Sumatra, Indonesia

Dates: 29th July - 13th August 2006 (Java post-tour 13th - 20th August)

Leaders: Rob Hutchinson

Maximum Group Size: 6

Sumatra is the largest island in Indonesia at over 1000km in length, and still has large tracts of rainforest remaining, which are some of the richest on earth. More than 600 species have been recorded of which at least 24 species are endemic to the island.
We will concentrate our time in three of Sumatra's most accessible birding sites - two in the Barisan Mountain range within the huge Kerinci-Seblat National Park and at Way Kambas National Park in the southern lowlands.
Beginning at Way Kambas National Park, the lowland peat swamp forest gives us a good chance of connecting with the elusive White-winged Wood Duck and we'll enjoy some fantastic birding in the rich lowland forest including some of the best night-birding in south-east Asia.
Moving into the Islands mountainous spine we head for the mighty Gunung Kerinci in the heart of the Kerinci-Seblat National Park. The montane forest here will give us a good chance of seeing many of Sumatra's endemics including Salvadori's Pheasant, Bronze-tailed Peacock Pheasant, Schneider's Pitta and Sumatran Cochoa which surely rank among Indonesia's most prized birds.
Our final site within the park will give us access to the submontane endemics and other specialties absent from the higher reaches including the beautiful Graceful Pitta.

Day 1:
Morning arrival in Jakarta, Java. Any free time before our afternoon flight to Bandar Lampung, Sumatra, will be spent around the small but bird-filled Jakarta Marshes at Maura Angke where with luck we might see Sunda Coucal or Milky Stork.
Night in Bandar Lampung, where we may well see our first Savanna Nightjars, which are common around the city.

Day 2:
This morning we transfer to nearby Way Kambas Nature Reserve, an area of wetlands, swamp forest and regenerated lowland forest which is an excellent site to search for lowland sunda specialties.

Days 3-5:
We have three full days to enjoy the excellent birding in this area. Our main target here will be White-winged Duck, which although difficult to find, we have a good chance of seeing.
The fauna of the lowland forest here is very rich and we have a good chance of seeing several species which are difficult to see elsewhere. The wetlands and swamp forest here hold Storms Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Cinnamon-headed Green Pigeon and Grey-breasted Babbler while highlights in the lowland forest may include Malaysian Rail Babbler, Banded Pitta, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Moustached Hawk Cuckoo, Sunda Blue Flycatcher or Black Magpie among an excellent selection of lowland species.
Way Kambas also offers some of the finest night-birding in South-east Asia, Large, Gould's and Sunda Frogmouths, Reddish Scops Owl, Oriental Bay Owl and Bonaparte's Nightjar are all possible.

Day 6:
After a final mornings birding at Way Kambas we transfer to Bandar Lampung for an afternoon flight to Jakarta.

Day 7:
Today we take a morning flight to Padang on Sumatra's South-west coast and head straight for Kerinci - Sablat National Park arriving in time for some late afternoon birding.

Days 8-11:
With a friendly guesthouse in nearby Keresek Tua as our base we will spend three full days exploring Gunung Kerinci, at over 3,800 metres, Sumatra's highest peak. Exploring the mountain between 1,800 and 2,500m we will be searching in particular for Sumatra’s montane endemics; Schneider's Pitta, Sumatran Cochoa, Salvadori's Pheasant, Bronze-tailed Peacock Pheasant, Red-billed Partridge, Sumatran Trogon and Shiny & Brown-winged Whistling Thrushes. Other specialties include Dusky Woodcock, Pink-headed Fruit Dove, Rufous-vented Niltava and Long-billed Wren Babbler. Both Salvadori's Nightjar and Pale-headed Frogmouth could be seen during night-birding forays though we'll need some luck to find Rajah Scops Owl.

Day 12:
After a final morning on Gunung Kerinci searching for any missing specialties we will transfer to nearby Sungai Penuh our base for the next three nights.

