Arrived in Jakarta on 4th
September on time & the weather was perfect, sunny skies & not too
hot. The first thing I noticed about the city upon my return neigh on a quarter
of a century later was the relative lack of pollution! Had an introduction to
the craziness which goes for commuting in these parts & arrived
miraculously unscathed outside Arthur’s
apartment block & he was there to greet me!
Thirty minutes later we left for
a bar to meet his colleagues & we had a very enjoyable evening catching up
on our entire respective goings on, in our very busy lives. We left the bar
around 11 pm, way too late considering we had to be up at 2.30 am! Savanna
Nightjars called from nearby flat rooftops & two were seen.
Pamanukan Mangroves
Sacred Kingfisher.
A blink of an eye later, we were
both in the car & driving through the night to our first birding
destination: Pamanukan Mangroves. We
arrived just as dawn was breaking & walked across an embankment towards the
distant mangrove patches. We were here mainly for one species: Javan White-eye.
We searched hard but failed to find it! This was Arthur’s fourth trip here to
try & see this species, each time ending in failure! Maybe I should have
gone alone?
Ready to go, the moment the car stops!
Remember Guadacanal?
Birding was quite good though
with a good suite of both wetland & mangrove specialities:
Little Black Cormorant c25;
Purple Heron 5; Eastern Cattle Egret
100+; Great Egret 25+; Little Egret 250+; Striated Heron 35; Javan Pond Heron
12; Black crowned Night-Heron 9; Yellow Bittern 1; Cinnamon Bittern 1; Glossy
Ibis 50; Sunda Teal 2; Javan Plover 3; Common Sandpiper 9; Whiskered Tern 2;
Island Collared Dove 50+; Edible nest
Swiftlet 15+; Cave Swiftlet abundant;
Small Blue Kingfisher 20+; Sacred Kingfisher 1; Collared Kingfisher 3;
Pacific Swallow 5; Golden-bellied Gerygone abundant; Golden-headed Cisticola 1;
Ashy Tailorbird 4; Malaysian Pied Fantail 5;
Mangrove Whistler 1; Flava
Wagtail 1; Scaly-breasted Munia 2 & Javan Munia 1.
Tangkuban Perahu Volcano
A drive to Tangkuban Perahu Volcano produced thousands of Javan tourists (it
was Saturday after all) but more importantly at least 10 Volcano Swiftlets, a world tick for me! However they were
distant along the far side crater rim. Much larger & darker than Cave
Swiftlets (which were common here) & with a more direct fast flight.
We walked around part of the rim
through some nice forest seeing very little (it was the middle of the day) but
several Orange Spotted Bulbuls shown well, as did a lovely Little Pied Flycatcher.
Then it was time for the long
drive back to Jakarta & another evening in the pub!
Muara Angke
6th September, time for a lay in bed, arising at 4.30 am today! Ecstasy! A short drive
to Muara Angke, which is one of the
few localities for the endangered Sunda
Coucal. I had missed this species on my previous trip to Java in the early
1990’s so was keen to see it.
Good job it has been repaired,
otherwise it might have been dangerous!
A very large Asian Python
being relocated inside the
reserve while we were there.
We paid the very expensive ticket
(ten times the amount that locals pay) & walked onto the boardwalk. But
didn’t get very far, as it was so badly in need of repair as to be unusable!
Very frustrating, as we couldn't get to the best area for the Coucal which
Arthur had seen here on previous occasions. Quite a few waterbirds were flying
around though & it was quite an interesting couple of hours.
Darter 6; Grey Heron 1; Purple
Heron 3; Little Egret 15+; Striated Heron 9; Javan Pond Heron 60+; Black
crowned Night Heron 5; Cinnamon Bittern 1; Black Bittern 3; Wandering Whistling
Duck 2; White-breasted Waterhen 25; Common Moorhen 10; Black backed Swamphen
15; Wood Sandpiper 3; Pink-necked Green Pigeon 5; Spotted Dove 15; Sunda Coucal 1; Savanna Nightjar 2;
Edible nest Swiftlet 15+; Cave Swiftlet abundant; Blue-eared Kingfisher 1;
Small Blue Kingfisher 2; Sacred Kingfisher 1; Collared Kingfisher 1;
Blue-tailed Bee-eater 2; Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker 1; Barn Swallow 1; Pacific
Swallow 3; Small Minivet 2; Sooty headed Bulbul 1; Yellow vented Bulbul 4; Clamorous
Reed Warbler 1; Golden bellied Gerygone 5; Bar-winged Prinia 4; Malaysian Pied
Fantail 4; Javan Mynah 4; Javan Munia 8; Scaly-breasted Munia 5; White capped
Munia 4 & Eurasian Tree Sparrow abundant.
A two hour drive to Palau Dua meant that we arrived there
in late morning. it was a hot walk out to the coastal forest & mangroves.
Birding was quite good though:
Darter 7; Grey Heron 2; Purple
Heron 3; Great Egret 5; Little Egret 45; Striated Heron 15; Javan Pond Heron
35+; White-bellied Sea-eagle 1 adult; Brahminy Kite 1; Pacific Golden Plover 2;
Wood Sandpiper 4; Whimbrel 1; Common Sandpiper 3; Javan Plover 10; Island
Collared Dove 6; Plaintive Cuckoo 1; Savanna Nightjar 5; Edible nest Swiftlet
10; Cave Swiftlet 150+; Small Blue Kingfisher 10: Collared Kingfisher 1; Sacred
Kingfisher 2; Blue-tailed Bee-eater 1; Barn Swallow 2; Pacific Swallow 4;
Yellow vented Bulbul 2; Golden bellied Gerygone abundant; Clamorous Reed
Warbler 1; Zitting Cisticola 3; Malaysian Pied Fantail 3; Javan Mynah 2; Olive
backed Sunbird 3; White capped Munia 9; Scaly breasted Munia 6 & Eurasian
Tree Sparrow.
Then a drive back to Jakarta,
meal at the pub & said our goodbyes. Well not quite goodbye, as we are
meeting up for a Brazil trip next year!
Thanks Arthur, great to see you again & thanks for everything! New Guinea awaits!
Thanks Arthur, great to see you again & thanks for everything! New Guinea awaits!
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