Lesser Birds of Paradise

This is perhaps the most sought after birds in the world. People have hunted the Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) since hundreds of years ago. Because of the continuous hunting, it is now facing extinction in several parts of New Guinea or West Papua forest. In 1980s, they could still be seen in the jungle of Table Mountain near Manokwari town. Today, I cannot see or watch the birds in that jungle anymore. Although Table Mountain is protected by the Department of Forestry of the Indonesian government, it is facing constant destruction from the town dwellers. Hunters carrying air guns like to go into the jungle of the mountain to shoot cuscus, soa-soa (monitor lizards) and birds.

Susnguakti Forest

Paradise bird in Susnguakti forest
of Manokwari

After searching the birds since 2010, finally, I was able to find their dancing site located in the territory of Susnguakti forest. It is a 1-hour ride from Manokwari town. There are four or five trees that have been chosen by the birds of paradise as the place where they perform courtship dance in the mornings and in the afternoons just before sunset. The trees stand on a hill with steep slope. I've got a blurred photograph of the male that I shot using Nikon Coolpix P500. I hope that I can make better pictures in the future. As a nature lover and eco-tourism enthusiast, I try to protect the area by offering birdwatching tours to tourists who want to watch birds of paradise. I hope that this environmentally friendly eco-tourism scheme will help local Papuan villagers generate alternative income that can replace their present livelihood.
Birds and Wild Animals

King Bird of Paradise

In addition to the Lesser Birds of Paradise, Susnguakti forest is also the natural habitat of King Bird of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Hooded Butcherbird, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Coconut Lorikeet, Beautiful Fruit Dove, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Papuan Frogmouth.
Animals such as snakes, soa-soa monitor lizard, large ground brown skink, Papua Dragon Tree Lizard, blue-tailed lizard, Cruiser Butterfly (Vindula arsinoe), the Silky Owl Buterfly (Taenaris catops), Swallow tail blue mountain butterfly (Papilio ulysses) butterflies, beetles and fireflies can also be found in this forest.
A lot of species of plants in the jungle of this Arfak mountains including bamboos, big trees, orchids, and glowing mushrooms.

Also read:

• Vector Illustration of Lesser Birds of Paradise
• Sketch of Lesser Bird of Paradise
• Birds of Paradise Watching Tour

Recommended Birding sites in West Papua

French birdwatchers in lowland forest
 of Manokwari

I have been guiding international birdwatchers on various birding trips in West Papua for years now. During those trips I saw various species of birds that are endemic to New Guinea island. There are several birding sites I highly recommend to visitors:

Lowland Forest of Manokwari

There is a river in northwest region of Manokwari. Its name is Mesirrokow. It is covered by tropical rainforest that has become the natural habitat of a lot of species of birds such as eclectus parrot, sulphut crested cockatoo, palm cockatoo, blyth's hornbill, coconut lorikeet, yellow capped pygmy parrot, pink spotted fruit dove and many others.

Susnguakti Forest of Arfak Range

Lesser Birds of Paradise in Susnguakti forest
Arfak range of Manokwari

There are paradise birds in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari. Some of them include: Lesser Birds of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, and Magnificent Riflebird. Common Paradise Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Blyth's Hornbill, Hooded Butcherbird can also be seen in the forest. As a matter of fact, birds are not the only animals visitors can watch in the forest. There are also cuscus possum, Papuan dragon lizard, snakes, Large Ground Skink, bandicoot, and colorful butterflies, fireflies that could be watched in this lower montane forest of Arfak range. Tourists who want to go to this forest have to be physically fit.

Tambrauw Mountains

It is located between the regencies of Manokwari and Sorong. Most of the mountains are covered by pristine rainforest that is the natural habitat of a lot of species of tropical birds such as paradise birds, parrots, fruit doves, kingfishers, pigeons.  The regency of Tambrauw can be reached through Manokwari city and Sorong city.
Because the cost of traveling to Tambrauw mountains is expensive, I highly recommend that tourists come to this region in a group of at least 3, 4 or more people to share the cost.

Birding and Wildlife Watching Equipment

There are some equipment that visitors can bring in order to enhance their birding and wildlife watching experience. In general, birders bring binoculars. From my personal view, a pair of Swarovski EL 8.5×40 or Swarovski SLC 10×42 WB binoculars produces sharp and crisp images of birds, wild animals and unique wild flowers that we see through them. There are also Nikon Monarch 5 10×42, and the very affordable Visionking 10×42 mm binoculars. Sometimes I see birders bring spotting scopes. I used to try a Swarovski ATX 30-70×95. It was a very powerful birding gear. However, it is also expensive.

How to get to birding sites in Manokwari and Tambrauw Mountains?

To reach this hill, read the following instructions:

• First, fly from your country to Jakarta - the capital of the Republic of Indonesia.
• Second, take a domestic flight served by Sriwijaya Air, Garuda, NAM Air, Lion Air or Batik Air to Manokwari city or Sorong city. After that local guides could help organize your birding trips to the forest.

If you still need detailed information about rainforest tours and birdwatching trips in Tambrauw, you can still contact me at e-mail address. I am sure that you will have a great adventure in this beautiful West Papua's rainforest.

This was written by Charles Roring

Wildlife Tour in Susnguakti Forest of Manokwari

Cuscus Possum in Susnguakti Forest of Manokwari

There is a forest area in Manokwari that is suitable for wildlife watching. Its name is Susnguakti forest in the south of the city. Animals such as cuscus possum, blue-tailed lizard, butterflies, fireflies, and several species of birds of paradise live there. I personally have organized tens of wildlife tours to this forest.
There is a basecamp that local villagers built for visitors. It is covered by corrugated metal roofs and plastic tents. Mattrasses, pillows, cooking and eating utensils are available in the forest.
Here is the usual itinerary:
Day 1
We will meet you at the Rendani airport of Manokwari city, or at the hotel where you stay. After buying food supplies, we will go by car to Susnguakti forest. It takes 1 hour to reach it. Arriving in the forest, we will start hiking for one and a half hour to reach our basecamp. Water will be boiled and food is cooked when we start to install our dome tents, and sleeping materials. After having some tea or coffee with biscuits, we could go to the nearby forest area to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). We will enjoy dinner at around 19.00.
We could install white screen cloth and shoot it with light so that we could see the kinds of nocturnal insects that land on it.
Day 2

Early in the morning, we will wake up early to have tea or coffee. After that we could enjoy morning walk again to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise hoping that we will have better sighting of the paradise birds. At 09.00, we could move to higher ground to watch King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius).
After lunch, we could take a rest for a while or do jungle walk to see butterflies, lizards, or other insects.
At night, we will do jungle exploration to see cuscus possum (a nocturnal marsupial animal that comes out at night to find fruits and mating partner), sometimes spiky dragon lizard could be seen in the forest. A short visit to bamboo forest will allow us to see glowing mushrooms (especially during rainy season).
Day 3

We will do morning walk to watch Magnificent Riflebird, Hooded Butcherbird and Coconut Lorikeet that like to eat fruits and nectar from flowers around our basecamp.
After lunch, we can start descending the slopes of Susnguakti forest to main road again. A stop in the village is highly recommended where we will meet villagers. We will return to Manokwari city again after saying Good Bye to our local guides and villagers.

Extended Tour

For visitors who are interested in coral reef, we could extend our tour by snorkeling in some coral reef sites of Manokwari to see damselfish, butterflyfish, moorish idol, or anemonefish.

Booking
Please, contact me: Charles Roring by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp: +6281332245180.

Magnificent Riflebird

Magnificent Riflebird

I often hear the calling sound of Magnificent Riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus) when I guide tourists in lowland and lower montane forest of West Papua. The male feather is mostly dark with blue breast that looks like a triangle. We cannot easily find him. I saw the birds several times in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari and in Klasow valley of Sorong regency. I also heard his sounds in Syuan forest in Tambrauw mountains. Some tourists whom I guided saw the bird through a blind which we built especially for viewing the bird in Susnguakti forest.

