Indonesia bird watching tour

sunda blue robin (credit: Lip Kee)

With over 450 species of birds and 37 endemic species Java island in Indonesia is a birdwatchers paradise. Wildlife News Travel is offering a great value 8 day birdwatching tour that takes in the major birding sites of Java. We will be visiting some of the major national parks and as well as seeing a wide range of birds we’ll also get to see other amazing wildlife such as the Javan rhino.

Tour dates: September 22nd 2011.
Tour price: £849.00 per person based on 2 sharing fully inclusive (excludes airfairs).
Maximum party size: 20.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Jakarta transfer

Our driver will meet you at Jakarta Airport from 12.00 noon until 13.00 (from the UK we recommend Singapore Air flight SQ317 departing Heathrow at 11.30 on 21st September) please ensure that your flight arrives before this time. Alternatively if you arrive in Jakarta at an earlier date one of our drivers will collect you from your hotel in Jakarta and transfer you to the coach at the airport.

Once collected we transfer to our hotel located conveniently for the Gunung Gede National Park – about a 3 hour transfer. The remainder of the day is free for you to unpack and recover from your flight. For those who want there will be a late afternoon birding walk with one of our guides for the week.

Day 2: Gunung Gede National Park.

A full day exploring this major national park and it’s bird life. The Gunung Gede contains two active volcanoes and covers an area of 150km². The park has a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation. It is one of the oldest national parks in Indonesia and parts have been designated as important for nature in one form or another for nearly 100 years.

The park contains 251 of the species of birds found on the island of Java and will provide us with a good range of bird spotting opportunities. There will also be the chance to see a good range of mammal species including gibbons and lutungs.

Some of the birds that we hope to see will be;

white bibbed babbler,
crescent chested babbler,
horsefield babbler,
lesser shortwing,
sunda blue robins.

There will be lots of other birds around and hopefully we’ll catch sight of the Javan Hawk-Eagle and the Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch.

Javan Hawk-Eagle (credit: Lip Kee yap)

Day 3: Gunung Gede National Park.

We continue our exploration of the Gunung Gede National Park calling in at the Cibodas Gardens, Blue Lake and Cibeureum Waterfall.

Day 4: Gunung Halimun National Park.

In the morning we transfer to our hotel at the Gunung Halimun National Park. This park was first established in 1992 and covers 400km². The park has 145 species of birds and this is the best place in Indonesia to see many of them. There’s also a good range of primates to experience in the park.

After lunch out local guides will take us out on our first birding walk of the day. The afternoon birdwatching session will be on the tracks around Citalahab. This will give us good chances to spot birds such as the Javan Cochoa and the white bellied fantail.

The evening will be spent on a walk around Cikaniki which offers good opportunities to spot the Javan Hawk-eagle as well as many other non forest species as this area is now predominately a tea plantation.

Day 5: Gunung Halimun National Park.

We spend a full day in the heart of the forests of Gunung Halimum National Park to explore further the 145 bird species of the park. The evening is a short transfer to accommodation to explore Gunung Salak part of the park.

Oriental White-eye (credit: Lip Kee Yap)

Day 6: Gunung Salak.

Part of the Halimun National Park, Gunung Salak has a number of forested trails. We’ll follow one of the trails up the mountain to the old crater keeping an eye out for the vast range of bird species found in the area. We should see a good range of mid-altitude species today.

Evening transfer to our hotel at Ujong Kulon.

Day 7: Ujong Kulon.

Ujong Kulon National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is on the western-most tip of Java Island. The park now contains most of the remaining lowland forests of Java Island and is also home to the endangered Javan Rhino. There are 240 species of birds in this nature reserve and we should also see some of the 72 species of reptiles and amphibians that inhabit the region.

The morning session will consist of a walk in the forests while the afternoon will be spent on a canoe journey along the Cikabeumbeum River.

Evening transfer to our hotel at Jakarta.

Day 8: Transfer to Jakarta Airport.

Today we transfer you to the airport from our overnight in Jakarta. If you are flying back to the UK we recommend you book flight Singapore air SQ963 departing Jakarta at 19.05 this will give you to mid afternoon to explore Jakarta and make those last minute purchases.