Birds from Lower Montane forest of Manokwari

I often guide tourists on a 3 to 4 days of hiking and birding tours in lower montane forest of Manokwari. We stayed in a basecamp located near a small stream which we use to cook food and boil water.

King Bird of Paradise

Rainforest Birds

Bringing binoculars, spotting scope, and digital camera with telephoto lenses, we can watch such birds as: Lesser Birds of Paradise; Magnificent Riflebird; King Bird of Paradise; Grey Crow; Common Paradise Kingfisher; Yellow-billed Kingfisher; Azure Kingfisher; Frilled Monarch; Spot-winged Monarch; Pinon Imperial Pigeon; Brown-cuckoo Dove; Pink-spotted Fruit Dove; Beautiful Fruit Dove; Superb Fruit Dove; Great-cuckoo Dove; Hooded Butcherbird; Northern Variable Pitohui; Eclectus Parrot; Black-capped Lory; Rainbow Lorikeet; Fairy Lorikeet; Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot; Olive-crowned Flowerpecker; Yellow-bellied Gerygone; Spangled Drongo; Black Sunbird; Mimic Meliphaga; Brown Oriole; Hooded Pitta; Red-bellied Pitta; Papuan Frogmouth; and a lot more

Hooded Butcherbird (Cracticus cassicus)

Lesser Birds of Paradise

In addition to birds, there are also other things which tourists can see while exploring the forest. Some of them include glowing mushrooms, Papuan forest dragon, cuscus possum, lizards, snakes, bandicoot, butterflies, unique tropical plants, and etc.

Hiking and Wildlife Watching in Manokwari forest

The name of the forest is Susnguakti. It has been visited by tourists who come from Japan, Korea, the Philipines, Thailand, the United States, Germany, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, France, Spain, and a lot more. This adventurous rainforest tour is suitable for those who are physically fit.

Birdwatching Device
To serve my customers, I usually bring a Kinglux 20-60×60 mm spotting, a pair of 10×42mm Visionking Binoculars, laser pointer, and field guide book Birds of New Guinea by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce Beehler. Sometimes I bring my D-SLR camera - Canon 200D with Tamron 150-600mm telephoto lens that I use to take pictures of birds and other wild animals in tall trees.
Today, manufacturers of cameras have developed photographic devices that can shoot birds and other subjects that are far away. Some of them include Nikon P900, Nikon P1000, Canon SX70HS, and etc. These cameras have got smaller sensors but can produce high quality pictures that are adequate for identification. The photos of birds that they make are suitable for internet uses.

Accommodation

There is no guesthouse or hotel in Susnguakto forest of Manokwari. There is only a basic basecamp for visitors to stay at night. We provide dome tents with mattrasses and pillows for tourists so that they can stay there. There is no toilet in the forest. We use small stream near the basecamp to wash. The water from the stream flows into the ground again.

Our basecamp for tourists in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari

Typical Dome tent, mattrasses, pillows that we provide for tourists in Susnguakti forest

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

Also read:

• Birds in Raja Ampat
• Birding in Kabui of Raja Ampat
• Watching Birds in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat
• Morning Bird Walk in Raja Ampat
• Birding Trip in Raja Ampat and Tambrauw

Birding Trips to Raja Ampat and Tambrauw Mountains with a Dutch Lady

A lady was hiking and birding with me
in Tambrauw mountains

I have just completed a long birding trip to Raja Ampat and Tambrauw Mountains with a Dutch lady for two weeks. We stayed at a simple homestay in Waigeo island that was run by a Papuan family and explored karst islands by a motorized boat to watch birds. Early in the morning, we woke up at 05.00 and did a forty-minute walk to the lek of Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra). July actually was not the best month to visit the Raja Ampat because south wind was strong. The sea was rough and boat could not travel easily to islands in the open sea. So, we decided to explore karst islets in more protected waters. When we visited the King's Karst of Raja Ampat we were amazed by the beauty of its landscape and the wealth of its avifauna. From our trips to the larst, we saw Lesser Frigatebird, Brahminy Kite, Rainbow Bee-eater, Lesser-crested Tern, Great-billed Parrot (Tanygnathus megalorynchos), Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), Eclectus Parrot  (Eclectus Roratus), Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eastern Reef Egret (Egretta sacra), Striated Heron (Butorides striata), Spice Imperial Pigeon (Ducula myristicivora),  Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus), Hook-billed Kingfisher (Melidora macrorrhina).

Palm Cockatoo

As a matter of fact I have got quite a long list of birds that we saw in the forest and karst islets of Raja Ampat. I only mention the ones in this post that I remember.
Besides hiking and birding, we also enjoyed snorkeling at the reef in front of the homestay. I used my little action camera Brica B-Pro5 Alpha Edition to capture the marine life of this beautiful archipelago. When I was doing freediving at depths of 2 to 7 meters, I saw several species of fish such as Black-tipped Shark, Convict Surgeonfish, Striped Surgeonfish, Moorish Idol, Parrotfish, and Anemonefish.
We continued our trip to Tambrauw to lower montane forest of the region. We watched several species of birds such as Nankeen Kestrel, Grey-headed Goshawk, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Large Fig Parrot, Blyth's hornbill, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, as well as Lesser Birds of Paradise and King Bird of Paradise. I thought that the steep slopes of the mountains were difficult to be explored. In the contrary, it was very easy. The are roads in the mountains which birdwatchers could use to enjoy hiking, birding and wildlife watching.

Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

Because the mountains, the forest and the coastal area were beautiful, we decided to extend our stay in the regency for more than one week.
We really enjoyed the adventure trip both in Raja Ampat and Tambrauw. We saw birds, butterflies, mammals, and reptiles. We also explored the coastal area of Tambrauw and swam over its beautiful coral reef. We really like the trip and enjoyed a lot of fun.
If you are interested in traveling with me as your guide to West Papua to enjoy hiking, birding, snorkeling and island hopping tour, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com
Also read:
Birding in Lower Montane Forest of Tambrauw
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