Java, Indonesia custom tour
29th June - 7th July 2008
Leader: James Eaton
Participants: Ron Hoff and Dollyann Myers,
Magnus Jaderblad and Eja Blomqvist
Java Sparrow, Jogjakarta © James Eaton / Birdtour Asia
A total of 187 species were recorded including 7 heard only on this successful week-long tour of Java in search of the vast majority of Java and Bali endemics.
As we began with a visit, to the ghastly-smelling but bird-filled marsh at Muara Angke, complete with brand-new (but already sinking!) boardwalk. The afternoon was a hive of activity, the biggest surprise being a Ruby-throated Bulbul that greeted us at the gateway, this Sumatra, Java and Bali endemic has now become extremely rare on the latter two islands due to the bird-trade while on Sumatra it is becoming increasingly difficult. Our two main targets didn’t take long to locate, and in quick succession as a flock of Black-winged Myna flew over a perched Javan Coucal! While enjoying the early evening sun we were joined by a confiding pair of Sunda Teal, Black-backed Swamphen, a pair of Black Bittern (presumably breeding, potentially a Javan first), White-browed Crake, Indonesian Collared Dove (a forthcoming split from Island), Australasian Reed Warbler, ‘proper’ Javan Myna (now rare on their native Java) and both Plain and Bar-winged Prinia.
Following a successful recce on a tour just 3 weeks previous we managed to squeeze in a short morning visit to Pramanukan, to the east of Jakarta for a couple of tricky endemics. Within 30 minutes of arrival we had cleaned up – first came plenty of White-capped Munia mixed in with Javan Munia, wonderfully bright Small Blue Kingfishers zipped past frequently and a short walk across the shrimp ponds produced the expected Javan Plover, with a female on eggs close to the track. Our main prize didn’t take long to show either as a party of Golden-bellied Gerygone led us to our first mangrove-loving Javan White-eye, with a small flock of this bright lemon sprite located a short while later.With the coastal birds under our belt we headed off early to Carita, giving us an extra session the following afternoon. Arriving at dusk we were greeted by the local Large-tailed Nightjars flying overhead but it wasn’t until the following morning that Javan Frogmouth performed with a fine pair perched close-by in the spotlight before they huddled up together to roost. They were still there when we returned at lunchtime, and more than a few photos were taken of this hairy duo. Upon entering the forest the chonk chonk chonking of Javan Tit Babbler demanded attention and we saw them twice during the day. A dash of colour was soon added to the bird list as a male Javan Banded Pitta performed just as hoped-for continually jumping onto a log as he looked around for the intruder into his territory. Once again, this was another species (a sure-fire split from Malayan and Bornean Banded Pittas) which we would have more views of later in the day. Eventually upon moving further into the more lush forest endemic Olive-backed Tailorbirds jumped out, as did our first of many chunky Black-banded Barbets. Javan Sunbird tantalised though not as much as the Javan Owlet which refused to offer more than a flight view as he struggled to sleep away the day under the attentions of the local Grey-cheeked Bulbuls and White-breasted Babblers. On our way out a male Black-naped Fruit Dove finally flew-in and a Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher put on a fine display singing and fanning his tail in front of us.
Ruby-throated Bulbul, Muara Angke Black-winged Myna, Muara Angke
© James Eaton / Birdtour Asia
A long drive north, east, south and finally west saw us arrive at Gunung Halimun National Park just in time to enjoy some late afternoon birding andnotable highlights were a Salvadori’s Nightjar perched calling in the telescope overhead and our first of many Spotted Crocia, a particularly notable sighting as this marked Dollyann’s well-deserved 7000th species! We had two nights to enjoy the wonderful forest that still remains inside this large national park. Early on the first morning we found a large feeding flockcontaining an array of endemics; ranging from the common and subtle Javan Fulvetta to the rare and inconspicuous Javan Trogon. Two welcome early additions to our list, and we would continue to regularly encounter small parties of crocia and a further trogon the following morning. Carefully picking our way through the feeding flocks provided the bulk of the hoped-for endemics as we encountered White-breasted Babblers, Javan Dark-eye, Javan Sunbird, Crescent-chested Babbler, confiding Pygmy Tits and ‘Javan’ Leafbird (split from the markedly different Blue-winged from Southeast Asia, lacking the yellow-hood and blue-wing!). An even more productive feeding flock hosted plenty of Lesser Racket-tailed Drongos and by keeping a watchful eye on the tail-end of the flock we found three highly-prized White-bellied Fantail. It wasn’t just the flocks that kept us busy. Keeping our eyes to the sky soon revealed the rare Javan Hawk Eagle, as a pair circled distantly from our vantage point. Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon and Giant Swiftlets were noticeably conspicuous with particularly fine perched views of the former. While the dense understory held parties of striking White-bibbed Babbler, the canopy revealed both Brown-throated and Flame-fronted Barbets. Other species recorded during our wonderful stay here included a pair of Pin-tailed Parrotfinch, Grey-and-buff Woodpecker, Sunda Cuckooshrike, Javan and Blue Whistling Thrushes, prolonged views of Pale Blue Flycatcher, Sunda Forktail, the vocally and genetically distinct ‘Javan’ Chestnut-fronted and White-browed Shrike Babblers.
