There are so many fantastic birds to see in the world and now, thanks to the internet, there is also the ability to quickly find a way of seeing them. It can sometimes be difficult to decide where to go next. I am always keen to ask people who have seen a large proportion of the world's birds, which is their favourite and why. One species which is mentioned time after time, by those who have seen it, is Wilson's Bird of Paradise. Mark van Beirs has seen more birds than most, at almost 7500 species and it remains his no.1 bird. Having watched the amazing footage of the BBC's 'Attenborough in Paradise' production, now combined with digital sound on DVD, I could easily understand why. I could not ignore this weight of opinion and my next trip was an easy choice.
An expedition-style trip is essential to see Wilson's Bird of Paradise and the vicinity of the small hamlet of Wai Lebed (or 'Wailebet') on Batanta Island, off the western end of West Papua is by far the easiest option. You can either join an organized tour group with a bird tour company or, as we did, gather a group of friends to help cover the cost of the now rather expensive trip. We chose Kris Tindige of the Papua Bird Club as he had operated many successful visits to Batanta, including expeditions for the BBC (Sir David Attenborough) and National Geographic. He proved excellent, along with his wife, Shita, who accompanied us to Batanta. It would not be sensible to opt for the cheaper alternative of a spur of the moment, locally-organised trip for reasons of safety and reliability. The companies who are used to running these trips are usually booked far in advance so you may also have to wait a while for your chance. Also the sea between Sorong on the mainland and the entrance to the Sagewin strait, along which Batanta Island is accessed can be quite rough, especially later in the year and a seaworthy boat with 2-3 engines as well as an experienced crew is a good idea. The other island on which Wilson's Bird of Paradise can be found, Waigeo, is further still and rough seas can make it difficult to land on. It could however be even more rewarding than Batanta with the birds lekking at sea-level and also the mythical Bruijn's Brush Turkey is lurking there somewhere!
Then there is the next hurdle to clear, the steep walk up a muddy trail to the lekking grounds, which are usually found above an elevation of around 350m. This might not sound much but in the heat and humidity beneath the forest canopy we would have traded it for a Scottish mountain three times higher. We were fortunate in having both porters for our camera bags and no rain immediately before nor during our visit as it was obvious that the trail would be many times more difficult when wet and slippery. We also had two practice walks behind us in Gunung Tangkoko in Sulawesi (very hard while still jet-lagged and unacclimatised) and the Standardwing lek at Kali Batu Putih on Halmahera so were pleasantly surprised to find the hike up to the Wilson's was much easier than we were expecting. However it is still a good idea to strip down to the waist for the walk and save soaking a shirt!
The walk is immediately inland from Kris's guest house and takes about 1 1/2 hours at a very easy pace, passing through a couple of garden clearings and then the remaining lowland forest before climbing steeply uphill, along a narrow ridge. It even has some flat sections higher up, allowing a little respite. We set off at 0400 and on the ascent 'iron-man' Juszti was at the front, as always, and fluked a Red-bellied Pitta roosting in a tree right next to the trail in the dark - his second amazing find of the trip (the first being the tame Sombre Kingfisher which sat in the same tree less than 10m from a busy road for 5 days). I had lazily accepted the offer of a porter for my camera bag and they were still way behind us so it was down to Robi to take some photos of the slumbering Pitta.
Red-bellied Pitta (photo by Robert Vanyi)
Be careful where you put your hands when crossing the numerous fallen tree trunks/butresses etc. along the trail. On the descent from our second visit to the lekking ground Stuart was aimlessly knocking chunks off a large rotting tree trunk. After he was attacked and badly stung by a swarm of bees a couple of days earlier I thought he would have been more cautious and I said jokingly 'you should be careful, there might be something nasty in there that will come out and get you and is there a hospital near here?' Of course there wasn't, the nearest hospital is three hours boat ride away in Sorong and that is providing the sea is OK, not to mention the approximately two hours it would take to carry him to the boat. Anyway, within about thirty seconds there was a shout of 'snake!' as a large nasty-looking yellow and brown snake, with the girth of a forearm had popped out of the tree trunk. We felt sure it must be a viper due to the diamond head shape and patterning along its back so we kept well clear, although we did gradually venture a little closer to take some photos. I was not 100% convinced as it looked too 'snouty' from above and it later transpired to be the viper-mimic - New Guinea Ground Boa (Candoia aspera) but very impressive nevertheless. It slithered back into its log after Juszti poked it a bit with a stick. I bet the porters were back there again with the local wildlife catcher the next day and it is now in a glass tank somewhere in Sorong!
