http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2005/05/03/birdwatching-timor-rewarding-experience.html
[7 year old news article, but still relevant. Colin]
Bird-watching on Timor a rewarding experience
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Life | Tue, May 03 2005,
4:16 PM
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Neville
Kemp, Contributor,
Brown.
Bare. Dry. A fire-scorched and sun-baked island. These were the words
that formed in my head as I flew into Kupang, Timor at the height of the
dry season.
As a keen forest bird-watcher accustomed to the
lush greenery of Papua, Sumatra, and Java, it was a shock to be greeted
by such contrast, and little to inspire confidence for seeing and
photographing the birds of Timor.
However, that was of little
consequence, I thought, as I am here to work as an intern and `birding'
is, after all, just a hobby. My assignment took me to the
highland town of Soe, 110 kilometers up a winding road. On the way we
pass several stretches of monsoon forest which start to instill hope.
The forest, although sparse, actually looks much better from the ground.
After several weeks of work, I head off to the field on my first possible
opportunity. In Paul Jepson's book Birdwatching in Indonesia,
the section on Timor written by Richard Noske tells of an abundance of
endemic species (bird species confined to restricted areas) at Buat, a
site five kilometers from Soe. Even though it's blowing a gale I need to
get out. I hope that my impressions upon arrival will be proved wrong.
A borrow a motorbike and 15 minutes later start my birding on Timor.
Three common species are instantly recorded then quail run across the
path, a group of 11, and a species I have not encountered before. Up to
the crest of the hill and I am standing on a magnificent
three-kilometer-long escarpment. Incredible! This must be one
of the most spectacular places for bird-watching. The trees start from
way below the drop-off and their canopy is just below my feet, and the
view into it is great.
My first Timor endemic, the
Yellow-eared Honeyeater -- are probably the most abundant species here
and can be seen and heard all around. A descending whistled scale is
easy to mimic and I pull out a Plain Fairy-Warbler, in the canopy of a
tall tree ... but just three metres away, another Timor island endemic
species is seen.
To my surprise Buat is remarkable rich. In
all, after several visits, I recorded over 50 species including 20-odd
Timor endemic species or subspecies. Orange-banded thrush
still persist, although much less common than Richard observed 13 years
ago. Unfortunately, this species is trapped and sold as a cage-bird, and
now headed for extinction in many parts of Timor. It certainly has a
beautiful song and is a joy to hear in the forest, so when I encountered
this bird in Kupang and Soe, trapped in cages, my heart sank.
In over three months working on Timor I had the opportunity to
discover many such great bird-watching sites; at Bipolo -- a remnant of
lowland evergreen forest rarely found on Timor, and unusually rich in
birdlife, especially pigeons; Taman Hutan Raya near Amarasi -- where I
saw many of the islands endemic and enigmatic birds; and Mount Mutis --
the tallest peak on Timor and covered with eucalyptus forests, a similar
scene to that in Australia. A four hours hike up Mutis revealed many
beautiful birds such as Iris Lorikeet, Olive-shouldered Parrot and Timor
Imperial Pigeon -- all found nowhere in the world except the Timor
group of Islands.
Thus, upon leaving Timor, my first impressions of the island lay shattered.
Birdwatching in Timor is excellent!
Bird photography was particularly successful and I managed to capture
many of Timor's specialties on film, including the first ever
photograph of a Timor Black-Pigeon in the wild. Also, bird-watching
would not have been so enjoyable on Timor if it were not for the
hospitality and warmth of the local people. Tradition is still strong
and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in all villages in which I stayed.
Everyone shared their knowledge, customs and stories, and were also
keen to discover the uniqueness of Timor's birdlife, which otherwise to
them seems ordinary. It was a joy to see local people caring for their
wildlife and wishing to safeguard it after learning of Timor's
uniqueness. Unfortunately, conservation organizations seem to
have ignored Timor. WWF has a program around Mount Mutis, but
activities were not evident in the field during my stay. Illegal logging
continues apace, as is now the unsavory norm in Indonesia.
Hopes for conservation of Timor's birds and the forest in which they
dwell are now in the hands of the people. Education and awareness are
the keys to success. In general, most Timorese communities remain
ignorant of the uniqueness of Timor, having a lack of information and
nothing to compare it with. Perhaps, it should be the
responsibility of NGOs and government alike to inform the people so they
can make informed choices for the future. Hopefully, for the sake of
birdlife, forests and ecologically stability, there will be enough who
choose conservation.
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