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Mountain West Birding Company Bali & The Lesser Sundas

The Lesser Sundas form the southern edge of Wallacea—the area east of Wallace's Line marking the limit of the true Oriental faunal region. This tour takes us to Sumba, Rote, Timor, Flores, and Komodo to soak up their incredible scenery and more than 70 endemic species, capping things off with several days on the emerald isle of Bali!

Javan Banded Pitta “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”
Komodo Dragon “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”
Black-naped Monarch “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”
Short-nosed Bats “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”
Blue-tailed Bee-Eater “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”
Giant Squirrel “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”
Javan Kingfisher “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”
Hawksbill Sea Turtles “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

November 3-20, 2019

It was just easy and fun to spend a long day of birding with him. I came away from the experience wanting to go back.
Lesley M. “Custom Tour”, 2017

Details Bali & The Lesser Sundas

The Lesser Sundas is a wonderland for birders. In addition to the usual Oriental families, numerous unusual Australasian species call these islands home, including 70+ endemics. This fairly intense tour will be filled with long-days seeking out these highly-sought-after species that are disappearing at a rapid rate! Our local guide and his contacts will make sure this is a trip to remember!

Leaders:
Hery Kusumanegara & Tim Avery

2 of 7 Spaces Available
This Tour is Guaranteed!

Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrive in Bali Meet, Greet, and go to Sleep

You will need to arrive in Bali on November 3 (at the latest). I will work with everyone to determine your arrival time and help you get from the international terminal to our hotel. In all likelihood, if you plan on arriving on the 3rd, you will be getting into Denpasar between Midnight and 1:00 AM with a number of international flights. If this is the case we can help book you a room for the night of the “2nd” at an additional cost. Alternatively, you can choose to arrive on Nov 4th with the midnight to 1am arrivals, and meet us on the morning of the 4th as we leave the hotel to head to Sumba. Don’t hesitate to ask if you have travel questions, as we have a number of flight options and schedules available to help you decide how you will be getting to Bali.

In the evening we’ll meet our local guide, Hery Kusumanegara and enjoy dinner while we talk about the coming weeks of island hopping and birding!

Night at Ngurah Rai Denpasar Airport Hotel

Javan Pond Heron “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 2 - Sumba Tanah Daru National Park

In the morning we’ll board a 90-minute flight to the island of Sumba, where despite the majority of native forest being cleared for farming a variety of endemic and highly sought after species are still fairly easy to access in several locations. We’ll board 4WD vehicles for a 4-hour trek into the island's interior to Billa Forest in Manupeu Tanah Daru National Park. Some of the gems we may encounter birding today include the endemic Red-naped Fruit Dove, Sumba Green Pigeon, and Pale-Shouldered Cicadabird. As dusk approaches we’ll listen for and attempt to track down the endemic Mees’s Nightjar, Sumba Boobook, and Little Sumba Boobook.

Night at Billa Post Guard Ranger Station

Mees’s Nightjar “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 3 - Sumba Billa Forest

There’s nothing quite like the morning chorus in the jungles of Southeast Asia, and Billa Forest is no exception. Our main targets this morning are the incredible Sumba Hornbill and the Sumba subspecies of the Yellow-crested Cockatoo that shows an orange crest and cheeks and is often elevated to species status as the Citron-crested Cockatoo. But this is just the tip of the iceberg as the forest holds a laundry list of desirable birds including the magnificent Eclectus Parrot, the equally impressive Great-billed Parrot, the stunning Marigold Lorikeet, and the often raucous Red-cheeked Parrot. The list goes on and might include: Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher, Black-naped Fruit Dove, Wallacean Cuckooshrike, Wallacean Drongo, Elegant Pitta, Arafura Fantail, Sumba Myzomela, Apricot-breasted Sunbird, Yellow-ringed White-eye, Ashy-bellied White-eye, and 3 endemic flycatchers with the Sumba, Russet-backed Jungle, and Sumba Brown Flycatchers. But it’s not just the specialty birds that make this island worthwhile, some of the more widespread birds are just as incredible, and we may encounter: Brown Goshawk, Spectacled Monarch, Dollarbird, Cinereous Tit, Helmeted Friarbird, Tenggara Whistler, Blyth’s Paradise Flycatcher, Gray-headed Canary Flycatcher, and Sumba Flowerpecker. After lunch, we’ll transfer to Waingapu where we’ll spend the night. If we missed any of the nocturnal birds the previous night tonight will serve as a backup.

