Tag: birds

poetry

April 1 – Insured

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April 1 – Insured

as I complete the morning ritual
of hanging the birdfeeders
I smile with relief –
today is our first day back in America
when illness might not ruin us

poetry

The Good News (inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh)

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The Good News (inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh)

Moon Creek will sing
whether we’re on the earth
or under it

the blue sky
will get bluer
without contrails

the twisted path that brought us here
today lets me make friendship offerings
to birds and foxes
whose bright beating hearts remind me
we’re not alone

my mother, planning for her death
in a place where I can’t hold her hand
smiles bravely, assures my sister and me
she’s lived her life of service
without regret

now there is so little left
in the way of importance
I sit on the side of the creek
while the snowy banks run to water
doing nothing
only being
only listening
when a mountain chickadee
who has heard nothing of the end of days
flits to a flat rock in the channel
then wades in
delightedly splashing clean cold water
all over her plump fluffed self

it takes a long time
for her to stop savoring the sensation
she jumps from one branch to the next
shaking all her feathers loose
bustling with the busy joy
of water sun and wind

and I am still here to see her
and you are still here to tell

photography

Chile: North and South

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For Chile we decided to stay in one location for a long time, and we chose the town of Puerto Varas, near the very beginning of Patagonia. We also took small trips to other locations, such as the island of Chiloe, and to Volcan Osorno. After our month there was over, we stopped in the north at Putre, a town in the Andes for several days, so we could take a trip into the nearby Parque Nacional Lauca, a hotspot for high Andean wildlife, such as vicuñas, flamingos, rheas, viscachas, and more, all seen here.

Waterbirds abounded at Lago Llanquihue, (the lake by Puerto Varas) and Yellow-billed Pintails were common, sometimes with young chicks.
Silvery Grebes were also easy to see from shore, although harder to get a good view of, as they dove frequently.
On a side trip to an area to the east of the lake we found this Andean Fox (more commonly known as a Zorro Culpeo) wandering around a parking lot. It was not shy at all, and we were able to watch it for a long time.
Although South America is famous for its parrots, in the south there are only two species. This is the more common one, the Slender-billed Parakeet, which is also one of Chile’s 12 endemic bird species.
The South American equivalent of the muskrat, the coipo, was easily seen at a lake in the middle of a town. This one just sat on the bank and let us watch.
This Southern Caracara was perched on a tree branch over a road, and when we pulled over it continued sitting there and looking around.
On one stretch of the Rio Maullin near Puerto Varas we saw at least 10 Black-crowned Night-herons on the bank and in the water, allowing easy photography and viewing.
The Neotropic Cormorant colony at the lake where we saw the coipo allowed very easy photography, as there were around 75 birds in two trees.
In a forest reserve near the town we managed to see two species of sought-after tapaculos (secretive forest birds). This is the rarer one, the Black-throated Huet-huet, but this is generally the best view you could ask for, it standing out in the open on a log.
The other species of tapaculo was the Chucao Tapaculo, an inquisitive bird that would circle you in the forest, allowing brief views, but not running away,
Our only multi-day trip away from Puerto Varas was to visit the island of Chiloe. This Black-necked Swan greeted us as the ferry arrived.
Our first stop on Chiloe was the Monumento Natural Islotes de Puñihuil, well known for its colony of Humboldt and Magellanic Penguins. The mainland held abundant numbers of Kelp Geese, and this male afforded us wonderful views.
The colonies were mostly made up of Magellanic Penguins, like this one, but here and there several Humboldts appeared.
