Papua New Guinea Islands: Manus and New West Britain Tuesday 1 September to Tuesday 8 September 2009 with Ian Burrows and Judy Davis as leaders. |
|
|
Cost: £TBA (not including international airfare) Single room supplement: £tba
Allow £TBA for flights if booked by Sunbird 2008
With the main Papua New Guinea tour Cost: £TBA (not including international airfare) Maximum group size: 12 with 2 leaders. The Bismarck Archipelago, including the Admiralty Islands, partly encloses the Bismarck Sea and comprises the eastern part of Papua New Guinea. These islands are mostly derived from the interaction between the Australian and Pacific plates and as such are very rugged in outline and contain many active volcanoes and hot springs. This geological hot spot holds many endemic species and contributes significantly to the bird diversity of the New Guinea region. Through colonisation by strong flying species from neighbouring islands and stray migrants from further afield, an impressive array of endemics has evolved over many thousands of years. Here can be found kingfishers, fruit-doves, imperial pigeons, pied monarchs, honeyeaters and friarbirds and many other species that occur nowhere else on earth. Manus boasts a number of attractive endemic and near endemic species but the great prize here is the stunning Superb Pitta. Previous visits at this time have shown the bird to be quite vocal at this time of year so we stand an excellent chance of seeing this rare and elusive species. West New Britain has many more attractive endemics, some very common and noisy such as the Blue-eyed Cockatoo and others both rare and secretive such as the New Britain Buzzard and the enigmatic Golden Owl. We will see a good range of these as well as well as some small-island species that are difficult to find elsewhere such as Nicobar Pigeon. We are also in with a good chance of finding the rare and little known Heinroth's Shearwater in its recently discovered feeding areas off Kimbe Point Day 1: The tour starts at breakfast time in Port Moresby. We will begin our birdwatching in the hill forest of Varirata National Park where we will be doing both savannah and rainforest birding. While in the park, we'll search for Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise and will hopefully have opportunities to enjoy the males displaying at a lek. We'll listen for the amazing growling call of the Eastern Riflebird and see our first manucodes, among the most primitive of the bird-of-paradise family. Elsewhere we'll look for the enormous nest mounds of the shy and retiring Black-billed Brush-turkey and with luck even the birds themselves. Kingfishers are an outstanding feature here and the rare Brown-headed Paradise-Kingfisher will be a primary target bird while the noisy trilling Yellow-billed Kingfisher can sometimes be located in its haunts in the forest canopy. PNG's incredible bird diversity will be experienced throughout the day as we search for other gems including Forest Kingfisher, the tiny and elusive Mountain Red-headed Myzomela, the very secretive and skulking Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler, the even more secretive Painted Quail-thrush, and the famous 'poisonous bird' - the Hooded Pitohui. Night in Port Moresby. Day 2-3: This morning we'll fly to Manus where we'll spend two days birding the main island. The prime target endemic species here is the rare and elusive Superb Pitta. With care, camouflage and patience we should get to see it as it responds to the calls of the local village guide. Other endemics we can expect here are Manus Hawk-Owl, Meek’s Pygmy-Parrot, the ubiquitous and noisy Manus Friarbird or 'Chauka' and Admiralty Pied Monarch. We will explore forest patches in the hope of seeing Red-knobbed and Island Imperial Pigeons, Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove, Common Golden Whistler and Black-headed White-eye. On our second afternoon we should have time to visit nearby Rara Island which holds Beach Kingfisher, Mackinlay's Cuckoo-Dove and Island Monarch. Nights in Lorengau. Day 4: After a morning birding near the coast at Momote we'll fly to West New Britain via Port Moresby. We'll spend the late afternoon and early evening exploring the grounds of our resort hotel and adjacent area. Night at Walindi. Day 5: This morning we'll visit lowland and hill forest near Hoskins and Kimbe to look for many seldom-seen endemics including Melanesian Scrubfowl, Red-knobbed, Yellow-tinted, Black and Finsch's Imperial Pigeons, Red-knobbed Fruit-Dove, Blue-eyed Cockatoo, White-mantled Kingfisher, Black-headed Paradise-Kingfisher, Violaceous and White-necked Coucals, Black-tailed Monarch, Lesser Shining Flycatcher, New Britain Friarbird, Ashy and New Britain Red-headed Myzomelas, Bismarck Wood-swallow, Long-tailed Myna and Island (Bismarck) Crow. Night at Walindi. Day 6: This morning we'll visit Restorf and Big Malo Malo islands by boat search for small island specialists including Nicobar Pigeon, Island Imperial Pigeon, Mackinlay's Cuckoo-Dove, and Scarlet-bibbed Myzomela. We can also expect to see Stephan's Ground-Dove, Yellow-bibbed Fruit-Dove, and Mangrove Golden Whistler. If the sea is calm we will also explore the waters around Kimbe Point for the rare endemic Heinroth's Shearwater which can sometimes be found among the seabirds attracted to bait fish shoals brought to the surface by feeding tuna. Night at Walindi. Day 7: We’ll spend the early morning birding near Walindi looking for any species that we may still be missing. Mid-morning we’ll transfer to Hoskins airport for a mid-day flight back to Port Moresby. The afternoon can either be spent relaxing at our Port Moresby hotel or for those who wish a return visit to Varirata National Park is an option. Night in Port Moresby. Day 8: The tour concludes this morning in Port Moresby.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated September 2008. |
|
Bird List