Birding around the resort

We allocated four days to find two birds-of-paradise and found them both on the same day, surprisingly in the same hide. So we decided to depart Raja Ampat early and spend more time in Sorong. Raja Ampat has excellent food but no air conditioning, and it's hard to sleep when the nighttime temperature is 82°F.

We birded around the resort for a few hours.

Here are some of the birds.

Male Shining Flycatcher.

Yellow bellied longbill beside a hibiscus flower.

Male Red-cheeked Parrot.

Male Eclectus Parrot.

Brown Oriole

Pink-spotted Fruit Dove.

The best part caused quite a bit of excitement: Chris got a glimpse of a Red Bird-of-Paradise right behind our room. We looked for a while, and it made a few appearances. This is a hard bird to photograph since it is always partly obscured by the branches it perches on.

Male Red Bird-of-Paradise perched in the trees behind our room.

Another view of the Red Bird-of-Paradise, showing its long tail wires and ornamental feathers.

Arriving back in Sorong was even crazier than boarding. As the ferry arrived, a bunch of young men jump onto it from another boat and storm their way into the VIP seating area, asking if you need help with your bags or a taxi. These are informal porters, looking for tips, and I guess it provides a useful service, but our guide had taken care of that for us. It also complicates the egress since there’s now 20 people in the aisle and bags being moved the wrong way. But we made our way back to the Aston hotel with air-conditioning and bad international food.