Wildlife Tour in Lowland Forest of Sorong regency Indonesia

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise

This is the photograph of male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). I often see the birds when I guide visitors in lowland forest of Sorong regency. It is a city which has been the main gate to Raja Ampat. As a matter of fact, Sorong has got huge area of tropical rainforest that is home to a lot of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects. There are a lot of plants that grow in the forest such as iron-wood tree, matoa tree, and huge pandanus tree.
Visitors spend between 3 to 4 days hiking and watching wild animals in the forest. From my previous wildlife tours in this environment I saw deer, northern cassowary, wallaby, ulysses butterfly and beautiful wild flowers.

Itinerary
Day 1

Transfer by 4wd car from Sorong city to Klasow valley (1.5 hours)
Walk along the path from the main road to jungle village (1.5 hours)
Arrive in the village, take a rest, birdwatching around the clearing area of the village.

Day 2
Wake-up early in the morning at 04.00. Have tea or coffee and make preparation At 04.30 leave the village for the birdwatching site of Lesser BOP. Arrive at 06.00. Watch birds until 09.00. Walk back to the village. Have lunch. Take a rest. Jungle walk again to watch birds and other wildlife.
After dinner, we could do night walk to see wallaby thats comes out at night to find food and mating partner.

Day 3
Wake up in the morning to birding site of Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise. After that, we will continue to the birding ground of King Bird of Paradise.
After lunch we will go hiking to a hill behind the village. Back to the village, we still can enjoy birdwatching in the clearing area of the village

Day 4
Morning walk to the river in the west of the village. Visitors can enjoy swimming or exploring the surrounding forest. Back to the village. After lunch, we could walk slowly back to the main road again and then back to Sorong city by car.

Booking your rainforest tour
Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
I need information such as name, country of origin, date and time of arrival and how long you plan to do the rainforest tour.

Idea durvillei Butterfly

Idea durvillei butterfly in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat

Idea durvillei is a large black and white butterfly that I see in Mansinam island of Manokwari; Waim islet and Waigeo island of Raja Ampat. They live in coastal forest. I have never seen it in higher montane forest such as Arfak mountains and Tambrauw Mountains. The wings are white decorated with black lines. The abdomen of this beautiful insect is white. From my personal observations, the butterfly likes to find nectar of flowers early in the mornings. In the afternoons when the temperature is high, the butterfly prefers to take a rest on a green leave of shrubs under the shades of big trees. Actually, there are a lot of species of butterflies that we can see when we go hiking in lowland forest including cruiser butterfly - Vindula arsinoe, Silky Owl Butterfly - Taenaris catops, and  the Blue Mountain Swallowtail - Papilio ulysses.  The best months to watch butterflies in West Papua are during dry season June to early December.

Most of my tours are related to birdwatching. However, it does not mean that I don't pay attention to other animals. written by Charles Roring

Birdwatching Binoculars

In my previous post Wildlife Binoculars, I mention about Swarovski SLC 10×42 WB which is a very sturdy optical device for field use. Actually, there are a lot of other brands that can also deliver clear and crisp images of birds and other wild animals that we would like to watch especially in a distant tree, beach or in the sky. I personally have got some Chinese made 10x 42 mm roof binoculars. They are not the best in the market but they give good quality images. I often bring them into the forest when I guide birdwatchers.
Bad Binoculars

Several years ago I thought that binoculars with higher magnification were better. In reality I was wrong. I used to buy a pair of binoculars from a shop in my town without checking its performance in the field - a Chinese made Papillon 12-36×70 binoculars. The next day, I brought the binoculars to the field when I guided a French couple on a 3 day/ 2 night riverwalk and birdwatching tour in lowland forest of Manokwari. When I tried the device, I was very disappointed with the image quality it produced. My old binoculars with lower magnification gave me sharper and clearer views of birds, scenery and trees.
Characteristics of High Quality Birding Binoculars

From that day I decided to read more information on the internet about binoculars. I spent more time reading about technical aspects of binoculars, here are some of the features from the binoculars which birdwatchers must know.

• Brand name and long tradition in binoculars manufacturing - Companies that have manufactured binoculars for tens of years have got more experience and expertise in making high quality binoculars. Zeiss, Swarovski, Leica, and Nikon are some of the manufacturers that have created high precision optical products including binoculars.
• High quality binoculars are made of high definition glass lenses such as Extra-low Dispersion glass and Bak4 prism.
• In tropical rainforest, the frequency of rainfall and humidity is high. Binoculars have to be sealed with waterproof O-ring and filled with dry nitrogen. 
• To ensure the production of clear and sharp bird images, every surface of the lens in binoculars have to be painted with anti reflective compounds. 

Swarovski EL 8.5×42 binoculars

One example of an excellent binoculars is the Austrian made Swarovski EL 8.5×42. I used test the product when I went birdwatching in Arfak range. The image quality it produced was sharp and clear. I highly recommend this device. Birdwatchers cannot be separated from their binoculars particularly when they go into the forest, the beach, lake, or walk along the banks of a river. High definition binoculars will definitely enhance birding experience. Bad quality binoculars can ruin the whole birding experience of an avid birdwatcher. So, before buying binoculars, make sure that the device has got at least four important characteristics that I mention above. written by Charles Roring
Related Post: 

• Binoculars for Wildlife Watching
• Birding and Photography Tour in Tangkoko and Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching and Photography Tour in Minahasa Highland

Binoculars for Wildlife Watching

Visionking 10x42 mm multi purpose binoculars

Binoculars are essential for wildlife watching when we go hiking in the forest. I personally use a good pair of Visionking 10x42 mm binoculars. It is equipped with Bak4 roof prism, Field of View: 303 feet@ 1000 yards with central focusing. They are light and small enough to carry. They are not the best but they can give me sharp images of birds and wild animals that are flying or perching on the branches of high trees.
Because I work as birdwatching guide, I had the opportunities of trying other binoculars that are carried by birdwatchers. I used to try Nikon EDG 8×42 binoculars. These birding optics are made of Extra Low Dispersion glass lenses. Although the magnification is smaller than my Visionking. The quality of the images is crisp and superior. I can say that the Nikon EDG 8×42 binoculars are one of the best wildlife binoculars that I have ever tried.

Recently, I also tried a pair of Swarovski SLC 10×42 WB. The binoculars belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Buttiker. They were birdwatchers who came from Switzerland. I guided them to Arfak mountains to watch Vogelkop Bowerbird, Western Parotia, Green-backed Robin, female Black Siklebill, Feline Owlet-nightjar, and Bronze Ground Dove. Their Swarovski binoculars greatly enhanced their birding experience.
It was rainy season in Arfak mountains when I and the Swiss couple went birding in along the unpaved road in the forest. I was impressed with the performance of the Swarovski SLC 10×42 WB binoculars. They were very sturdy and well fit in my grip.

Bird and Wildlife Tour
I offer bird and wildlife tour for visitors who are interested in adventure trip to Arfak mountains, Klasow valley, Tambrauw Mountains and Raja Ampat Regency. Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Related article: 

• Wildlife Binoculars
• Birding and Photography Tour in Tangkoko and Minahasa Highland

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.