WorldBirders.com

West Papua 2008
14th July to 10th August
Worldbirders participants Steve Webb and Carlton Collier

See our forthcoming trips for details of our 2009 trip to West Papua

We started our adventures on Biak Island which is home to 11 endemics, most of which were seen without to much trouble, but as always there were some tricky ones. We enjoyed many excellent views of Biak Paradise Kingfisher of which we saw up to 8 a day. Two of the commonest pigeons are real stunners: Claret-breasted and Yellow-bibbed Fruit Doves, which were both seen really well. The endemic Black-winged Lory was a colourful and common sight feeding on flowering trees. A Biak Scops Owl was spotlighted shortly after dusk on our first day along with some Large-tailed Nightjars, which were flying up and down along the track. Biak Coucal appeared to be quite common vocally but proved to be a real challenge to see, eventually a couple gave themselves up albeit briefly.

After the incredibly hot Biak we were all looking forward to cooling off in the Snow Mountains. A migrant Australian Hobby flew past us as we boarded our airplane at Jayapura airport. Soon we were searching successfully in some grassland for the endemic Black-breasted Munia and our first BoP of the trip, a female Superb Bird of Paradise. The next morning we drove up to Lake Habbema, seeing Black Sittella on the way. The birding here was excellent with Alpine Pipit, New Guinea Thornbill, Snow Mountain Munia, Snow Mountain Quail and a very close Spotless Crake and dusk. The next day our main target was eventually tracked down – MacGregor’s Bird of Paradise. We had close views as it sat by the roadside – wonderful!! After bagging our target bird and with the pressure off we made our way down to the lower elevations and our campsite with another 2 MacGregor’s seen on the walk down. We had nice views of New Guinea Woodcock at dusk just near to our camp and brief views of an Archibold’s Nightjar. During the next 2 days we saw Papuan Treecreeper, Chestnut Forest Rail, a wonderful daytime Feline Owlet Nightjar, Lesser Ground Robin, Brown Sicklebill, Archibold’s Bowerbird, Splendid Astrapia, Torrent Lark and Lesser Melampitta.

After the cool highlands we were back in the very hot lowlands at Nimbokrang. After our long hike into Muaib Jungle Camp we felt we had earned some good birds, and we were not to be disappointed. In fact some magic moments were going to be our reward. First up was Victoria Crowned Pigeon, which allowed us scope views for 45 minutes, what a bird, certainly a trip highlight. Blue Black Kingfishers seemed to be common and allowed us great scope views. The call of Northern Cassowary could be felt as it rumbled hauntingly through the forest, how could we see this? Many footprints around some fallen fruits seemed our best shot, so a blind was constructed near them and at before dawn the next morning we stumbled our way in the dark to the blind and waited. Amazingly soon a huge Northern Cassowary was standing there in full view and here is lingered for 15 minutes, Wow, can it get better than this? Oh yes! Just before noon I heard a whurr of wings and I had to have a double take before I uttered “ Shovel-billed Kingfisher” and there she sat in the scope in full view for 15 minutes, she even turned around for us to see her back and then jumped around again before flying off, fantasy birding! Pale-billed Sicklebill gave us the run around before giving itself up and allowing us point blank views, other BoP’s we saw were King, Twelve- wired and Lesser along with Magnificent Riflebird and Glossy Mantled Manucode. On our walk out we saw the long toed Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot the delightful Coroneted Fruit Dove and a good flock of Streak-headed Munias.

Our trip to the Arfak’s were dogged by poor weather – low cloud and continuous rain. On the fine days we did well by seeing a perched New Guinea Harpy Eagle, a female Arfak Astrapia and a noisy Black Sicklebill. Each day we were able to see a brilliant Mountain Owlet Nightjar on its favourite perch. Other birds we saw included a regular Long-tailed Paradagalla round the camp, Western Parotia and Vogelkop Bowerbirds both seen from the hides. We each took turns in the other hide to watch the display of the male Magnificent Bird of Paradise, what an incredible bird!!


