Pied Imperial Pigeon - Pulau Seribu

Christmas Island Frigate Bird - Pulau Seribu

Black Naped Tern - Pulau Seribu

Bar Winged Prinia - Muara Angke

Muara Angke

Muara Angke is an important birding hotspot on the coast of Jakarta. There are thought to be some 90 species that can be found in the mangroves and round the lake.

A handy cam obviously isn't going to get you up close and personal but at least you get a feel for the place.

Javan Hawk Eagles

Bambang Muryanto , Contributor , Jakarta Tue, 07/28/2009 9:07 AM Environment

In a valley below Mount Merapi, Jose, a member of the Indonesian Raptor Club, squatted. On his left wrist, protected by a long leather glove, perched a female raptor, her brown feathers flecked with black and white.
The bird had a band around her leg and a mask over her eyes. The second the mask was removed, the bird’s yellow eyes opened and she stared keenly at Jose. She opened her sharp beak, flapped her wings and shook her three crest feathers. Without waiting more than a second, the bird fluttered up and perched in a big tree. After getting her bearings, she took off, soaring through the air until she was lost to sight in the thick foliage of the tropical rainforest of Mount Merapi National Park.
This raptor, an elang Jawa or Javan hawk-eagle (Spizaetus bartelsi), was being returned to a life of freedom in her natural habitat. For all the bird conservation groups in Yogyakarta, especially the Kutilang Indonesian Birdwatching Club and the Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesian Raptor Club (RCI), this was an important moment.
It was the first time that a wild Javan hawk-eagle had been released into the wild in the south valley of Mount Merapi, and was, as Kutilang director Ige Kristanto said, “the first time that this has happened in the Yogyakarta area.”
Of Indonesia’s 78 types of raptor, the Javan hawk-eagle – endemic to Java as the name suggests – is the species under greatest threat of extinction. Bird experts estimate there are only 200 Javan hawk-eagles left in the wild, spread across the forests of Java, which is the most densely populated island in Indonesia. As deforestation continues to strip back the amount of forest in Java, and as bird hunting continues unchecked, the situation is not looking up for the Javan hawk-eagle.
The south valley of Mount Merapi, which sits at around 1,200 meters above sea level, is home to only five remaining Javan hawk-eagles – hence the importance of the April release into the wild of the two-year-old female, taking their number to six.
“We were very touched by the release into the wild of this Javan hawk-eagle,” said Budi Kabul Prakosa, coordinator of the Yogayakarta branch of the RCI, a raptor hunting and sporting group.
The Javan hawk-eagle, he explained, had belonged to an RCI member who bought it from a trader. As it is believed this Javan hawk-eagle originally came from East Java, that the trader held her is proof that the birds are being hunted, despite its official status as a critically endangered species.
Budi explained that when he saw the bird, he recognized her as an endangered Javan hawk-eagle, and was adamant she had to be released back into its natural habitat.
After consulting with Lim Wen Sim, an RCI member and a Kutilang activist, preparations for the release of the bird got underway. Lim got to work on ensuring the hawk-eagle’s health, and prepared her for release, “the sooner, the better,” he said.
They did act quickly: The RCI member who had bought the raptor had possession of her for only 12 days.
She was accompanied to the beginning of her new life by dozens of people, including members of RCI Yogyakarta, the Kutilang Indonesia Birdwatching Club and several journalists. The party trekked about 4 kilometers through the valley of Mount Merapi, walking along the same path as that trodden by Maridjan, the old custodian of Mount Merapi, when he conducts prayer rituals to celebrate the birthday of the Yogyakarta Palace king.
The Javan hawk-eagle, weighing 1.7 kilograms, was kept in a box carried by two people.
After walking for about one hour, the small group arrived at the chosen place, the long edge of a gorge that borders the Kinahrejo area in Sleman.
Before releasing her, the group conducted some tests: They took blood samples and measurements, noting down her wing span and the length of her body, tail and talons. Her talons were blunt, probably because she had been kept for a long time by the trader who must have filed them down so she could not hurt him. They added a code and wing marker to assist with the monitoring process and later identification.
The process of taking the measurements and blood samples took seven minutes and 30 seconds, which Lim, who was overseeing it, criticized as being “too long”.
But every moment was captured by journalists’ cameras and watched avidly by spectators.
“She has become a celebrity,” said Mutiara, a 9-year-old who had taken time off school to watch the release of the Javan hawk-eagle, which she said featured in a fable in her storybook collection.
After the Javan hawk-eagle had been returned to its natural environment in the tropical green forest, Pramana Yuda, a biologist and ornithologist from Atma Jaya University (UAJ) in Yogyakarta who took part in the release, said there was a good possibility that this Javan hawk-eagle could survive its new natural habitat.
“God willing, it can adapt,” he said with a smile.
But life isn’t going to be easy for the newcomer if the environment cannot actually support her presence.“The problem is that this new Javan hawk-eagle has to compete [with other raptors] in looking for food,” Pramana said.
He explained that the results of his research suggesting the area on the south slope of Mount Merapi was able to support no more than six Javan hawk-eagles, as the area was already home to other birds as well.
The forested area on the south slope of Mount Merapi covers only 1,283 hectares. Here, competing for dominance, are three types of large raptors: elang hitam or black eagle (Ictynaetus malayensis), elang bido or crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela) and elang brontok or changeable hawk-eagle (Spizaetus cirhatus). There is clear evidence of the ongoing struggle for food among the rival raptors, as seen in “the dogfights”, or the “battles in the sky”, as the fierce predators compete for dominance.
To watch the situation and see how the newly released Javan hawk-eagle fares, Kutilang and the RCI will monitor her progress, at least every two days. As one member, Ige Kristanto reminded everyone, the success rate of past releases of raptors into the wild had not been great. The experience and data gained in Yogyakarta will add to knowledge about releasing wild Javan hawk-eagles.
At the time of the release, no one knew just what would happen to this female Javan hawk-eagle. Would she survive or die?
In the short term, her presence returns the numbers to the level they were before a Javan hawk-eagle chick was killed by a troop of long-tail monkeys some months ago.
And in the long term, perhaps she could be the one whose presence helps bring the species back from the brink of extinction.

