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Spotless Crake Porzana tabuensis is the commonest species of rail in the mid-montane wet grasslands of the Anggi Giji basin in the Arfak Mountains near Manokwari.

Extension : Anggi grassland specialists

The twin mountain lakes of Anggi Giji and Anggi Gita, situated at 1,860 m elevation in the Sougb-country of the southern Arfak Mountains, were first visited by a western naturalist in 1904, but it was a young Ernst Mayr who in 1928, at the beginning of an extremely productive career in ornithology and evolutionary biology, discovered the area’s paramount ornithological attraction on the eastern shores of Anggi Giji: an entirely new species of munia, which E. Hartert named Lonchura vana, and which is now more commonly known as the Grey-banded Munia.

Whereas this restricted-range species subsequently has been found in the secluded upper Kebar Valley of the Tamrau Mountains, the Anggi Giji basin remains the easiest accessible location to come to grips with this munia and other wet grassland specialists like Lewin’s Rail Lewinia pectoralis and Spotless Crake Porzana tabuensis, moreover in a visually stunning setting. And stands of swampy Pandanus-dominated forest at the base of the surrounding slopes support the highly sought-after Shovel-billed Kookaburra Clytoceyx rex, with a good selection of the montane Arfak avifauna waiting to be explored uphill. In terms of total species diversity this is, however, the least complementary, most specialized of the three extensions.

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1 After a pre-dawn breakfast in our Manokwari hotel, we shall transfer to Rendani Airport at first light in order to catch a pioneering flight into the Anggi Giji Basin. The short 45 minutes' hop shall take us above the spectacular Prafi Valley, past Mount Indon, into the Anggi Giji Basin at Irai. From here we shall bird all morning following the seasonally fluctuating lake edge to the settlement of Hunku. Pacific Black Duck, Common Coot, Little Grebe, Little Pied and Little Black Cormorant, Great and Intermediate Egret, and Rufous Night-Heron abound and it shall not take long before we spot our first flock of Grey-banded Munias, which in season can congregate in flocks of more than 150 individuals. But observing the two secretive rails may require considerable effort and is influenced also by water levels in the basin. After lunch we shall bird all afternoon in the lakeside grasslands where we may accidentally flush Lewin’s Rail. Towards eve we shall take up position at locally exposed muddy stretches at the interface between grassland and reedbeds bordering the lake's edge. Here both Spotless Crake and Lewin’s Rail ordinarily come out to feed at dusk and we may hear both species vocalizing in season. Other birds we may see here include Black and Yellow Bittern, Clamorous Reed-Warbler, and Tawny Grassbird. Dinner and overnight at Hunku.

Day 2 We shall spend the first hour of light at muddy stretches and reedbeds along an affluent of Anggi Giji, then walk through grasslands toward a camp at the edge of the basin, where forest extends onto the surrounding hill slopes. After lunch here, we shall first bird the grasslands in this area where we stand another chance of seeing Lewin’s Rail, and later shift to the forest in the hope of finding Shovel-billed Kookaburra, perhaps as it starts calling toward dusk. Other noteworthy forest birds that we may encounter here include New Guinea Woodcock, New Guinea Eagle, Vogelkop Bowerbird, Rufous-sided and Western Smoky Honeyeater, Vogelkop Scrubwren, and Black Sicklebill, while a nocturnal foray after dinner could produce Jungle Hawk-Owl, Large and Mountain Owlet-Nightjar, and Large-tailed Nightjar. Overnight at camp.

Day 3 We shall seek Shovel-billed Kookaburra at first light and spend the rest of the morning in the forest and grassland here. After lunch we shall walk back to Hunku where we shall bird along the lake’s edge until dusk, providing us with yet another opportunity to observe the rails. Dinner and overnight at Hunku.

Day 4 We shall make our way back to the airstrip at Irai while birding along the lake’s edge, and take a pioneering flight back to Manokwari. Lunch, dinner and overnight in Manokwari hotel.

Extension : Anggi grassland specialists

Day-by-day itinerary

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