Sumatra scheduled tour
28th July - 9th August 2008
Leader: James Eaton
Participants: Jonty Denton, Brian Foster, Ron Hoff, Dollyann Myers,
Magnus Jaderblad and Martin Wotton
Large Frogmouth, Way Kambas © James Eaton / Birdtour Asia
The huge island of Sumatra is renowned as a tough birding destination but it holds some truly outstanding birds including many rare endemics, of which we saw the majority among our haul of 304 species.
We began by squeezing in an hour of birding at Muara Angke on the outskirts of Jakarta, Java, which produced two globally endangered species – Javan Coucal and Black-winged Myna. We then flew to Sumatra where our first four days were spent at Way Kambas, one of the few Sundaic lowland forest reserves on the island, where birding was excellent, despite the dry conditions. White-winged Duck, Banded Pitta, colourful broadbills and trogons were the obvious diurnal highlights but night-time produced the most excitement – Oriental Bay Owl, Large Frogmouth (on the nest!), Gould’s Frogmouth and the rare Bonaparte’s Nightjar all excelled, not forgetting that Clouded Leopard at the roadside! Birding in the Barisan-Selatan National Park exceeded all expectations; Sumatran Cochoa, Schneider’s and Graceful Pitta, Blue-masked and Sumatran Leafbirds, Marbled Wren Babbler, Red-billed Partridge, Sumatran Wren Babbler, Rajah Scops Owl and Sumatran Frogmouth were the obvious highlights for us all.
We started off the tour by braving the stench at Muara Angke. Due to late arrivals we only had an hour or so worth of birding but this proved more than adequate, as our two main targets were quickly located. Firstly the endangered Black-winged Myna flew into their favoured bushes, all 7 of them giving great scope views as they sat on open branches. Not long after a Javan Coucal flew onto the open marsh just long enough for us to enjoy views before he flapped ungainly back into cover.
Other notable species included White-browed Crake, Black-backed Swamphen, Black and Cinnamon Bitterns, Sunda and Spot-breasted Woodpeckers, Indonesian Collared Dove, Bar-winged Prinia, Javan Munia, Oriental Darter, Sunda Teal and Racket-tailed Treepie.
Gould’s Frogmouth © James Eaton Red-bearded Bee-eater © James Eaton
With everyone arriving the previous evening we flew over the Sunda Straits early the next morning and swiftly made our way to the south-eastern tip of Sumatra to Way Kambas National Park, one of the few patches of lowland forest remaining on this huge island. We spent three full days walking along different sections of the forested road that bisects the park, amassing an impressive list of scarce sundaic species. Babblers are abundant in the forest and some of the more spectacular species put on some quality performances; stunning Chestnut-rumped Babblers inflated their previously concealed blue neck pouch accompanied by an array of low-tones, riverine-loving White-chested Babbler, Black-capped Babblers creeping along the forest floor, Black-throated Babbler that took all but 1 second to dive in towards us, and best of all, 4 Fluffy-backed Tit Babblers in full display bobbing heads, bouncing next to each other, pouches inflated and backs fluffed! While watching the latter a quick shout from Jonty revealed a splendid 2 metre-long Great Argus crossing the road! Fortunately the bird slowly moved away from us in the undergrowth for us all to get a quick look in.
Most of the Sunda specialities were located calling from the roadside forest; a gorgeous male Rufous-collared Kingfisher sat watching us below eye-level at close-range in wonderful light, Rufous-backed Kingfisher was twice scoped, Scarlet-rumped and Diard’s Trogons both performed to perfection, a couple of male Rufous-tailed Shama sang from open perches, Grey-chested Jungle Flycatcher and Rufous-winged Philentoma did likewise. Of course the broadbills were always a constant source of amusement with cracking views of Green, Dusky, Black-and-yellow and best of all a pair of excited Black-and-red. Everyones favourite, including the leaders, is of course the Banded Pitta, and we weren’t disappointed on this tour with prolonged views of a male sat up in the scope for us all to admire at leisure in the open understorey.
