Sulawesi Birdwatching

Overview

Sulawesi’s Kingfisher relies on insects as well as fish and a few crabs to fill their platter. Darting with laser-like speed, they often leave no more than a blurred impression of shimmering blues, greens, and purples as they dive for a grasshopper or perhaps a small fish. Eleven species of Kingfishers have been recorded on Sulawesi and five of these are restricted to the island. Sulawesi’s kingfishers provide a textbook example of how several species with similar needs partition the environment. Great-billed kingfisher, Halcyon melanorhynca is primarily a coastal inhabitant, plying the beaches and streams for small fish while the Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Actenoides Princeps, prefers montane forests and unobtrusively forages in the lower canopy for insects. Several species including the tiny, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher, Ceyx fallax, the Green-backed Kingfisher. Actinoides monachus, and the Sulawesi Lilac-cheeked Kingfisher, Cittura cyanotis, overlap in the lowland forest. Here, the habitat is partitioned vertically, with species differing in perch and foraging height.

Price included: English Speaking Bird Guide, Mineral water, Meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Tangkoko Hill Cottages), accommodation for two nights at Villa Emitta Tomohon or similar, Three nights at Tangkoko Hill Cottages, Entrances to Parks and Reserves, Local Bird guide, birding site fee, Private birding car

Price not included: Camera porter, Insurance, Alcoholic Beverages, Airfare, Laundry, Tips, All personal expenses that are not mentioned on the items above, Any kind of expenditures incurred due to flight cancellation/delays or due to other causes beyond our control.
Kindly please book in advance to ensure availability and please send us an email

Itinerary

Day 1: Manado Arrival – Tomohon
After your arrival at Manado airport Sulawesi, you will be transferred by car to Tomohon takes 60 minutes to reach the Villa Emitta Tomohon where we will stay for 2 nights. Lunch & Diner Not Included.

Day 2: Gunung Mahawu is a forested Volcano (1490 meters above sea level)
Inside the crater is a steaming, emerald-green lake ringed with yellow sulfur deposits. From the summit, you can see neighboring Mount Lokon with its ever-present plume of smoke. On a clear day, you can also see both the Sulawesi Sea on the west and the Maluku Sea to the east, GunungMahawu is located near the village of Rurukan where Sir Alfred Wallace lived for a while. Now GunungMahawu is one of the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas ( IBAs ) in Asia by BirdLife International. In this birding place, we have some interesting Sulawesi endemic species, It is one of the easiest and most reliable sites in Sulawesi for the Scaly-breasted kingfisher- Actenoidesprinceps but please note this star bird of Sulawesi is very skittish and always hide so to spot them still need luck. Bird species at GunungMahawu and Tomohon; Sulawesi Pitta, Scaly-breasted kingfisher, Lilac-cheeked kingfisher, Green-backed Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Sulawesi scops owl, Speckled boobook, Ochre-bellied boobook, Sulawesi babbler, Chestnut-backed Bush-Warbler, Sulawesi Blue-Flycatcher (split from Mangrove Blue-Flycatcher), the rare Rufous-throated Flycatcher, Pale-blue Monarch (split from Black-naped Monarch), Isabelline-bush hen, Barred rail, White-browed Crake, Sulawesi Myzomela, Island Flycatcher, Citrine Flycatcher, Grey-sided Flowerpecker, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Black-fronted White-eye, Mountain white-eye, Streak-headed Dark-eye, Mountain Tailorbird, Purple-winged Roller, Yellow-vented Whistler, Crimson Sunbird, Black Sunbird, Olive-back sunbird, Sooty-headed bulbul, Hair crested drongo, Yellow-billed Malkoha, Ashy Woodpecker, Sulawesi pygmy Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Chestnut Munia, Scaly-breasted munia, Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, Brown-cuckoo dove, superb-fruit dove, Sulawesi black-Pigeon, Sulawesi-hanging parrot, Black Eagle, Black Kite, Osprey, Spotted Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon. During our stay here also we have a great chance of finding Purple swamphen, White-browed crake, White-breasted waterhen, Common Moorhen, and Javan pond heron on the Lake Tondano. Not include Lunch and Dinner

Day 3: Tomohon – Tangkoko

Days 4 – 5: Tangkoko Nature Reserve
This reserve on the eastern tip of the Minahassa Peninsula is one of Sulawesi’s flagship parks, the excellent lowland jungle and mangrove forest providing superb birding site, The reserve is especially famous for kingfishers, having no less than eight resident species, of which four are endemic but remember that Tangkoko also has much more to offer than its kingfisher though and with the assistance of the skilled our local team, we will be search for Lilac cheeked kingfisher, Green-backed kingfisher, Sulawesi-dwarf kingfisher, Great-billed kingfisher, Red-bellied Pitta, Rudy kingfisher, Common kingfisher, Blue-eared kingfisher, collared kingfisher, Red-Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi dwarf Hornbill, Ochre-bellied boobook, Yellow-billed Malkoha, Bay Coucal, Lesser coucal, Sulawesi-Hawk eagle, Sulawesi serpent eagle, Black eagle, Black kite, Sulawesi cicada bird, Rusty-breasted cuckko, Sulawesi triller, Purple-winged roller, Ashy woodpecker, Sulawesi woodpecker, Sulawesi hanging parrot, Ornate lorikeet, Golden-mantled Racquetail, Blue-backed parrot, Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon, Black-naped Fruit dove, Green Imperial Pigeon, Grey-headed Imperial Pigeon, White-bellied Imperial Pigeon, Silver-tipped Imperial Pigeon, Sulawesi Black Pigeon, Stephan’s Dove, Brown-cuckoo dove, PhilipineScrubfowl, Barred rail, Isabeline Bush hen. During our boat trip to the mangrove, we may find other species; White-rumped Cuckoo-shrike, Common kingfisher, Great-billed kingfisher, Pink-necked green Pigeon, Osprey, Great Frigatebirds, Lesser frigatebirds, Pacific reef egret, common dollar bird, Striated heron, Little tern, Sacred and Collared Kingfisher, White-bellied Sea eagle, Brahminy kite and Purple heron. After spending much of the day birding we have time also to see interesting mammals such as Black-macaca Nigra, Tarsier, and bear cuscus in Tangkoko Park. Includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 6: Tangkoko – Manado Airport
Morning birding around JAM hill and at 10 AM transfer by car to Manado airport.End

Important NOTE:
This trip can be extended to Halmahera for Ivory-breasted Pitta, Wallace’s standard winged bird of Paradise, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Sombre Kingfisher, Beach Kingfisher, Variable Dwarf Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, and Blue & White Kingfisher.