In search of Kingfishers and Owls in Sulawesi and Halmahera, Indonesia (1 Viewer)

We could not fit in with any organised tours to Sulawesi & Halmahera and because of annual leave restriction and we couldn’t do the full standard Birdtour Asia itinerary, our preferred option, even as a private tour so we decided not to go for the Scrubfowl on Halmahera (avoiding long 8 hour drive for a single bird) and also dropped Lompobattang to fit in with our dates. The cost for the private tour was competitively priced considering it was a custom tour with a dedicated guide – Carlos Bocos who is Spanish but lives in Manado on Sulawesi and was an expert on Indonesian birds.

Overview

Flew with emirates from Manchester to Jakarta via Dubai.
Arrived in Jakarta on 5th November Stayed in Airport Hotel.
Early flight to Manado on Sulawesi on 6th November and transfer to the nearby Tangkoko-Dua Saudara National Park staying in Tangkoko Lodge.
November 7th and 8th in wonderful park of Tangkoko with its forest rising from coastal to submontane.
Evening of 8th November travel to Tomohon for an overnight stay at Onong’s Resort.
November 9th we visit the nearby remnant forest patches of Gunung Mahawu, then PM we make the long drive to Kotamobagu, our base for the next four nights. Stayed in Kotamobagu at the Patra Jasa Hotel as local lodge is full, although we do have use of a room and lunch there on a few days.
November 10th,11th and 12th explore several areas of the Dumoga-Bone National Park.
November 13th early start to go north of Kotamobagu to another national park, Gunung Ambang. Then night in Manado.
November 14th flight directly to Halmahera and from there transfer to the Weda Bay Resort.
14th – 18th birding in Weda Bay and Nickle Mine area for high elevation species.
November 18th speed boat across to Ternate and flight to Makassar
November 19th visit the limestone karst forest at Karaenta, then PM flight to Palu – drive to Lore Lindu
November 20th 21st and 22nd from Sendy’s Guest House daily forays to the higher reaches of the park.
November 23th morning at Lore Lindu the drive to Palu via Biramaru night in Palu.
November 24th Flight Palu to Jakarta on Java.
November 25th and 26th in Jakarta
November 27th fly home to Manchester

Day 1 Java and Tangkoko

We arrived in Jakarta in late afternoon and had booked a night through booking.com in the Jakarta Airport Hotel, in Terminal 2 where Emirates, Etihad and most international flights land, it was a really nice hotel for around £40 and had the benefit of views over two aspects of the airport and gave us our first life tick Javan Munia – 5 of them sitting on a wire over some grass. Only other birds were Black Kite and Pacific Swallow.

We had booked first flight out of Jakarta to get a complete day in Sulawesi, this meant getting the hotel Shuttle bus to Terminal 3 (for Garuda flights) at 4.00am and grabbing some coffee and a pastry before our 5.40 flight to Manado (we would get used to early starts). We arrive without incident and met up with our guide Carlos (who lives in Manado) and driver Mike and quickly headed up towards Tangkoko.

Carlos asked me if I wanted to get a local SIM for my phone as Wifi was going to be pretty patchy (something I’ve done in the past), I expected to pay a reasonable price but R35,000 just over £2 was excellent value and the girl even fitted it for me. 5GB was enough for me to use and share connection with Sarah for over 3 weeks but top ups were only about £1 if you needed one. Having been travelling for quite a while Sarah asked for a quick leg stretch and some fresh air about an hour in to our journey and so our Sulawesi birding began with Glossy, Uniform and then Carlos pointed out our first Sulawesi Swiftlets. There was also a Sahul Sunbird, Grey Sided Flowerpecker and we could hear Sulawesi Babbler.

A little further up the road and we were in the edge of Tangkoko forest and we had the first real target birds a colourful Sulawesi Roller and a Minhassa Racket-tail (albeit only a female). Only other bird on the way to Tangkoko Lodge was a fly over Green Imperial Pigeon. We had just dropped our bags on the room floor and kicked off our boots when Carlos knocked he had a day roosting Owl. We quickly found our sandals and before lunch we had added Sulawesi Scops Owl (looking into the sun so photo isn’t brilliant). Carlos mentioned that he likes to work hard to get all the possible targets so if we were up for it we would be doing quite a bit of owling, we were, who doesn’t like a bit of night birding.

Like most of our tour the food for lunch and dinner was local and consisted of fish, chicken, rice and corn fritters with some fresh local fruit. Largely it was really good throughout.

This afternoon we would take a trip into the mangroves for a couple of target birds and then spend late afternoon early evening in the forest. The boat trip gave us Striated Heron, White-bellied Sea Eagle before we had flight views and then a good sighting of Great-billed Kingfisher, we then added Ruddy Kingfisher (separate sub-species) but we just couldn’t find the target Cuckooshrike. We then headed into the forest and added a couple of really good birds Green-backed Kingfisher a real cracker and Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher another gem. We decided not to try for the Tarsier as light was really poor in the target area and instead only added poor flight view of Knobbed Hornbill near their nesting tree and a Sulawesi Babbler.

