Papua New Guinea30th June-22nd July 2009See photo pages hereThis full report is also available as a PDF fileBlow-by-blow birding accountSaturday 27th June – Monday 29th JuneA horrible blur! We left Gatwick at 1500 on Saturday, broke the journey in Dubai late at night, and arrived in Singapore early afternoon Sunday local time. We easily got to Helen's apartment at Holland Peak, and she was very welcoming and understanding of our general grottiness! Dinner was an Aussie style feast in Holland Village (Asian Koel, Javan Myna, Pacific Swallow), but we were heads down by 2000. Next morning, Helen had left for work early, and we left at 0800 or so for a morning on Bukit Timah, a tiny fragment of primary rainforest. It was swelteringly hot and humid from an early hour! Birds were a bit thin on the ground, but we did score with Black-naped Oriole, a stunning Crimson Sunbird, Black-nest Swiftlet, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Brown-headed Barbet, Striped Tit-babbler and Olive-winged and Yellow-vented Bulbuls. We also saw Long-tailed Macaques, and lots of herps – geckos, skinks and two kinds of snake, one of them an alarming and very slithery tree snake – possibly even a “flying snake” species....yuk. Hot and bothered, but happy enough, we had a slap-up Chinese lunch (with a Tree Sparrow on the pavement outside for a year tick), then packed up at the flat, and hit the road for the airport late afternoon. The Air Niugini flight to Port Moresby left about on time at 2100, but it was not comfortable, and Simon had a distinct problem when he got one of his headphone “gummies” thoroughly jammed in his left ear canal! Feeling like the kid with a saucepan on his head in casualty, we garnered some tips re Port Moresby hospitals and ENT specialists from the stewardess – thankfully it worked its way out just enough for Julia to extract it with her tweezers at the airport.... ....where of course we FINALLY arrived, in fact very early on.... Tuesday 30th JuneThe ground agents brought us to the Gateway Hotel, where we SLEPT for some four hours! At lunch we met our leaders, David (Shackelford) and Frank (Lambert), ate pizza, and then hit the rather meagre gardens for half an hour – new birds, inevitably, ranging from the ubiquitous Willie-wagtail, to Rufous-banded and Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters, Brown Oriole, Torresian Crow, White-breasted Woodswallow and even (gasp) House Sparrow! We met up with the first four “others” (Phil from California, Dotty from Arizona and Bill & Marsha from Texas) in the group at 1500 (after another snooze for Simon!), and headed off for the Pacific Adventist University campus on the edge of town. The birding here was dead easy – open lawns, ponds and big trees – and the rewards were superb, with most of the wanted waterfowl (e.g. Pied Cormorant and Heron, Comb-crested Jacana, Australasian Grebe and Pacific Black Duck), numerous landbirds (e.g. Black-backed Butcherbird, Grey-headed Munia, Fawn-breasted Bowerbird (plus a bower!), New Guinea Friarbird, Singing Starling, Yellow-faced Myna and lots of migrant White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes), plus Sacred Kingfisher, Black, Brahminy and Whistling Kites, Rainbow Lorikeet, Red-cheeked Parrot, several Columbids, including Bar-shouldered Dove, Torresian Imperial Pigeon and Orange-fronted Fruit-dove, but the undoubted highlight was a roosting pair of enormous, log-like Papuan Frogmouths – epic! What a great start – deceptively easy, we're quite sure, but WOW! What a start! Back to the hotel for dinner and an early night....after meeting the rest of the “others”: Ron, Carole, Tom and Sue, all from Texas. See photo pages hereWednesday 1st JulyAnd we needed that early night, as we were up at 0400, and breakfasting at 0430! The drive to Varirata NP took about an hour, and although it was hardly light when we arrived, we were none too early, as we could hear Raggiana BoPs calling as soon as we got out of the bus.... A short walk into the woods, and there they were, calling and flying about in the treetops. As the light got up, several full males began their astonishing “inside-out” plume displays – attended by a few females, and the odd sub-adult male. What a bird – and what a start to the day! The pace hardly slackened, as we explored first some open areas by the “car park” - turning up, among others, Hooded Pitohui, Zoe Imperial Pigeon, three roosting Marbled Frogmouths, Fairy and Green-backed Gerygones, Rainbow Bee-eater, Black Berrypecker (seen badly), Frilled and Spot-winged Monarchs, Varied Triller, several Cuckoo-shrike species, Chestnut-bellied Fantail, Little Shrike-thrush, Black-fronted White-eye and Oriental Dollarbird. Two forays along narrow forest tracks were productive as well – Russet Paradise-kingfisher was a real star, and also good were Black-faced Monarch, Olive Flyrobin, Rusty Mouse Warbler and Yellow-bellied Gerygone, plus a six-foot long swimming racer snake sp., but sadly we could not glimpse calling Painted Quail-thrush nor Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler. Daniel led us up a steep track, and (magically) there was a Barred Owlet-nightjar peering out of its hole high in a eucalyptus. Another family nailed! After a semi-leisurely lunch (we cracked and revisited one of the forest trails!), we tried hard for Crested Pitohui, which we could hear calling, but dipped – but more than made up for that