Today, 15th October was a long day of travel, partially retracing our steps back to the island of Sulawesi & then flying north to Manado. We then drove to the famous Tangkoko-Dua Saudara National Park. This park supports a variety of forests from coastal mangroves up to the higher elevations. It was our home for the next three nights. It proved to be a superb finale to our trip.
Green-backed Kingfisher
Giving unbelievable views here!
Amazing when the sun comes out!
Sulawesi Lilac Kingfisher
Ruddy Kingfisher
Red-backed Thrush
An absolute stunner!
Sulawesi Red-bellied Pitta.
It doesn't get much better than this!
A recent taxonomic split.
Wagler's Pit Viper.
Tarsier sp. At first, thought to be Spectral Tarsier.
But it almost certainly isn't!
It could be a new species
ET go home!
You are never far from a volcano or two in these parts!
Our accommodation at Park HQ.
Birding on the forest trails.
Tabon Scrubfowl
Sulawesi Goshawk.
Ochre-bellied Boobook.
Great-eared Nightjar - you don't normally
see them like this!
Knob-billed Hornbill
Ashy Woodpecker.
Photo courtesy of Andy Livermore.
see them like this!
Photo courtesy of Andy Livermore.
But it almost certainly isn't!
We spent two days exploring the forest from sea level to slightly higher elevations. The birding was slow, but when we found a bird, it was pure quality & we saw some terrific species here.
The breaking dawn in the bay.
Getting underway.
The trip across the bay was very scenic.
On one day we went on a canoe trip across the bay into an area of mangroves, complete with tidal creeks & some great birds.
Great-billed Heron.
Photo courtesy of Andy Livermore.
Pacific Golden Plover
Grey-tailed Tattler.
Common Sandpiper.
Striated Herons displaying.
Great-billed Kingfisher -
the one we were looking for!
the one we were looking for!
Photo courtesy of Andy Livermore.
And so our little trip came to an end. It was an exceptional trip, both for scenery, quality of birds (high percentage of endemics) & some great mammals. It was very ably led by Frank, who did a fantastic job throughout.
I must also say that all the participants were great birders (some really good spotters here) & very nice people to travel with & I enjoyed their company immensely. I must also give a big thank you to Andy, who was very generous in letting me use some of his great photos for this blog.
A bit dodgy this mate!
Both the flowers & the wide open legs!
Till the next time!
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