April 14th, 2024 
Nick 
Where can you see Christmas Island Frigatebird, Sunda Teal, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Milky Stork, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Cerulean Kingfisher, Clamorous Reed Warbler and a wide range of other species in an urban setting? On a boat trip from Jakarta, Indonesia!
The island of Java is one of the most densely populated areas of the world and the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta, situated on Java, is a mega city, sprawling with a huge population so it might not seem like an obvious place to go birding. Indeed, if one wants to go birding in a pristine habitat with clear air and untouched habitats then this type of urban birding might not be the first thing that you think of, but for those who are fascinated in the ability of birds to live alongside humans then a boat trip from the northern suburbs of Jakarta is an interesting excursion with a wide variety of birds including some globally rare species. This boat trip is something I always include when leading Indonesia birding tours that visit Java, providing us with some easy birding from the boat and some great photo opportunities, particularly of Christmas Island Frigatebirds.
Having enjoyed birding from Jakarta by boat on previous trips I led a group for Naturalist Journeys; Indonesia’s Best Birding Tour in September 2023 in which this birding boat trip was included. Having returned to Jakarta after birding Southern Sumatra we had brreakfast at our hotel and made the short drive to a boatyard on the edge of the mangroves that fringe the northern parts of Jakarta. The early morning sun was just emerging as we boarded our boat, lighting up birds perched in the mangroves looking for their breakfast. Large numbers Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, Grey Herons, Little Egrets and Javan Pond Herons in various states of plumage adorned the creek-side trees as we started cruising along towards Jakarta Bay.
This profusion of birds gave the photographers among us something to keep busy with before reaching the mud flats where the mangrove creek meets Jakarta Bay and good numbers of birds were feeding and resting. A flock of around 100 Lesser Whistling Ducks was a small surprise as this species is usually uncommon in this area while up to 10 Whimbrel were feeding along with a few Wood Sandpipers and many Whiskered Terns, all backlit by the sunrise. A lovely sight but difficult to appreciate details with the sun behind them.
Our journey was to take us down another mangrove channel but beforehand we had to get out into some deeper water to avoid grounding on the mud. This gave us some nice views of Whiskered Terns picking prey off of the water’s surface.
A single Great Crested Tern was a new bird for many of the group but there would be more of those later, at this point there was a different attraction; Sunda Teal. Most people were probably anticipating this little duck drifting around on a secluded pool so it was a shock to observe them roosting on a large ship anchored in the bay. This was a weird way to see this endemic but it gave us plenty of time to appreciate them.
Having enjoyed these Sunda Teal and their strange choice of habitat we proceeded towards the second mangrove channel, spotting some very distant Milky Storks which we were frustratingly unable to get closer to because of the low water levels but were assured that we would see at closer range later on in the morning.
Slowly cruising down the second mangrove channel we were able to see lots of birds in the waterside vegetation including the endemic Bar-winged Prinia dancing around in the reeds and a couple of “singing” Clamorous Reed Warblers, one of which posed for us. This is a widespread bird in Asia but with a patchy distribution and these birds on Java are rather smaller than mainland birds and have caused taxonomists some problems.
White-breasted Waterhen is a fairly common bird in much of Asia but for many of our group the first one here was an exciting sighting, although the waterside trash reminded us clearly that we were in an urban setting; it’s amazing how some birds can flourish among the detritis of human life.
A few Oriental Darters drifted overhead with Cave Swiftlets fluttering around, feeding on the profusion of insect life, while other common birds such as Yellow-vented Bulbul, Spotted Dove and Zebra Dove had already become familiar to us. Although a fairly common bird in much of Southeast Asia the colourful Pink-necked Green Pigeon always brings a smile to my face whether it is in the mangrove remnants of Jakarta or the suburb of Bangkok that I live in.
Red-breasted Parakeets joined the party while Pacific Swallows blasted up and down the creek feeding in the early morning. A group of Javan Mynas were not the first we had seen on this trip but for many in the group these were the first ones that had given them good views. A pair of Blue-tailed Bee-eaters were also seen, perched on bare branches, but the highlight was a Cerulean (Little Blue) Kingfisher that allowed us to get close enough to take some nice photographs.
One of our quests here was the increasingly rare Sunda Coucal and although I have seen it on other occasions sightings here are getting rarer, partly because access is a little harder than in the past, but also because the small amount of habitat available along the coast of northern Jakarta continues to decline in size. This time we did not find Sunda Coucal but species such as Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Pied Triller and Freckle-breasted Woodpecker went some small way to making up for it. With time ticking by we headed out into Jakarta Bay to look for some Frigatebirds.
As we picked up a little speed to cover some distance we spotted a few more Great Crested Terns and Little Black Cormorants with an unusual urban seascape.
An engine problem meant that we had to stop on a little island to change boat, but this was no hardship, giving us time for a “break” and provided views of our first Christmas Island Frigatebirds circling high overhead. Better views were anticipated so although the seating on the new boat was not the most comfortable it did get us to an area of fish traps where first we got some awesome views of Great Crested Terns in extreme close up.
However, the main attraction was shortly to follow. Christmas Island Frigatebird is a species categorized as “vulnerable” and is mostly found in very inaccessible locations; Jakarta Bay is probably the easiest and most reliable place to see these impressive birds. Here you not only see Christmas Island Frigatebirds you can get extremely close to them on their resting places on the bamboo fish traps.
After this amazing encounter we headed back towards the boatyard to stretch our legs and have a well-earned mid-morning break, but the incoming tide had pushed many birds onto a small amount of mud where a few Pied Stilts were resting along with a single Javan Plover, but most special of all was a superb Milky Stork wading in the shallows. This endangered species is restricted to a dwindling number of breeding colonies in a small part of South East Asia but is often seen on this birding boat trip in Jakarta Bay. For us, several birds gave us great views both in the water and roosting on nearby trees.
These birds were a wonderful way to end our morning of urban birding by boat. I always enjoy this trip for the great views it affords of some really great birds and will be including it in two upcoming Indonesia Birding Tours that I will lead. Take a look at these itineraries and I hope to see you there.
Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have about these birding tours to Indonesia; nickupton@thaibirding.com
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