West Java - August 2018 : Part 3

Day 5 - 5th August 2018:

For our final day in Java, Boas had organised to take us out to Jakarta Bay to look for Frigatebirds. Our flight was in the afternoon, so we plan to get to Jakarta early as to avoid the Sunday traffic pouring into Gunung Gede! We woke up at 4am (Henry woke Captain and Boas up thinking it was already 4am, but it was ACTUALLY 4am HK time...) and half an hour later we were already on our way towards Jakarta, it was still dark but the road was clear. What took us over three hours on our first day only took us less than an hour and a half!

We stopped at a Burger King for breakfast, at the car park we heard calls of the Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker. It soon got brighter and traffic became heavier, our cars continued further north towards the coast. It was 8:30am by the time we reached our destination. We added Pink-necked Green Pigeon onto our trip list and boarded one of the small boat and off we went!

Pink-necked Green Pigeon - female

Our boat went past many fishing huts made out of bamboo. Large flocks of Little Black Cormorants were seen along the way, they were by far the most common species in the bay.

Bamboo fishing huts

Flocks of Little Black Cormorants

A few small swifts zipped past us, they were certainly not Cave Swiftlets, but most likely to be Edible-nest Swiftlets. While a Greater crested Tern drifted past our boat.

Edible-nest Swiftlet

Greater Crested Tern

It didn't take long before our boat arrived at the Frigatebird roost. Little Black Cormorants were abundant here as well, drying their wings on the bamboo structures. While Little Egrets also fish in the area.

The frigatebirds and cormorants roost

Little Black Cormorant

Little Egret

It took us a while to sort out the species, as three species of Frigatebirds are found here at Jakarta Bay. The main focus was Christmas Frigatebirds, which were the most common one in the bay but actually globally the rarest, due to it's restricted breeding range on Christmas Island and have a small population, they are listed as critically endangered. We had at least 50 birds at the roost, which gave us a good chance to figure out some key diagnostic features. Christmas Frigatebirds length are measured at between 90 - 100cm, they are amongst the larger Frigatebirds in the region. They have very strong bills, and I noticed most of them had a bulky 'hunched shoulder' look to them when at rest, probably because their wings are so long that when they are folded which gives them that look.

Christmas Frigatebird - male

Christmas Frigatebird - female

Christmas Frigatebird - juvenile

Lesser Frigatebirds were amongst the second most abundant species at the roost. Males are fairly straight forward to pick out even amongst the Christmas Frigatebirds, as they do not have pale patch on their marginal coverts, making them look all black. Females are pink billed and pattern look similar to Christmas Frigatebirds when at rest, although they are more delicate looking with shorter and thinner bill, eye-rings are also a brighter red. Juvenile birds are smaller and slimmer than Christmas Frigatebirds of similar age, their bills are bluish instead of pinkish.

Lesser Frigatebird - male

Lesser Frigatebird - female

Lesser Frigatebird - juvenile

We only saw a single male Great Frigatebird, to tell apart a male Great with a male Christmas while at roost is no easy matter, this individual certainly does not look as robust as the Christmas, primary projection also look shorter in comparison, although this could but an individual variation...my sample size is too small to make this conclusion. Everything became clear once it flaps its wings or take to the air, it is nearly all black.

Great Frigatebird - male, with all black underside and no axillary spurs

In comparison, white belly patch is very obvious for male Christmas Frigatebird during flight, with no axillary spurs, shoulder patch on marginal coverts also very apparent.

Christmas Frigatebird - male, with white lower belly and no axillary spurs

Lesser Frigatebird male have dark bellies and white axillary spurs, their smaller size also make them quite obvious, marginal coverts also lack any pale feathers, therefore making them look darker than other frigatebirds in the field.

Lesser Frigatebird - male, with black belly and white axillary spurs

Female Christmas Frigatebirds during flight looks very white on the underside, the collar, breast, belly to vent are all white, wtih obvious axillary spurs. The collar can be clearly seen when seen from above. Bill is very pink.