Night in Waingapu

Citron-crested Cockatoo “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 4 - Sumba Yumbu Grassland and Transfer to Rote

Our final morning on Sumba will focus on the Yumbu Grassland, where our top target will be the endemic and little-known Sumba Buttonquail—Sumba’s only non-forest endemic species. We will traverse the surrounding grasslands and have a good chance of finding this ground-dwelling game bird. Other grassland species possible include Horsfield’s Bush Lark, Brown Quail, Zebra Finch, and Pied Bush Chat. In the afternoon we’ll take a 1-hour flight to Kupang on the west end of Timor, before boarding a quick 30-minute flight to Rote Island just off the southwest edge of Timor.

Night in Rote

Sumba Buttonquail “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 5 - Rote Endemics

Despite its close proximity to Timor, Rote had 4 endemic species, as well as a handful of endemic subspecies (several deserving of species status). Our day here will focus on picking up 3 diurnal endemics with Rote Fantail, Rote Leaf Warbler, and Rote Myzomela. Other targets will include Jonquil Parrot, Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon, Timor Stubtail, Timor Oriole, Timor Warbling-Flycatcher, Black Cuckoo Dove, and Orange-banded Thrush. In the evening we’ll work on tracking down the lone endemic nocturnal species—Rote Boobook.

Night in Rote

Rote Boobook “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 6 - Timor Bipolo Nature Reserve

This morning we’ll take the 30-minute flight back to Timor and head to the Bipolo Nature Reserve for a full day of birding. While the forest is rather small it still holds a remarkable number of birds. We will focus our efforts here on a trio of pigeons and doves: Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon, Black-backed Fruit Dove, and Rose-crowned Fruit Dove. Other birds we might encounter include Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher, Orange-banded Thrush, Timor Figbird, Timor Friarbird, Buff-banded Thicketbird, Timor Stubtail, Fawn-breasted Whistler, Timor Meliphaga, and Timor Myzomela. Birding the nearby shrimp ponds it is possible we may find Royal Spoonbill, Red-capped Plover, Sunda Teal, Australian Pratincole, and Little Curlew. The fields surrounding the ponds are home to various munias and we will look for both Five-colored Munia and Pale-headed Munia while trying to coax out a rare Timor Sparrow. Other possibilities here include Black-faced Cuckooshrike and Black-faced Woodswallow. In the evening we’ll try for another split from the Southern Boobook complex—the Timor Boobook.

Night in Kupang

Rose-crowned Fruit Dove “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 7 - Timor Camplong, Oelnasi, and Soe

Leaving early in the morning we’ll head to Camplong to look for Spot-breasted Heleia, White-bellied Bush Chat, Black-banded Flycatcher, Timor Leaf Warbler, and the ultra-skulky Buff-banded Thicketbird. Other more widespread species we are likely to find today include Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Spectacled Monarch, Little Pied Flycatcher, and Sunda Bush Warbler. We’ll end the day birding near Oelnasi looking for Timor Cuckoo and Timor Nightjar.

