Batanta island
Located off the western tip of the vogelkop peninsula, this island is the only home of the-even by bird-of-paradise standards-extraordinary Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise. Guides will take you to a lek, and in a visit of two days you should see other memorable and rare species such as Red Bird-of-paradise, Pheasant Pigeon, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Papuan frogmouth, and Puff-backed Meliphaga. The overall species diversity is however, much lower than on the mainland.
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
www.surfbirds.com
www.surfbirds.com
Getting there
At the jetty in Sorong, the regional capital of the Vogelkop Peninsula, served by daily flights from Ambon, Biak, Jayapura and Jakarta (via Ujung Pandang), find a boat to hire for the 3-day return trip to Batanta. Expect to pay around $300 for 3 days, including petrol. The crossing to Yenenes on Batanta takes 3-3.5 hrs, then it is a further 1.5 hrs east along the coast to Wai Lebed (a village of a dozen or so huts strung along the beach).
General information
In Wai Lebed, if you want to see Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise get local guide to go there. The trail runs runs along the shore to a small lodge that offers good accommodation. Here the forest meets the sea. The Red Birds-of-paradise are a few hundred metres inland in the lowland forest. The Wilson’s lek is a tough, 1.5 hr walk up to a ridge on the flank of Mt Batanta. You have to start at dawn.
taken from Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore