Flores August – September 2014, Tambak Koliaduk Fishponds

This little known birding site is located just East of Maumere and after receiving an email from Mark Schellekens (a Dutch birder who lives in Moni) recommending it, we decided to pay it a visit. The site is composed of some fishponds and a lot of mangroves and is apparently a good site for waders and migrants and Indonesian rarities as the second Lesser Yellowlegs for Indonesia was found here. For a species list of this site see here LINK.

We drove there by car from Maumere, for which we paid 150.000 IDR including waiting time, which was a bit too much… We went there in the afternoon and as soon as we arrived at the little village we could see the fish ponds and it was also clear that it was low tide. At first we walked along the main road looking for some mudflats that could be checked, but we only saw mangroves and no birds at all. Later we entered the area of the fishponds after having asked permission to the local people. At the fishponds we did see little birds as well. Eventually I entered the mangroves together with a small local boy who tried very hard to show me some birds but in the end we found little to write home about. The only waders were a single Whimbrel and Greenshank which were heard only. We did find some Eastern Yellow Wagtails, proving that the Palearctic passerine migration had started.

The little boy told me that the birds were only here during the morning and when it was high tide. I guess during those times birding here can be productive, but during an afternoon with low tide I found it rather disappointing. Perhaps a little later in the year might also prove this site to be more productive. Be prepared to get wet and dirty feet in this area when entering the mangroves.

Flores August – September 2014, Kelimutu national park

This national park is after Komodo national park probably the most famous tourist attraction as the three differently coloured lakes of the Kelimutu volcano apparently are a sight to behold. For us Kelimutu was a sort of back-up for species we missed on the “standard” Flores birding circuit. Besides it is known to be a good spot to see Flores Green-pigeon. Next to the pigeon I only missed Five-coloured Munia, so we thought that it should definitely be possible to clean up at this site. Furthermore we hoped to get some (better) looks at species that we only heard or had seen rather briefly like Wallace’s Scops-owl and White-rumped Kingfisher. How wrong we were…

We based ourselves, just like all other tourists who want to visit the National Park, in Moni. The first day we walked a bit around in the area and managed to find some Five-coloured Munia between some Black-faced Munias in the rice fields and a Green Junglefowl calling from some scrub, but nothing else worth mentioning. We tried to meet up with Mark Schellekens (a Dutch birder who lives in Woloara, the next town), but he was currently in the Netherlands and therefore could not provide some inside information on the birds. The next morning we headed up the volcano with a private car (300.000 IDR) at 04:00 to see the sunset above the volcano as well as to try for Wallace’s Scops-owl. Unfortunately as soon as we got to the office of the national park it turned out that the entrance fees had been changed in September. Instead of 20.000 IDR foreigners had to pay 150.000 IDR on weekdays and 225.000 IDR on Sundays! Obviously we were unlucky enough to be there on a Sunday and on top of that we did not have enough money with us to pay these high fees. We tried to talk our way in, but this was of little use as the national park guards were already annoyed, as all car drivers stood there screaming that they were going to die, for they saw their businesses collapsing with these new high fees. We went back down the volcano and made a couple of stops here and there at the ridiculously tiny patches of scrubby forest that remain outside of the national park to try for Wallace’s Scops-owl. None was found obviously. Defeated we returned to our hotel and went to bed.

We cannot say if the new high fees are worth it, as we never entered the national park. Furthermore we heard that these new fees are going to apply for all national parks in the country. If the money (or at least a part of it) truly goes towards the national park and the maintenance of it, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to pay more, in my opinion…