Wandering through the swamp forest on two separate afternoons brought us to large open swamp clearings.As we waited by the edge, Sambar Deer fed unconcerned on the opposite side, a colony of Lesser Adjutants sat aloft in a nearby tree, a Grey-headed Fish Eagle fed on the riverside and a large flock of the universally rare Cinnamon-headed Green Pigeon sat out on open snags. As the light began to fade finally a pair of the prized White-winged Duck flew past above the horizon and away into the distance, high-fives all round!
Bushy-crested Hornbills put in several appearances along with the vocally impressive Black Magpie. Eight species of woodpecker included the gigantic prehistoric-looking White-bellied Woodpecker. Red-crowned and Brown Barbets were seen nicely, while other frugivores included a plethora of bulbuls, Dark-throated Oriole, Bar-bellied and Lesser Cuckooshrike and Asian Fairy Bluebirds. Crested Fireback, Red Junglefowl, Black-thighed Falconet, Blue-rumped Parrot, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Fiery Minivet, Green Iora and Slender-billed Crow were the other notables.
Way Kambas is renowned for its high-density of mammals, notably Sumatran Tiger and Sumatran Rhinoceros, not surprisingly we didn’t have a sniff of these (except a wonderful, large Tiger footprint in the mud) but the next best thing was just stunning as a set of large eyes bounding across the road in the early morning made us accelerate the car towards it, a shine of the spotlight to the roadside immediately smacked onto a beautiful Clouded Leopard at less than 5 metres range as it stared, seemingly stunned for what seemed like an eternity before vanishing into the darkened forest. Malayan and Masked Palm Civet, couple of Malayan Porcupine, playful Yellow-throated Martin, Siamang, Mitred and Silvered Langur, Greater and Lesser Mouse Deer, Indian Muntjac and plenty of regal Sambar Deer made our stay even more pleasurable.
Sumatran Wren Babbler, Mt Kerinci © James Eaton/Birdtour Asia
On top of the mammals are the night-birds and putting in the time more than reaped the rewards we deserved. Our first night-bird was the rarest of the lot – Bonaparte’s Nightjar, a rare species restricted to bushy clearings in extreme lowland Sunda rainforest. We hit the spotlight on him just as he flew towards and over us, banking away into the forest to produce yet more of his bizarre repertoire. Next was a Gould’s Frogmouth, and boy did he perform well, offering walkaway views just above eye-level as he perched side-on. As dawn broke a Brown Boobook was easily taped-in as usual, sitting high-up calling insistently back to his partner and another common species, Sunda Scops Owl performed wonderfully as he just sat in a small roadside tree in a nearby village. Despite Large Frogmouth being nearly silent during our stay one bird gave two bouts of its errie, loud call which was all we needed to swiftly find the bird perched deep in the forest. Closer inspection revealed why the bird seemed oblivious to our presence – it was on a nest! Returning the next day confirmed our thoughts as a tiny chick pulled the top of its head and bill out from underneath the seemingly suffocating adult which obviously gave stunning views attempting to camouflage itself.
Saving the best untill the absolute last opportunity we finally nailed down the unique Oriental Bay Owl clinging onto a twisting vine on our fourth (!) attempt after impossibly escaping detection previously. Fortunately on our last evening he gave up the ghost and just sat facing us for as long as we wanted, occasionally battering an eyelid and turning his head, a wonderful way to end another fabulous, bird-rich stay at one of south-east Asia’s premier birding destinations.
Bidding farewell to Way Kambas we connected with our flight back to Jakarta, then after a lunch and some nearby birding which produced a pair of Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker, Small Blue Kingfisher, Indonesian Collared Dove (a certain split from the Philippine birds), migrant Little Ringed Plover, Glossy Ibis and Javan Pond Heron, we flew back to Sumatra (nothing is simple in Indonesia!), but this time to Padang situated half way up the west coast in preparation for the following days long drive south-east into the heart of the Barisan Mountain Range.
