We now had lost a day & Sicklebill Safaris had to rearrange our schedule (which they did in a timely & excellent fashion). So we flew to Tari & stayed three nights at a local landowner lodge on 3rd August at Makira. This proved to be an excellent spot, with a good local guide & some great birds on offer.
Fan tailed Berrypecker
Common Smoky Honeyeater
Oriental Hobby
Mountain Kingfisher
This can be a very difficult
species to see.
Papuan Eagle
Youngster on the left, adult on the right.
Brilliant!
Stephanie's Astrapia
Female
Ribbon tailed Astrapia
An atmospheric shot
of two males.
Star bird!
Their tails get longer than this!
Superb Bird of Paradise
Papuan Grassbird
Brown Sicklebill
A very distant male Black Sicklebill
King of Saxony Bird of Paradise
One of the highlights of the trip.
Belford's Melidectes
Common Smokey Honeyeater
White winged Robin
Friendly Fantail
Mountain (White bibbed) Fruit Dove
Modest Tiger Parrot
Short tailed Paradigalla
Wattled Ploughbill
Female Crested Satinbird
Blue capped Ifrit
Crested Tit Berrypecker
Female Tit Berrypecker
Hooded Mannikin
Our transport!
Oscar, Aiden, Andrew & Graham
The lodge itself was OK. Not luxurious, but served
its purpose & it is in a great location.
This was our transport for
the next few days.
Benson , our bird guide
is on the left.
Looking down the valley at dawn.
species to see.
The famous Tari Gap.
At these higher elevations clouds/rain
can roll in at any time.
Grasslands are found on the top & as one descends
you get a succession of differing forest habitats.
Birding close to the top of the Tari Gap.
We always attracted polite interest
wherever we went.
Some of the friendly locals!
of two males.
This list was based over three days basically covering the same area from the lodge up to the top of the Tari Gap & one morning we went further down the valley. The birding was generally excellent & we could have done with an extra day here. Benson also proved to be an excellent bird guide & despite some heavy down pours we saw some fantastic species:
2 Papuan Eagle; Mountain Fruit Dove; Papuan Mountain Pigeon; Mountain Kingfisher; Oriental Hobby; Brehm's Tiger Parrot; Modest Tiger Parrot; Plum faced Lorikeet; Papuan (Stella's) Lorikeet; Yellow billed Lorikeet; White shouldered Fairy Wren; Red collared Myzomela; Common Smoky Honeyeater; Black throated Honeyeater; Yellow browed Melidectes; Belford's Melidectes; Fan tailed Berrypecker; Tit Berrypecker; Black breasted Boatbill; Black Butcherbird; Black bellied Cuckooshrike; Wattled Ploughbill; Rufous naped Whistler; Brown backed Whistler; Regent Whistler; Black headed Whistler; Black Fantail; Friendly Fantail; Dimorphic Fantail; Black Monarch; Lesser Melampitta; Blue capped Ifrit; Short tailed Paradigalla; Ribbon tailed Astrapia; Stephanie's Astrapia; Lawes Parotia; King of Saxony Bird of Paradise; Superb Bird of Paradise; Black Sicklebill; Brown Sicklebill; Blue Bird of Paradise; Black throated Robin; White winged Robin; Slaty Robin; Canary Flyrobin; Papuan Grassbird; Papuan Whiteye & Hooded Mannikin.
The chain of lodges in PNG.
Great Woodswallow
Torrent Lark
It took a long time to find these!
Modest Tiger Parrot
High flying Blue collared Parrots.
Brown Sicklebill
Female Superb Bird of Paradise
Stephanie's Astrapia
Friendly Fantail
Ambua Lodge
A great place to stay.
Nice rooms with a view!
Dining room.
Waterfall Trail
This is a tricky trail with a few
rope bridges over the river.
Dawn from the lodge.
Our plane to Kumul.
Graham taking photos
It was a spectacular flight.
Getting the luggage from the plane.
Many people are very poor in the highlands.
Outside Kumul Lodge
The lodge it set among some great montane forest.
One of the rooms in the lodge.
Dawn in the forest
Lots of friendly locals!
Look at the funny man!
Ribbon tailed Astrapia
Brehm's Tiger Parrot
Juvenile Island Thrush
Belford's Melidectes
Common Smoky Honeyyeater
White winged Robin
Regent Whistler
Rufous naped Whistler
An interesting little critta!
I am not sure what this is!
Birding one of the trails around the lodge.
Forbes's Forest Rail
Mountain Mouse Warbler
Common on the trails around the lodge.
Long tailed Shrike
White bellied Cuckooshrike
Lesser Bird of Paradise
Superb Bird of Paradise
We only had one night at Ambua, due to the high cost of staying there. But it proved a good base for experiencing the surrounding forest (including the infamous Waterfall Trail) & the gardens themselves were good for Birds of Paradise on the fruiting trees.
Best birds:
Amboyna Cuckoo Dove; Mountain Fruit Dove; Brush Cuckoo; Blue collared Parrot; Modest tiger Parrot; Stella's Lorikeet; Grey streaked Honeyeater; Yellow browed Melidectes; Mountain Honeyeater; Mountain Mouse Warbler; Large Scrubwren; Streaked Berrypecker; Great Woodswallow; Mottled Berryhunter; Rufous naped Whistler; Black Fantail; Torrent Lark; Blue capped Ifrit; Stephanie's Astrapia; Lawes Parotia; Superb Bird of Paradise; Brown Sicklebill; Slaty Robin & Hooded Mannikin.
Kumul Lodge is surrounded by highland forest & there are a couple of good trails. one day we drove further down the valley to a much lower elevation, mainly to see Lesser Bird of Paradise. So the species list is a bit of a mixture!
Best birds:
2 Forbes's Forest Rail (for me one of the highlights of the trip); Great Cuckoo Dove; Rufescent Imperial Pigeon; Brehm's Tiger Parrot; Yellow billed Lorikeet; Goldie's Lorikeet; Archibold's Bowerbird; Orange crowned Fairy Wren; Mountain Myzomela; Grey streaked Honeyeater; Yellow browed Melidectes; Belford's Melidictes; Ornate Melidectes; Mountain Mouse Warbler; Buff faced Scrubwren; Fan tailed Berrypecker; White bellied Cuckooshrike; Rufous naped Whistler; Regent Whistler; Friendly Fantail; Ribbon tailed Astrapia; Stephanie's Astrapia; Superb Bird of Paradise; Brown Sicklebill; Lesser Bird of Paradise; Blue Bird of Paradise; White winged Robin; Canary Flyrobin & Hooded Mannikin.
The next day we flew to Rondon Ridge Lodge, which was in a great location amid some excellent forest. There are some amazing species here but the weather was dark & gloomy & we had quite a bit of rain so biridng was quite tough. best species was Black Pihoui & five species of Birds of Paradise (however none gave great views). This is certainly a place to go back to, as there is still a lot to see.
The wonderful Rondon Lodge.
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