Wildlife Tour in Waigeo of Raja Ampat

Waigeo is the largest island in Raja Ampat, located in the western part of Papua, Indonesia. This island is known for its rich biodiversity, both on land and in the sea. Wildlife watching tours on Waigeo offer visitors the chance to see unique and rare species in their natural habitats.

Tropical birds and marine life are natural attractions of Raja Ampat for tourism

One of the main highlights of a wildlife tour in Waigeo is birdwatching. The island is home to two spectacular species of birds-of-paradise: the Red Bird-of-Paradise and Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise. These birds are best seen early in the morning from forest hides, where they perform their courtship displays. Other bird species that can be seen include the Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Coconut Lorikeet, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Hooded Butcherbird, Blyth’s Hornbill, Papuan Pitta, and Red-cheeked Parrot.

Tiger Orchid Flower in Waigeo island

Besides birds, Waigeo also offers the chance to observe terrestrial and nocturnal wildlife. At dusk, visitors may spot the Waigeo spotted cuscus and sugar gliders around forest edges or eco-resorts. Night walks can reveal tree frogs, monitor lizards, snakes, coconut crabs, and even rare bats like the flying fox. During the day, it is common to see birds such as the Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, White-breasted Woodswallow, and Osprey around the coastal areas.

Wildlife watching in Waigeo also includes exploring the underwater world. The coral reefs around southern Waigeo are full of life. While snorkeling, visitors can see colorful fish like parrotfish, butterflyfish, groupers, and damselfish. There is also a chance to spot reef sharks, including black-tip and white-tip sharks. Nearby islands like Kri, Friwen, Mioskon, and Mansuar are often included in snorkeling and wildlife tours.

Wobbegong

Coconut Crab

A typical wildlife tour in Waigeo lasts three to five days. On the first day, travelers usually arrive from Sorong by ferry and stay in a beachside homestay. A short walk along the coast in the afternoon can already provide sightings of parrots and other tropical birds. On the second day, a pre-dawn trek into the forest gives visitors the chance to watch the birds-of-paradise. After breakfast, a guided jungle tour may reveal reptiles and amphibians. The third day may include a boat trip to a small town tropical island in Kabui bay to watch Osprey, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Great-billed Parrot, and other wildlife, followed by island hopping and snorkeling in the afternoon. On the last day, guests often enjoy a final snorkeling session and a morning birdwatching walk before returning to Waisai for departure.

To enjoy this experience, it is important to bring good binoculars, a camera with a zoom lens, and a flashlight for night walks. A snorkel and mask are useful for exploring the reefs. Visitors are encouraged to use local guides who are experienced in wildlife tracking and who work closely with local communities. The best time to see birds is in the early morning or late afternoon, when they are most active.

Tours on Waigeo support local villages and conservation efforts. Responsible tourism contributes to these efforts and helps preserve the island’s natural beauty.

Waigeo is a unique place where travelers can experience the rainforest, the mangroves, and the coral reefs all in one trip. It is a destination for those who love nature, adventure, and cultural discovery. Whether you are watching the birds-of-paradise dance at dawn or snorkeling with reef fish in crystal-clear waters, a wildlife tour in Waigeo of Raja Ampat promises unforgettable memories.

If you are interested in visiting Waigeo island for wildlife watching and want me to organize your tour, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Birds of Paradise Raja Ampat

Paradise birds such as Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra) and Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes respublica) can be watched in Waigeo, Gam and Batanta islands. Glossy Manucode (Manucodia ater), another species of bird of paradise whose feather is plain black, lives in the whole territory of Raja Ampat. They are not considered as important target by birdwatchers. Visitors usually choose Waigeo because they can easily go by fast passenger ferry that go back and forth between Sorong city and Waisai town twice a day. 

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra) is watched in the coastal area. I often see the male and female birds at Warduwer beach where they eat fruits especially in the mornings and late afternoons (before sunset). For Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes respublica), it lives deeper in the rainforest. We must wake up early in the morning, usually at 04.00, and do long trip into the forest to reach its dancing site or display ground.

