DOCSLIB.ORG

Papua New Guinea Birding in Paradise V 13Th to 30Th August 2019 (18 Days)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Papua New Guinea Birding in Paradise V 13Th to 30Th August 2019 (18 Days) Papua New Guinea Birding in Paradise V 13th to 30th August 2019 (18 days) Trip Report Blue Bird-of-paradise by Dušan Brinkhuizen Trip report compiled by Dušan Brinkhuizen & Stephan Lorenz Rockjumper Birding Tours www.rockjumperbirding.com Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea – Birding in Paradise V 2019 2 Top ten birds as voted for by participants: 1. Sclater's Crowned Pigeon 6. Flame Bowerbird 2. Black Sicklebill 7. Crested Satinbird 3. Blue Bird-of-paradise 8. Raggiana Bird-of-paradise 4. King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise 9. Emperor Fairywren 5. Ribbon-tailed Astrapia 10. New Guinea Flightless Rail ___________________________________________________________________________________ Tour Summary The majority of the group had arrived the previous day and we started day one of the tour with a leisurely and relatively late breakfast. After breakfast and while waiting for two more members to arrive from the Huon Peninsula, we took a stroll around the neighbourhood of the Raintree Lodge, tallying our first birds for Papua New Guinea. The gardens and larger trees offered a surprising variety of species and one of the morning's favourites were the Fawn-breasted Bowerbirds, members of a typical Australasian bird family and these were quite abundant with more than a dozen noted. Other species we encountered included the common Peaceful Dove, many beautiful Torresian Imperial Pigeons, a Brown Goshawk that spooked some of the birds, and boisterous Rufous-banded Honeyeaters. In some of the taller trees, New Guinea Friarbirds called loudly. With some Greater Lophorina by Chris Lester patience, we also lured Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters into view and two Grey Shrikethrushes sang in the open. Overhead, we noted fast flying Coconut Lorikeets, a few Pacific Swallows, and the distinctive White-breasted Woodswallows. By mid-morning, it was warming up and we retreated to the comfortable hotel where we met the remainder of the group and had lunch. Leader Dušan never made it to Port Moresby as he got stuck during transit in Hong Kong for several days because of the massive protests and closure of the international airport! We had to start the tour without him but leader Stephan had it all under control. The group transferred to the Port Moresby airport for the mid-afternoon flight to Mt. Hagen, which departed with only a slight delay. In Mt. Hagen, our transfer was waiting for us and in no time at all we settled into the plush Rondon Ridge Lodge with spectacular views across the valley and of Mt. Hagen town far below. Along the route, we tallied Black Kites and a Pied Bushchat. Our birding in the New Guinean Highlands the next morning started immediately in the vicinity of the Rondon Ridge Lodge and we walked only a short distance to an area where planted fruiting trees proved attractive for many birds, including our first bird's-of-paradise and, we would finish the day with tallying five species of these incredible birds. First, we successfully chased a stunning male Princess Stephanie’s Astrapia and several Greater Lophorinas moved around, occasionally offering great views of the fruiting Schefflera. One of the undoubted highlights of the first morning though were repeated views of a female Blue Bird-of-paradise that offered progressively better and better views. The bounty of berries and fruits also offered other seldom seen species, including Madrasah’s Tiger Parrot, MacGregor's Bowerbird, and Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Papua New Guinea Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea – Birding in Paradise V 2019 3 Yellowish-streaked Honeyeater, while Bar-tailed Cuckoo-Dove, Yellow-browed Melidectes, Smoky Honeyeater, Fan-tailed Berrypecker, Island Leaf Warbler, Papuan White-eye, and Red-capped Flowerpeckers were more expected. We then commenced the hike up the somewhat steep trail towards the primary forest and a clearing near the top. Along the way, we notched up some quality birds with the highlights being a male Garnet Robin that dropped down to near eye level, a brief group of Grey Thornbills, glimpsed Slaty Robin, and male Regent Whistler. We stayed in the clearing for several hours and enjoyed a steady stream of new birds, highlighted by a male Brown Sicklebill that offered scope views and after some patient waiting, a male King of Saxony Bird-of- paradise, truly one of the more bizarre birds in the world and we had lengthy scope studies of the elongated head plumes. Other highlights here included a skulky group of Yellowish-streaked Honeyeater by Chris Lester Orange-crowned Fairywrens that eventually showed well, Papuan, Yellow-billed and Orange-billed Lorikeets, high flying Papuan Mountain Pigeons, a surprise Peregrine Falcon of the distinctive resident subspecies with a very dark hood, Black-throated and Rufous-backed Honeyeaters, Regent and Brown- backed Whistlers, Dimorphic and Friendly Fantails, and the monotypic Blue-capped Ifrit that clambered like a nuthatch through the canopy. We took a slightly longer route back down to the lodge and while the trail was muddy, our efforts were rewarded with the monotypic Wattled Ploughbill. A family group, two adults and a juvenile, snuck through the dense bamboo and we all managed to see at least the male or female, what a finish to the day! For the second full day in the Rondon Ridge area, some decided to complete a very early morning hike back to the clearing to look for Black Sicklebill, while others started a bit later to bird the lower trails and fruiting trees. The hikers were rewarded with good views of Black Sicklebill near the top and a perched Rufescent Imperial Pigeon, plus views of many of the species from the previous day. The forest edge further down and plantation held Mountain Kingfisher, Amboyna Cuckoo Dove, Black Pitohui, and Black-breasted Boatbill. For the afternoon, we birded the open areas in front of the lodge, including some porch birding! Here, we found several swifts and raptors gracing the skies, including Glossy and Mountain Swiftlets, Long-tailed Honey-buzzard, Papuan Yellow-breasted Bowerbird by Chris Lester Harrier, Black-winged, Black, and Brahminy Kites. The grassy areas and scattered trees held Yellow-breasted Bowerbird, an inquisitive group of White-shouldered Fairywrens, and Mountain Myzomelas among the larger Red-collared Myzomelas that visited the flowering shrubs, Brown-breasted Gerygones, and Hooded Mannikins. A short excursion into Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Papua New Guinea Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea – Birding in Paradise V 2019 4 the forest offered excellent views of a skulking Mountain Mouse-warbler. As a group, we also recorded an incredible six species of birds-of-paradise again, never tiring of views of these magnificent birds. An outing after dinner yielded flight views of a pair of Papuan Boobooks, but Feline Owlet-nightjars remained heard only. We planned to transfer to Kumul Lodge after an early lunch and thus enjoyed another full morning in the productive forest around Rondon Ridge. The fruiting trees again yielded the rare Yellowish-streaked Honeyeater, a seldom seen species that is best found here. Walking along one of the lower and flatter trails, we added several difficult species to the tally, including White-bibbed Fruit Dove, a seen Rufous-throated Bronze Cuckoo, a calling Forbes’s Forest Rail seen by some, Red-breasted Pygmy Parrot, Slaty-headed Longbill, and a very cooperative Black- throated Robin that sat still in the scope for minutes on end. We also discovered an area of fruiting tree inside the forest that was busy with MacGregor's Bowerbirds and everyone ended up with great views of this secretive species. We returned to the lodge, packed up, and had another delicious lunch before our transfer to Kumul. It was about a two-hour drive before we reached the next lodge where we checked in and then quickly continued to the bird feeding table. This Ribbon-tailed Astrapia by Chris Lester is one of the few feeding setups in Papua New Guinea and is rightly famous as we could closely study the aggressive Belford’s Melidectes, Common Smoky Honeyeater, impressive Brown Sicklebill, incomparable Ribbon-tailed Astrapia, a Kumul specialty, Brehm's Tiger Parrot, and Island Thrushes all coming in for papaya, while Grey-streaked Honeyeater, Rufous-naped Bellbird, Canary Flyrobins, and White-winged Robins all graced the edge of the lodge clearing. We walked a short trail and along the entrance road, before returning to the lodge grounds in the late afternoon. Along the paths, we had great views of Large and Papuan Scrubwrens. The fruiting trees immediately next to the cabins were visited by the unique Crested Berrypecker, a member of the endemic painted berrypecker family, and best of all a male Crested Satinbird arrived, a spectacular species whose colors of vivid orange and inky black are difficult to comprehend. As luck would have it, we also had a pair of Mountain Firetails hop in the grass right at our feet, another grand finish to highland birding in New Guinea. During our first full day in the Kumul area, Brown Sicklebill by Chris Lester we planned to descend in elevation in hopes of seeing Lesser Bird-of-paradise, here at the southern limit of its range. We started with a predawn drive towards Kama where a short walk brought us to an area where we could already hear the birds calling in the distance. After some waiting and careful Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Papua New Guinea Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea – Birding in Paradise V 2019 5 scanning of the surrounding trees, a male suddenly flew into a tall casuarina and remained long enough for scope studies, its long plumes waving. This is one of the members of the genus Paradisaea, a quintessential bird-of-paradise.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Lx1/Rtetcanjviuseum
