Sightseeing, Wildlife Watching, Freediving, and Snorkeling in Raja Ampat with 2 British Visitors

I am now in Raja Ampat. I am guiding 2 British visitors, Gary and Esther, on one-week tour for sightseeing, birding and snorkeling around Waigeo island, Friwen island, Gam island, Mansuar islabd, Arborek, and Piaynemo, Yenbuna, Mioskon island and Five Rocks as well as Saporkren village and Warkesi forest. 

Red-bird of Paradise

In the past few days of our birding tour, until now we have seen more than 40s species of forest and coastal birds including Lesser Frigatebird, White-breasted Woodswallow, Pacific Swallow, Eastern Osprey, Gurney's Eagle, Helmetted Friarbird, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Papuan Frogmouth, Willie Wagtail, Beach Kingfisher, Pacific Reef Heron, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Common Sandpiper, Lesser crested Tern, Coconut Lorikeet, Mimic Honeyeater, Puff back Honeyeater, Hooded Butcherbird, Eclectus Parrot, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Yellow-faced Myna, Red-bird of Paradise, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Island Leaf Warbler, Blyth's Hornbill, Mustached Treeswift. 

I used 10×50 binoculars that I mounted on a tripod using an adaptor. This kind of arrangement allows me to have a device that is similar to spotting scope but in more affordable price. This morning we watched Red Bird of Paradise and Wilson's Bird of Paradise. They were so beautiful.

I also have got an old camera the Fujifilm HS50EXR that allows me to take pictures of birds in distant tree. The ones that are showed in this article were shot using the device. 

Papuan Frogmouth

We stay at a beach resort that is surrounded by trees. This allow us to watch birds, butterflies, and other insects without having to walk long distances. 

Perhaps a Taenaris honrathi butterfly

There are still more days, more birds, fish and seascapes that we will see. I hope that I can make a lot of beautiful pictures and videos of them. 

Snorkeling photos from Raja Ampat

Anemonefish in Friwen Wall of Raja Ampat

We enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in the coral reef areas of Friwen Wall, Arborek, Yenbuba, Mioskon, Five Rocks, and Saporkren. We saw a lot of marine creatures including various anemonefish, surgeonfish, damselfish, trevally, sweetlips, moorish idol, butterflyfish, black tip sharks, and etc. 

a selfie picture with Gary and Esther in Piaynemo karst

If you are interested in sightseeing, birdwatching and wildlife watching as well as snorkeling tour in Raja Ampat archipelago of Indonesia, please, contact me Charles Roring by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. 

Birding and Wildlife Watching Holiday in Raja Ampat Islands

I have just completed a birding and wildlife watching tour in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat. It was a 3 day/ 2 night-trip. I guided Christine - a lady from the United States of America. In the first day when we walked along the roadside of southern Waigeo, we saw Eclectus Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Palm Cockatoo, Pacific Swallow and Lesser-crested Tern. At dusk, we also saw cuscus possum, fruitbats and snake. 

Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus)

The next morning, we went to a forest by car and did hiking to watch Wilson's Bird of Paradise. After that we explored the coastal area to watch Radjah Shelduck, Olive-backed Sunbird, Willie Wagtail, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Beach Kingfisher as well as Olive-crowned Flowerpecker. There were Olive-backed Sunbird, Spice Imperial Pigeon and Brahminy Kite when we did a boat trip to islands at the entrance area of Kabui bay. I brought my spotting scope and put it on a white sandy beach of Urai island when we were watching the pigeons and kingfisher. At the nearby trees, Singing Starlings were eating some tiny fruits. High in the sky Blyth's Hornbill and Lesser Frigatebirds were flying over us. 

Female Red Bird of Paradise

While we were enjoying the natural beauty of Raja Ampat's blue sea and islands, we saw some dolphins swimming off the nearby reef. It was a magnificent trip. In the last day of the tour, we watched Red Bird of Paradise, Hooded Butcherbird, Yellow-bellied Longbill and Helmetted Friarbird. 

After enjoying the tour, we returned to Sorong city. This trip in Raja Ampat was an extended trip of my previous tour with a group of British and American birdwatchers in Sorong, Tambrauw, Arfak mountains of Manokwari.

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

Watching Red Bird of Paradise

I woke up early at 4.30 this morning. I immediately walked to Michael's room and called him from outside. He woke up and began to make preparation. We went to dining room where I made hot chocolate drinks. We left around five minutes later walking slowly up the steep slopes that led us to the lek of Red Bird of Paradise. It was still dark, we used flashlights. We saw millipede, and little frogs along the narrow trails. 

One hour later, we arrived at the birding ground. We sat at a hut for a while to to take a rest. We could feel the cool morning breeze on the ridge of the hill. It was useful to refresh our body. Sunlight began to brighten the sky above us. I informed Michael that we could sit at the birding platform which was around ten meters away from us. 

