The Birdwatching Tips In Tropical Rainforest With Tape Play-back

The birdwatching tips in Tropical Rainforest
Tape Play-back
In Indonesia’s forests, 80% of birds are located by their call, so learning the calls of common or target species will add greatly to your success in seeing them. Tsongs and calls of a selection of Indonesian birds are available on a few commercially produced tape’s on CDs, or on tapes produced privately by birders. Some birders, and especially bird tour leaders, swear by tape-playback as the best technique for being sure of seeing several forest species.

However, there is some debate about the ethics of tape-playback: a recording represents a super-dominant intruder, so repeated playing could disrupt breeding or may even cause the bird to abandon its territory. One incident of play-back will not harm the bird; the problem arises when the same territory holder repeatedly suffers this stress as can happen at popular birding sites.

The principle of tape-playback is simple: a recording of the call is played, either to abird heard calling or in likely-looking habitat. The territory-holder thinks there is an intruder and comes out to investigate. A pre-recorded passage is played or, if you do not have a recording or do not know the identity of the calling bird, its call is recorded directly and them played back.

You can choose microphone models below:
1. The Hama Unidirectional Microphone
2. Sennheiser
3. Sony TCM-59V/Sony TCM-77V
4. Sony-500 EV
5. Sony WM-D6C Walkman Professional
6. Marantz CP430


Taken from Birding of Indonesia, Periplus Publishing, Singapore

Birdwatching Tips In Tropical Rainforest II

Birdwatching Tips In Tropical Rainforest
Birds concentrate around particular features in the forest-fruiting and flowering trees are the best known. Look on the ground for telltale mounds of rotting figs signifying a fruiting tree above. If it is in a position where you can see comfortably into the canopy, just sit and watch; over a few hours probably every type of fruiteater-pigeons, hornbills, barbets-will pay it a visit. The same goes for flowering trees and nectar-drinkers. Fruiting bushes and shrubs along river banks or forest edges are another magnet for fruiteaters, particularly bulbuls, and in the dry season, small pools on forest streams are good spots to stake out at midday when birds come down to drink or bathe. Midday is also the time to find a vantage point- a clearing or ridge top with a view over the forest-to scan for raptors.

In any forest you will come across gaps where a rainforest giant has come crashing to the ground-because of wind, lihgtning strike or just old age-smashing an opening. Struggle through the debris and onto the fallen trunk; the pocket of still, sunlit air above is full of flies and dragonflies and these attract tree swifts, flycatchers and folacanos, which survey the from an exposed perch on a broken branch. Patches of forest that have died off, because of fire or flooding, are always good for woodpeckers.

Finally, if you are one of those lucky birders with the ability to mimic bird calls, make full use of your talent. Many species (notably babblers, pittas and trogons) are relatively easy to imitate and the real owner of the call is very likely to approach to investigate. Knowing the birds and habitats is what it is all ways have additional tips for finding a particular species. A little background research-talking to people or reading the specialist trip-reports that circulate in birding circles-always pays dividen.

Taken from birding Indonesia, Periplus Publishing, Singapore