Batam pelagic 05Oct24

From KH

Danny, JS and I went on a pelagic trip at Batam again. This time with James Hogg.

Setting off from Harbour Front, in Singapore waters, we logged 2 Bridled Terns, 2 Great Crested Terns, 5 Little Terns and 4 Swinhoe's Storm-Petrels. Good start for pelagic.

In Indonesian waters off Batam, we got a good haul of 249 Swinhoe's Storm-Petrels, as well as 1 Aleutian Tern, 2 Gull-billed Terns, 2 Great Crested Terns, 4 Little Terns and 30 Bridled Terns.

Back in Singapore waters, 2 Aleutian Terns, 2 Great Crested Terns and 20 Little Terns.

Batam 01Jun24

Attendees: Danny, JS, KH and Rob

From JS

Ferry from Harbour Front, Singapore to Sekupang, Indonesia

Batam pelagic

Bridled Tern

Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel

Ferry back from Sekupang to Singapore

Bali 07-08Jan17

From Con

Bali Starling carrying food from a feeder to its nest box. Meal worms.

Other notables: Green junglefowl.

Malayan banded pitta - both male and female.

Fulvous-chested jungle flycatcher, Orange-breasted green pigeon, Javan plover, Yellow-throated hanging parrot. Black-winged starling.

Island collared dove.

http://www.pbase.com/con_foley/bali

Interesting plant with a huge flower.

Bali 20-25Dec14

I was in Bali with my wife for a holiday just to chill and relax, so no birding. We stayed mainly in the Seminyak and Kuta areas, hence we only saw the common birds:

Purple Herons, Cattle Egrets, Spotted Doves, Zebra Doves, Sooty-headed Bulbuls, Yellow-vented Bulbuls, Asian Glossy Starlings, Scaly-breasted Munias, Eurasian Tree Sparrows.

The only Javan Myna I saw was in a cage!

Java 4-11May14

Con, Danny and JS went to Java for birding: http://confoley.com/java-trip-report-2014

Black-capped Babbler capistratum subsp.

Kerinci-Seblat National Park

Sumatra 15-21Mar13

From KH

Con and I went to Kerinci-Seblat National Park in Sumatra for birding. The places birders go to in this national park are usually Mt Kerinci (>1800 m elevation) and Tapan Road (<1500 m elevation). Click here for maps of these two places.

Practicalities:

As Con mentioned, "In a nutshell the logistics consist of getting tickets to Padang, and contacting Subandi. He does the rest. It is really that easy." Hence, I would just add a few comments.

- Wear waterproof footwear and bring an extra pair. We met with rain almost everyday late afternoon and the rain lasted for hours. The main trail on Mt Kerinci turned into a stream when this happened. As for Tapan Road, I wore sandals without issue.
- Wear layered clothing. It was rather chilly in the morning. As you climb Mt Kerinci, you will get warmed up. I started with three layers and was down to my t-shirt halfway through. The outermost layer should preferably be waterproof with long sleeves as you might need to walk in side trails with wet vegetation. As for Tapan Road, two layers is sufficient.
- Rooms: All four guest rooms are en-suite with ceiling lights. However, you will need to bring your own toilet papers. There are no mirrors in the room.

Pests:

- There were no leeches on Mt Kerinci. At Tapan Road, you mainly bird along the road, hence no leeches. However, you might need to walk into a few of the side trails (at most tens of metres in) for pittas and Marbled Wren-babbler. Con encountered a grand total of 2 leeches.
- No mosquitoes were encountered throughout the trip.
- There were some pesky flies when we attempted to wait out the rain at Pos 3 (Camp Cochoa) Shelter.

Birding tips:

- The guides are great with the endemics and near-endemics, but be prepared to ID the small birds (like flycatchers, warblers) and raptors.
- Do alternate days of Mt Kerinci and Tapan Road to give your body (and knees) some rest.

15 Mar - Day 1 (Padang to Kersik Tua)

The first day was spent travelling. A few years back, you could fly straight from Singapore to Padang, but now you have to transit at Jakarta. Upon reaching Padang, a car was waiting for us and then it was a 7-hour ride to Subandi's Homestay at Kersik Tua (or Kersik Tuo or Keresik Tuo...) The only bird of note was a Black Eagle in flight. The highlight, however, was a Large Flying Fox in flight.

16 Mar - Day 2 (Mt Kerinci)

As Subandi had guests to guide, his son-in-law guided us instead (Coincidentally, I have met one of Subandi's guests, Cagan, in 2005 at Changi Cove!) After clearing the tea plantations and vegetable farms, we reached the forest edge. Just 15 mins into the forest, we encountered one of the mega endemics of Mt Kerinci - a male Schneider's Pitta! Our guide saw it a few metres away on the trail, but it quickly took flight and landed on an open perch a short distance away. Con's camera was still in his bag! Fortunately, it stayed long enough for Con to set up his camera and snapped a grand total of 5 photos. The Schneider's Pitta looks like a Giant Pitta, but sounds totally different and is smaller. We were really lucky as the bird never show up again for the rest of the trip, although it was heard again.

The Lesser Shortwing subspecies leucophris here is different from the Peninsula Malaysia subspecies wrayi - both sexes are brown instead of dimorphic. Eye-browed Wren-babbler was a lifer for me, whereas Con has seen it in Thailand. Pygmy Wren-babblers were also encountered along the way.

At Pos 1 (Base Camp) Shelter, a few Three-striped Ground Squirrels kept us company while a pair of highly vocal endemic Rusty-breasted Wren-babblers sang their hearts out. The other squirrel we encountered was a Low's Squirrel. The forest also echoed with Siamang howls.

Left: Three-striped Ground Squirrel. Right: Low's Squirrel

The common flycatcher here is the Snowy-browed Flycatcher. You can see it at eye level. The common mid-canopy flycatcher here is the Grey-headed Flycatcher.

