8. Our last morning on the Tapan Road.

Checking out of our hotel we set off in the vehicles for our last morning birding in Sumatra and the Tapan Road.

With Mika opting to go with Dan to try for closer Sumatran Green Pigeons the rest of us decided to spend our last morning on Tapan Road in the company of Marbled Wren Babbler and the Graceful Pita.

We'd  got a dropped pin for Sumatran Leafbird. An endangered endemic which we'd seen briefly before but wanted to see better to confirm our initial views. Once wed filled our proverbial boots with the babbler and pitta we headed down the road to meet up with Dan & Mika to try again for this uncommon and declining species of leafbird. 

Once again Bobbi's sharp eyes helped us out as, whilst we were scanning treetops for Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrikes and various species of spider hunter, bulbul and flowerpecker, he picked out a family party of Sumatran leafbird relatively close. 

Male Sumatran Leafbird

juvenile Sumatran Leafbird

I'd seen Blue-winged Leafbird in Thailand and we'd seen Blue-masked leafbird at Donau Kaco so this was a nice way to finish our leafbird list.

All to soon it was time to retire to a local restaurant for lunch where we sadly said goodbye to Bobbi & Yudi before starting the arduous journey back to Padang. Two great guysa nd it was a pleasure being in their company.

7. Back to Danau Kaco

Following our successful trip to Danau Kaco for Sumatran Ground Cuckoo we returned to try and see some of the birds we'd missed in our haste to get to the hide at 1st light. 

First up was Ruby-throated Bulbul. A stunning looking bulbul with a black head and a deep ruby read throat contrasting with its greenish yellow body. We heard them easily enough and eventually got good views but no photos. They were extremely flighty - probably as a result of being hunted for the cage bird trade. Another bird we hoped to see was Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher as we'd heard a signing bird on our last visit. 

A real birders bird this and a proper LBJ eventually spotted singing deep in a bamboo thicket! 

Another target species which proved to be surprisingly elusive was the endemic Sumatran Bulbul. On our previous visit we'd staked out several areas where they'd been seen regularly but despite hearing them we couldn't find one! Luck was with us today when Dan suddenly announced he'd got two deep in a tangle of branches. In contrast to the Ruby-throated Bulbul this one was positively dowdy.

Not the most inspiring bird of the trip but still good to catch up with another Sumatran endemic.

Walking slowly up the trail we came across several of these magnificent green lizards which I think are Chameleon Forest Agama's and Sumatran Forest Dragons.

Chameleon Forest Agama

Another bird we'd heard but not seen well was Banded Kingfisher. A species I'd 1st seen in Thailand earlier this year but not particularly well. We managed to track a calling bird down in Danau Kaco and it showed well before disappearing back into the jungle.

We decided to stop at the screen at Hide 2 for a brew as it was also a good spot for Green Pigeon and Sumatran Bulbul. Whilst sitting nursing our black sweet teas a Sumatran Ground Cuckoo called nearby and we eventually saw a pair silently enter the clearing. The male put on a good display but the female, obviously disappointed by the lack of crickets, maintained a low profile and never showed fully.

Me photographing yet another Sumatran Ground Cuckoo

Primates also featured again and this time we were treated to good views of the weirdly named Yellow-handed Mitred Langur. Formerly known as Black-crested Sumatra nLangur these are endemic to Sumatra. 

A great days birding and the guys laid on a fabulous lunch for us before we all posed for a photo against the trail entrance gate before heading for our hotel. Tomorrow would be our last mornings birding before heading on the long journey back to Padang where we'd spend the night before heading back to Malaysia.

6. Tapan Road

Tapan Road is the main road between Sungei Punuh and Mauro Sako. Its a busy road with high and low altitude birding accompanied by the stench of diesel fumes and two stroke from the numerous scooters and the inevitable honking of horns that seems to accompany you everywhere in Asia. Its also probably the best place to see Marbled Wren Babbler and Graceful Pitta. The wren babbler site was inaccessible gully hidden from the road along a small stream but the pitta site was literally on the side of the busy road! 

Marbled Wren Babblers can be really hard to see as they generally skulk around in thick undergrowth. Fortunately for us our guides had a site staked out where a bird was responding to playback and coming to feed on mealworms. So we found ourselves sitting on camping chairs behind a hastily erected mesh screen  in stream concentrating on the fallen log and small waterfall in front of us whilst traffic continued to whizz passed by on the busy road a few metres behind us.

We could hear a bird in the distant and waited quietly as it moved closer and eventually appeared in front of us. A beautiful looking bird and living up to its 'marbled' name.

Buoyed by our success we were keen to try for our next target species and drove a few hundred metres up the road where we parked on a verge and the guys erected another blind in a spot for Graceful Pitta. Yet another species threatened by habitat loss but quite incongruously to be found along the busy Tapan Rd. It was quite a bizarre experience sitting with our backs to the traffic, that continually honked their horns at us, whilst the guys set up a stove and brewed tea for us and we waited for an elusive pitta! 

Once again the ground team produced the goods and before long we heard a pitta calling as it made its way slowly towards where we were sat.

Me and Fred - happy birders after seeing the Marbled Wren Babbler and Graceful Pitta

Finally satiated with our views we had a late breakfast of sweet tea and biscuits before exploring the other areas of Tapan Rd looking for specialities such as Rhinoceros Hornbill, Sumatran Leafbird and Sumatran Green Pigeon and anything else we could pick up! 

Tapan Rd birding

5. Sumatran Ground Cuckoo.

After the inevitable breakfast of hard boiled eggs and toast and jam (this hotel had a toaster) and fresh fruit we set off in the mini van to Danau Kaco where we transferred to the pickup for the short drive to the beginning of the trail whilst it was still dark.

At this point there was a bit of confusion. The previous night we'd been told we would be going to hide 1 where, apparently, someone from the 'Explore Kerinci' ground team had seen the cuckoo the previous day, but to our surprise Bobbi led us to hide 2. There were a few mumblings but a general acceptance that Bobbi knew what he was doing. 

Settled in the hide we waited and waited. A Sumatran Ground Cuckoo was heard calling distantly and then it went quiet. Suddenly a movement caught our eye and the bird appeared on a fallen log. Cue a collective exhalation of breath! 

What a stunning looking bird. Its beautifully camouflaged iridescent green plumage contrasting with the blue and pink bare skin around the eye. A friend of mine commented she was insanely jealous of the eye makeup when I sent her the photos! 

Just listen to that call:

It was an unbelievable experience and we watched enthralled for a bout an hour before the bird melted back into the jungle. 

Carrying on up the trail we heard but couldn't see the endemic Sumatran Bulbul but added species such as Dark Hawk Cuckoo and Orange-backed Woodpecker to the trip list as well as close views of Sunda Forktail.

A great day and it was a more relaxed team that headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner before an early start in the morning to try for Marbled Wren Babbler and Graceful Pitta on the infamous Tapan Road. 

Dark Hawk Cuckoo