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FIELD GUIDES BIRDING TOURS PAPUA NEW GUINEA (2Nd Tour)

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FIELD GUIDES BIRDING TOURS PAPUA NEW GUINEA (2Nd Tour) Field Guides Tour Report PAPUA NEW GUINEA (2nd tour) Jul 10, 2011 to Aug 1, 2011 Jay VanderGaast This year's Papua New Guinea tour was wonderful as always, but unique (for me at least) in one aspect: the weather. I'm used to birding in the rain on more than a few days per tour in a normal year, but this tour had nearly perfect weather throughout. That isn't to say we weren't affected by rain: we couldn't get to Tabubil because of rain there, and the Elevala River was super high, with the surrounding forests pretty wet and sloppy, but we really didn't have to bird in any significant rain, and I, for one, enjoyed that. Dry Birds-of-paradise are always better than wet Birds-of paradise! On the topic of Birds-of-paradise (henceforth BOPs), they, of course, are the main reason birders are drawn to the island, and they generally provide a bunch of the highlights of any given tour. This year was no exception, with stunning birds like Ribbon-tailed Astrapia, King-of-Saxony BOP, and Twelve-wired BOP all Scenic view of Ambua Lodge in the Tari highlands. (Photo by performing well. Speaking of performing, this tour featured some guide Jay VanderGaast) marvelous lekking displays of both Lesser and Greater BOPs, and we even got to see a male Blue BOP hanging upside-down, even if it wasn't an adult at a display perch. Also among the BOPs, my best-ever male Lawes's Parotia and first-ever male Magnificent BOP (thanks, Jerry!) were nothing short of spectacular! PNG isn't only about BOPs; there are plenty of other brilliant birds too: the POPs, (parrots-of-paradise) for instance. Our sightings ranged from the tiny Buff-faced Pygmy-Parrots at Karawari to the slightly larger Plum-faced Lorikeets at the Tari Gap on up through the larger fig-parrots (those Edward's at Karawari were gorgeous!), the Brehm's Tiger-parrot swarms on the Kumul feeders, and those amazing long-tailed Papuan Lorikeets, also at Kumul. The distant but well-seen Pesquet's Parrot was a great find, and the massive Palm Cockatoos (yeah, I know, they're cockatoos, not parrots) along the lowland rivers were also impressive. We did even better with the DOPs (doves-of-paradise), nailing not only every possible fruit-dove (with scope views of almost all of them), but also every possible imperial-pigeon and every possible crowned-pigeon (okay, there are only two, but we saw them both). This group included two lifers for yours truly (Rufescent Imperial-Pigeon and Victoria Crowned- Pigeon), plus stellar views of some incredible fruit-doves, such as the scarce Orange-fronted, the hard-to-find Dwarf, and the truly gaudy Wompoo. What's more, we also had multiple Purple-tailed Imperial-Pigeons and incredible looks at a perched Southern Crowned-Pigeon at close range and right out in the open along the Dei River! Wow! There were so many other memorable birds too, that I can't even begin to cover them all, but a few do deserve special mention here, not least of all those huge New Guinea Eagles that we kind of stumbled into along the Kiunga-Tabubil road and ended up walking away from after a long and wonderful encounter. Others that come to mind are such rarely seen species as those Forbes's Rails we lured onto a mossy log at the Tari Gap, the pre-dawn Dusky Woodcock that fluttered over our heads and landed just in front of us, before scurrying off into the tall, wet grass, and the tiny Mountain Owlet-Nightjar hunting from a low perch among the cabins, the latter two species both at Kumul. Then there was the wierdly beautiful male Wattled Ploughbill perched in the open beside the road at the Gap, that stunning, skulking Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler on the forest floor at Varirata National Park, and the charming little Dwarf Whistler (not a whistler at all!) in a canopy flock at the same site. Loads of beautiful kingfishers, honeyeaters, fantails, monarchs (that dazzling Golden!) cuckoo-shrikes, etc, made this a most memorable trip. All in all it was a lot of fun sharing this unique country with all of you. I appreciate the enthusiasm, comaraderie, good humor, and the calm acceptance when Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 1 things didn't go quite as planned. We had a fun, compatible, and multicultural group, the kind of group every guide hopes to have on each and every tour, and I am truly grateful for that. I would enjoy guiding any or all of you on a future tour, and certainly look forward to doing so soon. --Jay We have more information about this itinerary and future departures on our web page for Papua New Guinea. KEYS FOR THIS LIST One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant BIRDS Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) SPOTTED WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna guttata) – Never quite as bold as the next species, and these birds are usually sitting up in trees above the most isolated and hard to get to pond at PAU, which is exactly where we found 3 birds perched. A possible whistling-duck at Ymas Lake could also have been this species. WANDERING WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna arcuata) – Usually quite common at PAU; this trip we saw 20+ birds there. Birds here belong to the same race as is found in northern Australia, namely, australis. RADJAH SHELDUCK (Tadorna radjah) – A lone bird at PAU was a bit of a surprise, as they are rather rare here, though I'd also seen a couple here in late 2010, when they were lifers for our local guides, Leonard and Billy. GREEN PYGMY-GOOSE (Nettapus pulchellus) – Five birds, two males and 3 females, were on a duckweed covered pond at PAU. PACIFIC BLACK DUCK (Anas superciliosa) – The only duck seen away from PAU (though we also saw good numbers there. We also saw these ducks at Karawari (mainly at Ymas Lake) and along the Dei River near Kiunga. The Karawari birds are assigned to the race pelewensis, while the Kiunga and PAU birds are race rogersi, though there are very minor differences between the forms. Megapodiidae (Megapodes) BLACK-BILLED BRUSH-TURKEY (Talegalla fuscirostris) – Heard A Southern Crowned-Pigeon uncharacteristically often in the Kiunga region, but the only one seen was at Varirata NP, sitting out in the open! Love the hairdo! (Photo by where one dashed across the road near the Raggiana BOP lek. Only tour participant Jerry Oldenettel) about half the group saw it, though; the rest of us (me included) were evidently not watching the road. [E] NEW GUINEA SCRUBFOWL (Megapodius affinis) – Not often seen, but Lane and I got lucky and saw one fly across the Karawari airstrip as we waited for our flight to Ambua. [E] Podicipedidae (Grebes) AUSTRALASIAN GREBE (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) – Small numbers on the ponds at PAU, including a bird on a nest and a few juveniles. [N] Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags) LITTLE BLACK CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) – About 5 birds along the Karawari River, a couple along the Lai River below Kumul Lodge, and loads at PAU. LITTLE PIED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) – Small numbers along the Karawari River and on the Fly and Elevala Rivers, plus a fair few at PAU. Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 2 Anhingidae (Anhingas) AUSTRALASIAN DARTER (Anhinga novaehollandiae) – A lone bird roosting among the many cormorants at PAU was a good find, and the first I'd seen at the site. Treated as a full species here, though some authorities lump all Old World darters into a single species. Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) BLACK BITTERN (Ixobrychus flavicollis) – Two along the Karawari River. The first was a rather rufous bird, probably a juvenile, the second was a normal adult plumaged bird. This second bird was seen very well as it stood out on a mud bank in the open for a while. GREAT-BILLED HERON (Ardea sumatrana) – Several birds along the Karawari River, but surprisingly we saw just one in the Fly River region. GREAT EGRET (Ardea alba) – Fair numbers throughout, in appropriate habitat. INTERMEDIATE EGRET (Mesophoyx intermedia) – One was seen in a small marshy area next to the Karawari air strip, then several at PAU. LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta) – Small numbers along the Karawari River. PIED HERON (Egretta picata) – A gorgeous small heron. We saw several of these striking birds at Ymas Lake, and a few more at PAU, though most of the birds at the latter site were in a less striking subadult plumage. CATTLE EGRET (ASIAN) (Bubulcus ibis coromandus) – Fairly common at the lowland sites. RUFOUS NIGHT-HERON (Nycticorax caledonicus) – Our first few sightings along the Karawari and Elevala Rivers were all of Rufous-naped Whistler exhibiting its usual, though un- juvenile birds. which look pretty much like any other juvenile whistler-like habit of hopping around on the ground. (Photo night heron. We finally caught up with a lovely rufous (or by tour participant Jerry Oldenettel) Nankeen, if you prefer the old name) adult on our morning along the Dei River. Threskiornithidae (Ibises and Spoonbills) AUSTRALIAN IBIS (Threskiornis molucca) – A few birds came into roost at the PAU ponds. Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) PACIFIC BAZA (Aviceda subcristata) – Several excellent looks, including some scope views of perched birds, at both Varirata and around Kiunga. BLACK KITE (Milvus migrans) – Quite numerous throughout.
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