A Couple of Red Bird of Paradise

Fifteen minutes sitting at the platform, we started to see a female Red Bird of Paradise on the tall tree in front of us. She flew to the tree, landed on one of the branches and began hopping to other branches as if she was checking the readiness of a dancing stage. Shortly after that more birds came. The male ones called their female mating partners. When three or four female Red Bird of Paradise arrived, the male ones perform their courtship dance performance. They hopped up and down a nearly vertical branch in upside down position and approached the female bird. Sometimes two female Red Bird of Paradise closely watched the performance of a male bird of paradise.

Meanwhile, I was busy at the platform with my camera trying to find the best setting that would produce sharp pictures in lowlight condition. I was struggling with the knobs or buttons of the camera. When I adjusted my camera to AV settings, I got good results. 

Male Red Bird of Paradise

I could now take as many pictures as possible. But my old pictures were still stored in the memory card. I only had some space left. As a result, I had to stop taking pictures of the birds and began deleting old photos that I were not good enough. 

The dance performance of Red Bird of Paradise was excellent. We watched them for around two and a half hours. When they flew away, we decided to return to our lodge again. It was a successful trip. In addition to Red Bird of Paradise, we also saw Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Blyth's Hornbill, Olive-backed Sunbird, and heard the calls of Hooded Butcherbird, Shining Flycatcher, Puff-backed Meliphaga, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Willie Wagtail. 

If you are interested in taking birdwatching and snorkeling tour to Raja Ampat, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Red Bird of Paradise

Birdwatchers who travel to Raja Ampat will usually put the Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra) in their list of target birds to see. The best times to watch this bird are in the mornings and in the afternoons. There are a lot of places which visitors can choose if they want to watch the paradise bird in Waigeo island. Most tourists go to Saporkren area. I go to different places. Some are located in eastern area of Waigeo whereas others are located further in the south and in the north of the island.  There, I and my guests can enjoy exclusive sites for watching the paradise birds and other tropical birds of Raja Ampat. My recommendation will be the southern hill of the island. There are also other forests in north-east region of Waigeo which tourists can go to enjoy birding.

Male Red Birds of Paradise were performing their courtship dance

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra)

I highly suggest that visitors bring a good pair of binoculars, and a camera with telephoto lens if they want to take pictures of this beautiful creature. Usually, at least 2 to 4 male birds gather on top of a tree located deep on a hill of the forest. They start calling their female counterparts for mating. When the female Red Birds of Paradise have come, the male ones will perform their courtship dances. They compete one another to win the female birds. Most often the competition gets tougher. The one that is stronger and performs better dance will become the winner. This is a natural selection. 

Red Bird of Paradise in northeast forest of Waigeo

Tropical Birds in Raja Ampat
There are a lot of other birds that we also can see while traveling in Waigeo and other smaller islands around it. They include Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Hooded Butcherbird, Palm Cockatoo, Great-billed Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Great Cuckoo Dove, Beach Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-faced Myna,  Moustached Treeswift, Wimbrel, Beach Thick Knee, Radjah Shelduck, White-breasted Woodswallow, Sahul Sunbird, Singing Starling, Lowland Peltop, Eastern Osprey, White-bellied Sea Eagle, and a lot more.
When I guide tourists to these small islands, I charter a small motorized boat. I also bring a spotting scope which I like to install at a beach to watch coastal birds such as Willie Wagtail, Eastern Reef Egret, Brahminy Kite, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Little-pied Cormorant, and Sahul Sunbird.
Most birdwatchers bring binoculars but there are also tour participants who bring birding cameras. The development of digital camera with telephoto lens such as Nikon P900, or Nikon Coolpix P1000 has increased the chance of birdwatchers to shoot birds in distant and very tall trees. I used Fujifilm HS50EXR to shoot the birds above. Now a lot of pictures of beautiful birds are circulating in social media. They are made using the superzoom photographic devices. Digiscoping system can also produce good quality pictures of birds but they are mostly used by birdwatchers in open areas such as a field with trees around it or clearing areas near a forest. For taking pictures of birds in thick forest, a camera with telephoto lens is more convenient.
However, most birdwatchers will be happy to watch birds using spotting scope too because they can see the vivid colours of their feather through the scope. Famous brands like Swarovski, Leica, and Nikon are very good but expensive. I use Kinglux 20-60×60. Although it is considered as entry level scope, it is quite good. It has got Bak 4 prism in its barrel.

I often combine the birding tour in Raja Ampat with snorkeling tour and with rainforest tour in Sorong regency or Manokwari.

Also read:
Raja Ampat Birds

Watching Red Bird of Paradise

Birding in North Waigeo of Raja Ampat

Parrots in Waigeo Island

Rainforest Tour in Raja Ampat

I personally have created some drawing artworks that are now available as prints on t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, and etc.

Red Bird of Paradise

• Birds
• Red Bird of Paradise
• Red Bird of Paradise Classic T-shirt