Birdwatching in the Farmland of Sonder Town of Minahasa Highland

Sonder is a small town in Minahasa regency, it is surrounded by rainforest, farmland, rivers, ponds and rice fields. Sonder is a great destination for visitors who like birdwatching watching. 

Bird Photography Tour

Visitors who travel to Tounelet forest in Sonder can see a lot of species of tropical birds such as Pale Blue Monarch, Black-naped Oriole, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, Sahul Sunbird, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Chestnut Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia, Collared Kingfisher, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Black-crowned White-eye, Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon, Eastern Cattle Egret, Slender-billed Crow, Sultan's Cuckoo Dove, Barn Swallow and White-nest Swiftlet. 

Black-naped Oriole

Sultan's Cuckoo Dove

The ricefield of Sonder are good for birdwatching and birdphotography too. Visitors could see various species of birds including White-breasted Woodswallow, White-browed Crake, Eastern Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, White-browed Crake, Collared Kingfisher and etc.

White-breasted Woodswallow

Mountain (Warbling) White-eye

More birds could be seen if we go to tropical rainforest and agricultural forest of Sonder especially in the mornings and late afternoons before sunset time. There are Crimson Sunbird, Sulawesi Drongo, Hair-crested (White Eye) Drongo, Black-faced Munia, Mountain (Warbling) White-eye, Collared Kingfisher, White-faced Cuckoo Dove, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, and a lot more.

Pale Blue Monarch

Sulawesi Scops Owl

Butterfly Watching and Photography Tour

Sonder is also a great destination for visitors who like to watch and photograph butterflies. There are butterflies such as: Blanchard's Wood Nymph (Ideopsis vitrea), Blanchard's Tree Nymph (Idea blanchardii), Meyer's Jay (Graphium Meyeri), Graphium anthedon and Celebes Leafwing Butterfly (Doleschallia polibete celebensis), Manado Yellow Tiger Butterfly (Parantica menadensis) and etc.

Blanchard's Wood Nymph Butterfly

Blanchard's Wood Nymph Butterfly

Sulawesi Leafwing Butterfly

Meyer's Jay Butterfly

Manado Yellow Tiger Butterfly

Bird and butterfly photography tour in and around the outskirts of Sonder can be combined with trips of other forest areas in North Sulawesi for a duration of 7 up to 14 days. The places that we visit include Tambun Maleo Sanctuary, Tapak Kolintang road of Dumoga Bone National Park, Mount Ambang, Minahasa Highland, and Tangkoko Nature Reserve rainforest. 

Where is Sonder town and how to get there? 

Sonder is a small town in the highland of Minahasa. It can be reached from Manado city in approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. 

Tourists who are interested in visiting Sonder town needs to fly to Manado city first. Here is the flight routes.

Booking

To book your trip to Sonder town, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.