Birding In Wamena/Lake Habema

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Tara

Although we didn’t go there, you can also use Jayapura/Sentani as a gateway to Wamena and Lake Habema. This does add quite a bit to your budget as there doesn’t seem to be any cheap way to do it which is the reason we didn’t go there.

Location of Wamena

Trigana Air flies there several times a day but they only show schedules on their website, you can’t book online. From what I could see online, you will need to have a local travel agency arrange your guide, porters and transport. Burung Nusantara has some information and recommendations for guides and travel agencies. Since I didn’t go there, I can’t speak as to the quality of the services but there are links to birding trip reports on their website. You will need to have this area mentioned on your Surat Jalan along with Nimbokrang and anywhere else in West Papua you plan to visit.

If you do make it there, the birds are amazing! Burung Nusantara shows the highlights as: Salvadori’s Teal; Snow Mountain Quail; Chestnut Forest-Rail; Dusky Woodcock; Goldie’s Lorikeet; Mountain Kingfisher; Macgregor’s Honeyeater; Crested Satinbird; Papuan Grassbird; Greater Ground-Robin; Lesser Ground-Robin; Alpine Robin; Wattled Ploughbill; Northern Logrunner; Papuan Whipbird; Blue-capped Ifrita; Torrent-Lark; Splendid Astrapia; King-of-Saxony Bird-of-paradise; Superb Bird-of-Paradise; Brown Sicklebill; Lesser Melampitta; Archbold’s Bowerbird; Alpine Pipit; Mountain Firetail; Snow Mountain Munia.

I would add the Tiger Parrots to that list!

Nimbokrang Has Easy Birding Too

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Tara

After braving the planks in the swamp forest of Nimbokrang, I was ready for something less strenuous the next day. Fortunately Jamil knew just the place, a small mountain about 40 minutes from town by motorcycle (100,000 rupiahs extra). It was only me this time, my husband wanted to look around town. We set out at the crack of dawn and made it up the mountain in time to watch the sunrise.

(Don’t expect Nat Geo style professional photos, the birds were usually far away, in flight and many shots are blurry. I have not edited them since this is a travel blog and I want you to see the exact conditions you will be taking photos in when you go there).

Sunrise over Nimbokrang from the mountain

The birds didn’t take long to show up. Although I still had to view them from a distance (attempting to get photos) at least they did fly through open skies a bit more as opposed to dense foliage in trees. Jamil identified several Brown Lories, Eclectus Parrots, Red-Cheeked Parrots and a solitary Rainbow Lorikeet which I thought was strange as I am used to seeing them in large flocks in Brisbane. I did have a go at “find the hidden bird” shots, pointing the camera at trees where birds were flitting about, hoping to catch them. Sometimes I got lucky, sometimes I didn’t! Brahminy Kites were easier to photograph as they are larger and fly slower. The highlight of this excursion was a stunning Palm Cockatoo!

Find the hidden bird!

Brahminy Kite, Nimbokrang

Red-cheeked Parrot, Nimbokrang

Palm Cockatoo, Nimbokrang

Brown Lory

Find the hidden bird!

Brown Lory, Nimbokrang

Red-cheeked Parrot, Nimbokrang

These next photos are of a pair of Double-eyed Fig Parrots who were perching in a tree on a property belonging to Jamil’s friend. It was a bit muddy and I didn’t trust myself to get close enough without slipping and scaring them off so I asked Jamil to get some shots for me and he did!

Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Nimbokrang

Double-eyed Fig Parrots, Nimbokrang

Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Nimbokrang

Another Brahminy Kite swooping lazily around.

Brahminy Kite, Nimbokrang

These Victoria Crowned Pigeons sometimes come into Jamil’s backyard so that’s why I was lucky enough to get close-ups!

Victoria Crowned Pigeon, Nimbokrang

Victoria Crowned Pigeons, Nimbokrang

Jamil knew I was anxious to see Buff-faced Pygmy Parrots. They sometimes also visit his backyard but not today. In the afternoon, we staked out a nest hoping they would come back at roosting time but they didn’t.

Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot Nest, Nimbokrang

The next morning, Jamil hopped on his bike and went looking for them.

