6/2/11
Up 7.00 to airport, said good bye to Bev, the flight was pleasant with Garuda airlines, watched Megamind and Owl Guardian movies, the food was good, landed a bit late in Bali. Smathi landed early so I only had a short wait for him of about 5mins. Got my visa for A$26. We got a taxi to Hotel Yani rp70,000 (A$1= rp10,000) I had booked and paid for the hotel before leaving home. Went for a walk down the Benoa port road to the tidal sand flats and got Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Little Egret, Striated Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Javan Pond Heron, Grey Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel, Far-eastern Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey-tailed Tattler, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Tern, Great Crested Tern, Rock Dove, Island Collared Dove, Spotted Dove, Cave Swiftlet, Small Blue Kingfisher, Pacific Swallow, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Large-billed Crow, Pied Fantail, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Ashy Tailorbird, Javan Myna, Olive-backed Sunbird, Scaly-breasted Munia, White-headed Munia, Eurasian Tree-sparrow. Not a bad start to my Bali list and the trip, had a nice satay in the hotel restaurant.
7/2
Slept enough but not well, the a/c was a bit noisy, a couple of thunder claps and the traffic noise, all kept waking me up. Up at dawn and went back to the same spot, the tide was just turning to come in, this time there were a lot more small waders, added Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Collared Kingfisher, Bar-winged Prinia. Back at 8.00 for an okay breaky. had to repack my bag to get the tripod back in, and got a taxi to the airport, another rp70,000, paid departure tax of rp 40,000. The domestic flight was full unlike the half full flight from Aus. Lunch on the plane was okay though the rice was dry. The luggage area at Kupang airport was rather pokey. Smathi had to drop a bag off in Kupang so we got a taxi in, we went to a money changer but he was closed , another one would only take US dollars, ended up using an atm but it would only dispense a million rupiahs, the taxi fare ended up at rp220,00 he’d wanted 300,000. A long slow ride in a bus along small winding roads with very few birds to Soe, Feral Pigeon, Pied Chat, Eurasian Tree Sparrow. Smathi made friends with a local doctor who helped with info. Stayed at Bahagia Dua hotel rp235.000. walked in to town in the dark and got some nasi goreng. Smathi added sambal that was too hot for him (!), bought some food for tomorrow, rp 47,000, and organised transport for tomorrow.
8/2
Up 4.40 and the 2 ojeks (small motorbikes) came at 5.00, a ride up Gunung Mutis in the dark, it wasn’t as hairy as I thought it would be, then walked slowly up the mountain, Savannah Nightjar, Olive-headed Lorikeet, Oriental Cuckoo, Glossy Swiftlet, Pygmy Wren-babbler, Chestnut-backed Thrush, Island Thrush, White-bellied Chat, Timor Leaf-warbler, Mountain White-eye, Timor Blue Flycatcher, Northern Fantail, Arafura Fantail, Fawn-breasted Whistler, Golden Whistler, Helmeted Friarbird, Yellow-eared Honeyeater. We got a few light showers at about midday, the mist came down and we had severe difficulty seeing birds so we turned back, my boots stayed dry despite quite a lot of squelching through mud. My knees were hurting a bit. The forest was strange, it had a park like appearance, tall eucalypt with dripping lichens, the grass was kept short with cattle, the gullies and beyond the immediate confines of the road are thick scrub. One or two leeches. On the way back down we met Mateos Anin standing imperiously in the middle of the road, he invited us in and we had rice and young pawpaw and a glass of boiled water. He organised 2 ojeks for us to take us to Kapan where we caught a Bemo (small mininvan) with very loud music that crashed into the body to our hotel in Soe. rp70,000 rather than the 220,000 it cost us to go up.
On Gunung Mutis (photo by Smathi)
On Gunung Mutis (photo by Smathi)
And the cloud descends, putting an end to the birding (photo by Smathi)
Futemnasi
Futemnasi
An unexpected meal with Mateos Anin (background)(photo by Smathi)
9/2
It rained most of the night so we slept in and had a meager breaky at the hotel, got the same ojek riders as yesterday morning, they told us it was too late for the bemo to Kapan, we did pass one on the way up, we changed bikes in Kupan, mine had a broken foot peg and no power, made worse by having our bags today rp40. Abslaom, Mateos’ son took us for a walk in the hills, back for lunch of rice noodles, fried egg and something green, with boiled water, it was okay. In the arvo went to the right of the track we did yesterday, and back along the track, it was close to dark when we got back. In Futemnasi the power had been off most of the day, so my diary was written by kerosene candle, very primitive. Olive-shouldered Parrot, Boobook Owl, Scaly-breasted Munia, Spotted Kestrel, Metallic Pigeon, Peregrine Falcon, Sunda Bushwarbler, White-shouldered Triller, Short-toed Snake Eagle.