    lx1/rtetcanJViuseum PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK 24, N.Y. NUMBER 1707 FEBRUARY 1 9, 1955 Notes on the Birds of Northern Melanesia. 31 Passeres BY ERNST MAYR The present paper continues the revisions of birds from northern Melanesia and is devoted to the Order Passeres. The literature on the birds of this area is excessively scattered, and one of the functions of this review paper is to provide bibliographic references to recent litera- ture of the various species, in order to make it more readily available to new students. Another object of this paper, as of the previous install- ments of this series, is to indicate intraspecific trends of geographic varia- tion in the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands and to state for each species from where it colonized northern Melanesia. Such in- formation is recorded in preparation of an eventual zoogeographic and evolutionary analysis of the bird fauna of the area. For those who are interested in specific islands, the following re- gional bibliography (covering only the more recent literature) may be of interest: BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO Reichenow, 1899, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, vol. 1, pp. 1-106; Meyer, 1936, Die Vogel des Bismarckarchipel, Vunapope, New Britain, 55 pp. ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: Rothschild and Hartert, 1914, Novitates Zool., vol. 21, pp. 281-298; Ripley, 1947, Jour. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 37, pp. 98-102. ST. MATTHIAS: Hartert, 1924, Novitates Zool., vol. 31, pp. 261-278. RoOK ISLAND: Rothschild and Hartert, 1914, Novitates Zool., vol. 21, pp. 207- 218.
    [Show full text]
  • Disaggregation of Bird Families Listed on Cms Appendix Ii
    Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2nd Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC2) Bonn, Germany, 10 – 14 July 2017 UNEP/CMS/ScC-SC2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II (Prepared by the Appointed Councillors for Birds) Summary: The first meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council identified the adoption of a new standard reference for avian taxonomy as an opportunity to disaggregate the higher-level taxa listed on Appendix II and to identify those that are considered to be migratory species and that have an unfavourable conservation status. The current paper presents an initial analysis of the higher-level disaggregation using the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World Volumes 1 and 2 taxonomy, and identifies the challenges in completing the analysis to identify all of the migratory species and the corresponding Range States. The document has been prepared by the COP Appointed Scientific Councilors for Birds. This is a supplementary paper to COP document UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.25.3 on Taxonomy and Nomenclature UNEP/CMS/ScC-Sc2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II 1. Through Resolution 11.19, the Conference of Parties adopted as the standard reference for bird taxonomy and nomenclature for Non-Passerine species the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines, by Josep del Hoyo and Nigel J. Collar (2014); 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Management and Breeding of Birds of Paradise (Family Paradisaeidae) at the Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation
    Management and breeding of Birds of Paradise (family Paradisaeidae) at the Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation. By Richard Switzer Bird Curator, Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation. Presentation for Aviary Congress Singapore, November 2008 Introduction to Birds of Paradise in the Wild Taxonomy The family Paradisaeidae is in the order Passeriformes. In the past decade since the publication of Frith and Beehler (1998), the taxonomy of the family Paradisaeidae has been re-evaluated considerably. Frith and Beehler (1998) listed 42 species in 17 genera. However, the monotypic genus Macgregoria (MacGregor’s Bird of Paradise) has been re-classified in the family Meliphagidae (Honeyeaters). Similarly, 3 species in 2 genera (Cnemophilus and Loboparadisea) – formerly described as the “Wide-gaped Birds of Paradise” – have been re-classified as members of the family Melanocharitidae (Berrypeckers and Longbills) (Cracraft and Feinstein 2000). Additionally the two genera of Sicklebills (Epimachus and Drepanornis) are now considered to be combined as the one genus Epimachus. These changes reduce the total number of genera in the family Paradisaeidae to 13. However, despite the elimination of the 4 species mentioned above, 3 species have been newly described – Berlepsch's Parotia (P. berlepschi), Eastern or Helen’s Parotia (P. helenae) and the Eastern or Growling Riflebird (P. intercedens). The Berlepsch’s Parotia was once considered to be a subspecies of the Carola's Parotia. It was previously known only from four female specimens, discovered in 1985. It was rediscovered during a Conservation International expedition in 2005 and was photographed for the first time. The Eastern Parotia, also known as Helena's Parotia, is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of Lawes's Parotia, but differs in the male’s frontal crest and the female's dorsal plumage colours.