Snowy-browed Flycatcher (male left, female right) - common at eye-level on Mt Kerinci

We saw these in bird waves: Grey-chinned Minivet, Golden Babbler, Mountain Leaf Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, White-throated Fantail and Blue Nuthatch. These bird could also be found at Fraser's Hill in Peninsula Malaysia. Other Fraser's Hill birds here were Collared Owlet (heard only), Long-tailed Sibia and Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush.

Mountain Leaf Warbler - a common warbler on Mt Kerinci

At Pos 2 (Air Minum), there is no shelter, but a big signboard. Nothing special here today. Moving on, a highly responsive male White-browed Shortwing played with us a bit.

Male White-browed Shortwing

Next, at Pos 3 (Camp Cochoa) Shelter, we had our lunch. After that we saw a Sunda Bush Warbler. It was rather active in the undergrowth and very vocal. The next endemic was a Shiny Whistling Thrush. We did not have good view of the other endemic - Sumatran Drongo (that will have to wait till Day 5 at Tapan Road.) Another mega endemic - Sumatran Cochoa - was heard-only at Burnt Tree. We never connected with it for the whole trip...

Shiny Whistling Thrush - a Sumatran endemic

While Con waited at Burnt Tree, I followed our guide to the First Shelter, which has no shelter! It is so called because there used to be a shelter there. At 2400 m elevation, this was the highest we went. The highlights here were Mountain White-eyes feeding on fruits and a female Rufous-vented Niltava. The guide saw Sumatran Green Pigeon and Orange-spotted Bulbul, but for Con and me, these will have to wait till Tapan Road. We also got migrant Siberian and Eyebrowed Thrushes.

Mountain White-eye feeding on fruit at First Shelter

Somewhere between Burnt Tree and First Shelter, our guide showed me a tree with scratch marks. He said those were made by Sun Bear!

Sun bear scratch mark on a tree trunk

At around 3:30 pm, the dark clouds moved in and soon it started pouring. We took about 9 hours to get to the First Shelter and it took us about 2 hours to rush down to the forest edge in the downpour. The trail turned into a gushing stream! I got a bad left knee after that... Fortunately, we were doing Tapan Road the next day. Due to the rain, no night birding tonight.

17Mar - Day 3 (Tapan Road)

Tapan Road is about two hours' drive from the homestay, so we woke rather early. We started the day with the endemic Sumatran Treepie and Sumatran Green Pigeon. The treepies are fairly common. We saw them on all 3 days at Tapan Road. You will probably hear them before seeing them. The pigeons are also fairly common, although we did not see them on the last day at Tapan Road.

Sumatran endemics - Sumatran Treepie (left), Sumatran Green Pigeon (right)

Soon we encountered a bird wave of Blue Nuthatch, Oriental White-eye, Black-and-crimson Oriole, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Grey-chinned Minivet, White-throated Fantail, Grey-headed Flycatcher and White-browed Shrike-babbler. The guide pointed out an endemic female Blue-masked Leafbird, but the view was brief. The Oriental White-eye has more extensive yellow on belly and paler flanks than the Mountain White-eye. The Grey-headed Flycatcher is the more common flycatcher here.

Left: Oriental White-eye. Right: Blue Nuthatch

Other common birds here are Barred and Little Cuckoo Doves, as well as Orange-bellied Flowerpecker.

Left: Little Cuckoo Dove. Right: Male Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

Fire-tufted and Black-browed Barbets were very common and highly vocal.

Left: Fire-tufted Barbet. Right: Black-browed Barbet

Next up, one of the mega endemics of Tapan Road - Graceful Pitta. The guide brought us to a gully and whistled one out. The rather tame bird was just a metre or so away from us! It looks and sounds like a Garnet Pitta. Later in the day, we went to another gully and saw its inhabitant too. According to Subandi, there should be one Graceful Pitta in every gully!

Graceful Pitta - a mega Sumatran endemic of Tapan Road

After enjoying great view of the pitta, we headed for the first Marbled Wren-babbler gully and saw not one, but two of them! However, good views were rare. They kept calling during the hour or so we were there, but they just would not show themselves well to us. Nevertheless, we were glad to finally nail this skulker.

The endemic Spot-necked and Cream-striped Bulbuls are common birds of Tapan Road. A word of note is in order regarding the Cream-striped Bulbul. In the MacKinnon and Phillipps field guide, Cream-striped Bulbul is described as having pale eyes, while Sunda Bulbul red eyes. However, as you can see from the photo below, Cream-striped Bulbul does have red eye. The key features telling them apart from Sunda Bulbul are the crest, pale throat and white streaks on the back. So this whole trip, we did not have any confirmed sightings of the Sunda Bulbul.

Endemic bulbuls - Spot-necked Bulbul (left), Cream-striped Bulbul (right)

We heard a Collared Owlet which sounded close. When it flushed then we realised how close it was. It was just a few metres up on a roadside tree. Some recognise this as a separate species Sumatran Owlet. It was also nice to saw the near-endemic Sunda Cuckooshrike found only on Borneo, Sumatra and Java.

We made it passed Bridge 2 but did not go far. When backtracking on Tapan Road, we ran into Subandi. Cagan has seen another mega endemic of Tapan Road - Sumatran Peacock Pheasant - running across the road! Wish we had the luck too... On the way back to the homestay, we met with rain again, but fortunately we were in the car this time. I think it took us about 3 hours to reach the homestay.

18Mar - Day 4 (Mt Kerinci)

After easy birding on Tapan Road, it was back to Mt Kerinci. While Con stayed at the Base Camp to stalk out the pitta, I followed the guide up the trail. Today, Maroon Woodpeckers were rather active. Other new birds for the trip were Sunda Minivet, Sunda Warbler, male Rufous-vented Niltava and Indigo Flycatcher.