Waigeo was a real adventure, but an incredible one, which we all enjoyed. The habitat seems unspoilt here with the forest coming down to the sea, a very rare site in Indonesia. As soon as we arrived we could tell this was going to be our birdiest site. A welcoming party of Rajah’s Shelducks were waiting for us as we got out of our boat and Blyth’s Hornbills noisily flew overhead. To get to our first camp we had to cross the river many times, sometimes waist deep and one section it was chest deep and we had to a great chance to swim! Sitting up on a branch we had wonderful views of Waigeo Spotted Cuscus a beautiful endemic mammal. A sure sign this island's fauna is still in pristine condition. Near to our second campsite a display tree of Red Bird of Paradise gave us 1of the 2 endemic BoP’s that we were hoping for. The next day was another one of those magic days, to see a displaying male Wilson’s Bird of Paradise down to a few metres is the pinnacle of your birding career, surely the best looking bird in the world. Just two birders had seen the island’s only true endemic and our chances of seeing this bird outside its breeding season were not good. Our best chance was to take a full days hike to a third camp, which we was never going to have time to do. After watching a Cinnamon Ground Dove something else caught my eye, just a snatch of bare skin in the dense undergrowth, could it be? I quickly set up my camera without not daring to take my eyes of what I hoped would be something really special, with my tripod and camera at the ready, amazingly an adult male Bruijin’s Brush Turkey wandered out into full view, incredible luck!! Just one target bird left, and after walking down several small streambeds we eventually tracked down a perched Western Crowned Pigeon. On the way back we spent a few hours on the idyllic Wai Island were we watched Rufous Fantail, Island Whistler, Olive Honeyeater and the brilliant Beach Kingfisher.

Our visit to Sorong lowlands was a big contrast to the unspoilt Waigeo, lots of people and deforestation, rather depressing. Luckily the birds are still there, Blyth’s Hornbills still seem to be abundant and Red-billed Brush Turkeys called around us. We managed to find the crippling Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher at a new site, a wonderful bird to end the trip on.

