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Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Birdwatching in Fef Valley of Tambrauw Regency (5 Days/ 4 Nights)

Fef is the capital of Tambrauw regency in West Papua province of Indonesia. The small town is surrounded by tropical rainforest that is the habitat of Lesser Birds of Paradise, Blyth's Hornbill, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Papua Mountain Pigeon, Shining Flycatcher, Black Thicket-Fantail, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Moustached Treeswift, Sacred Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Long-billed Cuckoo, Little-bronze Cuckoo, Frilled Monarch, Black Cicadabird, Great Cuckoo Dove, and etc.

Birdwatching in Fef valley of Tambrauw regency of West Papua
Birdwatching in Tambrauw regency of West Papua

I guided 4 tourists from the United States of America from 6 to 10 October 2022. We stayed in Eden Inn near the Conservation Monument of Tambrauw regency. There was a restaurant next to the inn so we did not have to bring a lot of food materials from Sorong.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

To watch Lesser Birds of Paradise, we went to the forest of Iwin village by 4wd pick-up truck. It took around 20 minutes to reach the destination. We still had to walk into the forest to reach the birding site. 

In the last day of our birding walk in Fef valley, we saw Emperor Fairywren, Grey-headed Goshawk, Variable Goshawk, and Black Thicket-Fantail as well as Long-tailed Buzzard and a large group of Blyth's Hornbill flying in the air. 

Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus)
Palm Cockatoo

In general, itinerary of birding in Fef valley of Tambrauw regency was organized as follows:

BIRDING IN TAMBRAUW MOUNTAINS

Day 1 

Going to Fef by 4WD pick-up truck from Sorong. The duration of the trip is approximately 4 hours. Arrive in Fef, take a rest, general birding to find Sacred Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher and etc.

Blyth's Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus)
Blyth's Hornbill
Day 2

Go by car to birding site in Iwin village. Watch Lesser Birds of Paradise. Continue with general birding. Back to Fef. General birding in the forest along the road near the waterfall to find Frilled Monarch, Long-billed Cuckoo, and Olive-crowned Flowerpecker.

Day 3

General birding in the forest to find Hooded Pitta and Papuan Pitta (formerly called Red-bellied Pitta) as well as Magnificent Bird of Paradise and etc.

Day 4

General birding to find Emperor Fairywren, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Hooded Butcherbird, Papuan Mountain Pigeon, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Palm Cockatoo, Blyth's Hornbill, and etc. In the afternoon, after lunch, we will return to Sorong city. End of Tour.

The birding tour in Tambrauw mountains can be extended to other places such as Arfak mountains and Raja Ampat. 

If you are interested in taking rainforest sightseeing and wildlife watching tour in Tambrauw and wants me to organize your trip and guide you, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Sunday, October 2, 2022

Birdwatching and Wildlife Watching in Sorong and Raja Ampat (7 Days)

I have just completed a tour for two visitors from the Netherlands. We spent one week exploring the rainforest of Klasow valley in Sorong regency as well as the tropical jungle of Waigeo in Raja Ampat islands. 

Birdwatching, snorkeling, sightseeing and trekking in West Papua
Wildlife Watching and Sightseeing Tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat

We went hiking early in the mornings and in the afternoons to look for Lesser Birds of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Red Bird of Paradise and Wilson's Bird of Paradise. 


During the one week tour, we saw a lot of species of tropical birds including Golden Myna, Yellow-faced Myna, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Slender-billed Cuckoo Dove, Claret-breasted Fruit Dove, Azure Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Beach Kingfisher, Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Papuan Frogmouth, Frilled Monarch, Hooded Monarch, Blue Jewel Babbler, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Eastern Osprey, Willie Wagtail and a lot more.

palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus)
Birdwatching in Raja Ampat

While in Raja Ampat, we did sightseeing and snorkeling tour by speedboat to Piaynemo karst and then on our return trip to the beach resort where we stayed, we visited Sand Bank (locally called Pasir Timbul) near Lesser Mansuar island and Friwen island which was located near Gam island. We also enjoyed snorkeling along the Friwenwall where we saw various kinds of fishes, and corals both the hard and soft ones. There are hundreds of species of reef fish that we saw. 

Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes respublica)
Birdwatching in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat

This tour is suitable for anyone who likes to see the wealth of avifauna and the marine life of West Papua. 

If you are interested in taking 1 week wildlife watching and snorkeling trip in West Papua, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.