Animals in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari

Magnificent Riflebird

Magnificent Riflebird is not the only paradise bird that we could watch in lower montane forest of Manokwari. There are Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius). In addition to those paradise birds, visitors who explore tropical rainforest of Susnguakti could find Common Paradise Kingfisher (Tanysiptera galatea), Rufous-bellied Kookaburra (Dacelo gaudichaud), Great Cuckoo-Dove (Reinwardtoena reinwarti), Beautiful Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus pulchellus), Hooded Butcherbird (Cracticus cassicus), Black-capped Lory (Lorius lory), Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus), cassowary, and etc.
Susnguakti forest is the natural habitat of insects such as: Cruiser butterfly, Silky Owl butterfly (Taenaris catops), birdwing butterfly Ornitopthera priamus, Blue Emperor butterfly (Papilio ulysses); beetles such as tiger beetle, and green jewel beetle. For marsupial animals, I have seen cuscus possum and bandicoot. There are also various kinds of reptiles including snakes, brown grown skink, Papua dragon tree lizard, small forest lizards.

Birding and Wildlife Watching Tour

I offer a 3- day/ 2-night birding and wildlife watching tour in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari. This can be combined with tour lowland forest of Manokwari. Similar birding tours to Sorong and Raja Ampat can also be organized.

Booking

Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com and whatsapp: +6281332245180.

Also read:
Lesser Paradise Birds
Riverwalk and Birdwatching Tours in Manokwari Forest

Kamperen en Dieren Kijken in de Arfak-bergen

Guest post by: Eline from the Netherlands

Camping in Susnguakti forest of Arfak mountains

Wij zijn in de zomer van 2018 met Charles één nacht de jungle-bergen bij Manokwari ingeweest. Het was al met al een geweldige ervaring die ik iedere natuurliefhebber zou aanraden. Eind van de middag vertrokken we vanuit Manokwari. Charles, die vloeiend is in Engels en Indonesisch, nam ons mee naar een markt om inkopen te doen voor de tocht. Vervolgens rij je met de auto een uurtje langs de kust, en word je in de middle of nowhere gedropt. Verwacht geen onderhouden pad, borden of andere toeristen. Vanaf de weg op een klif aan zee klim je in een uur steil omhoog de jungle in, wat veelvoudig met handen en voeten moet. Een beetje (in)spannend is het wel, maar de locals die meegaan doen het moeiteloos op blote voeten. Toen we boven aankwamen was het al donker en wachtte ons een paar tenten op houten platforms, midden in de jungle. Geen douche, wc, bedden. Wel een kabbelend beekje, enkele vogelspinnen en een onvoorstelbaar mooi geluid van honderden diersoorten die zich laten horen. Samen met de locals maakt Charles een heerlijk maaltje boven een kampvuur, waarna een nachtwandeling kan beginnen. Na drie keer 20 minuten met ingehouden adem in het donker te zitten wachten hadden we eindelijk succes: één van de Papoea-gidsen had met zijn lokroep een Koeskoes Oppossum (Australisch buideldier) tot vlakbij ons weten te lokken. Verder zagen we hagedissen, mooie vogels, kikkers en vele andere dieren. Verwacht heel vies te worden en door vele spinnenwebben te lopen. Hoort bij de experience natuurlijk! 's Ochtends vroeg erop uit om de birds of paradise te zien, geweldig! De gidsen weten precies hoe je ze het best kunt zien en hebben arendsogen tijdens het spotten. Na een stevige lunch hebben we het kamp afgebouwd en zijn we weer naar beneden geklauterd. Prachtig om de zonnestralen door de jungle te zien, de trip heeft ons vele mooie foto's opgeleverd en onvergetelijke herinneringen. Een must voor iedereen die niet bang is om back to basic te gaan en Charles is één van de beste vrienden geworden die ik in West-Papoea heb gemaakt.

