Paradise Riflebird Call

Magnificent Riflebird is a species of bird of paradise that lives in tropical rainforest of Tanah Papua (in English, it is called New Guinea). It can be found in lowland and lower montane forests. The call of the bird can be heard in almost all day. Here is a video of the paradise bird that I recorded using Canon D-SLR camera that was equipped with 600 mm telephoto lens. Although the bird can be heard calling nearly all day, it is quite difficult to find him due to its dark feather. 

The dancing site of this paradise bird can be a hanging vine or a branch of a tree that is in horizontal position. 

Magnificent Riflebird in Manokwari

Birdwatching Sites - There are a lot of places in West Papua where visitors can go to watch the Magnificent Riflebird. Some of them that I know include:

• Klatomok Village in Sorong regency. Visitors who fly to Sorong city in order to take a holiday in Raja Ampat can also take a rainforest tour to Klatomok village by a 4WD car to find this bird and a lot of other tropical bird in the forest. The forest in Klatomok is also the habitat of wallaby, wild pigs, deer, echidna, soa-soa lizard, snake, cuscus possum and etc.
• Tambrauw - This regency has got hundreds of birding sites which visitors can explore to find not only the riflebird but also a long list of birds and other wild animals that are endemic to rainforest of West Papua. 
• Susnguakti forest of Manokwari, and 
• Aisandami Village of Wondama regency. 

Silhouette of the Paradise Riflebird

Magnificent Riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus)

Other interesting tropical birds that can be watched include Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Western-crowned Pigeon, Orange-bellied Fruiy Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Glossy-mantled Manucode, King Bird of Paradise, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Large Fig Parrot, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, and a lot more. 

BIRDING IN MINAHASA

Minahasa is a region in the Province of North Sulawesi, the Republic of Indonesia. It is a good destination for birding visitors. There are a lot of birds which visitors can watch while walking along the forest edge, farmland and paddy fields of Minahasa. There are a number of sites which tourists can explore to watch birds. Some of them are listed below:

Black-naped Oriole

• Tounelet Slope. This is a very small forest in Subdistrict Sonder of Minahasa regency that can be reached by car for around 1.5.hours. Siloam hospital and Birding Minahasa (a birding tour organizer) are located in the vicinity. Birds that can be watched here include: Sooty-headed Bulbul, Sahul Sunbird, Brown-throated Sunbird, Black-crowned White-eye, Sulawesi Swiftlet, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Chestnut Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Black-naped Oriole, Eurasian Treesparrow, Brush Cuckoo, Pale Blue Monarch, White-nest Swiftlet, Sulawesi Swiftlet Pacific Swift, Uniform Swiftlet, Purple Needletail, and etc. 
• High elevation forest of Sonder is the habitat some interesting species such as  Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, Sulawesi Myzomela, Crimson Sunbird, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Warbling White-eye, Black-faced Munia, White-faced Cuckoo Dove, and etc. 
• Farmland and Paddy Fields of Sonder is the habitat of more interesting birds such as Zebra Dove, White-eyed Drongo, Finch-billed Myna, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Purple Heron, Cinnamon Bittern, Sunda Teal, Collared Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Malkoha, White-breasted Woodswallow, and etc.
• More birds can be watched when we visit Mount Mahawu. Red-eared Fruit Dove, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Sulphur-bellied Whistler, Mountain Tailorbird, Isabelline Bush-hen, Vinous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Eyebrowed Thrush, Maroon-chinned Fruit Dove, Spotted Dove, Sulawesi Leaf Warbler and etc.
• The Nature Reserve of Tangkoko is a must see destination for lowland birds such as Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon, Silver-tipped Fruit Dove, Green Imperial Pigeon, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Hornbill, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher,Green-backed Kingfisher, Ashy Woodpecker, Lilac-cheeked Kingfisher, Spot-tailed Goshawk, and etc. 