Night in Soe

Timor Leaf Warbler “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 8 - Timor Mount Mutis

Heading to higher elevations, today we’ll embark to the mountains in Fatumnasi and Mount Mutis. The #1 target for birders here is the ultra rare Timor Imperial Pigeon, which would be an extremely lucky find if we had one. We’ll focus on the birds we know we can find including Metallic Pigeon, Island Thrush, Yellow-breasted Leaf Warbler, Mountain White-Eye, and the shy and secretive Pygmy Wren-Babbler. In the interior forest we should encounter a few species like Little Cuckoo-Dove and Snowy-browed Flycatcher, and have our best shot at the elusive Chestnut-backed Thrush—a species rapidly declining due to trapping for the cage-bird trade. Overhead we may encounter flocks of Olive-headed Lorikeet and if we are very lucky, the very rare Iris Lorikeet. Two more highly sought after prizes here include the Tricolored Parrotfinch and endemic yet-described Mutis Parrotfinch.

Night in Soe

Tricolored Parrotfinch “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 9 - Timor & Flores Oelnasi and Transfer to Labuan Bajo

Early this morning will serve as a backup for birding near Oelnasi for anything we have missed the past 2 days. We have a 3-hour drive to the airport where we’ll catch a 2-hour flight to Labuan Bajo on Flores—the jump-off point to Komodo National Park. But before we get to dragons, we have a couple days of birding on the island, starting off in the forest just outside of town where we’ll look for Flores Crow, Elegant Pitta, Yellow-spectacled White-eye, Flores Drongo, Spotted Kestrel, Helmeted Friarbird, and Flame-breasted Sunbird. After dark, we’ll set out to look for 2 of the 3 island scops-owls here: the Mollucan Scops-Owl and the Wallace’s Scops-Owl.

Night in Labuan Bajo

Elegant Pitta “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 10 - Flores Puarlolo to Ruteng Nature Reserve

In the morning we’ll depart Labuan Bajo for the interior of the island, with our first stop being the Puarlolo Nature Reserve. This trail winds through the forest and can turn up some great birds including endemics like the Flores Monarch and the Flores Hawk-Eagle. Other good birds here include Elegant Pitta, Chestnut-capped Thrush, Rufous-chested Flycatcher, Crested Heleia, Little Minivet, Red-Cheeked Parrot, and Leaf Lorikeet. The drive to Ruteng should take a couple hours and we’ll enjoy the gorgeous scenery along the way. In the evening we will try again for Moluccan Scops-Owl if needed and take our first shot at the endemic and near-mythical Flores Scops-Owl.

Night in Ruteng

Flores Monarch “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 11 - Flores Ruteng, Ranamese Lake, and Golo Lusang Forest

Today will be a big day of birding in the mountains on Flores, with a huge list of potential targets like the Crested Ibon (a species of White-eye), Black-fronted Flowerpecker, Golden-rumped Flowerpecker, Russet-capped Tesia, Thick-billed Heleia, Variable Goshawk, Black-naped Fruit Dove, Little Minivet, Black-naped Monarch, Flores Green Pigeon, Tenggara Swiftlet, Russet-backed Jungle-Flycatcher, Bare-Throated Whistler, the near-endemic Brown-capped Fantail, Cream-browed White-eye, Scaly-crowned Honeyeater, and Flores Leaf Warbler. Hold on while we catch our breath—the list continues with White-browed Shortwing (often elevated to species status as Flores Shortwing), the nomadic and endemic Flores Hanging Parrot, Barred Cuckoo-Dove, Dark-Backed Imperial Pigeon, Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove, Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, and Sunda Cuckoo. After dark, we’ll have one more shot at the Flores Scops-Owl and Wallace’s Scops-Owl.

Night in Ruteng

Crested Ibon “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 12 - Flores Pagal to Labuan Bajao

This morning will serve as a backup for any species we might have missed the past 2 days, with a focus on making sure we track down an endemic Glittering Kingfisher and Flores Hanging Parrot. After lunch, we’ll head back towards Labuan Bajo, birding in Potowangka Forest near town. After dark, we may try again for Wallace’s Scops-Owl and Mees’s Nightjar if they’re still missing for our list!

