This is the last of three posts on Bird Watching in Bali by Connie SY Khoo and Lim Phaik Imm. The first was on the White Herons of Pertulu and the second on Ubud and Bedugal Botanic Gardens. They were in Bali from 8-14th November 2007. The postings of their various destinations are not in sequence.

They were in Bali Barat National Park or Taman Nasional Bali Barat on 11th November 2007 . The park covers 777 km sq of the western tip of Bali. It comprises of montane to dry monsoon forests, coastal scrub and some mangroves. It is an ideal site to watch migrating raptors moving from the Java Straits (MacKinnon & Phillipps, 1993). As Connie and Phiak Imm continue…

“We stayed at Taman Sari Chalet and woke up at 4.30 am to reach the jetty at Pelabuhan Layang for the 45 minutes boat ride to the park. The ride to Menjangan Island was rewarding, with terns, whimbrel, white-rumped swift, blue-tailed bee-eater and one miserable frigatebird, all in flight. However, the island itself was unbearable hot. There was also the constant danger of bush fire as the vegetation was dried. The few trees that were around were bare of leaves and thus offered little shade (above).

“The attraction of the park is the celebrated one true endemic, the Bali Starling (Leucopsar rothschildi), found only in this park. According to Mason (1989), as at October 1988, less than 50 Bali Starling remain in the wild, although there are a total of 1,000 captive birds around the world. There is a rehabilitation scheme undertaken by the International Council for Bird Preservation and the Indonesian Nature Conservation Service. Unfortunately, we were not able to see any starlings.

“On the return journey, we detoured to the Menjangan mangrove area to see its main attraction, the five kingfishers: Rufous-backed, Little, Rufous-Collared, Ruddy and Sacred Kingfisher. Luck was not with us and only Rufous-backed and Giant Squirrel were sighted. The mangrove area has no proper landing platform. We had to carry our shoes and equipments from the boat to the mangrove, 100 metres away (left). At another mangrove area we saw the Sacred Kingfisher, our star bird for the trip. It is quite similar to a dirty version of the Collared Kingfisher.

“Our last lap of bird watching was at Menjangan Mangrove Gazebo where our “wow” experience came in (left). Only stayed-in guests and park rangers were allowed to enter the resort. To enter this high-end resort, one had to trespass the jungle dusty track. A lot of beautiful and colourful Green Junglefowl and wild deer (Kijang) were found on both sides of the track searching for food before dawn. They were all exposed as the plants were leafless, this being the dry season. According to the ranger, these beautiful junglefowls will not be easily seen when the plants start growing leaves in February. Interestingly, we saw two females fighting for one male. Both the fowl and deer were very sensitive to slight movements. The only setback was that we were unable to get a snap shot of them.

“On 13th November we headed south towards Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua Pond (Pemukiman Burung Lagoon) in south Bali. We were hoping to see the Small Blue Kingfisher and Cormorant. The journey took 1 hour 30 minutes from Ubud.

“Nusa Dua is another famous scuba diving area filled with 5-star hotels like Le Meridien. Nusa Dua is where marble and sandstone sculptures, artificial water fountain and Balinese landscaping slabs and standee can be found. Quality teak wood and other hard wood furniture are mainly found here.

“Birds seen include Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) (above, top left), Javan Pond Heron (above: top right, non-breeding; below left, male; below right, female), Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger), Little Black Cormorant (P. sulcirostris), Little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleucus) (below left), Small Blue Kingfisher (Alcedo coerulescens) (below right).

“We left Ubud for the airport on 14th November to fly home to Malaysia. Both of us still missed this unique land very much. We are thinking of coming back to cover places that we did not visit, irregardless of bird watching or to explore further into their culture and the friendly people.

Total costs for two, including guide fees, park entrance fees and ground transport = RM 3,732 plus flight from Malaysia, airport tax and food = RM 1,440. Or total expenses per person for the 7D6N trip = RM 2,586.

A tip from the travellers: Bring bottled drinking water. Insect repellent and instant noodles for long, lonely nights away from civilization. US currency of high denominations get better exchange rates.

References:
1. Mason, V. & Jarvis, F. (1989). Birds Of Bali, Periplus Edition (HK) Ltd.
2. MacKinnon, J. & Phillipps, K. (1993). A Field Guide To The Birds Of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali, Oxford University Press, New York

Bali, an Indonesian island west of Java, has always projected an image of a tropical paradise to visitors – sun, sea and sand. The island is picturesque, the people friendly and the culture rich and at the same time mystifying. Besides, the cost is always affordable to budget tourists.

Standard packages offered to tourists wishing to visit Bali seldom cover bird watching. In fact when Connie SY Khoo and Lim Phaik Imm, suggested bird watching, travel agents invariably responded that Bali is not the place to bird-watch. In exasperation, they tailored a trip for their specific needs and returned to Malaysia fully satisfied with it - see earlier posting on White Herons of Petulu.

