Birding and Wildlife Watching: Birds from Lower Montane forest of Manokwari

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Birds from Lower Montane forest of Manokwari

I often guide tourists on a 3 to 4 days of hiking and birding tours in lower montane forest of Manokwari. We stayed in a basecamp located near a small stream which we use to cook food and boil water.

Bird of Paradise watching tour in Manokwari forest

King Bird of Paradise

Rainforest Birds

Bringing binoculars, spotting scope, and digital camera with telephoto lenses, we can watch such birds as: Lesser Birds of Paradise; Magnificent Riflebird; King Bird of Paradise; Grey Crow; Common Paradise Kingfisher; Yellow-billed Kingfisher; Azure Kingfisher; Frilled Monarch; Spot-winged Monarch; Pinon Imperial Pigeon; Brown-cuckoo Dove; Pink-spotted Fruit Dove; Beautiful Fruit Dove; Superb Fruit Dove; Great-cuckoo Dove; Hooded Butcherbird; Northern Variable Pitohui; Eclectus Parrot; Black-capped Lory; Rainbow Lorikeet; Fairy Lorikeet; Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot; Olive-crowned Flowerpecker; Yellow-bellied Gerygone; Spangled Drongo; Black Sunbird; Mimic Meliphaga; Brown Oriole; Hooded Pitta; Red-bellied Pitta; Papuan Frogmouth; and a lot more

Hooded Butcherbird was singing in a tree in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari

Hooded Butcherbird (Cracticus cassicus)

Lesser Birds of Paradise

In addition to birds, there are also other things which tourists can see while exploring the forest. Some of them include glowing mushrooms, Papuan forest dragon, cuscus possum, lizards, snakes, bandicoot, butterflies, unique tropical plants, and etc.

Birds and animal in lower montane forest of Arfak mountains

Hiking and Wildlife Watching in Manokwari forest

The name of the forest is Susnguakti. It has been visited by tourists who come from Japan, Korea, the Philipines, Thailand, the United States, Germany, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, France, Spain, and a lot more. This adventurous rainforest tour is suitable for those who are physically fit.

Birdwatching Device
To serve my customers, I usually bring a Kinglux 20-60×60 mm spotting, a pair of 10×42mm Visionking Binoculars, laser pointer, and field guide book Birds of New Guinea by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce Beehler. Sometimes I bring my D-SLR camera - Canon 200D with Tamron 150-600mm telephoto lens that I use to take pictures of birds and other wild animals in tall trees.
Today, manufacturers of cameras have developed photographic devices that can shoot birds and other subjects that are far away. Some of them include Nikon P900, Nikon P1000, Canon SX70HS, and etc. These cameras have got smaller sensors but can produce high quality pictures that are adequate for identification. The photos of birds that they make are suitable for internet uses.

Accommodation

There is no guesthouse or hotel in Susnguakto forest of Manokwari. There is only a basic basecamp for visitors to stay at night. We provide dome tents with mattrasses and pillows for tourists so that they can stay there. There is no toilet in the forest. We use small stream near the basecamp to wash. The water from the stream flows into the ground again.