Night in Labuan Bajo

Glittering Kingfisher “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 13 - Komodo Dragons Komodo National Park

While there will be birds today, we’ll focus on something far more amazing—today we’ll seek out the incredible Komodo Dragon. Boarding a speedboat in the morning we’ll head to Komodo Island where we will likely see Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Helmeted Friarbird, Wallacean Drongo, Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Green Junglefowl, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, and Green Imperial Pigeon. If we’re lucky we’ll also see Pied Imperial Pigeon and with any luck Flores Hawk Eagle and Nicobar Pigeon. And oh yes, there will be dragons! We should expect to see a couple Komodo Dragons, perhaps even having our photo taken near the giant beasts! The boat ride back to Labuan Bajo will not be without birds either. We’ll keep an eye on the beaches for Beach Thick-Knee and Great-billed Heron. Overhead it’s not uncommon to see Brahminy Kites and White-bellied Sea-Eagles. Various terns, shorebirds, and waders may be present on the sandbars here as well.

Night in Labuan Bajo

Komodo Dragon “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 14 - Bali

After breakfast, we’ll board a flight back to Bali where we’ll see a more luxurious side of things. Bali is a jewel and has become a major tourist destination for Westerners due to its beautiful beaches, incredible scenery, and fabulous food. While the first portion of our tour focused on endemics on far-flung and little talked about islands, the next few days will focus on the birds of Bali. We could add up to 125 species in our final days of the tour, while we enjoy fantastic food and posh hotels. Getting in and out of Denpasar can prove time-consuming, and passing through Ubud into the mountains could take several hours. But the scenery makes up for the slow moving. We will make our way to Batu Karu jungle temple, a hot spot for Javan Forktail, Little Barbet, Javan Owlet, Crescent-chested Babbler, Javan Flameback, Mees's White-eye, Javan Whistling Thrush, and more.

Night at Bali Handara Kosaido Golf Course

"Little" Blue-eared Barbet “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 15 - Bali Bali Highlands

We'll start the day off birding at Bedugul Botanical Garden for Javan Flowerpecker, Indonesian Honeyeater, Javan Hawk-Eagle, Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove, Sunda Warbler, Javan Bush Warbler, Black-backed Fruit-Dove, Javan Hanging Parrot, Chesnut-backed Schimitiar-Babbler, and the elusive Sunda Thrush. With some luck we may also track down Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon and Gray-cheecked Green-Pigeon. After lunch we will visit Buyan Lake for Striated Grassbird, Yellow Bittern, Cinamon Bittern, and White-browed Crake. As our birding comes to a slow we’ll change scenery, dropping out of the mountains to the north coast and heading west, where the monsoon forest looks more like the lowlands the Lesser Sundas, than the interior of Bali we’ve experienced the past two days. After dark, we’ll set our sights on the talkative but often hard to see Sunda Scops Owl.

Night at The Menjangan

"Javan" Yellow-throated Hanging Parrot “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 16 - Bali West Bali National Park

Today will be a bird packed day. Starting the morning off in a canopy tower we’ll hope for looks at the rare Bali Myna and its cousin the Javan Myna. The Bali Myna is an incredible sight in the wild and one that won’t be soon forgotten. If we’re lucky we might be treated to one of the rarest birds in the world in the critically endangered Black-winged Starling. The illegal cage-bird trade has decimated this species population and West Bali may be the last places this bird exists in the wild in very small numbers. Other birds we hope to see from the tower include Black-thighed Falconet and several species of Green Pigeon. In the forest below we’ll take a short walk in hopes of seeing several birds common to the forest here. Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrot, Changeable Hawk-Eagle, and Coppersmith Barbet are possible. A quick stop near the mangroves and we might pick up Bar-winged Prinia and if lucky Mangrove Whistler. Moving along to the interior forest we’ll hope for great looks at Javan Banded Pitta, Horsfield’s Babbler, and Crested Serpent-Eagle. The habitat quickly turns lusher as we work our way inland and look for birds like Javan Kingfisher, Black-naped Monarch, Hair-crested Drongo, Little Barbet, and a variety of Bulbuls. In the afternoon we’ll turn to the lowlands and the coast around Gillamanuk where we’ll hope for looks at Lesser Adjutant, Blue-tailed Bee-Eater, Zebra Dove, Savanna Nightjar, and Small Minivet. If we’re lucky we might see Red-Breasted Parakeet and Dollarbird as well. In the evening we’ll try again for the elusive Sunda Scops-Owl.