As the last light of day faded we tried to call Ochre-bellied Boobook but despite three calling birds we just could not get to see any perched birds and gave up when we had a Minhassa Masked Owl call and then seemingly get closer and respond to our calling but something not seen very well in flight could have been a Boobook or a large bat so nothing added. Instead we agreed to get here before dawn to try this area for owls in the morning. Still an excellent introduction to Sulawesi.

2nd Day at Tangkoko

Breakfast in the lodge at 03.30 and then drive to track to walk to the reserve, on 1 mile walk along track towards the forest we heard Sulawesi Nightjar calling very closely but we decided to push on and get into the forest in the pitch dark before the Minhassa became inactive. Although we got there in good time there was no further call from the owl but Carlos called at regular intervals as he hoped to coax it in and then find it’s day roost even if we couldn’t see it in the dark, as the first weak light entered the forest the Oche-bellied Boobooks were still calling but they didn’t come very close, however Carlos thought he knew the rough area where the birds would roost. Only bird we saw was Sulawesi Scops Owl which seemed to be the easiest Owl to call in on the whole trip.

We had a local guide with us this morning, not sure if he was mandatory but he heard the call of Red-backed Thrush in the distance and we hot footed it across to the calling area. However it wasn’t obvious so we took time to study a family of Spectral Tarsier (This incredible looking species with its endearing large eyes was the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s “ET” and we watch in amazement as they move from hole to hole and settle down to sleep).
I then spotted a Tabon Scrubfowl on the ground on the hill about 70m away and right behind it was the Thrush, we sat quietly and tried to call it closer but it didn’t respond to calls, but it did appear slightly closer but I couldn’t get a good view of it’s back, or get a photo just a side view and all Sarah saw was the bird as it moved and then in flight as it changed position and went into thick vegetation. No time for disappointment as a Sulawesi Malkoha[/B] and Bay Coucal vied for position in a tree above us with an Ashy Woodpecker also showing well. We then had the beautiful Green-backed Kingfisher show in better light than yesterday although I was still using a very high ISO to get a fast enough shutter speed to capture the bird in focus. We then sat and played the Thrush call while Carlos and the local guide searched all the known roost spots including a Minhassa nest hole but with with no birds found. I then discovered the lens hood had fallen off my camera and made to retrace my steps, the local guide however ran back and beat me to finding it and returned it to me and had some good news another guide we had seen earlier with a French girl had found the three roosting Oche-bellied Boobooks. We had walked past the area earlier but although obvious from under the tree from the wrong side they were pretty much invisible. Still a great find and a few nice photos of the Boobook group was obtained.

It was now starting to warm up and birdlife was dropping off so we walked back to the road seeing another beautiful target bird a Lilac Kingfisher and Black-billed Koel on the way.

After lunch we would go to a viewing spot by the roadside before trying again for some night birds.
The viewing area overlooked a number of tree with snags and some prime forest. We saw a male Minhassa Racket-tail, a pair of Sulawesi Rollers, a Green Imperial Pigeon before the first of many Silver-tipped Imperial Pigeon, then a Black-naped Fruit Dove, before the last pigeon of the day a White-bellied Imperial Pigeon. The smaller birds by the roadside included Grey-rumped Tree-swift, Barred Rail wading in a puddle, Collared Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, and then we added Sulawesi Racket-tail and Sulawesi Hanging Parrot. The only bird of prey was a Black Eagle and I saw an Ivory-backed Woodswallow perch briefly on the overhead wire before we both caught up with Grosbeak Myna. On the way to our night birding we added Grey-streaked Flycatcher, White-necked Myna [/B]and Sooty Headed Bulbul to the trip list.

No luck with the night birding with Sulawesi Nightjar calling in the grounds of the local fire station and a probable bird flying distantly but as we could also hear Great-eared Nightjar calling we didn’t tick it and not even a call from the Minhassa Masked Owl tonight. It was also worrying us that we hadn’t yet seen the Sulawesi Crested Macaques.

Last Day at Tangkoko

Our last day at Tangkoko had a familiar feel, with early breakfast and onto the track to the forest before 04.00. Sulawesi Nightjars were calling and seemed to be really close on both sides of the track but we just couldn’t find them and even when we returned in daylight could not find a bird.

The Minhassa Masked Owl was not calling and did not respond to our calls, having read the struggles that others had to get this bird a couple of months ago I wasn’t really surprised that we were struggling to see it but Carlos was still pretty upbeat about finding a bird and had a new place to try tonight.

Into the forest and a little confusion as Carlos called Sulawesi Black Pigeon but I was looking at White-faced Cuckoo Dove (turns out Black Pigeon was previous name and I was using latest name from the field guide). Anyway a very smart bird which I even managed a record shot of. We the got better views of Knobbed Hornbill before trying for better views of the Red-backed Thrush, although we saw the bird fleetingly the views were not brilliant so just as well yesterday’s were tickable. Other birds were familiar from previous days with Bay Coucal, Green-backed Kingfisher, Ashy Woodpecker, Sulawesi Malkoha, and Sulawesi Babbler all seen before we tried another area for roosting Nightjars and we found a smart Spot-tailed Goshawk which posed nicely for a photo with its diagnostic tail spots showing. At this point the heavens opened and we headed to a little shelter at the start of the track to keep dry. This was a good move as when the rain eased we saw the biggest troop (around 90 strong) of Sulawesi Crested Macaques on the ground looking like miniature gorillas and doing all the behaviours we hoped for, including mating, fighting, tree climbing, baby feeding and grooming. Later in the morning we saw a smaller troop so we need not have worried about seeing these sought after Macaques. The only birds on the track were Pale-Blue Monarch and Sulawesi Crow.