with a stunning Growling (=Eastern Magnificent) Riflebird calling and flying about, and Mimic Honeyeater too. One last (moderately technical) forest trail was slow at first, but livened up with a female Magnificent BoP, more Riflebirds, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Long-billed Honeyeater, Wompoo Fruit-dove and Papuan (or Pygmy) Drongo. Finally, all now feeling drained, we spent an hour in a much more open area of hillside savanna – Hooded Butcherbird, Little Bronze- and Brush Cuckoos, Black-capped Lory, Grey Shrike-thrush, Brown Cuckoo-dove, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Lemon-bellied Flyrobin and White-bellied Whistler. Delayed jetlag and a very long day then struck – and we were back at the hotel before dark. A great day – and that was only the first! Thursday 2nd JulyA slightly later start – but only slightly – and away again in darkness, this time west of Port Moresby and for some more open country birding in the coastal lowlands. We spent the first five hours or so of daylight alongside the road and on various tracks and trails through wet grasslands and savanna, and some coastal secondary forest, around the Brown River. Birds were slow to come at times, but come they did, with some superb quality – Eclectus Parrot, Red-flanked Lorikeet, Zoe and Pinon Imperial Pigeons, Pink-spotted and Orange-bellied Fruit-doves, Grey-headed Goshawk and Brown Goshawk, both Kookaburras, both Sunbirds, Tawny-breasted and Graceful Honeyeaters, Great Black Coucal, Spotted Whistling-duck, Streak-headed Munia and White-shouldered Fairy-wren did for us in the open area. We were also regaled with hundreds of Great Flying-foxes flying off to roost. Inside the damp forest, we scored with Black-winged and Frilled Monarch, Papuan Needletail, Black Thicket-fantail, Papuan Flowerpecker, Common Paradise-kingfisher and some absolutely stunning Emperor Fairy-wrens. We then had an hour's drive towards the coast, stopping for Scooby-snacks and fizzy pop at a service station en route, where we also topped up with the very local Silver-eared Honeyeater. Towards the coast, swampy grasslands produced Golden-headed Cisticola, Green Pygmy-goose, Wandering Whistling-duck, Black-backed Swamphen, Streaked Lory and an excellent fly-by Great Cuckoo-dove. We had lunch on the beach by the Coral Sea, under some coconut palms, in the cool of the trade winds – we bartered with small boys: the remains of our lunch for a fresh coconut, sliced and diced by machete. Sounds pretty good, eh? Overhead, a Great Frigatebird was a lifer, but a Whimbrel on the beach was more prosaic! Next, it was time to try for some mangrove specialities – much time, effort, patience and tape-luring produced great views of Mangrove Gerygone and Shining Flycatcher, and a more difficult but very satisfying Mangrove Robin, but sadly no Mangrove Fantail. The drive back was uneventful, except for a mixed flock of Grey-headed and Chestnut-breasted Munias, a perched Australian Hobby, an overflying Royal Spoonbill, and a magical moment when we had a female Eclectus Parrot and a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (family tick!) in the same scope view by the roadside. Back by 1815 – not bad at all! Friday 3rd JulyJulia's Birthday! Could she match 2008's Mountain Gorillas? Well.... A leisurely start, with a departure time of 0745 for the domestic airport terminal. The missing bags finally turned up for Bill and Marsha (four days late!), and we were (astonishingly) away on time for the 90 minute flight to Tari (via Straw-necked Ibis on the airfield). Our arrival was something of an event, with literally hundreds of locals lined up along the chain-link fence to see the plane arrive – startling, and a bit like being The Beatles! And there was the added bonus of a female Papuan Harrier, two Hooded Munias, and a distant Mountain Peltops. We got on the bus with our local guide, Benson, and trundled off for the 45 drive to Ambua Lodge, past lots of elaborately done-up wigmen with Cassowary, BoP and Cockatoo plumes in their wigs. We were even able to 1% tick King of Saxony BoP from a pair of plumes.... The lodge is truly magnificent – dozens of thatched bungalows stunningly set among clipped lawns and verdant greenery, overlooking the Tari Valley. Lunch was good too – but the birds were calling us. Just a few minutes in the garden turned up Short-tailed Paradigalla, Brown Sicklebill, Loria's Satinbird, Yellow-browed Melidectes, Tit Berrypecker, Black-breasted Boatbill, Black Monarch and Orange-billed Parakeet. Despite some rain, we then spent a good three hours in the field up the hill, birding the roadside – and what a roadside! The first bird we saw was an absolutely stunning, astonishing, brilliant, not-a-letdown-even-one-little-bit KING OF SAXONY BIRD OF PARADISE!!! Crackling away and waving “those” headplumes – what an absolutely amazing, crippling, brilliant bird – no.2 on Simon's all-time list. Only a sum. plum. Black-throated Diver beats that! Does Mountain Gorilla beat it as a birthday bird? Ask Julia. Also along the road we had a stack of other great birds – Ribbon-tailed Astrapia (no full males yet!), Common Smoky and Grey-streaked Honeyeaters, Belford's Melidectes, Black-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Papuan Mountain Pigeon, Regent and Brown-backed Whistlers, Friendly Fantail, Fan-tailed Berrypecker, Ifrit, Papuan Lorikeet, Buff-faced Scrubwren and Tawny