Sumatra & Java Part 4

Monday August 10^th

We left the hotel with bags packed at 4am and drove for two hours. Breakfast was taken at a homestay and then we transferred to a fleet of 4x4s to get to the park. We had one major target this morning so we tried not to spend any time looking for other birds along the trail. After an hour we arrived at the spot and the mealworms were scattered around a clearing. With hardly any waiting time the first of two Sumatran Ground-Cuckoos appeared, looking more like a pheasant than a cuckoo. This had been a really difficult bird to see for a long time before these birds became habituated at this site.

Sumatran Ground-Cuckoos

They were still feeding in the open after half an hour as we got up to walk away and let the next group in. We took our time walking down so we could look for other birds and caught up on Sumatran Drongo, Sumatran Bulbul and Sumatran Flowerpecker, a trio of endemics.

Red-bearded Bee-eater

With the sun out and a wide track with plenty of low vegetation and mud, there were lots of butterflies, more than we’d seen in total on the whole trip so far. We had lunch at the park entrance and there were a few birds to see as well and I also found a Lesser Death’s Head Hawkmoth. 

Lesser Death's Head Hawkmoth

Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike

Scaly-breasted Munia

We walked back along the track for a while before hopping back into the 4x4s. We had a much needed cold drink back at the van before driving to the next hotel which was about an hour away, arriving in daylight for a change.

Tuesday 11^th August

We left the hotel after a 5am breakfast and went into the forest. Sumatran Trogon showed well and a few babblers moved through the trees, shortly followed by a couple of Sumatran Treepies. 

Sumatran Trogon

Sumatran Treepie

As the forest continued to wake up, gradually more birds began to show. We went to a little stream and waited behind a screen. Sunda Forktails were feeding by the stream but it wasn’t them we’d come to see. After a few minutes, a Graceful Pitta appeared, anxious not to miss out on the new supply of mealworms that had been scattered around. It was a little skittish but eventually gave really nice views. 

Graceful Pitta

Sunda Forktail

The other target was Marbled Wren-Babbler but there was no sign of it so we wandered off. However, it came in shortly afterwards so we went back and saw this normally skulking bird feeding right out in the open. 

Marbled Wren-Babbler

The sign says 'do not litter'!

We spent the rest of the day birding the roadside at various elevations. Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle flew over as did a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbill in the afternoon. 

Asian Fairy-Bluebird

Black-and-Crimson Oriole

Fire-tufted Barbet

Temminck's Sunbird

Sumatran Flowerpecker

Whiskered Tree-Swift

Grey-bellied Bulbul

Pig-tailed Macaque

We went searching for various bulbuls and managed to locate Grey-headed, Spectacled and Scaly-breasted. Towards dusk we drove back up to the top of the pass and saw a few Sumatran Green-Pigeons fly over before going to a spot to try some owling. It took quite a while but eventually a superb Rajah Scops-Owl came in and sat in the spotlight for ages.

Rajah Scops-Owl

Wednesday 12^th August

We checked out of the hotel at 5.30 and went back to the pass in the forest. No more Green-Pigeons were seen so we worked the lower slopes for the rest of the morning but it was a bit slow going. We were particularly looking for leafbirds but could only manage Blue-winged Leafbird rather than the hoped-for endemic. Lots more bulbuls were seen before it was time to leave for the long drive back tp Padang. 

Cream-striped Bulbul

Wreathed Hornbill

We stopped for lunch en route at a small out of the way restaurant which probably doesn’t get a lot of westerners as the owner insisted on having her photo taken with all of us.

At another rest stop late afternoon we saw a little flock of Baya Weavers and some Asian Glossy Starlings. We arrived at our rather nice hotel in Padang just before 8pm and barely had time to drop off our bags before heading down to dinner but at least we didn’t have an early start in the morning.

Sumatra & Java Part 3

Friday 7^th

With bags packed we loaded up and left the hotel at the ridiculously early time of 2am as we had a longish drive to the airport. Once checked in we had breakfast in a café and waited for our flight to Padang on Sumatra. It was a 90 minute flight and we landed at 8.30 where a few House Swifts were flying around. We loaded our bags into a minivan and headed off for our long drive to our accommodation. There was no time for birding stops but we managed a few at various rest stops; only a few birds were seen while driving such as the inevitable Cattle Egrets and the occasional Long-tailed Shrike.

The roads were slow and winding through the hillsides and we often got held up by slow moving trucks but in the end it wasn’t too bad. The original ETA was about 9pm but fortunately that was very pessimistic and we actually arrived in daylight at 5.30pm. The homestay where we were going to be based for three nights was by the main road and fairly basic.  

Saturday August 8^th

We left the hotel at 6 and birded the lower slopes of the montane trail of the volcano. It's another popular trail for trekkers and many had gone up in the night to reach the peak for sunrise.

There was a quite a bit of activity and among the commoner birds we saw Shiny Whistling-Thrush and Sumatran Blue-Robin, our first Sumatran endemics. 

Shiny Whistling Thrush

We went to a little hide off one of the trails and saw Sumatran Peacock-Pheasant but there was no sign of any pittas. At another hide there was a pair of Salvadori’s Pheasant. 

Salvadori's Pheasants

Sumatran Peacock-Pheasant

Along the trails were a group of Red-billed Partridge and some roosting Sumatran Frogmouths.