Gray-sided Flowerpecker

Black-faced Munia

If you want a guide to organize your birding trip in Minahasa, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

Also read:

• Birding in Minahasa
• Manado City Birdwatching and Sightseeing Tour
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in Sulawesi
• Birdwatching and butterflywatching in Sonder
• https://wildlifeminahasa.blogspot.com

Birding in Klatomok Village of Klasouw Valley

Klatomok is a village in Sorong regency of West Papua Province of Indonesia. It is a recommended destination for visitors who are interested in birding and wildlife watching. 

Blyth's Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus)

The forest around the village is the natural habitat of such birds as Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, Large Fig Parrot, Black Lory, Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Orange-bellied Fruit Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Slender-billed Cuckoo Dove, Magnificent Riflebird, King Bird of Paradise, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Blue and Black Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, and a lot more.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Visitors who go to Klatomok village need to bring binoculars, camera with telephoto lens and, if possible, a spotting scope that is mounted on a tripod.  Local villagers can work as porters to help carry these devices when visitors explore the forest. 

Klatomok Village is located in the east of Sorong city

Traveling to Klatomok village is easy. Visitors can go by a 4WD car. It takes around 2 hours from Sorong city to Klatomok village. Visitors usually need to buy food materials such as instant noodles, bread, peanut butter, eggs, smoked fish, biscuits, and bottled mineral water, in supermarket or local market in Sorong city. 

Western-crowned Pigeon in the forest of Klasow Valley

There are homestays in the village which are available for visitors to stay for a few days while exploring the surrounding rainforest. The rooms are not luxurious ones like in other famous tourist destinations around the world. There are mattresses, mosquito nets and toilets which visitors can stay for a few days up to  a few weeks in the forest. 

A European visitor at a homestay in Klatomok village

In addition to birds, visitors may also see other animals such as forest dragon lizard, deer, soa-soa monitor lizards, and a lot more.

Cuscus Possum in rainforest

Local villagers often conduct night tour in the forest for visitors to see animals such as wallaby, snake and cuscus possum. Visitors need to bring head lamps which will enable them to walk through the forest in the dark.  This is written by Charles Roring.

Also read:

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

Parrots and Cockatoos in Rainforest of Klasow Valley

Tropical rainforest of West Papua is the natural habitat of hundreds of species of birds including parrots and cockatoos. In lowland and lower montane forests, we could see Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Large Fig Parrot, Coconut Lorikeet, Black-capped Lory, Black Lory, Red-flanked Lorikeet, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Brehm's Tiger Parrot and a lot more.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)

Before the Covid Pandemic reached Indonesia, thousands of visitors travelled to Klasow valley of West Papua to watch birds and see other animals and plants in the forest. One of their destinations was Klasow valley in Sorong regency. There was a village in the valley. Its name was Klatomok Village. Visitors stayed there between 3 days to 1 week to explore the rainforest and see its biodiversity. 

Palm Cockatoo in Klasow valley (Photo: Kostan Magablo)

Local villagers in the forest guided them during the days and nights. In addition to birds, they also saw soa-soa lizards, snakes, cuscus possum, wallaby, deer, butterflies, beetles, and etc. Most visitors brought binoculars and camera with telephoto lens. 

Large Fig Parrot in Klasow valley

Klatomok village was located in Sorong regency of Indonesia. It could easily be reached by 4WD cars from Sorong city. It took around 2 hours ride from Sorong to Klatomok. Visitors stayed in the houses of the villagers which were called homestay. The accommodations  were simple rooms with mattresses and mosquito-nets and toilets. 

Google Map Location of Klatomok Village

Before going to Klatomok village, visitors bought food materials in the supermarkets of Sorong city and brought them to the village by car. Local villagers would cook the food in combination with food materials from the village such as sweet potatoes, and vegetables. Local fruits such as bananas and papayas could also be bought from villagers. 

a homestay in Klatomok village of Sorong regency
West Papua province of Indonesia

The indigenous Papuan people who lived in Klatomok village worked as farmers. Their forest provided them with plenty of sago trees which they processed to make sago flour. Seeing how the mothers extracted sago flour from the trunk of sago tree was an interesting attraction. They also hunted wallaby, wild boar and deer as well as caught fish and shrimp in the river as the source of protein for their meals. 