Flores August – September 2014, Kisol

Kisol is The spot in Flores to visit lowland and hill forests, as these appear hard to find at other sites, at least in West Flores. The tiny village of Kisol lies at trans-Flores road and is therefore easy to reach from either Ende (five hours) or Ruteng (three hours). There seems to be only one option for accommodation in this village, which is the catholic seminary. Everybody knows the seminary; including taxi and bus drivers and they will definitely be able to drop you off here. We got there by private transport from Ruteng, for which we paid 500.000 IDR. Normally the seminary has some sort of small homestay were guest can stay, but the owner was away so we stayed at the seminary itself. When staying here you could join the three communal meals (at 06:30, 13:00 and 19:00), which we did and the food as well as the company of the teachers and priests was excellent. However the eating times don’t really match with the schedules of a birder so we skipped one or two. It would be better if the seminary is contacted before arriving as at first the teachers and priests didn’t really know what to do with us, but nobody could give me any phone numbers, so perhaps asking a driver or hotel owner if they could give you a phone number of the seminary might be a good idea. There are no fixed prices for the stay at the seminary, but you will be asked to pay a donation for your stay. We donated Morten Strange’s bird book (it’s a shitty bird book anyways) and 300.000 IDR, which we found more than fair for two nights and several meals. Furthermore, unmarried couples should consider sleeping in separate rooms here.

The birding site at Kisol can easily be reached on foot (45 minutes), but most people choose to take an ojek. If you choose to walk, these are the directions when leaving the seminary behind you, go to the right on the main road (Trans-Flores road) and cross a small bridge. The next road head to the South (left). Follow this road and take the first large track to the right after the football field. Follow this track for some time through plantations and after a Teak plantation the good quality forest starts (see sketch) where we found most specialities of the area. I think this is the area where most people go birding here, but I am not sure.

We birded the area three times, one afternoon, one morning and one evening and this yielded most of the interesting birds of the area. The first afternoon was mainly dedicated to finding the way to the good forests around Bukit Pacandeki (the hill you can see to the South-west from the seminary). In the end we found the way using the directions from Burung Nusantara and by asking for the way to the “hutan alam”. Once there Helmeted Friarbird proved to be abundant and  Elegant Pitta’s and White-rumped Kingfishers where calling everywhere, but both remained out of sight as did the sneaky Thick-billed White-eye. However we got some good views of two Flores Crows, pumping their rather longish tails while calling. We saw some pigeons too, but only Black-naped Fruit-doves and Green Imperial Pigeons.

A sketch of the Kisol/Bukit Pacandeki area. It is not to scale

Flores Crow (Corvus florensis) flying a little to soon of its perch

The next morning we were back on the track around 7:00 (we started at 6:00 from the seminary) and got some brilliant views of an Elegant Pitta of the concinna subspecies in which the supercilium turns bluish behind the eye. Alas the White-rumped Kingfishers, although calling fanatically, managed to stay out of sight again… Several Flores Crows were calling in the area we had seen them the day before, as well as quite a lot of Orange-footed Scrubfowl and a single Green Junglefowl. Around 08:00 we saw a raptor flying over, which turned out to be an Oriental Honey-buzzard, but still we hasted us to a spot where we could view the southern slopes of Bukit Pacandeki properly. As soon as we were in position we noticed a raptor flying above the slopes and it turned out to be a Flores Hawk-eagle! I had expected to wait for hours for this species, but no it showed up immediately! We stayed an hour more, as this rare raptor flew rather quickly out of sight and during this hour we saw another Oriental Honey-buzzard, a Variable/Brown Goshawk as a very distant raptor that might have been a second Flores Hawk-eagle. After this success we made our way back to the seminary.

Elegant Pitta (Pitta elegans concinna)

A very distant raptor flying above the slopes of Bukit Pacandeki, which could have been a Flores Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus floris)

In the evening we returned to the forest for some owling. We left the seminary at 17:00 and arrived 17:45 at the forest edge and Mees’s Nightjars showed up immediately and set down three meters in front of us calling and allowing absolutely stunning views. Why did I leave my camera at the seminary? Moluccan Scops-owls started calling as well and in no-time we had good flight views of two individuals. The next two hours were spent searching for Wallace’s Scops-owl, which we missed in the Ruteng area. We had a little more luck here as we heard two individuals responding from a distance to the tape, but they never came close. The next morning we left Kisol by simply standing next to the Trans-Flores road and boarding the first car that stopped.