Pak Jamil, Nimbokrang

He found a pair in a neighbor’s tree and took me down there. I could see them furtively darting about in the branches but they were so tiny I never did get a clear look………….and they are fast too! I watched them for a few minutes, then they took off into the distance. This is the mark of an excellent guide, Jamil took the time to make sure I saw the birds I wanted to see (Birds of Paradise and Parrots) and really cared that I was happy and got to see all the birds possible. We didn’t get ALL the targeted birds, there were no Pesquet’s Parrots or Salvadori Fig Parrots. He can’t conjure birds out of thin air (though sometimes it did seem like he could)! We devoted an afternoon and a morning just to the Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot whereas other birders may have had other priorities and he would have gone elsewhere.

According to Burung Nusuantara, these are the most sought-after birds for a Nimbokrang trip. The linked page also has links to trip reports by other birders that may be of interest.

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.

This brought an end to my birding adventure in Nimbokrang. Jamil called the bemo to pick us up and it was back to Sentani for an overnight stay since we had an early flight to Manokwari the next day.

Extreme Birding 1 – Planking In Nimbokrang

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Tara

As I mentioned in the post about getting to Nimbokrang, Pak Jamil is the must-have birding guide in Nimbokrang. A prime example of the success of eco-tourism, Jamil was formerly a bird trapper who discovered it was much more rewarding to keep the birds in the wild and help tourists see them. He is a marvel, can identify birds that are barely tiny dots in the sky and knows all bird calls and can name them in English. You can contact him by text message at +62-852-5433-2796. Keep it simple, give him the dates first and ask if he can accommodate you in his spare room. He speaks English reasonably well. As of March 2013, he charges 500,000 per day for guiding and worth every rupiah!

There are a few other fees to land-owners and the police so budget an extra $50-60 of rupiah. If you need a motorbike to get to a birding location it’s an extra 100,000 rupiah ($10).

PLANKING NIMBOKRANG STYLE

We arrived in the early afternoon and after a siesta, Jamil took us to the swamp forest outside the village of Nimbokrang. He wore gumboots and loaned me a pair of boots left behind by a friend as my walking shoes were inadequate for the swampy conditions. Have a look at the trail!

Planking in Nimbokrang Swamp Forest

Planking in Nimbokrang Swamp Forest

My husband struggles with the slippery planks and takes off his shoes – big mistake!

Jamil strolls through the swamp with the same ease that I stroll though a shopping mall!

I sit on this tree stump trying to capture birds with my camera

Catch up, Ina!

We saw some really amazing birds and Jamil gave me the list once we got back to the house. Sorry, I am just not agile enough to nail them with that tiny red dot when they fly so fast! I did try and will post a few pics but there won’t be any Nat Geo quality shots. We visited the swamp forest twice – in the afternoon on the first day and the early morning on the second day to see the two endemic Birds of Paradise. I had a problem with my camera after it fell in the mud and I somehow discharged the battery while cleaning it and missed out on getting a good shot of the Twelve-Wired Bird of Paradise who was perched atop a tree for several minutes. The Lesser Bird of Paradise was more elusive, darting around trees and calling enticingly so we knew he was there but not coming out for a good view.

We saw lots of parrots here but the few pics I took were backlit and I can’t make out the colours well enough to identify them. Jamil was pointing them out – Brown Lories, Dusky Lories, Black-capped Lories, Red-fronted Lorikeets, Red-flanked Lorikeets and Eclectus Parrots. Non-parrot birds include: Orange-bellied Fruit Dove, Black-browed Triller, Streak-headed Munia, Singing Starling, Green-backed Honey-eater, Brahminy Kite, Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Lesser Black Coucal, Rainbow Bee-eater, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Dollarbird, Helmeted Friarbird, Red-capped Flowerpecker, Yellow-faced Myna, Willy Wagtail, Spangled Drongo, Golden-headed Cisticola and Brown Cuckoo Dove.

Eclectus

Willy Wagtail

Lesser Black Coucal

Golden-headed Cisticola

Greater Bird-Of-Paradise, (Paradisaea apoda)

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Tara

The spectacular Greater Bird-Of-Paradise, (Paradisaea apoda) was not in the range of our trip but since I posted about Lesser Birds of Paradise, I thought I should show you the difference. The colouring is very similar but they are the largest member in the genus Paradisaea, with males measuring up to 43 cm (17 in) (excluding the long twin tail wires). The female is smaller, at only 35 cm (14 in).

