher altitudes and we enjoyed views of these almost daily; Sumatran Treepie were common and continually betrayed their presence with loud, raucous calls, Sumatran Drongos were regular with feeding flocks and particularly conspicuous in the early mornings, 2 endemic Bulbuls; Spot-necked and Cream-striped were both common roadside birds and we saw several Blue-masked and a few Sumatran Leafbirds – the latter a recent from Golden-fronted Leafbird.
Large feeding flocks were a regular feature of our birding and contained an exciting mix of birds – 6 species of woodpecker including the diminutive Rufous Piculet, 3 species of barbet, Sunda Cuckoo- Shrike, Black-and-crimson Oriole, Large Niltava, skulking Rufous-browed Flycatcher, Chestnut-crowned and Yellow-bellied Warblers, Spot-necked Babbler, Black and Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, clown-like Long-tailed Broadbills and single sightings of Crested Jay and White-tailed Blue Flycatcher.
                                                   
After a frustrating encounter with calling birds on our first afternoon, we eventually tempted a pair of Marbled Wren-Babblers up out of their chosen gully and most people enjoyed some views as they sang back from the undergrowth below.
Lower elevations saw a noticeable shift in bird species and it was here that we added Violet Cuckoo and two of Asia’s best looking bulbuls - Scaly-breasted and Grey-bellied Bulbuls in fruiting trees.
Birding along the road allowed us excellent opportunities to look for raptors and regular scanning produced Oriental Honey Buzzard, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Black & Rufous-bellied Eagle, Changeable and Blyth’s Hawk-Eagles. Our skyward eyes also produced regular sightings of Rhinoceros, Bushy-crested, Wreathed and on one memorable occasion a group of 3 White-crowned Hornbills which flew right overhead and right out across the valley below.
We returned early to Sungei Penuh on our final day and spent the late afternoon birding in the paddyfields close to the town where diligent searching through hundreds of Scaly-breasted and White-rumped Munias eventually produced several White-headed Munias – noticeably bulkier than their relatives and with a white head contrasting with a bright chestnut body. Other interesting species here included Brahminy Kite, Common Moorhen, Purple Swamphen and a stunning female Painted Snipe.
On our last day we spent a final morning birding before heading back to Padang via the scenic coastal route and spent a comfortable night there (the hot showers being particularly welcome!) before flying back to Jakarta the following day. The end of a fantastic tour to one of the least visited regions in Asia among some of the rarest and least known of the regions endemics.

 

West Java extension

12th – 20th August

Spotted Crocias, Gunung Gede © Rob Hutchinson/Birdtour Asia

Our visit to the magnificent montane forest of Gunung Gede-Pangrango was well timed with the park closed to visitors allowing us to enjoy the trails in virtual solitude and among the many endemics and specialities seen were Javan Cochoa, Spotted Crocias, Chestnut-bellied Partridge, Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrot, Rufous-tailed Fantail, Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, Crescent-chested and White-bibbed Babblers, Javan Hawk-Eagle, Javan Tesia, White-flanked Sunbird and Sunda Thrush.
Our night-birding success continued here adding a further 5 species including endemic Javan Barred Owlet, Javan Frogmouth and the rarely seen Javan Scops-Owl to give an exceptional 20 night-bird species for the combined Sumatra / Java tour.
Our visit to the remote Gunung Halimun produced the hoped for Javan Trogon, White-bellied Fantail, White-breasted Babbler and Javan Sunbird with bonuses of Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon, Tawny-breasted and Pin-tailed Parrotfinches.
The lowland rainforest remnant at Carita of the west coast gave both Black-banded Barbet and Grey-cheeked Tit-Babbler, the scarce Javan White-eye was seen at Pulau Dua while on our final day visit to Pulau Rambut we enjoyed Milky Stork and Black-headed Ibis among the impressive breeding colonies and yet another sighting of the rare Black-winged Starling.
Of the 162 species seen on the extension, 66 were new to the tour and included 29 species endemic to the Java / Bali region.