The huge Flightless Steamer-ducks were also easy to find on the coast. These huge ducks are simply so fat that their tiny wings cannot carry them into the air. We also managed to see a pair lead a line of chicks into the ocean, and even these young birds were able to maneuver the rocks and waves of the islands.
The female Kelp Goose is so different from the male that if I did not know they were the same species I would try to identify them separately.
Southern Lapwings, a type of plover, are common by Lago Llanquihue, but it can be hard to find them among the rocky shore.
An unlikely sighting in the middle of the Atacama Desert, this Vermilion Flycatcher provided nice relief to the brown desert landscape.
Chilean Woodstars are rare and Critically Endangered, with only 270-395 individuals left. This female gave an amazing view, and perched for at least a minute.
Croaking Ground-doves are extremely common in the Atacama region, and frequently take dust baths and sunbathe, as this individual is demonstrating.
This juvenile Mountain Caracara flew down to us and landed, clearly hoping for food, although it was a very nice visit.
The difference in birdlife at altitude realtive to sea level was such that during a half-hour lunch stop I was able to see around 4 new species, including this Blue-and-yellow Tanager, which attacked its reflection in one of our wing mirrors.
Black-hooded Sierra-finches were very common around the town of Putre, and we found one building a nest on the roof of one of the buildings at the hotel we were staying at.
One of our first sightings in Lauca was of a trio of Torrent Ducks, which specialize in feeding on fast-flowing Andean rivers. This is a male.
Lesser Rheas are another Lauca specialty, and on our first trip we managed to see 12 different birds. This is one of our first.
Llamas, although not wild, also abounded in the bofedales, or swamps, in the valleys. These are two babies, or crias.
We also spotted some familiar birds. This female American Kestrel gave us a very good view on top of a sign.
Seedsnipes, the “ptarmigan of South America” were less frequent, but we still managed to see several.
One of Lauca’s two species of tinamous, the Puna Tinamou is, in most opinions, more ornate than the Ornate Tinamou. This is a Puna, and although shy, several groups trotted across the road in front of our car.
Domestic alpacas also are easily seen here, and some of them actually have brightly colored tassels hanging from their ears.
The Las Cuevas area near the beginning of the main road, is covered with viscachas, a relative of the chinchilla. Most of them will just sit and let you watch them, but if they want to they can bound about the rocky slopes where they live with surprising agility and speed.
Yet another Lauca specialty is the Puna Teal, which frequents small lagoons and rivers in the park. Although their bodies are well camouflaged, their bright blue bills seem to undo the effect.
Giant Coots can be found in the thousands on the lakes. This one is transporting waterweed which it uses to build its huge volcano-like nest in the middle of the water.
Seeing flamingos fly in front of snow-covered mountains is a strange sight, but these Chilean Flamingos are common on the lakes, especially the huge Lago Chungará.
The lakes at this altitude are mostly saline, so the flamingos have plenty of delicious algae and plankton to filter through their strange bills.
Lauca’s most common small birds are the ground-tyrants, such as this Rufous-naped Ground-tyrant. We also saw Ochre-naped Ground-tyrant and the localized White-fronted Ground-tyrant.
When looking from a high viewpoint down on the lake, the coots cause the surface to become speckled with black, covering the entire shore area.
Giant Coots are not the only coots on Lago Chungará. Mixed in with the larger Giant Coots there is the occasional Slate-colored Coot, a common bird throughout the Andes. From the lookout you can actually distinguish the two by size alone.
Vicuñas complete the trio of camelids to be found in Lauca. After a day of driving, they become like features of the landscape, and nothing to be excited about.
We observed baby vicuñas battling with their necks, and whether this is just random play or practice for something later in life, we do not know.
When looking at a rock face in Lauca, at first you will see nothing. Then you will see one viscacha, then another, then another, until you realize that there are viscachas everywhere you turn.
poetry

getaway

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getaway

the only distractions here
are mergansers gliding through
gold and black bands
trailing slashes
sometimes the hoarse hiccup of gull
or a loon’s two-pitched wail

a time to rest and be

but always the nagging thought
am I doing enough?
how can I move
like the trees around me
whose leaf buds burst quietly
unfurl effortlessly
make air without thought
do what the plan prompts
just flow in accordance with all

poetry

when the land was wild

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when the land was wild

había otra vez
in a thin country
bound by sea and spines
where ghost ships sailed
and sirens still sang
a race of tiny deer
the size of tomcats
with delicate antlers
spotted sides
and rounded bottoms

había otra vez
in the pure rushing waters
turquoise white and green
a cat of the river
half a man’s size
playful and inquisitive
its sensitive whiskers ever active
and its cheeks always stretched
into a grinning half smile

había otra vez
in the dark forest
where spiderwebs were like stairsteps
ascending into sky
an impossibly grand woodpecker
so brilliant when it landed
the alerce trees ignited
and it dripped sparks
across the beings of this country

of course
this was all in a different time
far younger than now
when the land was still wild
and the legends were true
now all we feel is absence
the cold shadow of loss
where warm flesh once was

photography

New Zealand

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One of our favorite places that we have been to, New Zealand was our next stop after Australia. Also known as “the land of birds” (because there are only two native land mammals, and the rest are birds) I couldn’t wait to get there because of the high proportion of endemics.

