Magnificent Riflebird from Tropical Rainforest

Magnificent Riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus) lives in lowland and lower montane forest of West Papua. The chest and the breast shield are iridescent blue. There are several places which tourists can go to watch the bird of paradise, i.e. Gauksuak village, Malagufuk of Sorong regency, Weyos beach and Fef town Tambrauw Regency, and Susnguakti forest of Manokwari. This bird is an important target in a list of birds that visitors want to see while exploring the tropical rainforest of West Papua.

Magnificent Riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus)

Male Magnificent Riflebird performs courtship dance that looks like cheerleader dance to attract his female counterpart.

A Male Magnificent Riflebird was waiting for his female counterpart

Birds of Paradise eat fruits and spread their seeds to all corners of the forest. They play important role in growing the forest. The followings are some animals which visitors can watch in lowland tropical rainforest.

Lesser Birds of Paradise	King Bird of Paradise	Common Paradise Kingfisher
Cuscus Possum	Forest Dragon	Bandicoot

Anyone who is interested in tropical birding in West Papua especially in Sorong regency, Tambrauw Mountains and Raja Ampat can contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Also read;

• Birdwatching in Sulawesi
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in Minahasa
• Manado City: Birdwatching and Sightseeing Tour

Some Photographs of Birds from Warduwer Beach

I went to Warduwer beach again yesterday (1 December 2019). I went there by a motorcycle. A friend of mine who works at a furniture workshop rode the motorbike. I sat at the beak seat holding my camera trying to find any birds along the way to the beach. I wanted to check the progress of the construction of Raja Ampat Flower Resort. Along the road between Waisai town and Warduwer beach, I saw Brahminy Kite, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, White-breasted Woodswallow, Pacific Swallow, and Pinon Imperial Pigeon. 

Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus)

While I was there, I did some birding. It was not difficult to find birds at the beach. I saw a big Palm Cockcatoo on a tree not far from me. I aimed my camera at the bird and shot it. There was also a Beach Kingfisher that was calling from a tree near the basecamp of the construction workers. He flew to a branch of a tree closer to me. It was a fleeting moment. He was on the branch for less than one minute and then flew again. 

Beach Kingfisher

I also saw a group of Lesser Frigatebirds high in the sky. Some Pied Imperial Pigeons were busy having breakfast. I made some photographs of them too. It was a nice morning. Some Crested Tern were sitting on the wooden posts at the shallow water of the beach. I carefully approached them and took some pictures. They were not afraid when I was shooting them with my camera.

In the afternoon, I did some birdwatching near Waisai harbor. There were mangrove trees near the harbor and birds such as Willie Wagtail, Olive-backed Sunbird can be seen in the trees. I saw a big group of Singing Starling.

Singing Starling

The Singing Starling was the last bird that I shot that day. 

If you are interested in taking a birdwatching trip to Waigeo island of Raja Ampat and want me to be your guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Also read:
Birds in Raja Ampat
Coastal Birds in Raja Ampat
Birding in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat
Birding Trips to Raja Ampat and Tambrauw Mountains

Tropical Birding Tours in West Papua

Arfak mountains in Manokwari

There are several sites in the rainforest of West Papua which I recommend for tourists who are interested in taking tropical birding tours. Some of them are listed below:

