Paradise Bird Watching and Wildlife Tour in Indonesia

Saturday, January 4, 2025

Nature Tour Around Sorong City and Raja Ampat

Sorong city is the main entrance gate for visitors who want to enjoy their vacation in Raja Ampat. Every day airplanes land at Domine Eduard Osok (DEO) Airport of Sorong city. They bring hundreds of visitors. Most of them want to enjoy swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving in Waigeo, Gam, Kri, Mansuar, Arborek, Piaynemo, Wayag and even in Misool islands.

Nature tour in Sorong city

Visitors who have just landed in Sorong city are often too tired to start their trip in Raja Ampat. They may want to take a rest in the hotels in Sorong city after their long flights from home. There are also visitors who have just returned from Raja Ampat after their snorkeling or diving tours. Most of them want to take a rest for 1 day or 2 days in Sorong. Some of them are interested in taking easy to do nature tour around Sorong city to see beautiful landscape, watch birds, butterflies, reptiles and mammals.

Willie Wagtail

Helmeted Friarbird

As a tourist guide, I often organize easy nature tour around Sorong city. The duration of the tours can be as short as morning or afternoon trip, 1 full day nature tour, or 2 full day nature tours around Sorong city.

Swamp Tiger Butterfly

During the tours, participants will be brought to places in the hills that have rainforest to see the scenery, enjoy watching birds and butterflies. Tours to mangrove forest can also be organized for visitors who are interested in seeing mangrove trees with birds, butterflies, dragon flies, and other insects, mudskipper, fish, and crab that form the ecosystem mangrove.

White-bellied Cuckooshrike

Participants can bring their own binoculars and cameras during the tours. To enhance the nature tour experience of the participants, I, as a tour guide, usually bring spotting scope that will enable participants to watch distant birds, or epiphytes in trees.

Sorong city's nature tour

This nature tour around Sorong city can be taken by solo traveling visitor, a couple or a group of tourists who are interested in exploring natural places at the outskirts of Sorong city.

Terrestrial Orchid at the outskirts of Sorong city

Nature Tour in Raja Ampat

For tour participants who want to take nature tour in Raja Ampat, it can be combined with this Sorong tour. The main destination is Waigeo. Birds that can be watched include coastal and sea birds such as Pacific Golden Plover, Common Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Beach Thick Knee, Wandering Whistling Duck, Radjah Shelduck, Black-naped Tern and a lot more. For Rainforest Birds, the main target will be the Wilson's Bird of Paradise and Red Bird of Paradise. There are a lot of other species too such as the Papuan Eclectus, Coconut Lorikeet, Great-billed Parrot, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, and a lot more. Birdwatching or butterfly watching could be conducted between 06:00 to 09:00 and 15:00 to 18:00. Between these times, participants could enjoy snorkeling or sightseeing to a number of islands around Waigeo.

Nature Tour in Raja Ampat

Red Bird of Paradise

If you are interested in taking this Sorong nature tour and want me to organize your trip and guide you, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Birding in Waigeo of Raja Ampat and Klasow valley of Sorong Regency

Waigeo island is the most recommended destination for visitors who want to enjoy birding in Raja Ampat. The main targets of observation are Red Bird of Paradise and Wilson's Bird of Paradise. A lot of species of tropical birds can be watched in Raja Ampat especially Waigeo and its surrounding islands. They include Claret-breasted Fruit-dove, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Beautiful Fruit-dove, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Beach Kingfisher, Spangled Drongo, Papuan Frogmouth, Marbled Frogmouth, and etc.

The trip in Raja Ampat is usually combined with snorkeling and sightseeing trips in Kabui bay, Friwen, Yenbuba Strait, Arborek island and Piaynemo karst. Visitors who are interested in snorkeling should bring their own snorkeling masks, snorkels and pipes. Underwater cameras are also needed for taking pictures of marine life during the snorkeling excursions in Raja Ampat.

Red Bird of Paradise

Snorkeling photo from Arborek

Snorkeling Photo from Waigeo

Coral reef in Raja Ampat

I often guide tourists on birding or wildlife watching trip to Malagufuk, Sorong's ridge forest and Waigeo island in Raja Ampat. The duration of the trip is usually around 1 to 2 weeks covering lowland, hill and sea or coastal avifauna. During the tour, we could see various species of tropical birds from parrots and fruit doves to kingfishers and paradise birds.

Blyth's Hornbill

In Malagufuk, I usually spend between 3 to 4 days. We do birding in the mornings, late afternoons and at nights. Birds that we watch include Lesser Birds of Paradise, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, King Bird of Paradise, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Azure Kingfisher, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Beautiful Fruit Dove, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeon, Red-cheeked Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, Coconut Lorikeet, and a lot more.

After exploring the rainforest of Malagufuk, we usually continue our adventure by birding in coastal mangrove forest of Sorong city. There, we could look for Orange-fronted Fruit Dove, Blue-fronted Fig Parrot, White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Collared Imperial Pigeon, Sahul Sunbird, Willie Wagtail, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker, Sacred Kingfisher and etc. Sorong city is the main transit point for visitors who want to travel to Raja Ampat.

