Birding and Sightseeing Tour in Sorong City

Everybody knows that Sorong city is the main gate for visitors who want to spend their holidays in Raja Ampat islands or explore rainforest for birding and wildlife watching in Tambrauw regency and Klasow valley. Sorong itself has got numerous attractions for visitors who are interested in the city and its surrounding environment. 

Love Hill in Sorong city

Beautiful Natural Places 

Sorong city has got a number of places which are beautiful both for sightseeing and wildlife watching. Some of them include mangrove forest, nature tourism park, love hill. These places are suitable for visitors who want to see green trees that are the habitat of birds and butterflies. Birds such as Helmetted Friarbird, White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Olive-backed Sunbird, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Orange-fronted Fruit Dove can be seen in these places. There are also butterflies such as the Cruiser Butterfly, Silky-Owl Butterfly and Ulysses butterfly  Visitors need to bring binoculars and camera to do birdwatching and butterfly watching in these forests. 

Religious or Cultural Sites

Christ The King Cathedral of The Catholic Church has got unique design that looks like a pyramid. As a matter of fact, it is not a pyramid. The design of the church building was inspired by the physical form of the bower of the Vogelkop Bowerbird. The bower is the artistic display of a male Vogelkop bowerbird. He will decorate his bower with flowers and various colorful articles which he thinks are attractive for his female counterparts. 

The design of Christ the King Cathedral that is inspired by the bower of Vogelkop Bowerbird

Interesting Places in Sorong

Buddhist Temple

The Buddhist Temple - This complex building is located on a hill in the middle of Sorong city. Surrounded by green vegetations, this temple offers calm place for anyone who wants to enjoy beautiful scenery of Sorong city and peaceful environment. Visitors need to pay small amount of money to get permit to access to the front area of the worship building that overlooks some part of Sorong city. 

Traditional Markets

This is a high recommended site for anyone who want to see goods and services that are traded by the city dwellers. There are vendors who sell fruits, vegetables, rice, fish and meat and there are vendors who offer hair-cutting, cell phone repair services and etc. 

Historical Sites

For visitors who are interested in historical background of Sorong, the recommended place to go is Doom island. The Dutch built houses and offices in the island soon after World War II. The Dutch found huge oil deposit in the surrounding regions. Many of them still exist and have become informal historical evidence about the presence of the Dutch in 1950s and early 1960s

Exploring, Eating and Shopping

At night visitors can enjoy seafood or the spicy Indonesian foods in hundreds of the food booths that are scattered around the town. There are malls, big and small shops that sell various kinds of products from clothing to electronics and from snacks to medicines. Visitors who stay for 1 or 2 days in Sorong city can explore it by using public transport, chartered car or even on foot. Visitors stay mostly in hotels that are located at busy streets, they will be able to explore a lot of interesting shops, cafes, eating houses and certain neighborhoods. A visitor who walks around Sorong city for quite long will feel tired. He or she could book a massage service in the city to sooth muscles, relax, and enjoy life for a while before leaving this city.

There are still a lot of interesting places around the suburb areas which tourists can visit if they want to explore further areas of outside of Sorong city. Some of them include Aimas town, Sausapor town or even Fef town in Tambrauw mountains. Aimas has got farmlands. Sausapor is a small coastal town. 

Equipment to bring

Most visitors who go to Sorong city are snorkelers and scuba divers. They will continue their trip to Raja Ampat to see the marine life of the tropical islands. So, a mask, snorkel and swim fins will be needed for that purpose. A good underwater picture such as Nikon W300 or Olympus Tough TG 6 is a good photographic device for both snorkeling and scuba diving. 

Visitors who are more interested in wildlife usually bring binoculars, super zoom lens and laser pointer for watching birds, butterflies and other animals while walking through rainforest and nature park. 

Well, if you are interested in taking a tour around Sorong city and want me to organize your trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to +6281332245180.