Red Bird of Paradise

Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes respublica)

Several places have become an important birdwatching destinations in Raja Ampat. Saporkren is the famous one. For me, personally, I organize my tours to rainforest close to Kabui bay. I combine this rainforest birding trip to this site with snorkeling and sightseeing tours by boat. There is no road that we can use to reach the birding ground. So, we use motorized boats. I also organize birding trips to eastern and north-eastern regions of Waigeo. Usually, the birdwatching trips to this places are combined with village tour, riverwalk tour, swimming, and turtle watching activities. Tourists like them because they could  meet local people, watch birds and enjoy the beautiful nature of Raja Ampat.

Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

For other species such as Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor); Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucidis melanoleucus); and King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius), they can be found in Salawati and Misool islands. However, because these birds can be found in mainland West Papua, most tourists watch them in the mainland. 

Birdwatching in Mainland West Papua
From Sorong city, tourists can take a 4WD car to Klasow valley and enjoy birdwatching in the villages of Klatomok, and Malagufuk. Klatomok is more suitable for elderly people or those who cannot walk for hours in the jungle because it is a roadside village. Because birding activity is carried out in rainforest, I cannot fully guarantee that visitors will be able to see all the target birds that I mention above. There are other birds that live in Klasow valley including Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Northern Cassowary, Lowland Peltop, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Blyth's Hornbill, and a lot more.
Another alternative is Tambrauw regency which is located further to the east. It takes around 5 hours to reach Fef which is the capital of the regency. I highly recommend that tourists go birding accompanied by birding guides who really know the areas. Ayapokiar village located deeper in Tambrauw mountains is the destination for avid birders.

Tambrauw is a great destination for birdwatching. Visitors should travel in a group of three to four people to share the cost of transportation.  Another alternative of traveling to Ayapokiar is by plane from Manokwari city to Kebar, tourists need to continue overland to District Senopi and then by 4wd car from Senopi to Ayapokiar. Susi Air operates Cessna Caravan 208 between Manokwari and Kebar several times a week. Tickets can be bought at the airport. There is a good guesthouse in Ayapokiar so visitors could stay in the village for several days and do day tours to the forest. The road in this remote mountainous region is empty. It is a very nice birdwatching site.

Also read:

Raja Ampat Snorkeling
Birdwatching Trip to Raja Ampat
Birding and Snorkeling Tours in Raja Ampat islands
Bird Tour in Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat Birds
Raja Ampat Birding
Snorkeling and Watching Birds of Paradise in Raja Ampat

Birds of Paradise in Tropical Island of New Guinea

Birds of paradise are the icon of New Guinea - the largest tropical island in the world. They live in the rainforests but now their natural habitats are being destroyed by massive deforestation. The rise of fuel prices has triggered the search for alternative fuel oil other than petroleum. When processed palm oil is believed to be the alternative fuel for diesel engine that drive cars and trucks, massive monoculture sawit palm plantations are now being opened in West Papua and Papua New Guinea. With the approval of local governments, hundreds of thousands of hectares rainforest are now being cut for the development of the sawit plantations. Tropical rainforests that are rich in bio-diversity are now shrinking every minute.

Birds of paradise have also been hunted since hundreds of years ago. They are traded life and dead to collectors who are happy to hang them on the walls of their houses or to put them in glass boxes.
Birdwatching is an alternative income generation scheme that I try to introduce to local people in Manokwari regency at the moment. Birdwathers from Europe, the United States have come to see the birds of paradise in their natural habitat. There are three locations in this regency where tourists can go to watch birds of paradise.

They are Camp Mawowi, Camp Dopi and Aiwatar hill. The nearest on to the town is Camp Dopi. Birdwatchers who want to see the birds of paradise in Camp Dopi need to hiking through the jungle for three hours to reach the birding site. I deliberately do not put the GPS coordinates of the site in website to prevent hunters from visiting the jungle and shooting the birds.

Paradise bird Cincinnurus magnificus

The bird that you see in the photograph below in English is called the Magnificent Bird of Paradise. Its Latin name is Cincinnurus magnificus. This is one of the species of BOP that you can watch in Vogelkop region of West Papua including Arfak mountains and Tambrauw Mountains. Besides this species, birders can also see western parotia, black sickle bill and most importantly the bower bird. This photograph was made by Gerard Berkhof in the morning of 5 December 2010. Mr. Berkhof was with 8 other tourists at that time. Pandanus Conoideus is in fruiting season between November and January. 