Sumatran Frogmouth

After lunch in the forest we continued working the main track and  saw Black-browed Barbet and Sunda Owlet before it was time to head down and back to the hotel.

Black-browed Barbet

Sunda Owlet

Black-crested Sumatran Langur

 

Sunday August 9^th

An extremely long and arduous day in the field began with breakfast at 5am and a short drive to the start of the forest trek. We started our ascent at 6am and it wasn’t too long before we were rewarded with the early start by seeing a Schneider’s Pitta on the track which we then enticed into a little clearing with some mealworms for an extended view, although it was too dark for photos.

As we climbed up, a few more birds that we had seen yesterday began to appear. We passed yesterday’s highest point and then the track got a lot steeper. We reached another rest area where a couple of us stayed behind to rest and have lunch while the others ploughed on and eventually got their Sumatran Cochoa. It was a popular rest stop with groups pausing on their way up and down and the squirrels took advantage of the free handouts.

Black-striped Squirrel

Niobe Ground Squirrel

Salvadori's Pheasant

We all met up and spent more time resting and waiting for the sun to go down so we could try for night birds. We heard Rajah Scops-Owl but couldn’t see it and saw a close Salvadori’s Nightjar. We then had a very difficult walk down in the dark with only a few torches between us but luckily made it to the bottom without any casualties. By the time we got back to the hotel it was 9pm so we had a quick dinner and retired as we had an early start in the morning. 

Sumatra & Java Part 2

Tuesday August 4^th

One of the earlier starts as we left the hotel at 4am as we were targeting night birds to start with. We managed nice views of a Javan Scops-Owl but no nightjars. 

Javan Scops-Owl

We spent the rest of the day birding the forest, mostly from the road which was fairly busy with tourists going up to the crater lake. Several Scaly Thrushes were seen early on, then it was Javan Cochoa, Crescent-chested Babbler and Spotted Crocias. Birds in Java are generally thin on the ground as every house has at least one in a cage, usually taken from the wild. 

Aberrant Bush Warbler

Scaly Thrush

Javan Cochoa

Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch

Further along we saw the endangered Javan Hawk-Eagle, the national bird of Indonesia. A Javan Tesia was enticed out and up in the trees were Trilling Shrike-vireo and Pied Shrike-Babbler.

Javan Hawk-Eagle

We went up to the top car park where there was Javan Flowerpecker and Orange-spotted Bulbul. We joined a throng of tourists and walked down to the crater lake, the smell of sulphur was strong in the air and all the surrounding vegetation had died off. Overhead flew a few Volcano Swiftlets. 

Javan Flowerpecker

Orange-spotted Bulbul

Half a Pygmy Cupwing

Tourists at the crater lake

Another excellent meal in the field

We had lunch in the car park then drove down to a forest clearing where we heard Pink-headed Fruit-Doves calling but couldn’t locate any. A Black Eagle flew over and a roaming group of Checker-throated Woodpeckers were among the last birds seen this afternoon before we went to the hotel.

Black Eagle

Javan Trogon

Wednesday 5^th

After breakfast we left the hotel at 5.45 and headed back to the same forest clearing as yesterday for another attempt at the Fruit-Doves but they remained hidden. We did get plenty of other birds though including Orange-spotted Bulbul, Snowy-browed & Little Pied Flycatchers, Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike and Olive-backed Tailorbird.

Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike

Little Pied Flycatcher

We returned to the hotel, packed our bags and left for another long drive. At our lunch stop we managed to add several new birds including Zebra Dove and White-headed Munia before it was time to continue on our way to the Botanical Gardens. They are quite extensive and our hotel was located inside the grounds. 

Hotel in the Botanical Gardens

We had time for a wander around late afternoon and saw the main specialities: Orange-throated Hanging-Parrot, Sunda Thrush, Sunda Forktail and Javan Kingfisher. 

Presumed escaped Olive-headed Lorikeet

Sunda Forktail

After dinner we went looking for night birds and saw Salvadori's Nightjar & Javan Frogmouth.

Javan Frogmouth

Thursday 6^th

We had breakfast in the hotel and left at 5.45 for our trek up the mountain. It was just a short drive out of the botanical gardens and then we began the long trek uphill. The paved path became stony then there was a long concrete boardwalk over a marsh. The boardwalk was poorly maintained and the concrete had crumbled in places leaving gaping holes, some of which were filled with wooden timbers, while others exposed, waiting for someone to fall down which unfortunately one of our group did but luckily wasn’t seriously injured.

It’s a popular hiking trail and many locals passed us on their way to the top. We took a more leisurely amble and started to see a few birds with Javan Whistling Thrush being the commonest bird on the track. Javan Blue Robin was also seen a few times. We were lucky enough to see a little group of Chestnut-bellied Partridges feeding quietly in the undergrowth.

Javan Whistling Thrush

As we climbed high, the rocky path became more uneven, especially in places as it got steeper. Eventually we managed to track down some of the more elusive denizens of the forest: Javan Shortwing, Javan Bulbul and Javan Laughingthrush. 

Fire-tufted Barbet

frog sp

Lesser Gymnure

We spent all day in the forest, stopping occasionally for breaks and lunch. Once we’d seen the last speciality, the Laughingthrush at mid-afternoon we started our descent which took a couple of hours.

Then it was back to the hotel for our last meal in Java before an early lights out.