All participants this year opted to add the West Java extension to the Sumatra tour so after arrival in Jakarta we headed south and after a relatively traffic-free journey arrived at our comfortable hotel in the town of Cipanas, lying at the base of the twin Gede-Pangrango mountains, the relatively cool climate makes this a popular weekend and holiday get-away for Jakartan residents. Fortunately the drought conditions affecting this part of Indonesia worked in our favour here, much of the mountain was closed due to the increased fire risk so our special permits allowed us to enjoy the trail in almost complete solitude without the hundreds of climbers and visitors who might usually be using the trail.
Our first morning began pre-dawn with 2 Javan Frogmouths including a lovely rufous-phase bird that showed particularly well. We also noted the distinctive vocalizations of this nominate javensis form which appear to support its proposed treatment as a Javan endemic, distinct from forms in Borneo and mainland south-east Asia.
As dawn broke we were soon enjoying the rush of new birds that often accompanies the first day at a new destination – Crescent-chested Babbler, Javan Fulvetta , Javan Whistling-Thrush and Orange-spotted Bulbul being first to appear but we also appreciated the exceptional views of normally skulking ground-dwellers; Pygmy and Eye-browed Wren-Babblers, Lesser and White-browed Shortwings and Sunda Blue Robins all having apparently abandoned their normally elusive habits on this mountain.
Continuing higher up the mountain the first feeding flocks added further endemics; Rufous-tailed Fantails, White-flanked Sunbirds, Javan Grey-throated White-eye and charming Pygmy Tits among more familiar but no less enjoyable fare such as Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler, Sunda Warbler, Indigo Flycatcher and delightful Blue Nuthatches. Were also treated to good views of a Javan Hawk-Eagle that circled overhead several times and throughout the climb we were accompanied by the song of Javan Tesia, several of which showed well as they bounced and bobbed in the forest understory.
Reaching the highest point of our days birding at Air Panas (hot springs), we were fortunate to locate a pair of Javan Cochoa as they flew in and sat quietly together in the canopy allowing prolonged views.

Heading down the mountain the first surprise was a pair of Chestnut-bellied Partridges feeding quietly by the side of the trail which allowed some reasonable views in the thick undergrowth before moving off, next came a furtive group of Spotted Crocias which sang loudly but stayed steadfastly to the canopy, and finally a Flame-fronted Barbet which was eventually located after only hearing several other individuals. Satisfied with an excellent first day on the mountain we took a late lunch and a short rest before heading for some more open habitat outside the park. Spotted Kestrel and Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrots were noted, both much easier to see here than from under the closed canopy of the forest. Making our way to a small marsh soon produced our target, the endemic Javan Kingfisher – a striking combination of large red bill, brown head, red-brown body becoming deep purple on the belly and mantle and black wing coverts all contrasting with electric blue flight feathers and tail.
The next morning again started pre-dawn and was again rewarding, this time with a pair of the little known and rarely seen Javan Scops-Owl.
With daylight upon us our main targets were located fairly quickly today – the endemic Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, seemingly in decline here due to trapping, gave some brief views but appeared shy and wouldn’t come close. Other birds performed better and we were happy with improved views of species seen the previous day, firstly a large group of Spotted Crocias were tempted from the canopy and came to feed and sing at eye-level then the Javan Cochoa also gave great views, feeding and singing close by. Other highlights today included a nice family group of Orange-backed Woodpeckers with a large feeding flock, orange hued Sunda Minivets feeding actively in the canopy, Olive-backed Tailorbird, both Sunda & White-crowned Forktails and our first Rusty-breasted Cuckoo and Blood-breasted Flowerpecker after hearing them both regularly.

Our final day on the mountain again began early with our spot-lights finding firstly a confiding Sunda Scops-Owl, followed by a furtive Javan Stink Badger sniffing around in the leaf-litter next to the trail and finally a surprise in the form of a young family of Javan Owlets perched right above the trail. As the darkness began to give way we crept slowly along the lower parts of the trail seeing skulkers such as Lesser Shortwing, Javan Whistling-Thrush and Sunda Blue Robin venturing out onto the trail in the half-light before a large grey shape hopping along the trail became a stunning Sunda Thrush through binoculars. More open areas produced several Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrots including a perched bird and excellent views again of Javan Kingfishers for those who had opted out of the first search for them. With almost all available endemics seen the rest of the morning was spent around the scenic botanical gardens at the base of the forest where Pygmy Tits again accompanied the bird flocks. Later after seeing Chestnut-bellied Partridges and Red Junglefowls foraging in the unlikely surroundings of a small garbage dump we made our final trek up to the picturesque waterfalls where in the late afternoon we were able to see 3 Spotted Kestrel circling around and perching on the cliff faces while several Waterfall Swiftlets gave prolonged views. As dusk fell a Salvadori’s Nightjar emerged from its roost and showed perched on the cliffs before flying off to feed – amazingly the 20th night-bird species for the combined Sumatra / Java tour! The walk down produced yet another confiding Javan Stink Badger and both Common and Masked Palm Civets in an exciting end to our visit to Gede-Pangrango National Park.