Sunda Warbler - endemic to Sumatra, Java and Bali

We met Subandi at Air Minum. While chatting with Cagan and his partner, the guides suddenly alerted us to a calling endemic Red-billed Partridge. It was calling from the dry riverbed and it was close. However, despite great effort to whistle it out and crossing the dry riverbed, tracking through the thickets, the bird did not show. While we bashed in the thicket, a pair of Sunda Laughingthrushes were laughing noisy at us. Next, my guide took me to the other trail at Air Minum and after some effort, viola! A Red-billed Partridge responded and ran on the trail giving great view. However, it was too fast for photography.

Continuing on, somewhere before reaching the Burnt Tree, my guide spotted some movement at eye level by the side of the trail. It was a night bird in daytime roost. The bird was just a metre or so from us! After some discussion, it is identified as a Mountain Scops Owl. However, if anyone can turn it into a Rajah Scops Owl, I would be happy to hear.

Mountain Scops Owl in daytime roost

Moving further up towards the First Shelter, we sensed the rain was coming. So it was time to descent. When we reached Pos 3 shelter, we decided to wait out the rain. Big mistake! The rain never stopped and the trail turned into a stream again... Oh well, here we go again. My bad knee came back halfway through. While I endured the pain, relief came in the form of a male endemic Salvadori's Pheasant perched on a branch overhead. How did the guide spot it in the rain and darkness?? He also saw two Golden Cats crossing the trail. Since we were close to the Base Camp, my guide went to get Con. Meanwhile I setup my camera in the rain and snapped some photos. After a while, my guide returned informing that Con had bailed out before the heavy rain. The rain continued through the night, so no night birding again.

Male Salvadori's Pheasant - an increasingly rare Sumatran endemic due to poaching

19Mar - Day 5 (Tapan Road)

Today, we were back at Tapan Road and finally had Subandi as our guide. We have not seen a single trogon yet! So this was our target and Con wanted to take better photos of the pitta. I was also after the Giant Swiftlet, so I kept looking up. However, throughout the whole trip I never connected with it; just the other swiftlet species and a Fork-tailed Swift. According to previous trip reports, Glossy Swiftlets are common, but I found it to be rare. Nevertheless, those efforts looking up did return some consolations in the form of raptors, namely Crested Serpent Eagles and Blyth's Hawk Eagles.

Raptors - Crested Serpent Eagle (left), Blyth's Hawk Eagles (right)

Our next target bird was an endemic Sumatran Drongo. Followed by a flowering tree attracting Blue-masked Leafbirds, Temminck's Sunbirds, Oriental White-eyes and endemic bulbuls.

Male Blue-masked Leafbird - Sumatran endemic

Before the trip, Con and I were wondering when the breeding season is on Sumatra. I guess we cleared our doubts, as we saw a pair of nesting Long-tailed Broadbills, two pairs of nesting Ashy Drongos, mating Whiskered Treeswifts and Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes carrying nesting materials.

Left: Ashy Drongo - a very common bird at Tapan Road. Right: Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike carrying nesting material

Finally at around 4 pm, we saw a Sumatran Trogon. After playing with it for a while, we discovered there was a family of four in that area. While Con was snapping away, I took a walk and found a group of at least three Bushy-crested Hornbills.

Sumatran Trogon - an uncommon Sumatran endemic

On the way out, we saw a band of endemic Mitred Leaf Monkeys (aka Sumatran Surilis). The guide called it Banded Langur, which is a name reserved for another species.

Mitred Leaf Monkey - fairly common Sumatran endemic

20Mar - Day 6 (Tapan Road)

It was back to Tapan Road again. First target bird today showed up in the form of a near-endemic Orange-spotted Bulbul. Besides it, there were also a Greater Yellownape, Hill Prinias and White-headed Munias. The prinias are very common on Tapan Road, while the munias were seen on 2 out of 3 days.

Left: Orange-spotted Bulbul - found only on Sumatra and Java. Right: Hill Prinia - common at Tapan Road.

While Con was stalking out at one of the pitta gullies, I had fun with a pair of nesting Long-tailed Broadbills.

Long-tailed Broadbill nesting

As well as found a vocal Fulvous-chested Jungle-flycatcher, a Yellow-bellied Warbler and some Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes.

Fulvous-chested Jungle-flycatcher - a rather vocal bird

Three more mammals were seen today - Lesser Treeshrew, Black-striped Squirrel and an otter. I saw the otter under Bridge 2, but it disappeared too quickly, so no photos.

Left: Lesser Treeshrew. Right: Black-striped Squirrel

The only reptile encountered was a dead snake - Speckle-bellied Keelback. It was about 1 foot long and has a distinctive pattern.

There were also some nice butterflies. The majorities of them are Straight-line Map-wing (Cyrestis nivea nivalis).

21Mar - Day 7 (Mt Kerinci)

This was our last day of birding and we only had the morning session. Since we had missed all the night birding on previous days, this is our only chance at it, a couple of hours before dawn. We woke early and spent 2 hours or so at forest edge and vegetation farm searching for the Sumatran Frogmouth. Initially, Subandi brought us to the usual spot, but there was no response. So we headed towards the entrance, then the bird started calling from the usual spot! So we walk through the vegetable farm to the forest edge and track it down after some effort. Seeing the bird is one thing, getting a good frontal shot is another.

Sumatran (Short-tailed) Frogmouth

All this while, a Mountain Scops Owl was calling. Today, we only had time to make it to Air Minum. While Subandi and Con tried for the Red-billed Partridge, I had some fun with a pair of near-endemic Sunda Blue Robins.

Sunda Blue Robin (left male, right female) - endemic to Sumatra and Java

The final endemic we managed to get was the Sumatran Wren-babbler. However, it took some bashing through a side trail at Base Camp. The view was not too satisfying, but the long curvy bill was unmistakable. We also heard a Schneider's Pitta on the other side of the gully.

So that is our adventure in  Sumatra, 16 out of 19 endemics (number varies depending on which split is recognised), missing the Sumatran Peacock Pheasant, Sumatran Cochoa and Brown-winged Whistling Thrush.

