Bali Bird Walks!

Hi everyone, I recently stayed in Jimbaran Bay, Bali, and my dad and I did a fantastic birding excursion when we were there. On Wednesday a taxi picked up me and my dad up at our hotel, and we were of to Ubud, in the middle of Bali. We took a tour called Bali Bird Walks, the number 1 birding excursion in Bali. We arrived and met our guide Su, the most knowledgable guide I have ever had. She is a kind and experienced birder who had been birding since 1990. Not only does she know a lot about birds, but she knows a lot about the other wildlife in Bali. We tried to sign up for Tuesday's walk, but I'm glad it was full because I heard a lady passed out from dehydration. Luckily, we were the only ones who had signed up for Wednesday's walk. The first thing Su pointed out to us was a Water Monitor lizard along the river behind Murni's Warung (our meeting location). This lizard was about 3 feet long! 

We started our walk in town, where we mostly saw swallows and swifts, such as STRIATED SWALLOW, PACIFIC SWALLOW, WHITE BELLIED SWIFTLET, and the coolest of all, the EDIBLE NEST SWIFTLET. You may have heard of this bird before. Their nests are edible, and used in a dish called birds nest soup. We did not see the nest, but I know it is made out of the birds solidified saliva. I wonder what it tastes like. It's amazing that Su can identify swifts high up in flight; they all look the same to me. After watching a YELLOW VENTED BULBUL in its nest, crossed the road and headed up toward the rice paddies. While making our way there, I spotted this SPOTTED DOVE, an abundant species here. You may see the spots on its neck, but it is a bit hard to see in this photo. Su said the Balinese used to eat this bird. 

At one of the first rice paddies Su spotted this PIN TAILED SNIPE sitting up on a dike, allowing for great views and good photo opportunities.

We also flushed this CINNAMON BITTERN out of the rice fields. It landed in a nearby tree, and I snapped this shot.

We walked on, and then Su pointed out a WOOD SANDPIPER.

This JAVAN POND HERON was only a few feet from the Wood Sandpiper.

Next we saw this stunning JAVAN KINGFISHER, a life bird and a common species seen throughout the day. The bird stands out a lot more than you can see in this photo.

Next we saw several JAVAN MUNIAS. These birds can be quite troublesome because they ruin the roofs of people's homes by taking the straw for their nests.

When we got further into the walk, we heard Plain Throated Sunbird and Bar Winged Prinia. Remember how I said Su is a wildlife expert? She pointed out SO MANY non bird things that were really cool such as this chrysalis, a butterfly cocoon.

These Pagoda Flowers were also cool.

And these banana plants, which the munias nest in.

St. Andrews Spider.

In the middle of the walk we decided to stop for a snack and some coconut milk. I personally hate coconut, so Su and my dad had sone. Here is Su with the coconut.

After our snack, we saw these stinkbugs! I have always wanted to see one of these, and they really do stink. If you disturb them, the spray you with a stinky smell. Su said she got sprayed on the hands once and washed her hands three times, and they still smelled.

Near the stinkbugs, we saw this cool Sunskink Lizard, a lizard I have seen in Lovina but did not know what it was.

We saw this CATTLE EGRET, the most common egret seen throughout the day.

After a while of walking I realized that I was the only one out of the three of us that hasn't seen a waterhen yet, and we were towards the end of the walk. Waterhens are a common in rice paddies, and I have seen it before in Thailand. Su saw movement in the rice field. I thought it was a Spotted Dove. But it was a WHITE BREASTED WATREHEN! Yay! This is a very shy bird. He started walking away from me, so I stepped up on the dike and snapped some photos before he left.

We saw some Pomegranate, which we tried earlier in our walk. 

Then, Su said, "I hear a snake eating a frog." How do you hear that exactly? Aparrently Su could tell by the noises the frog was making while being eaten. She must have seen this before. I could hear the poor frog screaming in pain. Its sad, but also nature in action. It took a long time for the snake to choke down that frog.

The next thing we did was really cool! Su gave us flowers and we were able to suck the sweet nectar out of them! Here are photos of me and my dad sucking the nectar.

After a little more walking, we walked into the rice fields where I saw a ZITTING CISTICOLA, a bird I have not seen since Portugal. Su and my dad walked ahead a little bit then Su yelled "come come, come quick!" Then she pointed out 2 birds in flight, GREY CHECKED PIGEON! I only got a quick glimpse of them flying away from me before they took a left into the heavy treetops. Lifebird! This was one of the best finds of our day, if not the best. We ended our walk and went to a parking lot for a car to pick us up to go back to the meeting location. Su spotted a bird of prey soaring way up in the sky, and identified it as my life bird JAPANESE SPARROWHAWK! We arrived back at Murni's Warung, where we had a tasty lunch. Warung is a common word used in Bali, it either means small shop or small restaurant. We reviewed photos, and Su even helped me ID some birds that were in my last post. Su told us about how she lived in Pennsylvania briefly, and she even knew some North American birds! In the end, Su let me get a photo with her.

The overall walk was fantastic, on my top 5 best birding experiences list, if I had one that is. If you are coming to Bali and you are a birder, this is something you must do! We saw and heard a great 31 species and I got 11 life birds! Also part of the fun was the wildlife, not just the birds! There is a full bird list below and today I have included a plant list and a lizrard/bug list, due to all the wildlife we saw! Thankyou for the awesome experience, Su!!!


Bird list for Bali Bird Walks                                                   Life list 411 (11 life birds seen on the walk)
 
White Bellied Swiftlet X life bird!
Cinnamon Bittern 1 
Intermediate Egret 1
Little Egret 2
Cattle Egret X
Javan Pond Heron 6
Oriental Honey Buzzard 1
Japanese Sparrowhawk 1 life bird!
White Breasted Waterhen 4 (1 seen by me)
Wood Sandpiper 2
Pin Tailed Snipe 3 life bird!
Spotted Dove 5 
Grey Cheeked Pigeon 2 life bird!
Plaintive Cuckoo 1 (heard)
Brown Backed Needletail 2 life bird!
Edible Nest Swiftlet 1 life bird!
Asian Palm Swift 2
Javan Kingfisher 4 life bird!
White Breasted Woodswallow 2 life bird!
Barn Swallow 1
Pacific Swallow 4 life bird!
Striated Swallow 1 life bird!
Yellow Vented Bulbul X 
Zitting Cisticola 2
Bar Winged Prinia (heard)
Asian Glossy Starling 1(heard)
Plain Throated Sunbird (heard)
Olive Backed Sunbird X
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 3
Javan Munia 8 life bird!
Scaly Breasted Munia 2

Plants (that I remember, there was surely more.)    

Figs
Pomegranate
Rhubarb
Pagoda Flowers
Banana Tree Coconut Tree 
Rice (we also saw a special Balinese kind, when fully grown is as tall as my dad)
Lychee
Sigh Plant
Papaya
Tumeric
Cinnamon Tree
Sleeping Hibiscus
Mimosa Pudica
Star Of Bethleham
Liligondi

Bugs and Lizards 

Stinckbugs
St. Andrews Spider
Soldier Ant ( watch out, they're vicious, I got bitten)
Dragonfly
Butterfly sp. ( Su is now focused on studying the butterfly, but I can't remember the names of any of the ones we saw)
Sunskink
Water Monitor