Indonesia Trip 2017 Day 19
Indonesia Trip Day 19 – Wednesday 9th August 2017
Halmahera with Mike Nelson from Bird Tour Asia.
The second part of our 6-week Indonesian trip was birding the island of Halmahera.
On the morning of Wednesday 9th August 2017, we had to have our bags packed to leave at 5.30 am after breakfast.
The other group had left at 5.00 am as they were going for Wallace’s Standardwing.
First, we birded Weda forest from 6.00 am until 9.30 am.
We managed to get great views of Ivory-breasted Pitta for everyone, which was a relief.
We then left Weda Lodge to drive up through the mountains where we would stop for some roadside birding. We were heading for a small town in the very north of Halmahera.
We drove over the mountains north and tried for birds of prey that we still hadn’t seen, but didn’t see anything at all.
The drive north was a really long one. We were heading to a site for Moluccan Scrubfowl. The birds live in the mountains and fly down to a beach at night, where they bury their eggs.
We arrived at our hotel at 5.00 pm, had a quick dinner in a basic restaurant next door before heading to the local community who look after the Scrub Fowl at 6.00 pm.
We had to get a boat from a tiny community through mangroves to a volcanic beach in the dark which we boarded at 6.00 pm. A local guide walked around until he found a bird, which they don’t always manage, spotlight it and then wait for us to run to where they are standing. One of the problems is that the birds dig massive holes and so you have to try not to fall into a hole whilst running in the dark.
We had extended views of one bird which was stunning looking and got back to the little village at 9.45 pm.
This was up there with one of my top birding experiences ever. I highly recommend people visit Halmahera, just to get to this bird. I have the contact details for the community if you would like to visit.
After this, we headed to a nearby town to our hotel, The Elizabeth Hotel, for the night.
The best birds of the day were Moluccan Scrubfowl, Scarlet-breasted Fruit Dove, Rainbow Bee-eater, Ivory-breasted Pitta, Golden-breasted Gerygone, Moluccan Whistler, Wallacean Cicadabird, Wallace’s Standardwing and Moluccan Starling.
About The Author
Hi, I’m Dr. Mya-Rose Craig. I am a 19-year-old prominent British-Bangladeshi ornithologist, environmentalist, diversity activist as well as an author, speaker and broadcaster. At age 11 I started the popular blog Birdgirl, and at age 17 I became the youngest person to see half of the birds in the world.
Lyrical, poignant and insightful.’ - Margaret Atwood
This is my story; a journey defined by my love for these extraordinary creatures. Because large or small, brown, patterned or jewelled, there is something about birds that makes us, even for just moments at a time, lift our eyes away from our lives and up to the skies.
Lyrical, poignant and insightful.’ - Margaret Atwood
This is my story; a journey defined by my love for these extraordinary creatures. Because large or small, brown, patterned or jewelled, there is something about birds that makes us, even for just moments at a time, lift our eyes away from our lives and up to the skies.