Birding at Sea and at the Beach of Raja Ampat

I like to guide tourists to Raja Ampat islands. Our main destination is Waigeo and its satellite islets. There are several sites in Waigeo that are good for birdwatching. Some of them include: Kabui Bay, Saporkren, Sopen and Yenbekaki. To reach that places, we need to go by a motorized outrigger boat or fast speedboat.

Wilson's Bird of Paradise and Red Bird of Paradise, Moluccan King Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Common Paradise, Kingfisher, Western-crowned Pigeon, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Lowland Peltop, Mimic Meliphaga, Papuan Boobok, Blyth's Hornbill, and Shining Flycatcher are in the list of target birds to see. They mostly need to be watched in the lower montane or hill forest. For other birds such as Pied Imperial Pigeon, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, White-breasted Woodswallow, Singing Starling, Moustached Treeswift, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Radjah Shelduck, Whimbrel, Striated Heron, Eastern Reef Egret, Willie Wagtail, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Eastern Osprey, Olive-backed Sunbird (also called Yellow-bellied Sunbird), they can be watched in the forest edges, along roadsides, at the beaches of islets in Kabui bay.

When exploring small islands and karst, we use a boat or speedboat that is equipped with two engines. This is important for safety reason. If one of the engines is in trouble, the trip can be continued easily. The waters inside karst are very calm. The rock islets of the karst look like steep slopes with shrub plants and trees grow on them. I ask the driver to stop the boat so that we can watch birds easily. After that, we continue our trip to other places.

The best time to watch birds are in the mornings from 05.30 to around 09.00 and in the afternoons from 15.00 - 18.00. I bring a Kinglux 20-60×60mm spotting scope. I install it on an aluminum tripod. It is light and durable enough for outdoor birding trips in coastal areas of Waigeo. Tour participants like the trip. They can enjoy birding along the beaches and islets as well as see the beautiful marine landscape of Raja Ampat.

Tourists who go birding in Raja Ampat, can also enjoy snorkeling over its coral reef to see various colorful fish such as anemonefish, butterflyfish, moorish idol, parrotfish, blenny and a lot more.

I offer this combined tour of sightseeing, rainforest hiking, birding, swimming and snorkeling tour for anyone who is interested. Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. I will do my best to serve you during the tour.