Photos and write-up from Con.

Bird list (Sumatran endemics in bold):
1. Purple Heron - 1 enroute Padang to Kersik Tua
2. Cattle Egret - common enroute Padang to Kersik Tua
3. Crested Serpent Eagle - a few heard at Mt Kerinci, a few seen at Tapan Road
4. Black Eagle - 1 enroute Padang to Kersik Tua
5. Blyth's Hawk Eagle - 3 (2 adults, 1 juvenile) at Tapan Road
6. Red-billed Partridge - 1 at Mt Kerinci Air Minum side trail
7. Salvadori's Pheasant - 1 at Mt Kerinci near Base Camp
8. Slaty-breasted Rail - 1 at Kerinci vegetation farm
9. White-breasted Waterhen - 1 enroute Padang to Kersik Tua
10. Sumatran Green Pigeon - 1 at Mt Kerinci, 8 at Tapan Road
11. Barred Cuckoo Dove - 2 at Mt Kerinci, fairly common at Tapan Road
12. Little Cuckoo Dove - common at Tapan Road
13. Spotted Dove - common between Sungei Penuh and Tapan Road
14. Rock Pigeon - 5 enroute Padang to Kersik Tua
15. Dark Hawk Cuckoo - 2 heard at Tapan Road
16. Asian Drongo Cuckoo - 1 seen and few heard at Tapan Road
17. Rusty-breasted Cuckoo - 1 at Tapan Road
18. Greater Coucal - 1 heard at Mt Kerinci
19. Collared Owlet - 1 seen at Tapan Road after Bridge 2, few heard at Mt Kerinci and Tapan Road
20. Mountain Scops Owl - 1 at Mt Kerinci near Burnt Tree, 1 heard at Mt Kerinci forest edge
21. Sumatran (Short-tailed) Frogmouth - 1 at Mt Kerinci forest edge
22. Fork-tailed Swift - 1 at Tapan Road
23. Glossy Swiftlet - 1 at Tapan Road
24. Swiftlet spp. - very common at Tapan Road
25. Whiskered Treeswift - 5 (including 1 mating pair) at Tapan Road
26. Sumatran Trogon - 6 (including 1 family of 4 and 1 juvenile) at Tapan Road
27. Oriental Dollarbird - 1 at Tapan Road
28. White-throated Kingfisher - 1 at Kerinci vegetable farm
29. Red-bearded Bee-eater - 1 heard at Tapan Road
30. Bushy-crested Hornbill - at least 3 at Tapan Road
31. Rhinoceros Hornbill - 1 heard at Tapan Road
32. Fire-tufted Barbet - common at Tapan Road, a few at Mt Kerinci
33. Black-browed Barbet - common at Tapan Road
34. Greater Yellownape - 1 at Tapan Road
35. Maroon Woodpecker - 2 seen and several heard at Mt Kerinci
36. Long-tailed Broadbill - 2 pairs (including 1 pair nesting) at Tapan Road
37. Graceful Pitta - 2 at Tapan Road in roadside gullies
38. Schneider's Pitta - 1 at Mt Kerinci between entrance and Base Camp
39. Barn Swallow - many enroute Padang to Kersik Tua
40. Pacific Swallow - several on Tapan Road
41. Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike - 6 (including 1 with nesting material) at Tapan Road
42. Sunda Cuckooshrike - 1 at Tapan Road
43. Grey-chinned Minivet - 2 pairs at Tapan Road, 1 pair at Mt Kerinci
44. Sunda Minivet - 1 at Mt Kerinci
45. Scarlet Minivet - 1 pair at Tapan Road
46. Sumatran (Golden-fronted) Leafbird - 1 at Tapan Road Bridge 2
47. Blue-masked Leafbird - 5 at Tapan Road
48. Cream-striped Bulbul - common at Tapan Road
49. Spot-necked Bulbul - common at Tapan Road
50. Yellow-vented Bulbul - 2 heard at Mt Kerinci forest edge
51. Grey-bellied Bulbul - 1 at Tapan Road after Bridge 2
52. Ochraceous Bulbul - fairly common at Tapan Road
53. Orange-spotted Bulbul - 1 at Tapan Road
54. Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo - a few at Tapan Road
55. Sumatran Drongo - 1 at Tapan Road
56. Ashy Drongo - very common (including 2 pairs nesting) at Tapan Road
57. Black-and-crimson Oriole - 2 males, 2 females at Tapan Road
58. Sumatran Treepie - common at Tapan Road
59. Blue Nuthatch - 4 at Tapan Road
60. Lesser Shortwing - 2 at Mt Kerinci
61. White-browed Shortwing - 1 seen, a few heard at Mt Kerinci
62. Sumatran (Long-billed) Wren-babbler - 1 seen, 2 heard at Mt Kerinci; 1 heard at Tapan Road
63. Rusty-breasted Wren-babbler - 2 seen at Base Camp, several heard at Mt Kerinci
64. Eye-browed Wren-babbler - 2 at Mt Kerinci
65. Pygmy Wren-babbler - 1 seen, a few heard at Mt Kerinci
66. Marbled Wren-babbler - 1 pair at Tapan Road Marbled Wren-babbler Gully 1
67. Golden Babbler - fairly common at Mt Kerinci and Tapan Road
68. Grey-throated Babbler - 2 at Mt Kerinci, several at Tapan Road
69. Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush - 1 pair at Mt Kerinci, several at Tapan Road
70. Sunda Laughingthrush - 1 pair in dry riverbed at Mt Kerinci Air Minum
71. White-browed Shrike-babbler - 2 at Tapan Road, 1 heard at Mt Kerinci
72. Long-tailed Sibia - fairly common at Mt Kerinci
73. Sunda Blue Robin - 1 pair at Mt Kerinci Air Minum
74. Sunda Forktail - 1 heard at Tapan Road
75. Sumatran Cochoa - 2 heard at Mt Kerinci
76. Shiny Whistling Thrush - several at Mt Kerinci
77. Siberian Thrush - a few at Mt Kerinci
78. Eyebrowed Thrush - 1 at Mt Kerinci First Shelter
79. Golden-bellied Gerygone - 1 heard at Tapan Road
80. Chestnut-crowned Warbler - 1 at Mt Kerinci
81. Sunda Warbler - several at Mt Kerinci
82. Yellow-bellied Warbler - 1 at Tapan Road
83. Mountain Leaf Warbler - common at Mt Kerinci
84. Sunda Bush Warbler - 1 seen, 2 heard at Mt Kerinci
85. Eastern Crowned Warbler - 1 at Tapan Road
86. Mountain Tailorbird - 2 seen at Mt Kerinci, 1 heard at Tapan Road
87. Hill Prinia - common at Tapan Road
88. Fulvous-chested Jungle-flycatcher - 1 at Tapan Road
89. Verditer Flycatcher - 2 at Tapan Road
90. Indigo Flycatcher - 1 at Mt Kerinci
91. Asian Brown Flycatcher - 1 at Tapan Road
92. Snowy-browed Flycatcher - common at Mt Kerinci
93. Mugimaki Flycatcher - 1 male, 2 female at Tapan Road
94. Rufous-vented Niltava - 1 male, 2 female at Mt Kerinci
95. Large Niltava - 1 male at Mt Kerinci Base Camp
96. Grey-headed Flycatcher - fairly common at Mt Kerinci and Tapan Road
97. White-throated Fantail - 2 at Mt Kerinci, 2 at Tapan Road
98. Long-tailed Shrike - common at Kerinci vegetable farm and between Sungei Penuh and Tapan Road
99. Javan Myna - 4 at Kerinci vegetable farm
100. Temminck's Sunbird - 4 at Tapan Road, 2 at Mt Kerinci
101. Orange-bellied Flowerpecker - common at Tapan Road
102. Fire-breasted Flowerpecker - 1 female at Tapan Road
103. Mountain White-eye - 5 at Mt Kerinci First Shelter
104. Oriental White-eye - common at Tapan Road
105. Black-capped White-eye - 2 at Tapan Road
106. White-headed Munia - 8 at Tapan Road
107. Eurasian Tree Sparrow - common enroute Padang to Kersik Tua

