Birdwatching in Tambrauw Regency

Tambrauw is a great destination for birdwatching tourism. Its capital is Fef located in a valley surrounded by hills of Tambrauw mountains. 

Fef itself is surrounded by pristine tropical rainforest that is the natural habitat of hundreds of species of birds including Lesser Birds of Paradise, Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Black-browed Triller, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Brahminy Kite, Rusty Pitohui (Pseudorectes ferrugineus), New Guinea Harpy Eagle, Long-tailed Buzzard, and Hooder Monarch and a lot more.

A bird photo from Tambrauw regency

The forest around Fef town is the meeting point of swamp birds, lowland birds and hill birds. Kingfishers, Yellow-faced Myna and Golden Myna, King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius) as well as Mountain Peltop can be seen there. Fef town can be reached from Manokwari city or Sorong city by 4WD car. 

As a tourist guide, I used to organize birding and wildlife watching tour for 2 American visitors. We went there by a 4WD car and spent 1 week along the roads of Tambrauw. We slept in the villagers houses and enjoyed birdwatching on the roadsides and riverbanks. 

A bird photo made by Nico Nauw from the forest of Tambrauw

It was not only birds that we saw but also monitor lizard (locally called soa-soa), cuscus possum, and deer. There were a lot of parrots. We started from Manokwari city and finished in Fef one week later. We spent a few days of wildlife watching in Ases valley. The road to this valley was very steep and dangerous. There we saw New Guinea Vulturine Parrot, Coconut Lorikeet, Red-flanked Lorikeet, Great Cuckoo Dove, Little-pied Cormorant, and Cassowary. 

There was a river flowing behind the village of Fef and its water crystal clear. Taking a bath in the valley was a nice experience. Rufous-bellied Kookaburra was busy having his lunch - a green tree lizard - on the branch of a tree by the river when I closer to him to take picture. 

A tropical bird photo from rainforest of Tambrauw

Ases valley is close to Fef town but it will be extremely difficult to reach it if the road is damaged by rainwater. 

Visitors who plan to travel to Tambrauw need to buy food material and other logistical material in Sorong city or Manokwari city. 

If you are interested in visiting Fef town in Tambrauw regency of West Papua province, you need to fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia) or Denpasar city in Bali island. After that you could continue your trip by taking a domestic flight to Sorong city or Manokwari city. Regular flight services are provided by Sriwijaya Air, Batik Air and Lion Air. 

Accommodation

A Guesthouse for visitors in Fef town of Tambrauw mountains

There are guesthouses in Fef town where visitors can choose to stay. One of them is shown above. If you need a birding guide in Fef, please, contact Nico Nauw by whatsapp to: +62 8219 8060 084. Photos were made by Nico Nauw

This post was written by Charles Roring.