We started our trip in Christchurch, and while walking through the botanic gardens we found that the entire area is frequented by flocks of Black-billed Gulls, an endemic which is endandgered.
Black-fronted Terns are another endandgered endemic, and again easy to see when driving through centrel Canterbury.
In Dunedin we went to the famous Taiaroa Head Royal Albatross colony, and although we didn’t go on the tour, we still saw some albatrosses and the huge colony of Silver Gulls, which pooped and threw up on anything that dared to walk below.
One of the few albatrosses we saw fly over the hill.
Also near Dunedin we went to Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a “mainland island” where there are no invasive mammals. The New Zealand Robins there are very obvious, and are quite inquisitive.
Tuis are very common across the country, and are easily identified by their bronzy-blue color and characteristic dual white tufts.
This is a Pipipi, one of only three in its family and another endemic. We only saw them once, again in Orokonui.
New Zealand Bellbirds are also common, and are small honeyeaters that enjoy the nectar from flowers anywhere.
Orokonui’s star bird is the South Island takahē, a type of rail. It was once thought extinct but was famously rediscovered on an expedition to the Murchison Mountains in 1948. There are numerous populations on islands off of the North Island now, but few still live on the South Island, so it was nice to see one there.
Stewart Island, New Zealand’s “third island” was high on my list, and we went on a birding trip to try to see the famous Southern Brown Kiwi. The trip began with some birding on a boat, and we spotted this Yellow-eyed Penguin, the rarest in the world.
The trip did pay off, and we got excellent views of a young kiwi feeding on the beach.
Kiwi are very sensitive to white light, so our guides had red light flashlights so we could still get a good view and get some pictures without bothering the kiwi.
Kiwi only generally come to the beach on Stewart Island, not anywhere else. They are foraging for the sandhoppers (a type of insect) that feed on the washed-up seaweed.
During our stay on Stewart Island we also took a trip to Ulva Island, a pest-free sanctuary. This Weka followed us down the trail for a while, and then turned into the forest.
On the beach there were other Wekas, this one with a chick that had been hiding in a pile of branches.
Flocks of Red-crowned Parakeets are a common sight on the island, and some let us get close.
Little Pied Cormorants are also common along the coast and inland lakes.
The town of Oban on Stewart Island is mobbed by flocks of Kakas, large parrots that destroy any wood they find, including the tables of restaurants.
The town of Te Anau on the mainland was one of our favorite spots, and we saw a family of Great Crested Grebes on the lake.
We took a day trip to Milford Sound in Fiordland, and on the way got to meet the famous “cheeky” Kea, the world’s only alpine parrot and endemic to the South Island.
We also got to see the Kea in action, as it twisted off the antenna of somebody else’s car.
Tomtits are one of the less common passerines, although you’re still likely to encounter them at some point.
On our way up the west coast we visited Fox Glacier, at the end of a hike to a viewpoint.
I had been hoping to take a pelagic birding trip from the town of Kaikoura for a long time, and we did. This Westland Petrel was one of the first species we saw.
Northern Giant-petrels, the “vultures of the sea” generally hogged the chum that we were using to attract birds.
Kaikoura is famous for the albatrosses, and this Salvin’s Albatross was one of four species we saw that day.
We loved the tiny Cape Petrels, who would dart in to snatch a bite of fish and then retreat before the giant-petrels saw them.
The number one bird for Kaikoura was the Wandering Albatross, the largest flying bird in the world, with a record wingspan of 12 feet. We were lucky enough to see a completely grown adult, as indicated by the almost pure white plumage.
The wandering was the only bird that could really take food away from the giant-petrels, and when the rest of the chum was thrown out it dominated the other birds.
Due to the small size of the boat, we were only feet away from this huge bird.
On the way back we stopped at a seal colony with several babies, like this one.
We also came across this lone Hector’s Dolphin, the smallest and rarest marine dolphin in the world.
After we had finished on the South Island we went to Auckland and took a trip to Tiritiri Matangi island, another pest-free sanctuary. This baby Whitehead is begging for food, not an uncommon sight.
This Variable Oystercatcher apparently has at least one chick, as you can see the balls of fuzz poking out from underneath.
North Island Saddlebacks were also abundant on the island, and quickly became normal.
We also saw several Stitchbirds, especially around the nectar feeders. Stitchbirds are in their own family, and are endemic to the North Island.
New Zealand Pigeons are very common in the forests, although rarer in the cities, where you are not likely to see them.
Tuis are also common on the North Island, and this one had just finished taking a bath when I got this photo.
Tiritiri Matangi is also famous for its population of South Island Takahes, and we saw an adult and a chick.
photography

Australia!

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After our stay in Papua New Guinea we flew to Cairns, Australia, and began our journey down the east coast to Melbourne. Along the way we saw many birds, such as cassowaries, cockatoos, lyrebirds, and more! We also got to see some of Australia’s most iconic mammals, such as koalas, platypuses, and echidnas. Here they are.