Red fruits are abundant in the tropical rainforest of the Arfak mountains. Magnificent birds of paradise like to eat red fruit whose seeds look like rice grains. To attract this bird, Hans Mandacan - my friend who owns a tourist house in the village put the fruit in front of the bird watching hut (also called blind) just around 5 meters from the watching window.

To watch the paradise bird, all tourists had to be inside the hut before sunrise. So, I asked them to wake up early in the morning. They woke up at 5 a.m. and left the guesthouse at 5.30 after drinking some coffee or tea. Because the number of tourists who did the bird watching that morning was six, and the hut could only accommodate 4 people, I decided to devide them into two groups and placed them in two bird watching huts located at different places. When all of the tourists had been in the huts, I; Hans Mandacan and Hami Mandacan left them. We came back to pick them up again at around 9.30 a.m. One group was able to take a lot of pictures of the magnificent birds of paradise and spotted cat birds whereas the other was not. Hami explained to me that members of the other group were talking staying in the hut. This was the cause why the birds did not come. They were afraid of the noisy sounds from men's voice.

Birds of paradise and all other birds species in the tropical rainforest of New Guinea island are facing extinction due to continues hunting, deforestation. The size of the rainforest is shrinking rapidly day by day.

The bird watching tour package that I offer to tourists is an alternative income generation that I introduce in Papua to help the indigenous people earn money from the natural resources that they have without destroying the environment. Other bird watching sites that I recommend to tourists are Senopi village, Syioubri village, Numfor island, and the Table Mountain.

In addition to hiking and watching the paradise bird, other ecotourism activities that tourists can do in Arfak mountains are watching butterfly, and learning herbal medicine. by Charles Roring

Also read:
Birding Tour in Manokwari Highland and Lowland
Paradise bird from vogelkop region

Paradise bird

Birds of paradise in the rainforest of West Papua are being threatened from their habitat due to hunting, logging and conversion of the forest into monoculture plantation. From 41 known species of Birds of Paradise known to science, there are 37 of them that inhabit New Guinea island. The most famous species among the indigenous Papuan people in the bird's head or vogelkop region is the Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). The indigenous people use its feather during traditional ceremonies and dances.

The lesser birds of paradise usually come out of their nests to perform courtship dance early in the mornings and in the afternoons before the sunsets. Several male birds gather in a tree whose branches have been cleared from small twigs to enable them compete from one to another in performing the best courtship dance. The surrounding dusk area of the forest that is not too bright meets the bright colors from the birds of paradise. This creates a contrast impression to those who were watching the birds. 
The above photograph shows how a male Lesser Birds of Paradise attracts the female birds (that were sitting above him) for mating. Klasow valley of Sorong regency is one of the most favorite site among birdwatchers who want to go hiking in the jungle and watching wild animals.

Paradise birds, besides being the best natural dancers in the avian world, are also effective seed dispersers. A lot of plants in the tropical rainforest of New Guinea rely on these birds to spread their seeds to far away places. Without the role of the paradise bird, the forest of Papua would not be able to expand effectively. So, the hunting of these birds should be stopped to ensure that paradise birds will survive and continue to carry out their duties in the next century.

Also read: 

• Paradise bird from vogelkop region of New Guinea island
• Facing extinction, paradise birds and Crown Pigeon

Paradise bird from Vogelkop region of New Guinea

Birds of paradise are important species in New Guinea island particularly in the Vogelkop region. As seed disperser a paradise bird can travel several kilometers away with some seeds of a plant in its bill or beak, and stomach and drop them off at a place where the plant has not grown before. In other words, birds of paradise and other species of birds help preserve and expand the forest. Without the existence of paradise birds and other birds in the jungle of New Guinea island, the expansion of the tropical rainforest would be limited.

Personally, during my tour in Sorong regency and Tambrauw mountains, I saw and heard several species of birds of paradise. The first one was the magnificent birds of paradise (Cicinnurus magnificus). They can be watched in high elevation forest of Tambrauw mountains. The second species was the Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). I saw them while doing a birdwatching tour in Klasow valley of Sorong and at the bank of Syuan river of Tambrauw.

