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Arfak montane specialtiesOn this Papuan birding break we basically follow in the footsteps of the great Italian naturalists D’Albertis and Beccari, who once collected in the Hatam-country only a few kilometers away from our village base in the Arfak Mountains on the mid-slopes of majestic Mount Indon, towering 2,425 m above the Prafi Valley. Nearly a century and a half elapsed since the intrepid D’Albertis was the first westerner to penetrate any distance into the mountains of New Guinea exactly here in 1872, but birding these magnificent woods, swathed in clouds during parts of most days, remains an irresistible adventure. A privileged opportunity also, to be taken in tow by the Hatam, across their ancestral lands, and marvel at endemic birdlife that few outsiders have ventured to come and see before. Day-by-day itineraryDay 1 Morning arrival at Manokwari’s Rendani Airport on overnight's domestic flight from Jakarta. Following an earlier than usual lunch in town, we shall set out on the three hours’ drive by 4WD-vehicle to our host village at 1,700 m elevation in the Mount Indon area of the Arfak Mountains. Here we shall start our exploration of these fabled mountains by early afternoon with a gentle introduction to the commoner or more conspicuous species of the garden clearings: Fan-tailed Cuckoo, White-eared Bronze-Cuckoo, Whiskered and Yellow-billed Lorikeet, Slender-billed and Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove, White-bibbed Fruit-Dove, Red-collared Myzomela, Rufous-sided Honeyeater, Vogelkop Melidectes, Western Smoky Honeyeater, Mountain and Brown-breasted Gerygone, Sclater’s Whistler, Superb Bird of Paradise, Black and Friendly Fantail, Capped White-eye, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker, and Lemon-breasted Berrypecker. A nocturnal excursion after dinner could produce Sooty Owl, Jungle Hawk-Owl, and Large and Mountain Owlet-Nightjar. Overnight in village residence. Day 2 Following a hearty pre-dawn breakfast, we shall proceed to an area of secondary forest where numerous display courts of the Magnificent Bird of Paradise are to be found. Here we stand an excellent chance of witnessing this beautiful species' full array of display postures at close range from a palm-frond hide. Other birds often in evidence around the courts include Cinnamon Ground-Dove, Spotted Catbird, Rusty Mouse-warbler, Pale-billed Scrubwren, and Green-backed Robin. In adjacent tracts of secondary forest we may see Long-billed and Marbled Honeyeater, Perplexing and Grey-green Scrubwren, Yellow-legged Flyrobin, Blue-grey Robin, Goldenface, Mountain Peltops, Black-shouldered Cicadabird, Black and Black-winged Monarch, Black-fronted White-eye, and Island Leaf-Warbler. After lunch back at our village abode, we shall monitor nearby display courts of the Western Parotia from well-appointed palm-frond hides. The wacko ballet performance of the court-tending male of this species simply has to be witnessed to be believed, and invariably ranks as the highlight of a birding trip to the Arfaks. We shall spend the last hours of light birding around the garden clearings where we may be rewarded with sightings of Pygmy, Fairy and Josephine's Lorikeet, Blue-collared Parrot, Pesquet's Parrot, Metallic Pigeon, Long-tailed Buzzard, Vogelkop Melidectes, Mountain Peltops, Long-tailed Paradigalla, and Blue-faced and Papuan Parrotfinch. Dinner and overnight in village residence. Day 3 We shall take a packed lunch and bird all day along a loop ascending to a high point at c. 2,000 m elevation in search of three potentially highly elusive species of bird of paradise present here: Black and Black-billed Sicklebill and Arfak Astrapia. Most of the track follows gently-sloping ridgetop cloud-forest but we shall also be traversing some more difficult terrain along two streamlets with pockets of dense thickets that hold day-time roosts of both Large and Mountain Owlet-Nightjar. Other goodies we may come across along the loop include Rufous-throated Bronze-Cuckoo, Papuan Lorikeet, Red-breasted Pygmy-Parrot, Brehm’s and Modest Tiger-Parrot, Mountain Swiftlet, Shining Imperial-Pigeon, Papuan Mountain Pigeon, White-striped Forest-Rail, Black-mantled and Meyer's Goshawk, New Guinea Eagle, Papuan Treecreeper, Vogelkop Bowerbird, Orange-crowned Fairywren, Olive Straightbill, Black-throated Honeyeater, Cinnamon-browed Melidectes, Mountain Mouse-warbler, Vogelkop Scrubwren, Lesser Ground-robin, Canary Flyrobin, Garnet, Black-throated, Smoky and Ashy Robin, New Guinea Logrunner, Spotted Jewel-Babbler, Varied Sittella, Mottled, Rufous-naped and Regent Whistler, Black Pitohui, Lesser Melampitta, Great Wood-swallow, Black-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Dimorphic Fantail, Black-breasted Boatbill, and Fan-tailed and Tit Berrypecker. Dinner and overnight in village residence. Day 4 Today we shall bird the first hour of light around the garden clearings and then spend some time again at the parotia display courts, which besides the not-to-be-missed display performances of the parotias themselves, also provide a reasonable chance of seeing otherwise highly retiring species as Wattled Brush-turkey and Bronze Ground-Dove casually walking across the courts in search of parotia faeces containing undigested fruit items. Following lunch, there shall be further opportunities to spend potentially rewarding time with the parotias, or to get up close and personal with the highly entertaining Vogelkop Bowerbird at one of its formidable so-called roofed maypole bowers present in the area. Dinner and overnight in village residence. Day 5 We have an entire day to capitalize on some of the more elusive Arfak specialties already mentioned above, with lunch in between. Dinner and overnight in village residence. Day 6 After a final morning's birding and lunch back at our village abode, we shall drive back to Manokwari in the afternoon for dinner and a longer than usual night's rest. Day 7 We shall enjoy a late breakfast and transfer to Manokwari's Rendani Airport for the mid-morning's flight to Jakarta. Recommended extensions
Related linksRead on about the birdlife of the Arfak Mountains. Read on about our Amazing Arfak birding expedition to the Arfak Mountains. Read on about our other prolonged birding expeditions visiting the Arfak Mountains. Read on about our filming expedition for Vogelkop Bowerbird in the Arfak Mountains with the BBC Natural History Unit. Browse our terms and conditions. Browse our check-list of the birds of Papua. |
Arfak montane specialties Het was echt zwaar
om vogels te vinden.
Meestal hoog in de bomen
met weinig goede belichting.
Denk niet dat er veel plaatsen in de wereld
zijn waar het zo lastig is. Gelukkig
was Iwein een krak van een vogelaar
die zeer scherpe ogen heeft en elk
vogelgeluidje kent. |
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![Recent views consider the Masked Bowerbird Sericulus [aureus] aureus ranging from the Tamrau and Arfak Mountains east to the Wandammen, Weyland, and northern Oranje Mountains, and disjunct into the Torricelli and Prince Alexander Mountains in Papua New Guinea, to be specifically distinct from the Flame Bowerbird Sericulus [aureus] ardens of the lowlands and foothills of the southern watershed of New Guinea.](images/navlftpix28.jpg)