Christmas Frigatebird - female, with white collar, belly, vent and axillary spurs

I didn't manage a lot of photos of Lesser Frigatebirds female inflight, this was the only decent shot I took, note the lower belly is black and bright patch on the marginal coverts are not as pale when compared with Christmas Frigatebirds.

Lesser Frigatebird - female, white collar, white breast and axillary spurs, black belly

Here are a comparison of what I believe to be two 2nd year birds (Could be wrong, I have very little field experiences with Frigatebirds!), first a Christmas Frigatebird the second a Lesser Frigatebird. Christmas Island certainly have much broader wings, completely white breast, belly to vent and white axillary spurs. While the Lesser Frigate have mottled breast and white belly with obvious axillary spurs.

Christmas Frigatebird - presume 2nd year bird, much the same pattern as female but mottled patterns on head

Lesser Frigatebird - presume 2nd year bird, black breast band, white belly and axillary spurs, buffish head with bluish bill

And here's a comparison between the axillary spurs of male adult Lesser Frigatebird to the same 2nd year bird, note that bill changes colours quite drastically!

Lesser Frigatebird - male

Lesser Frigatebird - 2nd year bird

And this one I believe is a 4th year male Christmas Frigatebird, very mottled breast and axillary spurs, bill also quite dark.

Christmas Frigatebird - 4th year male

All that 'ageing' and identification aside, I was really there just to enjoy the sight of these magnificent looking creatures. It was simply fun to watch these pirates of seabirds bickering, fighting and chasing each other around. The Christmas Frigatebirds were obviously the boss around here, and they made sure to use their size to their advantage against the smaller Lesser Frigatebirds. After over an hour enjoying fabulous views of the Frigatebirds we were ready to head back to shore.

Christmas Frigatebird & Lesser Frigatebird - size does matter in a fight!

A young Christmas Frigatebird terrorising it's neighbours...

Male Christmas Frigatebird fighting for perches

And some closeup shots...

Before we head back to the airport, Boas promised me one last endemic, the Javan Plover. This is another species endemic to Indonesia, although quite widespread within the country it is believed to have quite a small population size, hence it's been listed as near threatened. Our cars went past a few fishponds and we slowed down to scan the area, quite soon we saw a pair inflight, while further ahead we got good views of a single adult along the shore of the fishpond. It resembles a Kentish Plover but with lighter colour legs and legs are in general longer.

Javan Plover - adult

A few Javan Plover chicks were found further on, they were still cute and fluffy, and what could be better to end our trip to West Java with this endemic! We headed to the airport with time to spare, before that we even spent time writing in Boas's guestbook. We were back in Hong Kong by 8pm.

Javan Plover - chick

Yuen filling out the guestbook (photo credit to Henry Lui)

Overall, I would say my experiences in West Java had exceeded all my expectations, huge thanks to Boas and his team for their expert guidance and help along the way, without them we would not have been able to camp out at Gunung Gede and get around with such ease, nor would we be able to locate so many great birds! We totalled 94 species with 38 endemics, of the 94 species 46 were lifers! 

Although our experiences were excellent, I could not but help to feel a slight sad note leaving the country, to think of all the potential it has to be an even better ecotourism location than it is now. The current trend of things does not look well for wild birds or wildlife of Indonesia, and Java being one of the most populated island is of course no exception. We went past bird shops with literally EVERYTHING for sale, including Long-tailed Shrikes and Tree Sparrows, needless to say all the rare endemic species as well...The wild birds we encountered at Gunung Gede were not particularly afraid of people, while this is good news for birders I have slightly mixed feelings about this, they are such easy target for bird trappers! And I didn't notice any actions taken by the authorities. In fact, it's probably up to people like Boas and his team to stop any bird trapping in action if they do see them, and they told us stories of them chasing poachers away when they see them...

Compare to a place of similar habitat such as Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah, while the bird species count was no less, the total individual bird count was way below average. There were far fewer birds in general, in the city and urban areas the affects were even more apparent. While we saw tons of Javan Mynas in Sabah where it had been introduced, I personally saw none during my whole trip on Java where they were originally from.

