Birdwatching in Kali Lemahan, Surabaya, East Java

Out to the Mud-flats

in the wet months between October and march, a boat journey down to the mud-flats at the mouth of the Kali Lemahan is a must. The pond owners will assist you to hire a small motorized prau (canoe) for the 45-min journey. Seeing the thousands of wintering or passage waders here is one of Java’s great birding experiences. These mud-flats are famous for the large numbers (up to 1,000) of rare Asian Dowitchers that spend the northern winter here. Indeed, the flats are a wader-watcher’s delight: 18 or more species can be found by carefully scanning the flocks with a telescope. Other highlights are Australian Pelicans, swimming out at sea, and another endangered species, Milky Stork; although often seen on the mud-flats, the latter has yet to be recorded breeding in this part of Java.

source Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore

Birdwatching in Ujung Pangkah, Surabaya, (East Java)

Ujung Pangkah’s Herons

Java’s largest heronry, however, is found in the more natural setting of the Ujung Pangkah area on the delta of the Bengawan Solo; this huge river, popular in nostalgic Javan songs, is just a 2-hr drive from Surabaya’s hustle and bustle. An entrepreneurial local fishpond keeper decided to protect the colony as it produced a cheap source of fertilizer which he used to raise Javan tilapia (a cichlid fish) in his pond. A careful scan through the breeding colony will reveal 13 waterbird species, including Oriental Darter, Black-headed Ibis and the odd Rufous Night Heron. This colony 25,000 or more birds has become a popular destination for day trippers and has earned the pond-keeper the prestigious kalpataru award, presented by the government to individuals who have worked to benefit the environment.

Ujung Pangkah’s offers a glimpse of how the whole of Java’s north coast used to look; today it has largely been converted to sterile shrimp pond. The patchwork of ponds, avenues of trees, swamps, mangrove bushes and undisturbed shores here, however, support a full complement of the island’s water and shorebirds.

After enjoying the heronry, walk around the fish ponds and to the nearby estuaries for more good birding. The neat, yellow Javan White-eye and the endangered Javan Coucal, which reveals its presence with a loud “booping” call. Are two speciality species that inhabit the bushes and trees edging the ponds. Swampy areas along the coast are good for Sunda Teal-easily recognized by its strange, bulging forehead, the rare Bronze-winged Jacana and flocks of Asian Golden Weaver.

source Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore