wrote:
> I'm planning a trip to Bali, Lombok and eastern Java in April.
>
Stuart Dashper,Chris Doughty and myself spent 5 days in Lombok in Sept
1995.We hired a car & went almost directly to Gunung Rinjani via the
west coast.Along the way seeing a few things such as Greater & Lesser
Frigatebird,Blue-tailed Bee-eater,Striated Swallow,Long-tailed
Shrike,etc.At some rice paddies near a village called Belanting we had a
great couple of hours with Woolly-necked Stork(in flight & on the ground
at close range),Spotted Kestrel,
Short-toedEagle,PurpleHeron,White-shouldered Triller,Yellow Wagtail(not
on the official list),etc.
But the highlight of Lombok is definitely Gunung Rinjani National Park,a
volcano which looks truly spectacular from the air.We stayed at one of
the many losmen on the road to the entrance.This place was on the left
about two km from the end of the road looking over the Singang Gila
waterfall & valley.From this vantage point we actually spotted quite a
few goodies=Grey-rumped Treeswift,Lesser Coucal,Green & Dark-backed
Imperial-pigeon,Silvered Leaf-monkey(oops-a mammal).Down in the valley=
Pink-necked Pigeon,Red-chested Flowerpecker(top bird).
We climbed almost to the top of the volcano in one day-not recommended!
But the birds were well worth it.Snowy-browed,Rufous-chested &
Little-pied Flycatchers,Red Junglefowl,Black-backed Fruit-dove,Metallic
Pigeon(be warned the Lombok race does not have a white
throat),Red-cheeked Parrot,White-rumped Kingfisher(brilliant),Sunda
Woodpecker,Ashy&WallaceanDrongo,GreatTit,LesserShortwing,Chestnut-backed
Thrush(bird of the trip),Sunda Bushwarbler,Sunda Honeyeater,Moutain
White-eye,Red Avadavat(at high altitude).The cloud forest is stunning
and plenty of birds to be seen.
After this we went to the so-called Monkey Forest,which was a total
dud,so don't bother.Further south there is a fair bit of mangrove forest
but we ran out of time so I can't help you there.Might have a chance of
Yellow-crested Cockatoo there.
Hope this is of some assistance.Good luck!
Susan Myers
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