Although reality seems grim, I do believe with better public education things can improve, and local naturalists like Boas can be key to introduce these unique natural wonders that belongs to Indonesians, and not in cages, but in the wild. I truly hope that in ten or twenty years time when I might return again to Gunung Gede that these amazing birds can still be around for all to see.

Trip List:

	Species	Date	Location	Notes
1	Chestnut-bellied Partridge (E)	03/08/2018	G. Gede, Camp 1 & 2	Seen well at both camp sites
2	Milky Stork	05/08/2018	Jakarta	Single bird seen in flight along motorway
3	Lesser Frigatebird	05/08/2018	Jakarta Bay	A few at Jakarta Bay roost
4	Great Frigatebird	05/08/2018	Jakarta Bay	up to 50 at Jakarta Bay roost
5	Christmas Island Frigatebird	05/08/2018	Jakarta Bay	One male at Jakarta Bay roost
6	Little Black Cormorant	05/08/2018	Jakarta Bay	Common around Jakarta Bay
7	Purple Heron	05/08/2018	Jakarta	One observed by Captain
8	Little Egret	05/08/2018	Jakarta Bay	Common around Jakarta Bay
9	Cattle Egret	05/08/2018	Jakarta	A few observed near airport
10	Javan Pond Heron	05/08/2018	Jakarta	One observed near airport by Yuen
11	Black-crowned Night Heron	05/08/2018	Jakarta	One observed near airport
12	Crested Honey-Buzzard (ptilorhynchus)	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Waterfall Trail	One bird circled above forest
13	Crested Serpent Eagle (bido)	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Waterfall Trail	A few birds observed, calls different to race in Hong Kong, much shorter
14	Javan Plover (E)	05/08/2018	Jakarta	A few observed at fish ponds near Jakarta, up to three chicks
15	Javan Woodcock (E)	03/08/2018	G. Gede, before Camp 2	One bird observed early morning below camp 2
16	Great Crested Tern	05/08/2018	Jakarta Bay	A few observed at Jakarta Bay
17	Rock Dove	01/08/2018	Jakarta
18	Spotted Dove	01/08/2018	Jakarta, Cibodas Botanical Garden
19	Zebra Dove	01/08/2018	Jakarta
20	Pink-necked Green Pigeon	05/08/2018	Jakarta
21	Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	One bird at Cibodas Botanical Garden
22	Pink-headed Fruit-Dove (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Endemic to Indonesia, a few along trail, male seen well
23	Chestnut-breasted Malkoha	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Botanical Garden	Regularly seen at lower elevation, one seen well at Cibodas Botanical Garden
24	Rusty-breasted Cuckoo	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Botanical Garden	Commonly heard at lower elevation, pair seen well at botanical garden
25	Sunda Cuckoo	02/08/2018	G. Gede	One single bird observed at Gede
26	Javan Scops Owl (E)	02/08/2018	Camp 1	Heard at night
27	Javan Frogmouth (E)	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	Many heard at botanical garden, but could not locate
28	Salvadori's Nightjar (E)	03/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	One seen circling above
29	Waterfall (Giant) Swiftlet	03/08/2018	Waterfall	A few at waterfall
30	Cave Swiftlet	01/08/2018	Widespread
31	Edible-nest Swiftlet	05/08/2018	Jakarta Bay	One observed while out at Jakarta Bay
32	Javan Trogon (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	One male observed below camp 1, seen very well
33	Javan Kingfisher (E)	03/08/2018	Cibodas Golf Course	One at golf course, two at hotel
34	Collared Kingfisher	03/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	Heard at Cibodas Botanical Garden
35	Fire-tufted Barbet	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Regularly heard and seen along trail
36	Flame-fronted Barbet (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Botanical Garden	Commonly heard, seen well along trail and at botanical garden
37	Brown-throated Barbet (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	One obscured view along trail
38	Crimson-winged Woodpecker	03/08/2018	G. Gede	One in mixed flock
39	Javan Yellownape (E)	03/08/2018	G. Gede	A pair seen well
40	Spotted Kestrel (microbalius)	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	One seen drifting past
41	Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrot (E)	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	A few observed at fruiting ficus tree
42	Banded Broadbill	02/08/2018	G. Gede	One seen well, a few heard
43	Javan Banded Pitta (E)	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	One seen well, another heard in the same area
44	Golden-bellied Gerygone	05/08/2018	Jakarta	heard
45	Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden
46	White-breasted Woodswallow	05/08/2018	Jakarta Airport	A few observed at gate
