Overview Prambanan Temple is a Hindu temple located right on the border between Yogyakarta and Central Java, just a shy 30 minutes away from the city. Together with Borobudur (a Buddhist temple on the other side of the city), it is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the province, albeit somewhat less famous […]
As one of the biggest urban park in Yogyakarta, Universitas Gajah Mada offers an easy escape for birder and photograper who just want to see some bird casually between their business. Some photogenic bird such as Blue-eared Kingfisher and Coppersmith Barbet can be a good learning target for beginner photographer, and the safety of the park becoming heaven for some urban species that becoming rare overtime such as Javan Myna and Long-tailed Shrike. However, some "surprises species" have also been reported over times: from the rare resident like Java Sparrow or wandering migrant like Tiger Shrike.
This story started when I, Angus, and Forrest--three online acquaintances who never met but have corresponded to each other separately--found out that we would be in Yogyakarta together, completely unplanned. We ended up doing a quick birding meet-up together at the Gadjah Mada University campus, which went pretty great, but quite uneventful to deserve its own post in this blog. The main story is when we figure out that each of us will have a free day the next day, and all of us are eager to go somewhere nice to go birding. I suggested Jatimulyo which holds a lot of lifers for Angus, and some spots along the Kulonprogo coast that have a good chance of finding Forrest's nemesis bird: Javan Coucal. All of them agreed with my suggestion and asked me to manage the rest, and this was when my tour-leader mode suddenly activated after being idle for a long, long time.
Serving as the main gate for many visiting birder, Yogyakarta International Airport can either give you a wonderful start of your birding journey upon arrival, or a beautiful goodbye before your departure. This is a new airport located slightly far from the city center, featuring an ornamental reservoirs that attracts some rare species in the rainy season. The main star, Javan Coucal, is becoming harder and harder to find anywhere else and it can be a wonderful species to start (or end) your list upon entering (or leaving) this cultural city.
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.