Grassbird. When the rain finally stopped play, we even added Princess Stephanie's Astrapia and several Yellow-billed Lorikeets. After a yummy dinner, Simon (with Ethan's help) even managed to add a night bird – a calling Papuan or Jungle Boobook Owl. Nice! Not so nice was the fact that come 2100, he was feeling viral and feverish.... See photo pages hereSaturday 4th JulyAnd unfortunately his illness was the main feature of the next two days for Simon! After a terrible night, and no breakfast, he sallied forth with the group, and it was indeed a very good morning – although he felt like death! The highlights were definitely a stunning male Wattled Ploughbill and not one but two Papuan Treecreepers showing very well – our local guide Benson has only seen it three times before, and David was drooling too! We had excellent views of male Princess Stephanie's Astrapias, and a quiet pair of Brehm's Tiger-parrots were good, as was a Rufous-backed Honeyeater. A slow forest trail produced brief sightings of Mountain Mouse Warbler and Chestnut Forest-crake, but we could not get on to calling Lesser Melampitta, Lesser Ground Robin or Spotted Jewel-babbler....grrrr! And while we heard a Papuan Harpy Eagle in the distance – could we see it? No. Ditto Black-throated Honeyeater. This is not an easy country to go birding! Lunchtime saw Simon retreat to bed and Julia go in the wrong direction – so we both missed two mega raptors – Meyer's and Black-mantled Goshawks. Later on, a second drive saw Simon spending most of the time in the back of the bus, thus missing a male Ribbon-tailed Astrapia and Red-collared Myzomela....but Rufous-naped Whistler, White-winged Robin and Slaty (Blue-grey) Robin made up a bit! More groaning and bed retreat followed. Sunday 5th JulySimon woke feeling a little better (not much) but with the guts doing all kinds of crazy acrobatics – so he regretfully decided to sit out today at the lodge. At least there was a Blue Bird of Paradise (female) to enjoy before the group left, and in their absence, he did score with Papuan and Large Scrub-wrens, Black Cuckoo-shrike and Mid-mountain Berrypecker. Julia did the gripping in some style, with Lawe's Parotia, Island Leaf Warbler, Mountain White-eye and best of all a stunning Sooty Owl in its nest hole. Almost more interesting was the experience of being helped across log bridges and swamps by curious villagers, many dressed traditionally in feathers, shells, wigs etc. The afternoon session for Simon was simply the access track to the lodge and the Waterfall Trail – which were actually quite good – he got back Sclater's Whistler and Mountain Leaf Warbler, and saw Black Fantail and Black Pitohui too, plus a selection of the typical local birds. But then the rain and thunder arrived – I wonder how Julia is getting on......? I write this in my cosy, dry cabin, not really regretting my decision to stay behind at all! Actually, she did do pretty well – Lesser Melampitta, Lesser Ground Robin and more Ifrits, and another chance to hear (but not see) various other forest species. This was all in amongst sliding about in thick mud on those damn trails! Watercress soup for dinner was enough to tempt Simon to try actual sustenance – oh dear. Another bad night followed – you don't want to know the details.... Monday 6th JulyAfter barely two hours' sleep we discovered that the Ciprofloxacin Simon had started yesterday was years out of date – which would account for it not working!? Ron kindly let Simon start on his course, and amazingly, within an hour, things were looking up, and the (short) morning's birding, on the lower road slopes down from Ambua was actually fine! And there were good birds to see – male Black Sicklebill, two displaying male Blue BoPs and best of all a displaying Superb BoP – what a start! Add in Hooded Munia, Great Cuckoo-dove and a grip-back for Simon in Papuan White-eye, and it was not a bad morning. The last Tari bird was a Brown Goshawk – so we ended as we had started, with cool raptors over the airstrip. We “checked in” at the bizarre little hut, but then we sallied forth for a spot of secondhand clothes shopping (Frank), competitive street darts (Simon) and soft drinks (most of us). Amazingly, the flight arrived through the clouds on time, and we were away just a few minutes late, at 1130. Sadly, we couldn't talk our pilot into a diversion to our final destination, Mount Hagen (it can be done!), so it was all the way back to Port Moresby, an absurd circular baggage reclaim and recheck-in, and then takeaway pizza for lunch in departures. The really good news was that Simon wanted to and could eat some, with no fear of consequences! The flight to Hagen was only an hour (shared with the provincial Rugby League team on their way back from New Britain – they had lost, unfortunately, but were friendly nevertheless), and on arrival, Wacko (our ground agent) and Max (our bird guide) met us. All logistics had worked on the trickiest travel day so far! Simon went shopping in a supermarket with Frank and David, mainly to get replacement Ciprofloxacin for Ron (done, but only by sweet-talking the pharmacist into reopening), but also for a late birthday present for Julia – a BoP mug, a big bar of Dairy Milk and a pair of camouflaged knickers. Simon is a man of taste.... And onwards by bus to Kumul Lodge. The Mount Hagen area is obviously a lot more peopled and modern than Tari, and we saw few birds of note