Lesser Sundas, Indonesia

& Post-tour Extension to West Java

16th – 29th/31st July 2006

Leader: James Eaton

Participants: Andy Mears, Andy Rhodes, Paul Pearson & Gavin Maclean

Attempting ‘to do’ the Lesser Sunda islands (Nusa Tenggara = ’South-eastern Islands’ in the Indonesian language) in 14 days I thought would be crazy, problematic, and simply just not enough time to absorb all the fantastic scenery, people, culture and above all else, the birds. In the end, the tour certainly proved to be both crazy and at times problematic, but circumstances thankfully worked in our favour and the birding was stunning overall. The luck that stayed on our side throughout the tour also carried on into our brief two-day extension into West Java.
We recorded a total of 182 Species, of which 61 are endemic to the Lesser Sundas. Notable highlights included a clean sweep of night birds, including the Flores Scops-Owl, a species that was virtually unknown until Birdtour Asia leaders discovered its vocalisations just last year. Pigeon’s were well counted for, including perched views of the rarely seen Timor Imperial-Pigeon along with Sumba Green-Pigeon and a host of fabulous Fruit-Doves. The dry, monsoon forests of West Timor provided us with a large proportion of its endemics, and all the Sumba endemics were seen within 3 days, including wonderful looks at Sumba Hornbill and the recently described Little Sumba Boobook. We invested more time on Flores than the previous two islands and this paid off with all but one of the West Lesser Sunda endemics being seen. Finally a leisurely break over to Komodo Island on the final full day gave us the opportunity to observe the mighty, prehistoric Komodo Dragon and the critically endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo.
Some of us stayed on in Indonesia for a further two days to visit West Java in search of birds missed on a previous visit. Spending one morning each at Carita, a lowland coastal site, and Gunung Halimun National Park we did remarkably well, scoring all but one of the hoped for birds and more. Night-birding continued to produce, with a 30 minute flurry at Carita turning up Javan Frogmouth, Sunda Scops-Owl and Javan Owlet; Black-banded Barbet and ‘Yellow-‘Banded Pitta also gave particularly good views. Gunung Halimun provided us with the endemic White-bellied Fantail, Javan Sunbird and White-breasted Babbler, along with several other rare species such as Spotted Crocia, Tawny-breasted and Pin-tailed Parrotfinches, Sumatran Green-Pigeons and Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeons.

The tour began on Timor. The four eager birders finally arrived fresh-faced at Kupang Airport following a brief stop-over on Bali for a night, to be greeted by myself accompanied by two Sisters from the nearby Catholic Seminary who kindly drove us to the Seminary in Camplong Village, our base for the first night. Within 2 hours of landing we were birding the low-mid altitude forest at Camplong. Though small and degraded it has a wealth of birds, including several of the Timorese endemics. It wasn’t long before we were familiarising ourselves with the 3 endemic Honeyeaters; Streak-breasted, Yellow-eared and Black-chested, which fed in numbers in one of the several flowering trees in the area. Fawn-breasted Whistler was another regularly encountered endemic and it was good to get one of Timor’s notorious skulkers under our belts as a Buff-banded Thicket-Warbler typically skulked in the bamboo but remained on view for us all. Frustratingly a singing Orange-banded Thrush only revealed itself briefly, this beauty would have to be searched for the following day. Other birds observed included Red-chested Flowerpecker, Northern and Arafura Fantails (split from Rufous), Helmeted Friarbird, the first of many Gould’s Bronze-Cuckoo’s and Ashy-bellied White-eyes. As dusk fell we soon heard the typical call of the Southern Boobook, of the endemic race fusca, a likely future split, ‘Timor Boobook’. Within minutes a pair were perched above our heads in the beam of the spotlight as one of them attempted to do it’s ‘walking on a tight-rope’ impression for 10 minutes, as it walked along the bare branch, wings held out slightly, calling non-stop; this was to be the start of some fabulous night-birding on the tour.

Obviously we were up bright and early next morning and in place for the previous evenings brief Orange-banded Thrush. The bird was singing as we arrived, and eventually we got some nice views of this stunning orange and white zoothera as it perched up on several occasions. So a good start to the day, with our most wanted bird on Timor seen. Walking a little further on 2 Timor Stubtails were located giving their high-pitched call as they walked around and fed on the ground at close quarters. Arriving to a huge flowering tree provided yet more views of the 3 honeyeaters, and another Orange-banded Thrush was located in the scope while singing from the canopy. We headed for the more enclosed cattle trails that cut through this rather open, dry forest, almost immediately the sweet song of the rather oddly placed endemic, White-bellied Chat, was heard directly above our heads. After leading us a merry dance for a while a pair perched obligingly for us on a bare fig tree. A pair of Timor Orioles also favoured this vicinity, often visiting the same tree and calling continually. As we continued along the trail the harsh chack of a Black-banded Flycatcher was heard. Turning to one side some of us quickly located this frustratingly elusive, and beautiful endemic, before it dived back to cover. Knowing the habits of the species, and its tendancy to just vanish, we quickly moved into place and it was with some relief that everyone came out of the bush with views of this tricky bird. As the heat was soon picking up activity had dropped somewhat, but odd birds still kept popping up. A brief Spot-breasted Dark-eye, and an equally brief but vocal Greater Wallacean Drongo appeared then vanished; and finally a male Timor Blue Flycatcher posed for us before we turned round and headed back to the Seminary after a productive mornings birding.

Packing our bags we jumped into our vehicle and headed east, then north, via a welcome lunch-stop at the slopes of Timor’s highest peak, Gunung Mutis, standing at over 2400 metres; though we never ventured towards the summit. Finally arriving in the predictable thick fog, our single hours birding towards dusk provided little more than an introduction to the bizarre park like landscape that covers much of the slopes of the mountain. We retreated to our simple but hospitable homestay in the nearby village, run by Mathieu and his wonderful family, still as kind as ever and his English now improved to over 20 words! Overnight the heavy rain didn’t help the light-sleepers and didn’t give us much hope for the weather for the following morning…

Waking up to thick fog and light drizzle, things weren’t looking too optimistic for the days birding. We lifted our spirits and drove up to the forested trail. As we jumped out of the vehicle the rain suddenly eased and the fog lifted, this would allow the sun to shine throughout the morning, a real rarity for the mountain! A small party of Zebra Finches welcomed us, the first of many throughout the tour, and the distinctive four-note song of timorensis Pygmy Wren-babbler echoed around us. We noted many of this long-billed and rather uniformly patterned form, surely a likely split given current trend. Wandering through the stunning forest we located first Metallic Pigeon (of the race metallica, not of the split ‘White-throated Pigeon’, as mentioned in other reports) then a fine Black-backed Fruit-Dove. With the sun shining we sat on a rocky outcrop over looking the valley below us, with only a pair of Wallacean Cuckoo-shrikes was reward for some of us. Continuing further it was with great surprise as Andy announced ‘It’s the Imp!’ After a brief game of hide and seek we located the Timor Imperial-Pigeon perched, offering good views of this shy and rarely-seen species. With our main target out of the way we relaxed slightly. Several Timor Blue Flycatchers and Timor Leaf Warblers preferred the understory, and Island Thrushes were recorded in large numbers. Finally we heard an Olive-shouldered Parrot, a bird in sharp decline due to capture for the pet industry. The bird obliged by flying straight towards us, then landing in a nearby tree before flying off back into the forest. Shortly afterwards we located a small number of perched Olive-headed Lorikeets giving nice scope views. Returning back to the village for a late lunch we then searched the forest below, unsuccessfully for Iris Lorikeet, however, a Chestnut-backed Thrush was located in a damp gully after a long wait, and an Orange-banded Thrush later. We all obtained views of two birds of this Lesser Sunda endemic. Unfortunately the fog then closed in and we made our way back to Camplong for the night, happy with the birds recorded during the day.

Pink-headed Imperial-Pigeon – Bipolo, Timor (Andy Rhodes) Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher – Timor (Paul Pearson)

As we had done so well in our first two days we decided to drive to the tiny remaining lowland forest by the coastal village of Bipolo. The birding was the best we experienced throughout the whole trip, with birds virtually dripping off the remaining trees and continually in view. Arriving on site, flocks of Olive-headed Lorikeets welcomed us by whizzing overhead; we would obtain several perched views of small flocks of these birds throughout the morning. Timor Figbirds were seemingly perched on every protruding branch, the males showing off their pink eye wattles; and fruit-doves, gorgeous Black-backed and Rose-crowned appeared to be everywhere! A single fruiting tree held at least 13 of the former, 10 of the latter. A Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike put in a brief performance and finally Timor Friarbirds showed on several occasions. Gavin then announced that once again ‘Imps’ were on show. Looking into the furthest large trees there was no sign of them, until Gavin pointed into the closest 15 metre high tree just in front of us, where 8 Pink-headed Imperial-Pigeons were happily feeding away. It isn’t hard to see why these are a favourite of the hunters in the area! We began to move away from the fruiting trees but we soon turned back as the distinctive call of a Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher started. We soon had a pair of these wonderful birds perched next to us, showing brilliantly as we even scoped them mating, then posing for the following 30 minutes to the delight of the digiscopers among us. After a Pacific Baza flashed through and several Tree Martins hawked overhead the heat was picking up and activity dropping quickly, so we moved onto the dry paddyfields and shrimp-ponds. A pair of Black-faced Wood-swallows hawked over the fields as White-faced Herons and Barred Doves fed below. Munia flocks whizzed past; with hundreds of Five-coloured Munia on show and a few Pale-headed mixed in. The shrimp-ponds were a disappointment, with just a single male Red-capped Plover, 4 distant Sunda Teal and a few Gull-billed Terns present. By now the heat was exhaustive, so we headed back to Camplong for lunch and siesta followed by a couple of hours of birding at Camplong once more. Little was noted, but great, prolonged views of a feeding pair of Orange-banded Thrushes were had, and the commoner Timorese endemics once again showed themselves. Returning to the capital, Kupang for the evening it was nice to sit back in relative comfort again and have a beer from the seaside restaurant over-looking Kupang Bay, a suitable end to 3 ½ days of great birding.
Internal flight schedules are always a worry within Indonesia, especially throughout the Lesser Sundas, but our charming airline operator assured us the flight to Sumba would be just an hour late. One hour later quizzing the lady once more revealed the flight had now been cancelled and we could catch the next flight, tomorrow! Hearts sank, anxiety rose, and we were left not knowing what to do! Some quick thinking and running around soon revealed there was actually another flight to Sumba, with Merpati Airlines. Their slogan ‘Get the feeling’ was certainly appropriate at this time, and they had 5 seats available leaving in an hour, a stroke of luck and smiles all round. But now we really weren’t looking forward to the next flights of the tour! By early afternoon we were sitting in the home of our hosts in Lewa, overlooking the rice fields with a pair of Spotted Harrier quartering low over them, amazed that we had actually made it in time for some late afternoon birding! Birding from the road near to Lewa, through an extensive pocket of mid altitude forest, was a welcome change to the dry forests of Timor. We familiarised ourselves with some of the commoner birds of the area, including the endemic Apricot-breasted Sunbird, Yellow-spectacled White-eye, Lesser Wallacean Drongo and several Pale-shouldered Cicadabirds. As dusk fell, the recently described Mees’s Nightjar hawked overhead and a surprise Eastern Grass-Owl put in a close, perched performance. Though the calling Little Sumba Boobook would have to wait until the following morning.

Arriving pre-dawn the next morning we quietly walked towards the duetting pair of the recently described Little Sumba Boobook. After some careful manoeuvring we spotlit one of these charming owls as it continued to call, unperturbed. Though a distant calling Sumba Boobook would have to wait until tonight as the light increased and the dawn chorus of unresponsive Elegant Pitta’s kicked in. First of the endemics to show was Sumba Brown Flycatcher, one of three endemic flycatchers on the island, Black-naped Fruit-Doves and Marigold Lorikeets were regularly encountered and a constant background noise. The quiet song of the elusive Sumba Flycatcher was heard from the dense understory, and the bird fortunately perched up for us en-queue. A 400 metre purple patch then followed, as nearly all of the Sumba forest endemics were quickly encountered. First a perched Red-naped Fruit-Dove calling from some bare branches, then Sumba Jungle-Flycatcher and another Sumba Brown Flycatcher perched by the roadside, Sumba Myzomela’s dazzled in front of us and finally, 3 Sumba Hornbills glided over the ridge-top. Staring into the forest understory revealed a superb Chestnut-backed Thrush perched up and Golden Whistlers were common. The morning couldn’t have worked out more perfectly! Following a brief siesta we returned to the forest hopeful of another feast with Elegant Pitta high on our list of priorities. Sitting quietly inside the forest seemed to be the best tactic, and Gavin quickly struck lucky sitting on his own, while the rest of the group stayed inside the forest hoping for the bird to reappear, rather frustratingly, Gavin and myself obtained marvellous views of a pair of Sumba Hornbills tree-hopping along the ridge-top for several minutes. With dusk falling, we decided to risk going to another site in search of Sumba Boobook. Arriving on-site after dusk a Sumba Boobook was already calling though remained out of view as the understory was just too dense to reach the perch. Patience was required, so after sitting quietly for a while we were relieved to hear the bird once more, but this time much closer. The bird continued to frustrate, as it seemed to be calling from just inside a dense area of foliage. Time was running out, and we had to admit defeat, so we packed up and started to walk back, though not before a final scan with the spotlight…bang, there was the beauty sitting partially obscured in a nearby tree! With adrenalin pumping we walked swiftly over to a better position and there was the owl sitting right out for us. It’s big, beady black eyes staring down at the ground in search of dinner. After a long but highly successful day we slumped down in our beds almost relieved that that was the end of the Sumba night birding!
The rest of the team positioned themselves early in Gavin’s pitta spot from the previous afternoon. It wasn’t long before the Elegant Pitta hopped into view for them and we could continue with our search for our final Sumba forest endemic, Sumba Green-Pigeon. Birding was once again productive this morning, much of the same as yesterdays birds continued to show, in particular the simply stunning Red-naped Fruit-Dove, with 7 in total, including 4 glistening in the sun feeding in a fruiting tree, their red-napes simply dazzling! Chestnut-backed Thrush put on a real performance today; we recorded them inside the forest whilst waiting for the Pitta and then had scope views of a bird feeding on the roadside, twice! During our walk further down the road we were surprised to see three trerons whiz past, and there perched up on a dead snag were three Sumba Green-Pigeons, success! The afternoon was spent in a rather more leisurely fashion, enjoying the birds and the islands endemics for one last time before we took the hour-long drive back to Sumba’s small capital, Waingapu for an overnight stay.

We awoke pre-dawn to be driven to the coastal grasslands at nearby Yumbu in search of Sumba’s final endemic, Sumba Buttonquail. Searching for Buttonquails in no mean feat, especially in knee-high grass in sweltering heat. Arriving shortly after dawn before the heat picked up, we went in search of the Buttonquails and it wasn’t long before we flushed our first, though views were inconclusive and rather brief. During the next hour we flushed at least 8 buttonquails, most of which showed the diagnostic features of Sumba Buttonquail, and we all enjoyed rather prolonged flight views of this species. During our search we came across several bulky Brown Quail and nice views of a hunting Spotted Harrier. Our first Black-faced Munia of the trip was noted mixed in with Five-coloured Munias and Zebra Finches, this species was noticeably commoner on Flores later on the tour. Driving back to the hotel early from our morning exploits we enjoyed a double breakfast and contemplated on whether to visit the nearby mudflats before our 1530 flight to Flores, via an overnight stop in Kupang when we were informed by the hotel manager that our flight had actually been rescheduled, for 1020 this morning, the time now? 9:45!! Obviously panic set in, but within 5 minutes we were packed, jumped onto 5 ‘ojeks’ (motorbike taxi) and were at the airport by 10,with adrenaline sky-high! As usual, no explanation why the schedule had changed and consequently our flight was an hour late anyhow! Arriving in Kupang in the early afternoon it made a pleasant change as we sampled an almost holiday-like trip sipping our drinks casually in the sea-view restaurant. We wandered over to the nearby coastline but the crowds kept the birds away, though Flame-breasted Sunbirds showed nicely and a Clamorous Reed Warbler chacked from a reed-fringed pool, showing briefly.

 Sumba Boobook – near Lewa, Sumba (James Eaton)        Black-faced Munia – Kisol, Flores (James Eaton)

After yesterdays exploits we managed to alter our 1200 flight to Ende, on the south coast of Flores to an early morning flight to Ruteng, reducing our travelling time considerably. Amazingly we swiftly arrived on time at the sun-drenched scenic hill town of Ruteng. Walking out of departures a Peregrine mobbing a Bonelli’s Eagle at close range was a pleasant welcoming before we transferred to our hotel for a one-night stay. Eager to start the birding we departed for Danau (=Lake) Ranamese for the afternoon. Frustratingly the expected afternoon fog rolled in and set in for the remainder of the afternoon, though we just managed to squeeze in the time to see over 180 Pacific Black Ducks and several Little Pied Cormorants on the lake. Fortunately the first bird song we heard originated from a Flores Jungle-Flycatcher, one of the more tricky highland endemics, and we had fine views of this bird in the secondary scrub. Staying in this area produced regular feeding flocks, with Mountain and yellow-bellied Oriental White-eyes being the carrier species. Mixed in with these we recorded Crested and Yellow-browed Dark-eye, Flores Leaf Warblers, Flores Minivets, Russet-capped Tesia and Brown-capped Fantails, also a Sunda Cuckoo responded to playback, flying overhead. As dusk was settling in and the fog still not cleared, birding was next to useless so we moved on to position ourselves for some more night-birding exploits as I expected the fog to clear after dusk. Wallace’s Scops-Owl called distantly and eventually so did Flores Scops-Owl, a species who’s vocalisations were unknown until last year when we rediscovered the species, and still only ever seen by a mere handful of birders. Fortunately the fog eventually cleared and we located yet another duetting pair of Flores Scops-Owl, this time relatively close to the road. After a bit of careful manoeuvring we got the owl perched low down, side on in the spotlight, result! After scrutinising this little-known rufous owl we left it in peace and departed back to Ruteng for a deserved dinner and rest.
The dawn chorus of Bare-throated Whistlers, ‘the Flores Nightingale’ in the natural amphitheatre of Golo Lusang is a wonderful experience. Arriving on-site early the following morning we sampled the cacophony in its element and managed some nice perched views of the male whistlers in full voice, watching in amazement as their full repertoire amplified out from such a bird. Spending the early part of the morning here produced several West Lesser Sunda endemics. Golden-rumped Flowerpecker showed well on 3 occasions, though their rather dull rump doesn’t do any justice to its name! Barred Cuckoo-doves perched up, yet more Yellow-browed Dark-eyes fed close-by and 3 Flores Lorikeets flashed by. We spent the late morning walking up to Poco Ranaka, a fiery volcano that erupted as recently as 1987. Unfortunately the fog once again rolled in and birding was slow going, though we picked up further views of Flores Minivets, Flores Leaf Warbler and Yellow-browed Dark-eyes. A movement in the roadside vegetation proved to be a Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch, though the bird wasn’t as obliging as hoped-for as it disappeared as quickly as it was found.

As we had done so well in the highlands we opted for an early departure to one of the few accessible areas of lowland forest left on Flores, by the village of Kisol. We arrived in-time for some late afternoon birding, though activity was noticeably quiet as we encountered a local bird-trapper with a box containing 2 Chestnut-capped Thrush, a distressing sight for us as this species has suffered a crash in numbers due to deforestation and heavy trapping for the bird market, as local people look for ways to provide their family with extra income. Calling White-rumped Kingfisher and Elegant Pitta gave us a sample of what was it come tomorrow morning, and the bizarre un-corvid like calls of the Flores Crow emanated from the forest before we heard the distinctive ‘whooshing’ of their wings. A pair then flew into view before disappearing, certainly one of the most wary species I have ever encountered, but a truly unique bird! Our primary aim this evening was to ‘clean-up’ on the night birds left to see on the tour. There were two still to see, Moluccan and the difficult Wallace’s Scops-Owl. Positioned at dusk the Moluccan Scops-Owl was heard first though rather distantly, shortly followed by a distant Wallace’s. As we walked towards the area the latter called from it, but it was with great surprise we found a Moluccan Scops-Owl perched one metre off the ground seemingly hunting. Unfortunately the bird flew just as the others in the group arrived. Predictably the Wallace’s started calling distantly behind us, fortunately from a large open area and the strong beam on our spotlight illuminated the lone distant tree and 2 glowing eyes near the top. The Wallace’s Scops-Owl sat there for us all to get our binoculars on to before it flew off. Now the Moluccan Scops had started calling again so we rushed back to find the bird perched up nicely; then just a couple of minutes later we relocated the Wallace’s Scops at much closer range, giving great views. We were all ecstatic at seeing all the endemic night-birds possible, if not just for the chance to get a few early nights in towards the conclusion of the tour!
Eager to explore the lowland forest we arrived on site shortly after dawn. Within minutes of our arrival the quiet agitated call of a White-rumped Kingfisher was heard next to the trail. A quick use of the recording equipment produced instant results as the bird flew bullet-fashion overhead and promptly perched extremely close to us, flashing its white-rump, before turning round and staring straight at us, completely filling the scope. The quiet shuffling of the digiscopers was unfortunately short lasted as the bird then flew back into the forest, not quite as easy as the Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher on Timor! Without moving a step the distinctive alarm call of Chestnut-capped Thrush was heard close-by, over the next hour or so we waited patiently as the bird would only reveal itself to one person at a time, though eventually we all obtained unobscured views of a pair of these wonderful birds, and a welcome addition to the leaders Oriental list! While waiting for the thrush we had a surreal moment as we all just had to sit back and laugh as we did not know what species to search for first, as Elegant Pitta, White-rumped Kingfisher, Flores Crow and the Chestnut-capped Thrush were all calling in-sync in the immediate vicinity. Our luck continued in this area as a party of Sylvia-like Thick-billed Dark-eyes moved through the mid-canopy offering nice looks at this often-elusive species. Then we witnessed the wing-flicking display of a tiny Russet-capped Tesia as it sang continually on an open branch for several minutes. The morning would struggle to get any better than this, and as the forest birding at Kisol was almost complete we headed out to a vantage point, via a brief Elegant Pitta, in search of the endangered Flores Hawk-Eagle, a distinctive recent split from Changeable Hawk-Eagle. Before we even reached the spot we heard the eagle calling close-by, running to the open area we were treated to wonderful views as a Peregrine mobbed this massive eagle overhead before circling up and out of view, only to reappear more distantly later on.  As the heat was now picking up we headed back to our accommodation at the local Seminary for a welcome lunch and rest. Due to our run of luck throughout the tour and especially on Flores we had given ourselves an easy afternoon ahead so we headed back into the forest for some casual birding. Noting more sneaky Flores Crow, Flores Lorikeets and unfortunately yet more Chestnut-capped Thrushes freshly caught in boxes. We all hoped that they weren’t ‘our’ birds. As the forest was noticeably quiet we headed back up to the highlands to Ruteng in preparation for the following morning. Awaking to clear skies we decided to head back up to Poco Ranaka. As we reached the higher reaches of the mountain we took in the fresh mountain air on this beautiful morning. Birding was pleasant, even more so as our target, Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeon soon flew into view, perching ahead of us. Birding was much the same as previous days around Ruteng though a pair of Pale-shouldered Cicadabirds put in an appearance and Bare-throated Whistlers were especially vocal and showy. With time on our side we decided to head to the west, with a brief stop for birding which soon produced results in the form of Flores Monach, a species discovered as recently as 1971. Though the birding was done in the mid-afternoon, several other species were noted, Crested Dark-eye, more Russet-capped Tesia’s and a Red-cheeked Parrot all showed. As the skies continued to darken we continued our journey to the charming seaside town of Labuanbajo, the gateway to Pulau Komodo, for a two-night stop.

Thanks to our lucky break with internal flight schedules and our continued success in the field we had the opportunity to spend the day on a holiday-like trip to Pulau (=island) Komodo. Our speedboat was not quite in the James Bond like, luxury style we had dreamt, but it got us to the island in good time to start our quest for the Dragons! En-route we had brief encounters with the pirates of the sea, as frigatebirds cruised swiftly by, several elegant Black-naped Terns flew past and a Great-billed Heron fished along the coastline in the company of Pacific Reef-Herons. The short loop trail on Komodo was pleasant and we soon added a pair of confiding Orange-footed Scrubfowl busy feeding with over 50 Barred Doves. Next were several equally confiding Green Junglefowl including some resplendent males. The screeching of Yellow-crested Cockatoos soon became noticeable and we enjoyed some fine close views of this critically endangered species, which is now more or less restricted to small populations on Sumba, Timor-Leste and here on Komodo due to capture for the bird-trade. Some the commoner birds encountered included fine Flame-breasted Sunbirds, Black-fronted Flowerpeckers, Black-naped Orioles, Lesser Wallacean Drongos and Green Imperial-Pigeons. Eventually, halfway round the loop trail we spotted the beast walking slowly, but purposefully along the trail. Excitement followed as we studied the sheer bulk of a 2.5metre long Komodo dragon at close quarters. This truly awesome creature in such landscape gives you the feel of stepping back in time, before man evolved to the prehistoric times when dinosaurs ruled the land. Studying the eyes, scales, claws and huge tail within a metres range is a once in a lifetime experience, and will never be forgotten. With lunchtime looming we hopped back on the boat and enjoyed lunch anchored by the aptly named ‘Pink Beach’, and enjoyed a spot of snorkelling in the glistening blue water under the clear blue sky. Returning in the mid-afternoon the rest of the day was spent near to our beachside hotel. Walking along the beach to some nearby mudflats revealed a lonesome Beach Thick-knee, several Whimbrel, small flocks of wary Sunda Teal, and a Brown Goshawk flew-past before perching up as we admired the sunset over the island dotted horizon.

It was back to reality for our final morning on Flores as we hit the roadside forest near to Potawangka village. This low, rising to mid-altitude forest was visited in the aim of searching for one last endemic, Wallacean Hanging-Parrot. Frustratingly our hard work only produced a brief fly-over of this seemingly scarce and nomadic species, despite the large number of flowering trees along the road. Flowerpeckers were particularly numerous, with Golden-rumped and Black-fronted being conspicuous. Great-billed and Red-cheeked Parrots flew overhead, screeching loudly to reveal their continued presence. A Flores Crow put in a brief but showy appearance and an Elegant Pitta kept flying back and forth over the road responding to playback but rarely perched close enough to reveal itself; though the flight views were possibly the best I have ever had of a pitta! Once again the heat became almost unbearable towards the late morning so we retreated back to Labuanbajo to connect with our final internal flight to complete our Lesser Sundas tour. This had been a memorable tour with several amazing, and unique, birding experiences that was made all the better with the kind and generous hospitality we were shown throughout by the ever-intrigued Indonesians.

 
Orange-footed Scrubfowl – P. Komodo (James Eaton)        Yellow-crested Cockatoo’s – P. Komodo (James Eaton)

Having said our farewells to some of the party who would spend 2 days birding on Bali, Gavin and myself headed to West Java hoping to fill in the gaps left over from his previous Java trip. Arriving at Jakarta Airport towards dusk we headed straight for the coastal town of Carita. En-route we were surprised to find 2 Milky Storks on roadside ponds, hopefully an indicator that our good fortune was to continue in Java too.
Next day it was pre-dawn when we arrived in the small patch of degraded forest near to Carita in search of three species of night bird. Our first owl was soon located as a silent Sunda Scops-Owl was found perched by the trail allowing exceptional views as it peered to the ground in search of food. The pre-dawn activity was worryingly quiet and Long-tailed Nightjars started calling, signalling the start of dawn. Luckily a Javan Frogmouth started calling nearby, it would have to show quickly with the light improving rapidly and our spotlight batteries fading. The bird quickly co-operated and we soon had it perched overhead calling in the spotlight that had to be used sparingly due to battery levels! We quickly moved on as a Javan Owlet was calling back along the trail, in the dawn light we soon located the silhouette of the tiny owlet perched on a horizontal branch. Telescope views were had and as the light continued to improve we were able to study the intricate patterning of the bird. As dawn was now well upon us we moved on to the less degraded forest, where endemic Grey-cheeked Tit-Babblers moved through the bamboo understory and an unresponsive guajana Banded Pitta called nearby. This race, which is confined to Java and Bali is probably best considered a separate species from the ripleyi birds found in South-east Asia and possibly also split from the equally yellow-banded Bornean form. Moving through the good forest Fulvous-breasted Jungle-Flycatchers were much in evidence as 3 pairs were located in the damp gullies. Black-banded Barbet finally gave itself up after some earlier brief views, by perching at eye-level at close range. Yet another Banded Pitta started calling nearby, and this time the bird hopped straight towards us, though remaining obscured for Gavin despite coming to within 2 metres of myself! Quietly waving Gavin over the bird quickly hopped off, but to our complete amazement flew up and landed just below us on a dead snag. By posing for over a minute it showed off every feather detail of this very distinct yellow-banded form. Absolutely stunning views were had and as it eventually flew down into the undergrowth we just looked at each over and laughed at how this bird had just performed! Just to make sure we would never forget this bird, it once again flew up, this time onto an overhanging palm leaf and sat there for several minutes calling to another bird nearby. Ecstatic with how the morning had gone we went back into town for a well deserved late breakfast and headed east into the highlands of West Java. A slight miscalculation by our driver, coupled with recent downpours washing out parts of the road, meant that we couldn’t reach our proposed destination, Gunung Halimun in reasonable hour, so we stayed in a nearby village that welcomed us with open arms for a well deserved nightcap.
Dawn saw us each on the back of a motorbike, being transported into the beautiful, lush forests that cloak Gunung Halimun National Park. Birding along the road during the morning was initially slow going but once the sun hit the road birds were suddenly in full song and activity rose. Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeons flew past and a flock of Sumatran Green-Pigeons flew overhead, while several endemic Javan Sunbirds accompanied White-flanked Sunbirds. Keeping an eye on the understory soon paid dividends as a pair of Tawny-breasted Parrotfinches quietly fed unobtrusively, though a small party of our target White-breasted Babblers moved through a little too quickly. Brown-throated Barbet, Sunda Cuckoo, White-bibbed and Crescent-chested Babblers, Pygmy Wren-babbler, Pygmy Tits along with Javan Fulvetta were all encountered. A further surprise came in the form of a splendid male Pin-tailed Parrotfinch quietly sitting in a small roadside tree, and nearby Spotted Crocias soon gave themselves up with their loud duet. Moving onto the forest trails as the heat increased we soon ran into another feeding flock of Javan Fulvetta, and eventually we located a White-bellied Fantail sallying for insects within the fast moving feeding flock. As we were watching a pair of these delightful birds a White-breasted Babbler popped into the same binocular view, and we were treated to several views of both species as the flock moved through. After all this success the next couple of hours before leaving were slow going, though an Orange-breasted Trogon sat quietly by the trail and some inquisitive White-bibbed Babblers performed brilliantly as they chacked at us. After this fantastic morning we bade farewell to this remote national park and headed back to Jakarta Airport to meet up with the rest of the team following their brief session on Bali, and this was the ending of yet another superb Indonesian adventure.

 
Sunda Scops-Owl – Carita, Java (James Eaton)                   guajana Banded Pitta – Carita, Java (James Eaton)

This highly successful tour of the Lesser Sundas recorded a total of 182 species of which 61 are endemic to this island chain. The many birding highlights included a clean sweep of the night birds, including the Flores Scops-Owl, previously seen by less than a handful of birders. We mopped up all the Sumba endemics, including the isolated Sumba Hornbill and recently described Little Sumba Boobook. On Timor we saw most of the endemics very well, including the rarely seen Timor Imperial-Pigeon and stunning views of Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher. Flores provided us with some delightful birding, especially in the lowlands with White-rumped Kingfisher, Chestnut-capped Thrush and Flores Hawk-Eagle being seen particularly well. Finally, the trip to Pulau Komodo to witness the prehistoric Komodo dragon and endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo made for a superb end to this enjoyable tour.

Click here to download the report as a pdf

Lesser Sunda Systematic List

For further details on our custom tours to Lesser Sundas contact us via info@birdtourasia.com. We plan to run a scheduled tour to Lesser Sundas in 2008, please contact us for further details.

*All photographs in this report were taken on the tour and are copyright of James Eaton/Birdtour Asia and tour participants Paul Pearson and Andy Rhodes. A special thanks to Paul and Andy for allowing us to reproduce their fantastic photos from the tour.