Java and Bali, July 2013 + short notes on Rinjani Scops-owl on Lombok. Lieven De Temmerman, Belgium Aknowledgements Hans Matheve for bird sounds, Geert Beckers and Kevin Lambeets for some extra information, Jan van der Laan for directions in his report on Rinjani Scops-owl and the people at Freddie’s Guesthouse for hospitality. Introduction For most birdwatchers, Java and Bali are the very first destinations they visit in Indonesia. Sadly, these islands are heavily deforested, have almost no ground birds and not a lot of bigger bird species, and there are less species than on the other greater Sunda islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Nevertheless, travelling in Java and Bali is relatively easy, and the birding locations are well known and still very rewarding. I travelled from Yogjakarta, along Mt Bromo, Baluran and Mount Ijen to the well-known Bali Barat national park, and looked around Ubud and the Gili islands a little bit for birds while enjoying a nature-culture holiday with my girlfriend. After this, I spent some days of hardcore birdwatching on the slopes of Gunung Gede, West-Java. Practicalities In order to cover all the endemic species of Java and Bali, one needs to visit several key birding sites in both countries. At minimum, one should visit the following sites (more information on the excellent Burung-Nusantara website: Muara Angke, a marsh area in downtown Jakarta that offers the best chances for Sunda Coucal and a lot of other marsh/wader birds. Gunung Halimun for Javan Hawk-eagle, White-bellied Fantail, Javan Leafbird, Brown-headed Barbet, but especially for White-breasted Babbler (which cannot be found in Carita anymore, and since it is a bird confined to lowlands, cannot be found on Gede). Carita would still be the best place to have a back-up location for Black- banded Barbet on the way to Sumatra, but an alternative is Mount Ijen (see below) Gunung Gede is the main birding site for Javan Endemics. Almost all Javan forest endemic birds can be found, except for White-breasted Babbler, and White-Bellied Fantail is really hard. Also, the abovementioned species for Halimun can be found on Gede, but not that easy. Some birds are a must to see on Gede: Javan Scops-owl, Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush and Volcano Swiftlet. The last one can be found on other volcanoes, but that would be the only target there. Mount Bromo occurs on many people's schedule, but it is not necessary to go there as Javan Bush-warbler can be most easily found on Mount Ijen, which is practically on the way between Baluran and Bali Barat. Moreover, Mount Ijen should always be the preferred choice as it offers maybe the best chance for White-bellied Fantail, Javan Hawk-eagle and it is the place to see the endemic White-faced Hill-partridge. The forest on Ijen is quite splendid as well. Baluran, in the far east of Java, is the most convenient place to see Green Peafowl, Green Junglefowl, Grey-cheeked Tit-babbler and possibly Black-winged Starling, but many more good species occur, especially Javan Banded Pitta is fairly easy here. Alternatives for this site are e.g. Alas Purwo, which has probably also some more diversity and a ‘wilder‘ feeling. Check the reports from Yann Muzika. Bali Barat is the flagship site for Bali Starling, which is now sadly extinct in the wild. You can still see birds flying around who look semi-wild, and an array of other interesting birds can be seen in the park, such as Beach Thick-knee, Black-winged Starling, and a little outside the park: Rufous-backed Dwarf-kingfisher, Fulvous- chested Jungle-flycatcher and others. Bedugul botanical garden in the central mountains of Bali is said to be a very good place for Sunda Thrush, Javan Kingfisher and Dark-backed Imperial-pigeon, but I did not spend much time there and only saw the pigeons. More trip reports and info can be found on www.cloudbirders.com and the abovementioned burung-nusantara site, or by emailing me: yoemy at hotmail dot com Birding sites Borubudur (1 morning) This well-known archeological site can be reached by bus or private vehicle from Jogjakarta in about half an hour. Make sure to be here around 6AM to soak in the magical morning atmosphere on the temple, as it gets very crowded around 7AM with tour buses dropping loud masses of locals. Only little birding was done from the temple, but a walk in the area could provide many more species. Highlights: Black-naped Fruit-dove, Javan Mynah Prambanan (1 afternoon) Prambanan temple, and especially the big temple and the one to the right, are known to be the easiest place in Java to see Java