    [Show full text]
  • The Avifauna of Mt. Karimui, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea, Including Evidence for Long-Term Population Dynamics in Undisturbed Tropical Forest
    Ben Freeman & Alexandra M. Class Freeman 30 Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(1) The avifauna of Mt. Karimui, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea, including evidence for long-term population dynamics in undisturbed tropical forest Ben Freeman & Alexandra M. Class Freeman Received 27 July 2013 Summary.—We conducted ornithological feld work on Mt. Karimui and in the surrounding lowlands in 2011–12, a site frst surveyed for birds by J. Diamond in 1965. We report range extensions, elevational records and notes on poorly known species observed during our work. We also present a list with elevational distributions for the 271 species recorded in the Karimui region. Finally, we detail possible changes in species abundance and distribution that have occurred between Diamond’s feld work and our own. Most prominently, we suggest that Bicolored Mouse-warbler Crateroscelis nigrorufa might recently have colonised Mt. Karimui’s north-western ridge, a rare example of distributional change in an avian population inhabiting intact tropical forests. The island of New Guinea harbours a diverse, largely endemic avifauna (Beehler et al. 1986). However, ornithological studies are hampered by difculties of access, safety and cost. Consequently, many of its endemic birds remain poorly known, and feld workers continue to describe new taxa (Prat 2000, Beehler et al. 2007), report large range extensions (Freeman et al. 2013) and elucidate natural history (Dumbacher et al. 1992). Of necessity, avifaunal studies are usually based on short-term feld work. As a result, population dynamics are poorly known and limited to comparisons of diferent surveys or diferences noticeable over short timescales (Diamond 1971, Mack & Wright 1996).
    [Show full text]
  • References by N.G. CHESHIRE, 4 Willora Road, Eden Hills, S.A. 5050
    AUSTRALIAN 62 MACKAY: Bower of the Fire-maned Bowerbird BIRD WATCHER and has flight similar to the Pterodroma species, being much higher above the sea surface (Harrison 1983). It is a bird of the north-west Indian Ocean where the writer has seen it in some numbers. There are, however, extra-limital records of this species from Sri Lanka (Kotogama 1980) and the Hawaiian Islands (Clapp 1971). Bulwer's Petrel breeds in the eastern tropical and subtropical Atlantic, and the north­ west and central Pacific areas. In the central Pacific it breeds on several islands including the Marquesas, the Hawaiian group, the Phoenix group and Johnston Islands. In the more northerly Pacific islands breeding is from May to September but in the Phoenix group it takes place throughout the year (Jouanin et al. 1979). So far as the writer can ascertain this is the first record for eastern Australian waters. Harrison (1980) recorded this species well off shore from Western Australia between latitudes 22°S to 8°S and longitudes l10°E to 105°E also in early November. The possible sightings of Jouanin's Petrel reported off north-western Australia at 16 os 123 °E and 14 os 122 °E during November 1979 (McKean 1980), are now thought to referlo Bulwer's Petrel (J. McKean pers. comm.). More recently Bulwer's Petrel was recorded extensively between north-west Australia and Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) during October 1987 (Dunlop, Cheshire & Wooller 1988). In his oceanographic interpretation of seabird distribution in the Indian Ocean, Pocklington (1979) found Bulwer's Petrel to be confined to what he defined as 'IS' water, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Papua New Guinea Huon Peninsula Extension I 25Th to 30Th June 2019 (6 Days) Trip Report
    Papua New Guinea Huon Peninsula Extension I 25th to 30th June 2019 (6 days) Trip Report Huon Astrapia by Holger Teichmann Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Adam Walleyn Rockjumper Birding Tours www.rockjumperbirding.com Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea Huon Extension I 2019 2 Tour in Detail Our group met up in Port Moresby for the late morning flight to Lae’s Nadzab airport. Upon arrival, we transferred to our comfortable hotel on the outskirts of Lae city. A walk around the expansive grounds turned up some 23 species to get our lists well underway, including Orange-bellied and Pink-spotted Fruit Dove (the latter of the distinct and range-restricted plumbeicollis race), Torresian