Sonder is a small district town in Minahasa regency of the North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. The capital of the province is Manado city. It takes around 1 hour 45 minutes to drive from the airport of Manado to Sonder town.
It is a great destination for tourists who love nature and are interested in wildlife especially birds and butterflies. The inhabitants of the town work as farmers, shop owners, government workers and car drivers.
In the past, Sonder was famous for its spice commodity especially clove. Now the farmers have diversified their agricultural produce. They grow tomatoes, cabbage, banana, papaya, corn, vanilla and etc.
The first place which visitors can easily reach is the Tounelet forest. It is located in the middle of Sonder. Walking down the slope of Tounelet village near Siloam Hospital, tourists could watch Sooty-headed Bulbul, Slender-billed Crow, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Brush Cuckoo, Chestnut Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia. Sometimes, Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove (Macropygia albicapilla), and Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis) land on the branches of the trees in that small Tounelet forest.
People in Sonder have trees at the front, side and backyard of their houses. They attract small birds such as Sahul Sunbird, Brown-throated Sunbird, Black-crowned White-eye, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Pale Blue Monarch and Collared Kingfisher. Walking around the alleyways of Sonder will allow visitors to see those birds.
As we walk further to the outskirts of Sonder town, we will pass by houses of farmers, poultry and pig farm areas as well as fish ponds and rice fields.
More birds could be seen outside the town, in hill farmland and paddy field areas we could watch Hair-crested (White-eye) Drongo, Black-naped Fruit Dove, Black-naped Oriole, Slender-billed Crow, White-breasted Woodswallow, Collared Kingfisher, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Purple Heron, White-browed Crake, Cinnamon Bittern, Sunda Teal, Barn Swallow, White-nest Swiftlet, and etc.
In the south of Sonder, government built asphalt paved road which is a great site for birding walk. There, we could watch birds such as Zebra Dove, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Sulawesi Cuckoo Dove, Finch-billed Myna and Sahul Sunbird and Brown-throated Sunbird, Collared Kingfisher, Barred Rail and Eastern Yellow Wagtail.
More interesting birds could be watched in the hill forest of Sonder. They include Mountain White Eye, White-faced Cuckoo-dove, Sulawesi Cuckoo Dove, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, and Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Black-faced Munia, Crimson Sunbird and a lot more.
Birding in the mountain forest could be done at around 06:30. Earlier than that, fog still covers the canopy of the forest.
Minahasa highland is a region in the Province of North Sulawesi of Indonesia. To visit it, tourists need to fly from their country to Manado city. There are direct flights from Guangzhou of China, and from Singapore to Manado city. For domestic flights to major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar, Balikpapan and Sorong, the flights are available everyday and are served by such airlines as Garuda, Citilink, Batik Air, Lion Air and TransNusa.
If you are interested in taking a birding and wildlife watching tour in, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp: +6281332245180