1. Northern Cassowary
2. Brown Booby
3. Little Pied Cormorant
4. Great Egret
5. Intermediate Egret
6. Little Egret
7. Striated Heron
8. Rufous Night-Heron
9. Wandering Whistling-Duck
10. Radjah Shelduck
11. Salvadori's Teal
12. Pacific Black Duck
13. Osprey
14. Pacific Baza
15. Long-tailed Honey-Buzzard
16. Brahminy Kite
17. Eastern Marsh-Harrier
18. Chinese Goshawk
19. New Guinea Eagle
20. Gurney's Eagle
21. Australian Hobby
22. Bruijn's Brush-Turkey
23. Red-billed Brush-Turkey heard only
24. Brown-collared Brush-Turkey heard only
25. Dusky Scrubfowl
26. Snow Mountain Quail
27. Chestnut Forest-Rail
28. Buff-banded Rail
29. Spotless Crake
30. Purple Swamphen
31. Eurasian Coot
32. New Guinea Woodcock
33. Whimbrel
34. Common Greenshank
35. Common Sandpiper
36. Gray-tailed Tattler
37. Bridled Tern
38. Whiskered Tern
39. Brown Noddy
40. Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove
41. Great Cuckoo-Dove
42. Stephan's Dove
43. Cinnamon Ground-Dove
44. Pheasant Pigeon
45. Western Crowned-Pigeon
46. Victoria Crowned-Pigeon
47. Wompoo Fruit-Dove
48. Pink-spotted Fruit-Dove
49. Coroneted Fruit-Dove
50. White-breasted Fruit-Dove
51. Yellow-bibbed Fruit-Dove
52. Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove
53. Orange-bellied Fruit-Dove
54. Spice Imperial-Pigeon
55. Purple-tailed Imperial-Pigeon
56. Pinon Imperial-Pigeon
57. Papuan Mountain-Pigeon
58. Palm Cockatoo
59. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
60. Black Lory
61. Brown Lory
62. Black-winged Lory
63. Rainbow Lorikeet
64. Goldie's Lorikeet
65. Black-capped Lory
66. Papuan Lorikeet
67. Plum-faced Lorikeet
68. Yellow-billed Lorikeet
69. Orange-billed Lorikeet
70. Geelvink Pygmy-Parrot
71. Buff-faced Pygmy-Parrot
72. Salvadori's Fig-Parrot
73. Brehm's Tiger-Parrot
74. Red-cheeked Parrot
75. Eclectus Parrot
76. Moluccan King-Parrot
77. Brush Cuckoo
78. Little Bronze-Cuckoo
79. Channel-billed Cuckoo
80. Greater Black Coucal
81. Biak Coucal
82. Biak Scops-Owl
83. Feline Owlet-Nightjar
84. Mountain Owlet-Nightjar
85. Archbold's Nightjar
86. Large-tailed Nightjar
87. Glossy Swiftlet
88. Mountain Swiftlet
89. Uniform Swiftlet
90. Papuan Needletail
91. Variable Kingfisher
92. Rufous-bellied Kookaburra
93. Shovel-billed Kookaburra
94. Blue-black Kingfisher
95. Collared Kingfisher
96. Beach Kingfisher
97. Sacred Kingfisher
98. Hook-billed Kingfisher
99. Yellow-billed Kingfisher
100. Common Paradise-Kingfisher
101. Biak Paradise-Kingfisher
102. Red-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher
103. Blue-tailed Bee-eater
104. Rainbow Bee-eater
105. Dollarbird
106. Blyth's Hornbill
107. Hooded Pitta
108. Red-bellied Pitta
109. Pacific Swallow
110. Alpine Pipit
111. White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike
112. Cicadabird
113. Gray-headed Cuckoo-shrike
114. New Guinea Cuckoo-shrike
115. Black-browed Triller
116. Island Thrush
117. Island Leaf-Warbler
118. Tawny Grassbird
119. Pied Bushchat
120. Northern Fantail
121. Willie-wagtail
122. Friendly Fantail
123. Sooty Thicket-Fantail
124. White-bellied Thicket-Fantail
125. Black Fantail
126. Dimorphic Fantail
127. Rufous Fantail
128. Black Monarch
129. Golden Monarch
130. Rufous-collared Monarch
131. Biak Flycatcher
132. Shining Flycatcher
133. Black-breasted Boatbill
134. Yellow-breasted Boatbill
135. Lesser Ground-Robin
136. Olive Flyrobin
137. Canary Flycatcher
138. Garnet Robin
139. Alpine Robin
140. Black-sided Robin
141. Black-throated Robin
142. White-winged Robin
143. Smoky Robin
144. Green-backed Robin
145. White-eyed Robin
146. Mottled Whistler
147. Rufous-naped Whistler
148. Island Whistler
149. Golden Whistler
150. Sclater's Whistler
151. Lorentz's Whistler
152. Regent Whistler
153. Rufous Shrike-Thrush
154. Rusty Pitohui
155. New Guinea Babbler
156. Blue Jewel-Babbler
157. White-shouldered Fairywren
158. Emperor Fairywren
159. Rusty Mouse-Warbler
160. Mountain Mouse-Warbler
161. Perplexing Scrubwren
162. Large Scrubwren
163. Vogelkop Scrubwren
164. Buff-faced Scrubwren
165. Papuan Scrubwren
166. Papuan Thornbill
167. Mountain Gerygone
168. Fairy Gerygone
169. Biak Gerygone
170. Yellow-bellied Gerygone
171. Large-billed Gerygone
172. Brown-breasted Gerygone
173. Black Sittella
174. Papuan Treecreeper
175. Black Sunbird
176. Olive-backed Sunbird
177. Lemon-breasted Berrypecker
178. Fan-tailed Berrypecker
179. Yellow-bellied Longbill
180. Tit Berrypecker
181. Crested Berrypecker
182. Olive-crowned Flowerpecker
183. Yellow-bellied White-eye
184. Biak White-eye
185. Capped White-eye
186. Red-collared Myzomela
187. Mimic Honeyeater
188. Black-throated Honeyeater
189. Varied Honeyeater
190. Tawny-breasted Honeyeater
191. Orange-cheeked Honeyeater
192. Meyer's Friarbird
193. Helmeted Friarbird
194. Rufous-sided Honeyeater
195. Black-backed Honeyeater
196. Sooty Melidectes
197. Short-bearded Melidectes
198. Cinnamon-browed Melidectes
199. Vogelkop Melidectes
200. Belford's Melidectes
201. Ornate Melidectes
202. Arfak Honeyeater
203. Brown Oriole
204. Spangled Drongo
205. Torrent-Lark
206. Great Woodswallow
207. Hooded Butcherbird
208. Black Butcherbird
209. Macgregor's Bird-of-Paradise
210. Glossy-mantled Manucode
211. Crinkle-collared Manucode
212. Long-tailed Paradigalla
213. Arfak Astrapia
214. Splendid Astrapia
215. Western Parotia
216. King-of-Saxony Bird-of-paradise
217. Magnificent Riflebird
218. Superb Bird-of-Paradise
219. Black Sicklebill
220. Brown Sicklebill
221. Pale-billed Sicklebill
222. Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise
223. Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise
224. King Bird-of-Paradise
225. Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise
226. Lesser Bird-of-Paradise
227. Red Bird-of-Paradise
228. Lesser Melampitta
229. White-eared Catbird
230. Archbold's Bowerbird
231. Vogelkop Bowerbird
232. Brown-headed Crow
233. Gray Crow
234. Torresian Crow
235. Metallic Starling
236. Long-tailed Starling
237. Moluccan Starling
238. Yellow-faced Myna
239. Blue-faced Parrotfinch
240. Streak-headed Munia
241. Black-breasted Munia
242. Snow Mountain Munia