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)

Kalimantan May - July 2014, Ulu Barito

In the previous post about this area, I announced that I would return and so I did for another seven wonderful weeks. Again the results were fruitful, but not to many new species were added to the site list. I guess the curve is flattening. New additions were mostly birds I've been expecting to find in the area, but which kept eluding me like Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker, Red-throated Sunbird, Puff-backed Bulbul and Little Green Pigeon. However I managed to add another endemic to the list as well: Bornean Whistler. With these additions the current Batikap total exceeds 240!

Just like during the first and the second visit, I spend a lot of time searching for rare Galliformes. Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to get better looks at Black Partridges nor Bornean Peacock-pheasants, although the latter was calling fanatically on some days! Nor allowed the Orang-utan schedule another visit to the Bulwer's Pheasant lek. However I was lucky enough to get good views on a male (and female) Bulwer's Pheasant foraging on the riverbanks. Finally! The more common Galliformes, Crested Partridge and Crested Fireback, were observed much more often and the latter was observed virtually daily! I guess this was due to the fact that the masting (mass fruiting) of the forest has started now. Unfortunately I still did not get the chance to make any photographs of any of the rare Galliformes, but in the end I found a different way to remember my sightings. This way can be viewed in a video here.

Even though the masting has started, I must admit that I miss the migrants. They certainly add something like a surprise factor to the Bornean avifauna. So I focussed more on uncommon resident species that I had not seen well during the previous visits. Consequently I enjoyed brilliant views of Wallace's Hawk-eagle, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Green Broadbill, Malaysian Honeyguide, Moustached and Malaysian Hawk-cuckoo, next to the more familiar goodies like Blue-headed Pitta, Short-toed Coucal, Blue-banded Kingfisher and Large Green Pigeon.

Rufous-bellied Eagle (Lophotriorchis kienerii)

Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus)

Moustached Hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx vagans)

Juvenile Malaysian Hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx fugax)

Green Broadbill (Calyptomena viridis), such a brilliant bird!

Female Blue-banded Kingfisher (Alcedo euryzona)

Again the mammals were a highlight too. Especially the amount of Bearded Pigs, attracted by the Dipterocarp seeds is incredible. The numbers of Sambar and both Muntjacs and Mouse-deer have also increased due to the masting. The Bornean Orang-utans and Bornean White-bearded Gibbons seemed to enjoy plentiful food as well. Other highlights were another Bornean Slow Loris and a Tree-striped Ground Squirrel.

Greater Mouse-deer (Tragulus napu)

Unfortunately this was the last time in the near future that we stayed in this wonderful area. We will not soon forget our times here. I mean there are not many places where Bornean Peacock-pheasant, Bornean Ground-cuckoo, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Large-green Pigeon and Large Frogmouth can alll be heard just from your bed or where Blue-banded Kingfishers and Malaysian Hawk-cuckoos watch you while you take a bath in the river...

Kalimantan May - July 2014, Sabangau National Park

Before heading back to the dipterocarp forests of Batikap we spent two days in the peatswamp forests of Sabangau National Park. It was very interesting to note the differences between the two forest  types. Peatswamps are definitely the harder environment, but the diversity is lower. Although several species are confined to this forest type or are easier to see here than in other forest types. Again our stay was aided by a conservation organisation and this time it was the Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project (OuTrop). Besides doing some birding just for fun, one day was also "work" as I was helping with the Rainforest: Live project.

My main targets of this forest were Crestless Fireback, Storm's Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Bonaparte's Nightjar and Hook-billed Bulbul. Obviously I did not see all of these rareties, in fact I only saw Hook-billed Bulbul. I was surprised how hard to find this species was and how skittish and shy they were, but eventually they showed reasonably. Surprisingly another team that went out searching for wildlife for Rainforest: Live stumbled upon a female Crestless Fireback! I guess it is just a matter of luck and walking stealthily whether or not you manage to see them.