en route, with the notable exception of an Archbold's (or Montane, or Cloud-forest) Nightjar on the road right near the lodge! Result. We arrived in darkness, and after negotiating our hot water (or lack of it) and wondering why the room was decorated in the style of a 1973 Albanian porn movie (purple satin bedspread, “Get Up, Be Happy!” monogrammed sheets, camouflage curtains, ice-cream/teapot themed pink and yellow psychedelic rug...you get the picture), we had a feed, a shower, and then collapsed. We suspect tonight will be better than last night.... See photo pages hereTuesday 7th JulyOh yes! A truly great night's sleep, on a truly comfortable bed – excellent. After a dubious breakfast, we were soon out exploring the camp grounds and surrounding trails – lots to see, such as Mountain Firetail, the stunning Crested Berrypecker (another family complete – albeit one of only two species!), Island Thrush, Large Scrub-wren, Rufous-naped Whistler, Black-backed Honeyeater, White-winged Robin and so on. We split off from the main group with Ron and our local guide Max to negotiate a more difficult section of forest trail – good fun, if light on birds actually seen – “just” Orange-crowned Fairy-wren to add. Sadly, we were at the wrong end of the group when a New Guinea Woodcock flushed from a wet ditch....and Julia lost her umbrella! And of course there was the highly rustic, fruit-covered bird-table to enjoy – what a line-up! Ribbon-tailed Astrapia, Brown Sicklebill (the male a stunning beast, with an azure “airbrake” on his back and a bright-yellow gape), Brehm's Tiger-parrot, Mountain Firetail, a dowdy but very rare Archbold's Bowerbird, Belford's Melidectes, Smoky Honeyeaters and more. After lunch, and another nap on “that” bed, we set off in the van, down valley. Before long, a group of oddly tailless passerines popped up in flight alongside us - “STOP!” Black Sittellas – cool! Another new family, and a welcome sighting of a potentially tricky forest species. The rain then began, but it didn't last too long, and we spent the afternoon mostly getting too hot in our raingear! The bird quality was good – Red-collared and Mountain Red-headed Myzomelas, Marbled Honeyeater, Papuan (?) White-eye, White-shouldered Fairy-wren, and further down the valley, Black Fantail, a displaying Superb BoP and all kinds of “fillers” which were jaw-dropping life ticks but days ago! You do have to pinch yourself sometimes.... The last goodie of the day was Torrent Flycacther – we found a pair right by the river (so no shock there). Post dinner (more inedible fish....), we had a quick try for Mountain Owlet-nightjar, but heard not a squeak (and they do squeak) on what was perhaps too calm and clear a night for them. Latish night – early start tomorrow.... Wednesday 8th JulyOuch! Up at 0400, and away at 0500, first for an hour in the bus, then for half an hour in 4x4s up a precipitous track – only to arrive at a tiny village with a grassy, flat area with two palm-frond gazebos, of which we happily made use as the rain began. But we were encouraged, as we could hear our target species calling the Casuarina trees nearby.... And as the rain stopped, the seven or so male Lesser Birds of Paradise started displaying to the females, turning inside out, arching their tail plumes over their heads, extending their wings and bowing excitedly. What a show! Also here were some more subtle but equally cool Ornate Honeyeaters. After an hour or so, we dodged more showers and birded our way down the steep track in daylight – the top bird was undoubtedly a brief but showy Yellow-breasted Bowerbird. It really was looking like a wet day, and we did well to find another brief gap in the clouds to check out more rapids by a different bridge. Here we saw no fewer than four Torrent Flycatchers, plus a new bird in Mountain (or Hill-forest) Meliphaga (or Honeyeater). Then Julia struck gold – she found an absolutely brilliant Torrent Lark (yet another new family) doing a Forktail impression amongst the boulders! Back to the lodge for an early lunch , and then down Max's trail to look for a Crested BoP David had glimpsed earlier. No joy. Then, we braced up and got ready for an afternoon on some forest trails. But no – the rain went biblical on us, so plan B came into effect – birding from the balcony and a bit of photography, This technique paid off – twice. First, we finally had point-blank Crested Berrypeckers for the camera, and then, remarkably, a shout went up to get to Tom and Carole's room. They had a male Crested BoP outside their window – and RIGHT outside their window! It was about 50cm from the glass, and posing and calling like a film star – an incredible bird, and totally unbelievable views. We then split off on our own in another brief gap in the rain, and with no great reward, birded the lower forest track once again. Thursday 9th JulyThis morning dawned bright and sunny, and it was with optimism that we headed off to Max's Trail, about a ten minute drive downhill. This was easily the most bird-filled forest trail so far – almost the first bird was a Lesser Melampitta, which Simon unblocked with relief (having been quite the opposite of blocked in another sense when Julia saw it earlier in the eek....) and we then taped out a bit of a mega – a Forbes's Forest-crake. Again, Spotted Jewel-babbler called tantalisingly but refused to appear, and we could not see a calling Ashy Robin. But we did find Tit