6 Nov 22 - Indonesia - Banda Sea Cruise Day 11 - Birding Near The Wetar Beach

The plan for the second afternoon on Wetar was to move a few miles along the coast and land on the beach. This would allow us to walk along the dirt coastal track through some undisturbed coastal woodland, which was a good site for Olive-shouldered Lorikeets. Our lunch on the Lady Denok was ready, so that was our first priority.

After lunch, we headed up to the deck as the crew retrieved the anchor & motored the few miles to our destination. We quickly picked up a couple of fins in the water. Looking closer, it was clear they were attached and we assumed it was a Shark. But looking at the photos when I was writing this Blog Post, the dorsal fin isn't a single fin, but a set of joined fins, which I think rules out it being a Shark. It would appear to be one of the large Marlin or Swordfish species. However, I don't know too much about large Fish identification. If it is one of these species, they seem to prefer the open sea to coastal fringes, so its location only a few hundred metres offshore is interesting. Please leave a comment on the Blog, if you have any thoughts on the identification.

Marlin or Swordfish sp.: At times the very large & thin tail fin was visible

Marlin or Swordfish sp.: It was clearly agile and appears to be turning tightly in this photo

Marlin or Swordfish sp.: Now its body seems to be straight

Marlin or Swordfish sp.

Marlin or Swordfish sp.: A close up of the dorsal fin from the last photo clearly shows it is ribbed

Once on the beach, we found the coastal track after a couple of minutes' walk. This allowed us to walk through the coastal forest in the hope of the Olive-shouldered Lorikeet that had eluded us on Wetar. Fortunately, I had seen this species on Timor in 1991, but it was a Tick for most of the group. Eventually, a few of the group decided to sit down as they were short of water. The rest of us walked another half mile along the track. When we got back to the other group, we were greeted with the news that they had seen a couple of Olive-shouldered Lorikeets in flight heading into the nearby hills. This news didn't cheer up the peeps for whom it was still a Tick. We hung around till dusk, but there were no further sightings.

Red-cheeked Parrot: This is the timorlaoensis subspecies

Edible-nest Swiftlet: I sometimes find Asian Swiftlets tricky once I get it down to if it's a Glossy Swiftlet-type or not. So, it was good to have Wilbur's expertise as a Malaysian resident to assist with the identification

Rainbow Bee-eater: They are a wide-ranging monotypic species that breeds in Australia and winters in Wallacea, New Guinea & the Solomons. They also occur throughout the year in the Lesser Sundas so presumably they also breed there

Rainbow Bee-eater

Wetar Figbird: Female. This is a monotypic Wetar endemic

Olive-brown Oriole: This is another of the Indonesian brown Orioles that is a mimic to the local Friarbird. It's another potential armchair Tick for me. Clements considers that the Wetar finschi subspecies & the nominate subspecies on Timor are the same species which they call Olive-brown Oriole. Whereas, IOC & the Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago split them as Wetar Oriole & Timor Oriole, respectively

Olive-brown Oriole: They look very similar to the local Helmeted Friarbirds. One suggestion for why the Wallacean Orioles mimic the local Friarbirds, is Friarbirds tend to be very territorial to all other species in fruiting trees and perhaps this allows the similar-looking brown Orioles to sneak into those trees unchallenged

Olive-brown Oriole: The Olive-brown Orioles do not have the same extreme body & bill shape as the local Helmeted Friarbirds. The Friarbird has a prominent black or blue-black bare skin patch from the lores to the eye, a casque on the bill in the adults and a dark eye

Little Pied Flycatcher: This is the mayri subspecies that occurs in Timor, Wetar & Rote. There are a number of other subspecies across the wide range from the Indian Subcontinent & South China through South East Asia & Indo-China, to the Philippines, Borneo and Indonesia

After we had eaten dinner, the crew slipped the anchor & the Lady Denok was heading to our next Wetar destination: offshore from the Naumatong Gorge. This was to look for the last endemic Wetar species: Wetar Ground Dove.

6 Nov 22 - Indonesia - Banda Sea Cruise Day 11 - The Final Visit To The Wetar Hills

We had a slightly later start as we had seen the Wetar Nightbirds on the first day: but it was still a dawn landing back in the village on Wetar. It was another slow drive in the knackered lorry & we returned to the site we had been Birding at on the previous evening. After another unsuccessful search for Olive-shouldered Lorikeet there, we tried another roadside stop in drier forest compared to the previous morning. The main highlight of the morning was my first Timor Imperial Pigeon. This species is hard to see in Timor without going to a montane location that we didn't visit in 1991. They are easier to see in East Timor, which wasn't possible to visit at the time.

Bonelli's Eagle: This is the renschi subspecies which is endemic to the Lesser Sundas

Black-backed Fruit-dove: This is the nominate cinctus subspecies which occurs on Timor, Wetar & Romang Islands

Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon: This monotypic species is found on islands in the Java Sea & Flores Sea, as well as, some of the smaller & larger islands in the Lesser Sundas

Red-cheeked Parrot: This is the nominate geoffroyi subspecies which occurs on Timor, Wetar & Samau. This is a widespread species which occurs from the Lesser Sundas to the Moluccas, Tanimbar & Kai Islands, New Guinea, & North Australia

Marigold Lorikeet: This is the flavotectus subspecies which occurs on Wetar. Two other subspecies occur on Timor & Sumba, making this Marigold Lorikeet a Lesser Sundas endemic. Marigold Lorikeet is one of six species that were split from Rainbow Lorikeet a few years ago

Helmeted Friarbird: According to Clements & IOC, this is the buceroides subspecies which occurs in Timor, Wetar, Semau, Sawu & Rote. There is another subspecies in the larger Lesser Sunda Islands, as well as, other subspecies in New Guinea & Northern Australia. The Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago have proposed splitting the two Lesser Sundas subspecies as Tenggara Friarbird from the subspecies in New Guinea & Northern Australia, on the basis of morphological & vocal differences, as well as, a fairly deep genetic divergence

Fawn-breasted Whistler: This is a monotypic species that is restricted to Timor, Semau, Jaco & Wetar

Wetar Figbird: Female. This is a Wetar endemic

Long-tailed Shrike: This is the bentet subspecies which occurs in Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Lesser Sundas. Other subspecies occur in Iran, the Indian Subcontinent, East & South China, Taiwan, Burma, Thailand, the Philippines & New Guinea

Long-tailed Shrike

Indonesian Butterfly sp.

Indonesian Butterfly sp.: This would look good if it wasn't so knackered

Cicada sp.: This Cicada joined on the back of the lorry

More roadside Birding on the way back to the village

It was now late morning & time to return to the Lady Denok for lunch. Two distant Jungle Crows were waiting on the beach.

Village Houses

Getting On & Off The Lorry

Jungle Crow: This is the nominate macrorhynchos subspecies which occurs in Southern Indochina, the Malay-Thai Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Bali & the Lesser Sundas. Other subspecies occur in North East Asia, China, Japan, the Indian subcontinent, Burma & the Philippines

5 Nov 22 - Indonesia - Banda Sea Cruise Day 10 - The Best Of The Rest On The First Day On Wetar

In the previous Blog Post, I covered the Pigeons & Doves that we saw on the first morning on Wetar. This Blog Post will cover the remaining species seen during the morning.

Based upon the Clements taxonomy that my Birding database still follows, there were only six Ticks for me on Wetar. Wetar shared a lot of species with Timor & while there are a good selection of species on Wetar, this low number is indicative that I had seen a large number of those species when I visited Timor, Flores & Sumba, during the 3.5 months I spent in Indonesia back in 1991. However, there are a number of splits that have been recognised by IOC or proposed by the Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago field guide that are likely to be split in the future.

Yellow-throated Golden Whistler: The Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago field guide suggests that there may be a case to split the Wetar subspecies of Yellow-throated Golden Whistler as Wetar Golden Whistler, on the basis of extremely divergent mtDNA, but similar appearance to other subspecies of Yellow-throated Golden Whistler. The field guide states further investigation is needed

Northern Fantail: According to Clements & IOC, this is the pallidiceps subspecies of Northern Fantail which occurs in the Indonesian Lesser Sundas & Moluccas islands, as well as, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago & Northern Australia. The Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago field guide have proposed to split the Indonesian subspecies as several new species, based upon pronounced vocal and plumage differences. This including Timor Fantail, which includes this subspecies, which occurs in Timor, Semau & Wetar Islands

Olive-brown Oriole: This is another of the Indonesian brown Orioles that is a mimic to the local Friarbird. It's another potential armchair Tick for me. Clements considers that the Wetar finschi subspecies & the nominate subspecies on Timor are the same species which they call Olive-brown Oriole. Whereas, IOC & the Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago split them as Wetar Oriole & Timor Oriole, respectively

Birding Along The Road

Wetar Forests: One of the good things about Wetar, is the island's economy is significantly based upon mining. While the mine is clearly destroying part of the hills around the village where we landed, it does mean that currently the extensive forests aren't being commercially logged

There doesn't seem to be any disagreement on the taxonomy of the following species.