We started off our Australian birding with walking down the Cairns Esplanade, which provided a very good introduction to the more common birds, such as this Red-capped Plover.
As I mentioned before, there are two species of birds-of-paradise endemic to Australia, and we got to see one. This Victoria’s Riflebird came to a tray of cheese in Kuranda, northwest of Cairns.
In Kuranda we stayed at Cassowary House, a small lodge run by a birding company called Sicklebill Safaris. This is a Pacific Emerald-dove seen from the balcony.
As the name suggests, Cassowary House is one of the best places for Southern Cassowaries in the world. There are three species of cassowaries; all live in New Guinea, one, the Southern Cassowary, also lives in Australia. Cassowaries are the most dangerous birds in the world, with over 150 recorded attacks on humans, and several deaths. They attack with their feet and the inner toe, which is long and razor-sharp. A single kick can dismember a person. Luckily, it did not attack us.
At Cassowary House we saw in total 4 cassowaries: one adult female, named Gertie, one adult male, named Dad, and two chicks. This is Gertie.
On the chicks you can see the little wattle stubs and the beginning of the large casque (helmet-like growth) on the top of the head.
This rat-kangaroo dropped in after the cassowaries had left. Although it looks like a rat, it hops somewhat like a kangaroo.
Australia has an abundance of parrots, most of which are not afraid and do not fly away when you try to get a photo. This Scaly-breasted Lorikeet posed on the patio of a restaurant.
Like the Maleo from Sulawesi, this Orange-footed Scrubfowl is a megapode. We saw it excavating in the sand, so it could be building a nest mound.
Australia is also famous for the cockatoos, and one of the first ones we saw was a huge flock of Red-tailed Black-cockatoos.
In the town of Yungaburra just south of Cairns we got lucky enough to see at least two platypus! You can see the bill and the head, just above water.
This baby Bush Stone-curlew was seen on the side of the road with two parents at a lake near Yungaburra.
Nerada Tea in Queensland has a line of trees near the road that, for some reason, a group of Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroos have moved into, and they are now probably the easiest tree-kangaroos to see in the world. This is one of the three we saw.
Here is another angle on the same tree-kangaroo.
One of the most characteristic birds in Australia are these Rainbow Lorikeets, which look like there was a sunrise in their bellies.
These Agile Wallabies were the first kangaroo-like mammals for us to see. Since it was very hot, they just sat in the shade to stay cool
Off the coast of Townsville we took a ferry to Magnetic Island. This is a famous Laughing Kookaburra, seen on a street.
The Forts Walk on the island is famous for the likelihood of koala spotting, and this one gave us incredible views just below the World War Two installations that give the trail its name.
Since this koala was asleep I was able to explore different angles of photography and get close without disturbing it at all.
Here you can see the specially adapted hands. Instead of one thumb and four fingers, it has two thumbs and three fingers to help grip.
In the evening we also visited Magnetic Island’s Rock Wallaby colony, a type of very small kangaroo that lives among the large rock near the beach. They are occasionally fed, so are very used to the presence of humans.
One of the more common cockatoo species in Australia are these pink-and-gray Galahs, one with its crest raised, and although they are seen flying over easily, I didn’t get many chances to photograph them perched.
Emus are one of Australia’s two species of ratites (a group of birds that includes ostriches, cassowaries, kiwis, rheas, and the extinct moa and elephant birds), and are actually easily seen in fields near the road. However, these two crossed in front of us and headed down a side road. When I later updated my life list, they were found to be my 1000th species ever!
Although not our first kangaroos, this mob included our first joey. We approached using the cover of a tree trunk, and got great views.
At one campsite, there were kangaroos almost everywhere, and I couldn’t resist getting some more photos.
The classic cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are very common, but don’t usually get close. We were inside when this bird landed, but I got pictures through some windows.
Lamington National Park is one of the best birding sites in Australia, and O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat provides feeding stations for many birds, such as this Australian King-parrot.
Crimson Rosellas are also very common around the lodge, and are easily seen inside the gift shop (not kidding).
One of the park’s rarest birds is the Albert’s Lyrebird, closely related to the more famous Superb Lyrebird. Albert’s only live in a very small area around the border between Queensland and New South Wales, so I was ecstatic when this female just walked by our room and across a parking lot, where it foraged for at least 15 minutes.
This eventually turned out to not be the only lyrebird sighting for us! The next morning we saw another female Albert’s (potentially the same bird) in a different part of the lodge grounds.
The foraging method of the lyrebirds is to scratch large holes in the leaf litter to find insects, and this female was accompanied by smaller birds such as scrubwrens, presumably to feed on insects disturbed by the scratching.
O’Reilly’s also has a canopy walkway, and we climbed a ladder to a platform where you could see into a cavity with baby Brush-tailed Possums, a type of arboreal marsupial.
O’Reilly’s also offers a great chance to see Australia’s two most famous bowerbirds, such as this Satin Bowerbird, which we spotted from our balcony.
O’Reilly’s other bowerbird is the Regent Bowerbird, which is more common near the restaurant and at the feeders by the entrance. This male was seen on the morning bird walk.
Australian Brushturkeys are a very common type of megapode, but this was the only chick we ever saw.
Superb Fairywrens are frequent visitors to the lawns outside various buildings, especially outside the main area.
A less common sight are Red-necked Pademelons (a type of forest wallaby) like this one, which occasionally come out to the roads.
In Sydney we went on the opera house tour and got to go inside the many theaters of the landmark.
My favorite birds that we saw in Australia were a flock of Gang-gang Cockatoos, seen driving up to the trailhead for Mount Kosciusko.
Gang-gangs have a crest like no other bird, made up of thin, wispy, curled feathers. Personally, I would love to pet it.
This Eastern Rosella was just walking by our driveway in Jindabyne, and it ended up being the only one we saw.
This echidna was spotted crossing the road, and we stopped and walked back to try to find it. We did, and watched it forage for maybe 10 minutes.
Echidnas were the one classic Australian mammal that we had given up on seeing, but it made an appearance anyway!
Green Cape Lighthouse has a group of wombats that come out almost every evening, and we saw three of them.
We described wombats as small bear-ewoks, and that seems very accurate.
photography

New Guinea and the BoPs!

