Birding Tour in Sonder of Minahasa Highland

Sonder is a small subdistrict town in the Minahasa Highland of North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. It is a peaceful and green area with farmlands, hills, forests, and mountain slopes. The weather is cool, and the landscape is beautiful. This makes Sonder a good destination for birdwatching.

Warbling White-eye

There are a lot of species of birds that live in the forest, farmland and wetland of Sonder. Some of them are endemic to Sulawesi island. Visitors who enjoy birding can walk through the villages, along the small roads, and forest trails. Most birdwatching activities are done early in the mornings or in the late afternoons when birds are more active.

Some of the birds which visitors could see in Minahasa Highland

Here are some of the many birds that can be seen in Subdistrict town of Sonder and its surroundings:

• Sulawesi Myzomela
• Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker
• Sulawesi Drongo
• Sulawesi Babbler
• Sulawesi Leaf Warbler
• Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher
• Yellow-sided Flowerpecker
• Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker
• Mountain Tailorbird
• Finch-billed Myna
• White-necked Myna
• Sulawesi Myna
• Sulawesi Scops Owl
• Black-naped Fruit-dove
• Ashy Woodpecker
• Yellow-billed Malkoha
• Rusty-bellied Fantail
• Sulawesi Cuckoo
• Sulawesi Goshawk
• Black-crowned White-eye
• Pale Blue Monarch

• Scaly-breasted Kingfisher
• Collared Kingfisher
• Sacred Kingfisher
• White-breasted Woodswallow
• Barn Swallow
• Pacific Swallow
• Uniform Swiftlet
• Grey-rumped Treeswift
• Glossy Swiftlet
• Little Egret
• Cattle Egret
• Purple Heron
• Spotted Dove
• Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove
• Emerald Dove
• Zebra Dove
• Black-naped Oriole
• Sahul Sunbird
• Crimson Sunbird
• Brown-throated Sunbird
• Sooty-headed Bulbul
• Yellow-vented Bulbul
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow
• Warbling White-eye
• Chestnut Munia
• Scaly-breasted Munia
• Asian Glossy Starling
• Sulawesi Serpent Eagle
• Peregrine Falcon
• Brahminy Kite

Sonder town in Minahasa highland

Birdwatchers who visit Sonder town can stay in homestays in the area. They can also join a local birding guide who knows the best places to see birds. A typical birding trip can last one to three days. Local people are friendly and often help visitors find the best paths.

Other birding sites in Minahasa Highland are Mount Mahawu, Lake Linow and Lake Tonado. More birds could be seen in these areas including Superb Fruit-dove, Red-eared Fruit-dove, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher and etc.

Sonder is surrounded by agricultural land. Farmers grow various kinds of food of crops such as corn, peanuts, tomatoes, banana, papaya, rambutan, avocado, durian, spring onion; as well as industrial agricultural crops such as vanilla, clove, and coconut.

In conclusion, Sonder is a good destination for birdwatchers who want to see Sulawesi’s unique birds in a quiet and natural setting. The area is easy to reach from Manado and offers a great experience for nature lovers.

If you are interested in taking a birding tour in Minahasa, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Also read:

• Birding and Photography Tour in Tangkoko Nature Reserve and Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching and Photography Tour in Minahasa Highland
• Tangkoko Birding Tour

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.

Rainbow Bee-eater

Rainbow Bee-eater in Klasow Valley of Sorong regency
West Papua province of Indonesia

Sighting in Sorong forest
These are photographs of Rainbow Bee-eater that I saw in Klasow valley of Sorong regency. They were taken in May. According to field guide book, "Birds of New Guinea," the birds migrate to New Guinea during March to October. Rainbow Bee-eater perched on the branches of trees in the cleared forest in the morning waiting for insects. The sun was shining brightly. I walked closer to them and began to take pictures of them. They were not afraid of me when I shot them with my old Fujifilm HS50EXR.
Sighting in Manokwari

I also saw a large flock of Rainbow Bee-eater in lowland forest of Manokwari in June when I guided a French tourist. Perhaps, they had just arrived from a long flight crossing over the huge tropical rainforest of New Guinea. During the sunset time, they were flying very low over our heads when we sat on the sandbank of Mesirrokow river in a relaxed atmosphere. We really enjoyed the sighting very much. Unfortunately, it was getting dark, so, I could not take pictures of them.
The lowland forest of Manokwari is the natural habitat of a lot of species of birds such as Large-tailed Nightjar, Golden Myna, Little-ringed Plover, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, Palm Cockatoo, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, Brahminy Kite, Variable Goshawk, Little Egret, Dollarbird, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Magnificent Riflebird, and a lot more.