Black-necklaced Honeyeater: A Black-necklaced Honeyeater showing how it got its name

Black-necklaced Honeyeater: This is a Wetar endemic

Wetar Figbird: Male. This is another monotypic Wetar endemic

Timor Blue Flycatcher: Male. This is the kuehni subspecies which is endemic to Wetar. The other subspecies occurs on Timor, Semau & Rote

Timor Blue Flycatcher: Female. This is also known as Timor Warbling-flycatcher

Pied Bushchat: This is the pyrrhonotus subspecies which is found on Timor, Wetar, Kisar, Sawu, Semau & Rote. There are other subspecies that occur from the Caspian part of the Western Palearctic to Afghanistan, the Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia, the Philippines, Java, Bali & Wallacea in Indonesia, New Guinea & the Bismarck Archipelago

There was a good selection of Insects along the road.

Indonesian Butterfly sp.

Indonesian Butterfly sp.

Indonesian Yellow Butterfly sp.: I have seen similar looking Butterflies in the Southern Philippines & the Moluccas

Bee Nest: we decided to quickly move on when we saw this Bee nest, just in case the swarm decided to fly

Bee Nest: A close up from the last photo

Indonesian Dragonfly sp.: This is a gorgeous Dragonfly

Indonesian Dragonfly sp.

This is a superb looking Damselfly

It was time to head back to the Lady Denok for lunch. There was time for a roadside stop just outside of the village for a White-bellied Sea-eagle.

White-bellied Sea-eagle: This cracking Sea-eagle is found along the coasts & islands of Southern Asia to the Philippines, Indonesia & Australia

White-bellied Sea-eagle

Tony Palliser waiting for the boats

One of the local canoes

Getting into the boats wasn't always elegant

It was fair to say we were frustrated on the Lady Denok to hear the news that we were to be returning to Wetar soon after lunch. This wasn't to return immediately for Birding, but because we had to travel about 25 miles across the island to the town on the South coast which was the regional capital. Apparently, a new police chief had just arrived on the island & we had to take the passports & check in with him. It was an hour & a half journey on the back of the slow lorry with the knackered engine to get there, albeit about thirty minutes beyond where we stopped for Birding on the way back.

Once there, it was one of those pointless exercises where we all were ushered into the office to meet the police chief, some dreary talk about German football teams for ten minutes, before having to go out to the front steps for team photos with the police chief & his team. Basically, he just didn't seem to have a lot to do & it was the chance to have some photos taken with some of the few tourists who land on Wetar. Nobody asked to see the passports. All in all about an hour & a half wasted, when we could have been relaxing on the Lady Denok or spending more time Birding. Finally, we were told we could continue Birding for the rest of the three days on Wetar, but we would need a police escort.

Our Police Escort: A nice enough guy, who didn't stop us Birding. Every morning he rode his motorbike back along road on his motorbike to find us

After about a half hour of driving on the way back, we stopped at a flatter part of the road with more open area forest. The plan was to scan for Parrots, especially Olive-shouldered Parrot (also known as Jonquil Parrot), which we hadn't seen so far. This species also occurs on Timor & I had seen it on there in 1991. However, it is a different subspecies on Wetar & was a Tick for most of the group. We did see a distant Parrot perch up in the tree which some of the group thought was an Olive-shouldered Parrot, but not all of us were convinced & the views were inconclusive. A couple of Marigold Parakeets did put on a better show for us. The highlight for the site was our first Wetar Myzomela.

Wetar Myzomela: This is a Wetar endemic

Wetar Myzomela

Finally, it was time to move as we had another half hour drive to where we were going to look for the recently split Wetar Scops Owl, which previously had been considered a distinctive subspecies of Moluccan Scops Owl.

Wetar Scops Owl: This is a Wetar endemic

Wetar Scops Owl

Wetar Scops Owl

It had been a long, but successful first day on Wetar, apart from the pointless journey to see the police chief.