Birding Tour in Manokwari

Birding Destination

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)

Manokwari regency has been famous as the most important birdwatching destination in New Guinea island. As the largest tropical island in the world, New Guinea is divided into 2 territory. The eastern region is the independent state of Papua New Guinea and the western one is the territory of Indonesia called West Papua. There are 2 provinces in West Papua, i.e. Papua (with the capital of Jayapura) and Papua Barat (with Manokwari as its capital).
As a birding tour destination, Manokwari has got several areas that are suitable for birdwatching:
The Lowland Forest
This is the forest area which is the natural habitat of Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Blyth's hornbill, Western Crowned Pigeon, Rainbow Lorikeet, Pesquet Parrot (which is very difficult to find), Friarbird, Beautiful Fruit Dove and the famous Lesser Birds of Paradise. Azure Kingfisher, King Birds of Paradise, Paradise Riflebird, Spangled Drongo, Eclectus Parrot and a lot more.

Arfak Mountains
Higher Montane Forest of Arfak Mountains has become a world class birding destination. Here, visitors are able to watch Western Parotia, Magnificent Birds of Paradise, Vogelkop Bowerbird and Cinnamon Ground Dove.

Cinnamon Ground Dove

The Lower Montane Forest of the mountains has got birds whose species are similar to the ones in low flat land area.
As a tourist guide, I could arrange a trekking tour in the jungle of Manokwari regency. During the tour, visitors will be able to stay in the jungle for several days to watch not only birds but also other wild animals such as cuscus possum and colorful butterflies.
Birding Gear
Most birdwatchers need a pair of binoculars to see birds. To enhance birding experience, I will also bring a spotting scope and a field guide entitled Birds of New Guinea written by Bruce Beehler and his friends. A D-SLR camera with telephoto lens will be a useful device particularly for taking pictures of birds in distant branch of a tree. Today, Nikon has manufactured a bridge camera with the highest optical zoom 83x. Its type is Nikon Coolpix P900. Because the birding activity will be done in tropical jungle, I will bring dome tents.

Snorkeling Tour
In addition to jungle tour, I can also organize a snorkeling tour for you if you want to see coral reef and tropical fish that live in Manokwari waters. Based on my personal observation, there are a lot of of species of fish that can be seen. Some of them are striped surgeon fish, trevally, damselfish, moorish idol, parrotfish, grouper, and anemonefish.

How to get there?

• Fly from your country to Jakarta city (the capital of Indonesia)
• Fly from Jakarta to Manokwari by domestic airlines such as Garuda, Express Air, Sriwijaya Air 
• I could meet you in Manokwari city and organize your birding trip in the jungle.

Contact:
Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com if you are interested in trekking and birdwatching in Manokwari.

Birding Tour in Sorong regency of New Guinea

I have just completed a rainforest birding tour with 2 British tourists in Klasow valley of Sorong regency of West Papua. This territory is located in the western region of New Guina island. West Papua has been a famous birdwatching destination in the world because it is the natural habitat of birds of paradise.
During the 2 days/ 2 nights hiking and birding tour in the jungle of Klasow valley, we watched a number of birds including Lesser Birds of Paradise, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Moustached Tree Swift, Large Fig Parrot, Spangled Drongo, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Blyth's hornbill, and Yellow-billed Kingfisher, and Orange-bellied Fruit Dove, Eclectus Parrot.
In the last day of our birding tour, we saw a Rufous-bellied Kookaburra (Dacelo gaudichaud) in close distance. We could take a good picture of the bird. The bird was perching on a small branch of a tree approximately 10 meters away from us. I aimed my Fujifilm HS50EXR at the bird and made several pictures of the bird.

Rufous-bellied Kookaburra in the jungle of Klasow valley - Sorong regency of West Papua

There are other animals that we saw in the tropical jungle of Klasow valley such as wallabies, giant fruit bats, butterflies, beetles and colorful crickets.
How to get there?

• Fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia)
• After that, take a domestic flight (served by such airlines as Garuda, Express, Sriwijaya and Nam Air) to Sorong city.
• I will meet you at the city to arrange your trip to Klasow valley.  

Aerial roots of Pandanus Tree with a British tourist as human scale

The usual duration of the rainforest birding and wildlife watching tour is between 3 to 6 days. If you are interested in taking a birding tour in this jungle, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com