Birdtour Asia Lesser Sundas and Java tour report July 2009

Lesser Sundas Java Custom tour

2nd - 25th July 2009

Leader: James Eaton

Yellow-crested Cockatoo James Eaton

Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Komodo © James Eaton / Birdtour Asia

The seldom-visited islands of the Lesser Sundas produce a list of great quality rather than quantity, on this tour an impressive 70 endemics were amongst the 227 species seen. Commencing on Sumba we found all 12 of its endemics in two days, including Sumba Hornbill, outrageous views of Citron-crested Cockatoo and the bird of the trip; Red-naped Fruit Dove. Although many of Timor’s endemics are a little less gaudy, Black-banded Flycatcher, Iris Lorikeet, Timor Black Pigeon and Timor Sparrow were all much admired. The long island of Flores proved the most exciting as Flores Monarch, Bare-throated Whistler, White-rumped Kingfisher and especially Flores Hawk Eagle showed exceptionally well. The finale, a day trip to Komodo, lived up to expectations with a huge dragon bounding towards us while Yellow-crested Cockatoo screeched overhead. Elegant Pitta, Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher, Chestnut-backed Thrush and Black-backed Fruit Dove were just some of the other headliners.

After a successful Bali Myna twitch, which also included Javan Banded Pitta, Rufous-backed Kingfisher and Yellow-throated Hanging Parrot, we spent the rest of the final week birding west Java. This extension nicely complemented a successful visit by me and this group to the Javan lowlands two years ago. Gunung Halimun excelled with Javan Cochoa, Javan Hawk Eagle, White-bellied Fantail and Javan Trogon. Next was Gunung Gede with a multitude of Javan endemics and a wonderful Sunda Thrush, before finishing off in the mangroves for Javan White-eye and White-capped Munia. In addition to the birds, fine weather, tasty food and some interesting cultural diversions all added to this wonderful tour.

With all participants arriving the day prior to the tour we nipped over to a hotel not far from our accommodation on Bali to look at the Java Sparrows that reside in the gardens, and found several adults and juveniles busily feeding on the lawn with larger numbers of White-headed Munia. One pair performed a brilliant mating ritual, with the male bouncing on a weak branch before copulating! With a lunchtime flight to Sumba the following day we spent the early morning at Ulu Watu, a temple situated on the southern coastline of Bali. A secluded scrubby hillside provided most of the action, a Javan Kingfisher flashed by early on, then perched up nicely on a couple of occasions before flying straight over our heads, attempting to defend his territory. A small flock of Black-winged Myna reside in the area - one of the few remaining populations of this endangered species - and it wasn’t long before a pair flew past, then started to preen on exposed perches. Later in the morning seven more joined them, a most pleasing sighting. Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Long-tailed Shrike and Javan Myna made up the supporting cast whilst at sea an unseasonal Long-tailed Skua harried a Great Crested Tern, but the Brown Boobies and Streaked Shearwater were unsatisfactorily distant.

A surprisingly prompt flight to Sumba meant we had an afternoon and a morning in search of Sumba Buttonquail at some nearby coastal grasslands. The mangroves there were alive with vocal Indonesian Honeyeaters and one soon sat out in full view. Broad-billed Flycatcher was also found sallying over a nearby creek. Marching through the grassland produced a single flushed Sumba Buttonquail, but it wasn't until the following morning that we flushed several more which offered great flight views of their important identification features. A nearby lagoon held adult and fledged young Javan Plover along with Australian Pratincole, White-headed Stilts, Whiskered Terns and a large numbers of duck comprising of Pacific Black Duck, Wandering Whistling Duck and Sunda Teal. Large numbers of Zebra Finch accompanied a lone Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo with other notable species being numerous White-shouldered Triller, Australasian Bushlark, Spotted Harrier, Spotted Kestrel, Brown Goshawk and Barred Dove.