We enjoyed birding at Kisol a lot, especially because it was nice to be able to walk to a birding spot, which was also not located along a busy road. A nice contrast to the birding spots in the Ruteng area! We also enjoyed our stay at the seminary, but if you do not feel comfortable staying here, Borong, the next village towards Ruteng, provides more accommodation, but it also means that Bukit Pacandeki is further away and an ojek will be necessary to get you there. 

Flores August – September 2014, Danau Ranamese

This is the most famous birding spot in the Ruteng area, but we almost skipped it as we found almost all specialities of the Ruteng area at Golo Lusang or Pagal. However as we had hired private transport to Kisol, we made a short stop here, as it was on the way anyway.

Even while driving through the forests around Danau Ranamese we could here Bare-throated Whistlers everywhere. We got out of the car and had a look at the freshwater lake. It proved good for several Pacific Black Ducks and a surprise in the form of a Dusky Moorhen, which allowed good comparison with a Common Moorhen, which was also present. We walked a bit along the main road to check the forest here out. During the short walk we found some Bare-throated Whistlers, A single Banded Fruit-dove, many Mountain White-eyes, a male Little Pied Flycatcher and some Golden-rumped Flowerpeckers.

The road along Danau Ranamese is indeed a bit busier than the Golo Lusang road, but it is much wider with a big strip of grass, making walking along the road a bit more pleasant. I think it is a more pleasant spot to search for owls than Golo Lusang, but if I would be in Ruteng again I would try Poco Ranaka first as there seems to be barely any traffic along that road.

Danau Ranamese from the viewpoint (picture made by Anna van der Kaaden)

Flores August – September 2014, Pagal

Next to the Potawangka Road, Pagal is the only more or less reliable place to see Wallace’s Hanging Parrot on the “standard” Flores birding circuit. The area is actually the patch of decent forest behind the village Pagal, which is located north of Ruteng. We got there by ojek from Ruteng in 45 minutes and paid 200.000 IDR per person for the drop and pick-up.

We arrived around 7:30 and noticed that here, as in so many places in Flores, the road was being widened and a lot of road repairs were being done as well. We birded the area mainly by walking the road up and down. As soon as we started birding a Bonelli’s Eagle of the endemic renschi subspecies flew over. Very nice! A bit further in a bend of the road there was a small stream were we heard a thrush singing. We played the tape and a Chestnut-backed Thrush flew over the stream a couple of times but always perched out of sight. We walked further along the road and sat down near some flowering trees, but unfortunately only common species came by such as Variable Goshawk, Oriental White eye (ssp. unicus), Rusty-breasted Whistler, Crested White-eye, Flores Minivet, Flame-breasted Sunbird, Black-fronted and Golden-backed Flowerpecker. However a single male Blood-breasted Flowerpecker of the local rhodopygiale subspecies was much appreciated.

Male Flores Minivet (Pericrocotus lansbergei)

1st cy male Black-fronted Flowerpecker (Dicaeum ingiferum)

Juvenile Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster) in flight

Then the road workers had started and the pounding of rock made so much noise we couldn’t hear a single bird, so walked back along the road and checked more flowering trees and some fruiting figs but no sign of the Hanging-parrot (or Flores Green-pigeon). Suddenly a small green torpedo shot over the road and disappeared in the forest. A Hanging-parrot? No, a Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch! I don't think I have ever been so dissapointed in seeing a Parrotfinch... Later we entered the forest near the forest stream where we had seen the Chestnut-backed Thrush, but we did not find it again. However we heard a Wallace’s Hanging-parrot screeching while flying over the canopy, but we did not manage to see it. We did not see any Leaf Lorikeets (another speciality of this site) during our visit here, but luckily we already had found them in a patch of Eucalyptus forest between Labuanbajo and Ruteng, but I have no clue were this patch is located exactly.

