This once rich wetland site has been drastically reduced in extent by housing and golf course development, and now only a 27-ha nature reserve survives. However, this marsh and its adjoining mangroves still offer good birding and are one of the easiest places to see the endangered Javan Coucal.
Key species
Javan Coucal, Javan Plover, Milky Stork, Black-headed Ibis, Small blue Kingfisher, Black-winged Starling, Watercock and a good site for crakes and acrocepha warblers, passage terns and waders.
Getting there
By taxi ask for Pondok Indah Kapuk Estate ($7/IDR 65,000 from blok M).
By bus P37 Blok M-Muara Angke (IDR 2,500); P6B Kampung Rambutan bus Station-Muara Angke (IDR 2,500); P46 Pulo Gadung-Muara Angke (IDR 2,500); Metro 02 from Senen-Muara Karang (IDR 2,500); Metro U30 Kota-Muara Angke (IDR 2,500). Which ever bus you take, get off at the west end of Jl Pluit Karang. Look for the massive entrance arch to the Pondok Indah Kapuk Estate; 20 m beyond this is a roundabout. Take the only exit, Jl Pantai Indah Utara 2, and walk along for 75 m. on the north side of the road you will see a sign for the reserve and little bamboo bridge entrance.
General Information
A few metres across the bamboo bridge is a warden’s post where you should report. Boats to Pulau Rambut can also be arranged here. Immediately behind the post is a tall watchtower, which is the best place to scan from for Javan Coucal. A 1-2 km boardwalk follows the edge of the reserve (3 sides, excluding the river boundary).
There is good birding from the boardwalk, especially along the western edge, which passes through a fragment of mangrove and nipa palm swamp. Unfortunately, despite frequent repairs, the boardwalk is always in a state of collapse. Be careful not to fall through it, and expect not to be able to get the whole way. On the western edge a rickety bamboo bridge crosses from the boardwalk to the bund surrounding the new housing development. Walk seaward (north) for 55 m to the coastal mangroves.
A path runs west along the back of the mangroves until it reaches the canalized Angke river. The best area of mangrove is on the other side of the river. The mud in fron can be good for waders, and Milky Storks sometimes feed there. You may be lucky and find a boatman who will ferry you across. if not, you have to return to Jl Pantai Indah Utara 2 and walk west along this road for 1.5 km (past another roundabout) where a bridge crosses the river. The mangroves are a further 700 m down the side of the river. 500 m west along the path at the back of the mangroves is a freshwater lagoon and a stone breakwater, which gives access through the mangroves to the mud.
source: Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore