Yamdena (Tanimbar islands)Yamdena is well off the beaten track and has only been visited by a handful of birders, but beautiful, pristine, tropical ecosystems and 8 endemic species, including a megapode, cockatoo, two thrushes and two fantails, make Yamdena well worth a visit.
General information
There is only one road, which runs along the southeast coastline. Arrange with your hotel for a vehicle and driver for the day (about $40) and simply drive up the road until you find promising looking places. About 20 km out of Saumlaki (there are no km marker posts) is a large chicken-rearing compound on the right. The birding is good if you walk north along an old logging track leading into a forest grassland mosaic on the left after 500 m. 5 km past the compound the road crosses a large tidal channel. The tail forest to the south of the channel, on the east side of the road, is good area for endemics, icluding Slaty-backed Thrush.
It is also worth hiring a speedboat to explore the western seaboard of Yamdena, but hire costs are high (at least $150 per day) island Whistler is quite easy to find on small islands at the entrance to Saumlaki Bay, and you should see Australian Pelican and Great-billed Heron. A great 2-3 day trip is to head up the western coast to the remote village of Matikan, which backs onto pristine monsoon forests, with a diversion along the way to explore the mangrove and swamp forests fringing the Salwassa Bay.
source Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore
