Port Moresby, PAU,
Brown River & Hisui mangroves

Via Dubai and Singapore, we reached Port Moresby and our PNG adventure began.

Our hotel (the Gateway) was a massive three minute drive from Jackson International Airport - its rather naff gardens did provide our first lifers - Brown Oriole, White-breasted Wood-swallow, and Rufous-banded and Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters (we didn't see the latter anywhere else, in fact!).

We met up with our leaders, David Shackelford (Austin, TX) and Frank Lambert (Brighton, East Sussex - now KL), and recovered a bit from the gruelling journey - all those free drinks and movies....

The first afternoon's birding was a gentle introduction to New Guinea birds at the Pacific Adventist University (PAU) campus (we visited this site again at the end of the tour).

Mown lawns, mature trees and most importantly large eutrophic ponds turned up stacks of easy lifers - Papuan Frogmouth at a day roost, all three Whistling-ducks, Masked Lapwing, Dusky Moorhen, Fawn-breasted Bowerbird (plus bower), Black-backed Butcherbird, Grey-headed Munia, White-shouldered Fairy-wren, Forest and Sacred Kingfishers, Bar-shouldered Dove, Rufous Night-heron, Comb-crested Jacana and loads of very tame Black-backed Swamphens.

Widespread species we first encountered here included the ubiquitous Willie Wagtail (preposterous name - actually quite a cool Fantail....), Pacific Swallow, Brahminy Kite and various parrot species.

Fabulously easy birding- unlike almost everywhere else in PNG! Hot but not unbearable - the only gripe was the smoke from the dry season savanna fires all around town.

Another nearby area we birded, known as Brown River, was extremely productive, especially if you are a blood-sucking mosquito! But there were also stacks of birds to be seen here - Common Paradise-kingfisher, Black Thicket-fantail (often missed by birders in New Guinea), Black-winged Monarch, the stunning, electric blue Emperor Fairy-wren, booming Great Black Coucals and the scarce Streak-headed and Chestnut-breasted Munias, among numerous others - we were swamped with Fruit-doves and Imperial Pigeons to work out at times! Great Flying Foxes going to roost provided another airborne distraction, and we had our first decent views of both Blue-winged and Rufous-bellied Kookaburras.

Down at the coast (via Silver-eared Honeyeater by the roadside), we visited a mangrove site - as well as a Lesser Frigatebird overhead, we scored with three habitat specialists here: Mangrove Gerygone, Mangrove Robin and Shining Flycatcher. On our way home, yet more goodies came our way: Australian Hobby, Royal Spoonbill, Green Pygmy-goose and our very first Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.