Also read:

• Sorong City Sightseeing and Birdwatching Tour
• Private Walking Tour in Sorong City
• Tourist Attractions in Sorong City
• Explore Sorong City and Its Surroundings
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa

Birding in Raja Ampat and Sorong Regency of Indonesia

A trip report by Charles Roring for Vacation Indonesia Tours

Probosciger aterrimus

Introduction

From 7 to 12 November 2023, I had the opportunity to guide four Finnish visitors on a birding trip in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat and Klasow valley of Sorong regency. Both areas are part of Papua Barat Daya Province of Indonesia. The Finnish birdwatchers were Lauri Mikkola, Marjo Mikkola, Hannele Heino and Raija Teider.

Their trip to Sorong city was organized by Mr. Darwin Sumang from Vacation Indonesia Tours (VIT Tours). Our main target was to see birds of paradise such as Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, as well as other tropical birds of New Guinea including Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Golden Myna, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Shining Flycatcher, and a lot more. 

Ducula bicolor

7 November 2023

I met them in Sorong city. They took a night flight of Batik Air ID 7797 from Jakarta that landed at Domine Eduard Osok (DEO) Airport at around 06:10 morning time. Two airport taxis brought us to ferry harbor where we continued our next trip by fast passenger ferry to Waisai harbor of Raja Ampat. We started our birding activity when we had reached Waigeo island. I informed the driver who took us to Raja Ampat Dive Resort to stop along the way whenever we saw birds. We had to stop several times to see Brahminy Kite and Moustached Treeswift. We checked into the resort at around 13:00. Some Willie Wagtail were playing around the shrub plants and on the boardwalk at the frontyard of the resort. That's already a lunch time. First a walked to a tree where there was Papuan Frogmouth. After having lunch, we walked along the boardwalk of the resort to find Papuan Frogmouths that liked to sleep in trees of the resort. We found one. After that we took a rest. At around 16:00 we continued our birding activity again. We did not go out of the complex area of the resort. We walked to the jetty and watched birds using binoculars and spotting scope. We saw Common Sandpiper, Great-crested Tern, Australasian Osprey, Lesser Frigatebird, Beach Kingfisher, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, and Brown Oriole. After dinner, we slept early. 

Todiramphus saurophagus

8 November 2023

We had breakfast at 07:00. After that we walked around, still at the frontyard of the resort, to look for birds such as Helmetted Friarbird, Mimic Meliphaga, Brown Oriole, and Shining Flycatcher. Our tour participants also like butterflies, we saw some of them including a female Priamus Birdwing Butterfly. We continued our birding walked by walking up wooden stairs to the road behind the resort. There, we saw several interesting species including Glossy-mantled Manucode, Coconut Lorikeet, and Eclectus Parrot and Red-cheeked Parrot. When the weather was getting hotter, we returned to the resort and continued our activity watching butterflies. 

Eclectus roratus

At around 16:00, we continued birding again. This time, we watched birds from the jetty near dive center of Raja Ampat Dive Resort. We saw Pied Imperial Pigeon, Metallic Starling, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Common Sandpiper and Helmetted Friarbird. 

When the surrounding temperature had been cooler, we walked to the road behind the resort to watch more birds. There, we saw Eclectus Parrot, Shining Flycatcher, Hooded Butcherbird, Palm Cockatoo, Yellow-faced Myna, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker, Olive-backed Sunbird, Blyth's Hornbill, Coconut Lorikeet, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Helmetted Friarbird, and Red-cheeked Parrot. At around 18:00, the temperature had been cooler. We could see more Eclectus Parrot flying low around us. 

We returned to the resort when our surroundings were getting darker.

Geoffroyus geoffroyi

9 November 2023

We woke up early at 04:00 to have early morning breakfast. At 04:30, we left our resort by a 4WD pick-up truck for birding site deep in the forest of Waigeo island. Our car slowly climbed steep slopes of souther  Waigeo island. It took around 30 minutes to reach the birding site. We still had to continue our adventure that morning by hiking up the steep slopes of the rainforest to the lek of Red Bird of Paradise. We watched the birds for around 30 minutes and then walked down the steep slopes again to the main road. We continued our morning activity to the site of Wilson's Bird of Paradise. At first hide, the bird did not land on his playing ground although we could hear him calling his female mating partner for the whole morning. We moved to another site of the Wilson's Bird of Paradise. This time, we were lucky. The paradise bird landed on his display ground. Everybody was happy to see him. 