Java Sparrow and Black-winged Myna, Bali © James Eaton

We had 2½ days birding the forest in the heart of Sumba. Our first day took us to the forest patches around Lewa and was a great success, recording all the island endemics bar the hornbill and cockatoo. A particularly productive spot held a striking Chestnut-backed Thrush perched up - the first of two of this stunning zoothera. A smart Red-naped Fruit Dove called from an exposed perch, then an Elegant Pitta appeared right on-queue and couldn’t have chosen a better perch; a pair of Sumba Green Pigeon enjoyed a fruiting tree and the first of many Apricot-breasted Sunbirds appeared. Sumba Myzomela zipped about on several occasions, a beautiful Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher chose the same roadside tree as the previous tour and a pair of Eclectus Parrots showed surprisingly well. Birding this area is great with plenty of birds in view almost continually; even the three endemic flycatchers posed little trouble. A couple of pairs of Sumba Jungle Flycatcher flicked around in the mid-storey, Sumba Flycatcher - perhaps the trickiest of the island endemics - performed three times, including a pair feeding at the roadside for ten minutes; and by the end of the afternoon the canopy-loving Sumba Brown Flycatcher had made a prolonged performance. The forest was full of other species, many of which are Lesser Sunda endemics or near-endemics; Yellow-spectacled and Ashy-bellied White-eyes, pairs of both Wallacean Cuckooshrike and Pale-shouldered Cicadabird, Black-naped Fruit Dove, Brown Goshawk, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Spotted Harrier, Helmeted Friarbird and Blood-breasted Flowerpecker, the latter of a highly distinctive endemic taxon probably best treated as a separate species.

Birding further afield we visited a larger forest patch on the south coast for the morning. Waiting at our strategic vantage point for dawn, the first of several Sumba Hornbill glided towards us, beautifully lit by the early morning sunlight and on several occasions pairs perched out in the open for us. Parrots dominated the morning: Marigold Lorikeet zipped by in noisy pairs and quadruples, twice perching in the trees next to us; Red-cheeked Parrot was common and Great-billed Parrot flew past twice. We waited for little more than an hour before the unmistakable Citron-crested Cockatoo flew into view, perching for a short time before flying away and over a distant ridge. This cockatoo - endemic to Sumba - differs from the Yellow-crested with a deep orange crest and numbers could be down to just a couple of hundred individuals. Wallacean Cuckooshrike again put in an appearance, as did a Broad-billed Flycatcher, singing away in excellent light, a really stunning bird. With all the targets on Sumba now cleaned up we returned for some local birding around Lewa in the late afternoon. Although birding was quite slow we picked up a splendid pair of perched Citron-crested Cockatoo, giving some wonderful close views, even overhead at one point as they screeched at us. Amazingly this is the third tour running we have picked up this species here, straight after our long drive and trek for distant views on the south coast!

Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher and Citron-crested Cockatoo, Sumba © James Eaton

Barn Owl and Sumba Hornbill, Sumba © James Eaton

Night-birding went smoothly on our first attempt; Mees's Nightjar perched briefly before circling low overhead in our clearing. As the darkness increased both endemic boobooks started calling. A Sumba Boobook was quickly found in a bare tree giving prolonged scope views but Little Sumba Boobook proved trickier with just a nice flight view in the spotlight until the following evening when we had excellent views of a duetting pair continually perching and flying around us. Making life a bit easier a Barn Owl was found roosting in the afternoon in the same tree-hole as last year.

With all the endemics seen well by all we were able to spend the last morning enjoying the birding in the lively forest. Again the pair of Eclectus Parrot were present before a pair of Sumba Hornbill flew over and landed almost overhead for great close views. Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher called from his favoured perch and another pair was also seen. All three endemic flycatchers reappeared and a confiding Spectacled Monarch was new for the trip. With time on our hands we went to a local house to admire the intricate creation of the famous Sumba Ekat textile before a mid-afternoon flight to Timor, almost in time to watch the gorgeous sunset over Kupang Bay!

Bipolo, situated on the eastern side of Kupang Bay was our first destination on Timor. Though the forest is tiny and trashed it still remains a great place to find many of Timor's endemic and near-endemic birds. We arrived just in time as the Timor Boobook stopped calling as we leapt out of the vehicles with the first ray of light beckoning. After a quick dash along the road the boobook perched in full view for a while before flying down and away to roost. Fortunately the single huge fig tree was in fruit so both Black-backed and Rose-crowned Fruit Doves proved common and conspicuous. Timor Figbirds flew back-and-forth from the tree whilst the numerous flowering trees attracted Black-chested Myzomela, Red-chested Flowerpecker, Flame-breasted Sunbird and both Streak-breasted and Yellow-eared Honeyeaters. Timor Oriole took some time before he settled to call from an exposed perch, then Timor Friarbird showed itself, whilst bird of the day accolade went to the gorgeous Orange-banded Thrush that sang away viewed in the scope. Frustratingly two Tricoloured Parrotfinches only showed themselves to Mike and James. As the sun heated up several birds became quite vocal including Buff-banded Bushbird, a notorious skulker. Having warned everyone not to expect a reaction to tape, the bushbird flew up into a tangle of bare sticks, sitting out in full view, nice! Other birds during our visit here included Little Pied Flycatcher, Northern Fantail, Pied Bushchat, Broad-billed Flycatcher, endemic Fawn-breasted Whistler, Flame-breasted Sunbird, Red-chested Flowerpecker, Pacific Baza and Helmeted Friarbird. Returning on our final day we found most of the birds still present with the added bonus of a flock of six confiding Olive-shouldered Parrots feeding in a flowering tree.