Mammal list:
1. Otter sp. - 1 at Tapan Road Bridge 1
2. Large Flying Fox - 1 enroute Padang to Kersik Tua
3. Black Giant Squirrel - 1 heard at Mt Kerinci
4. Three-striped Ground Squirrel - common at Mt Kerinci
5. Black-striped Squirrel - 1 at Tapan Road
6. Plantain Squirrel - 1 at Tapan Road
7. Low's Squirrel - 1 at Mt Kerinci
8. Lesser Treeshrew - 1 at Tapan Road
9. Pig-tailed Macaque - common at Tapan Road
10. Mitred Leaf Monkey - common at Mt Kerinci and Tapan Road
11. Siamang - common at Mt Kerinci

Sulawesi, Halmahera, 29Aug-8Sep12

From JS

Just returned from Manado this evening and was welcomed by the haze. The trip went pretty smoothly but it would surely be better if we could see all the birds parading in full view before us. Unfortunately, as we all know, that will never happen, so we are just happy to see whatever birds that showed. Overall, we recorded a total of at least 175 species including 119 lifers notwithstanding. Although the numbers pale in comparison to my Myanmar's trip (350, 150), photographing all 3 species of scrubfowls, 2 out of 2 bops, 7 out of 9 kingfishers and 2 out of 4 pittas would certainly make the trip satisfactory. Below is a short day-to-day summary of our trip.

Juvenile Blue-and-white Kingfisher ©Danny Lau. Pallid Cuckoo ©Lau JS

Female Black-bellied Koel - common, usually heard but difficult to see. Metallic Starling ©Danny Lau

29 Aug, Day 1
We started the trip awfully with 20min delay in flight arrival due to bad weather at Manado Airport. Thereafter, we got stuck in a heavy downpour and knee-deep flooded roads. Alas, an expected evening arrival at Kotamobagu at 5-6pm became a night arrival at around 8pm... Additionally, we also had a change of guide from Samuel to a non-stop coughing Antry (Con's guide at Tangkoko) because the former had a bad stomach. No birding was done today but from the car ride, I was able to identify 1 white-bellied imperial pigeon, so that's lifer no. 1.

30 Aug, Day 2
Instead of heading to Gn Ambang today, we went for the Maleo at Tambun. Was told by Max, the local ranger of Tambun, that there was no rain on the day before but unfortunately, he said that too soon. It rained throughout the night and most of the ground birds would naturally move on. The sole compensation is a longer-than-normal view of open-perched Maleo and a friendly Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher that woke up to a larger home. Other noteworthy finds were a family of Bay Coucals, a White-Necked Myna amongst a flock of Grosbeak Starlings and a female Black-Naped Fruit-dove on nest. That was for our morning. In the afternoon, we birded Toraut. Alas, the raft and its anchoring tree was washed away by the rain and we could not reach the better forest. As a result, we dipped on the Maroon-Chinned Fruit-Dove but was relieved to see the Speckled Boobook was back at its manmade roost, a dilapidated building. Rain came again at 6pm to our misery. Fortunately, by then, we had opened our account on the raptors with a Spotted Harrier and added a flush oriental hobby subsequently. No night birding. Night at Tata Min Homestay.

Speckled Boobook - other than the white speckles, notice the olive green bill, white nictitating skin that rolls down and the ability to roll or wink with one eye ©Danny Lau

Black naped fruit dove - only see the female, missed the beautiful male. Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher - almost like our ODKF ©Danny Lau

31 Aug, Day 3
Started at 3am, we reached Sisingon at 5.30am. By motorbikes, we reached the start of the trail of Gn. Ambang. Along the trail, we ticked the montane Yellow-and-Green Lorikeet, Fiery-Browed Starling, Streak-Headed Ibon (Dark-Eye), Mountain White-eye, Yellow-Vented Whistler, Mountain Tailorbird, Sulawesi Drongo and Rusty-Bellied Fantail. Nothing spectacular actually. the real target would be the range-restricted Matinan Flycatcher. Sharp-eyed Ah Teng, our driver, spotted its movement in the undergrowth without the use of playback. Besides, Ah Teng also found us a blue flycatcher that is pending identification but in the field, we started celebrating like it is/was a Rufous-Throated Flycatcher, a difficult to find Sulawesi montane endemic. Other good birds seen were 3 brightly-colored Superb Fruit-Doves, a Spotted Kestrel and an Island Verditer Flycatcher. However, we dipped miserably on the Cinnabar Boobook (if only we had Samuel instead of Antry.), Scaly-Breasted kingfisher, Red-Eared Fruit-Dove, Crimson-Crowned Flowerpecker and Sulawesi Masked Owl. Oh well...

Fiery-browed Starling - unmistakeable eye-brows. Yellow-vented Whistler ©Danny Lau

1 Sep, Day 4
From Julies's Homestay in Sisingon, we spent the morning traveling to Manado for our flight to Ternate, skipping Mt Mahawu. Reaching Ternate, Iskandar readily identified my father and brought us to Sidangoli by a 45-min chartered boat. Due to inexplicable reasons, we did not see any seabirds except for the lone Common tern. Eager to get us on a Beach Kingfisher, Iskandar recklessly identified every Collared Kingfisher on the beach as a Beach Kingfisher. We didn't fall for that and subsequent sighting of the Beach Kingfisher on the way to Tobelo made us not regret that decision. Kicking off our birding on Halmahera, Iskandar brought us to his favored viewpoint on Kali (River) Batu (Land) Putih (White) [KBP] and we were rewarded with a pair of roosting White Cockatoo, a Chattering Lory, 4 Blyth's Hornbill, 2 Great-Billed Parrots, small flocks of Red-Cheeked Parrots and Violet-necked Lories. The best find for the day is the rarely seen Great Cuckoo Dove. Night in a Hotel with a disco.

Blyth's Hornbill pair. Red-cheeked Parrot ©Danny Lau

Beach Kingfisher - We saved US$40 from hiring a boat out as we found this Kingfisher along the road. Large Sulawesi Hanging Parrot - we dipped on the small hanging parrot which has red bill instead of black ©Danny Lau

2 Sep, Day 5
Setting off from the entrance of the trail to the Standardwing Lek at KBP at around 5am, we reached the lek at 7.30am. It would be much better to reach the lek earlier but poor hiking condition and rain forbid us. No torch and so we missed the owl that perched above us just like at Cat Tien. Therefore, the first bird that we saw for the day was none other than the Standardwings. Having a handful of calling males was really nice but having a female would make a better sight. That was just unfortunate. Still, seeing the shining green breast plate of the male firsthand was a real treat in its own rights. After leaving the Lek, we found ourselves a trapped Dusky Scrubfowl, Grey-Headed Fruit-Dove, a Blue-Capped Fruit-Dove, a Rufous-Bellied Triller and a Cream-Throated White-Eye. The biggest find though was an Ivory-Breasted Pitta that I managed to photograph. (I need another shirt for this one! :D) That concluded the morning birding session. In the afternoon, we headed to a trail located at the 12km mark of KBP. Upon arrival, we struck gold with an immature Moluccan Goshawk but failed to get good views of the calling Paradise Crows - that's Halmahera! Unfamiliar with the birds of Halmahera, we had problems identifying the birds in a mini-birdwave in the field.  Subsequently, using the guidebook, we identified that the mini-birdwave had a Spectacled Monarch, a Slaty Monarch, a White-Naped Monarch, a White-Streaked Friarbird and a couple of Black Sunbirds. Deeper inside the trail, we called in another Ivory-Breasted Pitta but seeing a female golden whistler was the sole new bird. Before dusk, we returned back to the small clearing where the mini-birdwave took place and saw a Paradise crow, two grey-headed fruit-doves and a chattering lory! At dusk, we called in a Moluccan Owlet-Nightjar (but did not try finding) and noted several calling Moluccan Scops Owls. What a day!

Grey-headed Fruit Dove, one of many colourful doves. Black Sunbirds, adult with young fledgling ©Danny Lau

3 Sep, Day 6
Without a cuckooshrike in the bag or any of the myzomela or even a common dollarbird, we spent the early morning at Transmigrasi, the site that is only routinely visited by Iskandar, just like the viewpoint on KBP. Located between the forest and the transmigrated population of Javanese farmers, birding at Transmigrasi is essentially birding along the forest edge - really good for scoping. In a nutshell, we twitched a pair of rare Purple Dollarbirds (What a surprise! Iskandar was simply ecstastic about it, having only last seen the species two years ago!), an adult Grey-throated Goshawk, an adult Moluccan Goshawk, a couple of White Cockatoos, nearly-a-dozen of "missable" Paradise Crows (Missable because Nick Brickle actually did at Foli and required to visit KBP on a separate one-day trip just for this species and three others.), Pied, Cinnamon-Bellied and Spectacled (Guide-only) Imperial Pigeons, a White-Streaked Friarbird, a pair of Shining Flycatchers and a couple of Brush Cuckoos. Two surprise finds were a Stephen's Dove that was flushed by the road (all brown, except for the green on the wings, two black bars on the rump and "white" lore/forehead) and a Rufous Fantail that Iskandar tried vehemently to point out to me but to no avail. On the way back to our hotel for lunch, we stopped by Mamin for the Common Paradise Kingfisher. Two birds replied the tape but only I saw one flying passed. Our guide added another circling Grey-Throated Goshawk while I saw at least one Red-Flanked Lorikeet. This morning calls for a nice lunch to celebrate our Purple Dollarbirds find and we do so with more fried fish. In the afternoon, we went to another site at KBP to try for the Common Paradise Kingfisher. Initially, birding was very, very slow. But, after a what-seem-like-an-eternity wait, we got a responding Common Paradise Kingfisher. Our patience rewarded us with astonishingly views of this gem! Other than the kingfisher, we found no other birds and decided to return to the 12km trail, where the remaining light allowed us to twitch a family of three Common Cicadabirds, another Spectacled Monarch, another Slaty Monarch and a pair of Golden Whistler. During our night birding, we had a couple of Moluccan Scops Owl circling us in the dense foliage around us while a Moluccan Owlet-Nightjar showed openly only for my clumsiness to flush photography attempt!!! Sigh... Rain came and called it a night.

