Bali August 2014, Pulau Serangan

Again a site that was suggested by Burung Nusantara, a website I'm starting to value more and more. This website suggested that Pulau Serangan is the best spot to see migrant waders in Bali and perhaps one of the best spots in entire Indonesia. Therefore we just had to pay this island a visit. We still were based in Ubud due to a visa extension and so we organised a half-day trip (we had another appointment that day) to this site. We paid 400.000 IDR for the transport including two hours waiting time, which seemed very fair to me, as it is still 1.5 hours driving from Ubud. Once you reach the island by car or motorbike (the island is connected to the Balinese mainland by a bridge) you should take the first gravel road to the right. Here is a small ticket booth were you have to pay 10.000 IDR to get in (or at least with by car). After that you can explore the area by your own. Burung Nusantara gives good advice were the best places are to search for birds.

As most decent birding sites are located in the South and South-east of the island we drove directly to the South-eastern part of the island, where two tidal lagoons can be viewed well. From here we simply started walking to the South and followed some causeways to areas that looked interesting. This method paid off, but two hours proved to be very insufficient time to explore and bird the area properly.

As soon as we got out of the car it was clear that the area was filled with birds. We walked towards the most promising-looking lagoon and it was filled with several hundreds of Little Pied Cormorants with some Little Black Cormorants mixed in between, dozens of Little and Gull-billed terns were resting on the sandbanks in the lagoon and loads of waders were flying past us including Far-eastern Curlew. We scanned the area properly and found several Javan Plovers just next to the causeway. We continued to walk further southwards and got better and better views of all the species mentioned above including more common species like Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew and Common Greenshank. However many birds were still to far away to be checked by binoculars only.

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) (photographed by Anna van der Kaaden)

A pair of Javan Plovers (Charadrius javanicus) (photographed by Anna van der Kaaden)

The next lagoon looked even more promising, with more mudflats present in this one instead of gravel- and sandbanks. The mudflats were filled with Red-necked Stints, Curlew Sandpipers, Black-tailed Godwits, Greenshanks, Greater and Lesser Sand-plovers (in all possible plumages) as well as resting Gull-billed Terns. We started checking the waders and eventually some scarcer species were found like Terek Sandpiper, Malaysian Plover and Marsh Sandpiper, but again many waders were just to far away to be identified without a scope... We also noted that large numbers of plovers were resting in a dry grass field, just next to this lagoon. Hundreds of Greater and Lesser Sand-plover could be seen together and in the hope of finding an Oriental Plover we started to check them. In the end we found one or two Oriental Plovers in between the other plovers, but most likely many more remained unseen...

Lesser Sand-plovers (Charadrius mongolus) in varius plumages and a Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) with Red-necked Stints (Calidris ruficollis) (photographed by Anna van der Kaaden)

A group of fly-by Sunda Teals drew our attention, for they seemed to land on the next lagoon, so we walked to the West and towards that lagoon. Once arrived we saw several hundred Sunda Teals swimming on the far side of the lagoon. We managed to find four Pacific Black Ducks among them, but again a scope would have yielded more and would also have given us the opportunity to check for Grey Teal. Luckily the two Australian Pelicans flying over could hardly be missed.

Australian Pelican (Pelicanus conspicillatus)

After this lagoon it was already time to head back. We walked back the way we came and enjoyed the same waders again as well as the many Small Blue Kingfishers that perched above the channels. Back at the place were we started it turned out we had some more time and so we walked the causeway, dividing two large lagoons, towards the sea. Closer to the sea we got some views of Grey-tailed Tattlers and Ruddy Turnstones as well as many Greater and Lesser Crested Terns before heading back to Ubud.

Small Blue Kingfisher (Alcedo coerulescens)

Burung Nusantara is absolutely right. Pulau Serangan is a grand site for wader watching. However the area turned out to be much bigger than I thought and 2.5 hours is definitely not enough to bird the area properly. Furthermore bringing a scope to this site will greatly enhance the birding here, as many birds are just too far away. Also, don't forget sunscreen or maybe even an umbrella, as it gets scorching hot here during the middle of the day.

Bali August 2014, Ubud

To extend our tourist visas we had to stay quite a while in Ubud. This gave us the chance to search for some rare Munias in rice fields around this bustling town. Getting to this town should pose no problem using public transport. To find the large groups of Munias we used the method suggested by Burung Nusantara: just walk into rice fields and search for ripe rice. These can be found easily as people put up flags to scare away birds. This method worked brilliantly!