Imperial Pigeon, Eclectus Parrot, and Yellow-faced Myna, not to mention perhaps 1,000 Spectacled Flying Foxes creating quite the sight and sound! Early the next morning we were back at Nadzab airport, where a quick scan of the airfield produced some Horsfield’s Bush Larks and also excellent looks at a male Papuan Harrier that did a close flyby being bombarded by numerous Masked Lapwings! We were soon boarding our charter flight Pink-spotted Fruit Doves by Holger Teichmann over the rugged Huon mountains, although we quickly entered dense clouds and could see nothing of these impressive mountains. After some half an hour of flying through thick cloud on the plane’s GPS track, we suddenly descended and made an uphill landing at Kabwum airstrip! Our land cruiser was there, waiting for us, and after loading bags and ourselves onboard we made the bumpy drive up many switchbacks to reach the high ridge above Kabwum.
    [Show full text]
  • Papua New Guinea IV Trip Report 22Nd July to 8Th August 2018 (18 Days)
    Papua New Guinea IV Trip Report 22nd July to 8th August 2018 (18 days) Flame Bowerbird by Glen Valentine Tour Leaders: Glen Valentine & David Erterius Trip report compiled by Glen Valentine Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea IV 2018 2 Top 10 birds of the tour as voted for by the tour participants: 1. Flame Bowerbird 2. King-of-Saxony Bird-of-Paradise 3. Wattled Ploughbill 4. Blue-capped Ifrit, King Bird-of-Paradise & Papuan Frogmouth 5. Wallace’s Fairywren, Superb Bird-of-Paradise, Wallace’s Owlet-nightjar, MacGregor’s Bowerbird (for its elaborate bower!) & Brown Sicklebill, 6. Queen Carola’s Parotia 7. Brown-headed Paradise Kingfisher 8. Moustached Treeswift, Blue Jewel-babbler, Emperor Fairywren & Orange-fronted Hanging Parrot 9. Crested Berrypecker & Black-capped Lory 10. Red-breasted Pygmy Parrot Sclater’s Crowned Pigeon by Glen Valentine Tour Summary Tucked away between the Lesser Sundas and the expansive continent of Australia is the legendary island of New Guinea. Home to the spectacular birds-of-paradise, arguably the world’s most attractive and intriguing bird family, New Guinea will always be one of those very special destinations that every birder wishes to visit sometime in their lives. Rockjumper Birding Tours Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea IV 2018 3 Our fourth of six comprehensive birding tours to Papua New Guinea (the eastern half of the island of New Guinea) for the 2018 season coincided, as always with the dry season and the advent of displaying birds-of-paradise. The trip was a resounding success once again and racked
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Abundances in Primary and Secondary Growths in Papua New Guinea: a Preliminary Assessment
    Mongabay.com Open Access Journal - Tropical Conservation Science Vol.3 (4):373-388, 2010 Research Article Bird abundances in primary and secondary growths in Papua New Guinea: a preliminary assessment Kateřina Tvardíková1 1 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, CZ- 370 05 České Budějovice. Email: <[email protected] Abstract Papua New Guinea is the third largest remaining area of tropical forest after the Amazon and Congo basins. However, the growing intensity of large-scale slash-and-burn agriculture and logging call for conservation research to assess how local people´s traditional land-use practices result in conservation of local biodiversity, of which a species-rich and diverse component is the avian community. With this in mind, I conducted a preliminary survey of birds in small-scale secondary plots and in adjacent primary forest in Wanang Conservation Area in Papua New Guinea. I used mist-netting, point counts, and transect walks to compare the bird communities of 7-year-old secondary growth, and neighboring primary forest. The preliminary survey lasted 10 days and was conducted during the dry season (July) of 2008. I found no significant differences in summed bird abundances between forest types. However, species richness was higher in primary forest (98 species) than in secondary (78 species). The response of individual feeding guilds was also variable. Two habitats differed mainly in presence of canopy frugivores, which were more abundant (more than 80%) in primary than in secondary forests. A large difference (70%) was found also in understory and mid-story insectivores. Species occurring mainly in secondary forest were Hooded Butcherbird (Cracticus cassicus), Brown Oriole (Oriolus szalayi), and Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides).