Paradisaea rubra

Diphyllodes respublica

When we left the hide, we tried to find Common Paradise Kingfisher. I played his calls from the sound recordings stored in my cell phone. He kept on sitting inside dense branches. So, we left him. Back to the resort, we had lunch and relaxed at the beach. Some of the tour participants enjoyed swimming. In the afternoon at 15:00, we had a birding tour by the 4WD pick-up truck again. This time we went to the forest in the southern area of Waisai's airport. First, we checked the nearby water channel. There, we saw two Little Egret. Because the temperature was still high, we stayed under the shadow of trees to watch birds that were flying over the hills. We saw some including Brahminy Kite, Gurney's Eagle, and Eclectus Parrot. We moved to hill areas to look for Radjah Shelduck at a stream. We did not find one. So, we had a tour around the hill and then down to the coastal area to the bridge at the southern end of the airport's runway. There we saw Red-cheeked Parrot, Shining Flycatcher and Great-billed Parrot. Common Sandpiper and Whimbrel were seen walking on the big stones at the riverside and the beach. Pacific Swallow and Glossy Swiftlet flew around us. We returned to our resort again at around 06:30. On the way, we stopped for a while to watch Rufous-bellied Kookaburra that was sitting on electrical line.

10 November 2023

After breakfast, we left our resort by speedboat. The coastal scenery of Waigeo island looked so beautiful. We crossed the sea by fast passenger ferry to Sorong city again. We had lunch at Solaria resto in Ramayana Mall. After a short stop at Mega Mall to buy fruits, we continued our trip by 4WD car to Klasow valley. We arrived at around 15:00 local time. We walked to Malagufuk village for around two hours because we stopped several times to watch Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Orange-bellied Fruit Dove and Golden Myna. 

We heard the calls of King Bird of Paradise and Magnificent Riflebird but we could not see them. Suddenly it started to rain. We reached the village at around 17:00. We were able to see Blyth's Hornbill, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, and Black Lory flying in the air. Our dinner was stir-fried vegetables, fried chicken in black sweet soy sauce, green vegetables, mango, watermelon and papaya.

Paradisaea minor

11 November 2023

We woke up early in the morning at 04:30, had tea, coffee and some biscuits as well as fried noodle. We walked to the birding site of Magnificent Riflebird at 05:00 and reached the place in thirty minutes. We watched the bird for around 1 hour and then continued our trip to the site of Lesser Birds of Paradise. When we reached the lek, we did not see them. We walked around to find one. A local guide who accompanied us saw one bird sitting at high branch. It was quite difficult for mw to aim my binoculars and tripod at the paradise bird. The tour participants could see them. In less then two minutes, the Lesser Bird of Paradise hopped to another branch with densed twigs and leaves. We could not watch him properly. We were hopeless. We walked to the other side of the tree. Before we left for the site of King Bird of Paradise, I played the sound record of the Lesser Birds of Paradise to attrack him. Fortunately, he came and landed on the vine that was hanging down the ficus tree in front of us. He was around fifteen meters above us but in open area. All of us could see him well. Everyone took some pictures of the paradise bird. 

King Bird of Paradise

We walked for around twenty five minutes to the site of King Bird of Paradise. There we watched the paradise bird from a watching tower built by local villagers. We spent around one hour in the area and then returned to the village to have lunch. 

At 13:00, we walked slowly back to main road. There were butterflies that were flying around. We stopped to take pictures of them.  Some of them were Silky Owl Butterfly and New Guinea Clipper butterfly. 

We returned to Sorong city by 4wd pick-up truck. At around 17:00 we reached Swissbel Hotel. We enjoyed dinner at 19:00 and then took an early rest.

12 November 2023

I organized the transfer of our tour participants at 08:30. The Domine Eduard Osok (DEO) Airport of Sorong city was quite busy in the morning. Arriving at the airport, I said goodbye to our Finnish guests hoping that they would have a nice flight to Jakarta and then back to their home country in Findland. End of the Tour

If you are interested in traveling to Sorong and Raja Ampat or even Tambrauw regency and need to guide to organize your trip and guide you, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. 

Birding Tour in Sorong and Tambrauw with a Tourist from India

I have just completed a private birding tour for a visitor from India. He arrived in Sorong by Citilink's plane. I met him at the airport and organized his transfer to Sansapore Pacific Park Beach Resort in Sausapor town of Tambrauw regency. It took around 3 hours to reach the destination. 

