Close Encounters of the Bird Kind: An expedition to Buton Island, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

First off let me apologise for the lack of posts since May. I've been a little... preoccupied.

Y'see for two months this summer I got the chance to go to Sulawesi in Indonesia to work as an ornithologist for Operation Wallacea. It was the best thing I've ever done, and here's the story...

I was based on Buton Island, just off the South East coast of mainland Sulawesi, for 8 weeks in a small forest village called Labundobundo - so nice they named it 1 and a half times. We lived with local people, sharing their houses and using the village as a base from which we went to the forest camps. There were forests camps dotted around the island, some close to the village about an hours walk into the forest and others further away. One, at the Northern end of Buton Island, was a 6 hour drive, 1 hour boat trip and 1 hour trek through the forest. So swings and roundabouts really.

Trekking through the forest to one of the camps

Now when I say 1 hour walk, this isn't a walk like "walk" is normally meant. This is a walk in over 30 degrees Celsius heat WITHOUT the sun even out. Add to that the humidity of 100%, the rucksacks filled with enough gear for a 5 night stay on our backs and the "paths" that we were walking through the jungle and you might begin to realise that this wasn't some casual stroll through the forest. It was hard going. After the rains had been down some of the paths were the hardest walking I've ever done anywhere. But the treasures that lay within the forest made it all worthwhile... and then some.

I was there as I had been employed as an ornithologist for Operation Wallacea, and I was working most days over the 8 weeks collecting data through point counts to survey the bird populations of the forest. This data would then be used to try and obtain better protection for the forest reserves and the birds within them. Let me tell you... some of the birds were stunning! One of the most charismatic species there is the Knobbed Hornbill, a bird that isn't found anywhere else on Earth apart from Sulawesi (as with many of the other bird species). Its a huge bird that you could hear most days in the forest, whether that be its barking like call or the sound of their wings as they glided over the forest canopy from tree to tree.

Knobbed Hornbill

The reason that Sulawesi is so important is for the reason that most of the animals there are so special and unique. Sulawesi is on the Wallace Line, an imaginary line that seperates the flora and fauna of the Asian and Australasian continent. On the left hand side of the Wallace line you get typically Asian species; Tigers, Indian Elephants, Orangutans etc. whereas on the right hand side you get Australasian species; Cassowaries, Marsupials and the like. However Sulawesi has a mixture of both, so in the forests you will encounter Macaques (Asian) alongside Bear Cuscus, a marsupial (Australasian). That's why this area is in need of study and protection.

Indonesia as a whole has the second highest rate of deforestation in the world after Brazil and I saw much evidence that designating somewhere as a national park has little effect on logging. That's why the work that the team of scientists that were out there was so important, to make known the value of the area and to try and get better protection for the region.

Perhaps the bird that is highest up any birders list when Sulawesi is mentioned is the Maleo, an endemic member of the Megapode family. The scientists wanted to try and document presence of Maleo on the island as it would add further weight to the protection efforts. After a member of the team had been sent on a week-long trip to document Maleo nesting sites around Buton Island with very little success, a few days after his return a live specimen was brought into the village by a local man who had caught it in a jungle fowl snare. It was found in the forest on the outskirts of the village and some of the locals said, once they knew that was what a Maleo looked like, they occasionally see the bird crossing the forest road. This may mean there is a possibility that there may be a population of this highly endangered endemic species in the local area. Unfortunately I was at a forest camp at the time so was unable to see the Maleo and witness the events that day!

But I did manage to see some fantastic birds. I finished on over 80 species for the trip, which admittedly isn't a large number for such a length of time but that was due to the dense forest vegetation we were working in. I did get some crackers though, birds like the Yellow Billed Malkoha, Sulawesi Crested Myna, Rufous Bellied Eagle and Ornate Lorikeet to name a few with many on my list only being able to be found in that part of the world. I also got Oriental Hobby, which was only ever the second record for the island. I saw some other great wildlife too - Sulawesi Wild Pig, Reticulated Python, Sulawesi Tarsier, Black Macaque, Dwarf Cuscus and a probable King Cobra!

Sulawesi Hawk Eagle

However despite seeing all of these incredible animals, the best part of the experience was the people that I met. It was nice to be able to find like minded people to myself that were so passionate about nature and concerned with trying to preserve it and understand it. It was also a fascinating experience to work so closely with local people - something that I embraced and managed to learn a decent degree of Indonesian!

It's a wonderful place and was a truly remarkable way to spend 2 months of my summer. I very much hope I'll get to return next year.