On our first try we walked to the East on Jalan Raya Ubud and went further East on the Jalan Gunung Sari. Here we entered the rice fields South from this street. At first they seemed rather empty as all paddies were still young. A lone Sacred Kingfisher and some Zitting Cisticolas were the only birds observed. However we noticed that just to the West of our paddies some ripe ones were attracting a considerable amount of Munias. So we headed back to the Jalan Gunung Sari and walked a bit to the West and entered the rice fields again. Soon we were at the site were we had spotted the ripe/recently cut rice. As soon as we were close to these paddies we were surrounded by an estimated 2.000 Munias! The mass of them were Scaly-breasted Munias (of which at least 50% were juveniles!), with quite a lot of Javan Munias and some White-headed Munias mixed in as well. After a while we managed to locate three White-capped Munias! What a delight as this rare species is nowadays only observed from Pondok Bali in Java! I tried hard to find a site for this seldom-seen species in Bali on the internet and failed. What luck that we found a site ourselves! Even though we found this critter, we were not finished yet, as we hoped to locate some Java Sparrows as well. We scanned the flocks over and over again and in the end three juveniles were flying around us! Success again! After a while the juveniles rejoined with their parents and we counted up to eight individuals. What a great sighting and what a successful first attempt!

One of the estimated 1.500 Scaly-breasted Munias (Lonchura punctulata) in some rice paddies close to Ubud

A short video that shows the setting of the Ubud rice fields including hundreds of Munias (made by Anna van der Kaaden)

After this success we still wanted to try another site. We chose to walk the Campuhan Ridge Walk. Directions to this walk can be easily found on the internet, as it is popular with tourists. The walk lead you along many rice fields, but unfortunately all these paddies were still young, so Munias were very low in numbers and we only saw Scaly-breasted and Javan Munias. We saw some good birds anyway like Javan Kingfisher, Wood Sandpiper, Bar-winged Prinia and Golden-headed Cisticola. This area might be a good spot for rare Munias if the rice is ripe.

A record shot of a Javan Kingfisher (Halcyon cyanoventris), taken with a 50 mm lens...

I can highly recommend trying to find White-capped Munia or Java Sparrow around Ubud, for our searches have proven to be successful and both species are obviously declining and views of them are becoming rarer and rarer. Furthermore, if you are travelling independently through Bali, chances are big you pass through Ubud anyway, so why not check some rice fields here!

Bali August 2014, Bedugul (Gunung Mangu)

We wanted to do some birding outside the Botanical Gardens (Kebun Raya) of Bedugul, mostly in search for better forest, we started to walk the road leading East from the Strawberry Hill Hotel (which is located just South of lake Beratan). This road is part of the lake Beratan pariwisata site and so we had to pay 15.000 IDR entrance fee. We kept following this road and kept taking the left turns, making sure we were walking the ridge along side the lake. Eventually this road led us up to Gunung Mangu and into very good forest.

Along this road we saw a lot of birds that can also be seen within Kebun Raya, but we found some things that we did not find there. At the beginning the road is surrounded by agriculture, where Striated Grassbirds are common and fly-by Yellow-throated Hanging-parrots were a nice addition. when scrubby forest appeared the road divided and we kept to the left and entered reasonable secondary forest where Javan Grey-throated White-eyes, Sunda Warblers,Crescent-chested Babblers, Indonesian Honey-eaters, Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babblers and Blood-breasted Flowerpeckers were common. 

Male Blood-breasted Flowerpecker (Dicaeum sanguinolentum), taken with a 50 mm lens. Yes, we were close!

A bit further into the forest the road divides again and we kept to the left again. The road becomes a small track leading up to the mountain. The further we followed the road, the better the forest got and consequently different birds appeared as well. We enjoyed good views of Snowy-browed Flycatchers, Lesser Shortwing was very common and a Sunda Thrush which we flushed from the track was a most pleasant finding. Further up the mountain it became very misty and sightings of birds became scarce. However Collumbids were very common here and we heard Dark-backed Imperial Pigeons, Banded Fruit Doves and Ruddy Cuckoo-doves everywhere. We also managed one sighting of a Banded Fruit Dove. A calling Javan Owlet, was harassed by small Passerines, but this little owl managed to stay out of sight again... We followed the track almost to the top, but in the end we did not reach the summit as it started to rain heavily.

Male Snowy-browed Flycatcher (Ficedula hypererythra)

We enjoyed this walk/hike a lot and we can recommend it to everyone that is reasonably fit and interested to do some birding in Bedugul outside of the Kebun Raya. You don't need a guide for this track in our opinion, but you can take on anyway if you are afraid of getting lost. A guide might also show you some of the temples along the way, which we missed. 

Bali August 2014, Bedugul (Kebun Raya)

Kebun Raya, or botanical gardens, is the easiest place to see some montane species, some of which are Sundaic specialities, in Bali. It is located in Bedugul and can be easily reached by public transport from Singaraja, Ubud or Denpasar with one or two hours driving, so most people visit this site as a day trip. However when staying in Bedugul, the park can be visited earlier in the morning (the park still only opens around 8:00) and the area can be birded more thoroughly. This village can easily be reached from Singaraja or Ubud by bemo. Just state that you want to get out in Bedugul. The town offers few places to stay and we stayed in the Strawberry Hill Hotel, which we can highly recommend, but has one drawback. It is completely surrounded by a very busy road, making walking to the (rather close) botanical gardens quite difficult. In the end we paid 20.000 IDR for transport to the gardens and 15.000. IDR to get back.