Days 13-14:
Exploring the submontane habitat between Bukit Tapan and Mauro Sako village we should find several species difficult or absent at higher altitudes. We will make a special effort to find the endemic Graceful Pitta here along with endemic Blue-masked Leafbird, Cream-striped & Spot-necked Bulbuls, Sumatran Drongo and Sumatran Treepie. We also have further opportunities to search for Bronze-tailed Peacock Pheasant and Salvadori's Pheasant, and this is a good site for both Marbled Wren Babbler and Ferruginous Partridge.

Day 15:
After some final birding in the Mauro Sako area we return to Padang in the afternoon.

Day 16:
Morning flight to Jakarta to connect with afternoon international flights.
 
Post-tour extension - West Java

Dates: 13th August - 20th August 2006

Our Java extension concentrates on the west of the island where the majority of the islands 22 endemics can be found.
We will visit two montane areas; Gunung Gede within the impressive Gede-Pangrango National Park and then Gunung Halimun which gives access to forest at a slightly lower altitude. Between them these two sites hold many of the islands endemics with Javan Trogon, Javan Cochoa, Spotted Crocia, Javan Tesia and Javan Scops Owl among the exciting specialties which we will be concentrating on.
Carita on the west coast, in an idyllic coastal setting with views of the magnificent Krakatoa volcano, will give us a chance to look for species which are difficult elsewhere including the stunning Black-banded Barbet.
The tiny remnant Jakarta Marsh at Maura Angke, Jakarta is incredibly bird-rich and is one of the few remaining sites for the rare Sunda Coucal with Javan Plover also likely in the area.

Day 1:
As Day 16 of Main Tour but after arrival in Jakarta transfer to Gede - Pangrango National Park arriving in time for some late afternoon birding on the lower slopes of Gunung Gede.

Days 2-3:
Gede - Pangrango National Park retains some of the best remaining montane forest in Java and nearly all of the island's montane endemics are found here.
We have two full days to search for these endemics and other specialties, together with the commoner endemics. We can expect highlights to include Pink-headed Fruit Dove, Spotted Crocias, Javan Tesia and for the more energetic, Volcano Swiftlet. We will make a special effort for the more difficult species including Javan Hawk Eagle, Chestnut-bellied Partridge, Waterfall Swiftlet, Javan Trogon, Javan Cochoa, Mountain Serin, Tawny-breasted Parrotbill, Sunda Thrush, Salvadori's Nightjar and Javan Scops Owl.

Day 4:
We will have a further mornings birding at Gunung Gede before transferring to Gunung Halimun where we will spend the remainder of the day. Night in a basic but comfortable guesthouse at Gunung Halimun.

Day 5:
Most of the day will be spent at Gunung Halimun. The mid-montane forest here is an excellent site for White-bellied Fantail, a species now difficult to find elsewhere. Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon is fairly common here and it is a reliable area for Javan Trogon and White-breasted Babbler. We also have a chance to catch up with some of the more difficult species which we might have missed thus far including Spotted Crocia, Javan Hawk Eagle and Salvadori's Nightjar.
We will return to Bogor late afternoon. Night in Bogor.

Day 6:
An early morning visit to the lush Botanical Gardens in Bogor should be rewarded with Black-naped Fruit Dove and Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon among the commoner inhabitants.
After breakfast we will make our way to Carita on Java's west coast. In the remnant forest patches nearby we will be hoping in particular for Black-banded Barbet, White-breasted Babbler and Grey-cheeked Tit Babbler, while other specialties may include Javan Hawk Eagle, Black-naped Fruit Dove and, with luck, Banded Pitta. Several species of night-bird are present including Javan Frogmouth and Javan Owlet.

Day 7:
After some final birding around Carita we will head back to Jakarta stopping on route at Pulau Dua, an excellent site for Javan White-eye, where we will also have the opportunity to enjoy the impressive breeding colony of Ibises and Egrets. Night in Jakarta.

Day 8:
We will make an early morning visit to Jakarta Marsh. Here we hope to find the endangered Sunda Coucal, Javan Plover and, with luck, Milky Stork.
Afternoon departure from the International airport.