“We landed at Ngurah Ria International Airport on 8th November 2007 and travelled an hour to Ubud. Situated along the slope leading up the central mountains, this is the cultural and culinary centre where Balinese paintings and woodcarvings are plentiful.

“The standard tourist itinerary includes watching the Pemaksan Barong Denjalan (Barong & Kris Dance) based on the Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabarata, a visit up the mountain to see the active Kintamani volcano with a spectacular view of Batur Lake (above left) and of course the terraced rice fields of Bukit Jambul and Tegalalang (above right).

“Despite these distractions, we managed to bird watch around our bungalow at Ubud and saw the following: Brown-throated Sunbird, Plaintive Cuckoo, White-breasted Waterhen, Javan Munia (above, juvenile right), Spotted Dove, Peaceful Dove, Eurasian Tree-sparrow, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Streaked Weaver and Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker.

“Along the way we stopped by paddy fields and Bong Kasar Village where we saw some endemic species like Javan Kingfisher, Javan Munia and Bar-winged Prinia. Other birds seen include Wood Sandpiper, Scarly-breasted Munia, Long-tailed Shrike, Barn Swallow, Pacific Swallow, Javan Pond Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Zitting Cisticola and White-bellied Swiflet.

“The guide suggested a stop mid-way at Bedugul Botanic Gardens or UPT Konservasi Tumbuhan Kebun Raya ‘Eka Karya’ Bali. Bedugal, a mountain village quite similar to Cameron Highland, is about 70 km or 1 hour 30 minutes from Ubud. Here, we bird watched for 2 hours and spent more time on our return journey.

“This is a good birding area with scenic view and cool refreshing air. Species seen include: Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata) (above, top left), ?Brown Honey Eater (Lichmera indistincta) (above, top right), Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon (Treron griseicauda) (above, bottom left), Short-tailed Starling (Aplonis minor) (above, bottom right).

“We also managed to see a Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher (Rhinomyias olivacea) (left)

Images by Connie; Map from: http://www.overseas-campus.info/images/map_Bali.jpg

Connie Khoo SY and Lim Phaik Imm were in Bali in November 2007. While there, they made a side visit to Petulu, a small village well known for the thousands of herons arriving each evening to roost. During the day there were already more than 10,000 birds around and almost everywhere were loose feathers and faecal matters. The smell must be distinctive.

By evening the birds would arrive by the hundreds, then by the thousands. And before long all the trees in the village would turn white as the Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) settle on all available branches. The noise made by the birds can be deafening, reaching a crescendo before darkness descends when quiet returns.

Connie and Phiak Imm report: “At Petula Gunung Village, approximately 5km from Ubud, we were treated to a spectacular sight of thousands of birds arriving every afternoon. By 4 pm, thousands of Cattle Egret were around, resting and flying about. And just before dusk, they arrived in the hundreds to roost. We estimated that there were about 15,000 by 6 pm, a huge number! According to our bird guide Sumardi, there are usually about 20,000 every evening. The image above (left) shows two males in their first year breeding plumage. That on the right is a female.

“This rare phenomenon reminds us of Lake Temenggor when a big flock of hornbills were flying pass from upper Belum to lower Belum, heading towards the Thai border to roost for the night. What a spectacular sight!

“We re-visited the village the next evening and observed the nesting and courting behavior of these birds. It was not a problem watching them copulating because in every tree there would be one or two pairs busy mating.

“The birds were in their colourful breeding plumage. The male’s lore is deep purple and the bill is orange red (left top), whilst the female’s lore is beige or light yellowish and bill dark yellow (left bottom).

“Many of the egrets nest in the 5-8 metres, full bloomed pinkish frangiapani tree (Plumeria sp.). Some of the trees are growing close to the roof of the wooden terraced houses of the villagers.

“The villagers believe that these birds come with the blessing of God because during

the breeding season their plumage changed from white to very dark orange and golden. They believe that every year from September to December or so, the villagers are blessed with good health and luck. They thus revere the egrets and cause them no harm. They even pray to the birds. Amidst the colony of Cattle Egrets, we also noted one Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and one Intermediate Egrets (Egretta intermedia) (right), both in full breeding plumage.

“Birdwatchers need to take precautions least the egrets’ poo land on their head. So a hat or cap is necessary.

“The day when we were there happened to be a holy day. All the women and children except man and boys, dressed in their colourful lacy transparent “kebaya” with “batik sarong” matching and walked to the temple to provide simple home made offerings, such as sticky rice and flowers to the Hindu Gods. The offerings were neatly arranged in colourful, hand-woven straw baskets of various sizes stacked on top of their heads (below). On this holy day, they believe that the deities and ancestral spirits descend from heaven to visit earth.

According to local legend, the herons appeared after one of the worst massacres of suspected communists in Indonesia. This was immediately after the downfall of Sukarno in 1965. Villagers believe that the white herons are the souls of the slaughtered Indonesians.

Input and images by Connie Khoo SY and Lim Phaik Imm.
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On 14th December 2007, Eben and Uromi Goodale (left) were at the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore to deliver a seminar on “Mixed-species bird flocks: Linking communication, community ecology and conservation.”

Eben is an ornithologist working on behaviour and community ecology, currently a postdoctoral fellow attached to the University of Colombo and the University of Papua New Guinea. Uromi, a plant ecophysiologist working on reforestation, is currently working on her PhD.

Eben has been chasing birds in Sri Lanka’s Sinharaja rainforest for years, studying flocking. In what we call bird waves, two or more species move in the same direction in search of food.

Birds generally gather in flocks during resting, feeding, roosting and moving during migration… and in bird waves. In the lowland forests of Sinharaja, mixed flocks of large bird waves are made up of an average of 12 species and up to 40 individuals or more. These are mainly babblers, a few drongos and maybe also, monarch and bulbul.

The babblers make up the nucleus of the waves. These are gregarious forest birds, and in the process of gleaning for insects, force other insects into the open. This in turn provides foraging advantages to the few drongos that are present. The drongos provide an anti-predation role in their alarm calls when threats appear, usually alarm calls of other species, especially raptors.

According to Sri Lankan birder and nature guide Amila Salgado, during October to April, migrants such as Asian Paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) and Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus) also join in, increasing the species composition of the flock. Orange-billed Babbler (Turdoides rufescens) and Sri Lanka Crested Drongo (aka. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradisus), are jointly regarded as ‘nuclear species’. The former, highly gregarious and almost constantly babbling, help birds and birders to locate the flock.

Input by Eben and Uromi Goodale and Amila Salgado; image of the Goodales by YC.

Yong Ding Li has been looking at birds since he was 12 years old. Now that he is reading life sciences at the National University of Singapore, his knowledge of birds is definitely beyond the plumage. Yes, he started off as a typical twitcher, listing the species he saw and compiling list after list of the different locations he visited - in Singapore as well as in Southeast Asia. To date, he has ticked off 1,217 species, but his recent trip to Sri Lanka has boosted the number to 1,280.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a twitcher. After all, most birdwatchers start off as twitchers. Except Ding Li went beyond twitching and is now observing birds, not just looking at them.

His exposure to academia during the last few years has deepened his appreciation of the avian world. And his knowledge is definitely not confined to guide books only but also to ornithological texts and journals articles. His recent writings reflect this and I refer in particular to his paper on “Bird Species New to Science from Southeast Asia - The Last Ten Years.” I am sure Ding Li will be happy to send you his manuscript if you e-mail him at zoothera@yahoo.com. Check out his website to view his bird writings and drawings - yes, he is also an artist, although he prefers to be known as an illustrator.

Indeed, Ding Li has proven to be a rare birder who is fast becoming an ornithologist in the real sense of the word. That is him above, on the left, with the Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) that appeared in Changi on 23rd January 2006. He is currently attached to the Conservation Ecology Laboratory of the Department of Biological Sciences, NUS. He is reading for his Honours degree under the supervision of Prof Navjot S Sodhi, the internationally renowned ornithologist and conservation biologist. Ding Li’s academic interest is avian fauna.

Singapore has only a short history of birdwatching. Introduced during the colonial era, the active birdwatchers were then mainly members of the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch) that later morphed into the Nature Society (Singapore). The society then had a loose following of birdwatchers and it was only in 1984 that a formal Bird Group was constituted. The core leaders then were Clive Briffett, Christopher Hails and Sandra Sabapathy. Of these, only Chris was an ornithologist, being recruited by the government to attract birds back to the urban environment.

This newly formed Bird Group initiated activities like annual bird race, water bird census and bird count to attract members. The committee also started the Singapore Avifauna to record bird sightings and updated the checklist of birds. It is heartening to note that all these activities have been faithfully carried out every single year until today.

When Chris left for WWF a few years later, the birding community was led by recreational birders. And stress was naturally on recreational birding, with birdwatchers just looking at birds.

This may at last be changing. Ding Li is now editor of Avifauna, a privately circulated newsletter put out by the Bird Group of the Nature Society (Singapore). Hopefully, this is his introduction to further involvement in the leadership of the Bird Group. Should this happen, there is an excellent chance that the local birdwatching scene would experience new, challenging and innovative activities.

The image of Ding Li is taken from the NUS’s Conservation Ecology Lab website while that of him with the Himalayan Griffon is by Wang Luan Keng.