Around 11:00 we left the area as it got quite hot by now. This site seems a nicer spot to search for the Hanging-parrot than the Potawangka road to me, as there is much less traffic and if there are no road works it must be nice and quiet. Although I don’t know if the traffic will increase when the road has been widened and finished…

Flores August – September 2014, Golo Lusang

There are several areas around the city of Ruteng that have proven to be productive. Danau Ranamese is probably the most famous one, as the rare Flores Scops-owl has been rediscovered here. Golo Lusang is also famous, but mainly for having a nice view and loads of Bare-throated Whistlers singing their air-sacks out at dawn. As the forest at Golo Lusang apparently also hosts the same species as Danau Ranamese, we decided to try this site first, for it is much closer to Ruteng, it lies on a smaller road and people were less afraid of hantu’s at this site. We birded Golo Lusang one morning and one evening and got there by ojek, for which we paid 100.000 IDR per motorcycle.

We got dropped off around 8:00, so quite some time after dawn, but the Bare-throated Whistlers still gave it their best. After some while we managed to find two and got good views of their bright red throats bulging out while they were singing. Walking down and back up the windy road we also got good views of several other interesting species including Scaly-crowned Honeyeater, Russet-backed (Flores) Jungle-flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Warbler, Timor (Flores) Leaf-warbler, White-browed and Thick-billed White-eye. Unfortunately even though the area lies along a smaller road, there is still plenty of honking traffic to be sufficiently annoying.

Male Bare-throated Whistler (Pachycephala nudigula)

White-browed White-eye (Lophozosterops superciliaris)

Flores (Timor) Leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus (presbytes) floris)

Scaly-crowned Honey-eater (Lichmeria lombokia)

Brown-capped Fantail (Rhiphidura diluta)

Around 17:15 we returned to this site and after asking the hantu’s for permission to enter the forest (as is the custom here) walked down the road in search for a proper spot to start owling. While walking down the road we got brief views of a male Little Pied Flycatcher and two perched Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon, but Pygmy Cupwing and the local form of White-browed Shortwing managed to stay out of sight and therefore remained heard-only. As soon as it got dark we gave both Wallace’s and Flores Scops-owl a try, but no response at first. While walking further down the road and trying again and again for both species we eventually got a response from a Flores Scops-owl! We manoeuvred to a good spot and after a while this little owl got very close. The moment we knew where it was sitting and wanted to turn the light on four very kind motorcyclists treated us with a nice, proper honking and the owl bailed… However frustrating, we decided that since it is an endangered species it is probably better if we don’t start the play-back again, here or at another territory. Although we had have some success with the Flores Scops-owl, the Wallace’s Scops-owl remained silent.

Even though the forest here is good as well as the species and the road smaller than the road at Danau Ranamese, the traffic here is still annoying as hell. I think it is better to invest most of your birding time in the Poco Ranaka area, as there it seems the species composition there is similar to Golo Lusang and Danau Ranamese and the traffic there is apparently almost non-existent. 

Flores August - September 2014, Puarlolo

Puarlolo is famous among birders for being the only reliable site for a bird that has been discovered only recently: Flores Monarch. It is a small patch of good quality forest located around (mostly South) to the Puarlolo Telecom Tower, which can be reached within an hour driving from Labuanbajo. We went there by car for (500.000 IDR including three hours waiting time), but any form of transport should do, ojek, public bus, bemo etc. Just state that you want to go to menara telekom Puarlolo and than they will know where you want to go.

Once we got to the tower (8:30) we took the small tarmac road leading to the South, which has a big sign stating it goes to Wae Lolos just opposite of the tower. Normally people go a few hundred meter back toward Labuanbajo to enter the forest, but the forest around the entrance looked pretty good, so we gave it a try. The patch of forest turned out to be rather small, but in the end that turned out to be not the worst idea to check it out. We birded mainly on that small tarmac road, but also entered the forest through some small paths. After we birded the patch for an hour or so we heard the call of a monarch and slowly it came closer to show itself. In the end we had decent views even of it fighting with a female Black-naped Monarch. Another Flores endemic can be seen in this area as well: Flores Crow. We enjoyed rather fleeting flight views of two, but heard them most of the time we were in the area. Other interesting species recorded at Puarlolo included Russet-capped Tesia (very common here), Crested White-eye (common here), White-rumped Kingfisher (heard only distantly), Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon (surprisingly many heard and one seen perched briefly along the main road), Golden-rumped Flowerpecker, Flores Minivet, White-shouldered Cicadabird and Oriental White-eye of the unicus subspecies (which is sometimes split as Flores White-eye).