Pied Imperial Pigeons. Cinnamon-bellied Imperial Pigeon ©Danny Lau

White Cockatoo - fortunately still doing well in Helmahera. A pair keep returning to a tree where we stood observing birds flying in a valley at end of day. Later, we realised the tree next to us was the roosting site. The guide was ecstatic as his duty is to observe this species in Halmahera ©Danny Lau

4 Sep, Day 7
On the last day of our stay at Sidangoli, we headed out early for birding at Lame Forest. Eager to bird, I went ahead without the group. This, I paid the price of missing both the Moluccan Cuckooshirke and the pair of White-Bellied Cuckooshrikes. While I did see a pair of courting Brown Cuckoo-doves and what-appears-to-be a dusky myzomela, I am still regretting the miss. I guess that I can't really see everything. Although I did not make up for my misses, for the rest of the morning, birding was rather consoling. Noteworthy species seen were a family of Goliath Coucals (including one bay coucal-like juvenile), many White Cockatoos, a pair of cream-throated white-eyes, a Drab Whistler, a Spectacled Monarch, and a pair of courting Spotted Kestrels, concluding the morning birding. In the afternoon, our first bird was a Spectacled Imperial Pigeon perched by the roadside and a couple of Red-Cheeked Parrots. Arriving at the entrance of the 12km trail, as we did not want to bird with the two Japanese photographers and their guide, we stuck to roadside birding. I had my day back when I walked ahead and flushed a pair of Scarlet-Breasted Fruit-Doves that were feeding inside the tree. Unfortunately, both Iskandar and my father missed the birds. As the mini-imperial pigeon-like birds flew out and turned away from my view, I noted green head and orange-red belly on one of the birds. Checking with Iskandar, both of them should be the Scarlet-Breasted Fruit-Doves that could be the birds that had previously been calling from afar and may have came in to my tape. Such hit-or-miss appears to be to a characteristic of birding at Halmahera and it is about being at the right place at the right time. Other noteworthy species seen were three Chattering Lories, six Paradise Crows, a small flock of Violet-Necked Lories, more Red-Cheeked Parrots, a pair of White-Streaked Friarbirds and many showing Cinnamon-Bellied Imperial Pigeons. For night-birding, we had a frustrating, unfruitful session elsewhere, summing this uneventful but less rewarding day.

Spectacled Imperial Pigeon. Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon ©Danny Lau

5 Sep, Day 8
Since we were still short of the Sombre Kingfisher, we checked out from our hotel at around 3am to visit a site where Iskandar had yet to not find the bird. Before reaching, we enjoyed a Beach Kingfisher perched on the overhanging power cables near the beach (I shouldn't say), more views of Goliath Coucals and a small flock of five Red-Flanked Lorikeets. True to his words, upon arrival, we saw a calling Sombre Kingfisher perched high up in the tree from a position that is less than 20m from the road. Subsequent playing of the tape attracted two birds to a lower perch for a photography session. Crossing the same road, we birded the forest edge and saw a hepatic morph female Oriental Cuckoo being chased around by a pair of olive-backed sunbirds and on a different, a slaty monarch. Other noteworthy species would include a White-Streaked Friarbird, a White-Naped Monarch, a pair of Moluccan Hanging-Parrots (flyby), a female Flame-Breasted Flowerpecker (seen briefly perched before flying off), three more Paradise Crows, more Red-Flanked Lorikeets and another Sombre Kingfisher. While I am able to identify the Moluccan Hanging Parrot and the Flame-Breasted Flowerpecker, I am not satisfied with the view (and I want to id them with photographs) and as such, I would not count these ticks, just as I have previously rejected the Beach Kingfisher, Dusky Myzomela or Halmahera Cuckooshrike. Continuing to the township of Tobelo, we settled into the best (probably the only one with some stars) accommodation during our stay in Halmahera or even the entire trip. From there, we visited a lake at Galela to photograph the large flocks of Red-Flanked Lorikeets flying around the lake. Instead, we left the lake with a series of satisfying photographs of flying lorikeets and another tick in the form of a pair of Moustached Treeswifts. After dinner, we headed for the black-sand beach of Galela to see our million-rupiah chicken, namely Moluccan Scrubfowl. Along the way, we encountered rain and more rain, which miraculously stopped at Galela. However, the flashes of lightning and peals of thunders would mean the worst has yet to come. Indeed, we had to sit on the black sand for about 3h with an umbrella while waiting for the rain to stop. Thankfully, we need not break Iskandar's record of waiting past 12 midnight to see the bird; we simply equaled it, spotlighting one bird at 12am. Probably due to the rain, we had to undergo two heartbreaks (first is a duck that was spooked by our torch and later, a rufous night heron) before a sitting scrubfowl (Not duck! Ducks dont sit; they only get flushed at night!) wrapped up our birding exerience on Halmahera. What a night!

