Tag Archives: biak

Geelvink Pygmy Parrot (Micropsitta geelvinkiana)

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The elusive Geelvink Pygmy Parrot (Micropsitta geelvinkiana) is easy to find on the island of Biak but hard to see.  Why?  They and the other members of the Pygmy Parrot family are the smallest parrots in the world at 9cm (3.5 in) and 13-17g (0.45-0.6 oz) and they are well-camouflaged in the trees.  My guide found several of them in a tree and did his best to call them out but they stayed deep within the foliage and I could only get glimpses of them through the leaves.

Find the hidden Geelvink Pygmy Parrots!

Find the hidden Geelvink Pygmy Parrots!

 

On a previous trip, Mehd Halaouate from the World Parrot Trust managed to get a nice shot of a nesting pair.   I have to agree with the WPT description. “Usually seen in groups of 4-5 birds. Very shy. Will associate with other birds in low lying shrubbery.”  Thy are endemic to the island of Biak but not rare as they are estimated at over 10,000 birds.

Birding In Biak

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We only had one day to hit the popular birding spots but I was pretty confident that we could get the main parrots species I wanted to see and as many other endemic birds as possible.  We arrived around 5:30 in the morning and were met at the airport by our guide Jefta.  He took us to the Aerotel Irian across the street which I had booked online so we could drop off the bags, get the camera gear ready and meet Benny from Discover Papua who had organized our day trip.  I had previously negotiated a price for 1 day birding with guide, lunch box and taxi of Rp. 1,350,000 (about $135).  I paid Benny in cash and then off we went with Jefta and the driver.  This was an easy birding day as we simply drove from one place to another, mostly birding from the side of the road or walking a short ways into the bush.  This suited us just fine as we were a bit tired from the red eye flight.

According to Burung Nusantara, the key species on Biak are Long-tailed Starling, Biak Black Flycatcher; Biak Paradise-kingfisher; Biak Lory; Geelvink Pygmy-parrot; Biak Scops-owl; Biak Monarch; Biak Coucal; Biak Scrubfowl; Biak Gerygone; Biak White-eye.

We successfully found the Biak (Black-winged) Lory and Red-flanked Lories flying overhead in a couple of spots and the Geelvink Pygmy Parrot in a tree in the Warafri area but they stayed deep in the foliage and I couldn’t get a clear shot of them.  I barely managed to get a couple shots of the Triton Cockatoos also in the Warafri area.  They are a sub-species of the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos we have in Australia.

Jefta, Benny and Ina

Jefta, Benny and Ina

I’ve identified the birds that I can, hopefully some friends will see this and fill in the blanks.   I should have written them down when we were there.

Triton Cockatoo

Triton Cockatoo

Long-tailed Starling

Long-tailed Starling

Long-tailed Starling

Long-tailed Starling

See that tiny dot, I think that's pne of the Lories

See that tiny dot, I think that’s one of the Lories

Not sure but I think its a fruit dove

Not sure but I think its a fruit dove

Fruit Dove

Fruit Dove

Find the hidden Geelvink Pygmy Parrots!

Find the hidden Geelvink Pygmy Parrots!

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Biak Coucal

Biak Coucal

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Back at the hotel, we saw several birds around the pool and garden, this time closer up!

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Biak – A Gentle Introduction To West Papua

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As I posted in my “Preparing to visit West Papua” blog, there are several gateways to enter West Papua.  I did spend some time doing research to find one of the easier places as an introduction to West Papua, knowing that many of the destinations would be extremely challenging later on.  I settled on Biak since it was easily reached from Bali via Garuda with a change in Makassar, and I could book the tickets and hotel online.

Biak Location

 

GETTING THERE

Biak (BIK) is served by Garuda Airlines (Jakarta, Makassar, Jayapura);  Sriwijaya (Jakarta, Makassar); Merpati (Jakarta, Makassar, Jayapura, Nabire); and Susi Air (Nabire, Manokwari, Serui).  Of these airlines, Garuda is the only one you are likely to be able to book online with a non-Indonesian credit card and the only one you can reach with frequent flyer miles once they join SkyTeam.  Also see my post on Sriwijaya Airlines to learn how to book with a local Indonesian travel agency.  I found that by booking Garuda more than 6 months in advance I saved a substantial amount over the basic fares which can be pretty expensive.

WHERE TO STAY

If birding is your goal, the island is small enough that you can basically stay anywhere you want and have your guide pick you up early to drive to the birding spots.  I chose the Aerotel Irian for convenience – it’s 5 minutes walk from the airport which is great for an early morning departure and it has a swimming pool which was great to cool off in after birding.

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Aerotel Irian Entrance

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Aerotel Irian Lobby/Restaurant

Aerotel Irian Room

Aerotel Irian Room (sorry it’s blurry)

Aerotel Irian Room

Aerotel Irian Room

Aerotel Irian Pool

Aerotel Irian Pool

 

The food was pretty good and has a selection of Western and Indonesian dishes at reasonable prices.  A breakfast buffet is usually included in the price but our flight was so early in the morning we missed it.  We only stayed one night as I was hoping to see my target birds in the full day of birding (which I did) but some people stay a couple days.

BIAK MARKET

Just before lunch which was provided by our tour operator Benny from Discover Papua.  I will do a separate blog about the birding so this post will just be basic tourist information.  People also come to Biak for scuba diving and to see the culture of Biak.  We were there on a Saturday and got to see the market which was very interesting and had a small handicraft section.

Biak Market

Biak Market

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Biak Market

Biak Market

Biak Market

Biak Market

Biak Market

 

Biak Market

Biak Market

Biak Market

Biak Market

 

Biak Market

Biak Market

Biak Market

Biak Market

 

Biak Market

Biak Market

 

Biak Market

Biak Market

 

On the way to the lunch stop we passed by the local laundry.

Biak Laundry

Biak Laundry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black-winged Lory (Eos cyanogenia)

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The Black-winged Lory, Eos cyanogenia also known as Biak Red Lory is an Indonesian endemic, the Black-winged Lory is distributed to forests and coastal habitat of Biak, Numfor, Manim and Mios Num islands in Cenderawasih Bay, Papua. It frequents and roosts in coconut trees.

We saw a few of them flying in pairs or small flocks during our brief visit to Biak but I was unable to get a good pic with my camera.  These guys fly fast!  So I will have to use the one on Wikipedia which appears to have been taken in a bird park to show you what they look like up close.  They are gorgeous birds, I wish they weren’t so camera shy in the wild!

Black-winged Lory (Eos cyanogenia)

The population is estimated to number 2,500-9,999 mature individuals based on an assessment of known records, descriptions of abundance and range size.  Relatively large numbers have been trapped for the domestic and international trade (Nash 1990b, K. D. Bishop in litt. 1994), and this species is commonly observed as a pet on Biak (Bishop 1982). Large areas of forest on Biak have been destroyed or damaged by logging and subsistence farming, particularly the southern plains, and the remainder is under pressure (Bishop 1982, K. D. Bishop in litt. 1996, D. Holmes in litt. 2000). Furthermore, forest does not regenerate easily on areas of raised coralline limestone. Much of Supiori comprises virtually impenetrable, forested limestone mountains, which is likely to be safe from habitat degradation.

BirdLife International 2012. Eos cyanogenia. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 27 March 2013

Birding In Indonesia

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INDONESIA’S BIRDING HOTSPOTS

From Crowned-Pigeons and Birds-of-Paradise, to endemic Pheasants and Pittas, not to mention a wide variety of parrots such as Cockatoos, Lories, Fig Parrots, Eclectus and more – Indonesia has some of the world’s best birdwatching.   Spanning two continents and home to over 1,600 species (including almost 400 endemics) there are plenty of reasons to come birding in Indonesia, then come again and again.

I have found the Burung Nusantara website a tremendous resource for planning my own trip to West Papua in the near future.  They also have comprehensive guides on how to get to the birding hotspots, what species to look for and how to organize guides.  Some places where birders flock to such as the Arfak Mountains and Raja Ampat don’t have email or cell phones so it can be very difficult to get ahold of guides or book things in advance.   In the low season, it should be feasible to just show up and ask for a guide, preferably one of the recommended guides on this site as they have good experience and skills.  In the busy season, you will probably need to find some way to book in advance, otherwise you may find that the best guides are already booked by major birding tour operators.Ekkie

Here’s a selection of recommended birding hotspots and where you can read more about them.  In future posts, I will take each one in more detail as to how to get there and organize the birding in that area and how you can reach Indonesia from your country using your frequent flyer miles.