Carlos and the local guide then went into the undergrowth at either side of the track to hopefully find a roosting Sulawesi Nightjar and although they flushed a bird we didn’t see it fly and they couldn’t relocate it. Following the shower it was now very hot and there was no bird activity so time to head back to the lodge for a rest before lunch.

After lunch there was a change of plan we were going to an area for Sulawesi Sahul Pitta which hadn’t been that regular in Tangkoko recently. We stopped at a little track by some houses and immediately flushed two Barred Buttonquail, we also added Sunda Yellow-vented Bulbul and before arriving at a little river. Carlos found a couple of logs and we were able to cross and then we could hear the Pitta real close. Carlos set up his speaker on the track and the bird stopped right by the path. Unfortunately the bird was slightly obscured so I couldn’t photograph it and Sarah couldn’t see the whole bird but it then decided to fly back and forward across the track and even stopped once (really briefly) for Sarah to get a great view of Sahul Pitta.

We then headed back to the roadside to pick up some of the common birds we still needed and added Blue-backed Parrot, Short-crested Myna, Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon and White-eyed Drongo to the usual array of swifts and swallows.

We had packed our bags and loaded the van but as we still needed a few target birds we agreed we would drive to Tomahon after dark after another attempt for Owls and Nightjars. The try for nightjars was in the forest near the Fire Station and started promisingly with both nightjars calling but only the Great-eared Nightjar was definitely seen by us, we just didn’t see Sulawesi (well enough to count it) although it was no doubt flying about.

Carlos said, this contact has given me a location where we will just pull up on a track call beneath some trees call the Owl and there he’ll be. I was sceptical but after 40 minute drive past a road end into some forest, we tried. The Minhassa Masked Owl was called, no call back but they don’t always call, then we all saw something fly in from behind the trees. Flash light on and it was another bloody Sulawesi Scops Owl, after more trying we retraced our steps and then did the long drive to Tamahon.

We stayed at Onong’s Mountain Resort and arrived late, we dropped our stuff in the cabin, had a quick dinner before retiring to bed, we were off early again after a lite breakfast but would be able to come back for a shower and to pack after our mornings birding including a try for a new owl.

Gunung Mahawu

For breakfast I had some nice pancakes and coffee before we headed off around 4.30 to try for a couple of Owls. This was much more like it one call, bird calls back, two birds fly in and perched in the flash light is a nice Speckled Boobook, I didn’t get a great photo before we moved the beam and looked at the second bird which no surprise was a Sulawesi Scops Owl. The Boobook was still around but was now well hidden behind some branches. Still this was nice and easy and we were up the top of Gunung (old volcano) Mahawu, while it was still semi dark; so we took the opportunity to walk to the top of the viewpoint to see the old crater and the other mountains as the sun rose.

There were even a few Sulawesi Cuckoo Doves at the top to tick after taking a few photos there was time for a few common birds Lemon-bellied and Mountain White-eye, Arctic Warbler, Turquoise Warbling Flycatcher and couple of new birds in Sulphur-bellied Whistler and Black-crowned White-eye before trying for two difficult targets in the forest.

On the walk down we bumped into another birding group who had been in the forest yesterday they told us where they had found a Scaly Kingfisher. So we headed into the forest and crossed the stream to that area. However, there was no Kingfisher calling and after much searching no Scaly Kingfisher found, we did though find a cracking Sulawesi Jungle Flycatcher that I even managed a photo of and we knew that we still had a chance of a Scaly at Gunung Ambang.

On emerging from the forest we did some roadside birding on the way down the hill and added Sulawesi Myzomela, Western Superb Fruit Dove, Citrine Canary Tit, and a couple of fly-over Japanese Sparrowhawks and then a Small Sparrowhawk.

It was then time to get back to the resort pack up the car and then drive to Kotamobagu with just a stop at some fields for some waders and munias. We duly added Sunda Teal, Spotted Dove, Pacific Golden Plover, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Swinhoe’s Snipe, Javan Pond Heron and the Scaly-breasted and Black-faced Munia.

We arrived in Kotomobagu where we were staying at the Patra Jasa Hotel just before dark, we dropped our bags and headed immediately to some local fields where just as darkness was falling we had a Sulawesi Masked Owl fly from a palm tree which we had been searching for it’s presence. A nice way to finish the day!

We were staying at the Patra Jasa as the lodge near Dumoga-Bone was fully occupied, so an extra 45 minute drive each way for the next few days.

A great account so far David, I've never been to a jungle habitat, can imagine that the photography even with a point and shoot (my kit) can be challenging! It's difficult enough getting good shots in a well lit temperate area, so well done so far, looking forward to the rest of trip. :t:

Cheers

That Malkoha is quite the looker! Enjoying this, keep it coming!

Some cracking birds - and Impressive gymnastics by the male macaque - both feet off the ground!

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK said:

Some cracking birds - and Impressive gymnastics by the male macaque - both feet off the ground!