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Our last stop in Indonesia was the province of Papua, on the island of New Guinea. We also went to Papua New Guinea, the country that covers the other half of the island. New Guinea is famous for having almost all of the birds-of-paradise (BoPs) (exceptions are two species in the Moluccas and two species in Australia)! Since I have been reading about the BoPs for almost my entire life I couldn’t wait to go there. Here are the pictures.

In Papua we started at the island of Waigeo in the Raja Ampat island group. One of the most obvious bird species were the huge flocks of Lesser Frigatebirds, seemingly migrating as they streamed across the sky overhead.
Another conspicuous resident of the island were the Willie-wagtails (the real name) which hopped around our houses and sang constantly.
Torresian Crows also frequented the trees by the beach, potentially foraging on the sand.
We unanimously agreed that Waigeo had some of the best sunsets we had ever seen, lasting for almost an hour and constantly changing from pink to yellow to orange to red to purple to black.
The reason we came to the Raja Ampat is because they have two endemic BoPs. One of them is the Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise (shown here) commonly agreed to be one of the most colorful, with its red back, yellow neck, bald blue head, green chest, and blue feet, it is like a tiny firework display.
Here you can get a better view of the curled blue tail feathers and the yellow on the neck, as well as the dark iridescent green belly.
The other BoP endemic is the Red Bird-of-Paradise, with a green head, brown and yellow body, and bright red tail feathers it is one of the more “classic” BoPs in the genus Paradisaea.
Although the Red was hidden in the trees most of the time we could occasionally hear some of its loud resounding trumpet-like calls, meant to attract females to the communal lek.
Although there are only two species of BoP are endemic to the Raja Ampat there is a third species that also lives on mainland New Guinea. Since BoPs are actually descended from crows, the crow-like manucodes are still BoPs. This is a Glossy-mantled Manucode, which was actually just seen near our homestay and not at a special hide.
One of the other birds that frequently turned up at the beach was the aptly named Beach Kingfisher, with the distinctive all-white head visible in the photo.
Although Eclectus Parrots are common on the islands this female is one of the few that perched in the open; more often they were seen flying over.
After Waigeo we stayed at the village of Syoubri in the Arfak Mountains. Our birding guide Zeth Wonggor showed us this Marbled Frogmouth (a type of nocturnal owl-like bird) in his backyard.
While we were in a hide waiting for a Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise to appear this Hooded Pitohui came onto the lek. Pitohuis are famous for being the only poisonous birds; although not deadly to humans, if you bite one you will immediately want to spit it out.
After our wait, the Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise (I call it the mag bop) did show up. The tail shape is similar to the Wilson’s, and they are in the same genus. This was also the only BoP that we saw at a lek with a female, although the female left before the male could display.
One of the least known BoPs is the Long-tailed Paradigalla, one of the “plumeless” BoPs. We waited for it to come and feed at this single banana tree, and eventually our wait was fulfilled.
Although Darwin is generally attributed with the development of the theory of evolution, the explorer Alfred Russel Wallace came up with the same idea at the same time while studying birds-of-paradise in New Guinea and observing how the males could afford to evolve gaudy plumage due to the abscence of ground-living predators and competitors for food. This paradigalla certainly dominated the bananas.
When most people think of a bowerbird it is generally the Satin Bowerbird of Australia, but I believe that this architect deserves the credit: The Vogelkop Bowerbird constructs a large hut-like tent and decorates the entrance with trash and seeds, organized by color and shape: see the large pile of nuts, the “red section”, and pile of plastic cups.
This photo shows the architect at work. Because of the plain plumage, the male must construct a larger bower to demonstrate fitness and maturity.
After the Arfak we took a break from the BoPs and headed to New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. Although PNG has BoPs, none of them reach the Bismarcks. We still got some nice birds, like this Nicobar Pigeon.
These Moustached Treeswifts are, unlike normal swifts, able to perch on branches, and do so commonly, allowing a photo opportunity.
Back on mainland New Guinea we took a trip into Varirata National Park near Port Moresby, and that day turned out to be one of my most succesful single birding days ever. This is a Black-capped Lory, seen on the drive in.
The BoP that Varirata is known for is the Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise, PNG’s national bird. This is either a young male or a female.
Red-faced Parrots are almost exclusively found in New Guinea, but there is a small population on the Cape York Peninsula of Australia. Varirata is the only place we saw them.
Several Raggianas showed up, but we never saw an adult male.
Varirata is also the best place in the world for the delightful little Brown-headed Paradise-kingfisher, which just sits on a branch and watches you watch it.
We were also lucky enough to catch this Barred Owlet-nightjar out in the open, as they are nocturnal and generally stay inside their hole unless you are quiet and patient.
After birding the park we stopped at a nearby wetland where we saw this Comb-crested Jaçana with a chick.
We also found this Plumed Whistling-duck, a vagrant from Australia.
Once our lowland birding had been satisfied we headed up into the highlands near Mount Hagen and stayed at Kumul Lodge, known for the ease of birding at its fruit feeders. This is a Common Smoky-honeyeater eating a piece of pineapple.
The Ribbont-tailed Astrapias (a BoP) at Kumul frequent the feeders and it is more common to see them when you glance out the window than to not.
Equally common are these Brown Sicklebills (another BoP), the young bird on the right and the adult female on the left.
Kumul is also known for its rare mountain species, such as this Mountain Firetail, a finch endemic to the highlands of New Guinea.
Because of its prime location you can take tours from the lodge to see a variety of BoPs; this is a Blue Bird-of-Paradise (Cedar’s favorite) seen just a quick drive and walk away from the lodge.
One of the other birds easily seen at the feeders are Brehm’s Tiger-parrots, which make very good photography subjects.
Here you can see part of the tail that gives the astrapias their name. This photo also provides a good look at the “pom-pom” above the bill.
Less common than the tiger-parrots, Plum-faced Lorikeets skipped the feeders and fed off of the trees instead.
On a walk through the forest we came across this Lesser Melampitta, one of New Guinea’s rarest highland birds and only one of two species in its family.
Besides the trip for the Blue BoP we only took one other trip outside of the lodge for a BoP. This is the King-of-Saxony Bird-of-Paradise. The two long straight lines in the photo are not sticks but specialized feathers coming out of the bird’s head. It can move them around wherever it wants, and could theoretically slap you in the face without moving anything but its head wires. When these feathers originally came to Europe they were thought to be fakes due to the plasticky texture and flag-like appendages lining it.
This photo provides a better view of the flags on the sides of the wires. The actual bird is small, but the wires are big, so Cedar calls it the “Li’l Champion with Big Hair”.
The King-of-Saxony is actually uncommon and hard to find, so we were lucky to get such good views of it.
The call of this BoP does not sound remotely like a bird at all. It more sounds like somebody’s radio broke down and is emitting a combination of clicks, twitters, hisses, static, and beeps in a single fast series. Look it up, it’s amazing.
On almost our last day at Kumul we finally got really good views of Crested Berrypeckers, which are, along with the Tit Berrypecker, in their own family.
photography

