Bird Watching In Bali

Monday, 27 January 2014

Can you see the rain.... it was pouring...

Herrons!

There were hundreds of nests & herrons

When I was in Ubud, Bali I learned that there was a special rice field that you could go to just 4 km outside of town to see the herons return to nest at sunset. The herons only nest in this one type of jack fruit tree and this area of Ubud has many of these special trees. Well, it was already growing dark by the time my taxi driver came to pick me up and it was raining. I wasn't sure if this was such a good plan to go see the "birds" in the rain. However earlier in the day I had been walking along looking at sites when I met this taxi driver - Ketut.


He was really funny and he spoke excellent English so I turned him down on his offer to give me a taxi ride but I did sit and chat with him for almost an hour. This is how I ended up promising to go on a trip with him to see the birds. He didn't have any business and it was so quiet in Ubud so he was very excited to help me go see the herons and he told me that he knew the best place to view the birds. So what could I do but agree. I really didn't have any thing else to do with my time anyways.


So now I am siting in his mini van/taxi and it is pouring rain. I mean pouring. To the point that you can't really see out the windshield because the wind shield wipers can't go fast enough to clear away the rain. It was wet and dark. I had mixed feelings about this "adventure" to go bird watching. We drove out in to the country side to the rice fields. Then the driver got excited and he is pointing and shouting - do you see them?!?!?!? No, I don't see anything but rain. The he stopped on the road and pointed to a telephone pole wire. There! There! You see? Finally I spotted what he was so excited about. 1 white heron sitting on the wire. Ok. Yes, a bird.


We pulled over and got out of the car. I was so thankful that I had an umbrella. It was still raining! We walked into the rice field and sure enough birds. 100's of birds. All these little white herons sitting on their nests in these trees. It was awesome. It was truly a special sight. I was so grateful and happy that I went. It was cool to see the birds. They were squawking at each other and others were still flying home and landing. It was a very cool experience, even in the rain.


These herons are called Kokokan by the Balinese people and they are found in the village of Petulu.


"Every evening, these egrets roost in the village which is quite a spectacle as these large, elegant white and rusty orange birds arrive in countless groups and tussle for the prime roosting spots.These white Herons live freely in the village, without any fear, building their nests on the trees. According to the local legend, these White Heron birds first appeared here in large numbers after one of the worst massacres during the troubles of 1965. This led local villagers to believe that these birds are the souls of the slaughtered, and ceremonies to that effect are still held today."


http://sgsbirds.com/sri-swamiji-visits-petula-village-the-sweet-home-of-white-herons-7-nov-2013/