Java July 2014, Muara Angke

Due to our two-monthly visa trips we ended up staying a couple of days in Jakarta, which provided us with a great opportunity to visit Muara Angke. This site is well-known as a reliable site for Sunda Coucal and Black-winged Starling. It is easily reached from any of the Airport Hotels and takes around 30 minutes and costs between 50.000 and 100.000 IDR to get there. However not all taxi drivers are familiar with the site, so make sure you state that you want to go to "Muara Angke, taman Bakau di Jalan Pantai Indah Utura". This worked out for us. There are some posts on the internet stating that you need to pay an unofficial "entrance fee", but for us this was not the case. We visited the site twice and the first time there was nobody at the gate house and the second time they just let us in without any hassle.

The site is great for being within Jakarta, but the board walks are in terrible disrepair and stop somewhere in the middle of the area. Apparently there used to be a path west to the area as well, but we only saw the huge Boulevard Mediterana, so we didn't even try birding from that site. Muara Angke is also known as a good site for Javan Plover and Painted Stork, but for those you probably need to get closer to the coast, which we didn't as the boardwalk was broken. Perhaps it is better for these species to try to get to the coast from the west side (Boulevard Mediterana).

We tried twice to locate a Sunda Coucal, the first visit was in the morning (8:00-12:00) and the second in the afternoon (15:00-18:00), but we failed on both occasions. Perhaps early morning is a better time for this species... However we saw two Black-winged Starlings of the nominate subspecies on the first morning. Obviously we were thrilled to enjoy good views of this critically endangered species.

Black-winged Starling (Acridotheres melanopterus)

We also enjoyed several Small Blue Kingfishers, Bar-winged Prinias, Olive-backed Tailorbirds, Small Minivets, Indian Reed-warblers and Scarlet-headed Flowerpeckers in the woody areas. While the small lake (that is currently completely covered with water hyacint) proved good for Purple Swamphen (of the (sub)species indicus), White-browed Crake, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Oriental Darter and Black Bittern amongst others. Some migrants from the Austral region like Horsfield's Bronzed Cuckoo and Sacred Kingfisher were also much appreciated as was a Savannah Nightjar flying over the highway on the way back.

Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trochileum)

Bar-winged Prinia (Prinia familiaris)

Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster)

Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis)

Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus)

For mammal-enthusiasts this area does not have much to offer. The only mammals we observed in this area were Plaintain Squirrels and some tame (and occasionally aggressive) Long-tailed Macaques.

Male Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)