Lesser Birds of Paradise in Sorong Regency

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)

I have just returned from Sorong city after taking 1 week trip around the forest to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise and other birds. The name of the forest was Klabolo. It was located in the east of Sorong, approximately one and a half hour ride plus 3 hours walk. It was a difficult trip because the path was muddy and slippery.  I went there with some government officials who wanted to help local people develop their forest and village as tourist destination. One of the main attractions of the forest was the birds of paradise.
Lesser Birds of Paradise like to dance in the mornings and in the afternoons. Usually two, three or even five male compete against one another in order to attract their female birds of paradise.
When we visited the lek in the afternoons, we arrived too early. There were no birds dancing at that time. Later, they began to call one another and gathered in the branches of the tree where they usually chose for their courtship dance. The courtship dance performance started at approximately 16.00 and was still going more intense at 17.00 when we left the birding site.
For visitors who were interested in watching these birds, they need to bring their own binoculars, camera with telephoto lens of approx. 600 to 800 mm. There are no hotels in the forest, only simple huts for tourists. I could organize birding tours for 3 to 4 days or even more.
If you are interested, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.
Related Post: Birding Tour in Sorong Regency

Blyth's Hornbill in Lowland Forest of Manokwari

Blyth's hornbill in rainforest of Manokwari

I often organize tours to lowland forest of Manokwari for visitors who want to watch birds. There are a lot of species of them which we could see including the Papuan Blyth's Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus). Locally, it is called Taun-taun. The birds can be watched if we bring binoculars or spotting scope. I usually choose Dopi river as my birding site. It is also the habitat for Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, and Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Beautiful Fruit Dove, Oriental Dollarbird, Azure Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, and a lot of other species of birds.
Visitors need to fly into Manokwari city if they want to enjoy hiking and birding in this forest. As a tourist guide, I have organized numerous tours to tropical rainforest in West Papua for visitors who are interested.
The duration of this snorkeling trip is approximately 2 to 3 days. It can be combined with snorkeling trip to coral reef areas of around Manokwari to see fish and other marine creatures. Visitors who want to enjoy snorkeling need to bring their own snorkeling devices such as mask, snorkel and fins.
Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to my number: +6281332245180.

Marine Life in Manokwari

Marine Life in Manokwari

These are pictures of marine life in Manokwari waters. I made them when I went freediving to a beach in northeast territory of this regency. The coral reef can be seen from depths of 1 to 15 meters with such marine creatures as diagonal sweetlips, convict surgeonfish, anemonefish, damselfish, moorish idol, butterflyfish and a lot more. There are also urchin, blue sea star, and sea cucumber.

Coralf Reef environment in Manokwari

To take the pictures, I used a Nikon Coolpix AW120. I only did freediving to a depth of around 3 to 7 meters. I had to hold my breath for at least 30 seconds so that I could make several shots of the coral reef and the fish. To prevent high water pressure from harming my ears, I equalized several times in deeper water.
If you are interested in snorkeling in Manokwari, please, contact me by whatsapp: +628133224510 or send email to: peace4wp@gmail.com