Azure Kingfisher in Halmahera

Azure Kingfisher

This morning, I accompanied the Taiwanese tourists on a birding trip to the coastal area of Halmahera island. Our main target was Azure Kingfisher and Beach Kingfisher. We focused our birding activity in the harbor area of Sidangoli across from the old ruins of the former plywood making factory.
There, we saw a couple of Beach Kingfisher, Willie Wagtail, Sunbird, and Plover. After that we moved to the bank of the river that was located across from the lodge where we stayed. There was an elementary school near the place where we enjoyed birding. We were waiting for the Azure Kingfisher when suddenly we heard that there were a lot of school children coming out of the school to meet us.

School Children

They were curious and came closer to see us. Because they were noisy, I gave signs that we were watching birds at the river. They understood and stop making much noises. Soon after that, we saw an Azure Kingfisher landing on a wood on the otherside of the river. We took pictures of the bird for several minutes.
We said hello to the school children, took pictures with them and then left the area. We also saw other birds such as Olive-backed Kingfisher, Willie Wagtail and Metallic Starling. I saw water lizard too. It was a nice trip that day. I like the surrounding environment of Halmahera. The forest is growing again, the population is not so crowded and the landscape was beautiful. There are wild flowers in the bush and jungle too. Birding in North Maluku is a fascinating experience for me.