Mammals are often a feature of Gunung Halimun and this visit was no exception. Both Short-toothed and Asian Palm Civets fed on the juicy fruits around the accommodation in the evening giving amazing looks; endemic Grizzled and Ebony Langurs bounced around the forest and of most interest was the endangered Javan Gibbon above the road on our first afternoon.
Javan Frogmouth, Carita Asian Palm Civet, Gunung Halimun NP
© James Eaton / Birdtour Asia
As always the main focal point of a Java tour is Gunung Gede, a beautiful forested mountain which holds the vast majority of the Javan endemics. The mountain is usually packed full of noisy weekenders and students but fortunately our stay was relatively quiet. With just over two-full days at our disposal we knew time was short, but hard-work and a little bit of good fortune gave us some spectacular sightings.
Though we encountered few birds they did include most of the targets on the first day and we repeated much of the same the following day. Our success started predawn as a play of the tape and scan of the spotlight finally revealed a Javan Scops Owl that had silently come into our tape, before calling his distinctive vocalisation. We watched the little fellow for sometime as he sat and watched us from the dense understorey. This species is still little-known and has only ever been seen by a few birders due to their secretive habits. Most of the sightings are misidentified Sunda Scops Owl from much lower down at the forest edge, a species we caught up with on our final morning as a bird flew in right above our heads to investigate!
Venturing further up, the parks most prized possession, Javan Cochoa was finally scored shortly before lunch on our first day as a pair whistled back and forth to each other at eye-level. On our second day we decided to go for it and headed straight for the summit and some high-octane species. First came Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch as a single bird chirped from a bush for what seemed like an eternity before showing itself off. Our next big target came in the form of Horsfield’s Thrush, a split from Scaly Thrush. This is usually a tricky species that is rarely seen so we were happy to find one enjoying the early morning light on the trail and not long after an Island Thrush was also found scratching away at the trailside. Parties of Chestnut-bellied Partridges offered some sort of a view on 3 occasions. Several feeding flocks were encountered, predominately including wacky Blue Nuthatches and not so spectacular Javan Dark-eyes. Endemic Rufous-tailed Fantail, White-flanked Sunbird, Sunda and Mountain Leaf Warblers, vocally-distinct montanus Chestnut-backed Scimitar Babbler and finally a pair of Javan Bulbuls also made up the feeding flocks. Other species recorded during our time here included a Javan Tesia that refused to bounce away from more than 2 metres from us, a number of Javan Whistling Thrush feeding along the trail, beautiful Sunda Blue Robin, yet another vocally distinct White-browed Shortwing, Fire-tufted Barbet, Orange-spotted Bulbul (still sitting on the same branch year after year), Javan Ferret Badger and a huge Red Giant Flying Squirrel.
Our third and final morning was spent in the scenic Cibodas Botanical Garden, a huge complex of exotic flowers and trees that smothers the lower reaches of Mount Gede. We didn’t have to wait long for the little green bullets as our strategic vantage point proved adequate for a number of Yellow-throated Hanging Parrots whizzing past, with a pair perching a top a nearby flowering tree. A number of Blood-breasted Flowerpecker equally enjoyed the budding flowers along with Orange-spotted Bulbuls.
As not all of us reached the summit at Gunung Gede a visit to Tangkubanparahu Volcano the following afternoon made life much more simple as we drove into the crater car park to watch Volcano Swiftlets The swiftlets eventually flew overhead after some initially distant views in glorious late afternoon sunshine with a Javan Hawk Eagle in full ‘up n’ down’ display along with his mate, Peregrine, Spotted Kestrel and Black Eagles.
Our final endemic of the tour required a flight (via a lone adult Milky Stork en-route to the airport for the second tour in succession) and an exciting twitch as we visited the historic temples of Prambanan on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. These treasured Hindu Temples, constructed as far back as the 9th century provides one of the last refuges for the endangered Java Sparrow. We spent a couple hours enjoying these strikingly beautiful birds as they flew around the temples in pairs checking out suitable nesting holes even though they all had fledged young from the previous month! A posing Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker and several red-faced Coppersmith Barbets also added to the attractions of this wonderful setting, the perfect way to finish a most enjoyable tour.
Flame-fronted Barbet and Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon, Gunung Halimun NP
Javan Cochoa, Gunung Gede Milky Stork, Jakarta Airport
© James Eaton / Birdtour Asia
Click here to download the report as a pdf
Click here to view the Systematic Bird List
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