Common Paradise Kingfisher

If you are interested in taking a birding, sightseeing and snorkeling tour in West Papua and want me to guide you, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Birding and Snorkeling Tour in Waigeo Island of Raja Ampat Regency

Raja Ampat is a popular destination in Indonesia for visitors who love snorkeling and birding. There are a lot of islands which visitors can choose to explore if they want to see the beauty of the coral reef and the marine life as well as the biodiversity of the tropical rainforest of the regency.

Coconut Lorikeet

For visitors who love birding, Waigeo island is the highly recommended destination. There are a lot of birds that visitors can watch including Palm Cockatoo, Papuan Eclectus, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Hooded Butcherbird, Red-cheeked Parrot, and etc.

Birds are usually active in the mornings and in the afternoons. To watch them, visitors need good binoculars. As a birding guide, I usually bring a spotting scope. It will significantly enhance the birding experience of tour participants. Distant birds that sit on the branches of trees could be watched easily using the scope.

Papuan Eclectus

Raja Ampat is also a great destination for birdwatchers who love snorkeling. The coral reefs of Waigeo and its surrounding islands are the habitat of a lot of fishes such as grouper, moorish idol, butterflyfish, box fish, jackfish, wrasse, parrotfish, damselfish, and etc. To enjoy snorkeling, visitors need to bring mask, snorkel and fins. Some visitors bring underwater camera. The southern coast of Waigeo is good for snorkeling. There are also small islands such as Kri, Mioskon, Friwen, and Urai that are good destination for snorkeling. To enjoy snorkeling at these sites, visitors need to be accompanied by guides.

Coral reef, white sand beach, rainforest of Waigeo and Kabui bay

Natural Beauty of Raja Ampat

For visitors who love both snorkeling and rainforest birding in one place, they can choose Batanta island as their destination. There are homestays in Batanta.

After taking an adventure trip in Batanta, Waigeo, Kri and Mansuar islands of Raja Ampat, visitors could continue their exploration of rainforest of mainland West Papua by visiting Sausapor or Kasulala forest. There are colorful birds and butterflies in these places.

For Sausapor town, there is a good beach resort. Its name is Sansapore Pacific Park.

If you are interested in traveling to Raja Ampat and nearby Sorong city to enjoy snorkeling and birding and want me to organize your trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Birding near Sorong city

I often receive requests from tourists who want to spend their time in Sorong city for 1 or 2 days before continuing their trip to Raja Ampat or flying back to their country.

As a tourist guide, I offer birding tours for visitors who want to enjoy sightseeing and birding tours to see mangrove or rainforest and watch birds and butterflies. Some interesting birds that participants could watch during this tour include the Orange-fronted Fuit-dove, Sahul Sunbird, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Brown Oriole, Helmeted Friarbird, Collared Imperial Pigeon, Sacred Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Beach Kingfisher, Little Kingfisher, Orange-breasted Figparrot, and etc.

Blue-fronted Fig Parrot

Usually the tour starts at 06:00 and finishes as 10:00. After that, participants will be returned to their hotel to take lunch and rest. For tourists who want to go birding in the afternoon, the trip starts at 12:00 and finishes at 18:00.

This tour is suitable for solo traveler, a couple or a small group of tourists who fly to Sorong city as transit point.

Brown-backed Honeyeater, Sahul Sunbird, Shining Flycatcher

Equipment

In general, participants of this birding tour need to bring their own binoculars. However, if they do not have binoculars, I, as a birding guide, usually bring a spotting scope which can be shared by participants to watch birds.

Birdwatching activity using a spotting scope

In addition to nature/ birdwatching and butterflywatching tours, visits to other tourist attractions in town can also be added into the itinerary. Non-birding tourists can visit traditional market, Doom island or mangrove park. Natural places such as Buddhist temple, Cathedral Church of Christ the King, shopping malls, Love Hill and Batu Lubang Beach can be included in the tour package.

If you are interested in taking the tour and want me to organize it, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Birding in Raja Ampat and Sorong

Visitors who travel to Sorong city can take birding and wildlife watching tours in Raja Ampat and Sorong regency. The duration of the tours is from 5 to 7 days.

While in Sorong regency, visitors can visit Kasulala forest to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise, King0 Bird of Paradise, Brown Oriole, Helmeted Friarbird, Red-cheeked Parrot, Hooded Butcherbird, Coconut Lorikeet as well as ground hopping birds such as Hooded Pitta and Papuan .

Visitors who like to explore rainforest could do night walk to look for Papuan Frogmouth, Marbled Frogmouth, Papuan Boobook, Papuan Hawk Owl and other birds sleep on lower branches of trees.

In addition to birds, visitors could also watch butterflies, monitor lizard, cuscus and snake.

Palm Cockatoo

In Waigeo, visitors could watch such birds as Red Bird of Paradise and Wilson's Bird of Paradise.

A lot of other birds could be watched in those places including Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Yellow-billed Kingfisher and Rufous-bellied Kookaburra.

Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

Tour participants who take this tour could combine birding and snorkeling. Usually, snorkeling is done at the house reef of the resort or homestay which they stay. Snorkeling tour to other sites such as Friwen wall, Urai, and Yenbuba Strait as well as Arborek could also be organized upon request.

Coral reef in Raja Ampat

Snorkeling Photo from Raja Ampat

Wilson's Bird of Paradise

If you are interested in watching birds and enjoying snorkeling in Raja Ampat as well as hiking and wildlifewatching in Sorong regency, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Also read:

Paradise Bird Watching and Wildlife Tour in Indonesia

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