Bali Starlings on Nusa Penida

Our time in Indonesia was now running out and there were two places we wanted to visit though only just about anough time for one. In the end we opted for Nusa penida rather than Bali Barat National park. We flew from Labuan Bajo back to Bali and then from the airport got a taxi to Padangbai (East Bali). We still managed to miss the ferry so chartered a boat at the docks to get us to Nusa Penida (it didnt look that far.) We were haggling at the docks with some guy next to a nice looking boat and managed to knock off 60% of the price he wanted, we handed over the money got a receipt and then he asked us to follow him to his boat. His boat was more like a cannoe with catamaran sides roaped to it.  At least it had an engine and rain coats,  he then strapped a sail to the top and we asked him what that was for, he said occasionally we break down. This in hind sight probably wasn't the safest option though we got there after an hour journey and were met by a huge group of local people, this part of bali doesnt see many foreigners and english isn't spoken. After disscussing where we should go with the group we found out that the best place to stay was 10km away we then haggled with a couple of guys for a motorbike ride there. We finally arrived at a guest house which was close to the Bali starling Project there and were pleasantly suprised that it was western owned it was actually a dive school though they were happy to have us, they also did snorkeling trips around the island which was very tempting, (swimming with manta rays) though very expensive,  we didn't do these in the end working out that it would cost the same as our flights from labuanbajo. The next day we hired a motorbike and went looking around the island ourselves, we stopped off at the Nusa Penida bird sanctuary. They had four breeding pairs and lots of young in pre release flights, Considering we just turned up we were given a really good tour and were allowed to see everything they had going on. We also found out that they had somewhere to stay there though it didnt look quite as nice as where we were staying. Our guide said that it is believed there are now over 100 flying free on Nusa Penida and they have now bred from wild bred birds. To date not one bali starling has been poached on the island which has alot to do with all 35 villages on the island promising not to harm the bird as well as a dilagent watch from the harbour authorities. The Bali starling can cost as much as 10 million rupiah on the black market in indonesia (which is just over 600 pounds). Another project they have had less success with was the lesser sulfur-crested cockatoo, they had big plans though after loosing one of their breeding pair this seems to have stalled  any plans at present. Also on Nusa Penida there are plans already in place to create suitable habitat (forest) on the island. What we saw of the habitat at present was a mix of coastal mangrove and coconut forrest though not as open as Rinca their is still along way to go in this aspect. We manged to see wild Bali starlings a few times (including what looked like a juvenile) around the island, other birds seen include sunbirds, longtailed shrikes and bee eaters. We heard that twenty years ago black winged starlings had been on the island (what they call yellow eyes) and I wondered what made them extinct there. We left N. Penida by a ferry which was much more comftable and got a taxi to Kuta where we stayed a couple of nights before our flight to Kuala Lumpur. Where we stayed for a week while sorting out our 2 month visa to China.

We managed to see wild Bali starlings a few times (including what looked like a juvenile)