Blyth's Hornbill

These are the pictures of Blyth's hornbill birds that I saw in Mesirrokow forest of Manokwari when I was guiding a French tourist. The birds were very common in the Lowland Forest. I spent four days/ three nights hiking, birdwatching, camping and interacting with local people in the area.

Blyth's Hornbill in Mesirrokow Forest of Manokwari

I made the pictures of these birds using Fujifilm HS50EXR. With its 1/2 inch EXR CMOS sensor, and Fujinon 42× optical lens (equivalent with 24 mm to 1000 mm) on a 35 mm format, the camera was powerful enough to shoot birds and other wild animals in distant trees. Fujifilm stopped the production of the camera a few years ago and has not launched an update version of this wonderful photographic device.
Similar cameras with higher optical zoom are now available on the market but in general the size of their sensor is smaller than the Fujifilm HS50EXR. The famous bridge cameras which readers can buy now are the Nikon Coolpix P1000, Nikon Coolpix P900, and Canon Powershot SX70HS. 

Female Blyth's Hornbill

Hornbills are big birds. Together with a lot of other tropical birds such as palm cockatoo, sulphur crested cockatoo, eclectus parrot, they play important roles as seed dispersers. They eat fruits and drip their seed throughout every corner of the forest. In other words, birds are the ones that grow rainforest. 

I have organized numerous birding and camping tours to Mesirrokow forest and its surrounding areas for visitors who come from French, China, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Austria, Sweden, Thailand, and the Netherlands to watch birds and other wild animals that live in the forest.

Riverwalk tour in lowland forest of Manokwari

In addition to Hornbills, we can also see other birds in the same forest such as Little-ringed Plover, Little Egret, Yellow-faced Myna, Golden Myna, Variable Goshawk, Rainbow Bee-eater, Willie Wagtail, Lowland Peltop, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Hooded Butcherbird, Brahminy Kite, Coconut Lorikeet, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Black Sunbird, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, and a lot more. Because the birding  and wildlife watching trip is carried out along the sides of the river, it is much easier to see birds. Visitors can enjoy swimming too.

Riverwalk and Birdwatching Tour in Manokwari

We enjoy riverwalk tour and do birdwatching along the river banks. To enhance our birding experience, we bring binoculars, Swarovski spotting scopes and camera with telephoto lens. This rainforest tour in Mesirrokow forest opens jobs for local people and help them preserve their natural environment.

by Charles Roring