Paradise Bird Watching and Wildlife Tour in Indonesia: March 2023

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Rainforest Tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat

I often guide tourists on rainforest tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat regencies. Most visitors who want to spend their holidays in Waigeo, Gam or Mansuar islands need to fly to Sorong city first. From there, they will continue their trip by fast ferry boat to Waisai and then by motorized boats to homestays and resorts in those islands.

There are a lot of visitors who request land tours especially the wildlife watching trips to rainforest.

wildlife watching in Klasow valley and Waigeo island

Rainforest tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat

The one that is close to Sorong city is mangrove forest. When I guide visitors to this forest, I bring binoculars that I attach on a tripod. This allows tour participants to watch birds in distant trees with better images. Birds in mangrove forest that we could see include White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Orange-fronted Fruit Dove, Orange-breasted Fig Parrot, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Olive-backed Sunbird, Hooded Butcherbird, Blue-black Kingfisher and etc.

Western-crowned Pigeon in Klasow valley

For trips to rainforest of Sorong regency, I usually offer a 3-day-2-night wildlife watching trip in Klasow valley. The main target birds to see include various species of insects, birds, reptiles and mammals. Because visitors stay in a village in the forest, monitor lizard, cuscus, and paradise birds could be seen during the tour.

When I guide visitors in Raja Ampat, I combine snorkeling and sightseeing tour with birdwatching and wildlife watching. Actually, coral reef is considered as the tropical forest of the sea. It is the natural habitat of a lot of species of marine animals and plants. Beautiful marine creatures could be seen while we swim over coral reef. But unique rainforest animals can be watched when we go hiking in tropical forest of Waigeo.

Red Bird of Paradise Courtship Dance
in 69 Tantric Position for the smooth flow of Love Energy

If you are interested in taking rainforest tour in Sorong, and Raja Ampat, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Monday, March 27, 2023

Butterflies and Moths in West Papua

When I guide visitors on wildlife watching tour in the forest, we often see beautiful butterflies and moths. My favorite destination for watching butterflies include Wasior town and its Wondiboy mountains, Coastal area of Tambrauw regency, Susnguakti forest in Manokwari, Klasow valley in Sorong, and Waigeo island of Raja Ampat.

The following picture is a Swallowtail Moth that I saw in Klasow valley. This black turquoise moth likes to attach himsel to the underpart of a green leaf in the forest in an upside down position. Its latin name, perhaps, is Alcides agathyrsus. It is a beautiful moth that is big and always attracts the attention of visitors who see him.

A Swallowtail Moth in Klasow valley of West Papua

When I guided some visitors in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari on birdwatching and wildlife watching tour, I saw beautiful butterflies there too. One of them was a Cruiser butterfly whose scientific name was Vindula arsinoe. He was sitting on a rock near a small stream.

Cruiser Butterfly in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari

In Wasior town of Wondama regency, local people grow various kinds of hibiscus and a lot of other tropical flower plants. They attract butterflies and other insects.

Common Green Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera butterfly)

A Common Green Birdwing Butterfly in Wasior Town

One of them is the Common Green birdwing butterfly.

Another interesting butterfly in the rainforest of West Papua is Taenaris onolaus saturiator. This is one of the family members of owl butterflies. The two black-yellow circles on the hindwings that look like the eyes of an owl may be used by the butterfly to scare away predators.

An Owl Butterfly

I often travel to Raja Ampat islands. Usually I go there to guide visitors on wildlife watching, snorkeling and sightseeing tour. There are beautiful butterflies and moths too.

Durvillei's butterfly

I also used to see this species of butterfly in Mansinam island.

If you are interested in taking a butterfly watching tour in West Papua of Indonesia and want me to organize your trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180

Sightseeing, Wildlife Watching, Freediving, and Snorkeling in Raja Ampat with 2 British Visitors

I am now in Raja Ampat. I am guiding 2 British visitors, Gary and Esther, on one-week tour for sightseeing, birding and snorkeling around Waigeo island, Friwen island, Gam island, Mansuar islabd, Arborek, and Piaynemo, Yenbuna, Mioskon island and Five Rocks as well as Saporkren village and Warkesi forest.