Cheers
Mike

Click to expand...

......must have been some "wheelbarrow" he was pushing :eek!::eek!:

Dumoga- Bone National Park

One of the drawbacks of staying at Kotamobagu is the drive before and after the days birding and lack of place to have a rest in the heat of the day. Our plan for the 4 days we are staying at Patra Jasa is to leave each day early and have breakfast at Dumoga-Bone park before birding, take lunch locally and then arrive back after dark for dinner at the hotel.
Food is good at the Hotel and the room is comfortable with constant hot water (at least when we are here at night and early in the morning).

We set off about three get to the park at four, where we have our packed breakfast of Nasi Goreng, Peanut-butter or Nutella sandwiches and coffee and juice. This was breakfast for most mornings from this point on with us being happy with coffee, bread and peanut butter and then some Beng-beng chocolate biscuits with coffee and water when we stop. It worked well for us.

On this first morning – Carlos thought he knew a Masked Owl roost but although we heard the bird we couldn’t find it. We did a bit of local birding as things started to come awake but all we saw was Sulawesi Roller, Black-Kite, Sulawesi Serpent Eagle (young bird perched in tree), Yellow-vented Bulbul, Tree Sparrow and Uniform Swiftlet, we then had a try for Sulawesi Bush-hen a notoriously shy bird and we were lucky and saw the bird really well before it was time to cross the river on a makeshift bamboo raft to enter the park proper.

On the river we saw Collared and Common Kingfisher, White-eyed Drongo and Barn Swallow before we heard the distinct call of Oberhouser’s Fruit Dove – a real beautiful dove that we saw well a couple of times but my pictures just don’t do it justice, I suspect Carlos got better. Most common birds were Grey-streaked Flycatcher and Turquoise Warbling Flycatcher but we also saw Sulawesi Triller, Pied Cuckooshrike, Sulawesi Malkoha, Barred Rail, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker and some lovely Ornate Lorikeet’s and our first Pygmy Hanging Parrots.

We heard a pitta calling fairly nearby bit didn’t go for it having seen one well yesterday and it did show for others later.

In the heat of the morning we tried for raptors and added Spotted Harrier quartering the local grassland before getting Sulawesi Hawk-Eagle and Brahminy Kite by the forest edge. We also saw our only Pechora Pipit of the trip.

At 10.45 we headed to a local lodge (the one that was full so unavailable for us to stay in) and had a nice lunch and even had a basic room that we could rest in for a few hours. We met a couple of UK birders Geoff and Grace who were staying here and exchanged info with them – we were particularly interested in Tabun and Gunung Ambush which they had visited and which we were still to visit in the coming days. Food was excellent and I was even able to charge my phone which I had forgotten to charge overnight. This was to become a bit of a habit with stops here 3 times and a meet ups with Geoff and Grace to compare notes and show photos twice.

This afternoon we would bird the edge of the park. There was actually a bit of rain about but we added Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbill, Purple Needletail, Knobbed Hornbills, White-necked Myna, Black Sunbird, Black-headed Munia and Golden-bellied Gerygone.

No night birding tonight due to rain and so we had a relaxing evening at the Hotel.

This wasn't his only encounter

KenM said:

......must have been some "wheelbarrow" he was pushing :eek!::eek!:

Click to expand...

In the 30 minutes we watched then he was busy with females 3 times, so he was a fit macaque

Thanks

MKinHK said:

Some cracking birds - and Impressive gymnastics by the male macaque - both feet off the ground!

Cheers
Mike

Click to expand...

Tabun and Dumoga-Bone NP

Off nice and early again and we arrive at Maleo reserve around 4am for breakfast. No owls calling but we did hear Sulawesi Nightjar again but only birds that we saw flying were Great-eared – that we eventually saw well; good to have a guide that doesn’t try to claim something he has been trying to get for a few days as our target, as on initial brief view and with bird having called we might have thought it was a Sulawesi.

Into the forest and the hot spring area at first light with a local guide. We quickly spot a Maleo at the edge of the forest but light is really poor, we spot a mature male at the top of a tree just as we exit the forest, still distant but at least light is a little better and I get a few record shots. It is still very early so we decide to head to edge of Dumogo Bone to hopefully catch some birds as the day begins to heat up. We see Sulawesi Cuckoo Dove, Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon, Oberholser’s Fruit Dove, White-bellied Imperial Pigeon before the first new bird of the morning Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, then repeat views of Malkoha, Sulawesi Racket-tail, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot and Silver-tipped Imperial Pigeon before a Sulawesi Cicadabird was seen and scoped. There were Sulawesi and Uniform Swiftlets flying around the road and on a roadside bush we also added Lesser Coucal.

On the bird of prey front we found a good vantage point and saw Sulawesi Honey-buzzard, Sulawesi Hawk-eagle, Black Eagle, and a Sulawesi Goshawk. We also had a Black-naped Oriole and Ivory-backed Woodswallow by the roadside before we went back to the lodge for lunch and a rest.

