19 Oct 2022

Birds of Paradise Birding Bonanza on Waigeo

An early morning breakfast of 0330 hours failed to deter or dampen the spirits of those aboard Heritage Adventurer who were eagerly lining up to board the Zodiacs at 0430 hours for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view Indonesia's famed Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise and Red Bird-of-Paradise.

Our adventure starts with a moonlight Zodiac cruise as we cut across the black water, spotting a shooting star we take it as a good omen for our early morning outing. Disembarking the Zodaics, we split up into what Heritage Expeditions famously describes as "the best available transport at the time" (in this instance a fleet of SUVs) before bouncing our way towards the jungle tracks which will lead us to the lek tree of the Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise (the short hike) and the display area of the Red Bird of Paradise (the longer hike).

Walking single file through the moonlit jungle we're accompanied by the ever increasing avian orchestra of the most incredible dawn chorus. Every few minutes a new bird expertly adds its call to the soaring symphony, which stops guests in their tracks in appreciation of the rare privilege to be in this moment.

The short walkers arrive at the Red Bird-of-Paradise lek first, hidden within the three-levelled hide it's not long before they are treated to the wildlife nature documentary come to life displays of three males in exquisite plumage calling and literally shaking their incredibly long tail feathers instantly deleting the memory of the early morning rise. Equally impressive was the OCD house proud Wilson's Bird-Bird of Paradise whose immaculate maintenance of his display area, seductive calls and bright red, yellow and blue metallic colouring were sure to effortlessly woo any females in the vicinity.

Guests opting for a sleep in enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and snorkel excursion to the underwater wonderland and coral gardens of Pulau Friwin. The birders will likely turn in early this evening with another early start and the prospect of seeing 3 additional Bird-of-Paradise species (among others) up in the Arfak Mountains tomorrow.

Image on file (c): D.Brown