Rainforest Bird and Wildlife Tour

Birdwatching in lowland forest of Manokwari

I offer hiking and birdwatching trips for visitors who are interested in watching paradise birds and other tropical birds of New Guinea, particularly in such places as Arfak mountains, Lowland Forest of Manokwari, Klasow valley in Sorong regency and tropical islands of Raja Ampat.
In general, a short birdwatching trip in Lowland Forest of Manokwari may last for 3 days/ 2 nights whereas a full bird tour to Arfak range, Klasow valley of Sorong and Waigeo island of Raja Ampat may last for 2 weeks.
Booking
Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Also read:

• Snorkeling Holiday in Raja Ampat
• Snorkeling Tour in Raja Ampat
• Birding and Photography Tour in Tangkoko and Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching and Photography Tour in Minahasa Highland 
• Birding Tour in Sonder of Minahasa Highland

Birdwatching in Lowland Forest of Sorong

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)

Paradise Birds of Klasow Valley
Sorong is a city in West Papua province of Indonesia that has become the main gate to Raja Ampat. There is a huge valley in the east of Sorong that is famous among birdwatchers as the most recommended site for watching Paradise Birds. Its name is Klasow Valley. Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius), Magnificent Riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus) and Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucidis melanoleucus) live in tropical rainforest of the valley and can be watched together with hundreds of species other of birds.

Visitors who go to Malagufuk village of Klasow valley usually spend at least 4 days/ 3 nights in the jungle to watch birds, and other wild animals, as well as wild flowers and unique tropical plants of the rainforest. There is a small village in the middle of the forest. There are also two jungle huts that have been prepared for visitors. The huts are equipped with mattrasses, mosquito nets and toilets.
The birdwatching site for Lesser Birds of Paradise is approximately a 1.5-hour-walk from the village. Visitors who want to watch the paradise birds need to wake up early in the morning at 04.00 to have tea or coffee and to make preparation until 04.30. After that they have to start walking. Because it is still dark, head torch will be needed for the morning jungle walk. There is another birdwatching site for Lesser Birds of Paradise approximately 30 minutes walk from the village. But the tree where the birds dance is quite high. Each visitor who wants to watch birds at this site needs to bring a good pair of binoculars. Usually, the activity of Lesser BOP at their display trees decreases after 09.00.  Birdwatchers can walk back to the village to take a rest and have lunch.
Northern Cassowary

Northern Cassowary in lowland forest of Sorong regency

There is also Northern Cassowary that regularly visits the village to ask banana fruits and sugar cane from villagers. It is a very big bird and dangerous. I used to guide a group of visitors from Rockjumper. We spent 2 days/ 1 night in the valley to watch birds. We were quite lucky to be welcomed by this Northern Cassowary. But we have to keep safe distance from the bird. During our tour in Malagufuk of Klasow valley, we were able to watch King Bird of Paradise, Northern Cassowary, Yellow-faced Myna, Helmetted Friarbird, Black Lory, Boyer's Cuckooshrike, Red-cheeked Parrot, Glossy Swiftlet, Pinon Imperial Pigeon.
Birds are not the only animals that live in this lowland forest of Sorong, there are butterfly and beetles, cuscus possum, wallaby, fish and frogs in the river, snake, wild pigs, soa-soa lizard, dear and even crocodile in big river.

Want to visit Klasow valley?
Fly from your country to Jakarta (capital of Indonesia) or Manado city (by Silk Air from Singapore).  There are regular flights from these cities to Sorong city. I could meet you at the airport or at the hotel where you stay and organize your trip to Klasow valley.

Booking
If you are interested in taking a birdwatching tour in West Papua and needs me to organize your tour, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.