Halmahera-Lore Lindu Trip - September 2013 Yann Muzika (yannmuzika@mac.com, thewildernessalternative.com)

Ivory-breasted Pitta (Binagara)livepage.apple.com

! With Denpasar/Bali as a start/finish point, i visited Halmahera and Lore Lindu (Sulawesi) on an 18 days independent birdwatching/photography trip. 2 locations were visited in Halmahera : Weda resort and surroundings, and Binagara at the edge of the Aketajawe-Lolobata NP in central Halmahera.

Preparation

! I made an extensive use of trip reports made available on CloudBirders (www.cloudbirders.com) by other independent birdwatchers, and more particularly :- Sulawesi-Halmahera (September 2012), by Herve and Noelle Jacob, including very

useful additions by Ben Schweinhart on Lore Lindu and Binagara.- North Sulawesi and South Halmahera (May 2013) by Inge and Dick Meijer, who visited

the Weda resort as part of their tour.Many thanks to them for all the details on birding and logistics.! As for the Weda resort, i contacted them directly through http://www.wedaresort.com/eco_resort.html. Email address : info@diverslodgelembeh.comFor the Binagara part, i used the contacts given by Ben and wrote to Ary (asari.wahyu@gmail.com) who kindly arranged the permit necessary to visit Aketajawe-

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

Lolobata NP, free of charge. He also put me in contact with a Ternate based indonesian bird watcher Irfan Rosadi who works for conservation NGO Burung Indonesia (I.rosyadi@burung.org). Irfan in turn provided me the contact of a local driver Deden (tel num) who picked me up in Weda and brought me to local guide Pak Roji’s place in Binagara. ! For Lore Lindu, nothing was arranged in advance.! I also considered visiting Galela for Moluccan Scrubfowl (the only known site left for this bird) and the Nantu forest for mammals and chances of Snoring/Blue faced rails but time ran out

Flights

! Domestic flights are easily booked online with the 3 major companies, Garuda, Lion air and Sri Wijaya. Last minute bookings at the airport or through local travel agencies are also possible but prices will be at least 10-20% higher, and desired flights might be full of course. Rebooking is also possible at a cost. Baggage allowance is 20kg. I had to pay a surcharge of about 20-25% of ticket price for my 9kg excess. Carry-on luggage allowance is 7kg but (hopefully) they never checked.

Prices

! Indonesia is an inflation prone country and with the recent sharp increase of gas prices (from IDR 4500 to 6500/liter) things have gone worse. Asked prices for land transport were generally 20-25% higher than those reported by the Jacobs in their 2012 report. Bargaining is always possible of course, as long as you hold a bargaining chip and are prepared to spend time asking around.! The increase in local prices was partially compensated by the fall of the IDR against USD and EUR. At the time of my trip, rates were approximately USD/IDR @11200 and EUR/IDR @15000. ! Money changers are easily found in large cities, much less so in the countryside. Better to change a large portion of your budget when in Jakarta or Denpasar. Avoid airport money changers who are generally 3% more expensive. ATM withdrawal with Visa/MC cards is also an option in large/medium cities, but amounts or often limited and extra charges from your Bank/CC company sometimes prohibitive. ! My own choice in Bali is to use a BMC money changer (several branches in Sanur, Kuta, near the airport) which has attractive rates and uses a machine to count the notes (useful to avoid scam as the highest note denomination is IDR 100k, less than 10 USD). Price details :

Flights :Denpasar-Jakarta-Ternate : 2569 kIDR (would have been cheaper to transit through Makasar but late booking meant that convenient flights were not available anymore)Excess luggage : 630 kIDRTernate-Makasar-Palu : 1600 kIDRExcess luggage : 300 kIDRPalu-Makasar-Denpasar : 1200 kIDRExcess luggage : 238 kIDR Total : Flights 5369 kIDR (480 USD)Excess : 1158 kIDR (102 USD)

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

Land transport :Ternate-Weda (arranged by Weda resort) : 1725 kIDR Weda resort - Weda : 150 kIDRWeda - Binagara : 1200 kIDRBinagara-Sofifi : 500 kIDRBoat Sofifi-Ternate : 300 kIDR (Chartered. Regular service, departing when full, is 50 kIDR)Ternate to airport : 100 kIDRPalu aiport to hotel : 80 kIDR x2Hotel to Wuasa : 650 kIDR x2Wuasa motorcycle rental : 200 kIDR x6.5 = 1300 kIDRGas (5 liters) : 40 kIDRTire repair : 40 kIDRTotal : 6815 kIDR (610 USD)

