Birdwatching Tips In Tropical Rainforest

Birdwatching Tips in Tropical RainForest

Vary your birding approaches, search different components of the habitat, and-once you get to know an area-try to be in the right place at the right time. Generally, the hour before dawn is when owls and froghmouths call most, and first light is the best time to see ground thrushes. The early morning activity drops off quite quickly, 2-3 hours after dawn; sometimes there is a brief resumption in the late morning, but the next significant period activity is not until late afternoon, when birds are preparing to roost.

A favourite topic of discussion among rainforest birders is the merits of walking quickly or slowly and quietly means you will pick up more calls and movement and, because you will not be sweating with exertion, your concentration will be better. But striding out and covering ground will increase the number of mixed species flocks you encounter and improve your chances of seeing thinly-distributed species. It also offers the likelihood of surprising some of the forest’s real gems-pittas, pheasants and rail babblers-feeding out on the trail. Obviously, the best strategy is to your pace, but to spend more time covering ground quickly when you first arrive at sites, as this will enable you to identify places to return to and work more intensively.

Taken from birding Indonesia, Periplus Publishing, Singapore