Berrypecker, Red-collared Myzomela, Black-throated Honeyeater (at last!), Garnet Robin, Mid-mountain Berrypecker and a variety of other forest birds. The trail, while steep in places, was in pretty good shape – we recommend it! Back for lunch, and then the group went two ways – we stayed behind to do Max's Trail again, and the rest went off for a “cultural event” in Mt Hagen town. So we got a mini-doze – and awoke to torrential rain! After a postponed departure, it did eventually ease off, and we set off with Frank in a 4x4. The weather was in and out – sometimes apocalyptic again – and we didn't see much new, apart from a Mottled Whistler, but it was great to be in proper forest “on our own” as it were. Finally, rain drove us back home! A nice simple day – birding in the forest and mugs of steaming tea. Friday 10th JulyUp at the usual time, but no early morning birding today – we had to get to Mt Hagen airport to make sure we got seats on our (overbooked) flight. Thanks to David's persuasive diplomacy and insistence (plus Texan muscle), we did – only for the seats to be sold again, and he had to repeat the trick.... With stacks of time before the flight (two Papuan Harriers and some “Richard's” Pipits relieved the boredom by the airport fence), we had an hour in a delightful coffee shop just round the corner – the best coffee in PNG so far! Finally, just a bit late, we departed at 1145. It was only an hour to the hot lowlands of Kiunga, where we ticked off Australian Pratincole on the airstrip, and then just twenty minutes before we were off again, this time just 25 minutes to the cool, very cloudy mining town of Tabubil. A very odd place! Very much a company town, with lots of “official notices” everywhere from the Ok Tedi Mining Corporation (rather in the “Big Brother is Watching You” mould....). Our hotel (Cloudlands – the only one in town) is clearly a bit of a drinking dive for a certain sector of society (hairy blokes)....we shall see what it's like later on a Friday night! It seems to be a “theme bar” - where the theme is “getting wasted”. After a late lunch, we drove for about half an hour, in a tiny van, through the valleys and through a kilometre-long, torrent-filled tunnel, and out at a small dam. Within minutes, our target bird was nailed – a pair of Salvadori's Teal bobbing about in the shallows just upriver – cool! We added a distant female Greater BoP, plus Hooded Butcherbird, Helmeted Friarbird and Torrent Flyrobin, and then we resigned to the ever worsening weather and retreated, via a supermarket shop for Julia to get a new umbrella, back to our hotel for dusk. See photo pages hereSaturday 11th JulyDablin Creek today – it's not a long way from town, and we were there shortly after dawn – which was grey and pretty miserable! The forest here is sadly being cleared year by year – of course, we can only get into the forest in the first place because of the pipeline access road, so we can hardly complain, and it's a tiny patch of deforestation in a vast sea of intact hill forest, which is most heartening! Birds were a bit slow to come at times, but we ended up racking up a good list – highlights included Black Butcherbird (a getback for us both!), Long-billed, Scrub, Obscure and Spotted Honeyeaters, Orange-breasted Fig-parrot, Yellow-bellied Flyrobin, White-eared Bronze Cuckoo and Black-shouldered and Grey-headed Cuckoo-shrikes. The weather did curtail us badly however – in driving rain, we retreated to the hotel by mid-morning! After lunch, when things looked brighter, it started to rain again, but we set off anyway, and revisited Dablin Creek. In improving conditions (but eventually rain drove us back at 1715!), we saw some of the same birds again, plus additions in Crinkle-collared Manucode, Mountain Peltops, high-flying Blue-collared Parrots (their habitat appears to be fog, and they sound like wind chimes!), perched Papuan Lorikeets (red ones), delightful Red/Rose-breasted Pygmy-parrots (behaving like nuthatches), and a further two new Cuckoo-shrikes – Stout-billed and the immensely attractive Golden. Hard work today – bad weather and a very steep, rough track to negotiate up and down – but some good birds! Sunday 12th JulyTabubil really is going to have to go down as one of the greyest, wettest, most miserable places we've ever been birding! The plan today had been to visit a remote forest site on the Ok Ma road, but severe rains (surprise surprise) had washed out the bridge a few weeks earlier, so we needed a plan B. We started especially early to get to the forest near “the tunnel”, arriving in the dark – and we did indeed hear a Shovel-billed Kingfisher calling in the murk and drizzle. But could we see it? Not a chance. The rain got steadily worse, and it was only extreme persistence which saw us finding new birds – Variable Pitohui, Bare-eyed Crow, Northern Fantail, Pacific Baza, Black Myzomela, Orange-fronted Hanging-parrot and dire views of Slaty-headed Longbill, Dusky Lory and Blue-faced Parrotfinch. A female BoP resolved itself (eventually) into a Carola's Parotia. We did eventually retreat, and of course over lunchtime, it was dry and bright. We set off again at 1400 – and on the way to Dablin (bloody) Creek, it started raining again, and hardly stopped....oh god. Birds were very few and far between – the only new ones were a rapid flyby by four Fairy Lorikeets, and (much rarer, but actually a rubbish bird!) an Obscure Berrypecker. But