Heart of Java

Bambang Supriyanto: Saving the Heart of Java
Theresia Sufa , The Jakarta Post , Bogor Tue, 07/14/2009 11:09 AM People
JP/Theresia Sufa
Mount Halimun Salak National Park, the "Heart of Java", is an important natural wonderland and, according to head of the park Bambang Supriyanto, a potential laboratory.
The park (TNGHS) with its plentiful rivers creates a water tower, making it an important artery for people in West Java and Banten. The mountainous forest zone is also home to endemic Java eagles (Spizaetus bartelsi) and Java gibbons (Hylobates moloch) - animals that are now endangered.
It is this very abundance of life that Bambang wishes to draw upon in his dream to "make Mount Halimun Salak National Park a natural laboratory".
"For this I'm trying to restore several damaged parts and corridors of the forest to make it a comfortable home for various wildlife species," he said.
"I hope researchers will come here to study because this park's abundant resources have never been fully revealed."
The 45-year-old from Penawangan village, in Central Java's Grobogan, gained his doctorate in land and forestry management with high distinction from the State University of Ghent, Belgium, in 1997. Before taking over at the park, he worked with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
"I started working with TNGHS on November 14, 2006, when my contract with WWF Indonesia was not yet over, but I considered this appointment of equal importance because it meant I would be able to directly deal with the Heart of Java," Bambang said.
"For me, my work serves as an investment that is of great benefit to all living beings."
TNGHS is Java's largest mountain national park, spanning an area of 113,357 hectares. It is the site of 117 upstream rivers, most notably the Cisadane, Cibarano and Citarik rivers, whose strong and challenging currents make them attractive for recreational rafting.
The rivers are also a source of livelihood for the communities of West Java and Banten communities - and a source of life for the rich abundance of wildlife, including the Java eagles and gibbons now on the red list of endangered species of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Bambang's goal of turning the area into "a natural laboratory" began with the construction of an eagle sanctuary in the zone in November 2008.
"It was formerly a protected forest for production, so research on its biodiversity was limited and therefore needs to be continued," Bambang said.
"Over the past three years we have undertaken a scientific expedition along with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Japan International Cooperation Agency and Bandung Institute of Technology to discover Mt. Salak's diverse flora and fauna."
In managing the national park, Bambang faces three major problems. The first is the pressure of human activities in the form of illegal logging and mining, forest squatting and hunting. The area is home to nearly 100,000 people across 52 villages, most of who live below the poverty line.
The second problem is deforestation at the annual rate of around 1 percent from 1989 to 2003, particularly in former production areas.
Third is the mountain's high potential for gold and galena mining, which tempts officials in the regional administration to grant mining licenses.
To overcome these issues, Bambang has adopted a policy of commitment sharing with relevant parties, as manifested in the TNGHS Management Plan Collaboration for 2007-2026. These parties share a common vision of using the national park for the good of the people as well as protecting and conserving its natural resources while controlling the rate of deforestation.
As part of this, Bambang has developed a close relationship with the ethnic Cipta Gelar community inhabiting the mountain forest.
"We are on very good terms and in the forest management context we have a common understanding of viable forest spatial layout and rules," he said.
Among these rules is the division of the forest into separate areas where different activities are permitted.
"Some forest areas are called Leuweng titipan according to the local custom, which is the core zone where no human activities are allowed. Others are Leuweng tutupan or the jungle zone with its upstream rivers and wildlife habitat, where human activities are considerably limited," he said.
"The rest are Leuweng garapan or the traditional zone where human activity has to abide by customary rules, such as growing paddy only once a year and maintaining plantations. Any violation by residents faces the traditional punishment of kabendon or bad luck and the official discipline of legal punishment."
As head of TNGHS, Bambang is also preoccupied with executing "good park governance", the aim of which is to create a balance between the achievement of economic, environmental and social goals, and good public governance.
"I'm sure conservation will be eco-populist as it benefits all living beings. The park's management decisions have to be transparent, democratic and accountable, so that the regulations in force are observed."
To this end, Bambang has set up forums for good governance, Gede Pangrango Halimun Salak Club and the Eagle Sanctuary Club, of which he is the secretary and board chairman.
"I hope the public becomes aware about what we are doing in this park to ensure its continuity."
Java has only 17.2 percent of its forests left, while, he said, "the ideal rate is 30 percent". And that, he added, is why it is important to save this Heart of Java.