Greater Bird-Of-Paradise, (Paradisaea apoda)

It is much harder to find them in the wild as their range isn’t in any of the main birding hotspots of West Papua which is generally the easiest place to get to for Birds of Paradise. Some organized birding groups do go to Papua New Guinea but they are not cheap!

Distribution

This clip of the mating ritual of Greater Birds of Paradise was filmed on the Aru Islands. In the image above, this is the smaller island with the green highlighting south of New Guinea to the left side.

Birding In Biak

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Tara

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

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

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

Fruit Dove

Find the hidden Geelvink Pygmy Parrots!

Biak Coucal

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

Biak – A Gentle Introduction To West Papua

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Tara

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.

Aerotel Irian Entrance

Aerotel Irian Lobby/Restaurant

Aerotel Irian Room (sorry it’s blurry)

Aerotel Irian Room

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

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

Biak Laundry

Black-winged Lory (Eos cyanogenia)

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Tara

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

Preparing To Visit West Papua, Indonesia

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Tara

West Papua is one of the world’s most dazzling locations for eco-tourism and birding. The Indonesian state shares the island with the nation of Papua New Guinea and both are in the top 12 countries to see wild parrots. There are endemic species to both countries and some which can only be found in each individual country, but the crime problem in Papua New Guinea has scared off a lot of potential tourists. Here’s a few facts to know before you go.

West Papua is safe to travel in. There may be petty pickpocketing in markets but violent crime and robberies are extremely rare.
Communication is difficult. Internet speed in the cities, usually accessed from your hotel make dial-up look fast. Most West Papuans communicate with text messages via their cell phones but many remote areas such as the Arfak Mountains don’t even have cell phone coverage.
Getting around can be expensive. There are special deals from time to time like the one on Sriwijaya Airlines but you need to keep looking for them. There are no international airports (except Jayapura to/from PNG) so you need to enter Indonesia via Bali, Jakarta, Manado or Makassar. You can see how to do that with frequent flier miles or shop around for the best fares. I strongly recommend adding a few days in Bali at the end of the trip for R&R and cheap massages because you WILL have sore muscles.
Some of the birding locations are among the most physically challenging you will ever do, especially if you are targeting parrot-rich countries. Trails are non-existant in Arfak and the Nimbokrang swamp forest trail consists of slippery planks. You will be walking through primary rainforest with your guides hacking away bushes as you go. You will get filthier and muddier than you have ever been in your life!
Although West Papua is considered a destination for advanced birders, I would say if it’s on your bucket list just do it! You won’t get any younger and the fitter you are for this destination, the better! I am still amazed that I made it up to the Garden Hut at the Arfaks, took me 4 hours with me collapsing every 20 metres! The guides and porters happily run up and down the same distance in about 30 minutes!
High season is roughly June-August. There will be several large groups there at this time so you will need to have everything booked in advance. If you go outside this time, you should still try to make contact with the guides in advance but in cases like Zeth Wonggor in Mokwam, you can’t contact him directly but if you just show up he will take care of you and assign you a guide if he happens to be busy. If you aren’t with a group, try to avoid going at the same time they will be there as hides to see BOPs are limited.
There are some small home-stays and lodges, but in many other cases you will be camping in the bush with no bathroom facilities.
You will experience extremes of temperatures from the hot, humid lowlands to the chilly nights in Arfak.
Photography is very difficult. The birds blend in well with the trees, many are small like the Pygmy Parrots and Fig Parrots so it will be difficult to focus on them. Expect to get a lot of beautiful shots of leaves! There will be some clearings where you can get good shots of birds flying overhead but you will need to be quick and shoot handheld with at least a 400mm lens. Start working out so you can balance 3kgs of camera/lens and focus that little red dot on the bird flying rapidly overhead!
Don’t bother trying to do laundry. Bring old clothes in muted natural or dark shades as they are going to get trashed anyways and discard them when you can’t stand them anymore. You can always buy new clothes in Bali-cheap! Consider giving your shoes/boots to your guide or porter at your last birding stop, many of them work in thongs and you aren’t going to want to clean them up anyway. The more experienced guides prefer gumboots as they are best for the muddy conditions you will be trekking in so buy a cheap pair and give them away at the end. If you wear large shoes, you won’t be able to buy them in West Papua.