When the Covid pandemic has been over, visitors may be allowed by government to visit Indonesia again. We hope that this village will be able to receive guests again so that they will be able to generate income while at the same time preserve their precious rainforest environment. This is written by Charles Roring.

Birds in Wondama Bay

I had an exploratory birding trip to Wondama Bay a few months ago. I visited several sites that are suitable for birding including the forest  in the northern region of Wondama peninsula, around Rowi river, Wandamui Hill, and forest along the road to the southern part of Wondiboi forest. 

It was a nice birding trip and I was able to see interesting birds such as Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Black-capped Lory, Lowland Peltop, Blyth's Hornbill, Grey Crow, Oriental Dollarbird, Lesser Birds of Paradise, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Spangled Drongo, Black Sunbird, Olive-backed Sunbird, Red Myzomella, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Helmetted Friarbird, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, and White-bellied Sea Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Lesser Frigated Bird. 

I also heard the calls of Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, King Bird of Paradise, Red-bellied Pitta, and Hooded Pitta, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove.

Much of the forests in Wondama regency have not been explored. 

Eclectus Parrot

I brought Canon 200D and Tamron 150-600 mm telephoto lens, a good pair of binoculars and a spotting scope. These optical devices greatly enhanced my birding experience. Some people from tourism department and the national park of Cendrawasih bay accompanied me. They enjoyed the birding activity through the spotting scope.

In addition to birding, we also enjoyed swimming and snorkeling where coral reef of Wondama was teeming with abundant marine life. I used Nikon 130 to take pictures of the fish, the sea star and the coastal environment. 

Red-bellied Pitta

Most of the indigenous people in Wondama live as farmers, and fishermen. Their staple food is sago. Sago flour is extracted from the pith of sago palm tree. It is interesting to see how sago flour is made. There are a lot of villages in Wondama where we can see local people make sago.

 In town, they work as government employee, construction workers, teachers, ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, and etc. 

The trip to Wondama was great and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves birdwatching, hiking, snorkeling and sightseeing. Anyone who is a nature lover will find a lot of natural places to explore both at sea, islands, and on mainlands.

Wondama is a regency in West Papua province of Indonesia. To reach it, visitors need to take international flight from their country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia) or to Denpasar city of Bali island. The next trip is flying to Manokwari city. Airlines such as Sriwijaya, Batik, or Wings/ Lion Air offer regular flights to Manokwari. We can meet visitors at the airport and organize the trip to Wondama by small turboprop aircraft or by passenger boat. 

In the town of Wondama, there are hotels, homestays, restaurants, shops and markets, hospital, banks and ATMs. 

Flight route to Wondama regency

If you are interested in visiting Wondama to enjoy nature based tourism activities, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

A British Family Took A Rainforest Tour in Sorong

I have just organised a rainforest tour for a British family in Sorong regency of Indonesia. During the tour, they did hiking to the lek of Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) which they watch for around 2 hours. They were able to see Blyth's Hornbill (Rhytoceros plicatus), Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus), Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), Red-cheeked Parrot and a lot more. The villagers conducted night walk for them to find wallaby and cuscus possum.

European Visitors were taking rainforest tour in
Sorong regency

The tour in the forest of Klasow valley lasted for 3 days/ 2 nights. They enjoyed the tour because they could see tropical birds, butterflies of West Papua directly in their own natural habitat. After taking the tour in the forest of Sorong, they continued their trip to Raja Ampat.

If you are interested in taking a rainforest tour in Klasow valley of Sorong regency, Indonesia 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:

• Rainforest Flowers
• Rainforest Tour in Manokwari