This afternoon we when to some ponds (tower wetlands) to try for White-rumped Cuckooshrike but we were unsuccessful and did most of our birding under umbrellas as heavy rain set in. We did however get Sunda Teal, Sunda Swamphen, Dusky Moorhen, Wandering Whistling Duck, White-browed Crake, and Barred Rail before Sarah took a tumble on a muddy path and needed some cleaning up in a local shack. We did after that see Rufous Night Heron, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Cinnamon Bittern and Purple Heron and an Indonesian Kestrel and Osprey.

No owling tonight due to rain and over dinner Carlos suggest we go into the big forest at Dumoga-Bone tomorrow to try for some rarely seen species such as Snoring Rail, Sulawesi Ground Dove, Rufous-throated Flycatcher as well as Minhassa Masked Owl. We would be off at 02.30.

Toraut forest in Dumoga Bone NP

It had rained all night but it was just drying as we set off. We took the bamboo raft across in the dark and quickly left the normal trails behind and headed up into the forest with a local guide hacking a path through spikey growth, after about 30 minutes we stopped and tried for owls. Distant Boobook calling but no sign of Minhassa Masked Owl and only owl we saw was the ubiquitous Scops Owl which was happy to call and pose in the spotlight.

Around 5am when the first glimmers of light were coming into the forest we heard a Rufous-fronted Flycatcher call, it was still too dark to see anything properly so we noted the GPS to come back a little later. Up to the dead centre of the forest and although we could hear a lot of calling doves it was really disappointing the lack of species diversity in this pristine habitat. Although we had made our own trail there was evidence of other trails despite no official guided trips into the forest in the last couple of months. In all likelihood these were made by trappers / hunters – we saw a number travelling openly with guns and traps on the back of motorbikes – and in this area that rather than habitat loss seems to be the main threat to birds.

Back to the birding or lack of it the species we were looking for are shy for good reason and exist at low densities so it is hardly surprising that these birds are rarely / never seen. We heard a number of Pitta calls in the early morning gloom and despite good views a few days earlier decided that would try to see one. Fortunately a little bit of playback brought a bird to a log at eye-level near the edge of our trail. We just sat ourselves down on the forest floor ate some biscuits and enjoyed a rest after 3 hours of quite hard sweaty mostly uphill trekking, and watched a beautiful Sulawesi Sahul Pitta coming and going for 20 minutes. We were now back in the zone and headed to the GPS point for the Flycatcher, although we heard the bird again distantly it just didn’t respond to playback and so added to a bit of a disappointing morning although we did get one lifer in Red-eared Fruit Dove. We walked for 7 hours with little seen or heard, certainly our main targets of Masked Owl, Ground Dove and Rail were not even heard. Still that is often the way of birding and hopes were now on a big day tomorrow. We did see a few birds in the lower area near the reserve centre where presumably birds are a little more habituated and protected by wardens they included Black-winged Kite and Pale Blue Monarch and we did see a Gorontalo Macaque.

This afternoon after lunch at the regular lodge we took it easy and went back to Tabon to see the Maleo, recovery programme – we had completely lost track of days but it was Sunday afternoon and just before the reserve closed when we arrived. It was really busy and quite amazingly we had hoards of teenage girls and even their teacher all wanting selfies with us and climbing all over us to get close – Sarah said she now knows what it feels like to be a movie star – we did in lots of places get requests for photos as not many westerners make to some of these remote areas but just for sheer numbers this felt really odd.

We didn’t see many birds just Drongo, Grey-sided Flowerpecker and Grosbeak Myna and no wild Maleo today, just birds of different age ranges held in different parts of the reserve and a Maleo egg which wasn’t quite ready for hatching but which Sarah held, still it was good to talk to guys running the programme and hear about the success in increasing numbers of this emblematic species.

Nice meal tonight and early night as tomorrow we would get off early (packed and out the hotel by 02.15 so we could be up Gunung Ambang before daylight.

Wrong photos

Sorry duplicate Maleo shots

Excellent day on Gunung Ambang

Thankfully the rain of last few days has totally cleared and we have a nice clear sky for drive to start point. Carlos is very pleased that track is driveable further than last time he was here and the walk before climbing Ambang is pretty short. So we have breakfast out of the back of the car against a star strewn night sky before our walk about the first track.

At the first clearing with some nearby tall trees we call Sulawesi Masked Owl and a bird flies in, unfortunately it perches too low in the tree for Sarah and I to see it well, but we climb the hill a little and see it clearly but it flies off before we can photograph it. A little further up the hill we try for Cinnibar Boobook, a bird calls distantly but nothing doing so we climb a little higher and call again, a bird flies in but is really well hidden so while we think it is Boobook we want a better view lights out and we call again and there he is sitting on a bare branch clearly visible a Cinnibar Boobook, my camera setting were all over the place and the bird kept moving so I could get a really sharp image just a couple of record shots but really happy to see this bird that our friends and a few other groups had missed.
We didn’t even pay any attention to the Sulawesi Scops Owl that flew across into a nearby tree but an excellent morning so far and it got better.

We could hear the distinctive sound of Scaly Kingfisher up the hill so a bit of a hard climb in the dark up the narrow track – anyone who knows us can see that we are build for comfort rather than performance but we put on as much of a spurt as we could and got there in time to see the perched Scaly Kingfisher in the first of the morning light fortunately I had my camera on a mono pod and with a slow shutter speed so even grabbed a record shot which Carlos struggled with doing hand held. The bird then flew down the hill but Sarah managed to relocate it and got me on it and got an Ok shot of one of the two most sought after Kingfishers of the trip.