Accommodation/Food :Weda resort : 4 nights @95 EUR (full board)= 5700 kIDR (510 USD)Extras : 950 kIDR (85 USD)Binagara : 4 nights @ 150 kIDR (full board!) + 300 kIDR (tip Pak roji) = 900 kIDR (80 USD)Palu hotel : 2 nights @ 350 kIDR + food = 800 kIDR (72 USD)Wuasa Mona Lisa Homestay : 7 nights @ 150 kIDR + food = 1900 kIDR (170 USD)Other food : 300 kIDRTotal : 10550 kIDR (940 USD)

Others :Lore Lindu entrance fee : 20kIDRx7 = 140 kIDR + 50 kIDR = 190 kIDR (17 USD)Note : there is a 50 kIDR/day camera fee (!) that i paid only once. The other days i left the camera in my bag when passing by the “ranger” house at the entrance of the lake Tambing road. Countrywide daily fee for Taman Nasional entrance is 20 kIDR for foreigners, 5 kIDR for nationals. Extra charges are “illegal” (but commonplace, like in Tangkoko).

Grand total : 2150 USD for 17 days of birding.

Itinerary

02-03/09 : Flight Denpasar-Jakarta and Jakarta-Ternate on Garuda, arriving in Ternate at 0800. Then transfer Ternate-Sofifi (land and boat) and Sofifi-Weda (land, 4h without stops) arranged by Weda resort, with birding en route, arrive in Weda resort at 1500. 04-06/09 : Birding around Weda resort.07/09 : Land transfer Weda-Binagara (5h30), arriving in Binagara at 1430. Birding around with Irfan/Pak Roji08/09 : Full day birding with Irfan/Pak Roji including a morning visit to the Standardwing lek.09-10/09 : Solo birding in Binagara, in quest for Invisible rail.11/09 : Land transfer back to Sofifi, then Ternate, flight to Palu via Makasar, night in Palu.12/09 : Drive Palu-Wuasa (3h), stay at Mona Lisa homestay.13-18/09 : Birding Lore Lindu with 2 camping nights at “Helipad”19/09 : Afternoon back to Palu, night in Palu.20/09 : Fly Palu-Denpasar via Makasar.

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

Weda

Weda is a small city in the southern part of Halmahera. Weda resort is a further 35km away by the sea on the eastern coast.

Weda Resort

! Weda resort is primarily catering at divers, like its “sister” accommodation at Lembeh, but the owner has smartly started to promote the resort to birders and hired a full-time resident birdwatching guide, Danny, to accompany visiting birders on request. Some Birdwatching companies (BIrdtour Asia, Tropical Birding) are now using Weda resort as their main base for Halmahera birding, as the area holds most of the endemic birds.! The resort itself is located by the sea on Weda bay, in a very quiet and remote location. Accommodation is comfortable, 5 large bungalows with fans and large bathrooms with hot showers, but nothing luxurious. Food is good and staff very friendly. There is a Wifi but Internet is basically not serviceable. I was able to receive emails once during the night, but by the morning the connection was already down.

Birding at Weda ! First of all, productive birding started on the road from Sofifi to Weda, with Danny making worthwhile stops en-route and by the time we were in Weda we had already seen over 15 Halmahera endemics and some other good birds, some of which i did not see later around Weda : Beach Kingfisher (at a Danny’s stakeout on the coast), Gurney’s Eagle, Variable Goshawk, Dusky Myzomela, Moluccan Cuckooshrike, Drab Whistler, Dusky-brown Oriole, Halmahera Flowerpecker (all the latter birds at a stop on the hills 15km or so before Weda).! Like anywhere in Halmahera, forest has been mostly cleared along the roads and left is a mixture of cultivation and scrubby woodland. Behind the clearings some patches of good forest however remain, and a large plot of forested land has been acquired by the owner as it holds a Standardwing Lek. The access trail starts roughly 5km from the resort, and from there it’s a 20-30 mins walk through nice forest to the Lek. ! The Lek is for me the greatest feature of birding at Weda : the birds come fairly low (7-8 meters) and the view is unobstructed, allowing a great display show for 1 hour between dawn (6am) and 7am. I went there every morning but the last one, due to heavy rain.! Another interesting development is a site for Invisible rail, located about 12km from the resort after the village of Kobe on the way to Weda, a large swampy area surrounded by limestone cliffs. A Tropical Birding custom tour apparently had good views a few weeks before my visit, but my afternoon to dusk visit drew a dip. The habitat looks excellent though, and it’s certainly worth trying its luck at dawn or dusk.! Purple Dollarbird was another dip, despite checking all the Dollarbirds we saw along the roads or at the edge of forest. They all turned out to be commons. Like anywhere else in Halmahera i guess, there is no reliable stakeout for the bird at Weda, but it is nonetheless regularly recorded there.! Good birds seen at Weda included all the endemic Fruit doves including Scarlet-breasted, all the endemic Pigeons and Cuckoo-doves, all the Parrots except Great-billed (however certainly present) and Moluccan-King, numerous good views of Sombre Kingfisher, fleeting views of Common Paradise-Kingfisher and Ivory-breasted Pitta (common by voice but surprisingly shy and unresponsive, i spent the best part of a day on it to be only rewarded by an overhead flight at dusk).

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

! Uncooperative weather hampered night birding, i only got views of Moluccan Scops-owl. Moluccan Owlet-nightjar is common by voice just above the resort, but the only apparent dry evening we somehow managed to flush a bird away into thick rattan without getting a view. Then rain started. Barking Owl is infrequently heard/seen, and Moluccan Boobook appears absent from the area.! Nicobar pigeon is sometimes seen in the forest around the lek but i missed it.There is a small lake along the road just 3km above Weda city on the way to Sofifi that used to be good for water birds, but apparently a mob of locals armed with air guns shot everything they could a few months ago, and when i visited nothing was swimming there. I just got Black Bittern and Azure Kingfisher, but missed the oft seen White-browed Crake.! Other endemic/interesting birds seen at Weda : Dusky Megapode, Goliath Coucal, Blue-and-White Kinfisher, Blyth’s Hornbill, White-streaked Friarbird, Halmahera Cuckooshrike, Rufous-bellied Triller, Moluccan (spectacled) and White-naped Monarchs, Moluccan (slaty) and Shining Flycatchers, Long-billed Crow, Paradise-Crow, Northern Golden Bulbul, Cream-throated White-eye, Metallic and Moluccan Starlings.

More on Weda resort

! There is no doubt that for Birdwatching groups Weda resort is an excellent alternative to the “classic” sites at Foli and Sidangoli. The Standardwing lek is certainly the best in Halmahera, and the other endemic birds are there, barring Moluccan Scrubfowl (only in Galela) and Moluccan Cuckoo (apparently only above 1000m). The remote and quiet location, the very laudable conservation efforts by the owner to protect the forest and its contributions to the local community certainly justify the expensive accommodation price.! However, for a solo birdwatcher, the price charged for transportation is unaffordable : 180 EUR (2.7 mio IDR) per day for a car, with birdwatching guide Danny doubling as driver, and 60 EUR (900 kIDR) per day for a motorcycle rental. If you intend to visit Weda alone, my advice would be not to book any transportation in advance and decide once on the location. This is especially true as the weather is very wet at any time of the year, and full day downpours are not uncommon. There is also much you can do by foot from the resort, if you are prepared to walk 10-15km a day. The invisible rail location is however too far away for a return walk (the nearby hills are excellent for pigeons/doves/parrots too), and you’ll need transportation to visit the place.! It would be a welcome move if the owner could adjust its transportation prices downward, especially in light of the recent fall of the IDR that makes EUR pricing even more expensive in local currency terms, and offer an affordable drop-off/pick-up option by car and/or motorcycle.

Binagara

! Binagara is located at the edge of the large Aketajawe-Lolobata national park, a 1.5 hours drive away from Sofifi. Pak Roji’s house is the very last house before the forest, a further 2km away from the village by a muddy access road, not passable by car after heavy rain. Once there, you don’t need any vehicle as all the birding can be done by foot following the trails that lead inside the forest or staying along the forest edge and observing the flocks of parrots, hornbills, pigeons feeding or perched on top of large trees.Pak Roji, if he is around, or one of his eldest sons will be able to show you all the trails and once you know the area birding can be done on one’s own.