Sparrow. We easily saw more than 10 while admiring the temples. On the way out, one passes through some open savannah forest where you can see some more birds. Highlights: Java Sparrow, Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker, Sunda Woodpecker Mount Bromo (1 day) Mount Bromo is a rather dry volcanoe with mostly low bushes in and around the crater. On the way to the viewpoint, one passes some scrub that is good for the bush-warblers. The top is good for the Island Thrush and the views. Highlights: Island Thrush, Oriental Pipit (in the crater). Sunda Bush-warbler and Javan (Russet) Bush-warbler were heard-only. Baluran National Park (2 days) From the entrance of the park, one can take a motorcycle taxi to take you to the head quarter, and further to the beach. On the way to the head quarter, there is a flat ‘rainforest‘ part where Javan Banded Pittas thrive (there is a big sign indicating the location). Around the headquarters, some good open area birding can be done from a watchtower and around a little pool where Banteng sometimes drinks at night (not-so-wild Banteng can be seen here in the fenced area). Close to the beach, there is some more humid forest with taller trees (and best chance for Hornbills), but it soon gets very hot here. Highlights: Green Peafowl (near the headquarters and some flushed on the road in), Green Junglefowl (many flushed on the road in), Java Sparrow (one on the road in), Javan Banded Pitta (minimum 2 calling and one seen in the rainforest part on the way in), Small Blue Kingfisher (some near the beach). No Black-winged Starlings were seen. Mount Ijen (1 morning) Mount Ijen is worth some birding time, as the trail leading up to the volcanoe can hold Horsfield’s Thrush, and the views from the crater edge are simply awesome. From the trail down along the road, the forest is in excellent condition and many of the Javan mountaineous endemics can be found. Highlights: Javan Bush-warbler (one behind the praying room at the trail head), Javan Hawk- eagle (one fly-by), White-bellied Fantail (in a flock), White-faced Partridge (a family group), Crescent-chested Babbler, White-flanked Sunbird (in flocks), Sunda Bulbul, Orange-spotted Bulbul. Bali Barat NP (1 morning) Bali Barat was the last resort where one could see Bali Starling. But all the Starlings are now released birds. Still, the park around the breeding center remains the best place to see Black- winged Starling, released Bali Starlings and the nearby beach is a very reliable site for Beach Thick-knee. The mangrove holds Mangrove Whistler. The boat ride and the snorkeling on nearby Menjangan (we did the southern coral wall, pretty awesome) makes this a very nice day trip, even with a non-birding partner. An alternative site for Beach Thick-knee could be the Gilimanuk bay. The park HQ, where you can easily arrange a guide, are good for barbets. Highlights: Bali Starling, Black-winged Starling some way in the scrub, Beach Thick-knee. Creek near Labuhan Lalang (some afternoon hours) This well-known site among birding guides is a reliable stake-out for Rufous-backed Dwarf- kingfisher and while the forest in Bali Barat is pretty dry, this forest is a lot wetter and holds different birds. The road between the jetty for Bali Barat and the creek has some dead treestumps that often hold Black-thighed Falconets. The trailhead can be found somewhere here, just at the bridge, opposite of some houses (where you can fill up the scooter). Highlights: Blue-eared Kingfisher and Rufous-backed Dwarf-kingfisher at the creek, 3 Black-thighed Falconets between the jetty and the creek. Fulvous-breasted Jungle-flycatcher was not found, and while the whole area should be good for Javan Banded Pitta, none were singing. Probably the best place to look for one should be around the Menjangan resort (where I heard a Dwarf KF as well). Bedugul Botanical Garden (1 morning) This is probably the most convenient site to see some specific target species on Bali, that are otherwise hard to find on either Bali or Java, and it is the best site to add a new birding family on the list, as Indonesian Honey-eaters are very common. As Sunda Thrush is hard to get on Gunung Gede, any visitor of Java and Bali should try for this bird in the Bedugul Garden near dusk or dawn (from the compost heap near the entrance (coordinates approx.), or on the trail north of the left road coming from the entrance, also reported from more natural vegetation along the road starting here). While many report Javan Kingfisher, these are much easier in the rice field of southern Bali, and can even be seen from the bus anywhere in Bali.