West Papua Birding Tours in Waigeo and Sorong City

I have just completed a 4-day-3-night birding and wildlife watching tour in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat and mangrove forest of Sorong city. I guided Mike who is an American visitor from Florida of the United States. 

Birds in West Papua

We spent 3 days 2 nights watching birds along the roadside of Saporkren as well as the hill forest of the island to look for such birds as Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Claret-breasted Fruit Dove, Dwarf Fruit Dove, Western-crowned Pigeon, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Hooded Butcherbird, Helmetted Friarbird, Shining Flycatcher, Yellow-faced Myna, Pacific Swallow, Common Sandpiper, Willie Wagtail, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Osprey, Brahminy Kite, Papuan Boobok, Lesser Frigatebird, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker, Black Sunbird, Papuan Black Myzomela, Raja Ampat Pitohui, Blyth's Hornbill and a lot more. 

We enjoyed the magnificent view of the beach of Saporkren and also the hill areas in the north-east of Waisai's airport. It was a nice trip because we could also see cuscus, and flying fox. 

After completing the tour in Waigeo, we continued our birding trip to Mangrove forest the next morning. Birds that we saw there were not many because our time window was so little. We saw nice birds including White-bellied Cuckooshrike, White-breasted Woodswallow, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Orange-breasted Figparrot, Common Sandpiper, Emperor Fairywren, Sacred Kingfisher, Metallic Starling, Australian Ibis, Rainbow Bee-eater. 

It was a good trip because we could see a lot of birds that can be seen in West Papua's forest. 

I used a pair of 10×50 binoculars that I installed on a tripod. I gave us beautiful view of the birds that we saw in high branches of trees. Some of the birds that I mention in this blog post were shot Fujifilm HS50EXR. 

Well, if you are interested in birding and wildlife watching in Sorong, Raja Ampat and Tambrauw regencies and want me to organize and guide you, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

West Papua's Birding Tour with 4 German Visitors

A few weeks ago, I guided 4 German visitors on a 3-day-2-night birding and wildlife watching tour in West Papua's Klasow valley. It was a great trip because we saw birds of paradise as well as a lot of other tropical birds that live in the region. 

There were several species of paradise birds that we saw. They were Lesser Birds of Paradise, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise and King Bird of Paradise.

In addition to paradise birds, we also watched a lot of other tropical birds including Red-cheeked Parrot, Large Fig Parrot, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Blue-black Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Western-crowned Pigeon, Zoe's Imperial Pigeon, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Orange-bellied Fruit Dove, Beautiful Fruit Dove, and etc. 

Birding tour in West Papua with 4 German visitors

For night walk, we saw White-lipped Green Frog, Cuscus, Possum, and various kinds of insects. 

I used an old point and shoot camera. It was Fujifilm HS50EXR. This allowed me to take pictures of birds and other wild animals in tall trees. 

Flight Route

To enjoy birding in West Papua, your destination should be Sorong city. This is the flight route:

Flight route to Sorong city from major tourism hubs in Indonesia

If you are interested in taking a birding tour in West Papua especially in Malagufuk, Klabili of Klasow valley or Sorong city and Raja Ampat, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Night Walk in Malagufuk's Forest

The village of Malagufuk has been a famous destination for rainforest tourism since 2014. This week, I am guiding 2 visitors from Singapore and the United Kingdom. We have explored the forest to look for birds and other wild animals. So far, we have seen King Bird of Paradise, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Lesser Birds of Paradise, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher and Common Paradise Kingfisher, Papuan Pitta, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Magnificent Riflebird, Golden Myna, Moluccan King Parrot. We have seen a lot of other tropical birds as well. 

A Flying Fox in Malagufuk's forest

We did night walk several times. We did it along the boardwalk and were happy with the result. We saw Papuan Frogmouth, wallaby, cuscus, White-lipped Tree Frog, and Papuan Boobo. In the previous night, we saw Papuan Pitta, New Guinea Small-eyed Snake (Micropechis ikaheca), and a few nocturnal animals. 

I introduced Malagufuk for the first time in 2014. At that time, no body in ecotourism industry knew its existence. The concept of nature based tourism was new for the villagers. Now, Malagufuk has been listed by world class birding and nature tour companies as important destination in West Papua region of Indonesia.

cuscus

For me, personally, the introduction of nature or rainforest based tourism in West Papua will support local villagers to preserve their forest, and coral reef environment. 