it was all too much – we've had enough of this place, basically! Monday 13th JulyAnd we awoke to rain as well! Away nice and early, by road (thank God – no flight would have flown today!) and a couple of roadside stops, producing poor views of White-bellied Thicket-fantail, invisible Rufous-tailed Bush-hen (although Julia saw one crossing the road later) and a non-existent Little Ringed Plover of the resident (split?) form. But the weather at least improved as we descended. A quick stop overlooking an extensive forested valley turned up trumps with a couple of Vulturine (Pesquet's) Parrots flying by and perching up in a big tree, plus Blue-collared Parrots and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. There was also a brief Channel-billed Cuckoo by the roadside. We arrived in Kiunga in time for lunch (fish soup and yet another omelette and chips!), and shortly afterwards headed out once more, this time to the famous km17 site, where we did see some Greater BoPs (although not displaying). Sadly, the forest was a lot quieter than we had hoped, and while we did add Yellow-bellied Longbill, Chameleon (or Variable Dwarf) Kingfisher, Greater Streaked Lory and (for Julia) Red-flanked Lorikeet, we were again left frustrated by a Jewel-babbler, this time Blue, which was seemingly within feet of us, but remained wholly invisible..... Equally, a King BoP remained out of sight, and Wallace's Fairy-wrens afforded only untickable views. So we were left feeling a little flat this evening – here's hoping tomorrow is a big improvement! See photo pages hereTuesday 14th JulyWe started the day at dawn at the famous “Bowerbird Bump” on Boystown Road, surrounded by decent forest, and with a bit of height into the bargain. We scored steadily, with such goodies as Moustached Tree-swift, Meyer's Friarbird, Yellow-capped Pygmy-parrot, Superb Fruit-dove, Crinkle-collared and a single (calling) Trumpet Manucode, some magnificent Blyth's Hornbills, Metallic Starlings (wow!), Lowland Peltops and a very distant but eminently tickable male Flame Bowerbird – a stunner. We ventured into the forest for yet another chance to miss a Blue Jewel-babbler – and very nearly did! We had poor, brief views only – these birds are perhaps the hardest of all time – even worse than Ant-thrushes...? As the heat built up, the birds became inactive, and so did we for an hour or two over lunch. But by 1430, we were ready once again, and returned to km17 for some more forest dipping - sorry: birding. In fact, it was cool – we visited the BoP display area and had good views of Greater and Raggiana BoPs, plus one or two hybrids thrown in for good measure! The highlight had to be when two male Raggianas got into a spot of handbagging and tumbled down from the canopy with feet locked, like a giant brown feather duster. They hit the ground and then got all embarrassed, flying off in opposite directions! Other than the BoPs, the forest was pretty quiet, and with rain starting to fall, we beat a tactical retreat. Wednesday 15th JulyJungle adventure day! Up before dawn (as ever) and a very short bus ride down to Kiunga “docks” - actually a muddy creek in a small shanty town! We waded down to the boats, loaded up, and soon we were off, with us, Phil and Frank in one boat with the luggage, and the others in another boat with David. Our driver, Edmund, turned out to be a top chap – a good birder and very friendly throughout the two days. Within a few minutes, we were seeing birds in the gloaming, and views got progressively better as the sun came up. Among the very first birds were three rather distant Twelve-wired BoPs on top of dead tree snags – mega-tick! Also seen were two Rufous Night-herons, heading off to roost, Golden Myna, many Collared Imperial Pigeons (and various other pigeons), Striated Heron, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (and lots of other parrots) and a Long-tailed Honey-buzzard (plus a few other raptors, such as Pacific Baza and Brahminy Kite). After heading up the Fly River for half an hour and turning onto the Elevala, we stopped for an hour at a village, seeing a male and three female Flame Bowerbirds (briefly) at a fruiting tree, plus a Glossy-mantled Manucode to complete our set. Just one more BoP required now! We finally left the Elevala River and turned up the Ketu River, the channel getting narrower and narrower – and the water level was very low, too, exposing a lot of hazardous fallen trees. We finally reached the very scenic and rustic (ahem), and not to mention brand new Kwatu Lodge, built by Samuel and his chums, perched on top of a high river bluff – perfect. After a quick lunch, it was off into the forest over the river, and within minutes, we were in The Court of the Crimson King – an absolutely stunning male King BoP displaying right over our heads, all aflame with carmine red, pure white below, and two ridiculous emerald green tail rackets, which resembled tiddlywinks. Blackjack – 21 BoP species in the bank, with males of almost all, and not a few of them in full display. Hardly less quality followed in the next hour or two – Little and Common Paradise-kingfishers, Hook-billed Kingfisher and our favourite, a stunning, jewel-like Hooded Pitta. Epic. Night fell quickly (though not before Simon only had distant scope views of a Palm Cockatoo), and we stuffed our faces before aborting our planned night walk on account of heavy rain. Thursday 16th JulyOur nights contrasted – Simon slept very well, but Julia had a grim night – itchy mozzie bites, heat etc. At least she had Nemo the adorable ginger cat to cuddle out on the veranda at 0200! Great cat. We got up at 0515, and went straight out for some night-birding – frustratingly, although we taped it in to within what must have been a few metres, we could not see the Spangled Owlet-nightjar – drat! Can't win them all. After breakfast (and the rare Yellow-eyed Starling in the scope), we went just a short way downriver to yet another muddy stopping place, where we had stunning views of a male Twelve-wired BoP in display, much closer this time, and with scope views available – mmmmm! Less cool but also good to complete another set was Large-billed Gerygone. Frank even got a tick at this spot – White-crowned Koel, and so did Julia – her very first leech bite. Back to the lodge for a quick coffee, then into the forest on foot – and we had our best couple of forest hours of the whole trip – excellent stuff. The top birds were undoubtedly a smart Red-bellied Pitta, Wallace's Fairy-wren, Golden, Frilled, Hooded and Spot-winged Monarchs, Rufous-backed Fantail, Yellow-billed Kingfisher and Yellow-gaped Honeyeater. Truly top birding! After lunch, it was time to say goodbye to Nemo and the camp staff, and away we roared in the boats, along a much risen and faster-flowing river. And yes! we nailed that Palm Cockatoo on a dead tree, courtesy of Edmund's sharp eyes – and knowing where there was a nest! Hot and feeling incredibly dirty, we got back to Kiunga at about 1600, and after wading through an open sewer to another shanty town to get back to civilisation, made our way through a building site (saying hello to the foreman on the way), and emerged, gasping somewhat, at the now-familiar Kiunga guest-house. Relief! Friday 17th JulyAfter a pretty rotten night's sleep (some drunk bloke arguing with the security guards at 0300....), we stumbled down to breakfast at 0630 while David and Frank organised the bags at the airport. The flight was on time (pretty much) at 0850, and it was about two hours back to Port Moresby. Back to the Gateway Hotel, and introductions to our new companions – Mark from Aberdeen, Scotland and Jack, John and Doug from Hamilton, Canada (not forgetting the other John from New Jersey, USA, who we met later at the airport – he only just made it..... Highly international! After a quick bird in the garden with Mark (Yellow-tinted and Rufous-banded Honeyeaters again!), we ate a “hearty” pizza lunch, and said goodbye to the “six amigos” from Texas. And then of course it was time to return to the airport (again) and sit around watching Straw-necked Ibises and eating Lamingtons. The flight was a bit late, but finally we were off still further east, to the town of Hoskins on New Britain, where we were picked up by cold flannel-bearing Walindi Resort staff (that boded well....), and transferred for about an hour to the UTTERLY FAB dive resort at Kimbe Bay – great place! And they even offered to do all our disgusting laundry as part of the service.... After a truly excellent evening meal, David gave us the bad news about tomorrow morning.... See photo pages hereSaturday 18th July....which was the wake up time for today – 0300! Breakfast at 0330 and away at 0400 – groan! But surely worse for the jetlagged new arrivals.... Another hour in darkness through palm oil plantations, and before first light we were on site, listening for owls....and only David heard one! Still it really was worth being in the (sadly degraded) forest for dawn – tons of birds about! Lots of Eclectus Parrots, plus Red-flanked and Rainbow Lorikeets, Purple-bellied Lories, Buff-faced Pygmy-parrot, Blue-eyed Cockatoo, Yellow-tinted, Finsch's (or Growling!) and Red-knobbed Imperial-pigeons, Red-knobbed and Superb Fruit-doves, Pied Coucal, Shining Bronze-cuckoo, Variable Goshawk (several), Red-banded Flowerpecker, Long-tailed Myna, Northern Fantail (of the Bismarck form), Ashy and Superb Myzomelas, Black Sunbird, “Island” Torresian Crow, New Britain Friarbird and even a turquoise snake sp. wrangled by the leader – plus yet more astonishing butterflies, including several Birdwings. The heat (and sweat bees) became almost unbearable by 1100, so we took an early lunch and then made our way back, stopping en route for White-necked Stilt, Common Sandpiper, Common Kingfisher, Grey Teal and Pacific Black Duck. Having snoozed on the way back (via Sooty Munias etc.), we had a short time to enjoy the resort (and the free wi-fi – just time for a few quick emails), and then back out into the field – this time up Kivu Ridge, a 300m hill just behind the resort. The drive up was “interesting” - in an overloaded jeep through eight foot high grass! We meandered our way down on foot, seeing tons of Metallic Starlings, Eclectus Parrots, Blue-eyed Cockatoos and lots of various pigeons, plus several Pied Coucals (one of them a white morph) and one new species – three White-mantled Kingfishers high in a tree. A great day – finished off with another excellent dinner. Sunday 19th JulyPouring rain in the night, and still falling when we woke – but things improved. We got to the boat dock before dawn, and roared away across the flat sea under clearing skies. We quickly got to Restorf Island, and started scoring heavily at once – White-bellied Sea-eagle, Island Imperial Pigeon and (critically) the big one – Nicobar