To the hills

 

Bird of the Day - Javan Kingfisher

Today we left, eventually, the circus of southern Bali and its horrendous traffic and set forth out into the rural parts of Bali where rice terraces dominate, and growing food predominates.

First stop was a Bas Station, which proved to provide habitat for the Java – Bali endemic; the Java Sparrow. Sadly, this species is in decline – a victim of habitat loss and, believe it or not human predation. Looking at a bas station to consider it is decent habitat for a bird is difficult even when the day before we had been watching a surprising number of Javan Munias nesting in the cage like light fittings in the cavernous lobby of our Sanur hotel.

The Bas Station and its roof revealed the Java Sparrows while a Barn Owl decided to roost within the roof.

Rice paddies revealed opportunistic Cattle Egrets taking advantage of human ploughing and paddy preparation.

The next lifer for most of the party was the beautiful Javan and Bali Endemic- the Javan Kingfisher.

Visiting a Balinese temple – a gateway to some of the forests cloaking a huge volcano – demanded that we dress appropriately in wrap around skirts. This is traditional and not a poor attempt to appease those modern folks who advocate for a serious multiplication of gender…

The endemic Flame fronted Barbet was the stand out bird here.

A lovely buffet lunch followed within the UNESCO listed Rice terraces of Jatiluwih.

https://www.baliriceterrace.com/blog/jatiluwih-rice-terrace,-a-world-cultural-heritage-site-in-bali-by-unesco.html

Bedugul beckoned after lunch and a short nap before a visit to the Bedugul [or Bali] Botanical Gardens.

Short tailed Starling

Long tailed Shrike

A trickle of new birds followed  - see below.