Heading off up Gunung Mutis on the ojek (photo by Smathi)
Futemnasi hut
Cemetery Gunung Mutis
Futemnasi
Futemnasi
10/2
Yesterday I started feeling a bit nauseous, particularly when our hosts spat out their Betel nut juice. Overnight I got severe diarrhea, and as I got up for the 4th time I had wave of nausea and was sick. We were supposed to head up the mountain at 5.00, it was delayed until 6.30 for me to recover a bit, but I was still a wreck with a headache, stomach ache, and feeling light-headed. I struggled up the hills. I was rewarded with a Tricolored Parrot-finch, though I was a bit disappointed at how subdued the colours were, we also got Horsefield’s Bronze Cuckoo and Large-billed Crow. I went back and slept til midday when the ojeks arrived to take us to Kefa. It was a long uncomfortable ride with some rain as we came down the hill into town. Arrived at 15.30, I went straight to sleep after eating a muesli bar of which I always carry a few on such trips. I forced down some fish and rice for dinner and back to sleep.
One very sick birdwatcher on Gunung Mutis
11/2
Still not well in the morning but I improved as the day went on. We left Kefa, which I didn’t see much of on the bus to Camplong rp30,000. They missed the nunnery Wisma Oe Mat Honis, so we had to catch ojeks back up rp10,000. The nuns seemed happy to take us in and provided a fan for the stuffy little room when we asked for one, though I thought later it was probably taken from an unfortunate nun, we used a blanket to block up the ventilation holes to stop the mozzies getting in. After a bite to eat we went for a walk in the forest, and added Wallacean Drongo, Timor Figbird, Streak-breasted Honeyeater, Black-chested Myzomela, Flame-breasted Sunbird, Red-chested Flowerpecker, Ashy-bellied White-eye. Forced down some dinner and bed early.
12/2
Up 5.00, got 2 ojeks rp50,000 to Bipolo and birded all day along the road, went up 2 tracks into rice paddies, we copped a thunderstorm and some light rain with no shelter. Added Little Black Cormorant, Gull-billed Tern, White-faced Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Little Heron, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Chinese Goshawk, Brown Goshawk, Wandering Whistling Duck, Sunda Teal, Pacific Black Duck, Red-capped Plover, Common Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Far-eastern Curlew, Spotted Tutledove, Barred Dove, Black-backed Fruit-dove, Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon, Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, Gould’s Bronze Cuckoo, Collared Kingfisher, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Rainbow Bee-eater, Pacific Swallow, Tree Martin, Yellow Wagtail, Clamorous Reedwarbler, Golden-headed Cisticola, Broad-billed Flycatcher, Long-tailed Shrike, Short-tailed Starling, Indonesian Honeyeater, Red Avadavat, Zebra Finch, Timor Sparrow, Black-faced Munia, Five-coloured Munia. Got a lift back to the Oelmasi t junction with a guy who turned out to be a duck and pelican (!) shooter. Got a music thumping bemo back to Camplong. Finally got a full dinner down, after a cold mandi which gave me a blood nose (2 litres of bottled water a day isn’t enough), went to bed. The Yellow-crested Cockatoo is a sad story, it’s been seen by most birders that visit here, but no one has ever seen a second bird, so this might be the last one in this area.
Rice paddies near Bipolo
Paddyfield Frog genus Fejevarya
13/2
I had a sensation of being bitten by fleas all night long, so still not sleeping well. It rained until 7.00 when we ventured out in to the forest and added Elegant Pitta, Wallacean Cuckoo-shrike, and heard Russet Bush-warbler, Buff-banded Thicket-warbler and Emerald Dove. We got to the thicket with the warblers in it but couldn’t even get a glimpse of it. Back for lunch and Smathi headed off to Kupang. Paid my room for my time here rp540,000 including all meals. At 16.00 I went for a walk on my own for the first time and it started raining as soon as I got to the forest, I decided to wait it out under a tree, after an hour I was rewarded with a fleeting glimpse of a Timor Stubtail. I discovered the problems of not speaking the language when a little boy came up to me saying things and holding out his hand, I said no shaking my head, and walked on, he came after me, threw stones at me, and then ran away. Dinner was chicken nuggets, fish, rice and vegies, mandi and bed. Next door there is a school group having a catholic service, the singing was pretty good, all males. They eat in silence interspersed with the occasional cough.