In good spirits we headed up to the top and tried for the Matinan’s Warbling Flycatcher, I have to say not much of a looker but a lovely song and we did get to see the bird singing right at the top of a tree. So far so good and we tried calling Sulawesi Bush Warbler at least that’s what I thought it was and even saw this little skulker really well as he moved mouse like on a log where Carlos had balanced his speaker; of course it is now Sulawesi Grasshopper Warbler – but too me still looks and sounds like a Bush Warbler regardless of what mDNA says.

I should probably have said we are using a Birdtour Asia checklist list and taxonomy based on the new field guide Birds of Indonesian Archipelago. I did like the field guide plates and think the short text is appropriate and helpful and can even understand the new naming conventions even if some of them to me are confusing when it comes to updating our life lists which are IOC based – the bit I hate and Sarah does too is the Index which is fully alphabetised which means you can’t just look something up by name/family e.g Bulbul/Goshawk you need to go to Sulawesi Goshawk / Halmahera Golden Bulbul (it’s the same index style as Gregory guide to New Guinea which I also don’t like). Off my soapbox.

Next up we had a couple of noisy Malia (recondite sub species) which is now also in Locustellidae family although it looks and behaves much more like a cross between thrush / babbler and certainly isn’t shy. We hear the Matinan’s singing nearby and quickly head up to a tangle where the birds shows remarkably well – although he isn’t the most photogenic of birds. We add Sulawesi Leaf Warbler and Flame-browed Myna in this area of the mountain.
Other wildlife included Sulawesi Dwarf Squirrel.

On the way down which was very slippy after recent rain Carlos said lets go slowly and stay together to hopefully spot any birds coming onto the track, but then he was off quickly and on a perched Sulawesi Goshawk which he was photographing and which we disturbed as we caught up – a few words were said but quickly forgotten on what was a great days birding. The only target bird we missed was Purple-bearded Bee-eater; I think we were down before they became active but as we had Lore Lindu to look forward to we weren’t too concerned.

It was now a long slow drive to Palu, where we were staying the night, hope was to drop our bags and get to a mangrove area before dark but traffic was a nightmare with a police incident and heavy rain causing massive delays. We got to a resort hotel just north of the ring road with a long partly covered pier just before dark. Made our way out to pier end the covered area called a White-rumped Cuckooshrike and two birds appeared to give us great views pity we left our cameras in the car due to the rain.

Over night at Penisula Hotel, the best hotel in Minado – very nice but really poor service with restaurant closed and bar meal for me not delivered, due to various politician being in for a reception, in the end I shared a bit of Sarah’s meal and we did get a free beer.

Flight to Halmahera was now 08.50 not 07.00 so leisurely start tomorrow.

Trip to Halmahera

We had already crossed Wallace’s Line when we flew from Java to Sulawesi but with the arrival in Halmahera we were now in the heart of Wallacea (just across from Ternate where Wallace lived while doing his research). However the avifauna in Halmahera was now much more like New Guinea and with a truly Australasian flavour. When anyone comes to Halmahera the top 5 birds targets are inevitably Wallace’s Standard Wing, Moluccan Owlet Nightjar, Ivory-breasted Pitta, Azure Dollarbird and Sombre Kingfisher with an assortment of Parrots, Nightbirds and endemics added for good measure and we were no different.

Since visiting PNG in 2012 I had longed to see another Bird of Paradise display so a real attraction in staying at Weda Resort was a pretty local accessible lek; in forest the resort had bought to protect the habitat from loggers. I have to also say the resort was really confortable with excellent food and with a decision made to not try for the Moluccan Spurfowl no really long or difficult journeys for our main targets.

We had a nice leisurely breakfast in Manado and then made our way to the airport in about 30 minutes. Check-in was a bit complicated as we thought all our internal flights allowed us 20kg of luggage each (that was case for Garuda and Batik) but for Lion Air luggage allowance was just 10kg and Sarah and I each had about 19kg each Carlos had about 18kg. Birdtour Asia agreed to pick up the tab for the excess but it was just a painful process with Carlos having to go to visit the office 3 times and coming back to the desk with inadequate or different paperwork before they would take the charge for 26KG excess bags and finally take our bags about 30 minutes after we had checked in. The actual cost wasn’t great about US $1 a kilo but it was time consuming and stressful – so glad that Carlos speaks fluent Indonesian.

It was a 2 hour 20 minute flight but there is also an hours time difference so by the time we get our bags and head to the Weda 4WD vehicle at the airport it is around mid-day. Good news is that with time change it gets dark and then light almost an hour later than in Sulawesi. So more time for birding today and pre-dawn start for birding tomorrow is almost a long lie.

We had flight into Kao which was an hour or so north of the capital Sofili and the first real birding spot, near here where we stopped on a beach near some mangroves. On the roadside were a nice selection of Red-flanked Lorikeets and Moluccan Hanging Parrots before we went for the target bird. Unfortunately the birds weren’t showing and it was fairly high tide so we couldn’t change or vantage point so Carlos decide he would wade out to the mangroves to see if he could see the birds and then get us on them, as I said it was high tide and Carlos admitted he had never done this other than at low tide and before long the water was over his shorts and had soaked his wallet and phone (fortunately waterproof) we didn’t know whether to laugh or not but from the other direction a Beach Kingfisher flew into the mangroves and as Carlos recognised we had seen the bird and turned back a second bird flew out from the other side of the mangroves. A good start.