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New Guinea Ground Boa (Candoia aspera)
Having reached the current lekking court we waited for the porters to arrive with the rest of our gear, took up position behind a screen of rattan palm fronds and sat and waited. Suddenly the combined weight of Juszti, me and especially Stu, of 284kg (we had weighed ourselves earlier on the baggage scales at Manado airport for a laugh) caused the makeshift bench constructed from the poles on which we were sitting to collapse with a huge crash. We were also a little subdued at the verdict from Kris that the lekking court was no longer in use as there was no area perfectly cleared of leaves on the ground. Could it be that we were too late in the season, or that he had started another lek somewhere else? We were however soon relieved to hear that there was still a male in residence when his ear-splitting call rang out from the forest about 20 metres away. Time passed, a Cinnamon Ground Dove walked through the lekking court and eventually we decided to resort to artificial methods and use playback to lure him into view. After several plays of the distinctive call he soon appeared, perched on a horizontal branch about 5 metres away. Fortunately a full adult male complete with tail curls, red and yellow 'rucksack' and perfect velvety plumage. He sat in the same position for several minutes, calling and allowed a perfect view, albeit in shady light under the forest canopy. After taking in his amazing array of special features such as his the bare blue skin of his 'brain' and his pale lemon gape we took some photos. After a while he ventured lower onto the ground and cleared a few leaves but did not indulge in any display. He was much trickier to follow here due to a matrix of branches and the palm fronds of the viewing screen partially obscuring our view. Also an immature male, with the first vestiges of red on his wings, joined his master briefly.
Good images of Wilson's Bird of Paradise in the wild are uncommon, as you will see from a google image search. This is partly due to the shady conditions in which they are usually seen and their apparent dislike of camera flash. There is however a special edition of National Geographic magazine on the way featuring Wilson's, amongst other Birds of Paradise, which, I am told by Kris Tindige, will include some stunning photos taken two years ago. I managed only one acceptable record shot, which taken at 1/4 second exposure and hand held at 350mm+ is not 100% sharp. It is however better than the large number of disappointing blurs which accompanied it on my CFcard. The immature male seemed to be accompanying the full adult male and maybe there is some kind of bachelor group system at leks, as in Manakins. My record shot of Mr Wilson's apprentice is even less sharp!
Wilson's Bird of Paradise (adult male)
Wilson's Bird of Paradise (immature male)
As far as looks were concerned we all agreed he was a new entry at number one however I think that a lot of other factors certainly added to our impression of him. His extreme rarity for a start, the expedition-style nature of the trip, boat journey and all, the hard walk to the lekking ground, the amazing location high in the pristine rainforest and of course months of anticipation. Although we had a good idea of what we were going to see it was still an amazing experience. It also pays to remember that not everyone is successful in their attempts to see him! On our second attempt, a couple of days later, he was not at all co-operative, just coming in to check us out quickly, again together with his apprentice, after which he kept his distance. We saw another male briefly a little further downslope and heard at least 2 others but our first sighting remained the best one.
Afterwards we celebrated with a swim in the sea. Kris's guest house is located on the beach with a beautiful garden of corals only a few metres offshore. An idyllic setting in paradise!
Top - Coral garden and bottom - Brain coral, Batanta Island (photos by Robert Vanyi)
Mike Watson, Clitheroe, Lancashire
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