Indonesia: Lesser Sunda Islands Sep 14—Oct 04, 2009
Posted by Susan Myers
Susan Myers
Susan Myers absolutely loves birding and traveling in Asia. As she says, "The combination of incredible and diverse wildlife, ancient and fascinating cultures, and the...Related Trips
Our 2009 Lesser Sundas tour was a great success with lots of wonderful birds and birding, despite some unseasonable weather and flight cancellations. Our first birding outing on Bali was an instant success with a brilliant Black-winged Starling, a bird that has sadly become rather difficult to find in recent years.
Our stay on our next island, Sumba, was extended due to a cancelled flight because of Ramadan. (Don't ask me why!) In some ways, this wasn't a bad thing (although it did subtract from our time on Timor), as we were able to see almost every target bird on the island. Highlights were many, but I think it's safe to say that the Citron-crested Cockatoos were a big hit with everyone. After much searching and effort we enjoyed lengthy close encounters with this charismatic species. All these islands in the Indonesia archipelago are culturally diverse and fascinating, and thanks to our local guide, Freddy, we were able to take the time to explore some of these aspects as well. We also enjoyed a number of encounters with the spectacular Sumba Hornbill, some very nice Cinnamon-collared Kingfishers, a cooperative and gorgeous Elegant Pitta, and the stunning Red-naped Fruit-Dove, amongst many others. Our nightbirding was also ultimately successful!
From Sumba we flew to Timor, to find a totally different landscape and atmosphere. Travel in this part of Indonesia really is like going to about four different countries! The birding here was more difficult, with some rain and limited time. Nevertheless, we had some very pleasing encounters with many of the terrific endemics and near-endemics. Up in cooler climes on Gunung Mutis, we found the remarkable Timor race of Pygmy Wren-Babbler, which is possibly a split, as well as a whole bunch of lorikeets and other high altitude endemics. Back down in the lowland forest at Bipolo we had a teasing Timor Stubtail, as well as a lovely Chestnut-backed Thrush, Buff-banded Bushbird, and many others.
Our last island was the beautiful Flores. This volcanic island is more lush and green than either Timor or Sumba. We explored both the mountains and the lowlands with great success before heading east to the legendary island of Komodo, where we wound down with a day in search of the dragons, amongst others. The mountains of Flores are beautiful and very birdy. At Ranamese we found what was possibly the bird of the trip, the amazing Bare-throated Whistler, serenading us with his truly incredible song. Another highlight was the cute and frisky Russet-capped Tesia. We spent time at Kisol where the birding was slow, but we did catch up with most of our targets. The Yellow-crested Cockatoos on Komodo put on a great show to send us off!
Many thanks to you all for joining me on this tour. I would also like to especially thank my good friend Roman. Roman is an outstanding local leader, who always handles the demands of birders with excellent humor and efficiency, and I'm sure that everyone appreciated his help in ensuring we were always fed and watered in the field!