Hook-billed Bulbul (Setornis criniger)

We also tried on during one morning and one night for the Nightjar, but without success. However we heard two different Blyth's Frogmouths, several Sunda Scops-owls and a Brown Wood-owl. We also spent a morning on a 35 meter high research tower in the hope to see Storm's Storks or Lesser Adjutant, but without success. We still got some nice views of other species like Greater Green Leafbird, White-bellied Woodpecker, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Thick-billed Green-pigeon and Chestnut-bellied Malkoha and it was amazing to see the sun rise above the forest as well.

White-bellied Woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis)

Thick-billed Green-pigeon (Treron curvirostra)

Surprisingly many mammals were recorded as well including the well studied Orangutans, Bornean White-bearded Gibbon and Maroon Langurs, next to Lesser Mouse Deer, Slender Squirrel, Plaintain Squirrel, Painted, Slender and Long-footed Treeshrew. A nice Malaysian Brown Snake was also observed. As with Batikap Protection forest, this site is of the regular tourist radar and might be difficult to visit for "normal birders". I would recommend Tanjung Puting as an alternative, as they have most key species (exept the Bonapartes Nightjar) there as well.

Bornean White-bearded Gibbon (Hylobates albibarbis)

Singapore May 2014, Botanic Gardens

During our last visit, we birded the Botanic Gardens once, but failed to find the very tame Mangrove Pitta, which resided during that time in the Healing Gardens. Now we visited these gardens four times, but with a different target species.

This time we were searching for the Red-legged Crakes that inhabit the gardens. Apparently these gardens are one of the best places in the world to see this shy species. We searched several sites within the Botanic Gardens thoroughly, like the Eco Lake, the Foliage Garden, the Fern Garden, the Healing Garden and the area around the visitors centre, but in the end we saw only White-breasted Waterhens and no Red-legged Crakes. We saw lots of more common species though, of which Grey-headed Fish-eagle, van Hasselt's Sunbird and Large-tailed Nightjar are probably the most notable. Like in Sungei Buloh, the migrants were definitely missed. We also recorded Common Treeshrew and Plaintain Squirrel, like the last time, but this time also found a Slender Squirrel.

Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans) (male) are very common in the Botanic Gardens

Laced Woodpecker (Picus vittatus), another common species (video made by Anna van der Kaaden)

Singapore May 2014, Sungei Buloh

After two months in Kalimantan it was time to arrange a new visa for Indonesia again ans so we spent another week in Singapore. I wanted to give the Mangrove Pitta another try, so we visited Sungei Buloh again. For information how to reach this lovely mangrove forest see this post about our first visit to this site.

Unfortunately we did not find the pitta, nor many other interesting species. I think that Singapore is indeed generally boring outside the migratory season. We did find one migrant, a Pacific Golden Plover, that was still sticking around, but not the interesting migrants that can be seen here in other times of the year. Other interesting birds observed here included Oriental Pied Hornbill, Copper-throated Sunbird and Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker. We also saw a Saltwater Crocodile here, but dipped the Smooth Otters again...

Male Copper-throated Sunbird (Nectarinia calcostetha)

Male Oriental Pied-hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) chewing on a stick

I would advice against visiting this site (or entire Singapore) outside of the migratory season, for it is not the resident species that make this place (or country) interesting, but its migrants. Without them the birding is rather slow and boring.

Kalimantan March - May 2014, Ulu Barito

As announced in the previous post about this area we returned to Batikap for another amazing six weeks in this pristine forest. The results were again very fruitful birdwise. During the first visit we observed more than 190 species and were able to add another 40 species to the list during our second stay. This made our list of this site longer than most survey lists including the Heart of Borneo expedition lead by Martin Holland and the very good Barito Ulu expedition from 1989!

 Species that were newly found in the Batikap protection forest that deserve mentioning are Bornean Ground-cuckoo, Bornean Banded Pitta, Fulvous-breasted Jungle-flycatcher, Malaysian Honey-guide, Rail-babbler (which might be the first record of this species in Kalimantan since 2006), Wallace´s Hawk-eagle, Grey-breasted Babbler and Sunda Frogmouth. We also found the first Crow-billed Drongo for Central Kalimantan during our second stay, but unfortunately there is no proof of this record, as it was observed from a cis, however bill-size and tail-shape were very conclusive for this species. Another major discovery that made me very happy was the second Fairy Pitta for Batikap. The first was found by Adhy Maruly in the arctic winter of 2013 and this individual stayed around the camp for months. The individual found in 2014 is the fourth individual for Central Kalimantan and the fifth for entire Kalimantan (and with that, quite possibly for entire Indonesia!).

