1 - 16 November 2024

Flock Wildlife & ornis birding expeditions

16 Days/15 Nights exploring Indonesias' West Papua!

We are super excited to be teaming up with our great mate Joshua Bergmark from Ornis Birding to bring you this adventure of a lifetime!
16 days exploring all that the remote West Papua has to offer, with a focus on the stunning Birds of Paradise that the region is known for.

Not only will you have Flock’s expert birding and photography guidance, but you will also have Josh’s keen eyes and ears and vast experience guiding in this region.
A combination you won’t find anywhere else that will ensure you get the absolute best from this tour!

Words from, Josh:
”It is impossible to forget the first time you see a Western Parotia dance, a Black Sicklebill transforming at dawn, or a Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise glowing like fire in the dark forest understory. Throw in Western Crowned Pigeon, Masked Bowerbird and Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher? This is the true “Attenborough Experience”, and simply the best birding tour in the world as far as we are concerned! Other excellent highlights include the tiny King Bird-of-paradise and ridiculous Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise, Feline Owlet-nightjar, Spotted Jewel-babbler, and Northern Cassowary..”

Proposed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrivals into Sorong, in time for the fast ferry to Waigeo in the Raja Ampat Islands for a three-night stay by the beach in a relaxing dive resort. Luxury, but there are many birds to see! NOTE: We will be putting all participants in touch with our in-house travel agent so that everybody books on the same direct flight from Jakarta (CGK) to Sorong (SOQ).

Day 2-3-4: The island of Waigeo holds two species which stand out from the rest. Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise is perhaps the most ridiculously colourful bird in the world, and positively glows in the understory as we again watch from purpose-built hides only meters away from their display areas. In the treetops, male Red Bird-of-paradise form noisy leks and show off their highly-evolved dance moves whenever a female drops by. Western Crowned Pigeon are still common enough here that we should see several, while the endemic Raja Ampat Pitohui and Waigeo Shrikethrush usually don’t take much effort to track down. Several exciting lowland species are abundant on Waigeo, such as Dusky Scrubfowl, Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Violet-necked Lory, Great-billed Parrot, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Beach Kingfisher, Hook-billed Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Papuan Dwarf Kingfisher, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Moustached Treeswift, Hooded Pitta and Papuan Pitta. It is also not unusual for us to bump into the endemic Waigeo Cuscus on our wanderings.

Day 5: Returning to Sorong, we will catch a short flight to Manokwari and drive up into the Arfak Mountains. Reaching our lodgings where we will be based for the next week in the late-afternoon, we can begin birding immediately! Our five nights here will be spent in a basic but pleasant guesthouse in Mingre Village overlooking the forested valleys below us.‍

Days 6-7-8-9: Perfectly positioned to explore all the different altitudes, Mingre is famous for the development of hides at the display courts of several bird-of-paradise and bowerbird species. The birds are typically only a few metres from us, so make sure to bring mid-range lenses! We will have plenty of time for everyone to have multiple sessions in each hide, and participants can split up depending on what they most want to target.

Magnificent Bird-of-paradise is often the best species to watch in the late afternoons, as males meticulously clean their bachelor pads in the hope that some females pop by. When they do, he launches an extravagant pose, stretching out his neck to highlight the iridescent green feathering on his breast while buzzing and swaying hypnotically.

Western Parotia on the other hand is an early riser, and due to the elaborate nature of their dance males regularly conduct practice displays even when no females are present. Unfurling his feathers to create a black robe around himself, he teeters back and forth while waving his six antennae-like feathers and bobbing his head rhythmically.

Vogelkop Lophorina (once known as Superb Bird-of-paradise) is perhaps the shiest of the lot and it often takes several long waiting sessions in the hide before he performs. Landing on his mossy log and whipping out a black cape with mask-like blue highlights he spins around the female while opening and shutting his bright yellow mouth, hoping to impress!

The iridescent Masked Bowerbird has to be seen to be believed, and when the male lands at his bower to conduct maintenance you might be confused by how he can glow so brightly even when there is no sun on his feathers! Nearby fruit feeders often attract Black-billed Sicklebill or Arfak Catbird, and the forest holds dozens of other exciting New Guinea endemics which can be searched for whenever you want a break from the hides. Bizarre-looking Feline, Mountain and Vogelkop Owlet-nightjars are often found by our guides at their day roosts, Arfak Astrapia, Spotted Jewel-babbler (an amazing rainforest-adapted quail-thrush relative), White-striped Forest Rail, Josephine’s Lorikeet, Papuan Logrunner, Vogelkop Melidectes, Western Smoky Honeyeater, Lesser Melampitta, Green-backed Robin, Grey-banded Mannikin, and many more are sure to be included in our final bird list!

