Coastal Birds of Raja Ampat

Eastern Osprey at the beach of Waigeo island

When I go birding in Sorong, Manokwari and Tambrauw regencies, most of the birds that I see are the ones that live in tropical rainforest. The case is different if I do birding walk along the beach of Waigeo, Kri and Mansuar islands of Raja Ampat archipelago.
There I see sea birds. Some of them include Radjah Shelduck (Tadorna radjah), Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus), Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica), Eatern Osprey (Pandion cristatus), Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii).

Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)

When visiting Raja Ampat, I like to enjoy snorkeling too. There are a lot of beautiful corals and tropical reef fish that I can see such as butterflyfish, moorish idol, anemonefish, surgeonfish, and even black-tip reefshark.
As a matter of fact, birds and fish are not the only animals that we can see in Raja Ampat. There are also butterflies, beetles, lizards and sometimes snakes that we can find among the coastal vegetation.

Piaynemo islets in Raja Ampat

The coral reef of Raja Ampat is very rich of marine life. It is the natural habitat of thousands of species of creatures such as fish, urchin, sea star, mollusc, and mammals. That's why it is not surprising to see that there are a lot of seabirds living in these islands.
If you plan to go birding in Raja Ampat, besides putting your super zoom camera, binoculars and spotting scope into your bag, don't forget to also put  mask, snorkel, and fins into it.
Also read:
Kofiau Monarch
Birding in North-east region of Waigeo island
Birding in Raja Ampat
Birding in Raja Ampat of West Papua
Rainforest Tours in Raja Ampat
Birdwatching and Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

Snorkeling and Birding in Waigeo Island of Raja Ampat

a pair of Rufous-bellied Kookaburra in Waigeo island

I cannot count how many times I have visited Raja Ampat. But every trip that I did to these tropical islands was wonderful and unique. My last tour was in the southern region of Waigeo island where I enjoyed snorkeling/ freediving and birding at Paradisea beach. I spent 2 days there exploring the coastal forest of Waigeo and the coral reef of the beach.

Paradisea beach in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat

Equipment
As usual, I brought my Fujifilm Finepix HS50EXR, Visionking 10x42 binoculars, and a Kinglux 20-60×60 spotting scope.
Snorkeling and Freediving
For snorkeling, I only brought a mask and a snorkel. The marine life in the coral reef of Paradisea beach was abundant. During a short snorkeling session, I saw various species of surgeonfish, anemonefish,  damselfish, needlefish, grouper, sweetlips, wrasse, lionfish, and goatfish.

Marine Life in Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat has been considered as the best destination for tourists who want to enjoy scuba diving, snorkeling, and free-diving. With 1,427 species of reef fishes, 553 corals and 42 mantis shrimps, Raja Ampat is the richest in the world for its marine biodiversity.
Visitors who want to enjoy snorkeling or freediving at this beach must do a complete buoyancy control so that they will not destroy the coral reef. They could ony stand on the sand by swimming closer to the beach.
Birdwatching
During the short birding walk, I saw Yellow-faced Myna, Lowland Peltop, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Moluccan Starling, Willie Wagtail, Spangled Drongo, Beach Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Red Bird of Paradise, Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Blyth's Hornbill, Frigatebird, Common Greenshank, and Crested Tern.
Also read:
Birdwatching and Snorkeling Tour in Raja Ampat
Snorkeling and Sightseeing Tour in Raja Ampat
Birding and Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

Birding Tour in Susnguakti Forest of Arfak Mountains

I have just completed a birding and wildlife watching tour for 4 French visitors in Arfak mountains. We spent 3 days/ 2 nights in Susnguakti forest watching Lesser Birds of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, Magnificent Bird of Paradise. Several birding huts had been built by local guides to increase the chance of birders to see the birds.

Lesser Birds of Paradise

Birding in Susnguakti forest of Arfak mountains

In addition to watching birds, they also enjoyed night walk to see cuscus possum. Local guide who accompanied the French visitors immitated the sounds of female cuscus to attract the male one. When the male cuscus had come down from the tree through a hanging vine, everybody could see him and take picture of the animal. Cuscus possum is a marsupial and nocturnal animal that usually goes out at night to find food and mating partner.
If you are interested in visiting Susnguakti forest of Arfak mountains or other places in West Papua, and want me to be your private guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or send text message to my whatsapp: +6281332245180.

Birding in highland and lowland of Manokwari

Magnificent Bird of Paradise

I organized a birding tour for 3 French tourists last week. I guided them to high elevation forest in Arfak mountains for 3 days and then to Mesirokow forest in lowland region of Manokwari for 3 days. While in Arfak range, we watched Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Vogelkop Bowerbird, Western Parotia, Western Smoky Honeyeater, Vogelkop Melidectes, Feline Owletnightjar, Mountain Owletnightjar and a lot of other birds.
In lowland forest of Manokwari, we watched Little Egret, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Great-billed Heron, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Lowland Peltop, Pacific Baza, Little-ringed Plover, Gray Wagtail, Variable Goshawk, Blyth's Hornbill and a lot more.

Birding in Lowland Forest of Manokwari

In addition to birds, we also saw cuscus possum, butterflies, and forest lizards. The temperature in lowland forest of Manokwari was quite warm but we enjoyed the birding walk very much. We could swim in the river after that. We walked along the banks of the river in the mornings and in the afternoons. I provided dome tents, mattrasses, cooking and eating equipment for my clients so that they did not have to bring heavy things from their country. Bruno, one of the three participants brought a Swarovski HD spotting scope. It greatly enhanced our birding experience. With that device, we could see birds that were resting on the branches of distant trees clearly.

Birdwing Butterfly: Ornithoptera tithonus

We stayed in tents It was a nice birding experience. The scenery was very beautiful and local people were very helpful. If you are interested in taking a tropical birding tour in Manokwari, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. I could guide single traveler and also a group of visitors with 2 to 8 participants. The itinerary can be customized according to the needs and wants of the participant.

Golden Myna in Love

Golden Myna in Klasow Valley

I often see Golden Myna (Mino anais) when I guide visitors on a birding tour in Mesirrokow river forest of Manokwari, in Klasow valley of Sorong regency. The best time to watch the bird is between 17.00 to 18.30 local time. They like to sit on top of trees especially on dead branches and twigs. Golden Myna are usually seen as couple but they also like to fly together in a group to find fruiting trees. The head, wings, and underparts are black. Its chest, and nape are yellow. Field guide book Birds of New Guinea written by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce Beehler says that the bird is uncommon. In contrary, in Klasow valley, our chance to see the bird is much higher.
If birds of paradise are seen as King of Seduction, Golden Myna could be called King of Romance. Paradise birds are polygamous meaning that they have got more than one sexual partners whereas Golden Myna is monogamous.

Golden Myna (Mino anais)

Birdwatching is an environmentally friendly hobby for millions of people. Birders often travel in small groups of 2 to 8 people. But there is also solo traveling birder whom I serve. To enhance birding experience, I often provide a good pair of binoculars, and spotting scope. If you are interested in traveling to West Papua to enjoy swimming, snorkeling and watching tropical birds, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Also read:
Birds in Raja Ampat
Parrots in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat