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February 2010

It's a long way to the top

GIS Officer, Hultera - Photo courtesy of Geoff Welch, RSPB

 Harapan Rainforest is located on fairly flat land, which means we have few vantage points for viewing the site. To address this, our trained climbing team and representatives from Indonesian climbing organisation IndoRope are installing five viewing platforms this month, at the dizzying height of nearly 30 metres above the forest floor, with more planned for next month. These platforms are important for helping our fire fighting team detect any fire outbreaks and as lookout points that ensure the security of the forest.

Scouts out and about in Harapan Rainforest

Scouts

More than sixty members of our nearest Pramuka troupe recently visited Harapan Rainforest. Pramuka is the Indonesian scouting movement. They got to experience rainforest close up on the forest trail – where there are regular sightings of hornbills (including two of the nestboxes erected for them), giant squirrels, leaf monkeys, and the sounds of bearded pigs snuffling and grunting in the undergrowth. They also enjoyed spectacular forest views from our new viewing platforms.

Watch the birdie!!

Great Argus male Camera trap images are often of large charismatic mammals, but during the last 14 months of camera trapping surveys we have come to realise the value of this equipment for collecting information on birds too, specifically the galliformes or ‘gamebirds’. So far we have recorded the globally-threatened Crestless Fireback Lophura erythropthalma, the near threatened Great Argus Argusianus argus and Crested Partridge Rollulus rouloul, and Red Jungle Fowl Gallus gallus, the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken.