BIRDING TRIP: guiding to Muara Angke!

Hello, fellas! Sorry for taking a long time to write down these stories. I was a guide for birdwatching at Muara Angke, the last mangrove spot in the city of Jakarta few months ago. Twice in a month, different birders. Lemme tell you these great adventures we've got!

KPB Nycticorax feat.Jan and Panji birdwatching in Muara Angke ©datriana

May 24th 2015, a young ornithologist from Canada. He is Benoit, but just call him: Ben. Actually he asked my birdwatching club (KPB Nycticorax) for guiding him, but the only one exist on that day was Rega, my junior in college and birding. Fyi, she is better than me in raptor. Yeah, she is good at identification the birds of prey! Well, because the destination was mangrove where waterbirds and small birds dominate, raptor as minor object, Rega asked me to join. Okay was my clear answer. Beside Ben and Rega, there was Om Yuyun from Bali. Om Yuyun is one of Indonesia Wildlife Photographer and a good partner for birdwatching in Bali. So, on Sunday (24/5/15) Muara Angke birdwatching team were Ben, Rega, Om Yuyun, and I.

me, om Yuyun, Ben, and Rega in Muara Angke ©datriana

May 30th 2015, a Dutch man named Jan Bless and his Javanese bestfriend (Panji) asked me to accompany them birdwatching in Muara Angke. Panji is one of good birdwatchers from Yogyakarta. I've known him since birdwatching race at Taman Nasional Gunung Merapi, the fame national park of Yogyakarta, in 2012. Because of their localities, I was the only one who made the permission letter for birdwatching in Hutan Lindung Muara Angke. Fyi, at that time, the wildlife sanctuary of Muara Angke was under construction - none allowed to visit. So, the other protected area with mangrove in Muara Angke named Hutan Lindung Angke Kapuk was a good choice. A lil different for getting permission from Balai Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam DKI Jakarta (under the ministry of forestry) to access the sanctuary and  Dinas Kelautan, Pertanian dan Ketahanan Pangan Provinsi DKI Jakarta (under marine ministry) for Hutan Lindung, it was easier the Dinas Kelautan than Balai Konservasi. Hoho, no need the proposal and ID cards. All you need is a simple letter with "why are you coming to Hutan Lindung and when the schedule? don't forget to write your name and your phone number as contact person" and they are gonna let you in. Anyway, I was not the only one of KPB Nycticorax on that Saturday (30/5/15). I asked my juniors to join us, then Dwi, Alif and Rahma with us a whole day. 

Jan, Rahma, Dwi, Panji, Alif and me in Muara Angke ©datriana

Both guiding Ben and Jan, we got 26 birds. They were Racket-tailed Treepie (Crypsirina temia), Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos macei), White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus), Golden-bellied Gerygone (Gerygone sulphurea), Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trochileum), Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia), Plain-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis), Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis), Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius), Ashy Tailorbird (O. ruficeps), Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica), Cave-Swiftlet (Collocalia linchi), Sooty-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus aurigaster), Yellow-vented Bulbul (P. goiavier), Pink-necked Green-Pigeon (Treron vernans), White-breasted Wood-swallow (Artamus leucorhynchus), Javan Pond-heron (Ardeola speciosa), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Striated Heron (Butorides striatus), Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris), Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster), Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica), Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata), Javan Munia (L. leucogastroides), and Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus).

Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker in  Muara Angke ©datriana

Birdwatching needs a luck. Ben wished to watch the endemic kingfisher of Indonesia: Small Bue Kingfisher (Alcedo coerulescens), but it did not want to appear in front of us. We only heard the sound of it on that day. A week later, when I was with Jan and 4 others, the small blue kf preening silently for about an half hour while perching on mangrove. Yes, I took a pict and video for documentation! Another bonus for Jan, he got the endangered waterbird: Milky Stork (Mycteria cinerea) in the end of birding trip to Muara Angke. There were about 3 of milky stork flying away to northen, I thought they were coming home to Pulau Rambut, the birds conservation island, where a number of nesting trees exist.

Small Blue Kingfisher in Muara Angke ©datriana

By the way, did I say Ben and Om Yuyun got the luck too? Not with small blue kf and milky stork, but they were lucky to saw a raptor! White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) perching on an air passages with extra high voltage's tower. Seems, it was an escapee. We could see there was an ankle ban on its leg. We watched the wood swallow mobbing that poor bird of prey. Dear you, who ever, birds of prey lover or usually named as Falconry, don't you feel so guilty to keep the predators and change them into a tame pet? Hell-o, eventhough you train them for hunting, they still losing their sense of wild by perching on your shoulder for days, weeks, months, and years! Please, just let them go free. If you are a true lover, you are gonna be a birdwatcher especially raptor watcher - not the one who pet raptor and take selfie to show off. Important to know, all the birds of prey in Indonesia are protected by law. Do you want to live in jail?

an ankle ban on White-bellied Sea Eagle's right leg in Muara Angke ©datriana

Ah, another bird I saw was Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis). It came out of the mangroves when Om Yuyun and I came in. Unfortunately, my camera was not ready at that time. I watched it clearly: black and white - a male with blueish black on head, breast, and back, white on belly to vent and white (quite big) bar on the wings, and the tail is quite long.

So, over all, there were 30 birds in Hutan Lindung Angke Kapuk, Muara Angke with a short time birding! Based on my collective data from birding with friends in Muara Angke (both Hutan Lindung and Suaka Margasatwa - the sanctuary) times before, there are more than 60 birds exist in that Jakarta's mangrove area. Gonna update later if I get a chance to do birdwatching again there next time. See yaa, keep learning by doing and keep loving birds by birdwatching! ;)  

Pied Fantail in Muara Angke ©datriana