Sketch of Lesser Bird of Paradise

I have visited Susnguakti forest several times since 2 months ago. I guided tourists from France, Germany, Belgium, Thailand, and Switzerland on a trip to watch the Lesser Birds of Paradise performing their courtship dance.. This is one of the most beautiful birds in the world. We spent between 3 to 4 days in the jungle to see birds, cuscus possum, and various kinds of unique tropical plants. Because I like art, I make several sketches of birds that I see in the forest. I have created some drawings of male Lesser Birds of Paradise using watercolour pencils. After that I redraw them using stylus on my Samsung Tab A. The application that I use is Autodesk Sketchbook.

There are other birds that we saw in the forest including Hooded Butcherbird, Blyth's Hornbill, Eclectus Parrot, King Bird of Paradise, Brown Cuckoo Dove, and a lot more.

Sketch of Lesser Bird of Paradise in watercolour

Add caption

I may also draw them in the future. My drawings are now available as prints on various redbubble products such as t-shirt, iPhone and iPad cases, canvas print, mugs, drawstring bags, tote-bags, and etc.

T-shirt with Drawing of Paradise Bird

Please, have a look at them at these links:

• Lesser Birds of Paradise (vector), 
• Watercolour painting of Lesser Birds of Paradise, 
• Drawing of paradise bird,
• Red Bird of Paradise

In the same website, there are also illustrations of flowers that I saw from rainforest such as Terrestrial Orchid, Red Hibiscus Rhododendron, lotus or Water Lily, Rain Lily (Zephyranthes rosea) and a lot more. 

I offer rainforest tour for anybody who wants to watch Red Bird of Paradise, and Wilson's Bird of Paradise in the forest of Raja Ampat. The tour can be combined with snorkeling and sightseeing trips by speed boat.  Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Camping and Birding in Arfak Mountains

Common Paradise Kingfisher

Arfak mountains have been famous as one of the most important destinations among birdwatchers. There are several places in the region that are frequently visited by foreign birdwatchers who want to see paradise birds. One of them is Susnguakti forest. It is located in the south of Manokwari city approximately one hour by car. To watch birds such as Magnificent Riflebird, Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), and Common Paradise Kingfisher (Tanysiptera galatea) visitors need to stay for at least 2 to 3 days in the mountains. As of today, there is no guesthouse in the jungle of Mount Mabowi. So, birdwatchers need to stay in tents in campsites that have been prepared by local guides.

Lesser Birds of Paradise

Birds are usually active in the mornings and in the afternoons. For instance, Lesser Birds of Paradise like to gather and dance at around 06.00. So, visitors need to wake up early at 05.00. After drinking tea or coffee and some biscuits or bread, they have to walk for 20 minutes to the birding ground. They can watch the birds until 09.00. In addition to watching Lesser B.O.P., visitors can watch King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius), Hooded Butcherbird, Rainbow Lorikeet, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, and a lot of other birds that are endemic to New Guinea.

Birders, in general, bring their own binoculars, and spotting scope. Some also bring Swiss Army Knife, GPS tracker, and sound recording device. I highly recommend a field guide book: Birds of New Guinea written by Than K. Pratt, and Bruce Beehler.

Cuscus Possum in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari.

Night walk is usually carried out by local villagers and guide to find cuscus possum. In certain places, villagers and tourists will stop and sit on the ground. After that, one of the villagers will immitate the sound of female cuscus to attract the male one. When the call is being done, all flash lights have to be off. Glowing mushrooms can also be seen at night especially during rainy season.

Bringing a portable dome tent is a good idea but not a must. There are some campsites in the forest of Mount Susnguakti which I, and local villagers built for visitors. There are also plates, glasses, and cooking pans. With all of the available equipment, I hope that visitors who go to the forest can enjoy their birding trip in the area well.


Also read:

• A Visit to North-east Region of Waigeo island
• Watching Birds and Sea Turtle in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat
• King Bird of Paradise