• Susnguakti Forest - This lower montane area of Arfak mountains is the natural habitat of Lesser Birds of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, King Bird of Paradise, Hooded Pitta, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Papuan Dwarf Kingfisher, Hooked Bill Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Black-capped Lory, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, Northern Variable Pitohui, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Superb-Fruit Dove, Great-cuckoo Dove, and etc.
• Mbenti Forest - This higher elevation forest of Arfak range is the usual site for watching Vogelkop Bowerbird, Black Sicklebill, Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Western Parotia, and Long-tailed Paradigalla. There are also a lot of other birds such as Vogelkop Melidectes, Hooded Pitohui, Ornate Melidectes, Black-breasted Boatbill, Mottled Berryhunter, Fan-tailed Berryhunter, Garnett Robin, Varied Sittella, Friendly Fantail, Papuan Flycatcher, Pygmy Drongo, Cinnamon Ground Dove, and a lot more. Most of the trails are steep. Visitors who want to go to this forest have to be physically fit. However, there are places where birding is easy. These places are unpaved roads that connect Mbenti and other villages around the area. Birding along the sides of these roads will open more chances for birders to see Plum-faced Lorikeet, Mountain Mouse Warbler, Vogelkop Whistler, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker, Green-backed Robin, Blue Grey Robin, Mountain Fruit Dove and Papua Mountain Pigeon. 
• Ases Valley - This is  a remote but one of the best forests in Tambrauw mountains and a very nice place to watch birds that usually live in lower montane forest of West Papua. Some of them include New Guinea Vulturine Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Coconut Lorikeet, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Little-pied Cormorant, Hooded Butcherbird, Spangled Drongo, Black-browed Triller, Papua Mountain Pigeon, Golden Monarch, Dollarbird, Grey Wagtail, Blyth's Hornbill, various species of paradise birds, and etc. Ases valley, located in the middle of Tambrauw mountains, is also a highly recommended site for watching wild animals such as Cuscus Possum, deer, wildboar, tree kangaroo, snake, soa-soa lizard, and even cassowary.
• Syugrar Forest - This is another rainforest of Tambrauw that is very good for birding. Grey Crow, Moluccan King Parrot, King Bird of Paradise, Lesser Bird of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Red-cheeked Parrot, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Rusty Pitohui, New Guinea Harpy Eagle, Papuan Blyth's Hornbill, Black Sunbird, Masked Bowerbird.
• Sorong regency - There are a lot of birding sites in Sorong. A lot of lowland birds can be seen here including Blue-black Kingfisher, King Bird of Paradise, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Shovel-billed Kingfisher, Lowland Peltop and a lot more.
• Sarembon Forest - This forest is located in north-east region of Waigeo island. It is a nice place to watch Papuan Black Myzomela, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Hooded Butcherbird, Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Amboyna Cuckoo Dove, Shining Flycatcher. The coastal area is the place for watching Olive-backed Sunbird, Coconut Lorikeet, Beach-stone Curlew, Striated Heron, Wimbrel, Beach Kingfisher, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Bridled Tern, Lesser-crested Tern, Lesser Frigate Bird, Eastern Osprey, Radjah Shelduck and a lot more. 
• Southern Waigeo has got a lot of birding sites too including Saporkren, Warduwer beach, Kabui bay and Gam karst. There, we could see Great-billed Parrot, White-breasted Woodswallow, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Claret-breasted Fruit Dove, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon, White- bellied Sea Eagle, Red-bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Eastern Reef Egret, Pacific Swallow, Stephans Emerald Dove, Moustached Treeswift, Sooty Tern, Mimic Meliphaga, Puff-back Meliphaga, and Dusky Scrubfowl.

Because I spend most of my guiding works in Raja Ampat and Sorong, I can guide tourists to these regencies. If you are interested in traveling to Raja Ampat and Sorong for birding, and want me to organize your trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Also read:

Birdwatching West Papua

Watching Birds of Paradise in West Papua

Beautiful Fruit Dove

The first time I saw Beautiful Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus pulchellus) was in lowland forest of Manokwari in 2011. I was guiding 2 Dutch tourists - Thomas (father) and Sandra (daughter) at that time. A trap set-up by local hunters caught the bird. I asked them to release the bird after taking some pictures of the bird and checking its species name in field guide book Birds of New Guinea. 

My first picture of Beautiful Fruit Dove

Beautiful Fruit Dove in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat

Since then I have seen the bird in a lot of my birding trips from Manokwari to Tambrauw, Sorong and Raja Ampat. It is a small but very beautiful dove that likes to eat berry fruits. The first picture was taken from very close range using Nikon Coolpix P500 and the second one was made in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat using Canon 200D and Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. The dove was in a branch of a tree several meters above my head.

Although point and shoot camera such as the Nikon P500 has got much smaller sensor, its zoom lens often can easily reach birds in distant branch of a tree. For a D-SLR cameras, they need expensive lens to reach the target bird. D-SLR cameras produce high quality photographs but if they cannot reach birds or other wild animals that are far from the photographers, they can be considered as useless.
The newest products of the super zoom camera at the moment are Nikon Coolpix P900, P1000 and Canon SX70HS. These are the types of cameras that are used by birdwatchers who do not want to carry heavy photographic devices.

Also read:

• Birdwatching and Wildlife Watching in Wondama Regency
• Beautiful Fruit Dove from the Rainforest of Manokwari
• Beautiful Fruit Dove in Raja Ampat
• Pinon Imperial Pigeon
• Rainforest Birds

Birding in Susnguakti Forest with 2 French Tourists

I have just returned from Susnguakti forest this afternoon. I and some local villagers guided two French tourists on a 4 day/ 3 night hiking, camping, bird and wildlife tour. They were Geoffrey and Jessica. Susnguakti forest is a lower montane forest in the south of Manokwari city. We went hiking in the mornings and in the afternoons to find birds of paradise. They were able to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, and Magnificent Riflebird.

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)