Bar-necked Cuckoo-dove and Timor Black Pigeon, Timor © James Eaton

The scrub and rice fields towards the coast held plenty of munia flocks, including huge numbers of Five-coloured Munia along with Scaly-breasted, a couple Pale-headed and several Red Avadavat. Patience eventually paid-off as a pair of Timor Sparrow flew overhead and 15 minutes later we relocated them perched, giving nice views on a couple of occasions and further views on a return visit. This species seems to have declined heavily throughout Timor and is far from guaranteed on the tour. The Australasian theme continued with Black-faced Woodswallow mingling with White-breasted, Black-shouldered Kite and a flock of White-faced Heron present along with a surprise Bonelli's Eagle and several more White-shouldered Triller. The nearby shrimp ponds held Red-capped Plover, Gull-billed Terns, Rufous Night Heron and Golden-headed Cisticola along the grassy perimeter.

Heading inland took us to the protected watershed above Camplong village. We made use of the numerous trails and tracks through the relatively open forest interspersed with bamboo clumps. One of the first bamboo clumps we passed held a pair of the rufous-backed Black-banded Flycatcher, always a real 'wow' bird, and the male gave particularly fine views repeatedly coming to check us out. Timor Bushchat proved easy as they sang from the canopy in the early morning sunshine and a couple of ground-dwelling Timor Stubtails fed out in the open, seemingly following the laser pointer at times! Further up the trail a party of Spot-breasted Dark-eyes were still using the same resting bushes as the previous year, sitting side-by-side preening and calling. Keeping with the endemic theme a pair of Plain Gerygone, with their wonderful song put on a good view, as did numerous Streak-breasted Honeyeater and Fawn-breasted Whistlers, another male Timor Oriole, two more Buff-banded Bushbirds, Gould's Bronze Cuckoo, Brush Cuckoo, Arafura Fantail and Golden Whistler.

Gaining a little more altitude we headed further inland to Soe where some nearby forest held a number of goodies. It was here that we finally connected with one of Timor's most difficult species; Timor Black Pigeon, as an immature flew by before later reappearing perched in full view for a good ten minutes. A family of Timor Sparrow were welcome once again and a couple of fruiting trees meant that Black-backed and Rose-crowned Fruit Dove were abundant, and numerous Thick-billed Flowerpecker and Timor Friarbird were present. As we ventured further away from the village the characteristic wolf-whistles of Barred-necked Cuckoo Dove started up behind us. The pair responded brilliantly, circling up to the tree-tops, tail spread, as they glided in. Fortunately they hung around for quite some time allowing great studies as they sat on bare branches overhead. To cap it off another pair of Black-banded Flycatcher sang over the trail, performing even better than the Camplong birds, and allowing Mike some excellent video. Other species present included Timor Leaf Warbler, Brown Goshawk, Tree Martin, Little Cuckoo Dove, displaying Oriental Honey Buzzard and numerous White-shouldered Triller.

