Late Afternoon and Night Birding in Sorong

Sorong is the transit point for visitors who want to go to Raja Ampat. However, Sorong itself has got its own natural attractions such as wildlife. The outskirts of Sorong city is still covered by rainforest which is the habitat of various species of birds, mammals, insects and reptiles. 

For visitors who arrive in the afternoon and want to have some tour to this forest, I want to offer a late afternoon and night birding tour. 

Papuan Pitta

Here is the program:

Itinerary

15:00-17:45

We will meet you in Sorong city and then organize your trip by car to a beach at the outskirts of Sorong city. We will walk along the beach to look for coastal birds such as Beach Kingfisher, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Pacific Reef Heron, Common Sandpiper, Orange-fronted Fruit-dove, and etc.

17:45

We will go to the hill area to have some coffee or tea with some cakes. Birds such as Blyth's Hornbill, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Papuan Eclectus, Palm Cockatoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, Helmetted Friarbird can still be seen flying back to their nests or roosting trees.

Papuan Boobook, Papuan Frogmouth, White-lipped Frog

19:00 - 23:00

We will do night birding to look for such birds as Papuan Frogmouth, Marbled Frogmouth or even the Papuan Hawk Owl and any birds that sleep on lower branches of trees. Sometimes cuscus or possum can be seen at night too.

At around 23:00, we will return to Sorong city. 

The above itinerary should be seen as a reference only. It could be modified based on the time which the tour participants have. 

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

Also read:

• Birding Paradise: Exploring North Sulawesi from Manado to Minahasa Highland
• Wildlife Tour in Tangkoko Nature Reserve and Minahasa Highland
• Birding in Tangkoko and Minahasa Highland

Morning Birding Tour in Sorong City

Today, I guided Anders, a visitor from Europe on a half day birding tour at the outskirts of Sorong. We started our tour at 05:00. It was still dark outside when we left Vega Prime Hotel by car. Because the birding site is approximately 1 hour car ride from Sorong city, I asked him to sleep.

A European birdwatcher at the beach of Sorong

When we arrived at the birding side located on a mountain ridge, birds began to sing welcoming the morning light. We had some light breakfast at the back of our chartered car. I had a cup of hot sweet tea, and a cake. 

Blyth's Hornbill flew over the hill. We could see some of them over the canopy of the forest. There are also Yellow-faced Myna that landed briefly on the branches of a tree near the roadside. When we had finished our breakfast and started to walk, we heard the call of Rufous-bellied Kookaburra. I turned on my portable loudspeaker and played it's sounds from my cell phone. After a few minutes of waiting, we continued walking. The Kookaburra did not want to fly out of his hiding places. 

One of the birding sites at the outskirts of Sorong city

More birds fly in the sky when the sky was fully bright. We saw Papuan Eclectus, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo flying. There was Gray-headed Goshawk sitting in the branch of a tree around 30 meters away from us. I adjusted the angle of my spotting-scope. When it was ready, we could watch the bird well. 

Yellow-faced Myna

We also saw Yellow-billed Kingfisher, and Gray-headed Cicadabird, and Black-browed Triller. There were some Red-cheeked Parrots flying over the road when we were looking for Yellow-billed Kingfisher. Streak-headed Munia was hopping on the tall grass that was on the left of the roadside. 

Rufous-bellied Kookaburra

Unfortunately, Anders could not find it using his binoculars. The air temperature was getting hotter after 08:00. We continued our trip by car to the beach. We planned to find Beach Kingfisher. We walked along the boardwalk to look for it. I played its recorded calls several times. Unfortunately, we could not find the bird. There were Brahminy Kite, Torresian Crow, Willie Wagtail and Lesser Frigatebird. 

Beach Kingfisher

At around 10:00, we returned to Sorong city again. We could not see all the birds that we had wanted to watch. However, it was a nice tour in very good weather. 

Terrestrial Orchid

To watch birds, I used old binoculars SVBONY 10×50. To take picture of birds, flowers, and any wildlife, I used Fujifilm HS50EXR. It was an old photographic device but still functioning well. I love older things. 

This is written by Charles Roring

Email: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Also read:

• Birding Paradise: Exploring North Sulawesi from Manado to Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching and Photography Tour in Minahasa Highland and Tangkoko Nature Reserve
• Collared Kingfisher
• Birdwatching in Sonder of Minahasa Highland, Indonesia
• Birding walk in the farmland and paddy fields of Sonder in Minahasa highland
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in the Farmland of Sonder, Minahasa highland
• Walking Tour, Birdwatching and Butterflywatching in Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Birding in Paddy Fields of Sonder, Minahasa Highland