Komodo Birding Report

Rusty-breasted Whistler/Pachycephala fulvotincta

Day 01:

The day was so hot. I had to wait another hour until they arrived at the port. Last month, Yovie Jehabut (jagarimba.id) contacted me to join him in birding tour to Komodo for 2d/1n. I was so happy cause' it was my first experience went with him for birding in this island. Yovie asked me to wait them at the port. After they arrived, we went to the boat. He introduced me to Simon and Susan. They were from the United States and were with him for 11 days. They started their birding tour from Timor Island then Flores (Bajawa, Ruteng, Labuan Bajo & Komodo). Alvin Ebot as the driver who pick them up in Bajawa.  He also liked birding and was really passionate about it. It wasn't his first time to join a birding tour as he was with Yovie for several times. He also joined the trip to Komodo island.

We used Latansa as our cruise boat to Komodo. The boat had 4 cabins with private bathroom. We used 3 of them. There were 5 crew on this boat and all of them were nice guys. We started at 15.00 from Labuan Bajo to Menjerite for bird watching and snorkeling. On the way, we saw some water birds flying around. After Yovie and Simon identified it, it was a Lesser Crested Tern. I wrote it on my phone and opened the book as soon as I heard the name of the bird. When we arrived at Menjerite, Simon decided to go snorkeling with Susan and I. Of course, it was nice for Alvin and Yovie to relax on the boat while we went snorkeling. Actually, there was a target species that Yovie wanted to show off in that area. After snorkeling, we continued on to Komodo Island.

We started at 05.30 pm from Menjerite to Komodo island. It was so serene at that afternoon sailing. The sky was so beautiful with lot of stars. While having dinner, Alvin and I heard some birding tour story from Yovie's and his guest in Timor island. Simon showed us some of the nicest photos in his camera and disscussed about those spesies. Before we went to bed, Yovie gave some information about our birding in Komodo and also what time we should wake up tomorrow morning.

Day 02:

When you are on birding tour, you should wake up earlier than usual. This is something that can't be denied. If you wake up late, you lose your chance. I woke up at 4:50 am, 10 minutes before my alarm went off. It was pretty cold because the AC had been running all night. Yovie had woken up earlier than me. We were supposed to be on the land at 06.00 am as the agreement we made last night. I went to the bathroom to take a bath, change my clothes and get ready for breakfast.

The sparkling light of dawn came between the peaks of the mountain. We made sure that everything was well prepared before we went of from the boat after breakfast. The office was not yet open when we arrived at the gate. Mahfud was waiting for us there. He was the ranger at Komodo National Park who accompanied us for birding in this area. Usually for the spesial tour (birding, herping and photography) you will be accompanied by the ranger.

The sound of Green Junglefowl and Green Imperial Pigeon greeted us that morning. Simon took some of the photos of these species. We didn't talk much during the trek. We just kept looking up at the tree with the binoculars. When we arrived at the tamarind forest Yovie tried to call Varied Goshawk but no answer. Same with Asian Coel. Tamarind forest is one of the hunting places for Komodo dragons in Komodo Island cause' there is water source which was made by the staff to attract the boar and deer as prey of Komodo dragon. We spend 30 minutes there.

Simon likes bird watching, while Susan likes Komodo dragons. That's one of Susan's desire to do this trip. It was about 100m from the tamarind forest, we heard the sounds of Yellow-crested Cockatoo. They were perch on a tree. Simon took his camera. Tried to take some pictures. At the same time Alvin saw an Elegant Pitta moving on the ground. It was trying to get into the sun and the distance was quite close enough. We took some photos of this species too.

After that we continued to hike in one of the hills called Sulphurea Hill. They named this hill because it was the nicest place to see Yellow-crested Cockatoo flying around. Two of the komodo dragons were enjoying their warm-up time when we arrived at this hill. One ran away as soon as it saw us, but another moved slowly. Susan took lots of pictures and videos. She was so happy and could not hide her joy. The morning is the perfect time to see Komodo dragons as they are more active than during the day. Yovie saw Varied Goshawk fly and then perch on the tree after he called it. It was our lucky time to see both; Komodo dragon and Varied Goshawk. We were so happy. On the way back we saw a Tenggara Whistler perched on a tamarind tree with its melodious chirp. I took a picture of this bird with Alvin's camera.

Near the main office, I saw the movement on the branch of the tree. I thought it was a Barred Dove. Then Simon took his binoculars to identify it and it was an Island Colored Dove. He thanked me for that. After 4 hours of birding, we decided to go back to the boat. Continue our sailing to Pink Beach for snorkeling before heading back to Labuan Bajo.

We arrived  in Labuan Bajo at 03.00 pm. I checked all the cabins to make sure nothing was left behind before we got off the boat. We still had one more birding spot to find our target species, Small Blue Kingfisher in Gorontalo. We would go there in the late afternoon at 05:00 pm because Simon and Susan needed to check into a hotel first and get some rest. Sudamala was the hotel for them to stay overnight. Alvin and Yovie were staying nearby.

At 05.00 pm we went to Gorontalo. I drove the motorcycle to go there. Susan didn't join us. 10m from the parking lot, Yovie saw Golden-bellied Gerygone and White-shouldered Triller perched on a tree. It was the first time I saw these species. Not far away, Yovie and Alvin tried to call Small Blue Kingfisher in two different areas. Simon and I stayed near the hut. I told Simon if I saw something moving on the wooden pole and he tried to identified it with his binoculars and it was a Stork-billed Kingfisher. Simon didn't take a picture of it because he had it. 

Yovie ran through us to tell us if he had seen the target species. Then we went there together. He tried to call it a couple of times and it came close. Simon took pictures as fast as he could because the bird did not stay there longer. Beside that, I also saw other species that I had seen before, like Cinereous Tit, Black-napped Monarch, Flame-breasted Sunbird and Collared Kingfisher. Simon expressed his happiness with his smiling. Before we went back, Simon gave me something as an honor.

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The spesies we had seen in Komodo:

1. Lesser Crested Tern/Thalasseus bengalensis 

2. Yellow-crested Cockatoo/Cacatua sulphure

3. Varied Goshawk/Tachyspiza sylvestris

4. Rusty-breasted Whistler/Pachycephala fulvotincta 

5. Green Junglefowl/Gallus varius 

6. Orange-footed Scrubsfowl/Megapodius reinwardt

7. Island Coloured Dove/Streptopelia bitorquata 

8. Green Imperial Pigeon/Ducula aenea 

9. Elegant Pitta/Pitta consina 

The spesies we had seen in Labuan Bajo:

1. Golden-bellied Gerygone/Gerygone sulphurea

2. White-shouldered Triller/Lalage sueurii

3. Stork-billed Kingfisher/Pelargopsis capensis

4. Small Blue Kingfisher/Alcedo coerulescens 

5. Collared Kingfisher/Todiramphus chloris

6. Black-napped Monarch/Hypothymis azurea 

7. Cinereous Tit/Parus cinereus

8. Flame-breasted Sunbird/Cinnyris solaris