Bali bird watching, a chance to see many of the hundred bird species...
A
great thing to do when you are in Bali is to go Bali bird watching.
Bali has hundreds of different bird species so you'll definitely see
many different ones during a walk.
A great area do to some
bird watching is in the areas around Ubud, where the rice fields and
river gorges attract numerous birds.
If you are accompanied by
a guide who knows the area, then you are likely to see
unique species such as the Java Kingfisher, Scarlet Headed
Flower pecker, Bar-Winged Prinia and the Black Winged Starling.
The best places and ways to do some bali bird watching are the
following:
- Bali Bird Walk Tour, these tours are led by the eccentric Victor Mason who will take you on walks around Ubud, south Bali, Tabanan, Batu Karu or the Central Highlands.
- Herons at
Petulu, north of Ubud
Bali Bird Watching -- The Bali Bird Walk Tour
A question that Victor Mason, one of the organizers of the bird walk tour, might ask you is: 'Are you a keen bird watcher?'
If the answer is Yes then you will have a grand time, if it is
No then a whole new world called 'Bali bird watching' will open to
you...
Together with his fellow bird watchers, Wayan Sumadi (known as Su) and
Pink, Victor Mason organizes bali bird watching tours around Ubud on
Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays morning.
Victor Mason in his bird watching
uniform
However if you want it any other day or you want to do bali bird watching in other parts of Bali then that can all be arranged as well.
The people of the Bali Bird Walk know the island in and out and have been doing bird watching for more than 15 years.
So trust me, these are the guys you want to go along if you want to see birds you wouldn't otherwise have seen or heard about.
Pink, a passionate and excellent bird watcher
I myself have hardly any experience with bird watching. I even had a
hard time adjusting the binoculars I borrowed from Pink ;-)
But within
minutes I felt the same
excitement as my fellow bird watchers when we spotted our
first birds.
Victor Mason, Pink and their companion Umron the dog, took us along the
main street of Ubud and into the rice fields. And almost after every
couple of meters there was another bird that we could check-off on our
list.
All kinds of bird names were mentioned which I could not even remember
afterwards.
Luckily at the beginning of the walk everybody was handed
out a list of all the birds we might see and with everybody's help we
could proudly say that we saw more
than 30 types of Bali birds....
Everybody made sure they spotted every bird that flew over...
Of course we saw all the different birds with much help of Pink and
Victor. It was amazing how they were able to spot the tiniest bird or
to hear them coming from far away.
Every now and then you will see Victor cupping his ear with one hand
and listening for a sound. Then within seconds the bird he heard coming
from a distance would be flying passed us.
Pink on the other hand is
amazingly good with spotting the birds sitting in trees more than 10m
away!
Besides their wonderful Bali bird watching skills, they are also great fun.
Victor Mason has lived in Bali for many years but he has definitely not
lost his English wit. He makes you chuckle
throughout the tour :-)
Follow the leader Victor and Umron through the ricefields
As for Pink, he is originally from Ubud but his English is excellent. He knows everything you want to know about Bali, Ubud and of course the Bali Birds.
On top of that he is a painter and has created
many beautiful paintings on birds, butterflies and insects.
Unfortunately I was not able to meet Su, but hopefully I will have another opportunity soon to meet her. But from the stories I've heard, she
is just as great as the other two.
Some culture along the way
The Bali bird watching tour starts at 9.00 o'clock in the morning and takes about 3 hours.
However when walking around searching for birds and also
checking out the many butterflies and various plants (Victor and Pink
seem to know all of them as well) we kind of lost notion of time.
So at the end we were having lunch at 15.00 instead of 12.00 as
planned. O well, we are in Bali were everything is much more relaxed
than at home...
Lunch is included in the price. It's in a beautiful restaurant above
the Campuhan river.
And like the whole tour, it is all very informal and we were able to order whatever we wanted from the menu.
A refreshing drink a great lunch after the Bali bird watching tour
It was a
great ending of a wonderful day...
I really had fun and I highly recommend this tour to anybody who wants
to stroll around the rice fields while seeing the colorful Bali Birds.
And if you are an enthusiastic bird watcher already, then this will be the best
opportunity to share your passion with others.
As mentioned above the Bali bird watching tour takes about 3 to 5 hours and costs US $33
incl big lunch. You should take a hat with you as it can get
really hot when walking in the rice fields. And some extra water which
always comes in handy...
Bali Bird Watching -- Herons in Petulu
Every evening around 17.00 thousands of herons gather together at Petulu.
Petulu is a tiny village set within the rice fields just north of Ubud
and with the herons returning each day, its street are pretty much
covered with bird droppings...
Ok that might be a bit of an
exaggeration, but once the birds are in the tree you should not stand
under them too long...
Nevertheless,
it is a remarkable sight to see the white
herons flying in. They all
settle in the big trees along the road and stay there throughout the
night.
Herons in Petulu just outside Ubud
To be honest, we did expect them to come flying in together in one large group, but after 17.00 they gradually show up and only after 18.00 are the trees filled with them.
When you arrive at Petulu for a Bali bird watching experience, you will be stopped by a village member who will ask for a donation. You'll get a folder with information on the birds.
There are three types of herons at Petulu: the Egret which is totally white, the Cattle Egret which is slightly smaller and has a brown neck and finally the Javan Pond Heron.This is the smallest of the three and it has a black patch on his neck.
The villagers value the return of the
herons every day. The herons started to arrive in the village in 1965
right after the ending of a large ceremony which was held in the
village temple.
Because of the timing of the birds arrival,
the villagers consider them a
blessing from the Gods. Now ceremonies
are held to honor them.
When considering the location of the
village, Petulu is also ideal located for the birds.
The surrounding
area is covered with rice fields and trees, creating an ideal place for
the birds to find insects, little frogs, eels and to create suitable
nests.
The villagers claim this is the best place
for heron watching
On the south side of the village there is a look-out
point ideal for some bali bird watching. It is easy to find, as a sign next to road
mentions: "the best
place to see the herons".
The little wooden house is in the middle of a
rice-field from which you can see the herons arriving.
The little old lady running the place sells all kind of cold drinks so
you'll be comfortable during the whole spectacle.
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