    [Show full text]
  • Moluccas 15 July to 14 August 2013 Henk Hendriks
    Moluccas 15 July to 14 August 2013 Henk Hendriks INTRODUCTION It was my 7th trip to Indonesia. This time I decided to bird the remote eastern half of this country from 15 July to 14 August 2013. Actually it is not really a trip to the Moluccas only as Tanimbar is part of the Lesser Sunda subregion, while Ambon, Buru, Seram, Kai and Boano are part of the southern group of the Moluccan subregion. The itinerary I made would give us ample time to find most of the endemics/specialties of the islands of Ambon, Buru, Seram, Tanimbar, Kai islands and as an extension Boano. The first 3 weeks I was accompanied by my brother Frans, Jan Hein van Steenis and Wiel Poelmans. During these 3 weeks we birded Ambon, Buru, Seram and Tanimbar. We decided to use the services of Ceisar to organise these 3 weeks for us. Ceisar is living on Ambon and is the ground agent of several bird tour companies. After some negotiations we settled on the price and for this Ceisar and his staff organised the whole trip. This included all transportation (Car, ferry and flights), accommodation, food and assistance during the trip. On Seram and Ambon we were also accompanied by Vinno. You have to understand that both Ceisar and Vinno are not really bird guides. They know the sites and from there on you have to find the species yourselves. After these 3 weeks, Wiel Poelmans and I continued for another 9 days, independently, to the Kai islands, Ambon again and we made the trip to Boano.
    [Show full text]
  • Papua New Guinea Ii
    The Greater Bird-of-paradise display we witnessed at the km 17 lek in Kiunga was truly unforgettable. PAPUA NEW GUINEA II 12– 28 August / 1 September 2016 LEADER: DANI LOPEZ VELASCO Our second tour to Papua New Guinea – including New Britain - in 2016 was a great success and delivered an unprecedented number of high quality birds. A total of 21 species of Birds-of-paradise (BoPs), - undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary, and “out of this world” bird families in the world, were recorded, perhaps most memorable being a superb male Blue BoP, scoped at close range near Kumul for as long as we wished and showing one of the most vivid blue colours in the animal world. Just as impressive though were spectacular performances by displaying Raggiana and Greater BoPs in excellent light, with up to 8 males lekking at a time, a stunning male King BoP and two displaying males Twelve-wired BoPs at the Elevala River, a cracking adult male Magnificent BoP in the scope for hours at Tabubil, several amazing King-of-Saxony BoPs, waving their incredible head plumes like some strange insect antennae in the mossy forest of Tari Valley, great sightings of both Princess Stephanie´s and Ribbon-tailed Astrapias with their ridiculously long tail feathers, superb scope studies of Black and Brown Sicklebills uttering their machine-gun like calls, and so on. While Birds-of-paradise are certainly the signature family in PNG, there is of course 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Papua New Guinea II www.birdquest-tours.com plenty more besides, for example we recorded a grand total of 33 species of pigeons and doves, -they reach their greatest diversity here in New Guinea, as do kingfishers-, including nine Fruit Doves, a rare New Guinea Bronzewing feeding on the road, and, during the extension, both Black Imperial Pigeon and Pied Cuckoo-Dove.
