Indonesia Highlights - August 2026
Dates: August 1 - 17, 2026
Leader: Dion Hobcroft
E-bird
Total Species: 308 birds
Click Here to view list.
Overall Summary
It was a successful adventure taking us to five major islands in Indonesia, crisscrossing Wallace’s Line and getting a fine experience of what this fabulous country has to offer, both in terms of biodiversity and culture. We were extremely well looked after by our ground teams. It was a great trip.
Starting on the Minahasa Peninsula in the north of Sulawesi, we spent a full day exploring Tomohon and Gunung Mahawu. We had great luck with our key targets, Scaly Kingfisher and the extraordinary Sulawesi Pitta. There was a supporting cast of another forty species or so that included Purple Needletail, Black and Rufous-bellied Eagles, Spotted Kestrel, Superb Fruit-Dove, Yellow-billed Malkoha, Sulawesi Scops Owl, two species of hanging-parrot (Sulawesi and the less common Pygmy), Mountain Tailorbird, three species of flowerpecker (Gray-sided, Yellow-sided, and Crimson-crowned), and three species of sunbird (Black, Crimson, and Sahul).
We moved north and east to Tangkoko, and it delivered some of the best birding of the tour. At the Temboan overlook, we had four species of imperial-pigeon (Green, Silvery, White-bellied, and the scarce Grey-headed), perched scope views of Golden-mantled Racquet-tail and Ornate Lorikeet, Purple-winged Roller, White-necked Myna, and the amazing Knobbed Hornbill. Another stop produced incredible views of Sulawesi Dwarf-Kingfisher, Sulawesi Lilac Kingfisher, and a bonus Ochre-bellied Boobook. Another bit of fortune turned up Great-billed Kingfisher and a pair of Javan Plovers, a species that is expanding its range. A morning walk in the national park kept the momentum going, with great views of Philippine Megapode, Russet-backed Thrush, Green-backed Kingfisher, Spot-tailed Goshawk, and Sulawesi Myna, whilst our mammal list kicked off with Gursky’s Tarsier, Crested Black Macaque, Bear Cuscus, and the striking Wallace’s Stripe-faced Fruit-bat.
A lengthy travel day had us in situ in Way Kambas National Park, deep in the lowland Sundaic rainforest of southeastern Sumatra. It was great birding here: Malayan Crested Fireback, eight species of woodpecker (White-bellied, Crimson-winged, Checker-throated, Banded, Rufous, Grey and Buff, Buff-rumped, and Buff-necked), three species of trogon (Red-naped, Diard’s, and Scarlet-rumped), four species of broadbill (Green, Dusky, Black-and-yellow, and Banded), and multiple babblers (Fluffy-backed Tit, Chestnut-winged, and Sumatran), whilst other great birds included amazing views of Bonaparte’s Nightjar, Sunda Frogmouth, and Rufous-tailed Shama. Highlight mammals included great views of Siamang—the world’s largest gibbon—with its extraordinarily powerful hooting song; a Red Giant Flying Squirrel observed “flying” at night, which generated a few “oohs” and “aahs” from the participants; and, on the other end of the spectrum, the incredible Black-eared Pygmy Squirrel.
A boat trip in the rather awful Jakarta Bay delivered the much-wanted Milky Stork. Further afield in West Java, key stops produced Java Sparrow, display-flying Savanna Nightjars in the day, and Streaked Weaver, whilst after dinner, an extraordinary and very rare Javan Slow Loris stole our hearts. In the forests of Carita, a solid morning delivered Javan Frogmouth, point-blank views of Javan Banded-Pitta, Javan Black-capped and Temminck’s babblers, the skittish Yellow-eared Barbet, and a female of the elusive Javan Sunbird. In the afternoon, we finished up with West Javan Langur, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Greater Coucal, Freckle-breasted and Sunda Pygmy Woodpeckers, and a very photogenic Sunda Scops Owl, to mention some.
