Temboan Hill Lookout Day 3 Part 1 (Post 10)

On our third day at Tangkoko, we're off to explore the stunning Temboan Hill Lookout, which is just a short 20-minute drive away!

I fondly recall that this area was buzzing with parrot sightings on my last visit, and sure enough, the first bird we spotted was a vibrant Sulawesi Hanging-Parrot.

Just a little further along, we came across a White Necked Myna.

Then, to my delight, the Sulawesi Cicadabird made an appearance—this was a brand new species for me!

We also spotted another Bay Coucal, which seems to be quite common around here. Interestingly, even though they belong to the cuckoo family, coucals don’t engage in brood parasitism. 

The excitement hit a high when we laid eyes on the Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbill, also known as the Sulawesi Hornbill. The male features a striking yellow face and throat, while the female is entirely black.

As if that wasn’t enough, we were thrilled to see a pair of Knobbed Hornbills!

Just as the rain began to fall, a Sahul Sunbird appeared, looking quite similar to the Ornate Sunbird.

This place is a fantastic spot for birdwatching, and macro photography enthusiasts will love it too! There are plenty of opportunities to capture tiny creatures, like these wasps whose species I’m not sure of,

and some interesting flies.

I noticed a katydid resting on each flower,

and I spotted some birds perched on a wire that I believe were Gray-rumped Treeswifts.

While we were watching the treeswifts, a beautiful White-bellied Imperial-Pigeon flew gracefully across the sky. 

Following closely behind, a flock of Finchbill Mynas joined in the fun, 

landing nearby for a closer look.

One "rare" highlight was spotting a non-endemic bird, the Sooty Headed Bulbul,

along with another non-endemic visitor, the Black-naped Oriole.

I even caught sight of a Grey-sided Flowerpecker perched atop a Sahul Sunbird.

As we wrapped up our adventure and prepared to head back to our homestay, a pair of Barred Rails made a delightful final appearance, making our day even more special!

Captivating Tangkoko Mangrove Day 2 Part 3 (Post 9)

We so far spotted three kingfishers, but there’s still one tricky one left to find—the Great-billed Kingfisher, which can only seen around here. 

The best way to track them down is by boat, so we headed to a fishing village to hop on a traditional fishing boat called a Jukung.

This area has black sand beaches, sign that we are at active volcanoes zone. When lava flows into the ocean, it hardens and breaks into small fragments that form black sand.

I’ve done a bunch of shore dives around here and Bali, and I knew getting to the boat without getting wet would be a challenge because of the waves.

Thankfully, our experienced boatman and his crew helped us get on without totally soaking ourselves—just a little wet feet! Our cameras are still dry even without putting on rain cover.

The boatman timed it perfectly with the waves, waiting for the high ones to help push the boat closer to shore so we could jump on board before the next big wave hit.

Once we were out on the water, we could see the giant waves crashing against the beach, and the current was super strong around the rocky spots—some waves were even three meters high!

After about 40 minutes, we finally made it to the river mouth near Tangkoko Forest.

There was an abandoned floating fish farm there, just waiting for some restoration work.

And guess what? We finally spotted the elusive Great-billed Kingfisher!

On our way back, we took a little detour to a small island called Pulau Ponteng.

The current was so strong that our boat was wobbling all over the place! I just kept snapping photos in hopes of getting a clear shot of the Pied Imperial Pigeon that hangs out there.

We also spotted a White-bellied Sea Eagle, but the sea conditions didn’t let me get a good picture of that one.

Before heading back to our homestay, I grabbed some black sand from the beach to check out under the microscope.

It turns out that the black sand comes from eroded volcanic materials like lava and basalt rocks. Under the microscope, the black sand looks super cool, almost like asteroids from space with a porous surface!

Captivating Tangkoko Forest Day 2 Part 2 (Post 8)

While we were waiting for our lunch to arrive after an awesome time exploring Tangkoko Forest in the morning, we decided to do some birdwatching around our homestay.

We spotted a Sulawesi Hanging-Parrot chilling on a bamboo plant not too far from us.

Then, a pretty big bird zoomed by, and I managed to snap a quick photo before it flew off. That one was a Yellow-billed Malkoha. They usually hang around the Sulawesi Black Crested Macaque since when the monkeys jump around, they flush out insects, which the malkoha loves to snack on.

We also saw a Black-naped Fruit-Dove sitting quietly under some thick leaves. 

Another bird we noticed was the Hair-crested Drongo. This one is pretty common in Tangkoko, but the cool thing is that the drongos here have white eyes, which you don’t see in other places.

We spotted a Sahul Sunbird, which looks a lot like the Ornate Sunbird from Singapore. They used to be called Olive Sunbirds (just like in Singapore before) until they figured out they were their own species.

Here’s a side view of the Sahul Sunbird. Don’t they look similar to the Ornate Sunbird?

We also caught a glimpse of a Barred Rail hiding in the thick undergrowth.

Right before our lunch arrived, we saw a Chestnut Munia pop up.

After we ate, we took a quick break and then planned to hop on a boat to head out to the mangroves on the other side of Tangkoko Forest for the next part of our adventure.