    [Show full text]
  • Ultimate Papua New Guinea Ii
    The fantastic Forest Bittern showed memorably well at Varirata during this tour! (JM) ULTIMATE PAPUA NEW GUINEA II 25 AUGUST – 11 / 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 LEADER: JULIEN MAZENAUER Our second Ultimate Papua New Guinea tour in 2019, including New Britain, was an immense success and provided us with fantastic sightings throughout. A total of 19 Birds-of-paradise (BoPs), one of the most striking and extraordinairy bird families in the world, were seen. The most amazing one must have been the male Blue BoP, admired through the scope near Kumul lodge. A few females were seen previously at Rondon Ridge, but this male was just too much. Several males King-of-Saxony BoP – seen displaying – ranked high in our most memorable moments of the tour, especially walk-away views of a male obtained at Rondon Ridge. Along the Ketu River, we were able to observe the full display and mating of another cosmis species, Twelve-wired BoP. Despite the closing of Ambua, we obtained good views of a calling male Black Sicklebill, sighted along a new road close to Tabubil. Brown Sicklebill males were seen even better and for as long as we wanted, uttering their machine-gun like calls through the forest. The adult male Stephanie’s Astrapia at Rondon Ridge will never be forgotten, showing his incredible glossy green head colours. At Kumul, Ribbon-tailed Astrapia, one of the most striking BoP, amazed us down to a few meters thanks to a feeder especially created for birdwatchers. Additionally, great views of the small and incredible King BoP delighted us near Kiunga, as well as males Magnificent BoPs below Kumul.
    [Show full text]
  • Issue #251 Journal of the Murrumbidgee Field Naturalists Inc
    The Murrumbidgee Naturalist August 2017 - Issue #251 Journal of the Murrumbidgee Field Naturalists Inc. PO Box 541, LEETON 2705 ISSN-1327-1172 Website: www.mfn.org.au Email: [email protected] Objectives To facilitate and promote the knowledge of natural history, and to encourage the preservation and protection of the Australian natural environment, especially that of the Murrumbidgee River Valley Community tree planting at Fivebough Wetlands by Penny Williams CONTRIBUTIONS IN THIS ISSUE For the September issue by Monday 4 September Office Bearers and Subscriptions ................................ 2 To Rowena Whiting Tree Planting at Fivebough Wetlands ........................ 3 Email: [email protected]. Spiders ........................................................................ 4 Phone: 6953 2612 Greenhood orchids found in the local area ............... 6 Birds of the Month – Spotted and Spotless Crake ...... 8 What are those Monkeys in the Gum Trees ? ............ 9 Outings this month to Papua New Guinea trip ............................................... 9 Taleeban Mining Reserve Members’ Sightings ................................................... 11 and Coming Events Calendar ........................................... 12 Cocoparra National Park Murrumbidgee Field Naturalists Inc. Office Bearers and Annual Subscriptions President: Graham Russell 0419 350 673 Editor: Rowena Whiting 6953 2612 Vice President: Nella Smith 6959 1210 Committee: Johanna Botman 6963 4855 Vice President: Eric Whiting 6953 2612 Phillip Williams 6953 3524 Vice President: Virginia Tarr 6962 5614 Betty Bradney 6959 2901 Secretary: Penny Williams 6953 3524 Treasurer: Phil Tenison 6953 4869 Website Co-ordinator: Phillip Williams 6953 3524 MEETINGS ARE HELD ON THE SECOND THURSDAY EACH MONTH, EXCEPT JANUARY, AT THE Yellow Room, Leeton Library, Sycamore Street at 7.30 PM FIELD TRIPS NORMALLY TAKE PLACE ON THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND. INTENDING NEW MEMBERS, GUESTS AND VISITORS WELCOME.
    [Show full text]