Birding in Tambrauw and Sorong

We stayed at the wooden bungalows of the resort. The front, side and backyard areas of the resort are filled by various kind of trees, and flower plants. These plants attract insects and sometimes birds. 

Meadow Argus Butterfly

Taenaris butterfly

The beach faced Pacific Ocean. There was huge coral reef area which was the habitat of a lot of species of marine creatures. Sansapore Pacific Park Beach Resort was a great place for snorkeling and insect or butterfly watching. There were cruiser, common green birdwing, silky owl, great eggfly and ulysses butterflies. Visitors needed at least three to four days to watch butterflies and to enjoy snorkeling. 

Palm Cockatoo

After checking into the resort, we took a rest for around two hours and then began our birding tour to a forest a little outside Sausapor town. We spent around three and a half hours there. We saw Lesser Birds of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, Coconut Lorikeet, Hooded Butcherbird, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, and etc. 

Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher

We continued our trip to Klabili village where we saw King Bird of Paradise, Palm Cockatoo, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher and Yellow-billed Kingfisher. 

While we were about to do birding walk that morning at the village, a fish vendor came by a motorcycle with a basket attached on his back seat. There were various kinds of reef fish that he offers. Unfortunately, we were on a trip to the forest. We could not buy the fish. However, the villagers asked us to take some photos with the fish and the vender. Well, we were happy to do what they had requested. Here is the fish photo. 

A pose with villagers, a fish vendor and his fish as well as some photos from the tour

During the last morning of the tour, we went birding in Mangrove area of Sorong city. We saw Orange-fronted Fruit Dove and Brown-backed Honeyeater, Sahul Sunbird, Nankeen Night Heron, Striated Heron, Common Sandpiper and etc. 

If you are interested in taking a private butterfly watching, or snorkeling tour in West Papua, and want me to organize your trip and guide you, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Wildlife Watching Trip in Tambrauw Regency

In the past few months I have been guiding tourists on wildlife watching tours in Sorong, Tambrauw and Arfak mountains as well as other parts of Indonesia such as Sumatra, Bali and Java. Our experience in Tambrauw was unique because tour participants could see both marine and rainforest environment. 

One of the destinations which we visited was Weyos beach. It was located in north-east region of Tambrauw. In early August 2023, I organized a trip for 8 French visitors. We went to Sausapor by 4WD car. It took around 3 hours to reach the town. 

Wildlife in Tambrauw forest

Accommodation

We stayed at Sansapore Pacific Park which was a great place to enjoy sightseeing, sunset watching, swimming and snorkeling, recreational fishing, butterflywatching and birdwatching. The rainforest at the outskirt of Tambrauw regency was a good place for birding.

Sansapore Pacific Park Beach Resort

It was a beautiful beach accommodation. However we did not stay long at the beach resort. The next morning, we continued our trip to Weyos beach by 3 small motor boats. It took approximately 3 hours to reach the beach.  Arriving at the beach, we put our belongings in a shelter. There were dome tents, mattrasses and pillows that I had prepared for the guests. For the next 3 days of our adventure at Weyos beach, we went swimming and snorkeling, watched birds along the sides of Wenyef river and visited that nesting site of leatherback turtles at night. There we saw baby turtles (hatchlings) coming out of the sand and crawling into the sea. 

Weyos beach in Tambrauw regency

Local villagers went to the sea to catch fish. So, everyday, we could eat grilled fish. 

The lek of Lesser Birds of Paradise was located on the slope of a hill around 20 minutes walk from our shelter. To watch the birds, we woke up at 05:00 and then made some preparations. At 05:30, we started walking to the site of the paradise birds. Most of the tour participants watched the paradise birds of the first time. It was a magical experience for them. They felt so happy after watching the courtship dance performance of the paradise birds. In the last day of our tour at Weyos beach, we posed for some photographs with local villagers. After saying goodbye to them, we left the beach by motorized boat to Sausapor town and then to Sorong city in the afternoon by 4wd cars again. All the tour participants were very happy with the trip. 

Birdwatching in Tambrauw

I hope that in the near future, more tourists will be interested in visiting Tambrauw regency.

