Bird-watching on Timor a rewarding experience
Bird-watching on Timor a rewarding experience
Neville Kemp, Contributor, kemp@telkom.net
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.