My First Birding-Focused Trip
The trip started early at Plaza Semanggi, South Jakarta, on February 17, 2024. I was joining Burung Indonesia’s open trip to Banten, my first trip where birding was the main objective, not just something done along the way. I was targeting nocturnal birds like owls and frogmouths.
Not long after leaving Jakarta, someone spotted an eagle soaring nearby. Excitement spread through the bus, but no one was ready. Cameras were still in bags, and the bird disappeared before we could react. After that, several birders kept their cameras out for the rest of the ride.
We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and immediately began some light birding. Between bites, binoculars came out, and I got my first hands-on experience with a Nikon P1000. The zoom felt unreal for such a small camera.
Shore Birds
Our first proper birding location was a beach behind an abandoned resort. The area felt frozen in time, with overgrown pathways, mosquitoes, and a shoreline littered with trash and driftwood, possibly remnants of a past tsunami mixed with years of neglect. It was far from ideal, but birds were there.
A senior birder in our group calmly lay down on the dirty sand to photograph shorebirds at eye level. No hesitation, just commitment. We encountered Javan Plover, Sanderling, Asian Golden Plover, Tibetan Sand Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, and a kingfisher. That moment changed how I saw birding. It is about showing up, even when conditions are bad.
Owls
We checked in at Mutiara Carita Cottages before heading out at night to Tahura Banten in search of owls. Night birding was humbling. We heard owls calling, sometimes directly above us, but never saw them. Our group was large, around 20 people. A smaller group ahead of us managed to get photos. We returned empty-handed.
Later that night, back at the hotel, we tried again. Near the pool area, we spotted a Spotted Wood Owl. It was my first time photographing an owl at night, and I struggled with camera settings. The photos were not perfect, but I got the shot.
The next morning, we returned to Tahura Banten. One group searched for frogmouths while the other visited a Javan Banded Pitta photo hide. The pitta showed up close enough for phone photos. On the hike down, we encountered a Blue-eared Kingfisher and its nest, an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, and several other species.
Returning to Jakarta
The trip back to Jakarta was rough. Motion sickness hit hard, and I spent much of the ride miserable. It was not a smooth or perfect trip. We missed shots, heard more than we saw, and walked through trash and mosquitoes.
But it was the trip that made birding intentional for me.
Currently planning a family trip there, and hopefully more prepared.