If you are interested in traveling to Tambrauw regency to enjoy your holiday, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Birdwatching and Snorkeling in Tambrauw

Sansapore Pacific Park is a beach resort in Sausapor town of Tambrauw regency. It can be reached by 4WD car from Sorong city. The house reef of the resort is the natural habitat of a lot of species of marine creatures including tropical reef-fish (parrotfish, wrasse, butterflyfish, moorish idol, anemonefish and etc.), sea cucumber, sea star, Christmas Tree Worm and beautiful corals. Visitors who are interested in snorkeling to see the beauty of this marine life have to bring their snorkeling device such as mask, snorkel and swim fins. 

The best time to enjoy snorkeling at the beach of Sansapore Pacific Park is from April to October. 

Marine life at the beach near Sansapore Pacific Park Beach Resort

A good underwater camera such as the Nikon W300 or Olympus TG-6 will enable snorkelers to take pictures and videos of the marine life of Sausapor beach. 

Marine Life in Sausapor beach

Hiking in Tambrauw's forest

The hills around Sausapor town is the habitat of Eclectus Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Western-crowned Pigeon, Helmatted Friarbird, Black Butcherbird, Hooded Butcherbird, and a lot more. Visitors need to bring their own binoculars. For taking photographs, visitors need to bring D-SLR camera with 159-600 mm lens. Another althernative can be a point and shoot camera such as Nikon Coolpix P1000 or Canon Powershot SX70. 

To identify birds, birdwatchers can use e-bird or merlin. 

Probosciger aterrimus

Visitors who like butterfly can also watch butterfly in the front and backyard of the resort. Cruiser butterfly, Ulysses and Common Green Birdwing Butterfly can be seen in the area.

Butterflies in Indonesia

Where to stay

For accommodation, visitors can stay at Sansapor Pacific Park. There are wooden bungalows that provide affordable accommodation for visitors. 

Sansapore Pacific Park Beach Resort

How to get there?

First, you need to fly from your country to Jakarta or Bali of Indonesia. After that you could take a domestic flight by such airlines as Lion Air, Batik Air or Garuda to Sorong city. Your trip to Sansapore Pacific Park beach resort can be organized by a 4WD car. 

Tambrauw regency is located between Sorong and Manokwari

If you are interested in taking a trip to West Papua region of Indonesia, and want me to organize your trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Tourist Attractions in Sorong City

Sorong city which is the main gate for visitors who want to travel to Raja Ampat has got a number of interesting attractions: Usually they spend one or two days in Sorong city before continuing their trip to Waisai town or flying back to their country. Here are some of the attractions. 

Sahul Sunbird

• Rainforests in Sorong are located along the coastal area and in the hills behind the city. The forest that can be visited easily by birdwatchers is the mangrove forest. It has got boardwalk that allows visitors to watch birds, butterflies, beetles, lizards, fish, crabs, and see mangrove trees. 
• Traditional Market is the place for visitors who want to see goods and services that city dwellers buy and sell. Various kinds of fruits, vegetables, meat, kitchen equipment, electrical appliances, clothing and etc. 
• Islands - There are several interesting islands around Sorong regency. Visitors can go to the islands to the villagers or watch birds and other wildlife. 

Wildlife watching outside Sorong city

Sorong city has got supermarkets, department stores, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, massage service, car rental, boat rental, traditional market, fast food restaurants, souvenir shops, and etc.

If you are interested in exploring the natural and cultural attractions around Sorong city and want me to organize your tour and guide you, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to +6281332245180. 

Also read: 

• Sorong City Tour
• Birding in Sulawesi

Birding in Mangrove Forest of Sorong City

Mangrove forest of Sorong city is a good place for visitors who have short time to enjoy birding before they fly back to their country or continue their trip to Raja Ampat. It takes around 20 to 30 minutes to reach it. Visitors need to bring a good pair of binoculars, a camera with telephoto lens. The best time to start watching birds is early in the morning at 06:00 or in the afternoon at 15:30. 