We had lunch near the beach the driver from Weda had brought a packed lunch in tiffin boxes. We then headed into the local town found a shop for Carlos to get a towel and try off and for us to be invited into the back room and use the toilet and join the family for food (we didn’t take their food just bought some drinks in the shop) – really friendly people.

It was around 3 hours to the resort so we decided that we would try for a few birds and then get to the resort after trying for a night bird or two. The number of birds around were not huge but there were some real attractive birds first up was Umbrella Cockatoo, these birds were once very common but now like many birds are threatened by industrial strength trapping for the pet trade (while we were in Halmahera we saw a local news report of hundreds of parrots and cockatoos being transported to Ternate for onward travel in plastic tubes, it appears hunters are now using ebird to get GPS coordinates and xeno canto and local Indonesian bird sites to download calls to trap these birds – this is in addition to all the trapping for local homes – every village had a number of caged Chattering Lory and this beautiful parrot is now difficult to see at sea level in Halmahera). It has to be a case of get here soon before sustainable populations of some gloriously colourful birds are just not visible in the wild any longer or better still help locals do something about it but Carlos was not hopeful that young groups equivalent to Wild Bird Club Philippines would emerge in Indonesia to stop the rot before it is too late – depressing thought on this beautiful spice island.
Sorry lost my thread there – we saw the Cockatoo but it was wary and a little distant.

Next up we added Halmahera Oriole, Rufous Bellied Triller, White-bellied Cuckooshrike and Halmahera Friarbird before amongst the Glossy swiftlets we add Halmahera Swiftlet and then a Great Billed Parrot with his distinctive flight shape. We heard a Pale-vented Bush-hen when we stopped not far from the resort to try for Moluccan Scops Owl, and saw a few Blue and White Kingfishers, and a couple of Metallic Starlings, however while we heard the bird no luck with a sighting and Carlos was not too pleased with the way the local driver guide shone his torch and made movement and noises while we were trying so it was no surprise when we had a different driver from that point on.

Just after dinner we were called to see a little Halmahera Python on the path feeding on a frog and could hear the distinct call of the Owlet Nightjar in the distance.

Wallace’s Standard Wing – Birds of Paradises and plenty more later

Wallace’s Standard Wing

This morning is our time to search for some of the most prized species of the trip earth. We headed off after breakfast to arrive in the forest just before dawn with only a 20 minute mostly down-hill walk. On the way to the lek we spotted a Common Paradise Kingfisher (juvenile male so not with full tail) but a good start albeit a bird we had seen before.

It was then time to observe the Wallace’s Standardwing at a lek site – a truly magical experience as three male birds greet the rising sun by jumping up and parachuting down again, accompanied by an amazing cacophony of noise whenever one of the two females approach.

I had almost talked the experience down before had as I didn’t think it could get need a Raggiana or King Bird of Paradise display and because most photos I had seen hadn’t been of a spectacular scene – it is but because it starts in darkness and the birds are moving quickly in poor light the best people seem to achieve is record shots but what a thrilling experience. It is certainly in my 4 or 5 top five birds of paradise experiences.

As it got light the birds activity dropped off massively and the birds just melted away over 10 minutes or so. However just as we expected to be on a low we heard an Ivory-breasted Pitta. The bird sounded low to the ground but then it suddenly appeared 40 feet up and then showed on an unobscured branch. I had the camera all wrong and so despite some great views and opportunity for photos I got only one shot as the bird made to leave. I did even worse with Nicobar Pigeon which flew at Sarah’s head when we called it, in all we saw 6 of this often difficult bird before we headed back to the main track.

Weda Area

As it got light the bird activity dropped off massively and the birds just melted away over 10 minutes or so. However just as we expected to be on a low we heard an Ivory-breasted Pitta. The bird sounded low to the ground but then it suddenly appeared 40 feet up and then showed on an unobscured branch. I had the camera all wrong and so despite some great views and opportunity for photos I got only one shot as the bird made to leave. I did even worse with Nicobar Pigeon which flew at Sarah’s head when we called it, in all we saw 6 of this often difficult bird before we headed back to the main track.

So an excellent start to the morning and we headed back to the road to try for a few more endemics and special birds. First off we went just a few meters off the road when we heard a Pitta call, we set ourselves up on a log and put the speaker on the trail and called the Sultan’s Sahul Pitta, fortunately the bird came almost immediately and although we didn’t get brilliant sighting it showed a couple of times in deep vegetation and did a couple of fly by’s, so another good bird added. We also saw a couple of huge Goliath Coucals but interestingly the white wing patch was not as obvious as I expected it to be.

We then got a Shining Monarch, a Red Cheeked Parrot, repeat views of Rufous-bellied Triller and Red-flanked Lorikeet before we headed back to the resort. The birding hadn’t finished we went down a trail opposite the restaurant where we added a very obliging Sombre Kingfisher and then had another Bird of Paradise albeit the Paradise Crow is nothing to write home about.