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

! There is a Standardwing Lek inside the forest and it’s a 2h/4-5km trek to get there through beautiful and mostly pristine forest habitat, with many river crossings on the way (hard to stay dry even with rubber boots after rain). The lek is certainly active, but birds stay quite high and the view is not as clear as in Weda. The area at the start of the trail right after the first river crossing is excellent for Ivory-breasted Pitta. On the way to the lek the first morning we found a roosting pair right above the trail, and probably the same birds gave me great views during the day, perching on low branches and even hopping around on the ground, something you don’t get often with this fairly arboreal pitta. ! But the main draw for me in Binagara was a possibility of Invisible Rail sighting. By chance, indonesian birder and conservationist Hanom Bashari was at Pak Roji’s when i arrived, and we had a nice discussion before he left. He was lucky to get great pictures of the rail at a nest 2 years ago and also a very precious sound recording that he posted on Xeno Canto. With Pak Roji we explored the various areas where the rail has been observed in the past, mostly along the river that flows a mere 100m behind his house. The last 2 days, as Pak Roji had left, i spent all dawns and dusks stalking the bird or just hiding at the stake-out spots along the river, also trying the edges of the swamps that lie between the river and the cultivated areas, but i only got a calling bird just once, fairly close but for a short time and i was not able to record it. The “drumming” sound it produces was striking, something that was not well captured by Hanom’s recording. Stake-outs at the river only produced a pair of Dusky Scrubfowls twice, and a single Pale-vented Bush Hen crossing the river toward a roosting tree at dusk. ! For the rest, Binagara’s bird list was fairly similar to that of Weda. Parrots, including Chattering Lory, White Cockatoo, Great-billed Parrot and Moluccan King Parrot are more easily seen. Just above Pak Roji’s house there was a roost of Blyth’s Hornbills that produced spectacular views when the birds disperse into the forest by pairs at dawn. Other things worth mentioning : on the way back from the lek Scarlet-breasted Fruit-Dove, a juvenile Common Paradise-Kingfisher, a heard-only Moluccan Drongo-Cuckoo and a nearly missed Nicobar Pigeon that Irfan flushed as he was exploring a side track but could not be relocated. At forest edge near Pak Roji’s house i had great views of Halmahera Flowepecker feeding in a fruiting fig-tree, and a confiding Red-bellied Pitta. Along the river i saw Variable Dwarf-Kingfisher (a future split?) twice. Search for Moluccan Goshawk (saw Variable twice) and Purple Dollarbird were unsuccessful again, as was the night quest for bogey bird Moluccan Owlet-nightjar despite Pak Roji’s son assuring me he heard and saw the bird often around the house. Strangely, Sombre Kingfisher seemed absent from the area.! I liked Binagara very much, the location is beautiful and great for solo birding as it all can be explored by foot. Pak Roji and his family took great care of me, meals were basic but tasteful, and with a mat and a light sleeping bag nights were comfortable. A good pair of rubber boots is definitely recommended if you plan to search for Invisible Rail.

Lore Lindu

! A “classic” and easily accessible location from Palu in Central Sulawesi. Herve and Noel Jacob’s report provide great details on the birding spots around Lake Tambing, the Anaso track and the village of Wuasa where accommodations are located.I chose Mona Lisa homestay (165 kIDR/night) where Mama Nella took good care of me, cooking meals and preparing lunch boxes to carry on the field. Sendy Homestay is the other choice, and in retrospect it might have been a better one, at least from the standpoint of quietness.

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

! It’s about 16km from Wuasa to Lake Tambing entrance (Anaso track is a further 1km away) on a potholed road, which gets really nasty in the last steep section after Sedoa. The first day i used an Ojek for drop-off and pick-up (they charged 100k IDR each way), but i found it would be more convenient to actually drive the motorcycle myself, and the owner left me use it for the rest of the stay at 200 kIDR/day (it certainly could have been bargained down a bit), avoiding the inconvenience of a fixed return time.Another option would be to use an early morning Ojek drop-off, and then hitch hike back to Wuasa (it seems to work very well).

Anaso track

! A roughly 5.5 km hike from the start (on the Palu-Wuasa road, 1km before Lake Tambing entrance on the way to Wuasa, marked by a yellow board, 1600 m asl) to the top (2200 m asl) on an old logging road. The track is in good condition for hiking, steep at times especially the first 2km. There are several “landmarks” on the way that people usually refer to when indicating bird sightings. The Jacob’s report is a bit misleading on that part, so i’ll go over it again :- 1st (small) Landslide : 1.2km (30mins, 1770m asl)- 2nd (large) Landslide : 1.5km (40mins, 1820m asl)- 1st Large Clearing (also dubbed “Helipad, with a large blue tarpaulin shelter) : 2.2km

(1h05, 1920m asl)- 2nd Large Clearing : 3.2km (1h25, 1930m asl)- Top : 5.5km (2h15, 2200m asl)All distances, asl indicative only, timing for a moderate hike without birding stops.

! The trail is steep until the Helipad with a few flat sections. It then is mostly flat until 2nd Large Clearing, with a few smaller clearings and a pond just before 2nd Large Clearing.! After 2nd Large Clearing the trail goes steep again for 500m, with a small cliff to the right before the end of the steep section. Then it is a succession of flat and short steep sections until the top. After the top, a small trail starts to the right and backtracks above a ridge to reach a cleared area above the trail with great views over the forest and beyond (the far away shores of Lake Lindu can be seen to the West).! With Geomalia being THE target on the Anaso track and occurring mostly around the summit, it takes a very early start to be in prime territory at the prime time, before sun rise (6am). Considering a 2h walk and 40 mins ride from Wuasa, you’d need to leave not after 3am. Other option : there is a large tarpaulin shelter on the Helipad, and with a mat and a sleeping bag you can have a very comfortable night, leave the camp at 5am and be in prime area just at the crack of dawn. I did that twice, carrying 3 meals and climbing the track in the afternoon, coming back 24 hours later. If you want to camp for a few nights continuously you’d better arrange daily food delivery from your home-stay, which Ben Schweinhart did. In any case, if you want the best chances with Geomalia, i really recommend the camping option. My 2 best nights were actually under the Tarpaulin, i much prefer the noise of the forest at night than that of the mosque and the nearby Karaoke.

