On July 2023, we succeed to do a birding trip to Wamena region which accidentally combined with cultural things. We met a Dani tribe man who was very friendly, to greet and shake our hands while we were taking pictures of Capped white-eye and Superb bird of paradise. We then asked him to have a picture together to keep the memories.
Besides the White-eyes, there plenty of species to find within this region. One of our guests even said that the Wamena region gave him the most lifers he got in one day this year. Common smoky honeyeater, Tit berrypecker, Wattled ploughbill, Short-tailed paradigalla, Archbold’s nightjar, Brown sicklebill, Yellow billed lorikeets, are some of the species to mentioned.
Actually those species can be much higher if we visit the lake Habema area. Unfortunately due to safety reason, the government do not allow any tourists to go to this lake area for now. Hopefully the situation will change to be more safe and comfortable in the near future.
Despite of the birding time, Wamena landscapes are spectacular. Mid alpine forests combine with huge area of grassland, hills and very traditional housings. Plenty of orchids, nephentes, and other flowers.