 

SERAM

Key bird species:

Forsten’s Scrubfowl; Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk; Meyer’s Goshawk; ‘Seram’ (Long-tailed) Mountain-Pigeon; Salmon-crested Cockatoo; Red Lory; Blue-eared Lory; Purple-naped Lory; Moluccan King-Parrot; Moluccan Scops-Owl; Moluccan Boobook; Lesser Masked-Owl; Lazuli Kingfisher; ‘Seram’ Swiftlet; Olive Honeyeater; Seram Honeyeater; Seram Myzomela; Wakolo Myzomela; Seram Friarbird; Moluccan Cuckoo-shrike; Pale-gray Cuckoo-shrike; Black-chinned Monarch; ‘Seram’ Golden Bulbul; Cinnamon-chested Flycatcher; Seram Thrush; Streaky-breasted Fantail; Drab Whistler; Seram White-eye; Rufescent White-eye; Gray-hooded White-eye; Seram Oriole; Moluccan Starling; Long-crested Myna.

 

ARFAK

 

Key species:

Magnificent Bird-or-Paradise; Black Sicklebill; Long-tailed Paradigalla; Arfak Astrapia; Arfak Bowerbird; Lesser Bird-of-Paradise; Superb Bird-of-Paradise; New Guinea Eagle; Feline Owlet-Nightjar; Mountain Owlet-Nightjar; Spotted Jewel-Babbler; Chestnut-backed Jewel-Babbler Spotted Catbird; Flame Bowerbird; Magnificent Riflebird; Buff-tailed Sicklebill.

 

RAJA AMPAT

 

Key species:

Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise; Red Bird-of-Pardise; King Bird-of-Paradise; Northern Cassowary; Western Crowned-pigeon; Pheasant Pigeon; Black Lory; Beach Kingfisher; Bruijn’s Brush-turkey.

 

NIMBOKRANG

 

Key species:

Northern Cassowary; Pale-billed Sicklebill; Blue-and-Black Kingfisher; Brown Lory; Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise; Shovel-billed Kingfisher; Victoria Crowned Pigeon; King Bird-of-Paradise; Blue Jewel Babbler; Brown-necked Crow; Hook-billed Kingfisher; Vulturine Parrot; Papuan Hawk-owl; Lesser Bird-of-Paradise; Brown-collared Brush-turkey; Greater Black Coucal; Papuan Nightjar; Grey Crow; Black-sided Robin; Lowland Peltops; White-eared Catbird; Wompoo Fruit-Dove; Coroneted Fruit-Dove.

 

BIAK AND NUMFOR

 

Key species:

Long-tailed Starling, Biak Black Flycatcher; Biak Paradise-kingfisher; Biak Lory; Geelvink Pygmy-parrot; Biak Scops-owl; Biak Monarch; Biak Coucal; Biak Scrubfowl; Biak Gerygone; Biak White-eye; Numfor Paradise-kingfisher.

 

LORE LINDU

 

Key bird species:

Small Sparrowhawk; Bare-faced Rail; Sulawesi Woodcock; Metallic Pigeon; Ornate Lorikeet; Yellow-and-green Lorikeet; Ochre-bellied Hawk-Owl; Cinnabar Hawk-Owl; Speckled Hawk-Owl; Diabolical Nightjar; Scaly Kingfisher; Purple-bearded Bee-eater; Cerulean Cuckoo-shrike; Pygmy Cuckoo-shrike; Chestnut-backed Bush-Warbler; Blue-fronted Flycatcher; Sulawesi Blue-Flycatcher; Geomalia; Sulawesi Thrush; Great Shortwing; Olive-flanked Whistler; Maroon-backed Whistler; Malia; White-backed Woodswallow; Sulawesi Myna; Fiery-browed Myna; Mountain Serin

 

BALI BARAT

 

Key bird species:

Beach Thick-knee; Orange-breasted Pigeon; Javan Cuckoo-shrike; Black-winged Starling; Banded Pitta; Bali Starling (Myna); Java Sparrow