Flores Monarch (Symposiachrus sacerdotum)

Crested White-eye (Lophozosterops dohertyi)

Oriental (or Flores) White-eye (Zosterops (palpebrosus) unicus)

Female Flores Minivet (Pericrocotus lansbergei)

Golden-rumped Flowerpecker (Dicaeum annae)

We enjoyed the birding here a lot as a many Lesser Sunda (and Flores) specialties can be viewed here with reasonable ease and why would you skip this site as Flores Monarch can be viewed only here!

Komodo August 2014, Komodo National Park

Komodo, being probably the single most famous national park of the entire Indonesian country, it needs no introduction. The national park consists of the larger part of the sea between Flores and Sumbawa, dozens of small islets and two larger islands, Komodo and Rinca. Both of the larger and two smaller islands host the main attraction of this national park: Komodo Dragons. Most tourist go to Rinca on a one day trip, as this is by far the cheapest option as Rinca is much closer to Flores (two hours by boat) than Komodo(four hours by boat). Unfortunately Komodo is much more interesting bird-wise than Rinca, as the forest on Rinca is almost gone, while it still remains on Komodo. Furthermore the viewing of Komodo Dragons on Rinca appears to be rather staged, compared to Komodo.

As most tourist go to Rinca it was difficult for us to find a payable option to go to Komodo. The cheapest option (around 1.200.000 IDR per person) is probably to join a two day Rinca-Komodo tour, however this includes numerous other stops. So in the tried to find a boat ourselves, but turned out to even more expensive (4.000.000 IDR for a two day tour to Komodo). In the end we found a boat for 2.500.000 IDR at Wanua Adventures, which would bring us very early in the morning to Komodo and would return in the afternoon. Some tourists were interested in sharing the costs, but as soon as they found out that our trip would not include snorkelling, they turned away. Later we found out that all prices are probably rigged and a fair price for a one day tour to Komodo should be around 1.500.000 IDR for the boat…

We left Labuanbajo at 6:15 and arrived at Komodo around 9:00, which was earlier than we had anticipated. On the way we saw few species to write home about. Only a single Lesser Frigatebird next to some Black-naped and Greater Crested Terns. Once we were on the island and paid our entrance fees (20.000 IDR per person), camera fees (50.000 IDR per camera) and guide fees (80.000 IDR per guide) and got started. You can do several treks on Komodo: short, medium, long and adventure treks. We opted for a long trek to enjoy the islands nature properly, but unfortunately as soon as we started our guide explained to us that if a trek takes longer than two hours one has to pay the guide again! In the end we just trekked two hours over the island, but fortunately we still managed to see almost all the species we wanted to see. However in hindsight the guide probably was just grumpy because he might miss his lunch, so I suppose that it is better for the guides (as for the birds) it might be better to do long treks in the early morning. 

When we finally started walking I soon heard Yellow-crested Cockatoos and not much later we enjoyed sights of a perched individual munching away on tamarinds! I worried a bit about this species as several people state that this species can be difficult here as soon as it gets hot, but luckily we had no trouble with them. Not much later we bumped into three adult Komodo Dragons and two juveniles as well! We could enjoy good views of all of them, drinking and sun bathing. While we viewed these giants many Green Junglefowls ran about, a species that later proved to be incredibly common and easy to view here. We enjoyed crippling views of many colourful cocks and some drab hens. The introduced Timor Deer and Wild boars are equally common and approachable, which is nice but also creates a zoo-like atmosphere...