47	Sunda Minivet (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Large flocks of up to 40 - 50 birds
48	Javan Cuckooshrike (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Pairs observed in mixed flock
49	Lesser Cuckooshrike	02/08/2018	G. Gede	one bird seen briefly
50	Pied Shrike-Babbler (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Regularly in mixed flock
51	Trilling Shrike-Babbler (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Regularly in mixed flock
52	Ashy Drongo	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Botanical Garden	A few in mixed flock along trail and a few in botanical garden
53	Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Regularly in mixed flock
54	Rufous-tailed Fantail (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Regularly in mixed flock
55	Pacific Swallow	01/08/2018	Widespread
56	Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher	03/08/2018	G. Gede	A few observed lower down
57	Cinerous Tit	03/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden
58	Pygmy Tit (E)	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	Few flocks observed
59	Blue Nuthatch (nigriventer)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Quite common in mixed flocks
60	Sooty-headed Bulbul	05/08/2018	Jakarta Airport	A few at gate
61	Orange-spotted Bulbul (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Botanical Garden	Common in open areas
62	Pygmy Wren-Babbler (rufa)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Heard and seen regularly along trail
63	Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler	02/08/2018	G. Gede	A few observed at waterfall trail
64	Javan Tesia (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Heard and seen regularly along trail
65	Mountain Tailorbird	02/08/2018	G. Gede
66	Sunda Bush Warbler	03/08/2018	G. Gede, Camp 2	One bird observed at Camp 2
67	Mountain Leaf Warbler	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Heard and seen regularly along trail
68	Sunda Warbler (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Heard and seen regularly along trail
69	Olive-backed Tailorbird (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Golf Course	One bird heard at Gede, another seen at Cibodas Golf Course
70	Javan Grey-throated White-eye (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Botanical Garden	Common in mixed flock
71	Oriental White-eye (buxtoni)	02/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	Common at lower elevation
72	Crescent-chested Babbler (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	A few observed in mixed flocks, also heard
73	Horsfield's Babbler	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Heard regularly
74	Javan Fulvetta (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Common in mixed flock
75	Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Heard once along trail, but far
76	Spotted Crocias (E)	03/08/2018	G. Gede	Heard a few times, seen once below camp 1
77	Indigo Flycatcher	02/08/2018	G. Gede
78	Lesser Shortwing	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Heard and seen regularly along trail
79	Javan Shortwing (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Common at higher elevation, from camp 1 onwards
80	Javan Whistling Thrush (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Common along trail
81	White-crowned Forktail	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	Pair observed at botanical garden
82	Sunda Forktail (E)	02/08/2018	Zuri hotel	Single bird seen early morning at hotel
83	Snowy-browed Flycatcher (vulcani)	02/08/2018	G. Gede	Common along trail
84	Little Pied Flycatcher (hasselti)	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Botanical Garden	Common
85	Horsfield's Thrush (E)	03/08/2018	G. Gede, Camp 2	A few seen around Camp 2
86	Javan Cochoa (E)	03/08/2018	G. Gede, Camp 2	A pair seen at Camp 2, good views
87	Blood-breasted Flowerpecker (E)	04/08/2018	Cibodas Botanical Garden	A few seen at Cibodas Botanical Garden
88	Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker (E)	05/08/2018	Jakarta	Heard around Jakarta, seen by Yuen
89	White-flanked Sunbird (E)	03/08/2018	G. Gede	Common along trail
90	Grey Wagtail	03/08/2018	Waterfall	One observed at waterfall
91	Eurasian Tree Sparrow	01/08/2018	Widespread
92	Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch	03/08/2018	G. Gede, Camp 2	One observed foraging at Camp 2
93	Javan Munia (E)	02/08/2018	G. Gede, Cibodas Botanical Garden	Common
94	Scaly-breasted Munia	04/08/2018	Cibodas Golf Course