Sunda Scops-Owl, Carita                             Javan Grey-throated White-eye, Gn. Gede

The following morning we transferred to Gunung Halimun National Park, set at a slightly lower altitude, the area holds several species that are difficult or impossible to see at other sites in West Java.
Our first afternoon excursion immediately produced some of these; 2 groups of White-breasted Babblers were seen while a large feeding flock produced at least 2 White-bellied Fantails. As the temperature cooled the booming calls of Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeons began to emanate from the canopy and we located at least 5 individuals perched conspicuously on dead sangs. Other species recorded included Blue Nuthatch, Sumatran Green-Pigeon, Brown-backed Needletail, Javan Hawk-Eagle and we finished the day with a surprise sighting of several nomadic Pin-tailed Parrotfinches.
The next morning started well with a Javan Trogon which although brief was nevertheless appreciated as this was to be the only sighting for the tour. We again saw Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeons, three flocks of noisy Spotted Crocias showed well and yet another Javan Hawk-Eagle passed overhead. Mixed feeding flocks again provided much of the excitement, Sunda Minivets, Blue Nuthatch, Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo, Oriental and Javan Grey-throated White-eyes were again the core species but others included Javan Sunbird, Grey-cheeked and Sunda Bulbul, several smart White-breasted Babblers and best of all, a Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch skulking in the roadside vegetation.
In the late afternoon we returned to the city of Bogor and the following day spent the early morning birding in the peaceful and pleasant surroundings of the city Botanical Gardens. The ornamental lakes and streams gave several Blue-eared Kingfishers, White-breasted Waterhen in the marshy margins and impressive breeding colonies of Black-crowned Night-Herons that entertained us with their antics and constant bickering.
The wilder corners of the park produced our first Hill Blue Flycatchers alongside Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Common Iora and Grey-breasted Spiderhunters while a huge fruiting tree attracted large numbers of birds including hundreds of Grey-cheeked Green-Pigeons, Coppersmith Barbets and a few Black-naped Fruit-Doves.

Milky Storks, Pulau Rambut © Rob Hutchinson/Birdtour Asia

We then made the long drive to the scenic beach resort of Carita on the west coast and in the afternoon trekked up into the remnant lowland forest nearby managing to see both of our target endemics – the rather uninspiring Grey-cheeked Tit-Babbler and the altogether more attractive Black-banded Barbet before a heavy and prolonged storm bought a premature end to the days birding.
Bitten by the night-birding bug we again headed out early this morning and enjoyed excellent views of Sunda Scops-Owl and Javan Frogmouth before dawn. Heading up into the forest we located a fruiting tree with good numbers of Grey-cheeked Green-Pigeons and Black-naped Fruit-Doves and although we couldn’t locate the calling Black-banded Barbets we did see several Blue-eared Barbets of the endemic australis race (a potential split). A singing Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher was attracted in to playback and showed well.
On our journey back to Jakarta in the afternoon we made a long stopover at Pulau Dua where the fishponds which now join this former island to the mainland proved excellent birding. Scrubby bushes and small mangroves here gave up a single Javan White-eye together with good numbers of Streaked Weavers, while in the more established trees we found a single Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker and the whole area full of roosting Savanna Nightjars with many heard and several flushed some of which were relocated and gave excellent views as they roosted, perfectly camouflaged on the ground. On the ponds themselves Small Blue Kingfishers were particularly common and shorebirds included Javan, Kentish and Mongolian Plovers and some of the first return Wood Sandpipers of the autumn.

Having made 2 unexpected trips to Maura Angke during the tour and seen most of the speciality birds there, we made a change to the itinerary and instead made a visit to Pulau Rambut, offshore from Jakarta on our final morning. Having been safely deposited by speedboat on nearby Untung Jawa Island the final short hop to Rambut was made by fishing boat with both Lesser Frigatebirds and Black-naped Tern seen during the crossing. Pulau Rambut is famous for its huge numbers of breeding water-birds and it certainly didn’t disappoint with our walk around the island producing thousands of birds including many Glossy and Black-headed Ibis and several rare Milky Storks including a nest with 2 fully grown young. The water birds were not the only attraction and excellent views of Pied Imperial-Pigeons (particularly for those brave enough to climb the rickety watch tower) and a pair of Black-winged Starlings were greatly appreciated and proved a fantastic way to finish a thoroughly enjoyable and bird-filled tour.

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*All the photos contained in this report are © Rob Hutchinson / Birdtour Asia.