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

Also read:

• Birds of Minahasa in Highland and Lower Montane Forest
• Birding in Bali

Birding Tours in Rainforest of Manokwari

I offer birding tours for visitors who are interested in watching birds in lowland area of Manokwari and in lower montane forest of Arfak mountains.

Susnguakti forest of Manokwari

Susnguakti forest
In addition to watching birds in Lowland Region of Manokwari, visitors can watch Birds of Paradise in Lower Montane Forest of Arfak mountains. The target birds are: Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), King Birds of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius) and Magnificent Riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus). There are also other birds such as Common Paradise Kingfisher (Common Paradise Kingfisher), and Hooded Butcherbird and even Dwarf Cassowary that we may watch if we go hiking and birding in lower montane forest of Arfak mountains. Visitors need to stay in our basecamp for 3 days to enjoy birding in this rainforest.
Manokwari Lowland Area

Variable Goshawk in Lowland Forest of Manokwari

The duration of birdwatching tour in lowland forest is 3 days. The target birds are: Little-ringed Plover, Little Egret, Willie Wagtail, Brahminy Kite, Blyth's Hornbill, Variable Goshawk, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Yellow-faced Myna, Golden Myna, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, and etc. In the middle of the forest, there is no luxurious hotel or guesthouse, we need to stay in tents and do birding walks along the banks of Mesirokow river. The river is quite wide and flat. It is my best birding site in Manokwari regency of West Papua.

Booking
Please, contact me by phone: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp: +6281332245180.

Also read: Birding Tours in Manokwari

Lesser Birds of Paradise

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) in West Papua

Here are pictures of Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) that live in tropical rainforest of West Papua. I often guide tourists to places in Indonesia such as Susnguakti forest in Manokwari, Klasow valley and Sorong forest, and Tambrauw Mountains. These are important destinations in West Papua province of Indonesia where visitors can watch Lesser Birds of Paradise and a lot of other tropical birds of New Guinea. Birds of Paradise have been hunted since hundreds of years ago for their beautiful feather. Their population is shrinking rapidly due to habitat loss. Ecotourism is a good answer to protect the birds.
If you are interested in taking a birding, hiking, and camping tours with me, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp: +6281332245180.

Birding Tours in Manokwari

Lesser Birds of Paradise

I often receive requests from readers of this blog about birding tours in Manokwari. There are several sites which tourists can choose to enjoy birdwatchings.

King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius)

• Mesirokow river is a rainforest area in Manokwari regency. It is a nice place for camping, birding and riverwalk activities. Visitors can watch Papuan Hornbill, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Brahminy Kite, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Boyers Cuckooshrike, Variable Goshawk, Lowland Peltop, Little-ringed Plover, Glossy-mantled Manucode, and etc.
• Susnguakti Forest: There are several paradise birds here including Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), Magnificent Riflebirds, Kingbird of Paradise, Hooded Butcherbird, and Common Paradise Kingfisher, as well as a lot of other tropical birds that live in lower montane forest of Arfak range.
• Mount Soyti: The vocal points of this higher montane forest of Arfak mountains are Vogelkop Bowerbird, Magnificent Bird of Paradise and Western Parotia. Goldenface, Sclater's whistler, Green-backed Robin, Plum-faced Lorikeet and Cinnamon Ground Dove are some of other cloud forest birds that we can watch in Mount Soyti.

Booking

Please, contact me by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 for details of the tours and prices.

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

Also read:

• Birds of Minahasa in Highland and Lower Montance Forest

Birding Tour in Rainforest near Sorong City

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Orange-breasted Fig Parrot

Hiking and Birding
There are a lot of birds that can be watched when we go hiking in the outskirts of Sorong city. Some of them include Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus), Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis), Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides), Yellow-faced Myna (Mino dumontii), Olive-crowned Flowerpecker (Dicaeum pectorale), Coconut Loriket (Trichoglossus haematodus), and a couple of Back Lory (Chalcopsitta atra), Orange-breasted Fig Parrot (Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii), Orange-fronted Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus aurantiifrons), White-bellied Cuckooshrike (Coracina papuensis) and a lot more. 

Terrestrial Spathoglottis Orchid

The rainforest is close to Sorong city. It takes only 20 minutes ride from the city center. However, to reach the forest, visitors need to go hiking for approximately 30 minutes to one hour to see the forest and enjoy birdwatching. Birds are usually active in the mornings and in the afternoons.
Birding Equipment
Visitors who want to enjoy birdwatching in Sorong forest need at least a pair of good binoculars. Most often avid birders carry spotting scope with tripod and adaptor for taking picture using cell phone. I personally use a pair of Visionking 10×42 mm binoculars, a 20-60x60 spotting scope and a Fujifilm HS50EXR binoculars. Experienced birdwatchers use Swarovski, Leica or Nikon ED Lens, Bak4 prism 10×42 or 8.5x42 mm binoculars.
The Jungle tour

Tropical Rainforest of Sorong

This forest can become a hiking and sightseeing destination for visitors who are waiting for their flight back home or who has just arrived in Sorong city of West Papua.
Hiking and birding tour in this forest can be organized for 1 day or several more days. For day trip, visitors can start the tour at 05.00 and then leave before dark. For multiple day hiking and birding tour, overnights stay in tents in the jungle can be arranged for visitors. Besides watching birds, visitors can see wild flowers, butterflies, grasshoppers, beetles, and a lot of unique plants of Papua forest.
If you are interested in birding and hiking in this forest, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or text message to my whatsapp: +6281332245180.