Birding the Anaso track

! The first section of the trail (until Helipad) goes through a dense forest habitat with large trees, with a similar bird mix to that of the Lake Tambing area, but the steep slope allows better views of the canopy. BIrds to look for in particular : Sombre Pigeon (seen

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

once flying across the trail, but can be found sitting quiet below the canopy), Red-eared and Superb Fruit Dove (i dipped on both but others usually find them there), Purple-bearded Bee-eater (almost always, and only, at the 2nd Landslide, hunting from bare branches), Maroon-backed Whistler (i had great views of a singing male just above 2nd Landslide), Small Sparrowhawk (well seen perched below the canopy at 1st Landslide, also reported around the pond before 2nd Clearing), Pygmy Cuckooshrike (in a mixed flock below 1st landslide). ! From the helipad and all the way to the top is the area to look for roosting Satanic Nightjars. Finding them in day time can be tricky, and i failed to locate any in the large clearings. Thanks to a tip from fellow birder Richard Hopf, who in turn got it from a local guide, i found a pair roosting on a small ledge at the bottom of a small rock cliff to the right of the path, during the steep section roughly 400m after the 2nd Large Clearing... But when i walked the path at dawn and dusk (and once at night) i had several views of birds in flight low over the path, and the deep orange eye shine when caught in a torchlight beam is indeed striking.! Greater Shortwing are also found in the same area, but exceedingly difficult to get good views of. I had a female bird hopping on top of a log just meters away and showing well for a few seconds, the rest were just birds flying across the path. And surprisingly, male birds were not singing at all nor responding to playback. The only distinct song i heard was before dawn at Lake Tambing. ! I got lucky with Geomalia on my first morning after spending the night at Helipad. Just below marker 41 (400m below summit) the path goes through nice forest, there just before 7am i saw some movement in the undergrowth right of the path, raised my binoculars in that direction just to see a bird appear in full view at the edge of the path, on the ground in thrush-like posture, immobile for about 10 seconds before moving up the path and getting out of view. I then reached at my camera, crouched and moved slowly up but as soon as i saw the bird again it ran for cover not to be seen again. Had i raised my camera instead of the bins at first, i would have captured awesome pics of the bird, but... The morning after my second camp i stalked the same area but got no sighting.! All this area at and below the summit is good for Dark-eared and White-eared Myzas (each time i went to the summit there were good numbers of White-eared Myzas foraging in the shrubs), Sulawesi Leaf-warbler, Hylocitrea (seen twice in bird flocks), Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker (seen only once, inconspicuous), Golden-mantled Racket-tail (a flock seen flying around the summit at 9am, in search of a fruiting tree). The summit is also where most people see the Sulawesi race of Mountain Serin, but the bird eluded me. ! Other notable birds on the Anaso track : Malia (in small flocks, seen and heard anywhere from the bottom to the top), Rusty-breasted Cuckoo (very common by voice), Rusty-bellied Fantail (common), Streak-headed Ibon, Fiery-browed Starling, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Sulawesi Drongo, Cerulean Cuckooshrike, Mountain Tailorbird (very common).

Birding the Lake Tambing area

! At the Lake Tambing entrance there is a small concrete house, and a large path leads to the lake 300m away. From there a few trails lead into the forest left and right but i found they were all getting overgrown after a few dozen meters. I found the stretch of the main road from the Lake Tambing entrance to the start of the Anaso track, about 1.2 km, to be really interesting birding wise.! My main target there was Sulawesi Thrush, for which older reports claimed that it can be found early morning on the road side around Lake Tambing entrance. I spent 2 early mornings there and saw none. But i saw Sulawesi Thrush 3 times (usually in pairs)

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

together with a Malia flock along the main road in between Lake Tambing and the Anaso track. Since Malia are easily located by voice, the strategy of “look for the Malia and get the Thrush” seems sensible.! Other birds along the road and at Lake Tambing: Spot-tailed Sparrowhawk (one bird conspicuously perched and calling along the road), King Quail (surprisingly, a small flock foraging on the road side in rather unquailish habitat), Slender-billed Cuckoo-dove (plenty), White-bellied Imperial Pigeon (few), Citrine Lorikeet (plenty), Great Hanging Parrot (few), Yellow-bellied Malkoha (a nice bonus bird in the Malia/Thrush flocks!), Great-eared Nightjar (heard and seen at first light by the lake), Ashy Woodpecker (once), Cerulean Cuckooshrike (plenty), Sulphur-vented Whistler (common but inconspicuous), Sulawesi Drongo, Citrine Canary-flycatcher, Mountain Tailorbird (loads), Chestnut-backed Bush Warbler (one stakeout where i saw the bird 3/3 times : 1 km after the Lake Tambing entrance on the way to Wuasa, before the steep descent starts, the road bends to the right, and to the left there are fallen logs and dead branches (Google Map -1.328197,120.319347). One bird there was super responsive to play back and showed up well, for a bush warbler that is), Sulawesi Babbler (very common), Black-crowned and Mountain White-eyes (the latter very common), Grosbeak and Fiery-browed Starlings, Little-pied, Turquoise and Blue Fronted Flycatchers, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Yellow Wagtail. ! A surprise find the last day, close to the start of the Anaso Track, was a single Island Thrush. According to Coates and Bishop’s “Birds of Wallacea”, “Island Thrush is surprisingly not recorded from North or North-central Sulawesi”, despite habitat and elevation being good. Has the species been somehow overlooked in Lore Lindu ? Or was it a vagrant or an escapee ?

Birding around Wuasa

! The Wuasa valley is surrounded by forests, and birding the forest edge can be very productive, with a different mix compared to Lake Tambing and the Anaso track since the elevation is 500m lower, just around 1100 m asl. The problem is to find a good access to the forest edge, navigating the small trails through agricultural land, and avoiding the recently cleared areas where fallen logs obstruct the way. ! I found one fairly good access near the center of Wuasa : opposite to the mosque a small road goes Westward, soon turning into a muddy track and reaching a river (GM -1.423184,120.308404). Unless you have high rubber boots it’s a wet crossing, and the path keeps on winding its way though cultures, orchards and shrubs toward the forest. Heading NW i managed to reach a nice forest edge roughly 1km from the river. Notable birds seen : Barred Honey Buzzard, Sulwesi Hawk-eagle, Barred Rail (i “saved” a bird from a snare trap!), Barred Buttonquail, Black-billed Koel, a juvenile Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, Knobbed Hornbill (heard only), Pale-blue Monarch, Citrine Canary-flycatcher, Sulawesi Babbler, Lemon-bellied White-eye (common), Black-crowned White-eye, Turquoise and Sulawesi Blue Flycatchers, Yellow-sided and Grey-sided (common) Flowerpeckers, Black-faced, Chestnut and Scaly-breasted Munia.! Another, rainy, morning, i tried a road loop around Wuasa, heading north first (3km) then east and going along the forest edge then back to Wuasa. The forest edge is very steep there and i could not find any trail leading into the forest. Scanning the canopy from the road yielded a few birds, most notably White-bellied Imperial Pigeon and Great Hanging Parrot. ! The countryside around Wuasa is supposed to be good for night birds, with Speckled Boobook and Sulawesi Masked Owl both reportedly occurring. I saw none, my only attempt at night birding was quickly dampened by a downpour.

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

ANNEX 1 : Halmahera Bird list

Dusky Megapode Megapodius freycinetBlack Bittern (D.f.australis) Dupetor flavicollis australisEastern Cattle Egret Bubulcus coromandusGreat Frigatebird (F.m.minor) Fregata minor minorEastern Osprey Pandion cristatusGurney's Eagle Aquila gurneyiVariable Goshawk (A.h.griseogularis) Accipiter hiogaster griseogularisBrahminy Kite (H.i.girrenera) Haliastur indus girreneraSpotted Kestrel (F.m.moluccensis) Falco moluccensis moluccensisPale-vented Bush-hen (A.m.moluccana) Amaurornis moluccana moluccanaInvisible Rail Habroptila wallaciiCommon Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucosBlack-naped Tern (S.s.sumatrana) Sterna sumatrana sumatranaSpotted Dove (S.c.tigrina) Spilopelia chinensis tigrinaSlender-billed Cuckoo-Dove (M.a.albiceps) Macropygia amboinensis albicepsGreat Cuckoo-Dove (R.r.reinwardti) Reinwardtoena reinwardti reinwardtiScarlet-breasted Fruit Dove (P.b.bernsteinii) Ptilinopus bernsteinii bernsteiniiBlue-capped Fruit Dove Ptilinopus monachaGrey-headed Fruit Dove Ptilinopus hyogastrusSpectacled Imperial Pigeon Ducula perspicillataCinnamon-bellied Imperial Pigeon (D.b.basilica) Ducula basilica basilicaPied Imperial Pigeon Ducula bicolorWhite Cockatoo Cacatua albaMoluccan Hanging Parrot Loriculus amabilisViolet-necked Lory (E.s.riciniata) Eos squamata riciniataChattering Lory (L.g.garrulus) Lorius garrulus garrulusRed-flanked Lorikeet (C.p.intensior) Charmosyna placentis intensiorRed-cheeked Parrot (G.g.cyanicollis) Geoffroyus geoffroyi cyanicollisGreat-billed Parrot (T.m.megalorynchos) Tanygnathus megalorynchos megalorynchosEclectus Parrot (E.r.vosmaeri) Eclectus roratus vosmaeriMoluccan King Parrot (A.a.hypophonius) Alisterus amboinensis hypophoniusGoliath Coucal Centropus goliathLesser Coucal (C.b.medius) Centropus bengalensis mediusBrush Cuckoo (C.v.variolosus) Cacomantis variolosus variolosusMoluccan Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus musschenbroekiMoluccan Scops Owl (O.m.leucospilus) Otus magicus leucospilusLarge-tailed Nightjar (C.m.schlegelii) Caprimulgus macrurus schlegeliiMoluccan Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles crinifronsMoustached Treeswift (H.m.confirmata) Hemiprocne mystacea confirmataGlossy Swiftlet (C.e.spilura) Collocalia esculenta spiluraUniform Swiftlet (A.v.waigeuensis) Aerodramus vanikorensis waigeuensisOriental Dollarbird (E.o.orientalis) Eurystomus orientalis orientalisCommon Paradise Kingfisher (T.g.browningi) Tanysiptera galatea browningiBlue-and-white Kingfisher Todiramphus diopsSombre Kingfisher Todiramphus funebrisBeach Kingfisher (T.s.saurophagus) Todiramphus saurophagus saurophagusVariable Dwarf Kingfisher (C.l.uropygialis) Ceyx lepidus uropygialisAzure Kingfisher (C.a.affinis) Ceyx azureus affinisRainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatusBlyth's Hornbill (R.p.ruficollis) Rhyticeros plicatus ruficollisRed-bellied Pitta (E.e.rufiventris) Erythropitta erythrogaster rufiventrisIvory-breasted Pitta (P.m.maxima) Pitta maxima maximaDusky Myzomela (M.o.simplex) Myzomela obscura simplex

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

White-streaked Friarbird Melitograis gilolensisWhite-breasted Woodswallow (A.l.leucopygialis) Artamus leucorynchus leucopygialisMoluccan Cuckooshrike (C.a.magnirostris) Coracina atriceps magnirostrisWhite-bellied Cuckooshrike (C.p.papuensis) Coracina papuensis papuensisHalmahera Cuckooshrike Coracina parvulaRufous-bellied Triller Lalage aureaBlack-chinned Whistler (P.m.mentalis) Pachycephala mentalis mentalisDrab Whistler (P.g.cinerascens) Pachycephala griseonota cinerascensDusky-brown Oriole Oriolus phaeochromusSpangled Drongo (D.b.atrocaeruleus) Dicrurus bracteatus atrocaeruleusWillie Wagtail (R.l.melaleuca) Rhipidura leucophrys melaleucaMoluccan Monarch (S.b.bimaculatus) Symposiachrus bimaculatus bimaculatusWhite-naped Monarch (C.p.pileatus) Carterornis pileatus pileatusMoluccan Flycatcher (M.g.galeata) Myiagra galeata galeataShining Flycatcher (M.a.alecto) Myiagra alecto alectoLong-billed Crow Corvus validusParadise-crow (L.p.pyrrhopterus) Lycocorax pyrrhopterus pyrrhopterusStandardwing (S.w.halmaherae) Semioptera wallacii halmaheraeNorthern Golden Bulbul (T.l.chloris) Thapsinillas longirostris chlorisBarn Swallow Hirundo rusticaPacific Swallow (H.t.javanica) Hirundo tahitica javanicaCream-throated White-eye (Z.a.fuscifrons) Zosterops atriceps fuscifronsMetallic Starling (A.m.metallica) Aplonis metallica metallicaMoluccan Starling (A.m.mysolensis) Aplonis mysolensis mysolensisHalmahera Flowerpecker Dicaeum schistaceicepsBlack Sunbird (L.s.auriceps) Leptocoma sericea auricepsOlive-backed Sunbird (C.j.frenatus) Cinnyris jugularis frenatusEurasian Tree Sparrow (P.m.malaccensis) Passer montanus malaccensisGrey Wagtail (M.c.cinerea) Motacilla cinerea cinerea