14/2
Up 5.30 2 slices of bread and jam for breaky, forgot my watch and Bushmans mozzie protection, but still had the Rid roll on. Found a fruiting fig tree and sat and watched the procession of birds through it, all of which I’d seen already, apart from an eagle that I couldn’t identify which briefly landed and scattered the birds. Went for a long walk wandering around little trails and saw Timor Black Pigeon, Spectacled Monarch, and a look at a Buff-banded Thicket-warbler that I caught out in the open. Found my way back to the road 2 ½kms up the hill from Camplong and walked down it getting back at 10.30, had a nap til lunch at 12.30 of chicken, beans, a very salty soup, lots of rice and mini bananas. Next door the boys were having their lunch supposedly in silence with some music playing, but the chatter would slowly rise, a bell would ring or some hissing, and it would go quiet, only to rise again. I think I’ve managed to cancel lunch; the nun who brings me my meals in my room speaks a little English. Some people from France arrived to spend the night, as I was heading out at 16.00. My fruiting fig tree was fruitless and I couldn’t add any more species. back at dark for another nice dinner of little veggie patties, prawn omelette, vegies rice and a lump of beef in broth. Listened to music on my iPod til bedtime.
15/2
up 5.30 they had misunderstood me yesterday as there was no breaky, got a bemo to Oelmasi rp2000 and an ojek to Bipolo rp10,000, half his original asking price. It was a cloudless still day and the birds were quiet by 8.30 as the temp soared to unbearable, added Orange-sided Thrush, Brown Quail and heard a Timor Friarbird, got a good look at a Timor Stubtail, had some calls that I couldn’t get on to and one bird with light panels under its wings get away from me. When I went to pay for the ojek in the morning the rp8,000 change from the bemo ride must have fallen out of my pocket, I’d arranged with Smathi to meet up if he could, when I went to wait for him I found the money still on the road, he didn’t turn up. By midday I’d had enough and got bemos back to Camplong rp5,000 and 2,000. I’ll never get used to the blaring music, I turned on the fan and it didn’t work, I went looking for and found my East Timorese friend and with a cheerful smile she replaced it, relief, slept in the arvo. Dinner was the best yet with a yummy ginger lemon fish ( I don’t generally like ginger ), chicken dumpling, fried rice and noodles. Mandi, music and sleep.
My room in the nunnery at camplong (with fan)
16/2
Up 5.30 breakfast was not in evidence again, so headed in to the forest. I couldn’t find the fruiting fig tree so found a nice spot to have a muesli bar and bottled water and then wandered around the trails stopping at spots that looked prospective, and added Spotted Dark-eye, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Pheasant Coucal, Black-banded Flycatcher, which is just the cutest little bird. Back well after midday, lunch was chicken, chilli beans, ginger veggie soup and rice. Not long after lunch I was invaded by a school group from next door, there were about 15 of them, bombarding me with questions some of them in quite good English, I let them look through my scope and binoculars and listen to my iPod, it was a good way to spend an afternoon, my nun came by several times to check that all was okay. Eventually they drifted away. Dinner was fried egg, salted dried fish ginger vegies a tempura mix and rice, bed soon after.
An old Rafflesia flower
17/2
The fan developed an annoying tic during the night each time it swept to the left, tic. Up 5.30 and had my first decent bowel movement since I was sick, all that food I’ve been eating had to come out eventually, it took me ages to flush it down the thin necked toilet with buckets of water ( they haven’t got the concept of a cistern here yet ). On my walk I tried going a different way through the village, but there was no good habitat and I saw nothing new, came back at 9.00. At one point I saw a little boy walking towards me; as soon as he saw me he turned tail and ran like hell. The boys yesterday had told me that they are taught that the forest is dangerous. I can only imagine that this was his first venture in to the forest and that he’d had all his worst fears realized in seeing me. Did some hand washing of clothes. Lunch was a mixture of manufactured meat some spicy some not, I think they are gradually turning up the spiciness of the food on me with more chilli in the beans and the usual all you can eat rice. Music, sleep.