Pigeon! Onwards to two other small islands – Malumalu and Kimbe Islands – where we managed to see ALL the target species – Mangrove Golden Whistler, Dusky and Sclater's Myzomelas, Island Monarch, Yellow-bibbed Fruit-dove, Mackinlay's (or Spot-breasted) Cuckoo-dove and Stephan's Dove. Seabird-wise, we had both Great and Lesser Frigatebirds, Crested Tern and Brown Booby. Moored back at Restorf, we had a picnic lunch and (even better) half an hour snorkelling the coral wall just offshore – fantastic stuff! It was only when we got on the boat again that we saw the pectoral fins of two probable Grey Reef Sharks hunting a little way off.... We sped back to the resort, via a few more frigatebirds and terns, and lazed about for a couple of hours before a wet slog back up Kivu Ridge – the 4x4 wouldn't make it up the hill! Only one species added, but a desirable one – Violaceous Coucal. Very humid and uncomfortable.... But a great day in all. Monday 20th JulyGuess what – a stupidly early start! And then over two hours in darkness heading east to Pokili Forest in very cramped and uncomfortable 4x4s. And on arrival, guess what again? Yup – heavy rain! That was the story of the day really – persistent rain with just a few breaks, and discomfort in the jeeps – all a bit of an anticlimax for our last official day in the field, really. We did see some good birds – Velvet Flycatcher, a single Bismarck Pied (or Black-tailed) Monarch, Shining Bronze Cuckoo, White-mantled Kingfisher, a very brief Black Honey-buzzard and probably the highlight, lots of Melanesian Scrubfowl (or “Volcano Megapode”, if you prefer) seen well, plus their rabbit warren of a nesting site. But the main features really were rain and discomfort...and it was not bad news when we set off for home – and even better, met up with the bus halfway back! Tuesday 21st JulyYet another stupidly early start, but not for birding this time – instead, we had a flight at 0640 (!) back to the mainland. All was smooth and easy, and by 0900 we were back in the familiar confines of the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby. After a late morning snooze (for Simon!), we had a delicious and exotic pizza lunch down in the Rattle and Hum den of iniquity (again), and said our farewells to Dotty, who flew home today. At 1500, the whole of the new group, minus two late arrivals but plus us as hangers-on, met up for a visit to the excellent PAU campus. While we saw much the same birds as last time, we got better views of Papuan Frogmouth, and added no fewer than three species – Green Figbird, Plumed Whistling-duck and great views of Forest Kingfisher. Good value! But we're starting to semi-detach ourselves from the group now.... We had our dinner with another ex-Rockjumper tour client (Phil from California), and crawled off to bed, ahead of one last early start. See photo pages hereWednesday 22nd July0400 everyone! Away at 0500 as before, and we were dropped off at the head of the Boundary Trail at Varirata NP in pitch darkness at 0600. We really enjoyed our five hours slogging along the trail and back, on our own, with minimal calls (hacked together on the very notebook PC on which I type this) and not much experience – we loved it! And we found some great birds, including new species (White-faced Robin, Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler (gasp!) , Coroneted Fruit-dove, Rusty Whistler and best of all, the much desired Goldenface, or Dwarf Whistler) and other good ones – Frilled, Spot-winged and Black-winged Monarchs, Little Shrike-thrush, Chestnut-bellied Fantail (on the nest), Black Berrypecker, Growling Riflebird, Hooded Pitohui, Rusty Mouse Warbler, Yellow-bellied Gerygone, Great Cuckoo-dove and a heard only Red-bellied Pitta. Happy but hot, we emerged and met up with the others for lunch – we think we actually did a bit better than them, on balance! We checked out the Painted Quail-thrush spot - no joy, but crippling views of Brown-headed Paradise-kingfisher there, and also a lifer in Pale-billed Scrubwren. We birded around the clearing for an hour or two – lots of good views of things we'd seen before, and really good photo opportunities for several, notably Rufous-bellied Kookaburra. We met up again with the group for a final hour out in the more open, savanna habitats of the access road – Leaden Flycatcher, Forest Kingfisher, Blue-winged Kookaburra, White-bellied Whistler and best of all, what will surely be our final lifer – White-throated Honeyeater – a smart bird, too! Shattered as ever (we need a holiday), we returned to the Gateway Hotel one last time – an early night AND a lie-in coming up! But not before massive servings of fish and chips in the Rattle & Hum, of course.....plus The Blues Brothers on TV. PostscriptThe journey home was....er....interesting! We eventually left the hotel at 1400, checked in fine, and departed Port Moresby about ¾ of an hour late. Singapore by 2230 local (six hour flight), away from there at 0115, then another six hours to Dubai. Dawn in Dubai, then another seven hours back to the UK – except Gatwick was closed for an emergency landing! So we got diverted to Birmingham, and had to sit on the tarmac for another two hours. Finally got to Gatwick about 1600 local, and reached home via train and taxi at 2000....so door-to-door, it was a FORTY HOUR JOURNEY home! The final tale of the tape: See photo pages here
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