He has become less reliable but we do hope to see the imposing Black Sicklebill (who is in fact the same individual filmed in recent BBC documentaries) descending onto his stump and calls loudly to announce his arrival. Always wanting to be prepared, he immediately starts practicing his dance, twisting sideways and transforming into a two-metre-long cobra-like silhouette with dazzling blue highlights. Nearby, the drab but architecturally astounding Vogelkop Bowerbird can be viewed at his ridiculously large bower, shaped like a levitating saucer of sticks above a mossy platform decorated carefully with all of his finest treasures.

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Day 10: After a final morning of birding in the Arfaks we return to Manokwari for an overnight stay and welcome hot shower!

Day 11: Taking a morning flight back to Sorong, we will transfer east and take a slow walk in to Malagufuk Village, our base for the next three nights.

Day 12-13-14: The magnificent forest around Malagufuk offers the best lowland birding in New Guinea, largely due to the local ban on hunting. Staying at the village in basic accommodation is rough, but we will be in prime position to access bird-of-paradise display areas for dawn and dusk when the males are most active. The diminutive King Bird-of-paradise, strange Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise, flamboyant Lesser Bird-of-paradise, and loud Magnificent Riflebird are all usually staked-out at display areas by our local guides, but some may require a longer walk to reach than others!

New Guinea is very different from Australia in that the lowland forest birds are all particularly shy, so photography of other species away from the hides is never easy. That said, with some hard work and good fieldcraft we hope to lure in several exciting species which hopefully will sit long enough for us to fire off some photos. These may include the mind-blowing Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher and the imposing Northern Cassowary. Other possibilities include Red-billed Brushturkey, Pheasant Pigeon, Blue Jewel-babbler, Emperor Fairywren, Golden Monarch and Papuan Babbler (the rainforest counterpart of our Australian arid-zone babblers!), amongst many more potential targets. The afternoon skies are filled with the endemic Black Lory amongst dozens of other parrot and pigeon species which often fly through and perch on dead sticks surrounding forest clearings. Some spotlighting around the village might produce Papuan Hawk Owl, Papuan Nightjar, and we can expect excellent encounters with Western Long-beaked Echidna, Brown Dorcopsis, Common Spiny Bandicoot, and hopefully Lowland Ringtail Possum.

Day 15: After a final morning around Malagufuk, we will return to Sorong for an overnight stay. If time allows, we will search for Blue-black Kingfisher, Black Thicket-fantail, Orange-fronted Fruit-Dove and Collared Imperial Pigeon at a site near town in the evening.

Day 16: The tour ends this morning with departures out of Sorong.

Respecting locals

Just like us, Ornis Birding Expeditions are passionate about giving more respect to our invaluable local guides and agents, leading to responsible ecotourism and conservation.

Photography:
Photography in these areas is a technical challenge that we will help you navigate. The nature of these dark rainforests mean tripods, high iso, and slow shutter speeds are the order of the day.

Accommodation:
Comfortable hotels for Manokwari, Waigeo and Sorong. Basic but comfortable guesthouse in the Arfaks (shared facilities, no hot water), possibly one or two nights in permanent tented camp in the upper Arfaks (shared facilities, no showers), and basic guesthouse at Malagufuk (shared facilities, no hot water).

Walking difficulty:
Walks and trails are mostly short, but some sections will be very steep and/or muddy so good balance is essential. One or two longer walks (~3 hours) in the Arfaks and around Malagufuk will be taken at birding pace with lots of stops. It will definitely be more strenuous than our normal Flock Tours though so a decent level of fitness and mobility will be required.

Tour cost includes: 
All accommodation, main meals, drinking water, internal flights (as stated in itinerary), overland transport, tips to local drivers and guides, travel permits, entrance fees, and guide fees.

Tour cost excludes: 
Flights before and after the tour start/end, visa, travel insurance, tips to tour leaders, laundry, drinks and other items of a personal nature

$12500 USD per person*

• Twin Share
  Please note this tour will be slightly less comfortable than our normal tours due simply to the remote location and lack of infrastructure, however the rewards will be unique and amazing!
  (Also note the price is in US dollars.)

keen to come or find out more?

Images below ©Chris Venetz, Ornis Birding Expeditions