Timor Bushchat, Timor and White-rumped Kingfisher, Flores © James Eaton

We reached Timor's highest peak - Mount Mutis for a dawn breakfast before spending a full day exploring the rather odd but beautiful Eucalyptus urophylla forest, which almost completely lacks an understorey, giving a park-like landscape. As we warmed our hands with coffee and our stomach's with banana pancakes the first flocks of Olive-headed Lorikeets flew-by with several perching close by – a constant feature throughout the day. A brisk wind meant it was difficult birding but still very pleasant. Metallic Pigeon proved frustratingly common, and several attempted to impersonate the rare Timor Imperial Pigeon which we ultimately failed to locate. Island Thrush, Timor Leaf Warbler, Yellow-eared Honeyeater and Plain Gerygone were all very common and Trevor managed a brief Tricoloured Parrotfinch. A pair of Chestnut-backed Thrush sat out for prolonged views but the real performer was the Pygmy Wren Babbler, with frame-filling views of a calling bird, here of the distinctive timorensis race, displaying a long-bill, washed out underparts and a four-note call. A last throw of the dice in search of pigeons in the early evening gave unexpected success as an Olive-shouldered Parrot flew in, landing above our heads. This once common species is now a rare bonus as numbers have been depleted by capture for the bird-trade. Deciding to return the following morning, with perfect conditions and an Orange-banded Thrush welcoming us to the trail-head, once again Chestnut-backed Thrush showed, this time even better, though briefer. All the passerines were out in numbers, feeding in the canopy, enjoying a wind-free day. A Tricoloured Parrotfinch was found in the canopy, although it was again too brief for the rest of the group, a pattern was beginning to emerge! Soon two lorikeets flew by uttering the distinctive screeches of Iris Lorikeet, a quick dash back along the track revealed the birds calling from the canopy but just as they began to show themselves they flew once again, passing overhead before vanishing over the hill. A Black-backed Fruit Dove then appeared, as did a Little Cuckoo-dove and Bonelli's Eagle. With time pressing we headed back, only to disturb two Tricoloured Parrotfinches feeding by the track, but this time they hung around for a while enabling all of us to finally connect with this colourful sprite. Just before we left we scrutinised and agreed how different the swiftlets are on Timor from both Glossy and Cave Swiftlets, showing a matte-green/brown mantle and extensive white underparts, definitely a likely future split.

Having covered Timor thoroughly we were ready to move on, and a relatively on time flight to Flores gave us a couple of days in the highlands for starters. Golo Lusang was a favourite locality, where the wonderful chorus of Bare-throated Whistler welcomed us to this wide valley. Our first bird here was an excited whistler in full song right beside us, and then over the road as he belted out his full repertoire. A glorious morning of birding produced most of the montane endemics in quick succession. Flores Leaf Warbler, with its very different plumage and change of voice from the Timor birds, Scaly-crowned Honeyeater fed busily on the flowering trees, a Flores Jungle Flycatcher sang its sweet song from a roadside tree and Yellow-browed Dark-eyes were out in force. Brown-capped Fantail sallied around us, several confiding Golden-rumped Flowerpeckers and a dainty pair of Flores Minivet fed in the canopy.

Returning in the afternoon we were greeted by thick fog, but for once this actually worked in our favour as the two target species both performed at close range. Almost immediately after stepping out of the vehicles at least 20 Flores Lorikeets were noisily flying around us, perching on open limbs and feeding on the flowering trees on either side of the road. After hearing numerous Dark-backed Imperial Pigeons and seeing them flyby we finally found a couple perched up by the roadside and a Sunda Cuckoo proved most confiding thanks to the thick mist. An impressive supporting cast was made up by Barred and Ruddy Cuckoo-doves, Metallic Pigeon, Black-backed Fruit Dove, Blood-breasted Flowerpecker, Short-tailed Starling, Lesser Wallacean Drongo, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Mountain White-eye and a Chestnut-backed Thrush in full song eventually came out of the darkness, perching in full view.

Crested Dark-eye and Thick-billed Dark-eye, Flores © James Eaton

The following day saw us north of our Ruteng base along another stretch of roadside forest at a slightly lower elevation. We enjoyed yet another great day birding in perfect conditions. After enjoying the White-rumped Kingfisher pre-dawn chorus, the numerous flowering shrubs and bushes hosted a plethora of sought-after species. Attractive Crested Dark-eyes were common with the occasional Thick-billed Dark-eye popping into view. Flame-breasted Sunbird was also numerous as were both Golden-rumped and the colourful Black-fronted Flowerpeckers. Flores Minivet occasionally flew down low to feed from their usual canopy feeding areas. It didn't take too long before we were able to coax out a White-rumped Kingfisher, our first of four over the course of the morning, all of which sat out in the open for prolonged periods, one even right by the roadside. An excited pair of Russet-capped Tesia bounced around, often in full view as they defended their territory from us. As the day came to a close a quick glance over our shoulders saw the back end of a Flores Green Pigeon flying over a gulley. A scan of the area where it flew from revealed a large fruiting tree and a single Flores Green Pigeon perched up in full view! This species is possibly Flores most difficult near-endemic to get to grips with, due to its nomadic nature and preference for more open habitats. As dusk quickly approached at least 13 pigeons flew in to feed on the luscious fruits, and yet another Chestnut-backed Thrush (our 10th of the tour!) flew up to join them, a perfect ending to the day. Black-naped Oriole, immature Bonelli's Eagle, Helmeted Friarbird, Oriental and Yellow-spectacled White-eyes, Grey Tit, white-morph Asian Paradise Flycatchers, Lesser Wallacean Drongo, umpteen Sunda Woodpeckers (including a group of at least 6), Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, Ruddy Cuckoo Dove and a Black-backed Fruit Dove on the nest also added plenty of entertainment during the day.