Birds in Coastal Forest of Sorong

The common birds in mangrove trees are Brown-backed Honeyeater, Metallic Starling, Orange-fronted Fruit Dove, Shining Flycatcher, Sacred Kingfisher and Olive-backed Sunbird. There are also White-bellied Cuckooshrike, White-breasted Woodswallow, Willie Wagtail, and Helmetted Friarbird. 

I used to see Australian Ibis, Blue-Black Kingfisher, Nankeen Night Heron in the forest. However, they are not so common. 

When I guide visitors, I bring 2 pairs of SVBONY 10×50 binoculars. I use one pair for myself. The other pair is mounted on a tripod to function as spotting scope, so every tour participant will have the opportunity to watch the bird. Binoculars on tripod are perfect tools for finding birds in distant branches of trees. 

I usually combine this short birding trip with tour to traditional market of Sorong city. 

For extended tour, a 4-day/3-night birding in Waigeo and a 3-day/ 2-night birding trip to Klasow valley of Sorong regency or Tambrauw regency can be offered to interested visitor(s). 

The birds in these regions include Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-faced Myna, Lowland Peltop, Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Beach Kingfisher, Whimbrel, Striated Heron, and a lot more.

The number of participant for the long birding tour can be one visitor to a group of eight birdwatchers. 

Flight Route to Sorong City

Sorong city can be reached by plane from major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar, Manado, Ambon, and even Jayapura. Garuda, Lion Air, Batik Air as well as Sriwijaya have got regular flights to Sorong city. 

There are a lot of hotels in Sorong. Some of them include Kyriad M, Swissbel Hotel, Aston, Waigo, and etc. 

Booking

If you are interested in taking a birding tour in Sorong city, Raja Ampat islands, Tambrauw regency of South West Papua province of Indonesia, and want me (Charles Roring) to organize your trip and guide you, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Also read:

• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder
• Private Walking Tour in Sorong City

Birding in the forest near Sorong city of Indonesia

Sorong city is the entrance gate for visitors who travel to Raja Ampat. Usually after long flights from home, visitors who have just arrived in Sorong feel tired. They want to take a rest for at least one night in a hotel of the city. They are also interested in exploring interesting places such as its restaurants, traditional markets, the nearby village or island. Visitors who have just completed their holiday in Raja Ampat may also want to explore tourist attractions in Sorong city.

This bird picture was taken using Fujifilm HS50EXR

Bird or animal watching is an interesting activity that visitors can do. As a tourist guide, I have organized tours for solo or group travelers to watch birds in a forest not far from Sorong. 

Olive-backed Sunbird

We usually start early in the morning at 06:00. I bring 2 pairs of binoculars 10×50 binoculars. One pair is mounted on a tripod to function as spotting scope. I use the other pair to find birds. I also bring laser pointer and a small loudspeaker to call birds. However, in order not to disturb the bird, I don't play the bird very often. 

The lowland mangrove forest of Sorong is the habitat of tens of species of beautiful birds and butterflies. Based on my previous trips, the species that I have seen include White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Olive-backed Sunbird (now also called Sahul Sunbird), Brown-backed Honeyeater, Australian White Ibis, Nankeen Night Heron, Sacred Kingfisher, Orange-breasted Fig Parrot, Hooded Butcherbird, Orange-fronted Fruit Dove, Blue Black Kingfisher, Emperor Fairy Wren, Oriental Dollarbird, Rainbow Bee-eater, White-breasted Woodswallow, Yellow-faced Myna and a lot more. 

For butterflies, there are Priamus butterfly, Silky Owl Butterfly and etc. 

Flight route to Sorong city

I bring a bridge camera Fujifilm HS50EXR. It is an old photographic device with 42× optical zoom that is quite powerful in shooting flora and fauna in distant or tall trees. The birdwatching or animal watching tour lasts until 09:00 morning time. 

Birds in the lowland forest near Sorong city

After the tour in the forest of Sorong, I can extend the trip to the nearby traditional market or to a nearby island. Some visitors even request 4 to 6 days animal watching trip both in the forest of mainland West Papua and in Waigeo island of Sorong city.

If you are interested in taking the birding trip and want me (Charles Roring) to guide you, please, contact me by email to peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

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. 

Bird/ Wildlife-Watching Tour in Sausapor town, Klabili village and Sorong city

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. 

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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. 

Also read: 

• Snorkeling in Raja Ampat