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  • Bali Starling

    Bali Starling

    Begawan’s first initiative, the Bali Starling Conservation Program, was launched in 1999 with the goal of saving this critically endangered bird from extinction.

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  • Mitchell’s Lorikeet

    Mitchell’s Lorikeet

    Begawan has been working to conserve Mitchell’s Lorikeets, native to both Lombok and Bali, now considered critically endangered in both places.

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The Experience

Visit Begawan Breeding and Release Centre

Immerse yourself in meeting the critically endangered Bali Starling!

Enjoy a unique outdoor activity observing conserved and free-flying Bali Starlings at a close distance. Get to know about the program’s history and observe the different enclosures – quarantine enclosures cater to sick or new birds, socialisation enclosures are where the birds can select their partners, and private breeding enclosures each house pair. Learn about their breeding cycles, the preparation for nest making, the role of the parent feeding their young, and the fledging of young chicks.

Prepare bird food with our Bird Keeper while keeping an eye on the site’s free-flying pair of Starlings, who regard the breeding centre as their own personal home. Visit Begawan’s community breeders and see our free-flying Bali Starlings, released at their home compounds. Through this visit, you will have a new understanding of this beautiful species and Begawan’s long-established efforts to conserve them. You may visit us at the Breeding and Release Centre by appointment.

Begawan Bird Walk

Begawan Bird Walk and Visit Breeding and Release Centre

Join our bird walk to sight the critically endangered Bali Starling flying freely in the wild, then observe this exotic bird at a close distance!

Start the adventure with an early morning relaxing walk along beautiful rice fields in our village. While walking around the track, you will sight the critically endangered Bali Starling, Bali’s iconic mascot, flying free in our release sites. The local community protects these birds through “awig-awig” local customary law. You can also observe the Starling’s nest boxes attached to trees and our habituation enclosure nearby. Besides Bali Starling, almost 40 bird species are observed in our village, some of which have near-threatened and vulnerable conservation status. Timing matters! We suggest early morning (7 AM) to do this activity.

After a relaxing bird walk, sighting birds from afar away, continue the journey to Begawan Breeding Centre for Bali Starling. You can observe this precious bird at a close distance. Get to know about the program’s history and observe the different enclosures. From this experience, you can also prepare bird food with our Bird Keeper. Having this experience, you will have a new understanding of this beautiful species and Begawan’s long-established efforts to conserve them.

This experience package is available by appointment.

Testimony
Firstly, I’m really happy to be here. I think you are doing great work, because it’s now quite hard to see these critically endangered birds in the wild. So it’s a great opportunity to see it and you can learn about it here in Begawan. A lot of information, not just about the Bali Starling but here we are in the organic garden, where the people are giving information for all the community, all the children, so we know how to take care of the soil, life, and about a rare bird like the Bali Starling. We are waiting, the nest is just there. Hopefully we can see it, just like 10 minutes ago, and I’m really happy to be here. I encourage everybody to come so you can see another side of Bali, not the touristic site, not the mass tourism site, but the real nature site.

Florian Grally from France
My name is Avery, from the United States, just graduated with a degree in Wildlife Conservation, and I really love wildlife. I love birds, so came to Begawan to see Bali Starlings.

I really like Begawan, and how we are able to start in the morning to see the Starling up close and see all the different work they do with the breeding, with pairing them and taking care of them in the morning. For me it’s really fun to come out to the field to the release site and see starlings flying freely in the field.

My name is Catie, i’m also from the United States and I just graduated with a Bachelor Degree of Education

I thought it was cool to understand the importance of education that is emphasised here in Begawan, and know that they are helping the local community.

Avery & Catie from United States
It’s so lovely, it’s such nice opportunities to visit and see what were you doing for the conservation and for the community, how you’re going back to community and it’s so great to see.

it’s so beautiful, I love the Bali Starling and would like everyone to comes here, but not too many people, but have more people to know about it and how endangered it is and how important the work you doing is.

Yes I love it, it’s nice, quite, peaceful, it’s away from the Central Ubud, the craziness.

Isabel Lothian from Australia
We are very impressed with the situation here, both Bali Starling conservation and regenerative farming that we can finally go back to the natural method and get healthy food once again. Hopefully in the future people will be more aware and educated to protect Bali Starling without raising them as a pet, not hunting them, and not selling them to other parties. So Bali Starlings can survive for a long time and not be categorised as critically endangered anymore. I very much appreciate regenerative farming because we will go back to the past where farming was still organic without any agrochemicals so people will be healthier than ever. Thank you Begawan, keep the spirit up, and be more successful.

Elisa Sunarto, PT. Pratama Karya Jaya
I am very grateful for the invitation to the Begawan by Miss Elis. I can look into the enclosure of Bali Starling and was impressed because there is an in-house veterinarian, so if the birds get sick, Begawan can take care of them. The foundation also releases after breeding Bali Starling back to nature and hopefully their number will increase every year to keep the  sustainability of this bird species, so our descendants can see the beauty of Bali Starling and their beautiful voice and they will not be categorised as critically endangered anymore. I also can see rice fields with regenerative agriculture methods where they use natural compost, so everything is natural as in the past. Thank you Begawan for the knowledge that you shared!

Aris Widihatmaka, Operation Control Centre Senior Operator, PT. PLN Indonesia Power
“Visiting the Bali Starling Reintroduction Facility on Bali is one of those heart-warming experiences. Run by the Begawan Foundation, I learned about its objectives, programmes, and also its challenges as an initiative dedicated to developing all the various facets that are required to support a healthy thriving population of this lovely bird in the wild. Almost extinct this century, hope shines for this starling again. I can see these brilliant birds flying freely across the island again, soon. The young staff and volunteers are supported by trained vets and visiting scientists, in all a strong positive signal for its long-term success. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with and learning from them. While I will always treasure the rare chance of being close to free-flying Bali Starlings, the walk through the rice fields to see their rehabilitation enclosures and their nest boxes was the real eye-opener. Come visit, and support the effort to save critically endangered wildlife in Bali. I sincerely congratulate the Foundation’s important and dedicated work.”

Anthony Sebastian, a Wildlife Ecologist, and a Conservation Planning Specialist
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