Singapore and Sulawesi!

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My previous post was comprised of us visiting Indonesia west of Wallace’s Line. Here I will display photos from Sulawesi, an island east of Wallace’s Line and west of Lydekker’s Line (the separation of wildlife from Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, and the Moluccas from New Guinea and Australia ). Sulawesi is known for its high proportion of endemism, especially in the birds, so a lot of the species shown here can be found nowhere else. I will also be posting photos from Singapore, where we stopped briefly before heading to Sulawesi. Also, many of the species I took photos of are rare and hard to see, so the photos will be of less quality because of the low light and fast-moving animals.

One of our best stops in Singapore was the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which was full of Red Junglefowl, the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken. Immediately after we got out of the Uber, we saw these chicks, much to Cedar’s delight.
One of the best ways to separate junglefowl from chickens is to check for the large white patch on the male’s head, seen here clearly.
The junglefowl were also accompanied by this Common Flameback, a type of large woodpecker.
These chicks were adorable, snuggling under the mother’s belly.
In Singapore we also went on a birding trip around some wetlands that started off with my first Dollarbird, (a type of roller) name because of the white patches in its wings that appear like “silver dollars” when it flies.
Another highlight of the birding trip was this Little Bronze Cuckoo, easily identified from the iridescent bronze back, red eye-ring, and barred belly.
While climbing to Singapore’s highest point we came across this colugo (a type of mammal that uses flaps of skin to glide from tree to tree). It stayed perfectly still the entire time, and we still don’t know if it was actually alive!
Javan Mynas like this one are common all across the city, but this one is suffering from a leg disease, and you can see the misshapen feet.
Upon leaving Singapore we arrived in Sulawesi, a haven for endemic birds. Almost 27% of the region’s birds are endemic. Sulawesi hosts 12 endemic genera of birds, including 6 kingfishers, 9 parrots, and 7 owls. One of the first endemics we saw was this Yellow-billed Malkoha, a relative of the coucals, which are relatives of the cuckoos.
Our first stop in Sulawesi was the village of Kamarora A, near the famous Lore Lindu National Park. On our first morning we took a trip to a lake just outside the park to bird. This Brush Cuckoo was seen there.
This Turquoise Warbling-flycatcher was also a highlight of the lake trip.
On the way back from the lake this raptor flew up and perched in a tree in front of us. It was later identified as a Bat Hawk, a rare species that can catch bats or swifts on the wing.
Lore Lindu is also known for its tarsiers, which are small nocturnal primates and very, very cute. This is one of the several we saw.
One of the most famous birding locations in Sulawesi is the Anaso Track. The track’s star birds is the Diabolical Nightjar (shown here). There was actually known terrorist activity on the track, but without us knowing that what we were on was the Anaso Track, we still saw the birds and came out fine.
In total we saw two nightjars. This one is engaged in a threat display.
Another star endemic bird is the Purple-bearded Bee-eater, which we saw twice on the track
Later down on the track we came into a “birdstorm” with Mountain Cicadabirds, Ashy Woodpeckers, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpeckers, and this Sulawesi Thrush.
After Lore Lindu we stayed at Lake Poso, where the friendly Pacific Swallows provided great photography practice.
The next major stop in Sulawesi was the Togian Islands, where we saw this Ashy Woodpecker (a Sulawesi endemic) excavating this palm tree.
One of my most-wanted Sulawesi birds was the Togian Boobook, a type of small owl endemic to the islands. On our first night we asked the lodge managers and they said that an owl comes almost every night to their trash pile to feed on insects. This owl has been named Kokoro, and we saw him many times.
Kokoro would often just sit in one place for a very long time, and you could just stand, and watch him hunt or eat or anything without bothering him.
Our final stop was potentially the place I had most wanted to go in Sulawesi, Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park. Sulawesi is well-known for its profusion of endemic kingfishers, and we quickly saw this Sulawesi Dwarf-kingfisher.
Several times we came across the endemic Pale-blue Monarch flitting around in the low branches.
Another endemic we saw soon after starting was this Bay Coucal, a type of large cuckoo-like bird.
This Sultan’s Cuckoo-dove posed for the camera, unlike many of the other birds seen on the hike.
The only large mammal we saw on the hike was this macaque, which gave us very good views.
We spent a while trying to get this beautiful Sulawesi Pitta to come out into the open, and eventually it did. Pittas are normally secretive, so I was very happy.
The highlight of Bogani Nani is the Maleo, a species of endangered megapode (more on that word later) endemic to Sulawesi. When we reached a snack point we found this baby Maleo just walking around and taking scraps of food from the ground. It was definitely wild, because it flew away later (baby megapodes learn to fly instantly).
This baby Maleo blew my mind with cuteness, rarity, and comfortableness. It felt like a tiny chicken that is endangered with only 8,000 to 14,000 individuals alive.
Megapodes are birds that do not incubate their eggs, but instead either build a mound of rotting vegetation and let the heat from the chemical reactions do the rest, or dig a hole in thermally heated earth or on a beach that absorbes the sun. When the eggs hatch, the chicks dig out, fly away and grow up. One of the main reasons for the Maleo’s decline has been the unsubstantial harvesting of Maleo eggs, since they are all grouped together, easy to get, and make good eating.
Sulawesi also has two endemic species of hornbill, and we saw one. The Knobbed Hornbill is one of the largest birds in Sulawesi and also one of the most colorful.
As we were almost leaving the park a large flock of hornbills came around us from all sides. Hornbills are easily located by the loud noise their wings make when they fly, but when you are in the middle of a flock it just feels like chaos.
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Indonesia West of Wallace’s Line

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As you may know, Wallace’s Line is the line which (in terms of flora and fauna) separates Java, Bali, Sumatra, and Borneo and their outlying islands from Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Timor, and the Moluccas. West of the line we visited Sumatra, Java, and Bali. Here are photos from that segment of our trip.

Our first stop in Sumatra was the village of Bukit Lawang, where we stayed at Green Hills Guest Lodge. Our first visitor was this Silver Leaf Monkey.
Bukit Lawang is situated right by a river, and a family of Crab-eating Macaques showed up on the opposite bank.
The day after we arrived we wen on a walk to see the famous Sumatran Orangutans, (Critically Endangered) and immediately saw this young male.
This baby orangutan seemed extremely proficient at climbing and foraging, here eating the orange fruit pictured.
After seeing the first orangutans we passed through a “carload” of Thomas Leaf Monkeys, some with babies.
The star bird of the hike was this Great Argus, a type of pheasant closely related to the peafowl. It boasts strangely elongated wing and tail feathers to aid in its spectacular display, and although this male did not display, it was still astounding.
This zoomed-out picture can offer a better perspective on the seemingly stretched body of this amazing bird.
This was one of the highlights of the hike: a fully grown male orangutan, sitting in a tree.
This is a White-handed Gibbon, one of the several we saw. Back at Bukit Lawang several times we heard the song of gibbons, a truly spectacular sound. This one was with several others.
Seen at the same time as the other gibbon, here you can see a baby’s head and hands.
Near Bukit Lawang we went to a cave system inhabited by many bats. This is one of the residents.
We had also signed up for a “jungle trek” which meant staying at another spot for a night before starting. There we got great views of this Little Spiderhunter, a relative of the honeyeaters.
Near the beginning of the trek we came across another troop of Thomas’s Leaf Monkeys. This is a mother and a baby.
This squirrel was Cedar’s favorite animal we saw on the trek, and he made me put it in this post.
For me the highlight was this White-crowned Hornbill (classified as globally Endangered), seen after our night camping. It is rare and only occasionally seen in Sumatra.
On the way back from our camp we came across this Diard’s Trogon, the bright red bird in the middle of the photo.
Just before we got back to the lodge we saw this Blue-throated Bee-eater, one of the star birds of the trek.
Just before going back to Bukit Lawang we saw this bright red and yellow Banded Woodpecker from the jungle lodge.
Before leaving Bukit Lawang we got great views of this Crested Serpent-eagle calling and displaying for seemingly no reason.
Our next stop was Lake Toba, where this Eurasian Tree Sparrow provided the perfect opportunity for a more artistic photo.
Also at Lake Toba we saw this White-breasted Waterhen walk past our table at a restaurant.
After Toba we stayed at Rimba Ecolodge on the west coast. This is a Stork-billed Kingfisher, one of the most distinctive birds we saw.
Here you can see some of the strange geometric patterns found in the some of the coral of the area.
This is one of the amazing sunsets we saw at Rimba.
Since we had to fly through Java to get to Bali we stopped at Yogyakarta and saw the famous Buddhist temple Borobudur. Here we found a carving of a chicken standing on top of a temple.
We also found this amazing carving of a Green Peafowl, the lesser known relative of the Indian one. Green Peafowls mainly live in mainland Asia, but there is a small population on Java.
Borobudur’s most famous attraction are the sitting Buddhas inside stupas lining the edge of the top level. Since the Buddhas are mostly enclosed, I just got a picture of the eye of one.
And here’s CEDAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our first stop in Bali was Ubud, where we went on a bird walk around the rice fields and few forests of the city. This is a Cattle Egret in a rice paddy.
One of our target species on the walk was this Javan Kingfisher, only found in Java and Bali.
Near the end of the walk we saw this snake attack a flying lizard and eat it. Here it is preparing to strike.
Later in Bali we went snorkeling off of Pulau Menjangan, an island where we saw a herd of deer resting under a building.
This Whimbrel we saw on the beach of the island. It is a type of curlew, famous for their long, curving bills.
After snorkeling we went on a walk to dinner where we saw this Racquet-tailed Treepie, a specialty bird of the region.
The sunset over the mangroves in West Bali was spectacular.
The reason for us going to west Bali was because of West Bali National Park, and the reason I wanted to go there was because of a single bird. The Javan Banded Pitta you see here is not the special one but was seen in the beginning of the desired birding trip.
This Green Junglefowl is also not the one we were looking for, although it was high on my list of birds I wanted to see.
This is the bird I had been waiting for. This is a Bali Starling, Bali’s ONLY endemic bird, Critically Endangered with a population estimate of only 50 left in the wild. It is so valuable on the black market pet trade that a captive breeding center was once robbed at gunpoint just for these birds! We saw around 17!!!!!!!
This pair of starlings sat and posed for us for almost ten minutes!
Here you can see the wispy crest of the starlings.
This starling posed for just a moment when I got this photo, then flew away.
This Island Collared-dove is the Indonesian equivalent of the Eurasian Collared-dove, widely introduced in North America.
After the forest where we saw the starlings we went to a plantation where we got this Chestnut-headed Bee-eater.
The final segment of our birding trip in Bali was going to the shrimp farms, where we saw this Small Blue Kingfisher.
After Bali we crossed over to Java again and went to Baluran National Park to look for the Endangered Green Peafowl. Here is an Oriental Pied Hornbill seen in the park
We eventually saw three peafowl, two male and one female. This male came the closest, and gave us amazing views. Most of the global population are found in mainland Asia, but there is an isolated group found in Java.
Here you can seen part of the famous train that male peafowl have. This was either a young male or something had attacked because it was missing most of its train feathers.
This is a fully grown male peafowl, with the completely developed train of iridescent green ocelli feathers.
This is the same male peafowl.
Baluran is also famous for its herds of water buffalo and deer.