The appalling weather during the evenings of our stay in the mountains had allowed us only one brief search for Flores Scops Owl, though we heard the bird we couldn't quite entice it into view. Next, we drove down to the lowlands of Kisol. Wandering through the forest at Kisol, our very first bird was an Elegant Pitta, originally flushed but soon attracted in again to close range. Reaching our strategic viewpoint overlooking a beautiful forested ridge we were mentally prepared to wait a couple of hours for the endangered Flores Hawk Eagle to thermal up, but amazingly a white blob on the closest ridge turned out to be a Flores Hawk Eagle enjoying the mid-morning sunshine! After watching it for a little over an hour this magnificent raptor took to the sky, giving us a close view as it thermalled up before flying over the ridge and away. With Chestnut-capped Thrush the only new daytime bird remaining we had well over a day to look for this increasingly rare and wary species. As we trundled up and down various side-trails through the forest we stumbled across a couple more Elegant Pitta, Thick-billed Dark-eyes and even a small flock of Flores Green Pigeon, adding to our previous days view. Early the following morning we finally heard the high-pitched alarm call of a thrush. We stood motionless and waited, then to our astonishment the bird flew in and landed in full view for a full 10 seconds, which seemed more like 10 minutes as we soaked in the gorgeous black splodges, white wing flash and chestnut-cap. The bird then gave us two more great views before disappearing back into the dense undergrowth, allowing us to relive the moment with one another.

Night-birding was mixed, Moluccan Scops Owl proved common, with plenty heard and three seen well with the minimal of effort. Though we only heard Wallace's Scops Owl at Kisol this was soon to be rectified as we headed out early from Kisol for the drive west to Labuanbajo, a stop en-route thankfully produced a Wallace's Scops Owl perched nicely in the spotlight. A calling Flores Scops Owl calling nearby could only be seen once as it flashed across the road in the spotlight, you can't win'em all!

A morning drive across western Flores took us past a nice patch of forest, where a short stop mid-morning was all that was required to pin-down a pair of Flores Monarch feeding a fledged juvenile. Furtive at first they eventually slowed down giving us prolonged views of this endangered and recently discovered endemic. In the afternoon a productive visit to a large tract of forest not far from our comfortable beach-side resort produced a nice selection of showy birds; Wallacean Cuckooshrike, Pale-shouldered Cicadabird, Great-billed Parrot, a perched pair of Bonelli's Eagle and to top it all off, and a clean-sweep of Flores near-endemics when a Wallace's Hanging Parrot did the decent thing by whizzing overhead not once, but back-tracking and flying back over the road in front of us – result!

Moluccan Scops Owl and Black-fronted Flowerpecker, Flores © James Eaton

After all our hard-work it was time to take the foot of the gas and cruise over in our speedboat to Komodo, the island of the dragons! This idyllic island has the surreal feeling of taking a step back in time, the many Rusa Deer and Green Imperial Pigeons were remarkably tame, as were the Yellow-crested Cockatoo's, an critically endangered species here at one of only two strongholds left. Peering ahead a hefty Komodo Dragon crept towards us in ungainly fashion, pausing for a few photographs before plodding through the undergrowth, allowing us a few more photos of this magnificent beast. An enjoyable mornings outing on the island produced numerous Green Junglefowl and a single Indonesian Collared Dove. A young Komodo Dragon gave plenty more photo opportunities as it sunned itself outside as we sat and enjoyed ice-cold drinks. The tour bordered on a holiday on the way back as we jumped into the sea to enjoy an excellent hours snorkelling along a largely unblemished reef. On the way back good numbers of Great-billed Heron waded through the lagoons as did a distant pair of Beach Thick-knee though as we enjoyed the sunset from the beach in the evening a family of Beach Thick-knee joined the small numbers of Lesser, and a single Greater, Sand Plover and Whimbrel for much more prolonged views.

A final morning of birding along a forested road near to Labuanbajo produced another fly-over Wallace's Hanging Parrot, some final looks at Pale-shouldered Cicadabird and a branch-hopping, responsive Elegant Pitta. Orange-footed Scrubfowl and Variable Goshawk both finally showed themselves before it was time to say good-bye to this fascinating region and move back to Bali ready for a new set of endemics.

A pre-dawn boat ride along the north-west peninsula of Bali Barat National Park is required to reach the only spot where the beautiful, critically endangered Bali Myna now resides, and even here the number of wild birds is in single figures with a few reintroduced birds also thrown into the mix. As we walked to our vantage point we woke a pair of agitated Beach Thick-knee at point blank range. As the light improved a Black-winged Myna put in an appearance before the first Bali Mynas flew past below us. Over the next hour the occasional myna flew-by before we made our way down to the feeding station where several Bali Myna showed at close range, including several birds bred in the wild from both wild and reintroduced birds. Once we had our fill of these snow-white birds we visited a dry streambed where a cute pair of Rufous-backed Kingfisher sat side-by-side. Adding even more splashes of colour a Javan Banded Pitta popped into view, blazing yellow and blue in stark contrast to the red and dark blues of the race from the Malay Peninsula. With just one target remaining for the afternoon we enjoyed the wonderful accommodation and surroundings of our gorgeous resort where Green Junglefowl and Red Muntjac were totally unconcerned by our presence. A short trip out in the late afternoon secured our final target as several Yellow-throated Hanging Parrots shot over like little green bullets, flashing red at the rear. This great day’s relaxed birding was enhanced by several other species, namely Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Lesser Adjutant, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Olive-backed Tailorbird, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Bar-winged Prinia, Black-thighed Falconet, Black-naped Terns and three Brown Booby.

Bali Myna James Eaton/Birdtour Asia

Continuing west we headed to the next island, Java. Two long drives interspersed by a flight across Java saw in the beautiful surrounds of Cikiniki Research Station in the heart of Gunung Halimun National Park. We had a day and a morning to cover this vast area of beautiful mossy, mid-altitude forest. By birding mainly along the entrance road we virtually cleaned up on the hoped-for species and a couple of added bonuses. Our first foray brought about a Salvadori's Nightjar that attempted to land on the road just feet from us before realising its mistake and fluttered around in the spotlight before heading back to the forest. In the half light the first of several large feeding flocks passed through, with Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo's typically setting the pace. Javan Fulvetta were the commonest component of every flock and this first flock also contained a pair of confiding White-breasted Babbler, one of Java's most attractive endemics and one of the key species of the park. No longer had we finished watching these when a Javan Trogon fluttered up above the road, giving prolonged views for the next 15 minutes as it was joined by its mate and youngster, one of the many birds for which the field-guide plates don't do the bird justice. Working these feeding flocks we gradually picked off most of our remaining targets, the scarce White-bellied Fantail was located in three different flocks with some excellent views of them sallying for insects, Spotted Crocias were equally co-operative as were the super tiny Pygmy Tits. Other species that made up the bulk of the flocks included plenty of yellow-breasted 'Javan' Leafbirds, a likely future split from Blue-winged, goggle-eyed Blue Nuthatch - a species we never tired of, Javan Sunbird and some White-browed and Chestnut-fronted Shrike Babblers – both of which are represented by quite distinct endemic races, just watch this space!

In between the feeding flocks a pair of Javan Hawk Eagle flew overhead, as did a large flock of the aptly-named Giant Swiftlet. Flame-fronted Barbet was typically vocal with nice scope views of a single bird and even better was the sometimes difficult Brown-throated Barbet. The one time we delved into the lush forest we were pleasantly surprised to have a male Javan Cochoa fly straight into the tree next to us and after some maneuvering the bird proceeded to sing to us in full view for over ten minutes.

Other noteworthy species here included several fly-over Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon, Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, another Yellow-throated Hanging Parrot, Grey-rumped Treeswift, Banded Broadbill, brief Sunda Cuckooshrike, Black-winged Flycatcher Shrike, Javan and Blue Whistling Thrushes, Mountain Leaf Warbler, Indigo and Pale Blue Flycatchers, a showy male Sunda Blue Robin, plenty of both Sunda and White-crowned Forktails making the most of the damp road, a pair of Crescent-chested Babbler, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Streaky-breasted Spiderhunter and Javan Dark-eye.

Sunda Thrush Sunda Warbler

Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch Pink-headed Fruit Dove

The centre-point of a Java trip is Gunung Gede, home to the vast majority of Javan endemics. We decided to be a bit different and our 1½ days on the mountain included a night camping in prime birding habitat half-way up the mountain trail. Sunda Scops Owl turned up all too easily before we started our ascent, and the main highlight turned up almost as easily. As we waited for dawn to approach a zoothera call revealed a Sunda Thrush had arrived just metres from us. As the light began to brighten so did the bird and we enjoyed a good half-hour of views, watching its legs tremble as it searched for food less than five metres from us. Feeling rather relaxed after such an event the rest of the birding flowed along nicely as we walked slowly up the forest-clad mountain. Our first feeding flock contained many species we enjoyed the on previous days at Gunung Halimun, including 'Javan' Blue-winged Leafbird, Spotted Crocia, Crescent-chested Babbler and even a pair of Javan Cochoa, while new birds including Rufous-tailed Fantail, one of the finest of the genus. The deep call of a Pink-headed Fruit Dove betrayed this elusive bird’s presence as it called from an open perch actually over the trail –one of the finest in a long-line of beautiful fruit doves. As we ventured higher the feeding flocks became more inquisitive and confiding, especially the super-cute Sunda Warblers and Mountain Leaf Warblers, occasionally being joined by the gorgeously-marked White-flanked Sunbird and large numbers of Blue Nuthatch. Javan Dark-eye was commonly found feeding on flowering bushes and yet another race of Blood-breasted Flowerpecker showed well, as did a Flame-fronted Barbet and a group of Javan Bulbuls. These birds have previously been grouped with Sumatran Bulbul as Sunda Bulbul but due to the highly distinctive plumage and vocalisations it seems almost silly calling them the same species!

Under-storey birds are notoriously confiding on the mountain; on one occasion we watched a Pygmy Wren Babbler feeding totally unconcerned literally half a metre from us! Eye-browed Wren Babbler, a cracking White-bibbed Babbler, Horsfield's Babbler, Sunda Blue Robin, Javan Whistling Thrush, Lesser and yet another vocally-distinct White-browed Shortwing and plenty of ping-pong ball like Javan Tesia showed almost as well too. Chestnut-backed Scimitar Babbler were conspicuous, social and vocal, very different to the lowland taxa of elsewhere, though it took some time sifting through these ‘great to watch’ birds until we came across a flock of the often elusive Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush on our second morning, as they fed above and around us. Our camp was nicely situated above the Hot Springs, and although the night was a bit chilly, we survived and enjoyed the experience as Dusky Woodcock roded overhead and Javan Scops Owl called close-by, especially as this gave us the opportunity to be higher up in the late afternoon. Our main target – Horsfield's Thrush – was flushed off the trail, but thankfully perched up for a reasonable look. As the cloud dropped so did the swiftlets; pointed-winged Volcano Swiftlets, endemic to just a select few of active volcano's in west Java. Both Checker-throated and Crimson-winged Woodpeckers showed extremely well as did two family groups of Javan Trogon in the early morning. Finally, as we made our way out of the forest on the second morning a Javan Hawk Eagle displayed in the distance, a nice way to end the days birding and continue our drive east then north to Purwakarta for a welcome hot shower and comfy bed.

Our final morning was spent in markedly different terrain. As we stepped out of the vehicle to begin our walk to some distant mangroves the soft twittering of a flock of Javan White-eyes happily prevented us walking any further as our main targets busily fed in a small flowering tree overhead. Unfortunately the surrounding rice-fields were still too fresh to attract munias so we went on a little search of the area. Javan Plover, Sunda Teal, Glossy Ibis, Australasian Reed Warbler, Pied Triller, Long-tailed Shrike, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Small Blue and a surprise White-throated Kingfisher were all noted before we eventually found our final, remaining quarry – a pair of the declining and hard-to-find White-capped Munia. With this final tick we were more than happy to slip back into the vehicle and depart for Jakarta Airport and the long flight home.

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