Indonesia Highlights: Bali Extension - August 2025
Dates: August 16 - 23, 2025
Leaders: Dion Hobcroft & Local Leader
E-bird
Total Species: 403 birds
Click Here to view list.
Overall Summary
We arrived in Denpasar on Indonesian Independence Day. After a great lunch, we headed first to a bus depot for Java Sparrow, then to a rice field for Javan Kingfisher, followed by tracking down Javan Owlet. It was a good start.
For the next two days, we were based in the mountains at Handara Golf Club and the Bedugul Botanic Gardens. Birding was great, with many highlights ranging from Little and Ruddy cuckoo-doves, Black-backed Fruit-Dove, a vagrant Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Black Eagle, Javan Hawk-Eagle, Flame-fronted Barbet, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Hanging Parrot, Scarlet Minivet, Tenggara Whistler, Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike, Bar-winged Prinia, Javan Bush-Warbler, Crescent-chested Babbler, Fulvous-chested Jungle-Flycatcher, Javan Whistling-Thrush, White-crowned Forktail, and Javan Flowerpecker, to rattle off a few.
We then transferred to Mimpi Resort and spent two full days exploring the west coast of Bali. Here, it is mostly dry monsoonal woodlands with farming country and riparian pockets of vine forest. Again, it was very good birding. In the woodlands, we had great views of Green Junglefowl, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Black-thighed Falconet, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher, Common Flameback, Mangrove Whistler, Hair-crested Drongo, Racket-tailed Treepie, Horsfield's Babbler, and, special mention to two stars of the show—the showy Bali Myna and its equally endangered relative, the Black-winged Myna. One surprise was a released confiscated Javan Pied Starling, a species that is extinct in the wild due to cagebird trapping.
On the coast and in nearby fields, we found Lesser Adjutant, Woolly-necked Stork, the rare Malaysian Plover, a Siberian Sand Plover, Javan Plover, Barred Buttonquail, and White-headed Munia.
Having done so well with an extra day, we caught the ferry across to East Java and spent most of the day at Gunung Ijen. We were lucky to see the rare Gray-breasted Partridge and a fine perched Javan Hawk-Eagle. Other great birds for our trip included Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon, Orange-breasted Trogon, Checker-throated Woodpecker, Javan Banded Pitta, Sunda Minivet, White-bellied Fantail, Orange-spotted Bulbul, Indigo Flycatcher, Aberrant Bush Warbler, and White-flanked Sunbird. On the return ferry, we spotted a Brown Booby. Quite lucky!
The Bali and East Java birds are included in the complete eBird trip report for the Indonesian Highlights tour, with several photos there as well. It was a successful finish to our time in Indonesia—an incredibly friendly, biodiverse country with a lot of delicious food.
Thank you for traveling with me.
Dion Hobcroft
Day-by-Day Summary
August 16 - Arrival in Denpasar on Indonesian Independence Day. After a great lunch, we began birding with stops at a bus depot for Java Sparrow, a rice field for Javan Kingfisher, and later tracked down Javan Owlet. A strong and exciting start to the tour.
August 17 - Full day in the central highlands around Handara Golf Club and Bedugul Botanic Gardens. Key sightings included Little and Ruddy Cuckoo-Doves, Black-backed Fruit-Dove, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (vagrant), Ruddy-breasted Crake, Black Eagle, Javan Hawk-Eagle, Flame-fronted Barbet, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Hanging Parrot, Scarlet Minivet, Tenggara Whistler, and many more forest endemics.
August 18 - Continued exploration of montane forests and gardens, with excellent mixed-species birding. Highlights included Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike, Bar-winged Prinia, Javan Bush-Warbler, Crescent-chested Babbler, Fulvous-chested Jungle-Flycatcher, Javan Whistling-Thrush, White-crowned Forktail, and Javan Flowerpecker.
August 19 - Travel day to the west coast of Bali. Afternoon birding in dry monsoonal woodland and farmland edges. Early views of Green Junglefowl, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Black-thighed Falconet, and Chestnut-headed Bee-eater set the tone for the coastal lowlands.
August 20 - Full day exploring woodland and riparian habitats. Key sightings included Rufous-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, Common Flameback, Mangrove Whistler, Hair-crested Drongo, Racket-tailed Treepie, Horsfield’s Babbler, Bali Myna, Black-winged Myna, and a released Javan Pied Starling.
August 21 - Coastal wetlands and nearby fields produced excellent diversity: Lesser Adjutant, Woolly-necked Stork, Malaysian Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Javan Plover, Barred Buttonquail, and White-headed Munia.
August 22 - Ferry crossing to East Java and full-day birding at Gunung Ijen. Major highlights included Gray-breasted Partridge, Javan Hawk-Eagle, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon, Orange-breasted Trogon, Javan Banded Pitta, Sunda Minivet, Indigo Flycatcher, and White-flanked Sunbird.
August 23 - Morning ferry return with a final seabird highlight: Brown Booby. Completion of the Indonesian Highlights tour and departure. A memorable finish to an incredibly diverse and rewarding birding journey across Bali and East Java.