Birding in Raja Ampat of West Papua

Palm Cockatoo in Raja Ampat

Here is the picture of Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus). I saw the bird while I was traveling in Raja Ampat. I also saw Pacific Swallow, Radjah Shelduck, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pink Spotted Fruit Dove, Papuan Blyth's Hornbill, Olive-backed Sunbird, Starling, Island Kingfisher and Wilson Bird of Paradise and Red Bird of Paradise.

Red Bird of Paradise

Wild Flowers in the Forest
When I was climbing a steep cape in Fish Lagoon, I saw beautiful flowers. They were orchids, one that I recognized was the Giant Tiger Orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum). Another one is a terrestrial orchid that I still haven't been able to identify. Here is its picture:

Terrestrial Orchid in Raja Ampat

If you know its name, please, inform me by text message to my email or whatsapp number below.
As a tourist guide, I provide rainforest birding tours for visitors who want to go birdwatching and snorkeling in Raja Ampat, Manokwari, Numfor and Sorong regency.  The duration of the tour is between 3 days to 2 weeks depending on how many places visitors want to visit.
Also read:
Coastal Birds of Raja Ampat
Snorkeling and Birding in Waigeo Island of Raja Ampat
Birdwatching and Snorkeling in Raja Ampat
Rainforest Tours in Raja Ampat

Rainforest Flowers in Manokwari Highland and Lowland

Manokwari is an interesting regency in West Papua that is worth exploring. Its area is still covered by tropical rainforest that is the natural habitat of a lot of species of flower plants. Visitors can come to Manokwari to see wild flowers that grow in coastal area, along the rivers and in highland region, particularly in Arfak mountains.
Lowland and Coastal Flowers
In lowland area, we can see various colors of hibiscus, bougainvillea, arboreal and terrestrial orchids, water hychinth, Glory Vine (Faradaya splendida), Morning Glory, Scarlett Jade Vine (also known as New Guinea creeper), Africa Tulip (Spathodea), Morning Glory and varous other species of flowers that I cannot identify.
Highland Flowers

There are tropical rainforest flowers that can be seen in montane and cloud forest. Some of them include rhododendron konori, and terrestrial orchid flowers.
The best time to see flowers
From my personal experience, the best time to see flowers is at the end of dry season and when we are about to enter rainy season. At that time, we can see a lot of plants with colorful flowes. However, because most of the tropical rainforest has got dark green leaves, green colors still dominate the landscape view of the mountain, hill and lowland forest.

How to get to Manokwari
It is easy to come here, first, you need to fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia)
After that, fly to Manokwari city. There several airlines that provide regular flight to Manolwari such as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Xpress Air, NAM Air.

Glory Vine

Additional Activities
In addition to seeing flowers, visitors can enjoy hiking and camping in the forest to watch butterflies, birds, and other wild animals as well as enjoy snorkeling in coral reef area of Manokwari.

Extending Your Tour
I could also organize additional tour for you to Raja Ampat where you could enjoy swimming, snorkeling, and birdwatching in the region. The length of the tour is 3 to 5 days. During the marine tour, visitors will be able to see coral reef, various species of tropical fish such as anemonefish, butterflyfish, grouper, moorish idol, parrotfish, wrass, lionfish, boxfish. Sometimes we can also see turtles, sea star and even stingray.
Don't forget to bring snorkeling gear such as mask, snorkel, and fins. A good waterproof underwater camera will be needed for taking pictures of the marine life of Raja Ampat.
Interested in snorkeling and birding with me?
I can be your guide and accompany you to explore rainforest and coral reef in this regency, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. Or you could send text whatsapp message to: +628133224510.

Uninhabited island in Raja Ampat

Rainforest Tour in Manokwari Arfak range

Destination: Mount Mabowi in Arfak mountains
Durations: 3 days/ 2 nights
For booking: Please, send email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

I offer a 3-day rainforest hiking and camping tour in Mount Mabowi of Arfak range to visitors/ nature lovers who are interested in watching birds, fireflies, cuscus possum and various kinds of insects such as birdwing butterfly, spider, cruiser butterfly, moth and etc.. The tour is organized in the following itinerary:

Day 1

We will leave Manokwari city for the coastal area of Arfak mountains by a public transport vehicle. It takes approximately one hour for the car to reach our destination. We will walk up steep slopes of Mount Mabowi to reach our basecamp that is built by a small river. Butterflies, New Guinea orb web spider, birds can be seen in the surrounding areas of the basecamp. At night, we could do jungle walk to find nocturnal animal such as cuscus possum. Food will be prepared in the campsite. Oveenight stay in the jungle.

Day 2

We will wake up early in the morning at 05.00. After drinking some coffee or tea and have biscuits, we will start walking to the birding ground of Lesser Birds of Paradise. Male lesser birds of paradise dance and show their beautiful feather to attract their female counterparts for mating. We will watch them until 09.00. We will walk back to our basecamp and have lunch there. We will move to higher elevation area where we will spend the night in the second basecamp. We could do another night walk to find nocturnal birds such as Marbled Frogmouth and Papuan Frogmouth. We could also see fire-flies, various kinds of moth, and glowing mushroom.

Day 3

Cuscus Possum

The next morning, we could walk to around to find Common Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher or even Magnificent Riflebird. Sometimes, Papuan Blyth's hornbill, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo or even Dwarf Cassowary bird walking around the jungle.

How to get there?

Fly from your country to Jakarta city

Continue your trip by taking an airline such as Garuda, Xpress Air, Sriwijaya, or Batik to fly to Manokwari city. I will meet you at the airport and organize your tour to Mount Mabowi of  Arfak mountains.

Birding and Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

Red Bird of Paradise in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat

I have just completed my trip in Raja Ampat islands of West Papua. It is a world class destination for visitors who are interested in scuba diving, snorkeling and sightseeing. The coral reef environment of Raja Ampat is the natural habitat of more than one thousand species of fish. Parrotfish, convict surgeonfish, striped surgeonfish, sweetlips, butterflyfish, pink anemone fish, lionfish, walking shark, and manta are some of them.

Wooden Guesthouse for Snorkeling Visitors

Birding
As a matter of fact, Waigeo island Raja Ampat is also a nice place for birdwatching. There are a lot of species of birds such as Great-billed Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Beach Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Radjah Shelduck, including two species of Birds of Paradise in Raja Ampat, i.e. Wilson Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus respublica) and Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra). These paradise birds are sexually active in the mornings and in the afternoons. Male paradise birds perform courtship dance to attract females. A female paradise bird will select one whose performance and feather is beautiful for mating.

Male Red Bird of Paradise

A male Red Paradise Bird can have more than one sexual partners. We may see him as a womaniser just because he could involve in casual sex encounters with females. But he does this naturally. The rainforest which is their natural habitat is being cut and they have also been hunted by human for centuries.
There are also other animals such as cuscus possum, soa-soa lizard, butterflies, beetles. The rainforest of the islands are home to various species of flower plants, lianas and big tropical trees.
Snorkeling and Birding Buddy
As a tour guide I offer birding and snorkeling trip for anyone who is interested in visiting Raja Ampat and wants me to be a snorkeling or birdwatching buddy. I can accompany solo traveling visitor or organize tours for a group of visitors consisting of 3 to 8 people or even more.
Extending Your Trip
We can extend your birding tour to other parts of West Papua such as Klasow valley of Sorong regency and Arfak mountains of Manokwari where you could explore tropical rainforest of New Guinea island in search of Lesser Birds of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise and Northern Cassowary.
Booking
Please, contact Charles Roring by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com whatsapp: +6281332245180

Palm Cockatoo in Raja Ampat