Shorebirds on the sand-flats
Ask the boatman to drop you halfway down the 11/2-km strand and walk the rest of the way. Or land at the usual disembarkation point, inspect the village and temple, and then take the clearly defined and well-shaded path that dissects the island north to south.
The main birding attraction is the vast expanse of exposed reef and sand-flat at the south end of the island that provides a feeding ground and a roost for migrating terns and waders as well as local herons. As you walk along the beach, observe parties of Sanderlings, pairs of small Malaysian Plovers and the odd Common Sandpiper. Rounding a bend in the beach and a shallow inflet, the extent of the flat becomes apparent, dotted with white egrets and an evenly-spaced line of dark, angular purple herons. Less obvious at first glance are the large numbers of Javan Pond Herons: wheter in breeding or non-breeding plumage, they blend in with their background.
Even more difficult to see are the flocks of plovers and sandpipers, all brownish, which are collectively known as waders. The easiest of this group to spot are the curlews, both Eurasian and far eastern-the former with white rumps like the numerous whi,mblers, obvious by their sheer size. Grey plover are fairly plentiful and are easely distinguished by their black axillaries (“armpits”) in flight. Not so the flocks of golden plover, which are almost impossible to detect against the mud. Calling for equally close scrutiny are the flocks of Mongolian plover, interspersed with the odd greater sandplover, grey-tailed tattler, rufous-necked stint, and sharp-tailed and curlew sandpipers. Redshanks are usually much in evidence, with a few greenshanks and ruddy turnstones. And look out for some of Bali ’s more infrequent visitors, such as black-tailed and bar-tailed godwits, terek sandpiper, longbilled dowitcher and great knot.
During the spring and autumn passage, thousands of birds congregate here (though it is a rewarding site at any time). Most numerous af all are the terns-great, pied swathes of them, comprising mainly great crested terns with lesser numbers of gull-billed, common and little. But now it is time to hurry back: the tide is getting low and the boatman becoming impatient….