Adult female Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

Juvenile Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

A Yellow-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulpurea) enjoying tamarind fruits

Chickens can be so stunning! Here a male Green Junglefowl (Gallus varius)

We walked further into the forest and the amount of other tourist became less and less as did the zoo like atmosphere as the animals started to behave more naturally. We enjoyed good views of Wallacaen Cuckooshrike, Barred Dove and Wallacaen Drongo here as well as several flocks consisting of Rusty-breasted Whistler, Black-naped Monarch, Yellow-spectacled and Lemon-bellied White-eye. A Beach Thick-knee that flew over remained heard only. We also got brilliant views of a pair of Orange-footed Scrubfowl, a species I was looking forward to see a lot. A Flying Dragon (Draco boschmai) was caught and this enabled us to see its “wings” properly. After this our “long” trek was almost finished but first we checked an Acacia in front of the guest house, where Mollucan Scops-owls roost normally, but unfortunately many branches of this tree have been cut and the owls have not returned ever since. We checked some other trees but no owls were to be found.

A pair of Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt)

Male Wallacean Cuckooshrike (Coracina personata)

We started our return journey around 11:30, much earlier than anticipated, but luckily the journey turned out to be the most entertaining part of the day! Our boat trip became a proper pelagic with at least six Bulwer’s Petrels and a single Red-necked Phalarope. However it was not the birds that made our journey worthwhile. It was the Cetaceans as two Common Bottlenose Dolphins, two pods of Spinner Dolphins and a single Risso’s Dolphin showed around our boat! Two Green Turtles were also enjoyed a lot and thanks to our lovely boat man who stopped the boat at the moment the finger pointed in some direction we managed to photograph some of these animals as well!

Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii)

Two individuals of a larger pod of Spinner Dolphins (Stenella longirostris)

I definitely would recommend visiting Komodo, as the wildlife watching on the way to and on the island can be exceptional. However it surely should be possible to get to the island in a cheaper way than we did. Perhaps avoiding the tourist agents and just walking into the harbour and asking boat captains themselves might be fairer (both for you and the boat captain). We suggest to use our lovely and very capable captain Ary (006281239583111), who normally works for Sunset tours (a different organisation than the one we booked this trip through, therefore I unfortunately don’t know their prices).

Flores August - September 2014, Potawangka Road

The Potawangka Road is one of the easily accessible birding sites close to Labuanbajo. It offers some roadside birding with chances of good (or very good) species like Flores Green Pigeon, Flores Crow and Wallace's Hanging-parrot, so we tried our luck here. We reached the site by bemo (50.000 one way per person). The best way if you ask me. Just tell the bemo driver to drop you at the Potawangka Road (but mostly they don't know this name, so ask for the road leading to Terang) and walk 2 km on the road. There the road enters scrubby forest, that gets better and better the further you walk.

We arrived quite late (8:30) at the road and kept birding just along the road, for no path looked very promising. Not surprisingly we did not encounter any of the goodies mentioned above, but we had a good time anyways with some Lesser Sunda specialties like (Lesser) Wallacaen Drongo (common here), Yellow-spectacled White-eye (common here as well), Flame-breasted Sunbird (very, very common here), Black-fronted and Golden-rumped Flowerpecker, Ararufa Fantail, Russet-capped Tesia and Black-faced Munia. A juvenile Variable Goshawk was much appreciated as well. We birded along this road until 11:30. After this it was way too hot to continue and the bird activity had dropped a lot too.

Male Flame-breasted Sunbird (Cinnyris solaris)

(Lesser) Wallacaen Drongo (Dicrurus (densus) bimaensis)

Yellow-spectacled White-eye (Zosterops wallacei)

Juvenile Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster)

I do not really recommend this site to anyone, unless you have some spare time or you missed some specializes and want to give them another try. Simay (2009) describes the road as very deteriorated, but it appears that the road has been fixed and there is quite a lot of traffic here now, so unless you find yourself a good looking track leading in better forest, it is not particularly pleasant birding here. On the other hand the new road might enable you to get further up the Potawangka road by bemo or ojek, making better quality forest easier accessible...

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.