When the first time I saw these magnificent birds of paradise, I was totally amazed by the behavior of the male birds. They had to perform courtship dance in order to attract the female birds. I believe that everybody who has seen these birds would recommend that this species be protected.
I am sad to see that paradise birds are facing extinction due to high hunting rate. They are being caught alive or dead. Hunters will sell them to buyers in big cities in very high prices. This very profitable business threatens all species of paradise birds and other tropical birds in Papua's tropical rainforest.
Alternative income creation for the villagers that we can generate in New Guinea includes the introduction of intensive but small scale vegetable and poultry farming, the controllable exploitation of non-wood products from the forest such as rottan for furniture, and herbs that can be processed into medicine and the promotion of ecotourism. The conversation of large area of tropical rainforest into monoculture plantations is not a wise solution. The negative environmental impact of such plantations is higher than the positive benefits which the villagers might get.
I hope that with these alternative small businesses more people will be able to improve their economic livelihood without having to destroy their surrounding nature.
Please, contact me by e-mail: peace4wp@gmail.com if you plan to visit Sorong town of West Papua for trekking, camping, and watching wild animals in the jungle.

Birds of Paradise in the Rainforest of Papua

When I watched the birds of paradise performed courtship dance on the branches of a tree in a forest in District Senopi, I was speechless. I was amazed by the beauty of those birds. I also heard the sounds of cockatoo and hornbill around the area but for me what attracted me the most were the birds of paradise. They were dancing that afternoon to attract the female birds. Bird watching and deer watching are two ecotourism activities that nature lovers or tourists like to do in the tropical rainforest of District Senopi in the Tambrauw Mountains of West Papua province, Indonesia. It is not easy to reach Senopi because the distance that the car has to cover is nearly 200 kilometers with extreme road condition. But this long trip cannot stop people like me to go there. 

The tropical rainforest of Papua island has been experiencing deforestation for years. During 1970s to 1990s massive logging operations were conducted to harvest the precious timber in this greatest tropical island and to make way for housings for migrants under the national transmigration program. Tens of thousands of hectares rainforest in the flat regions near the equator along the northern coast of this island have also been cleared to make way for massive monoculture palm oil plantation.

If the deforestation of Papua rainforest is not stopped, sooner or later, the birds of paradise, rainbow lory, cockatoo, and the whole forest ecosystem will be eliminated from their native land and can never be recovered. If we really love nature, we have to behave as true nature lovers. We don't easily buy products that are produced from the palm oil plantations that have destroyed the rainforest in Papua. by Charles Roring

Also read: 

Facing Extinction - birds of paradise and crown pigeon

Palm Cockatoo in Senopi Forest

FRANKY YENNO AND HIS PEACE DANCING ARTWORK

The sun was about to set in the West when I and Lucky Kaikatui, a Papuan artist, arrived in Franky Yenno’s house. It is located in Sanggeng area, Manokwari, the capital city of the Province of West Irian Jaya. The appearance of his house haven’t changed. It has a small room at the front. He displays all his artwork here. This time he could not recognize me anymore. Two years ago I came to his house as a tourist. But this time I visited him as Lucky’s friend. Lucky introduced me to him and I began to take pictures and chat with him. The batteries of my digital camera were nearly exhausted.

"Peace Dancing" carved by West Papuan artist, Franky Yenno

Yes, I used to visit him two years ago. At that time I bought a wooden plate with Paradise Bird relief carved on it and a sheet of batik cloth which he made. I was surprised to know that he could make batik. I knew it was a special skill owned a small number of Javanese women in Jogja or Pekalongan city of Java island. I found the answer two years later.
For me Franky is a prolific carver. Most of his works tell us about the daily life of the Papuan people, their houses, god (Karwar –symbolized by paradise bird relief), and their rituals (please see oil painting of birds of paradise). He put carvings on the floor and paintings on the wall. Similar to Aborigin artists, West Papuan artists do not use canvas but bark. The rough surface of tree bark is an ideal media to put paintings on it.

Wooden Statues and tablets carved by Franky Yenno, a prolific artist from West Papua

One piece of artwork that attracts me much was the wooden relief carved in a large wooden panel. After admiring it for a moment, I began to ask him some questions.
“What do you call this artwork?” I asked.
“It is peace dancing.” He answered while folding his hands on his bare and hairy chest.
“Could you tell me the background story of that dancing?”
“Sure, as you know, West Papuan are coming from hundreds of tribes. Sometimes they live peacefully but often they fight against one another. These clashes have to be settled through Hukum Adat (customary law). When they had reached peace agreement, they would celebrate it in a number of rituals. One of them is Barapen (meaning Bakar Batu – burning stone) ceremony and Peace Dancing. Here hand in hand they danced around and around like a snake. So the tribes who were at war could dance together hand in hand as brothers and sisters.
“Conflicts among Papuan tribes still occur until today besides conflicts with the central government-Indonesia,” I interrupted.
“We really need peace. Therefore I created this artwork to remind our people that we need peace to develop our land and to live side by side with other Indonesians equally.”
“Wow, it’s fantastic,” I said. “How long does it take to finish this carving?”
“It takes around one and a half month.”
“What is it made of?”
“It is made of Lingua” Franky added.
“Do you have any other activity besides carving?”
“I like to grow orchid. It helps me to earn a living when I cannot sell my artwork. You know, I need money to support my family.”
“I bought a Papuan batik painting from you two years ago. How did you learn to make Batik?” I asked again.
“Well, similar to Lucky, I went to Jakarta, Jogja and Bali. There I learned art. Trying to get as much knowledge as possible from experienced artists there, including how to make batik.”
I have visited many of West Papuan artists. Many of them face a common problem. They cannot sell their artwork easily. They are isolated from the outer world. The local government have not been able to create special website to promote these briliant artists to the world.
I remember Alfred Russel Wallace’s comments, a famous British naturalist – a close friend of Charles Darwin. Together they built the theory of evolution. In his book entitled The Malay Archipelago, he said that West Papuan were briliant artists. It was unfortunate for them to remain isolated from the outer world in today's intenet era. by Charles Roring

Facing Extinction, Paradise Birds and Crown Pigeon of West Papua

In Papua (Irian Jaya), there are many kinds of birds that are facing extinction. Some of them are paradise birds and crown pigeon. These birds have beautiful feather. Paradise birds (paradisaea minor) are dominated by yellow, green and dark brown while crown pigeon mostly has blue, gray and white colors.

a male Lesser Birds of Paradise

Another species of birds of paradise is the magnificent birds of paradise. In Kwau village of Arfak mountains, tourists from all corner of the world come to watch the male birds perform courtship dance on the slopes of the mountains in the morning and in the afternoon. The promotion of Arfak mountains as tourist destination for bird lovers greatly improve the economic condition of the indigenous people there and helps reduce the deforestation. The magnificent birds of paradise is also called Cincinnurus Magnificus in Latin language. The male birds have more beautiful feather than the female ones. 

Birds of paradise, together with other birds, are important for the survivability of the tropical rainforest. They disperse the seeds of the fruits that they eat. For the magnificent birds of paradise, the species of plant that they help to expand is red fruit plant also known as pandanus conoideus. Now the extract of red fruit is seen as an important medicine for the treatment of cancer, hiv/aids and many other diseases. 

People call the bird crown pigeon because this kind of bird has crown-like head. In West Papua, its name is Mambruk. When you go to the zoo you may probably see these birds. They are originally from the Papuan island.

Hunters and traders of birds of paradise like to shoot them and preserve their skin. Then they will bring these skins to big cities and sell them at high prices. Sometimes, they bring and sell the birds alive to wealthy buyers in big cities.

No wonder, these birds are facing extinction. If we don't do anything to prevent more killings to these species, we will never be able to see them anymore in the near future. 
If you are interested in watching the magnificent birds of paradise dancing in the morning on the slopes of Arfak mountains, please, contact me - Charles Roring - via e-mail: charlesroring@gmail.com. I'll be happy to arrange your accommodation in Manokwari city and your transport to the Kwau village for that purpose.

Also read: 

• Magnificent bird of paradise
• Papuan Birds of Paradise
• Birds of paradise in the rainforest of West Papua
• Oil painting of birds of paradise
• Painting of birds of paradise