The fifth record for Fairy Pitta (pitta nympha)

Another crappy record shot, this time of a Grey-breasted Babbler (Ophrydornis albogularis)

Other interesting observations were the amount of migratory birds, which passed through Batikap on their way up North. Migrants observed included the Fairy Pitta I mentioned above, Siberian Blue Robin, Zappey's Flycatcher, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Common Kingfisher, Blue-winged Pitta, Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe´s Snipe. The former two species are always a pain to separate (see this post) but this time I managed to record the flight calls of 2 different individuals (out of 32 individuals found) of which one recording points towards Pin-tailed snipe (around 2 kHz) while the other recording points towards Swinhoe´s snipe (around 3 kHz). However, it appears very little is known about the exact vocalisations of the two species and my identification might well be proven wrong, but for now they match with the recordings on xeno-canto.org. (note that Myers states in “the Birds of Borneo” that Pin-tailed Snipe calls around 4 kHz which is possibly wrong)


Of course my searches for the three difficult ayam hutans continued as well. After countless attempts to see them on foot, it turned out that the rivers were my best allies. A male and female Black Partridge got flushed by our cis/klotok/prahu next to Joloi River and were forced to cross a small stream allowing reasonable views. Unfortunately I never figured out the actual vocalisations of this species… A female Bulwer´s Pheasant flew over Posu River and allowed short views and in a similar fashion a male Bornean Peacock-pheasant crossed Joloi River. Therefore and due to a very busy schedule with another Orang-utan release I never tried again at the Bulwer´s Pheasant lekking site and was it even more impossible to visit the saltpan (see last post about this site). Other species I managed to get (much) better looks at included Large-billed Blue-flycatcher, Great Slaty Woodpecker and Short-toed Coucal.

Large-billed Blue-flycatcher (cyornis caerulatus)

Short-toed Coucal (Centropus rectungius)

Another interesting thing going on in Batikap at the moment is the flowering of most tree species (including most of the dipterocarps), pointing out that a masting is about to happen (and pointing out that it will be an El Nino year). During the week we were leaving most of the smaller dipterocarps were already covered with their helicopter fruits, but these were still small. I am so excited that we will experience a masting of a Bornean lowland dipterocarp forest, for it means that many animals from surrounding areas will gather to feast on the massive amount of fruits. We already noted that the amount of Bearded Pigs increased a lot. Also the bird compositions seems changed with large amounts of Green Imperial Pigeons and different species of Bulbuls (mostly Black-headed and Black-and-White) present compared to our earlier visit. The bird activity was also a lot higher than last time, with a lot of birds starting to breed and many species (like Garnet Pitta and Bornean Ground-cuckoo) were calling now, that were not calling or were calling a lot less during our first visit. We also noted that the amount of nest-swiftlets decreased a lot, but I have no explanation for this.

A bad picture of Garnet Pitta (Erythropitta granatina)

What also was a different experience was the opportunity to venture deep into the forest at night with the company of four students from Bogor, Java, who were surveying frogs. This enabled me to find a lot of nightbirds like Sunda Frogmouth, Oriental Bay Owl, Brown Boobook, Barred Eagle-owl and Reddish Scops Owl. We also found several sleeping birds, including White-crowned Forktail. The close-up sightings of this species enabled me to get decent looks at the crest-length and tail-spotting distinguishing this species from the “Bornean” Forktail. A blogpost about the best features distinguishing the both (sub)species can be found here. Of course we also got great looks at a lot of frogs of which the Bornean Horned Frog was by far the most breath-taking.

