Day 1 : On Arrival day in Jakarta
Day 2 : Flight (Batik #ID818) to Padang on Sumatra arriving at about midday. On arrival In Padang there should be time for some birding on the way to our accommodation.
Day 3 : Drive through the mainly hilly forest and villages with occasional stops for birding along the way in swamps and padis on the drive to Gunung Kerinci.
Day 4 : Kerinci Seblat in South Sumatra is western Indonesia’s second largest National Park and is situated in the central area of the Bukit Barisan mountain range. The summit of Gunung Kerinci is 3.805 metres, giving a large altitudinal range from lowland to alpine areas. The park has important wetlands, montane and hill forests and alpine woodland. Biodiversity within the park is very high, with many endemic Sumatran bird species found here along with a plethora of rare, restricted-range birds, mammals, reptiles, invertebrates and plants including various species of the astounding Rafflesia and Amorphophallus. Botanically the Kerinci-Seblat National Park is more than twice as rich as the Amazon Basin. Most of the restricted-range birds occur in the hill forest along the Tapan Road in the montane forest on the slopes of Gunung Kerinci and Gunung Tujuh, including 15 Sumatran endemics and further six endemics shared only with Java and a number of important species shared with Malaysia or Borneo.
Birds to be searched for here include the spectacular Fire-tufted Barbet, a monotypic genus confined to the upland forest of Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, which is delightfully common on Gunung Kerinci and the Tapan Road. On the slopes of Gunung Kerinci are many small ground-dwelling birds such as Pygmy & Eye-browed Wren-babblers, Sunda Robin, Lesser, Long-billed, Rusty-breasted & White-browed Shortwings - all quite common. Other species found in the exciting mixed flocks we may encounter include White-browed Shrike-babbler, Sunda Minivet, Grey Throated & Golden Babblers, and Cream-striped & Spot-necked Bulbuls. Other endemic or near-endemics restricted to the Sundas include Sumatran Drongo, Sumatran Treepie, Sumatran Green Pigeon, Pink-headed Fruit Dove, Sumatran Trogon, Sunda Cuckoo-Shrike, Sunda Minivet, Sunda Bulbul, Sunda Laughingthrush, Sunda Blue Robin, Lesser Forktail, Sunda Warbler, Indigo Flycatcher and Black-capped White-eye. Gunung Kerinci is also noted as great site for some very scarce night birds: Pale-headed (Sumatran) Frogmouth, Rajah Scop-owl, Barred Eagle-owl, and Salvadori’s Nightjar. Rarer species that will take more effort, but are possible include Salvadori’s Pheasant, Schneider’s & Graceful Pittas, and Sumatran Cochoa.
Day 5: For more info please contact us
NOTES ABOUT SUMATRA BIRDING TOURS
Sumatera is one of the world’s largest islands; the second largest of the Greater Sundas and biologically very rich and diverse. There are nearly 400 resident species, 25 or so endemic and many others shared with the Malay Peninsula and the other Greater Sundas. Sumatra has some excellent national parks, and the birding will concentrate on two of these; Gunung Kerinci, an active forested volcano in the centre of the island and at 3,805m, the highest point in Sumatra. Habitats include montane and submontane forests with a good chance of finding many Sumatran endemics. Way Kambas is, by contrast a lowland.
