Categories Trip Report

[EN] Trip Report: Jatimulyo and Kulonprogo Coast, September 2023

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.

Categories Birding Guide

[EN] Jatimulyo Village: From Poacher’s Lair to Bird-friendly Village

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.