Birdwatching in Way Kambas National Park, Lampung Province, Sumatra


Along the Look Trail
Storm’s Stork is less wary than the duck, but more difficult to find. You may strike lucky at any of the above-mentioned sites. This swampy lake is only accessible (with a guide) in October when the water is at its lowest. Ironically, a 10-min walk from the guest-house, is where most bird-watchers finally see this Little-known stork, whose nest was first described for science as recently as 1987.

The 2-km, circular Look Trail enters the forest on the right, 150 m back along the track out of Way Kanan, and exits directly behind the guest-house. It passes through an area of stunted, secondary forest. The open undergrowth makes it a great place to get good views of galliformes, which are usually such difficult birds to see well. It is a real delight to watch a male Crested Fireback quietly scraping amongst the leaf litter, its blue eye-wattles, navy-blue, slightly iridescent body plumage and white outer tail feathers contrasting subtly with the browns and greens of the forest.
With luck, a band of Crested Partridge will cross your path. Their spiky, red crests and energetic tramping give these little birds a rather wacky appearance. But the really memorable bird to be found along this trail is the Great Argus, a pheasant which, with its 75-cm long tail, is one of the world’s more extraordinary birds. A few slow circuits of the trail may be required before you finally cross paths with this magnificent creature.

The main track leading out of Way Kanan is the most productive in terms of amassing a long list of birds, including seven or eight species of woodpeckers and up to ten species of babbler. Hill Myna frequently flies overhead, and two either common and distinctive birds are black-bellied Malkoha and- a great favourite-scarlet rumped Trogon. Strangely enough, despite its intense scarlet-and-black body plumage, the trogon’s blue eyelids are its really distinctive feature.

The Way Kanan clearing is a good place to watch at dawn or dusk for hornbills and pigeons flying over, and a bat hawk occasionally puts in an appearance.
taken from Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore

Birdwatching in Way Kambas National Park, Lampung, Sumatra Island

Searching for White-winged Duck
With a world population of only about individuals spread across India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Sumatra, White-winged Ducks are decidedly thin on the ground. However, they are birds of lowland swamp forest, and a few of the 30 or so that live in Way Kambas are always to be found in tha vicinity of Way Kanan. It is just a matter of catching up with them-something which is much easier during the dry season between June and November, when water levels recede, leaving a few small pools, and you do not have to wade through waterlogged forest.


Rawa Gajah (elephant swamp), a 20-min paddle up the river from Way Kanan, is usually the first place to try. On the river you will have no trouble getting acquainted with the impressive Stork-billed Kingfisher-unmistakable, thanks to its large size and yellow head-and you will probably also see Grey-headed Fish-eagle perched on an over hanging bough. Rawa Gajah is a wetland of about 1 ha that dries out to grass and mud at the height of the dry season (October) but which, when flooded, is a regular spot for the ducks as wel as Lesser Adjutant.

Rawa Pasir (sand marsh) and the forest pond of Ulung-ulung Satu are also good areas for ducks: both are located 3-4 km from Way Kanan, along (for the first part) a well-maintained trail that starts behind the Tiger project building at Way Kanan. There are plenty of exciting birds to see on the way-so it is worth taking your lunch and making a day of it. The forest edge around Rawa Pasir can be particularly productive for leafbirds, bulbuls, flowerpeckers and sunbirds.

The ducks are incredibly wary, so getting good views before fly away is something of an art. The problem lies in the abrupt juxtaposition of forest and water; scanning the whole of the river at Rawa Pasir or the large pond at Ulung-ulung Satu without stepping into full view is almost impossible. Moreover, many birders can tell of how, after assuring themselves that no ducks were present, they stepped out into the open only for a group of ducks to explode in a blaze of black-and-white wing flashes from behind a semi submerged log.
taken from Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore
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