ANNEX 2 : Sulawesi Bird listKing Quail (E.c.lineata) Excalfactoria chinensis lineataPurple Heron (A.p.manilensis) Ardea purpurea manilensisBarred Honey Buzzard Pernis celebensisSulawesi Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus lanceolatusBlack Eagle (I.m.malaiensis) Ictinaetus malaiensis malaiensisSpot-tailed Sparrowhawk Accipiter trinotatusDwarf Sparrowhawk Accipiter nanusSpotted Kestrel (F.m.microbalius) Falco moluccensis microbaliusBarred Rail (G.t.celebensis) Gallirallus torquatus celebensisBarred Buttonquail (T.s.rufilatus) Turnix suscitator rufilatusSlender-billed Cuckoo-Dove (M.a.albicapilla) Macropygia amboinensis albicapillaWhite-bellied Imperial Pigeon Ducula forsteniSombre Pigeon Cryptophaps poecilorrhoaGreat Hanging Parrot Loriculus stigmatusCitrine Lorikeet (T.f.meyeri) Trichoglossus flavoviridis meyeriGolden-mantled Racket-tail (P.p.platurus) Prioniturus platurus platurusLesser Coucal (C.b.sarasinorum) Centropus bengalensis sarasinorumYellow-billed Malkoha (R.c.meridionalis) Rhamphococcyx calyorhynchus meridionalisBlack-billed Koel Eudynamys melanorhynchusPlaintive Cuckoo (C.m.lanceolatus) Cacomantis merulinus lanceolatusRusty-breasted Cuckoo (C.s.virescens) Cacomantis sepulcralis virescensSatanic Nightjar Eurostopodus diabolicusGreat Eared Nightjar (L.m.macropterus) Lyncornis macrotis macropterusGrey-rumped Treeswift (H.l.wallacii) Hemiprocne longipennis wallaciiGlossy Swiftlet (C.e.esculenta) Collocalia esculenta esculenta

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013

Collared Kingfisher (T.c.chloris) Todiramphus chloris chlorisPurple-bearded Bee-eater Meropogon forsteniBlue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinusKnobbed Hornbill Aceros cassidixSulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos temminckiiAshy Woodpecker (M.f.wallacei) Mulleripicus fulvus wallaceiDark-eared Myza (M.c.celebensis) Myza celebensis celebensisWhite-eared Myza (M.s.chionogenys) Myza sarasinorum chionogenysWhite-breasted Woodswallow (A.l.albiventer) Artamus leucorynchus albiventerIvory-backed Woodswallow Artamus monachusCerulean Cuckooshrike (C.t.rileyi) Coracina temminckii rileyiPygmy Cuckooshrike Coracina abbottiMaroon-backed Whistler Coracornis raveniSulphur-vented Whistler Pachycephala sulfuriventerBlack-naped Oriole (O.c.celebensis) Oriolus chinensis celebensisSulawesi Drongo Dicrurus montanusRusty-bellied Fantail (R.t.toradja) Rhipidura teysmanni toradjaPale-blue Monarch (H.p.puella) Hypothymis puella puellaHylocitrea (H.b.bonensis) Hylocitrea bonensis bonensisCitrine Canary-flycatcher (C.h.helianthea) Culicicapa helianthea heliantheaSooty-headed Bulbul (P.a.aurigaster) Pycnonotus aurigaster aurigasterMalia (M.g.stresemanni) Malia grata stresemanniBarn Swallow Hirundo rusticaPacific Swallow (H.t.javanica) Hirundo tahitica javanicaMountain Tailorbird (P.c.stentor) Phyllergates cuculatus stentorSulawesi Leaf Warbler (P.s.nesophilus) Phylloscopus sarasinorum nesophilusChestnut-backed Bush Warbler (L.c.castanea) Locustella castanea castaneaSulawesi Babbler (T.c.rufofuscum) Trichastoma celebense rufofuscumStreak-headed White-eye (L.s.stachyrinus) Lophozosterops squamiceps stachyrinusMountain White-eye (Z.m.montanus) Zosterops montanus montanusLemon-bellied White-eye (Z.c.mentoris) Zosterops chloris mentorisBlack-crowned White-eye (Z.a.surdus) Zosterops atrifrons surdusShort-tailed Starling Aplonis minorFiery-browed Starling Enodes erythrophrisGrosbeak Starling Scissirostrum dubiumGeomalia Zoothera heinrichiSulawesi Thrush (C.t.abditiva) Cataponera turdoides abditivaIsland Thrush (T.p.celebensis) Turdus poliocephalus celebensisGreat Shortwing (H.c.calligyna) Heinrichia calligyna calligynaSnowy-browed Flycatcher (F.h.jugosae) Ficedula hyperythra jugosaeLittle Pied Flycatcher (F.w.westermanni) Ficedula westermanni westermanniTurquoise Flycatcher (E.p.septentrionalis) Eumyias panayensis septentrionalisSulawesi Blue Flycatcher Cyornis omissusBlue-fronted Blue Flycatcher Cyornis hoevelliYellow-sided Flowerpecker (D.a.aureolimbatum) Dicaeum aureolimbatum aureolimbatumGrey-sided Flowerpecker (D.c.celebicum) Dicaeum celebicum celebicumBlack Sunbird (L.s.porphyrolaema) Leptocoma sericea porphyrolaemaOlive-backed Sunbird (C.j.plateni) Cinnyris jugularis plateniBlack-faced Munia Lonchura moluccaScaly-breasted Munia (L.p.particeps) Lonchura punctulata particepsChestnut Munia (L.a.jagori) Lonchura atricapilla jagoriEastern Yellow Wagtail (M.t.taivana) Motacilla tschutschensis taivana

Halmahera-Sulawesi September 2013