My latest story – and first for Mongabay News – is a feature about Indigenous-led conservation sparking a remarkable recovery for the critically endangered Bali starling, which was nearly lost forever in the wild.
I have been reporting on this story since December, and I am so pleased to share it has been published by international conservation magazine, Mongabay. It is a conservation success story with so many valuable lessons and reasons to hope. It features my reporting, writing and photography.
Come behind the scenes with me.
Read the full story on Mongabay → Indigenous-led protections spark Bali starling’s recovery in the wild
Behind the Story
Getting to this story was a journey in itself. I traveled nearly 40 hours each way to reach Indonesia, then took a boat from Bali to Nusa Penida, a small island off the coast known for its rugged beauty and biodiversity. From there, a truck bumped along unpaved jungle roads to bring me to the Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF), the heart of community-led efforts to bring the Bali starling back from the brink of extinction.
Once reduced to just six surviving birds in the wild, this dazzling white songbird has made an extraordinary comeback. I spent months reporting this story, from staking out a natural nest cavity high in a tree on Nusa Penida, to speaking with local community members, conservationists, and scientists across Southeast Asia – each working on a different piece of the puzzle. Their collective efforts have helped hundreds of Bali starlings establish a thriving wild population, offering both hope and hard-won lessons for saving endangered species worldwide.
This story represents months of observation, writing, and photography, an unforgettable exploration of how local tradition, faith, and science can align to protect biodiversity. I’m deeply thankful to all those who spoke to me for this story.
Photos from the Field
Browse this exclusive gallery of photos from reporting the story in the field to see more.
A special note about the first photograph in this gallery – it recently took 1st place in the “Photography, Fauna” category in the 2025 Outdoor Writers Association Excellence in Craft Contest.
This story took 10 months to report. Please consider supporting my independent journalism by purchasing a print of one of the award-winning photos from my Beauty of Bali gallery.
About Mongabay
Mongabay is an independent, nonprofit environmental journalism organization that covers nature, biodiversity, and planetary challenges facing us all, drawing on a global network of locally based reporters. It aims to make scientific and conservation issues accessible, elevate the voices of communities directly impacted by environmental change, and spotlight evidence of ecological destruction and restoration. Through timely reporting, deep investigations, and multilingual publishing, Mongabay plays a key role in informing public discourse, influencing conservation policy, and promoting accountability for environmental issues.
This marks my first feature for Mongabay, a publication I admire for its rigorous editorial standards and compassionate approach to environmental journalism. My editor was Isabel Esterman.
Read the full story on Mongabay → Indigenous-led protections spark Bali starling’s recovery in the wild
Encourage your kids to learn more about the Bali Starling in the My Wildlife Wonders series!
If this amazing bird inspires you as much as it did me, you can learn interesting facts about the species, and even download free activities and coloring book pages for kids here. Take your learning about this exciting species to the next level with these fun exercises, great for the classroom or a rainy day at home!