Red-bird of Paradise

In the past few days of our birding tour, until now we have seen more than 40s species of forest and coastal birds including Lesser Frigatebird, White-breasted Woodswallow, Pacific Swallow, Eastern Osprey, Gurney's Eagle, Helmetted Friarbird, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Papuan Frogmouth, Willie Wagtail, Beach Kingfisher, Pacific Reef Heron, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Common Sandpiper, Lesser crested Tern, Coconut Lorikeet, Mimic Honeyeater, Puff back Honeyeater, Hooded Butcherbird, Eclectus Parrot, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Yellow-faced Myna, Red-bird of Paradise, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Island Leaf Warbler, Blyth's Hornbill, Mustached Treeswift.

I used 10×50 binoculars that I mounted on a tripod using an adaptor. This kind of arrangement allows me to have a device that is similar to spotting scope but in more affordable price. This morning we watched Red Bird of Paradise and Wilson's Bird of Paradise. They were so beautiful.

I also have got an old camera the Fujifilm HS50EXR that allows me to take pictures of birds in distant tree. The ones that are showed in this article were shot using the device.

Papuan Frogmouth

We stay at a beach resort that is surrounded by trees. This allow us to watch birds, butterflies, and other insects without having to walk long distances.

Perhaps a Taenaris honrathi butterfly

There are still more days, more birds, fish and seascapes that we will see. I hope that I can make a lot of beautiful pictures and videos of them.

Snorkeling photos from Raja Ampat

Anemonefish in Friwen Wall of Raja Ampat

We enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in the coral reef areas of Friwen Wall, Arborek, Yenbuba, Mioskon, Five Rocks, and Saporkren. We saw a lot of marine creatures including various anemonefish, surgeonfish, damselfish, trevally, sweetlips, moorish idol, butterflyfish, black tip sharks, and etc.

birdwatching and sightseeing in Piaynemo karst

a selfie picture with Gary and Esther in Piaynemo karst

If you are interested in sightseeing, birdwatching and wildlife watching as well as snorkeling tour in Raja Ampat archipelago of Indonesia, please, contact me Charles Roring by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Birding in Tambrauw forest with 4 Scandinavian Girls

I have just completed a birding tour in the forest of Tambrauw regency with 4 Scandinavian girls. They were from Denmark, Norway.

Scandinavian Girls Were Birding in Tambrauw

We explored the forest to find Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucidis melanoleucus), King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius), and Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher (Tanysiptera nympha) as well as other tropical birds including Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), Rufous-bellied Kookaburra (Dacelo gaudichaud) Yellow-billed Kingfisher (Syma torotoro), Wompoo Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus), Pinon Imperial Pigeon (Ducula pinon), Black-capped Lory (Lorius lory).

Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher

We also did night walk in the forest to look for nocturnal animals. We saw Papuan Frogmouth (Podargus papuensis) and fruit bat whose scientific name I could not identify.

Papuan Frogmouth

Wompoo Fruit Dove

The birding activities were going on well because I was accompanied by local villagers Daniel, Yoram, Meki and Yosias. The walking path was muddy, we had to wear rubber boots when we wanted to go to the lek of the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise. At 06:00 of 2 March 2023, the rain fell. We were quite nervous after a long walk in the jungle. When the rain stopped, the bird did not come. We continued to sit and wait. After around 45 minutes, I decided to play the call of the paradise bird for a few minutes and then I stopped. Fortunately he replied the call, flew to and landed on his pole. Finally we were able to watch Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise. Its feather during the rainy (non-breeding) season was not as colorful as the breeding. He stood on a "pole" of a tree quite far from us. I aimed my old Fujifilm HS50EXR at the bird and made some shots. The pictures were not so good. However, we were all happy because we could watch the paradise birds.

birding tour from Sorong city of Southwest Papua province of Indonesia with Danish and Norwegian girls

A group picture with the Scandinavian birdwatchers

After hiking in the hills of Tambrauw regency, we walked back to our homestay, had lunch and then returned to Sorong city by a chartered 4WD car. This is written by Charles Roring

Paradise Bird Watching and Wildlife Tour in Indonesia

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