Birding Trip to Island of gods.

Some people thinks birding is a weird or "crazy" thing to do, because some they're willing enough to fly to another islands even to another country to find their targets. That's what I do on 06 February 2013 although I'm not that crazy. on December 2012 my friends from Bali found a Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia which make me feeling anxious because it's a vagrant to Indonesia. There's only few records in several year and not from Bali. Later, I book a flight to Bali at the end of January, luckily I found a promo ticket just one day before it closed. After I send message to my friends that my flight has been confirmed, they start to "poison" my mind by sharing some bird images, like White-headed Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus, Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis and many more.

I spend most of my time visiting Pulau Serangan / Turtle Island try to find my main target bird. For the first three days it gives good result, I got my shorebirds plus a bonus dark morph Pacific Ree Egret Egretta sacra but no Caspian. And on day two, I got a chance to visit Nusa Dua Lagoon where I got two lifers (Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos and Rufous Night Heron Nycticorax caledonicus). On day four and five, I went to visit Bali Barat National Park with my friends Mr. Yuyun and Mr. Golkariadi, although we arrive late evening due the slow moving traffic but on the fifth day, we spend full day birding there. At this area, I managed to get some good birds like Savanna Nightjar Caprimulgus affinis, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaulti, and the endemic and critically endangered Bali Myna Leucopsar rothschildi. Special thanks to Mr. Hery and Bonenk for providing a place to stay, transportation and guiding us there. On the last three days, the situation at Pulau Serangan became "dire" because I don't see any Curlews nor Godwits on their roosting area. Only my old friends Little Egret Egretta garzetta and Javan Plover Charadrius javanicus that always there. But patience yields a good result, I managed to get Great Egret Egretta alba in peak breeding plumage.

At the end of my visit, I missed both Caspian and Stilt. But I'm still happy with overall result. More than that, I'm happy because I can  meet my friends and we have a good birding time together, and full of fun too.

Here is some pictures from my trip, hope you guys enjoy it:

Dark Morph Pacific Reef Egret (Left), and Grey Plover (Right)

Adult Purple Heron (Left), and Adult Black-crowned Night Heron in breeding plumage (Right)

Adults Great Egret assuming breeding plumage (Left), and non-breeding plumage (Right)

Small Blue Kingfisher (Left), and Adult Great Egret assuming breeding plumage (Right)

Eurasian Curlew (Left), and Bar-tailed Godwits (Right)

Gull-billed Terns in flight

Eurasian Curlew and Far Eastern Curlews (Left), and Whimbrel and Common Greenshank (Right)

Far Eastern Curlews

Sunda Teal (Left), and Whimbrel flock (Right)

Common Greenshank group.

Javan Plover Territorial Dispute

Adult Great Egret in breeding plumage (Left), and Little Egret missed its dinner (Right)

Black-crowned Night Heron (Left), and Little Egret (Right)

Little Pied Cormorant (Left), and Size comparison between Great Egret and Intermediate Egret (Right)

Javan Plover (Left), and Common Sandpiper roosting on fish trap (Right)

Juvenile Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Left), and Adult Chestnut-headed Bee-eater (Right)

Male Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon (Left), and Female Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon (Right)

Bali Starling

Zebra Dove (Left), and Island Collared Dove (Right)

Male Olive-backed Sunbird (Left), and Male Orange-breasted Green Pigeon (Right)

Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Left), and Savanna Nightjar (Right)