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Sunday, March 18, 2018

Birding in Tambrauw Mountains

Camping in Tambrauw forest
Tambrauw is a beautiful tourist destination in West Papua province of Indonesia. Most of its land is covered by tropical rainforest. Local Government of Tambrauw regency declared its territory as the regency of conservation, that's why ecotourism is seen as a sustainable income generation scheme for the indigenous people so that they could preserve their rainforest. To support this policy, I offer rainforest birding tours to anybody who wants to watch tropical birds of New Guinea. Tropical rainforest of Tambrauw and its rivers are a great sites for hiking and birdwatching as well as wildlife watching. Visitors who go there can enjoy riverwalk and rainforest tour to find:
Rainforest of Tambrauw Mountains
  • Lesser Birds of Paradise, 
  • King Bird of Paradise, 
  • Magnificent Riflebird, 
  • Palm Cockatoo, 
  • Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, 
  • Eclectus Parrot
  • Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot
  • Black-capped Lory
  • Pinon Imperial Pigeon
  • Pink-spotted Fruit Dove
  • Beautiful Fruit Dove
  • Coconut Lorikeet
  • New Guinea Harpy Eagle, 
  • Variable Goshawk
  • Brahminy Kite
  • and a lot of other tropical birds that live in the mountains. There are two sites in Tambrauw which visitors can go to enjoy hiking and birding. The first one is the lowland forest and the second one is the mountain forest.
Moustached Treeswift
The duration of the trip is between 4 to 5 days. Visitors can enjoy birding along the road or enjoy camping and river walk to watch such birds as Grey Crow, Little Egret, Blyth's Hornbill and Kingfishers.
The entry point to Tambrauw is through Manokwari city and Sorong city. Because the cost of transportation is quite expensive, visitors need to go in a group of 3 to 4 people to share the price. We usually charter 4wd cars to reach the river where we will enjoy camping, riverwalk and birding.
Things to bring:
French tourists in Tambrauw mountains
Besides bringing birding optics such as binoculars, spotting scope, laser pointer and telephoto camera, visitors need to wear water shoes, t-shirt, short pants and long pants for walking in the forest. A field guide book: Birds of New Guinea written by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce Beehler can be ordered from Amazon online bookstore. 
Booking
Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp: +6281332245180

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Olive-backed Sunbird

Olive-backed Sunbird in Sorong forest
Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis) is a small bird that lives in tropical rainforest particularly in lowland and coastal areas. Its yellow underparts often becomes the main physical characteristics that is used by birdwatchers to call him Olive-bellied Sunbird.
I saw this bird in Manokwari city, Sorong hill forest, Raja Ampat and even as far as Numfor island. His wings have got olive-greenish look. This small but very beautiful bird eats nectar of wild flowers in tropical rainforest. When I was guiding a tourist from India, I saw the sunbird was feeding on nectar of coconut flowers. I immediately turned on my Fujifilm HS50 EXR camera and shot the bird several times.
Olive-backed Sunbird in Raja Ampat
My most recent photographs of the bird were made when I went hiking and birdwatching in savanna hills near Sorong city. To watch this small bird, we need a good pair of binoculars that has got such magnification as 10×42 mm. My recommendation will be Swarovski, Nikon, Leica, or Zeiss binoculars. I personally use more affordable alternative - the Visionking 10×42 mm binoculars.
If you are interested in taking a birdwatching tour in Sorong city and want to see Olive-backed Sunbird and other tropical birds of West Papua, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or send text message to my whatsapp: +6281332245180