18/2
Up 7.00 my last cold mandi, I got my breaky today, tomato sardines, chicken nuggets beans and rice. I really can’t fault this place, the room is a little pokey but the food and aura of the place is wonderful, and my little East Timorese nun was so absolutely special she gets 10 out of 10. Packed by 8.00 and said my goodbyes and set off at 10.00. I got the oldest rattliest bus and they still had the nerve to try and charge me rp10.000, I ended up paying 7,000, then a rp20.000 ride to the airport, Smathi turned up with his doctor friends and we waited for our departure. There was a bit of a delay whilst arrangements were made for a very sick little girl that had been brought in with a huge tumor in her gut. The flight to Bali was uneventful. It was then a 5hr drive over the mountains including a dinner at an up market restaurant I had a very nice satay, Smathi a Nasi Goreng rp96,000, the drive cost rp550.00. We’d booked in to the hotel Aneka Baghus and got the resort style accommodation cheap on off season discounts, very few guests. The room was large stand alone shack with our own hot shower and a Bali style thatched roof.
Bali hills
Our room at hotel Aneka Baghus
19/2
Up at dawn to check out the bay and beach which the hotel backed on to but didn’t get much, a nice breaky of fruit omelette and toast. The car arrived at 8.30, a Daihatsu people mover, I drove and we headed to the National park. Not being allowed in to the NP without a guide it took a while to find one named Nono, and we headed off up a ridge to the south of the road and down to a creek. We went to his office at the marina. I bought one of his bags made out of discarded fruit juice cartons for rp65,000, had a jaffle and lemon juice for lunch and went down to Gilimanuk for the arvo but didn’t get much there, took a photo of a wonderful stone arch. We had more money problems and thought we might have to drive 40ks to an atm, but we found a money changer who gave us rp8,500 for an A$1. Walked down to Soso restaurant, the main meal was okay but the coconut crepe was rather yummy rp186,000. Got 5 1½L bottles of water rp20,000. Wooly-necked Stork, Crested Serpent Eagle, Pink-necked Pigeon, Yellow-throated Hanging-parrot, Savannah Nightjar, Grey-rumped Treeswift, Rufous-backed Kingfisher, Javan Kingfisher, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Coppersmith Barbet, Lineated barbet(h), Laced Woodpecker, Barn Swallow, White-shouldered Triller, Common Iora, Sooty-headed Bulbul, White-breasted Woodswallow, Long-tailed shrike, Javan Myna, Streaked Weaver.
Shopping for shopping bags made from recycled fruitjuice cartons (photo by Smathi)
20/2
up 5.30 the driver was waiting for us at 6.00 and we went down to the marina and met Nono, onto the boat and out to opposite the little island, we pulled in to the NP and walked up to the tower and back, that took until midday. White-bellied Sea Eagle, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Oriental Honey-buzzard, Black-thighed Falconet, Green Jungle Fowl (h), Beach Thick-knee, Zebra Dove, Lesser Coucal, Edible nest Swiftlet, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Sunda Woodpecker, Striated Swallow, Javan Cuckoo-shrike, Small Minivet, Black Drongo, Bar-winged Prinia, Bali Myna, Black-winged Starling. The boat trip and Nono cost rp900,000 plus the drive rp200,000. Dropped our gear and walked down to the Muslim eatery and had a delectable BBQ fish. Lazed through the arvo and used the hotel eatery for dinner, I had fish and chips which were okay and pineapple fritter which was fresh but tasteless. Had a midnight swim in the hotel pool.
mangroves (photo by Smathi)
Old tower above the Bali Myna cage
21/2
Had our free breaky and went for a walk along the shore to a temple and back, lazed until 11.00 when we met up with the same driver that had brought us over the mountains, he now took us back. We stopped at a famous temple by a lake for a very ordinary lunch buffet style, even the fruit juice wasn’t chilled. Stopped at the Bedugul botanic gardens for nearly 3hrs and added White-breasted Waterhen, Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon, Scarlet Minivet, Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Ashy Drongo, Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo, Black-naped Oriole, Great Tit, Striated Grassbird, Little Pied Flycatcher, Short-tailed Starling, Blood-breasted Flowerpecker, Mountain White-eye, Javan Grey-throated White-eye, Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike. Stopped at Nyoman’s place to look at preparations for the day of silence on the 5th of March, they were creating a god from Styrofoam that they would burn the night before. Had a brief stop at a Hindu temple watching people bringing in their offerings, then on to the airport, we were an hour too early to check in at 21.00, eventually we got on our flights home.
Javan Pond Heron
If you would like to contribute the the well being of this world, our world, your world, an easy and effective way to do it is to join a quality environmental group. There are many spread across the world all plugging away trying to make the world a better place for wildlife. We belong to Birdlife Australia, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). You can donate your time and or money to these and many others knowing that the world will be a slightly better place because of your effort.