Like all of our flights, everything went smoothly, and the next afternoon we were on the delightful island of Flores in the town of Labuan Bajo. Wandering in some coastal forest, we soon had Ornate Pitta in the scope, the now-scarce Sunda Collared-Dove, beautiful small passerines like Yellow-spectacled Heleia, Black-fronted Flowerpecker, and Flame-breasted Sunbird, with Mees’s Nightjar hawking over us at dusk. The next morning, we were distracted by the elusive Chestnut-capped Thrush, rare Flores Monarch, Red-cheeked Parrot, and Rufous-throated Flycatcher. By the afternoon, we had White-rumped Kingfisher showing well and finished with an outstanding view of the elusive Wallace’s Scops Owl, one of the highlights of the tour. In the high mountains close to the town of Ruteng, we had a date with the extraordinary Bare-throated Whistler—one of the great birds of the world. New birds came past at a regular clip, including Leaf Lorikeet, Flores Flowerpecker, Sunda Honeyeater, Rusty-capped Tesia, Crested and White-browed heleias, and more. That evening, after a concerted effort, we had the rarely seen Flores Scops Owl in our torchlight.
The following morning was undoubtedly the most eventful of the tour when, just after breakfast, we experienced an extraordinary earthquake of 7.7 on the Richter scale. Amazingly, everyone was fine where we were, the infrastructure held up remarkably well, and we proceeded as normal—almost miraculous! Unbelievable, but none of us will forget this earthquake. Our luck was in when, at the last minute, we had a couple of excellent views of the rare Wallace’s Hanging-Parrot, whilst the stunning white Tenggara Paradise-Flycatchers produced a lot more of the “oohs” and “aahs” that the gliding Red Giant Flying Squirrel had produced amongst us in Way Kambas. A bit of birding in rice fields produced both Five-coloured Munia and, fortuitously, stunning Red Avadavats.
Our final day of the tour was much anticipated, and we sped out to Komodo, “James Bond” style, in a speedboat. In the forest, chaperoned by rangers, we had some excellent encounters with Komodo Dragons walking straight towards us in full swagger mode. Very memorable indeed. The birding was also good, with the ultra-rare Yellow-crested Cockatoo still showing well at this location, with a supporting cast including Green Junglefowl, Orange-footed Megapode, Great-billed Heron, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Pied Imperial-Pigeon, Barred Dove, Australian Hobby, and White-shouldered Triller.
Our last hurrah produced a Great-billed Parrot in the scope, Small Blue and Stork-billed Kingfishers, a perched Sunda Zebra Finch, whilst the leader was a bit blown away encountering the unusual Moth Butterfly that was not on his radar. We finished this tour with 308 species of birds and some 24 mammals. We flew on to Bali, where some participants carried on and others headed for more travels.
What a great trip. Unbelievable birds, mammals, and adventures. Thank you for travelling with me and Victor Emanuel Nature Tours.
Day-by-Day Summary
August 1 - Arrival Manado. Transfer to Tomohon. Afternoon birding Tomohon.
August 2 - Full day birding Tomohon at Gunung Mahawu.
August 3 - Transfer to Tangkoko with morning birding Temboan. Afternoon birding Tangkoko.
August 4 - Full day birding Tangkoko.
August 5 - Fly Manado to Lampung via Jakarta. Birding PM Way Kambas.
August 6 & 7 - Full days birding Way Kambas.
August 8 - Fly Lampung to Jakarta. AM Boat trip on Jakarta Bay. After lunch transfer to Carita for afternoon birding.
August 9 - Full day birding Carita.
August 10 - Fly Jakarta to Labuan Bajo. Afternoon birding Labuan Bajo.
August 11 - Transfer Labuan Bajo to Ruteng birding at Puarlolo, Todo Forest and Danau Rana Mese.
August 12 - Birding at Golo Lusang and Danau Rana Mese.
August 13 - Transfer Ruteng to Labuan Bajo. AM at Pagal.
August 14 - Day trip to Komodo. PM Labuan Bajo-Potawangka.
August 15 - Fly Labuan Bajo to Denpasar. Tour continues for those who wish to Bali.
Wildlife Seen:
Bear Cuscus
Gursky's Spectral Tarsier
Javan Slow Loris
Silver Leaf Monkey
Javan Leaf Monkey
Long-tailed Macaque
Crested Balck Macaque
Sunda Pig-tailed Macaque
Siamang, Prevost's Squirrel
Plantain Squirrel
Black-striped Squirrel
Black-eared Pygmy Squirrel
Red Giant Flying Squirrel
Horsfield's Flying-squirrel (Dion only)
Whitish Dwarf Squirrel
Sumatran Treeshrew
Horsfield's Tree Shrew
Lesser Treeshrew
Xanthurus Rat
Wallace's Stripe-faced Fruit-bat
Greater Short-nosed Fruit-bat
Wild Boar
Javan Rusa
Komodo Dragon
Asian Water Monitor
Tokay
Garden Calotes