After a comfortable nights stay in Padang we drove south-east along the Barisan Range into the massive Kerinci-Sablat National Park stopping a couple of times, firstly for hulking Giant Swiftlets over a small waterfall then some grassland with White-headed Munia, Lesser Coucal and Zitting Cisticola. By lunchtime we reached our friendly homestay at the base of Mt Kerinci, famed as the endemic hotspot of Sumatra.
We had almost 4 days to explore the single trail that carries on up to the summit of Kerinci but we mainly concentrated our efforts on the lower slopes. Overall we did exceptionally well, not only did we see almost all of our target species but everyone saw the birds superbly too, especially the male Schneider’s Pitta that so kindly popped up twice onto a log allowing us all to get a good luck of this famed-skulker on our very first morning! We would later glimpse males twice more on the trail, and were extremely happy that these wouldn’t be our only views.
Birding the dense lower slopes provides amble opportunity at getting close views of more widespread Asian species such as Spot-necked and Grey-throated Babblers, mouse-like Pygmy and stripy Eye-browed Wren Babblers, Lesser Shortwing, replaced on the higher slopes by yet another vocally distinct taxon White-browed Shortwing. Focussing on the endemics we kept chipping away, Red-billed Partridge, such a rare bird on Kerinci in past years was notably vocal during our time on the mountain but this doesn’t make them easy – our second attempt chasing them brought them very close, two pairs calling profusely in front of us but only some of us obtained views of this beautifully patterned partridge. Fortunately we came across another pair the following day allowing the rest of us to obtain some sort of a view, after running around after them in the middle of the forest!
The distinctive, monotone whistle of the Sumatran Wren Babbler led us off trail on two occasions; both times we enjoyed wonderful views as these Kiwi-like birds did their usual thing in running mouse-like rings round us before eventually sitting up and singing in full view with their curlew-like bills.
Heading higher up the mountain each day in search of the holy grail of Kerinci, the Sumatran Cochoa, bought with it plenty of birds, the feeding flocks consisted of fiery-red Temminck’s Sunbird, Sunda Minivet, goggle-eyed Blue Nuthatch, Sunda and Mountain Leaf Warbler, Black-capped White-eye and Long-tailed Sibia. Away from the feeding flocks the more solitary species kept on ticking over, smart, tail-flicking Sunda Blue Robin, Shiny Whistling Thrush were common while Sumatran Whistling Thrush was seen twice in a fruiting tree that also contained Sumatran Bulbul, Large Niltava and Rufous-vented Niltava (the latter was also seen higher up the mountain) Sunda Bush Warbler typically showed down to a couple of metres, singing in clear view and great views of a displaying Black Eagle overhead added to the distractions.
Rajah Scops Owl © James Eaton Tree Frog sp © James Eaton
Walking up and down the mountain each day in search of the cochoa can be rather monotonous at times so keeping our spirits up requires plenty of thought, as usual the Three-striped Ground Squirrels provided plenty of amusement as they braved the clearing in search of oreo and chocolate chip cookie left overs and we gave them plenty of opportunity for this, even providing them with some fun games to win their prize cookies! At the highest point of our walk a Sumatran Owlet suddenly appeared overhead much to the chagrin of the local passerines including Mountain White-eye. This owlet is similar in plumage to Collared Owlet though is vocally distinct, we saw 3 of these during our stay. As we reached a large open area Orange-spotted Bulbuls became evident, while waiting at our turn-around point suddenly a loud whistle powered over our tape and drew our attentions to a tree not 30 meters from us, within several leg-trembling seconds an adult male Sumatran Cochoa was perched beside us! We watched in awe as this rarely-seen bird jumped around in the mid-storey occasionally flashing his electric wings and cap before flying off, calling for a while then vanishing into thin air as they so often do, superb!
