- Highlight: Javan Blue Flycatcher, Javan Sunbird, Ruby-throated Bulbul, Brown-cheeked Bulbul, Javan Kingfisher, Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher
- Easy to access: medium
- On-site accommodation: yes
- Track difficulty: easy
- Guide needed: yes
- Good for: twitcher, casual birder, photographer
Overview
Located right on the border between the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java province, Jatimulyo (ꦗꦠꦶꦩꦸꦭ꧀ꦪ) is a 1,629.02 hectares village built among the rugged terrain of the Menoreh Karst Formation, about 45 minutes from Yogyakarta and same distance from the airport. At first glance, it does not seem to be different compared to other rural villages in this landscape; which consists of several hamlets nestled between lush agroforestry of coffee, clove, durian, and cacao, among other perennials trees. However, for Yogyakarta birder, Jatimulyo serves as our pride as one of the rare occasions where conservation action not only becomes successful but also thriving and developed by the community itself; making it a prime role model of community-based conservation in Indonesia.
This story however does not come in an instant. As in the case of many rural areas in Indonesia, some of the villagers were poachers, collecting wild birds from the area for instant profit in the bird trade. However, birders from Yogyakarta started to notice the village’s potential avi-diversity, and started to regularly visit the village. Through open and unjudgemental communication, they managed to create a strong bond with the poacher, hiring them as guides for some birding events (such as bird-walk) and exposing them to the unexploitative way of appreciating the bird. This slowly changed the mindset of these local community members, until eventually, they abandoned their way of collecting birds from the wild and became the guardians of the birds themselves.
The culmination of this relationship is when this group managed to push village-level regulation against bird poaching to the village government, which enabled them to enforce it against poachers from outside of the village. They also collaborated on creating alternative and sustainable income for the villagers without removing the wildlife from its place, ranging from guiding foreign tourists, creating hide for bird photographers, as well as bird-nest adoption program and upselling the local coffee production as bird-friendly coffee. All of these activities are mainly managed by the local villager group called KTH Wanapaksi who plan and develop all the conservation activity in the area, advised by birders and NGOs from all over Indonesia.
Nowadays, Jatimulyo has become a hub for Yogyakarta birders, photographers, and other kinds of wildlife enthusiasts, where they regularly meet either to go birding together or just to chill with some old friends. Birders from all over the world have also visited this site, mainly for the Javan Blue Flycatcher which has become increasingly difficult to see everywhere else. More importantly, similar projects have been seen budding all across Indonesia, inspired by the success story of this place, and hopefully helping to spread the success to the entire country.
How to Bird
As a community-based conservation project, a guide is highly recommended if you want to go to this village. Most of the time the guide will be Kelik, one of the ex-poachers and founders of the bird conservation program who has the most knowledge regarding birds in Jatimulyo; but some of his friends are also equally knowledgeable in case Kelik is not available. Trust me, your money will go right to the community who have painstakingly protected the bird for you to enjoy!
While the conservation expands the entire village, the main birding area is located in Gunungkelir (eBird hotspot: Jatimulyo–Kopi Sulingan), one of “dusun” (sub-village) in Jatimulyo that become the base of most conservation activities in the village. The “entrance” to this area is Kopi Sulingan, a pendopo (traditional Javanese-style hall) that also functions as an informal cafe for birders and other guests of the village, which is located right on the front yard of Kelik’s house with a little garden that has been specifically designed to attract sunbirds, especially Javan Sunbird. They also built some natural-looking bird baths and banana feeders to attract tailorbirds and flowerpeckers, which we can enjoy from the bench while sipping a brew of bird-friendly coffee—a perfect style of birding!
The main birding route is located behind the settlement, which runs through the agroforestry area below the cliff. It is a very short and easy track, only around 500 meters of concrete pathway, but walking back and forth in this area is generally enough to get you the majority of the birds ever recorded in the entire village. This included the main star, Javan Blue Flycatcher—a critically endangered species that suffered a massive decline due to poaching, with Jatimulyo being one of the two last reliable sites to see this species (the other one being Alas Purwo NP in East Java). This bird is usually spotted around the large sacred fig tree midway through the path, where multiple nests (both natural and artificial, made by hollowing a living bamboo) have been recorded and adopted by multiple people. The easiest time to see is just before the breeding season (towards boreal winter).
Starting from this point is also where the path becomes more birdy. In the agroforestry area around this path, there is a good chance to see two more threatened endemic: Ruby-throated Bulbul and Brown-cheeked Bulbul (EN) and Ruby-throated Bulbul (VU)—both used to be easily spotted in Bogor Botanical Garden on West Java, but with the park becoming unfriendly for birders with binocular (due to the president living in the palace) many people have been struggling to find an alternative spot for these two species. Some other less threatened endemics here included Grey-cheeked Tit-babbler, Black-banded Barbet, Rufous-browed (Black-capped) Babbler, Black-naped Fruit-dove, Crescent-chested Babbler, Olive-backed Tailorbird and (Javan) Streaky-breasted Spiderhunter; along with some interesting non-endemic such as Horsfield’s Babbler, Peregrine, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Common Flameback, Rufous Piculet, Black-naped Monarch, and different kind of sunbirds and spiderhunters. At night, the path is also good to find Sunda Scops Owl and Oriental Bay Owl.
For those refusing to walk, multiple hides can be used depending on season and bird availability. The most famous and the only one that runs year-long is a hide for Rufous-backed Kingfisher, located inside of the kitchen of an old lady’s home near the flycatcher site, where they set up a small pond stocked with bait fish to attract the kingfisher. Another wacky “hide” is a chair randomly placed in the middle of someone’s yard, with no cover whatsoever, overlooking a tapped coconut flower where different kinds of nectar-eaters such as spiderhunters and sunbirds were stealing the sugary sap. Other hides are usually set up around the nest in the breeding season for various birds, including Horsefield’s Babbler, Black-naped Monarch, or Crested Goshawk, which can only be visited once the villagers deem the bird has passed the critical phase and will not abandon their nest.
Transport and Accommodations
While the public transportation within the city of Yogyakarta has been improved a lot, public access to the rural part of the region is still virtually non-existent. There used to be a DAMRI bus running from the airport into Borobudur that passed by the village, but it seems to be discontinued due to a lack of interest. For now, the best way to get into the village is by using a rented vehicle, which you can drive by yourself or with a hired driver. Please note that while you can easily find Grab or Gojek (both are local ride-hailing companies similar to Uber) from the city, it will be difficult to find one to go back from the village. The easiest choice may involve negotiating with your Grab/Gojek driver to wait for you while you are birding with extra fees, but the resulting number may be similar or even more expensive than renting a car.
In general, the road condition in Yogyakarta is perfectly fine for those who prefer to drive their vehicle (either car or motorcycle), but make sure you are comfortable driving in the hilly terrain on the way to the village. From the city, the closest route to the village—the one that is usually suggested by Google Maps—usually involves a scenic route through Jalan Godean to Nanggulan Paddyfield, which abruptly turned into one of the steepest uphill road in the region. This might be dangerous for people who are not used to driving in this condition, especially when descending back to the city (and even more especially for scooters with almost no engine brake), and I suggest you take a slightly longer and less scenic road in the map below to avoid any mishaps.
For overnight stays, there are numerous basic homestays in the area—including the one managed by KTH Wanapaksi themselves. As I mentioned, it is a pretty basic homestay with room and mattress but should be more than comfortable enough for birders who used to travel. Staying here is also highly recommended for those who want to try their luck with nocturnals, including herping and mothing, of which this village is also famous. Otherwise, staying in the comfort of the city and only coming here for a day trip is also totally reasonable, as it only takes 45 minutes from the city/airport to this area.
There are also multiple warungs, minimarkets, and restaurants around the village which give you multiple options of food, all of which are generally budget-friendly. You can also contact Kelik to arrange a village-style lunch here for a reasonable price, which includes chicken, tempe, veggies, and rice. I highly recommend trying palm sugar water that is usually sold on the stall across the street from the pendopo, or if you are a bit adventurous also try the ‘dawet sambel’ which is a sweet-and-spicy pudding dessert from a stall on the way into the village.
