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Extension : Northern lowlands forest birds

This extension carries us to pristine alluvial lowland forests just west of the precipitous Cyclops Mountains, home to a rich and colorful lowland forest avifauna that includes Northern Cassowary, two megapodes, dazzling forest kingfishers as Shovel-billed Kookaburra and Blue-black Kingfisher, a profusion of parrots including Brown Lory, Buff-faced Pygmy-Parrot, Salvadori’s Fig-Parrot, Pesquet’s Parrot and Papuan King-Parrot, the world’s largest pigeon, New Guinea Flightless Rail, and a whopping eight species of bird of paradise: Glossy-mantled and Jobi Manucode, Pale-billed Sicklebill, Magnificent Riflebird, and Magnificent, King, Twelve-wired and Lesser Bird of Paradise. New Guinea lowland forest birding at its best!

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1 [Sunday] Having touched ground at Jayapura’s Sentani Airport on the early morning’s domestic flight from Wamena, 4WD-vehicles will drive us to our drop-off point west of the Cyclops Mountains. After lunch here, we will require most of the afternoon to slowly bird toward our secluded Muaib jungle camp at 25 m elevation in pristine alluvial primary forest. All along the walk, wacko Blyth’s Hornbills, majestic Palm and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, and noisy Brown, Dusky and Black-capped Lories and Rainbow Lorikeets fly overhead as we familiarize ourselves with some of the common or more conspicuous forest interior birds: Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Common Paradise-Kingfisher, Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Slender-billed and Great Cuckoo-Dove, Stephan’s Dove, Wompoo, Superb, Coroneted, Beautiful and Orange-bellied Fruit-Dove, Purple-tailed, Pinon and Banded Imperial-Pigeon, Mimic and Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, New Guinea Friarbird, Fairy and Yellow-bellied Gerygone, Rufous Babbler, Little Shrike-thrush, Variable and Rusty Pitohui, Grey Crow, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Hooded and Black Butcherbird, Brown Oriole, Northern Fantail, Spangled Drongo, Spot-winged, Golden and Rufous-collared Monarch, Yellow-faced Myna, Red-capped Flowerpecker, Black Berrypecker, and Green-crowned, Plumed and Pygmy Longbill. After dinner at camp, a nocturnal foray in the vicinity may produce Barred Owlet-Nightjar, Marbled Frogmouth, and the little-known Papuan Nightjar.

Day 2 [Monday] We may start out early with a short spotlighting session, and will enjoy breakfast as the dawn chorus develops. We shall probably end up spending most of this morning in the vicinity of camp at known display sites of consecutively the Twelve-wired, Lesser and King Bird of Paradise, soliciting sightings of the more mobile Pale-billed Sicklebill in between. Moreover, while sitting quietly in the forest, admiring the full array of display postures of these most magnificent of feathered life forms, we also stand an excellent chance of seeing other hot stuff like Northern Cassowary, Brown-collared Talegalla, New Guinea Megapode, Cinnamon Ground-Dove, Thick-billed Ground-Pigeon, or Victoria Crowned-Pigeon casually walking by. After lunch, we will bird all afternoon in the vicinity of camp in search of more goodies like Azure, Variable, Blue-black and Hook-billed Kingfisher, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Greater Black Coucal, Buff-faced Pygmy-Parrot, Double-eyed and Salvadori’s Fig-Parrot, New Guinea Bronzewing, Pink-spotted and Orange-fronted Fruit-Dove, Collared Imperial-Pigeon, Long-tailed Buzzard, Hooded and Red-bellied Pitta, White-eared Catbird, Yellow-gaped, Plain and Streak-headed Honeyeater, Meyer’s Friarbird, Rusty Mouse-warbler, Large-billed Gerygone, Black-sided Robin, Blue Jewel-Babbler, Brown-headed Crow, Jobi Manucode, Lowland Peltops, Boyer’s, New Guinea and Golden Cuckoo-shrike, Sooty and White-bellied Thicket-Fantail, Rufous-backed Fantail, Hooded Monarch, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, and Golden Myna. Moreover, as we roam more widely in these dark forests it will not take long before we feast our eyes on a party of Victoria Crowned-Pigeons, or surprise a pair of Brown-collared Talegalla feeding on the forest floor. In the evening, we could return to the Lesser Bird of Paradise display tree for another observation session, or we could bird along one of the broader rivers which could produce Papuan Swiftlet among abundant Glossy and Uniform Swiftlets, as well as Papuan Spinetail and Moustached Treeswift together with at times spectacular evening flights of the various parrot species. Dinner and optional nocturnal excursion.

Day 3 [Tuesday] After an optional nocturnal foray and our usual pre-dawn breakfast, we could visit the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise display site again early morning, switching later on to a display court of Magnificent Bird of Paradise in slightly more undulating terrain, where we shall also be looking for the Magnificent Riflebird. Other goodies that occur here, and for which we’ll continue the search after lunch, include the rare Shovel-billed Kookaburra, awesome Pesquet’s Parrot, Papuan King-Parrot, and New Guinea Eagle. A spotlighting session after dinner is a possibility as ever.

Day 4 [Wednesday] Following an optional nocturnal stroll, and breakfast we have an entire day to look for some of the more elusive species already mentioned above. We could monitor known nest mounds of the Brown-collared Talegalla from the comfort of a hide if this at times infuriatingly wary species eluded us thus far, spend time near fruit-dropping trees to seek prolonged views of Northern Cassowary, work stretches of small forest streams for the rare Forest Bittern, or just sit quietly at the edge of sago-swamp in the dire hope of getting to grips with the much sought-after New Guinea Flightless Rail. And of course we can always spice up this day with extra observation sessions at display sites of the various birds of paradise too.

Day 5 [Thursday] We could start early with a short nocturnal foray prior to our pre-dawn breakfast, and after a short birding walk near camp will slowly bird back to our pick-up point where vehicles stand by to transport us to our Sentani hotel. There will be ample time to refresh and lunch before boarding the afternoon’s flight to the Indonesian gateway of your choice.

Extension : Northern lowlands forest birds

Day-by-day itinerary

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