 The entrance fee is 18.000 IDR, which is fair as the gardens are well maintained and they provide many toilets (2.000 IDR), rain shelters and a warung at the office as well as a restaurant at the Bali Treetop Adventure Park (for those who have kids...). Apparently there is a guesthouse that provides accommodation within the gardens, but it seemed closed, just like the cafe within the Medicine Garden. We birded the area for two mornings and we enjoyed our time here a lot. The gardens are rather open but still many forest birds do occur here, especially in the pockets where the forest gets a bit better. In the end we saw close to 60 species just within the gardens. A guide is definitely not necessary for this area.

Map of Kebun Raya including our bird sightings. 

A: Javan Owlet, 

B: Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon,
C: Yellow-throated Hanging-parrot
D: Sunda Bush-warbler
E: Javan Bush-warbler
F: Sunda Warbler
G: Javan Whistling-thrush
H: Possible Sunda Thrush
I: Indonesian Honeyeater

J: Crescent-chested Babbler

K: Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler

The first day we birded just within the main gardens and immediately after entering the park the first feeding flocks of Javan Grey-throated White-eyes, Mountain Leaf-warblers, Little Pied Flycatchers, Scarlet Minivets and Javan Treeshrews (surprisingly) appeared and Flame-fronted Barbets were heard. All these proved to (very) common within the gardens. We headed North up to a gully (just south of the fern garden) and enjoyed good views of Crescent-chested Babblers in this gully as well as fly-by Grey-cheeked Green-pigeons and Yellow-throated Hanging-parrots. Here a Javan Owlet was heard calling but remained out of sight as well. A bit further to the East an Indonesian Honeyeater was much appreciated as well. Unfortunately it started raining and we sheltered for a while. After the rain it became very foggy and that made birding rather difficult, but we still managed to get some views of a Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon in the Northern part of the main gardens. Later we want to the "Hutan Tropis" trail where many good species were observed, including Sunda Bush Warbler, Sunda Warbler, Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler, Fulvous-chested Jungle-flycatcher and Mountain White-eye. The fog and rain became worse so we called it a day after this area.

Javan Grey-throated (or Mees's) White-eye (Lophozosterops javanicus)

Mountain Leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus trivirgatus)

2nd kj male Little Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni)

Javan (or Horsfield's) Treeshrew (Tupaia javanica)

Two days later we returned to the park to focus on the North-western part of the park, which seems to consist of better forest than the main gardens. On the way to this area we enjoyed views of several perched Grey-cheeked Green Pigeons, a single Wedge-tailed Green-pigeon, two Javan Whistling-thrushes and a group of Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babblers as well as another calling Javan Owlet that managed to stay out of sight again. Once inside the North-western area it appeared rather quiet, but with a little work we still managed to see good birds, most notably two Javan Bush-warblers, a species that has only recently been discovered on Bali and was previously thought to be an Javan endemic, and a flushed thrush that could have been a Sunda thrush. Other species observed here were Rusty-breasted Whistler (much more common here), Sunda Cuckoo,Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Crescent-chested Babbler, Sunda Warbler and Lesser Shortwing. Species that are common in the main gardens appeared equally common here. It has been suggested that this site is better visited during week days and should be avoided on public holidays and weekends, for it can get very busy. This is definitely true for the main gardens, but not for the North-west loop, as we visited this area on the Indonesian Independence Day and hardly saw anybody.

Javan Whistling Thrush (Myophonus glaucinus)

Grey-cheeked Green-pigeon (Treron griseicauda)

Fulvous-chested Jungle-flycatcher (Rhinomyias olivaceus) in flight

We can highly recommend this area as it offers easy, but still very entertaining birding in pleasant surroundings. We suggest to bird the area for two days as new birds kept turning up. We even considered visiting the area for a third day...