Papuan Boobok, Papuan Frogmouth and White-lipped Tree Frog

Two visitors with kids in Malagufuk village

Well, if you are interested in traveling to Indonesia to enjoy birding and wildlife watching, you need to bring with you a good pair of binoculars. I personally use 10×50 ed prime lens binoculars from SVBONY, I also use a laser pointer, a small loudspeaker to call birds and bridge camera Fujifilm HS50EXR. The photos in this post were taken using this photographic device. 

If you want to visit Malagufuk and other destinations, and want me to organize your trip and guide you, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

• Birding and Wildlife Watching Holiday in Raja Ampat
• Birding Tour in Sorong and Tambrauw

Birding and Sightseeing in Raja Ampat by Speedboat

Raja Ampat is a great destination for visitors who like birding, snorkeling and sightseeing. I am guiding a group of American visitors this week (17 to 21 April 2023). Today we had a long hiking in the forest to watch Red Bird of Paradise. It was a challenging trip especially for participants who are not used to walking up steep slopes of tropical montane forest. Fortunately, we were able to watch the paradise bird. 

Shining Flycatcher

We also saw Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Hooded Butcherbird, Blyth's Hornbill, Brown Oriole and Palm Cockatoo and etc. 

Birding and sightseeing in Raja Ampat

In the mid-day, participants of the Raja Ampat tour enjoyed snorkeling at the house reef of the beach resort where we stayed. 

Because the main theme of our tour is snorkeling and birdwatching, I organized a trip by speedboat to small islands in the south of Waigeo where could watch birds and enjoy sightseeing. We landed at a white sandy beach of an island in Kabuy bay where we spent around 1 hour to watch Spice Imperial Pigeon, White-breasted Wood-Swallow, Singing Starling, Oriental Dollarbird, Eastern Osprey, Eclectus Parrot and Helmetted Friarbird. I used 10×50 binoculars that were mounted on a tripod to enhance the birding experience of the tour participants. 

As we continued our trip by slowly moving along the coast, we saw a Beach Kingfisher sitting on a dry branch of a tree. We stopped the boat. All tour participants aimed their digital cameras to take pictures of the bird. 

We continued our trip again along Lesser and Greater Urai islands and along the sourhern coast of Waigeo. In addition to birds,we saw dolphins that were feeding on small fish while swimming very close to the limestone walls of southern region of Waigeo. 

We saw the reddish colour of the sunset. We also saw fishermen of Saporkren villagers were catching fish with their canoes. It was nearly dark when we arrived at the jetty of the resort again. It was a wonderful trip. 

Our next activity for tomorrow will be watching Wilson's Bird of Paradise. 

If you are interested in taking a birding, sightseeing and snorkeling tour with me as your guide or tour organizer, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Rainforest Tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat

I often guide tourists on rainforest tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat regencies. Most visitors who want to spend their holidays in Waigeo, Gam or Mansuar islands need to fly to Sorong city first. From there, they will continue their trip by fast ferry boat to Waisai and then by motorized boats to homestays and resorts in those islands. 

There are a lot of visitors who request land tours especially the wildlife watching trips to rainforest. 

Rainforest tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat

The one that is close to Sorong city is mangrove forest. When I guide visitors to this forest, I bring binoculars that I attach on a tripod. This allows tour participants to watch birds in distant trees with better images. Birds in mangrove forest that we could see include White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Orange-fronted Fruit Dove, Orange-breasted Fig Parrot, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Olive-backed Sunbird, Hooded Butcherbird, Blue-black Kingfisher and etc.

Western-crowned Pigeon in Klasow valley

For trips to rainforest of Sorong regency, I usually offer a 3-day-2-night wildlife watching trip in Klasow valley. The main target birds to see include various species of insects, birds, reptiles and mammals. Because visitors stay in a village in the forest, monitor lizard, cuscus, and paradise birds could be seen during the tour. 

When I guide visitors in Raja Ampat, I combine snorkeling and sightseeing tour with birdwatching and wildlife watching. Actually, coral reef is considered as the tropical forest of the sea. It is the natural habitat of a lot of species of marine animals and plants. Beautiful marine creatures could be seen while we swim over coral reef. But unique rainforest animals can be watched when we go hiking in tropical forest of Waigeo. 

Red Bird of Paradise Courtship Dance
in 69 Tantric Position for the smooth flow of Love Energy

If you are interested in taking rainforest tour in Sorong, and Raja Ampat, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.