Night at The Menjangan

Javan Banded Pitta “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 17 - Bali West Bali National Park

This morning we’ll visit the canopy tower again, followed by a stop at the Bali Myna release center to get incredible looks at these birds which often hang around very close to the site. Afterward we’ll head to the salt pans northeast of the park to hunt down some shorebirds and other waterbirds. Our main targets will be Javan Plover and Malaysian Plover, but we could easily turn up 10-15 more species of shorebirds with a little effort. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Collared, Sacred, and Small Blue Kingfisher here as well. The afternoon will serve as a backup for any species we may have missed the previous day. We’ll end the night with a dinner in the tower overlooking the park, recapping our trip and celebrating the past 2.5 weeks we’ve had, and the birds we’ve seen!

Night at The Menjangan

Bali Myna “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Day 18 - Bali Ubud and Flights Home

This morning everyone will be able to relax at the resort, eat a leisurely breakfast, go snorkeling if so inclined, and start packing to head home. We’ll head back towards Denpasar after lunch, stopping in Ubud for some souvenir shopping, before making it to the airport in the evening. Here our trip comes to an end as we depart home or wherever your next adventure may take you!

End of Tour!

Sunrise on West Bali “Bali & The Lesser Sundas”

Bali & The Lesser Sundas
Tour Options You can select Single or Double Occupancy

Single Occupancy
$7,699
per person
You'll have a room to yourself for the entire tour

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What’s Included Here’s what we’ll provide on this tour

Professional Local Guides

All in-country flights

Transportation on the Ground

Boat to Komodo National Park

17-nights accomodations

3 Meals/day and Water

All Entrance & Conservation Fees

Birds—we’ll find some birds

A Thoroughly Enjoyable Time

What’s Not Included Here’s what you’ll need to take care of

Flights to and from Tour

Alcoholic Drinks

Soft Drinks

Room Service & Additional Food

Laundry

Phone Calls

Porters

Tips to Guides & Porters

Anything not mentioned

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Pace of Tour Fairly Intense

While physically, this is for the most part, not a challenging tour (i.e. the walking is largely not difficult), the very early starts and long days (necessitated to look for the many endemic nightbirds), make this more intense than many tours. The Lesser Sundas are a remote part of Indonesia, and therefore accommodations are usually limited, so there is the need to travel a short distance to get to many of the birding sites, meaning earlier rises. Starts of 4am-5am are common on this tour, especially at the early end of this time frame. As it get light early, there may also be even earlier starts, as an optional activity, before rejoining the rest of the group, if some of the nightbirds require this. There are many packed breakfasts taken in the field, and some packed lunches. Often the packed food in this part of the world is better than it sounds, comprising a cooked fried rice meal with egg or the like, and coffee is usually provided too!

Difficulty Easy to Moderate

A fair amount of walking is required, although much of it on wide tracks and in fairly easy terrain. There is one, optional, strenuous walk on Timor’s Gunung Mutis. This track is taken slowly, and while uneven the gradient is not that great, only gradually ascending. The toughest aspect of this trip are the very long days, made longer by the pursuit of the many endemic night birds available on this tour. With great effort, many of these are seen by taking long days in the field.

Accomodations Accommodations on this tour are highly variable

As this is a remote part of the world the accommodations on this tour are highly variable, with good to excellent accommodations available in some areas, but basic in others. At all sites we use the best accommodations available. In the cities of Denpasar, Kupang, Soe, Ruteng, and Labuan Bajo good to excellent, modern hotels are used with private bathrooms, 24-hour electricity, full time hot water, air conditioning and Internet. On Sumba we will be staying at the simplest accommodation on the tour, a Guard Ranger Station with shared bathrooms. In Bali the hotels are very comfortable on all nights with private bathrooms, full time electricity, and Internet.

