BIRDING TRIP: guiding to Muara Gembong!

Om Budi, Me, Zach & Adam

Back to when, rainy days did not come, sunny days exist. A few months ago, October 2015. A Luck came to me again, my social media(s) was the door. An American guy found me by visiting this blog, my instagram, and facebook account too. He was Zach Dufran. Having background in physics, did not make biology as meaningless thing to explored for him. Zach loves birding and specific botany (Araceae). He scheduled to do birdwatching as in time he work for meteorology departement of Indonesia. He contacted me, ask for accompanying him find some birds. Well, I said yes.

November, 15th 2015. I got a problem in early morning. The car driver of rental I ordered suddently could not do his job. Panic climbed over my head, I made appointment for 6 AM to pick up Zach at his hotel. Another lucky me, when I updated my status on facebook (hahahahaha) 'bout this problem, om Budi Susanto asked to gimme a help. He would like to be our driver (he is a lecturer, by the way!) because he loves birding too. Om Budi Susanto loves birding photography, yes, he is good at, Actually, we were just friend in facebook, I had not met him before this birding trip.

The show must go on. At 6 AM, I arrived at Hotel Borobudur where Zach was. In the parking area, Om Budi found me for the first time. I appreciated his quick recognition of me. Then we got to lobby, met Zach and waited for my junior. Adam, he was my friend and also my junior in KPB Nycticorax - my birdwatching club, I asked to join us that day. At the time, Adam came to us, a long way to Muara Gembong started. In one third journey, we pick up my another friend, Galih. So, we are 5 on that Sunday.

hunters with camouflage tent and fake egrets

About 9 AM, we arrived in Muara Gembong. It is located in Kabupaten Bekasi, West Java. As I told a story of Muara Gembong in previous post, Muara Gembong is an important biodiversity and birds area (IBA). It has swamps, mangroves, and embankments. A paradise for waterbirds and kingfishers. Unfortunately, it is not protected area. There are weekly hunters with gun come to this good spot for birdwatchers. Even, we saw a flock of fake egrets with a camouflage tent on this birding trip. I was sure people who came out from the tent and looked at us are the birds hunter. Those fake egrets for making the real one flying over the tent and easy to shot. Very sad. We wish for none of egret comes.

Muara Gembong was very kind to let us watched the cute and small kingfisher with blue and white feathers, Cerulean Kingfisher. It is endemic to Indonesia. It was easy to watched it clearly in the edge of swamp and embankment. We saw 5 times at least, at some spots. Another endemic species we watched was Javan Plover, but it is endemic to Indonesia and Timor Leste actually. Ah, there were some Black-winged Stilt, juvenile and mature individuals. The juvenile loves to walk among the dead mangroves and the mature quacking in the air, flying free. There were also Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Ruddy-breasted Crake, White-browed Crake, White-winged Tern, Little Egret, Striated Heron, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Little Black Cormorant, Sacred Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Lesser Coucal, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Zitting Cisticola, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pacific Swallow, Cave Swiftlet, Olive-backed Sunbird, Tailorbirds, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Munias, Pink-necked Green-pigeon, and Spotted Dove. Total 29 species.

Adam & Zach looking for the birds

Unfortunately we did not see any oriental darter. In fact, a year before, I saw about an half dozen of that threatened species hanged on hunters' motorbike. Getting shot by guns, dead. Local community said, there is milky stork and ibis in Muara Gembong and there used to be Lesser Adjutant too. But we did not see them. Rumor said there is still Javan Lapwing in Muara Gembong, but in my experiences for going 4 times to Muara Gembong, I have not watched any lapwing. Deep in my heart, I believe the Javan Lapwing has been extinct but a lil part of me has a hope: the rumor is true. Hahaha, first thing to do is keep this wetland save, SAVE MUARA GEMBONG! Sadly, there was a burning field in Muara Gembong when this birding trip happened.

Late noon, about 6 PM, Zach and my team went home, leaving Muara Gembong. See ya in another time, hey IBA ID071! Please come and visit Muara Gembong with your good heart, just want to watch the beauty of nature. Don't give it a disaster! No burn, no overexploitation, no more land conversion please.

Guiding Zach to be continued ... ((read the next post hehe))

Zach on his way

Cerulean Kingfisher, Alcedo coerulescens (my doc)