With all but one bird (Salvadori’s Pheasant) out of the way it was time for the night-birds to perform. Our night time forays were generally productive with several sessions producing the splendid Sumatran Frogmouth, even giving us full-frontal views, showing off his mouth-filled face, complete with inch long bristles scattered all over his head. Salvadori’s Nightjar flew back and forth overhead and shortly before dusk on one occasion he even dropped down from the canopy fluttering overhead in our powerful beam. Although Rajah Scops Owl was just about silent during our stay we did locate a fledged youngster screeching above us one evening only to be bettered the following afternoon when we discovered a roosting adult in this same area which gave us great looks as he attempted to conceal himself under a banana leaf. To finish off the nightbirds in style, a pair of Barred Eagle Owl perched in full view on our final morning, looking rather grumpy having been woken up so early!
Departing happy from Kerinci we had just over two days birding the wonderful road cutting through beautiful forest that winds its way down alongside the Tapan River. We birded from 1200m all the way down to 480m, searching for feeding flocks and rare forest dwellers in the dense gullies. Starting from the top Sumatran Treepie kicked off the endemics, calling raucously from the canopy, Sumatran Green Pigeon was next with fantastic views of a pair feeding, Blue-masked Leafbird performed wonderfully, firstly with a pair sat still for over 5 minutes then the following day close views of a pair feeding in flowers at eye-level. Sumatran Leafbird (split from Gold-fronted) took a bit of finding until 3 birds convenient appeared during our lunch-stop. The areas most-wanted gem, the endemic Graceful Pitta, took some finding this time around, initially one bird would only reveal itself in all its splendour to couple of us and we had to wait until the second morning before a bird finally shone in the undergrowth as it quietly hopped along the stream before slowly crossing it with a ray of light pulsating through the canopy, catching the electric blue horns and wing coverts.
Sumatran Cochoa © James Eaton Binturong © James Eaton
We came across some good feeding flocks that make birding along the Tapan road so exciting. One flock in particular contained most of the hoped-for species; Black and Spectacled Laughingthrushes, Sumatran Drongo were plentiful, Maroon Woodpecker, Greater Yellownape, Common Green Magpie, Long-tailed Broadbill and best of all some manic Crested Jay calling in the scope with their loud machine-gun chattering. A pair of Sumatran Trogon perched up nicely shortly followed by a Silver-breasted Broadbill and a crest-flicking Banded Kingfisher. Of particular surprise was a Marbled Wren Babbler, notably quiet this year, that Magnus found feeding in an open area of a dark ravine, fortunately the bird kept popping up onto a log letting us all see this rarely-encountered and notoriously elusive species in the scope and even though the colours were difficult to pick out we couldn’t complain! A similar ravine also played host to a wonderfully confiding pair of gorgeous Rufous-chested Flycatchers. Sunda Forktails busily fed in pairs along the roadside opposite these wet ravines on several occasions and on the lower slopes a beautiful Chestnut-naped Forktail popped up just before we were about to leave.
A family that dominates the Sumatran foothills is the hornbills, and we were not to be disappointed as several groups of Bushy-crested noisily flew around, several Rhinoceros and Wreathed made a large fruiting fig tree their home and the most spectacular of the lot, Helmeted provided a wonderful sight as a bird perched up on an open limb before flying along the valley.
Other species enjoyed on our walk downhill included a family of Maroon-breasted Philentoma, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Spectacled Spiderhunter, Blyth’s Hawk Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Whiskered Treeswift, Fire-tufted, Black-browed, Blue-eared and Golden-whiskered Barbets, Hill Prinia, Blue-winged Leafbird, Scaly-breasted, Streaked, Cinereous and Grey-bellied Bulbuls, Red-headed Trogon, Brown Fulvetta, Giant Swiftlet, Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, Red-billed and Green-billed Malkoha, Barred Cuckoo Dove and Little Cuckoo Dove.
Eventually our time was up and we took the scenic coastal road back north to Padang, via a stop at a large Baya Weaver colony, and settled back into our comfortable hotel for a farewell dinner and toast to the success of so many of Sumatra’s difficult though stunning endemics.
Whiskered Treeswift © James Eaton Blue-masked Leafbird © James Eaton
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