These are the 5 main destinations for birders in West Papua.

West Papua Birding Destinations

A — Raja Ampat (Sorong)

B — Arfak Mountains (Manokwari)

C — Biak/Numfor (Biak)

D — Nimbokrang (Jayapura)

E — Habema Lake (Wamena)

Having said all that-the rewards are great! You will see some of the most spectacular birds in the world like the Birds of Paradise (BOPs), Parotias, Bowerbirds and of course the dazzling array of Parrots!

Over the next several installments of this series I will go into more detail for each location, recommend guides and how to contact them and show you where to stay.

I Have A Confession To Make

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Tara

Over the past 3 weeks, it looks like MTTW has been “business as usual” with a post every day. In reality, I have been off on the birding adventure of a lifetime in West Papua, Indonesia! I prepared 3 weeks of posts in advance and scheduled one everyday as I didn’t want the blog to look like no one is home and also for my personal home security I don’t like to publish online that I will be away from home. Now that I’m back, I am planning a whole series on West Papua and how to organize a birding trip there. It’s without a doubt the most difficult and physically demanding trip I have ever been on and one I wish I had done when I was much younger and more physically fit but you can’t turn back the hands of time and no one gets younger! What makes birding in West Papua so rewarding is the beauty and uniqueness of the birds such as the Birds of Paradise and the Parrots…………and that the guides are so highly skilled at finding them. These skills come from their roots as bird trappers and poachers so thankfully they have seen the value in keeping their native birds wild and free and earning an honest living helping eco-tourists to see them in the wild.

I am still pretty worn out and came home with the flu so for now I will just outline the chapters in this series which will be forthcoming over the next few days.

1. Preparing for a trip to West Papua, Indonesia

2. Getting to West Papua using miles and getting around

3. Birding in Biak

4. Birding in Nimbokrang

5. Birding in the Arfak Mountains

6. Birding in Raja Ampat – Waigeo Island and Sorong

7. Bali for Birders

8. Shopping in Indonesia – Bird Related Souvenirs

9. Review Sriwijaya Airlines Business Class

10. Bird Species Profiles (various species we saw, will be interspersed with the above)

Double-eyed Fig-parrot (Cyclopsitta diopthalma)

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Tara

Double-eyed Fig-parrot (Cyclopsitta diopthalma)

The Double-eyed Fig Parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma), also known as the Blue-faced Fig Parrot, Red-faced Fig Parrot, Dwarf Fig Parrot, and the Two-eyed Fig Parrot, primarily inhabits forests on New Guinea and nearby islands, but is also found in isolated communities along the tropical Australian coast, east of the Great Dividing Range. With an average total length of about 14 cm (5½ in.), it is the smallest parrot in Australia. The easiest place to see them will be in West Papua, Indonesia or Papua New Guinea.

Double-eyed Fig-parrot Range

There are several subspecies found throughout this tiny parrot’s range. The Coxen’s subspecies is very rare.

C.d. diophthalma: W Papuan islands, NW New Guinea.
C.d. coccineifrons: SE New Guinea- Astrolabe Bay to Fly River.
C.d. aruensis: S New Guinea (Fly River to Aru Islands).
C.d. virago: Fergusson and Goodenough Islands.
C.d. inseparabilis: Tagula Island.
C.d. marshalli: North tip of Cape York Peninsula, Queenland, Australia.
C.d. macleayana: NE Queenland from Cooktown to Townsville.
C.d. coxeni: formely SE Queensland and NE South Wales, range now limited.

Coxen’s Fig parrot Range

A hungry Double-eyed Fig-parrot live and in action!

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

Tag Archives: west papua

Birding In Wamena/Lake Habema

Nimbokrang Has Easy Birding Too

Extreme Birding 1 – Planking In Nimbokrang

PLANKING NIMBOKRANG STYLE

Greater Bird-Of-Paradise, (Paradisaea apoda)

Birding In Biak

Biak – A Gentle Introduction To West Papua

GETTING THERE

WHERE TO STAY

BIAK MARKET

Black-winged Lory (Eos cyanogenia)

Preparing To Visit West Papua, Indonesia

I Have A Confession To Make

Double-eyed Fig-parrot (Cyclopsitta diopthalma)