The time had come for the final leg of our trip, Batanta Island for Wilson's Bird of Paradise and the other specialities, which are to be found here and on the nearby island of Salawati. We had arranged a week-long trip with Kris Tindige of the Papua Bird Club. This took quite a lot of effort to co-ordinate as whilst Kris is very efficient, his diary is usually booked up years in advance during the optimum season for birding in West Papua, which runs from about May to October. Having organised expeditions for Sir David Attenborough (see the recently released 'Attenborough in Paradise' DVD) and National Geographic, amongst others he is in great demand. After a fantastic time in North Sulawesi and on Halmahera we were looking forward to making it to Batanta, one of birding's true Meccas. Every serious world birder needs to go there at some point!
While the Indonesian government attempts to turn West Papua into a clone of the rest of the archipelago it still retains a very different atmosphere, especially away from the shiny mosque roofs of Sorong, with its hordes of settlers from South Sulawesi. There was a distinct frontier feeling to West Papua, from the moment we boarded the flight to Sorong in Manado and were delayed by a group of 44 noisy Papuans, laden with large shopping bags. Many of them were drunk and would not be left behind by their sober companions after they were refused boarding. We eventually took off two and half hours late after they had calmed down a bit, including eating breakfast on the runway! I can't imagine this happening in too many places.
On the morning of 25 September 2006 we made an uneventful crossing of the open sea from Sorong and I joked at the time that we had used up all our bad luck in seeing nothing but a single Black-naped Tern. We were soon travelling west along the Sagewin Strait, a narrow stretch of water separating the islands of Batanta and Salawati. Speeding along in our triple-outboard-motored boat we marvelled at the extent of forest cover still remaining on both islands. Commercial selective logging, mainly of the impressive ironwood trees, ceased about two years ago and the forests still look great. There are only a few cleared areas for gardens/ plantations close to the handful of homesteads along the coast and around a couple of small settlements. The steep slopes of Batanta, often shrouded in cloud and now protected as a nature reserve are fantastic. However we later found plenty of evidence that small scale illegal selective logging continues on both islands but this is fortunately not too extensive and large tracts of undisturbed forest remain, especially higher up.
We were looking for Nalman, a local hunter/guide who works for Kris. Without any landline or mobile phone coverage in this area the only means of communication is by word of mouth so we had stopped along the coastline of Salawati to ask a couple of fisherman who were passing by in their long dugout outrigger canoes, which are so characteristic of this region. After two or three, we approached another couple of canoes and as we neared them Kris suddenly shouted out 'Cassowary swimming to the sea'. After a couple of seconds of general disbelief at what we had just heard and then a mass panic getting cameras out of bags and checking settings etc we were soon watching the astonishing sight of a Northern Cassowary swimming in the sea only a few metres away.
It soon became obvious what was taking place. Three hunter's dogs, which were barking loudly on the shore, about 50 metres distant, had chased the Cassowary into the sea and it was now being rounded on by the two canoes. One of these appeared to be carrying an extended family, all no doubt looking forward to the capture of the beleaugered creature which was desperately trying to swim away from them. Although it seemed to be swimming quite strongly, looking like an oversized Finfoot, it was nowhere near as quick as the canoes and they rapidly closed in on it. The man at the front of the lead canoe dropped a noose around the Cassowary's neck, watched by the family in the other canoe. The bird started to choke, opening its bill widely, gasping for air. In a now weakened state the hunter grabbed it and hauled it into the front of the canoe and while avoiding a couple of kicks from the potentially lethal feet of the Cassowary, he tied its legs together. This is when Kris intervened. He persuaded the hunter to hand over the bird for 100,000 Indonesian Rupiahs (= only GBP6!) which is apparently the approximate worth of the bird for meat/ sale to a bird trader. It is maybe the best 100,000 he has ever spent? Kris later said that the locals appeared a little surprised and embarassed to be caught in the act by a boat of western birdwatchers as they knew very well who he was and of his efforts to conserve the local birdlife. Whilst paying for the release of the bird might potentially generate some disfunctional behaviour in the future we thought it more important to save the Cassowary at that moment.
Our boatman was suspiciously adept at getting the huge Cassowary into the back of our speedboat and once aboard we sped off along the coast for a couple of kilometres before releasing the bird into shallow water a few metres from the safety of the shore. It made a beeline for the beach and then rather nervously walked off into the forest. The Sagewin strait is a very special place, with lovely rainforest stretching right down to sandy beaches covered with corals. Having looked for Cassowary before and having failed to see a bird Janos Olah and Tamas Zalai were watching as I stood next to them, it was no surprise to see it quickly melt away into the forest, despite its huge size. We hope that it made off quickly enough to avoid the hunters and their dogs, who would no doubt be keen to double their money by recatching it. Kris suspected that as they had not killed the bird immediately, which would have been incredibly easy in the circumstances, they might have been hoping to take it alive for sale to a bird dealer.
Northern Cassowary is well known from this area. Mark van Beirs saw fresh footprints on the beach on Salawati in July this year and Kris was fortunate to see one during his previous visit in August. We later saw plenty of droppings whilst exploring the forest on both Salawati and Batanta but our rather noisy group probably reduced our chances of seeing one of their makers on land. Sadly, though predictably, all is not 100% well in this paradise. We heard the buzz of chainsaws on more than one occasion, the sonic boom of dynamite fishing on another morning and there were also a number of columns of smoke rising from forest near to the shore. Kris mentioned that there is also a serious problem with wild birds caught for the cage bird trade and sold illegally in Sorong. Species involved to his knowledge include Palm Cockatoo and even Mr Wilson himself. We also saw the macabre sight of the remains of a Papuan Frogmouth left to hang where it had been trapped by a fishing line loop snare.
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Papuan Frogmouth, Batanta Island (photo by Robert Vanyi)
The future of Eastern Indonesia's remaining forests must also be uncertain with the goverment's recent announcement that it will promote the production of bio-fuels. Both the timber and land of Batanta and northern Salawati represent a huge untapped resource and I wonder how long the present stay of exectuion of these amazing forests will last.
Despite these clouds on the horizon we had a great time on the islands and any birder wanting to see the special species endemic to this area would be wise to plan a visit sooner rather than later. An indication of the present level of interest in West Papua, now back on the list of safe places to visit, is that Birdquest's 2007 tour is already full and we are taking provisional bookings for 2008!
Northern Cassowary (Top two, fifth, sixth, eigth and tenth photos by Robert Vanyi, rest by Mike Watson)
Note that the bird's bare neck skin is very bright indeed and this may be related to the stress of the event. It also has a yellow wart on the lower neck The reduced casque, almost of Dwarf Cassowary proportions, suggests a male although their casques apparently grow in size throughout their life.
All this excitement and we had not even landed yet! More about our encounters with the incomparable Wilson's Bird of Paradise as well as Red and King BoPs to follow.
Mike Watson, Clitheroe, Lancashire
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