On the walk back to our room Sarah and I added the delightful little Blue-capped Fruit Dove but despite this bird coming to trees near the restaurant and close to our room over the 4 days I never did get a photo. Either ill prepared or with blinds down in the restaurant.

This afternoon we drove North and birded the road side – I think we only saw about 10 cars, however in stopping to take some photos of an Eclectus Parrot I dropped my cap and despite searching for it later couldn’t find it – sod’s law it was really bright and we were not in the forest, so a really uncomfortable afternoon and next morning. Back to the birding and it was a little bitty but with good birds being added at regular intervals we saw Varied Goshawk, then Halmahera Goshawk, Halmahera White-eye, Moluccan Hanging Parrot, Moluccan Starling (one of only two we saw), Moluccan Cuckooshrike, Umbrella Cockatoo, Halmahera Friarbird and a few good pigeons in Moluccan Imperial Pigeon, Cinnamon-bellied Imperial Pigeon and Pied Imperial Pigeon.

The only things we missed were Scarlet-breasted Fruit Dove which was heard only and Azure Dollarbird where every bird we checked was a Common Dollarbird

It was then time to head back towards the resort and try for some night birds of which Halmahera has a few crackers. We tried first for Moluccan Scops Owl and despite lots of calling and an a couple of birds in the vicinity would could get on this bird tonight (we gave this bird the name Bob as the call when the birds were keeping in touch was a long “bob”… in fact it sounded just like an American friend of our calling her husband. We didn’t see Bob for a while.

Much more successful was Halmahera Boobook which responded well and flew in quite quickly and even changed his perch to give me at least a reasonable record shot.

We headed back to the resort road and stopped about 1 kilometre from the rooms when we heard the Owlet Nightjar but although he came very close and even came near to the restaurant during dinner but we couldn’t locate this birds which after the Standardwing and Ivory Breasted Pitta this morning was now our top target.

I should have mentioned we were now with a local guide Bang-bang who was very good and spoke good English, was a good spotter and knew of recent sightings so anyone on their own at Weda on a birding rather than diving package should try to get him to guide them on their visit to the lek, etc.

In search of the Invisible Rail

The local guides knew of a good spot for Invisible rail. So after breakfast and an unsuccessful try for Owls and Owlet-nightjar we set off on a dive boat across the bay and up a river. On the way we added Moustached Tree-swift, Greater-crested Tern, Black Bittern, Chinese Egret, Osprey and Blythe’s Hornbill before a flock of Violet-necked Lory’s added a blaze of colour and first lifer to our early morning. We soon got to the area and staked out a fairly open area, Carlos put his speaker on a low branch and we all got ready. The speaker played the Invisible Rail call and the bird shot across behind us and disappeared with only the local guide seeing more than a movement. We did try calling it repeatedly and looking at other areas in this bit of flooded forest but as the Rail didn’t even call back we gave up after an hour and headed back to the boat.

We headed back to near the Standardwing lek, we heard the Ivory Breasted Pitta but we were after the Dollarbird, the guys knew a high snag it had been frequenting recently. We made our way there adding a pair of Eclectus Parrots and Drab Whistler. After about 30 minutes of waiting Carlos decided he would play the Dollarbird call under the tree, we would watch the tree; no sooner had he left than the Azure Dollarbird landed high in the tree, we just got him in our binoculars when rather than sitting patiently on his favourite perch he flew after just a couple of seconds and all we had after that initial sighting was a flight view as he circled when Carlos called; still at least we saw the bird, albeit fleetingly.

Out to the forest edge and we added Halmahera Spangled Drongo and then the attractive White-naped Monarch and Halmahera Flowerpecker.

After a break and some lunch we headed south and en-route to some forest I spotted a little shop that sold me a cap – Sarah said I looked like a Chinese labourer but it kept the sun out of my eyes. It was really fun with all the family of the shop owner coming to have photos with me and my new cap.

Off to what looked like a non-descript area of secondary growth but there were birds arounds including Moluccan Monarch, Rufous-bellied Triller, Halmahera Hanging Parrot, Great-billed Parrot, Moluccan Whistler and Halmahera Flowerpecker. In the scrubby open area we added Dusky Scrubfowl.

We then started back for Weda but stopped at a place suggested by Bang-bang where we called and saw Pale-vented Bush-hen, the bird showed twice but was really nervous and quickly went into hiding and that was it really with an attempt for Bob (Scops Owl) near the resort being heard only but with some excitement as a huge bat flew out at the right height.

When we arrived back for dinner the Owlet Nightjar was calling but quite distant so we decided to eat and then try for the bird, I have to say we weren’t looking forward to climbing up the track after dinner but the van took us most of the way back to the road so we just had to walk 100m to the spot we would call from. We walked into the forest put out the torches and called the bird. One sounded really close and when we put on the the spot light there he was right above us – a really unusual looking bird – Sarah decided the Moluccan Owlet Nightjar deserved cute rather than ugly as a descriptor but I went for much sought after as this was only the second bird of this family we had ever seen, having missed a few in PNG.

We went to bed happy this evening having forgotten the missed rail with even an earlyish planned start to have breakfast before going into the mountains tomorrow not getting in the way of a good night’s sleep.