Indonesia ,Sulawesi: Tangkoko reserve and Talaud islands. October 2014 (1 Viewer)

Just came back from a 2 week trip to Sulawesi Indonesia.
First week in the the Talaud Islands , change the money prior to go since there is nowhere to exchange dollars or get money via the local banks, plus nobody speaks English.
Second week Birdwatching in and around the Tangkoko Nature Reserve, you get there from the capital Manado , hired a car with driver to go(cost 25$ for a 2 hours drive).
Many guest houses in the area, I got one at the entrance of the reserve , it cost around 25$ a day included all meals, 30$ with A/C.
To enter in the Tangkoko park there is a fee (9$) plus you have to get a guide at the entrance (I paid 30$ from 6 am to 6 PM.)
During my stay, I was able to identify 77 species, most of which I was able to take a picture.

Accipiter trinotatus
Aceros cassidix
Actenoides monachus
actitis hypoleucos
aerodramus vanikorensis
Alcedo atthis
Alcedo meninting
Aplonis panayensis
Ardea alba
Basilornis celebensis
Calidris subminuta
Centropus celebensis
Ceyx fallax
chlidonias leucopterus
Cittura cyanotis
Collocalia esculenta
Coracias temminckii
Coracina leucopygia
Dicaeum celebicum
Dicrurus hottentottus leucopis
Ducula aenea
Ducula luctuosa
Eclectus roratus
Egretta garzetta
Egretta intermedia
Egretta sacra (black and white)
Eos histrio (captive)
Falco peregrinus
Fregata abdrewsi
Gallirallus philzppensis
Gallirallus torquatus
Gelochelidon nilotica
Geopelia striata
Halcyon coromanda
Haliastur indus
Hirundo rustica
Hypothymis puella
Lonchura atricapilla
Megapodius cumingii
Monticola solitarius philippensis
Motacilla flava
Mulleripicus fulvus
Muscicapa griseisticta
nectarinia aspasia
Nectarinia jugularis
Ninox ochracea
Numenius phaeopus
Oriolus chinensis
Padda oryzivora
Pandion haliaetus
Passer montanus
Pelargopsis melanorhyncha
Penelopides exarhatus
phaenicophaeus calyorhynchus
pitta erythrogaster
pitta elegans
Plegadis falcinellus
Ptilinopus melanospila
Pycnonotus aurigaster
Scissirostum dubium
Spizactus lanceolatus
Spizactus lanceolatus
sterna albifronts
sterna hirundo
sterna sumatrana
Streptocitta albicollis
Streptopelia chinensis
Tanygnathus sumatranus
Todiramphus chloris
Todiramphus enigma
Treron griseicauda
Trichastoma celebense
Trichoglossus ornatus
Tringa glareola
Tyto rosenbergii (dead)
Zoothera erythronota
Zosterops montanus


The stars in the Tangkoko Nature Reserve are the hornbills and the kingfishers.

Hornbills:
1 Knobbed hornbill (Aceros cassidix)
2 Sulawesi hornbill (Penelopides exarhatus)

kingfishers:
3 Green-backed kingfisher (Actenoides monachus)
4 Sulawesi kingfisher (Ceyx fallax)
5 Rudy kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda)
Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Sulawesi kingfisher (Ceyx fallax)
Lilac fingfisher (Cittura cyanotis)
Rudy kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda)
Collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris)

I also saw the Black-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis melanorhyncha) and the Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo meninting), but no time to get a good picture.

Do you have a picture of the Christmas Frigatebird? That's a very rare bird for northern Sulawesi (Lesser and Greater are much more common). Also Graceful Pitta (Pitta venusta) doesn't occur on Sulawesi, it's endemic to Sumatra. Eclectus Parrot is a Moluccan species, not occuring wild on Sulawesi. What is Kypothymus puella?
I was in Tangkoko in mid October and I'm pretty sure they showed us the same dead Masked Owl ;-).

André

Sorry about that. It is Hypothymis puella (pale-blue monarch)and the Pitta elegans (put the name from the wrong picture)
I will send a Picture of them all, let me know if there is any error.
For the Eclectus parrot they told me there were probably escaped.
Please let me now for any other correction you may see (my first trip and hard to identify some birds)

I'm not really a specialist when it comes to Frigatebirds, but with the white extending to the underwings in this way I would say Lesser Frigatebird. That would also be the most common species of Frigatebird around Sulawesi.
Some of my pictures from Sulawesi and Halmahera are in the gallery (http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showgallery.php/ppuser/13046/cat/500)

André

You may be right, I trust to much in the pictures of my book.
I will ask in the ID forum, to get a definite answer.
Thanks again, sea birds are quite difficult for me.
Nice pictures you have in the gallery!!!
This is my first year birdwatching so I still have a lot to learn.