We said goodbye to Andrew & Graham who flew home (UK & Hong Kong respectively) on 12th August. Meanwhile Aiden, Oscar & myself flew to Manus Island. Manus is quite isolated off the northern coast of Papau New Guinea.
Our transport!
Our first view of Manus.
Evening light from our hotel.
Comfy boys?
It is rather an idyllic place. It is kind of everyone's idea of what a tropical island should look like. But when we first arrived we experienced a bit of a problem! Our agent & organizer Nick Soloman had pocketed our money but not booked either the hotel or car for us. In fact he had done nothing. His local contact on the island Joe Covo proved to be a bit of a would be conman & we had nothing to do with him. Lucky for us there was a second hotel in the town. I managed to secure rooms for us for the next four nights & it proved to be an excellent move.
Manus still has a lot of forest in the interior.
People were very friendly!
Oscar going local!
Birding on the beach.
We spent the next couple of days birding along a road which went into the interior, but by late morning the heat was oppressive & after a bit of a siesta we birded around the coast.
Best birds:
Best birds:
Variable Goshawk; White bellied Sea Eagle; Eastern Osprey; Pacific Golden Plover; Lesser Sand Plover; Greater Sand Plover; Common Sandpiper; Ruddy Turnstone; Whimbrel; 200+ Black Noddy; Great crested Tern; Bridled Tern; 13 Black naped Tern; Pied Cuckoo Dove; Stephan's Emerald Dove; Nicobar Pigeon; Eastern Bronze Ground Dove; Superb Fruit Dove; 20+ Island Imperial Pigeon; Brush Cuckoo; Manus Boobook; Moustached Treeswift; White rumped Swiftlet; Uniform Swiftlet; Glossy Swiftlet; Sacred Kingfisher; Meek's Pygmy Parrot; Electus Parrot; Manus Friarbird; Manus Cuckooshrike; Grey capped Cicadabird; Bismark Whistler; Northern Fantail; Manus Monarch; Shining Flycatcher; Tree Martin; Metallic Starling & Olive backed Sunbird.
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