Bali August 2014, Bali Barat National Park

The only national park of this Indonesian island needs no introduction, as it is world famous for being the last place on earth to see the absolutely stunning and critically endangered Bali Myna, which also is Bali's only endemic. So we paid this national park a visit. We based ourselves in Pemuteran to the East of the national park. This town offers a vast array of accommodation and food choices but has the disadvantage that it is around 30 km away from the national park. Another possibility is to stay in Gilimanuk, which is closer to the national park as well as to Gilimanuk Bay. Pemuteran and Gilimanuk can both be reached from Singaraja by bemo, which can be reached by bemo from Ubud or Denpasar. However getting to the national park is just half of the preparations needed, as guides are required for foreigners to enter the National Park and you will definitely need one to see the Bali Myna. The Burung Nasuntara website provides good information about this national park and on this website we found the phone-number of Pak Yudi. He is a well-known bird guide for the area and knows how and where to find the Bali Myna. His phone-number is +628164706265 or +6281236279090, but I am not sure if it works properly with a phone that is not Indonesian. He can also be reached through this email address: kt.yudi@yahoo.co.id. To be fair, he is rather expensive (900.000 IDR for a half day birding and 1.500.000 IDR for a full day birding), but it includes all transportation and lunch, he really knows the area and the birds, speaks decent English, is very professional and well organised and it seems that he is more or less the only choice at the moment if you want to see more than just the Bali Myna.

We initially booked Pak Yudi for a half day trip and started at 6:20 from our hotel. First we went to the office of the national park to arrange the paperwork and we managed to get some views of Javan Mynas as well. After that we went out birding to a site just East of the national park for Javan Banded Pitta and within ten minutes we could enjoy decent views of a calling male, while a further individual was calling in the background. After this stunner was observed well we went to a flowering tree that was apparently a good site to see Yellow-throated Hanging-parrot and after 20 minutes a bird came indeed. Other birds observed in this area were Racket-tailed Treepie, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Lineated Barbet, Asian Glossy-starling and a surprise escapee (?) in the form of a Finch-billed Myna.

Male Javan Banded Pitta (Hydrornis guajana). This picture doesn't quite do the bird justice

A record shot of a Yellow-throated Hanging-parrot (Loriculus pusillus)

After this successful morning we went to a site just south of the office with a lot of palms to search for Javan Flameback. This recently split endemic has been classified as vulnerable and is rarely seen both in Bali and Java, so we were keen to connect with this one. We spent an hour in the area but this big woodpecker managed to stay out of sight and remained heard only, or so we thought, as it turns out now that the sound recording (see below) might be of a Laced Woodpecker, that strangely reacted to Greater Flameback playback... Meaning that we did not even got close to ticking off Javan Flameback. What do you think? We also heard some Green Junglefowl in this area and enjoyed views of displaying Common Flying Dragons here.

Common Flying Dragon (Draco volans)

After this we went to Gilimanuk Bay to scan the area for waders and Lesser Adjutants, but as it was high-tide it was rather fruitless. However we got lucky with a fly-by Far-eastern Curlew next to some Black-naped terns and loads of White-shouldered Trillers. After this site we went inside the Menjangan Resort area to find the famous Bali Mynas. On the way we saw another Javan Banded Pitta as well as several Javan Rusas. We arrived at the guarded nesting site of the Bali Myna and we had a small chat with the guard until two little, white ghosts flew in and set down in their nesting tree, allowing brilliant views from the secluded guard post. It is indeed necessary that these birds are guarded, as their numbers are just above 30 and a couple of years ago the captive breeding center even suffered from an armed robbery as these birds still fetch a very high price on the bird markets. The birds used to be seen mostly on the peninsula of the national park, but they suffered from heavy predation here (up to 80% of the releases were unsuccessful) and so the releases are now taking place within the heavily guarded Menjangan Resort area.

Bali Myna (Leucopsar rothschildi)

As our half day of birding with Pak Yudi was now finished, but I still wanted to see some birds, especially shorebirds, we decided to extend our trip. While waiting for the low tide, we made a stroll into the monsoon forest just South of the main road, mainly to see Ebony Leaf Monkeys, which allowed good views, but also observed some nice birds like Fulvous-breasted Jungle-flycatcher and Rufous-backed Kingfisher. After this the tide was still low so we waited some more in the mangroves where four Lemon-bellied White-eyes as well as two Small Blue Kingfishers were much appreciated.

Ebony Leaf Monkey (Tachypithecus auratus)

Then the tide was finally receding and we took a small boat to enter Gilimanuk Bay. It took some time but eventually we connected with Large-billed Heron and two Lesser Adjutants, but we could not find Beach Thick-knee unfortunately even though we found very fresh footprints most likely belonging to this bird. Other shorebirds were still in low numbers as we only observed some Whimbrels, Eurasian Curlews, a single Far-eastern Curlew and Common Sandpipers, next to some terns. Afterwards we tried one more time to see the Javan Flameback but without success. On the way back to Pemuteran we our last stop at the salt pans just behind the Mimpi Resort where we managed to find three Javan Plovers as well as some Sunda Teals and Red-necked Stints.

Two Lesser Adjutants (Leptoptilos javanicus)

We enjoyed our time in and around the national park a lot and we would definitely recommend Pak Yudi as a day with him is not just a Bali Myna twitch but a full day enjoying the birds and mammals of the Balinese lowlands and monsoon forests.