Sombre Kingfisher - localized forest Kingfisher ©Danny Lau

6 Sep, Day 9
Due to yesterday's late night, we decided to wake up later and skipped any form of last-ditch birding on Halmahera or Ternate. Thus, we took our chartered ferry to Ternate at 10am after a 3.5h drive from Tobelo. During the ferry journey, we counted dozens of Red-Necked Phalaropes and tens of Common Terns feeding with a school of tuna fishes. From Ternate, we took a domestic flight to Manado, followed by a 2h car-ride to Tangkoko. This time, Samuel was with us instead of Antry. In the car, I informed Samuel of our key targets and his replies carried both the tunes of pessimism and optimism. He was optimistic of the nightbirds, namely the Sulawesi Scops Owl and Ochre-Bellied Boobook, and dead-certain of seeing the Red-Backed Thrush(es). However, when I mentioned pittas, he was uncertain and could only suggest trying for them. Starting our birding in Tangkoko with such mixed feelings, we are bound for surprises. After depositing our luggage into our room at Mama Roos, we headed straight for the forest trail by car. First bird seen was the ubiquitous but beautiful Green-Backed Kingfisher. Next, we recorded a Barred Rail at the site where the car was parked. From then, it was an enjoyable, enriching birding session. The Thais may have perfected the "feeding" and "waterhole" technique but Samuel and Ah Teng were surely experts in surveying the forest floors for ground skulkers. Splitting up, Ah Teng would flushed the thrushes in our direction while Samuel would spot the movements. Within minutes, we were locked onto a pair of beautiful Red-Backed Thrushes. Thrush in the bag, two more pittas to go. Subsequently, we spent the remaining daylight hours photographing Lilac-Cheeked Kingfishers, Tabon Scrubfowls, a family of Sulawesi Scops Owl at their daytime roost and more Green-Backed Kingfishers. Night in Tangkoko belongs to the Tarsier and one other special bird, the Minnahasa Masked Owl. We were simply ecstatic when Samuel's spotlight landed on an onlooking bird. For once in the trip, night was blissful - and my CF card filled.

Tabon Scrubfowl ©Danny Lau

7 Sep, Day 10
Today was all about pittas. Thus, we spent the morning and afternoon scouring the forest for any signs of these forest jewels. Alas, our accompanying rain came along. Still, we managed to find a Hooded Pitta. Maybe we had flushed a Red-Bellied Pitta but it was obvious that both the Red-Bellied and Elegant Pittas have no intention to make their presence felt. Sometimes hard work leads to nothing and today was such a time. The pittas were not showing, the Ochre-Bellied Boobook was nearly missed, the pair of Pied Cuckooshrikes were elusive and the adult Sulawesi Hawk Eagle did not return for their chick. Yet, we had to endure walking through the forest in the rain. Just our fortune... While we may have dipped on our primary  targets, we savoured nice views of a pair of calling Spot-Tailed Sparrowhawks, Blue-Backed Parrots, Purple-Winged Rollers, an Isabelline Bushhen, a Buff-Banded Rail, a Sulawesi Black Pigeon, a family of three White-Rumped Cuckooshrikes and large flocks of Silvery-Tipped Pigeons. Additionally, we had another successful outing at night, twitching the Large-Tailed Nightjar-like Sulawesi Nightjar. Things could have been better but all we could wish for on this night was for better weather tomorrow.

Hooded Pitta. Sulawesi Black Pigeon is one of the most beautiful pigeon in Tangkoko

Silver-tipped Imperial Pigeon - endemic to Sulawesi - interesting features are grey, silverish tertials, slaty blue bill, tipped yellow. White-rumped Cuckooshrike ©Danny Lau

Male Spot-tailed Sparrowhawk. Juvenile Sulawesi Hawk Eagle ©Danny Lau

8 Sep, Day 11
Luggage in the boot of the car and gears accounted for, we checked out from Mama Roos and headed for Temboan Hill to do our final birding in Tangkoko. Briefly, Temboan Hill is probably the lookout point for all the hornbills, parrots and pigeons. True to its reputation, we recorded three Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbills and a male Knobbed Hornbill. For the pigeons, we recorded a pair of Grey-Headed Imperial Pigeons, Green Imperial Pigeons from the Paulina race, two male Black-Naped Fruit-Doves, Grey-Cheeked Pigeons, Silvery-Tipped Pigeons, a Sulawesi Black Pigeon and a White-Bellied Imperial Pigeon. For the parrots, we recorded Ornate Lorikeets, Blue-Backed Parrots, Golden-Mantled Racquet-Tails, a pair of Yellow-Breasted Racquet-Tails and numerous Sulawesi Large Hanging-Parrots. What have been listed are nothing more but the regular species. This day, we had more. From the middle-storey, Samuel scoped a Maroon-Chinned Fruit-Dove, which was only his second sighting for this species in his many years as a guide at Tangkoko. This was simply amazing! I guessed that at Toraut, besides the bamboo raft and its anchoring tree, the rain had also washed away a Maroon-Chinned Fruit-Dove to Tangkoko. This was not the end of birding. A check of a dead tree revealed a pair of small, bump-headed, dark-colored birds. Following "They look like Sulawesi Crested Mynas." and "Yes, they are.", the celebration continued. With the flushed Isabelline Bushhen, we ended our final birding of our trip to Northeast Sulawesi and Halmahera in an enjoyable, satisfying fashion.

Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbill. Left male, right female ©Danny Lau

Male Knobbed Hornbill, first glance, the male looks like a typical clown make-up ©Danny Lau

Ornate Lorikeet - Endemic but pretty common. Female Yellow-breasted Racquet-tail - racquet but forked tail; only 3 species in Wallacea, the other endemic on Buru island ©Danny Lau

Female Golden-mantled Racquet-tail - notice square tail ©Danny Lau

This pic was at the famous valley outside Tangkoko where we had breakfast before heading down the valley just after sunrise. Bird activites lasted from sunrise till 9.30 am before it got hot and birds just disappeared.