Male Bornean Horned Frog (Megophrys nasuta) (picture made by Anna van der Kaaden)

During the nightly searches for frogs we also found some mammals like the amazing Sunda Tarsier, Bornean Slow Loris, which truly is a slow animal, Muller´s Rat and Dark-tailed Tree-rat. Other cool mammals observed (next to the dozens of Bearded Pigs, who can actually be quite scary when met alone on foot in the forest) were Smooth Otter, Binturong, Long-footed Treeshrew, Large Treeshrew, Lesser Mousedeer and Bornean Yellow Muntjac. Looking back at our second stay I am (again) very content with the results and looking forward to return to this lovely place.

Bornean Slow Loris (Nycticebus menagensis)

Sunda Tarsier (Tarsius bancanus)

Singapore March 2014, Sungei Buloh

After a tip from my friend Lars Buckx, we also visited Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore. This site is somewhat further away from the city centre than the other sites we´ve visited, but still rather easily accessible by public transport. Take the Nort-South MRT Line (the red one) to Kranji. Here you have to take the SMRT 925 bus (1.10 SGD). When visiting the reserve on a Sunday (like we did) this bus stops directly in front of the entrance of the reserve. When visiting on another day, you have to get out at the next stop and walk 15 minutes to the entrance. We really liked this park, even though it pissed down on us for most of time we were here. However expect the reserve to be very busy, which makes the recording of sounds close to impossible.

Our main interest in the reserve were the waders and shore birds, but of course we looked at other birds as well. The best time to observe shore birds in the reserve is probably September - November, but we still managed to see some species like Whimbrel, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover and best of all: Chinese Egret. Again some other migrants were also observed: Asian Brown Flycatcher, Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, Blue-tailed Bee-eater and (again!) a female Von Schrenk´s Bittern. Besides these birds we observed the more common resident birds of Singapore that can be seen in most other parks too. We also saw some non-avian highlights like loads of Water Monitors, Long-tailed Macaques and two Saltwater Crocodiles!

A Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes) together with two Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta)

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) together with two Pacific Golden Plovers (Pluvialis fulva)

Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) with Common Greenshanks (Tringa nebularia) in the background

Singapore March 2014, Botanic Gardens

In Pasir Ris we received a tip that there was a very tame Mangrove Pitta staying in the Herb Gardens of the Botanical Gardens. Since we dipped this species in Pasir Ris we paid these gardens a visit. We wanted to visit them anyways. The gardens are easy to reach by public transport, as are most sites in Singpore. Take the MRT Circle Line (the yellow one) and get out at the stop named "Botanical Gardens". Once outside, you are virtually inside the gardens. It couldn´t be easier.

We spend a lot of our time in the Gardens searching for the Pitta, but again without luck. I was starting to doubt that it was actually lingering in the Herb Gardens, as these gardens were tiny and not very suited for a Mangrove Pitta. Later I found out that it was actually lingering in the Healing Gardens and not in the Herb Gardens... The only part of the Botanical Gardens we did not visit. A second try there on our last day in Singapore was impeded by heavy rains...

We still saw other birds though, but not much to write about. The Eco Lake hosted several Lesser Whistling Ducks, a Chinese Pond Heron and a Yellow Bittern, but the Grey-headed Fish-eagles that apperently like the Swan Lake were not around. The Rainforest proved a rather good site for several species of Sunbirds, including Van Hasselt´s, Copper-throated, Crimson and Brown- (or Plain-) throated Sunbird. We also observed some migrants like Asian Brown Flycatcher and several Arctic Warblers. Apart from these birds we also saw tons of Plaintain Squirrels and Common Tree Shrews and a single Tanezumi Rat.

A male Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) taking a bath in the leaf of a epiphytic fern

Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa latirostris)

Common Tree Shrew (Tupaia glis)

Singapore March 2014, Chinese Gardens

After having found out that the first ever record of Band-bellied Crake for Singapore that was found a week earlier, was still lingering in the Zodiac Garden of the Chinese Garden, the choice for the next birding site in Singapore was easily made. The Chinese gardens don´t have authentic mangroves like Pasir Ris or any other authentic habitat but there is hardly any authentic nature left in Singapore anyway. Luckily they are also easy to visit using the public transport. Just take the East-West MRT line (the green one) to the MRT station "Chinese Gardens". Similar to Pasir Ris you don´t need to pay entrance fees to the park, but at least during te week there are a lot of school groups visiting the gardens.

It took some time before we found the Zodiac Garden, but once we found them it took little time before we located the Band-bellied Crake in the little stream running through the garden. It was not shy at all and even approached us up to two meters at a certain moment. Of course we looked at other birds as well. We observed similar resident birds as in Pasir Ris, but also got some good looks at several escapees from the Singapores zoo´s: Milky and Painted Storks and Spot-billed Pelicans as they were flying over. Again, as in Paser Ris, we also saw a fair share of migrants in the Chinese Gardens (next to the Crake of course). They included a possible Pin-tailed Snipe, a possible Swinhoe´s Snipe (for pictures of these two identification challenges see below. The suggestion which one is which is based on the length of the tail, the long-tailed one being the Swinhoe´s and the short-tailed one being the Pin-tailed. Common Snipe could be excluded because of the head-pattern, barred greater wing-coverts and the lack of a broad white trailing-edge), Asian Brown Flycatcher, Blue-tailed Bee-eater and Brown Shrike amongst others. In total we saw more than 40 species in the Chinese Gardens.

Band-bellied Crake (Porzana paykullii)

Possible Swinhoe´s Snipe (Gallinago megala) 

Possible Swinhoe´s Snipe (Gallinago megala) 

Possible Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura) 

Possible Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura) 

Singapore March 2014, Pasir Ris

After two months in Borneo we had to get a new visa for Indonesia and with Singapore being the closest, the choice was easily made. So we stayed a week in this tiny, weird country and did some birding next to the visa arrangements as well. Our first day of birding in Singapore was in the Pasir Ris Park. I was inspired by this post by Redgannet to visit the park. Pasir Ris is very easily reached by the public transport. Just take the East-West MRT line (the green one on all maps) to the last station, which is aptly named "Pasir Ris". From the MRT station just take the B exit and walk towards the east. Five minutes later you will find yourself inside the park (no entry fees). I don´t know whether the weekends are more calm, but when visiting this park during the week, expect a lot of noisy school groups visiting this park for educational purposes.

Because of the post by Redgannet, I made the Spotted Wood Owls and the Mangrove Pitta in the park my main targets. In the end I only found one of the two targets, but I´m very pleased with the results of our seven hour stay in this park. The birding was very entertaining with new birds showing up all the time. In the end we saw more than 50 species in the park. Amongst them where many local residents like Asian Glossy Starling, Black-naped Oriole, Collared, Stork-billed, Common and White-throated Kingfisher, Laced and Banded Woodpecker, Common Flameback, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Pied Thriller, Changeable Hawk-eagle (which attacked the local Grey Heron colony several times!) and Oriental Pied Hornbill. The best amongst the resident birds however were the two Spotted Wood-owls roosting in the high trees just to the West of the concrete viewing hill.

One of the two Spotted Wood-owls (Strix seloputo) inhabiting the large trees near the vieuwing hill

The stars of the day however were the migrants. I was surprised how many species of migratory birds I recorded on this day. Of course the Asian Koels, Blue-throated Bee-eaters and Asian Brown Flycatchers were present, but there were also some more unexpected findings like Ashy Minivet, Grey-streaked Flycatcher (long primary projection, heavy streaking on the underparts and unmarked undertail coverts gave this species away), Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, "Swintail" Snipe and last but not least a female Von Schrenck´s Bittern sneaking through the mangroves!

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus)

A female Von Schrenck´s Bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythymus) made my day!

Other animals can also be observed in this park, especially in the mangroves. we had good views of several Plaintain Squirrels, Monitor Lizards, Giant Mudskippers, Archer Fish and other mangrove inhabitants, however we did not have the same luck as Redgannet on that day and did not see any Otters.

Giant Mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri) peering uit of its muddy hole