Aceh

Aceh is the northernmost province of Sumatra. Home of orangutans, elephants, rhinos, tigers and a very long list of birds. Not very visited by birders until now but surely will be a main destination in the near future

There are very nice forest in many places and species like Rueck´s blue flycatcher may survive in this province

At this moment i only visited Ketambe, Takenong and West Leuser Ecosystem. I will update the post as i know more and more places

Ketambe

Ketambe is a very well known place to see wild orangutants (The other place is Bukit Lawang, a rehabilitation place where the orangutans are feeded everyday and came close to people) but also a good place to see some goodies

How to reach:

Most of the trips start in Medan, where you have to take the road to Kutucane. There turn north following the road to Takenong. Ketambe is around 30 Km. north

Accomodation:

There are many options avalaible but i strongly reccomend Wisma Cinta Alam guesthouse. They have work in conservation for a long time and they know good places to see wildlife. Dont expect birdguides in Ketambe

Tips:

There are several options. Birding around Ketambe provides nice birding but if you are looking for a truly experience, you will do a long trek camping in the forest. Johan, from Wisma Cinta Alam, can do all the arrangements and he knows very well all the options. Leeches are very common there so take care with them. The trails are very muddy and sometimes, rough.

Birding:

There are many trails around Ketambe. In early morning there are fly-by sumatran pigeons and rhinoceros & helmeted hornbils over the guesthouse. The garden of the guesthouse host a small number of birds but provides good chances to take pictures

Thick-billed spiderhunter

Goodies around Ketambe include the very rare Sumatran woodpecker, sumatran trogon, sumatran drongo, sumatran leafbird, bronze-tailed peacock pheasant (We heard several birds but we didnt see anyone), roll´s partgridge (Only heard too), barred-eagle owl, sumatran treepie, sumatran babbler and sunda minivet.


























Diard`s Trogon, quite common around Ketambe

Ferruginous flycatcher

And more frequent species include great argus, little-cuckoo dove, mountain-imperial pigeon, scarlet-rumped and diard´s trogons, banded kingfisher, wreathed hornbill, fire-tutfed barbet, yellow-crowned barbet, rufous piculet, maroon woodpecker, buff-necked woodpecker, long-tailed broadbill, black-n-crimson oriole, hairy-backed and cinereous bulbuls, grey-headed, and sooty-capped babblers, chesnut-naped forktail, siberian thrush and siberian blue robin, to say some of them


















Hairy-backed bulbul


















Scarlet-rumped trogon

Takenong and West Gunung Leuser NP

How to reach

Takenong is accesible from Medan via Lhokseumawe, from Banda Aceh and from Ketambe (8 hours along nice forest, with good chances to see wildlife)

Accomodation

There are several options in Takenong, wich is probably the best base to explore the area

Tips

Near Takenong, the hunting pressure is a real problem. The pet shops are full of Sumatran laughinghtrush and Aceh Mesia,

Sumatran laughingthrushes in Takenong

Trappers near Takenong

For that reason, i dont give any direction here and i strongly reccomend anyone else do that thing. The hunters are familiar with the birding websites and also with birdsong websites, where they download birdsongs to attract the birds. The contact there is Agus Nurza, from Aceh Birder. For personal inquiries, please, send me an email.

Birding

Birding here is awesome and it takes several days to cover all the areas. Highlights include schneider´s pitta, bronze-tailed peacock pheasant, salvadori´s pheasant, roll´s partgridge, Aceh, cream-striped and spot-necked bulbuls, sumatran pigeon, sumatran, sunda and black laughingthruses, sumatran woodpecker, sumatran treepie, sumatran drongo, blue-masked and sumatran leafbirds, sumatran frogmouth, raja´s scops owl, silver-eared mesia, rufous-vented niltava and many more. In my opinion, a must.


















Aceh bulbul

Indigo flycatcher

Spectacled laughingthrush

Sunda bulbul

























Thomas leaf monkey