Photography Birding 1st, Photography 2nd

This is a birding tour, with the focus on getting as many birds as possible, although casual photographers in the group will find some birds for photography. There are no feeders on this tour, so any photography is on the fly as it and will always take second place to making sure everyone sees the bird. The best photography will be on Komodo (with the dragons especially), in West Bali National Park, and on Sumba, where the easiest birding of the tour is typically found. Elsewhere photography is much more limited (especially on Timor, where the birding is the toughest of the tour). None-the-less there will be plenty of photo opportunities on this tour.

Climate The Lesser Sundas are hot and humid

Even with the mostly hot temps on Bali, Timor, and Flores we go up to higher elevations where rain and mist, and cooler (but not cold) temperatures are more likely. November is fence between the end of the dry season and the beginning of the wet season in this part of the world. While rain is not expected daily, it could rain daily, and there will likely be some precipition on a number of days. Tropical downpours are possible at any time in Indonesia. This is especially true of the higher elevation sites like Mutis on Timor. Rain gear should be brought at least in the vehicle for each outing. Here are some expected conditions where we'll be birding: On Sumba temperatures average between 70-78F. On Timor temperatures average between 77-87F. Rote is the same as Timor, but low lying so lacking the threat of wetter mountain weather. Flores averages between 67-82F. There is also more chance of rain on Flores mostly in the afternoons and evenings. Komodo averages between 77-88F. Bali average between 74-88F.

Travel Requirements A valid passport is required

You will need a passport with at least two blank pages valid for at least six months beyond the date of your arrival in Indonesia. If your passport does not meet these requirements, you will be denied entry into Indonesia. If you traveling on a limited validity passport, such as an emergency passport, you should obtain a visa prior to arriving in Indonesia.

You will not need a Visa if you are a U.S. citizen and are staying less than 30 days in Indonesia. You must have a return or onward ticket to another country and have not been previously refused entry or blacklisted.

If you are planning on staying longer than 30 days, you will need to purchase a $35 USD visa issued upon arrival valid for up to 30 days for tourism, family visitation, and other purposes. See the Indonesian Immigration’s website for more information. You may extend a Visa-on-Arrival only once for a maximum of 30 days, for another $35 USD. Diplomatic or official passport holders cannot apply for Visa-on-Arrival.

Entry requirements are subject to change at the sole discretion of Indonesian immigration authorities. If you overstay your visa, you are subject to a fine of 250,000 Indonesian rupiah (about $20 USD) per day and may be detained and deported. U.S. citizens have been jailed for visa overstays or obtaining the wrong visa class for their purpose of travel.

While you are in Indonesia, always carry your passport, valid visa, and work or resident permit, if applicable. Travelers have been detained for questioning for not having their passports with them.

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A Map of
Bali & The Lesser Sundas Showing this tours approximate route, destinations, flights, and drives...

Bali and The Lesser Sundas
What an amazing experience! We brought two of our kids out on a Flammulated Owl tour with Tim and it was amazing.
Niki J. “Flammulated Owling”, 2017
Himalayan Snowcock and Cassia Crossbill! Another trip with Tim, another success! These were the "big two" for this trip and Tim delivered in spades.
Paul K. “Most Wanted”, 2018
It is great to see a guide who gets excited about seeing the birds and at the same time cares about their welfare!
David D. “Multi-day Tour”, 2018
Tim is a fantastic guide so friendly and kind. He's funny too. I felt very comfortable on his tour which was sold out.
Melissa H. “Flammulated Owling”, 2018
This was my first experience with a guided bird trip and it could not have been better.
Robin C. “1/2 Day Tour”, 2017

What People
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