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Written by Phil & Sue Gregory
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Sicklebill Safaris Newsletter May/June 2010
Available tours come on line all the time. Check the Upcoming Tours as this is regularly updated.
Latest News
The end of March saw Phil heading over to Sulawesi and Halmahera via Singapore where a quick trip into Malaysia added Rail-babbler to the list of a couple clients who were family hunting. This was a good start to an excellent trip. Miraculously the rains ended and most of the tour took place in really good weather. Starting in Tangkoko where the highlight was a bear cuscus which gave excellent views, the tour also visited other sites including Lore Lindu, Sangihe, Gunung Ambang and Makassar. Avian highlights included a fantastic array of kingfishers including< b> Green-backed, the rarely seen Scaly-breasted, Sulawesi Dwarf, Great-billed, Lilac-cheeked and Ruddy. Other good birds included Purple-winged Roller, Purple Bearded Bee-eater, Sulawesi Dwarf and Knobbed Hornbills, Sulawesi Masked, Sulawesi, Moluucan and Sangihe Scops Owls, Ochre-bellied and Speckled Boobook, Satanic Nightjar, Maleo, both Malia and Geomalia, a fantastic selection of pigeons and parrots which included Sangihe Hanging Parrot and Yellow-crested Cockatoo and of course the astonishing Wallace's Standardwing on Halmahera.
Check out the full report at Sulawesi 2010.
 Bear Cuscus  Green-backed Kingfisher  Ruddy Kingfisher
We ran two short introductory tours to Papua New Guinea in May. Each visited two of the top birding spots. The first spent time around Port Moresby visiting the PAU ponds and Varirata and the second flew over to Western Province visiting Tabubil and Kiunga. Running back to back some clients chose to take part in both trips.
Highlights of the first tour included a number of Birds of Paradise including displaying Raggiana, Greater and Lesser Birds of Paradise, Blue, Superb and King of Saxony. Brown Sicklebill and Ribbon-tailed Astrapia offered excellent photographic opportunities on the feeders at Kumul where they were joined by Smokey Honeyeaters, Archbold's Bowerbird and Brehm's Tiger Parrot.
 Astrapia meyeri  Epimachus meyeri
On the second tour Twelve-wired and King Birds of Paradise were additions at Kiunga and a personal highlight for Phil the wonderful Southern -crowned Pigeon which he considers amongst his favourite birds. Salvadori's Teal, Common Paradise Kingfisher and Long-tailed Buzzardwere also popular sightings.
 Kiunga on the Fly River
Trip reports for these tours can be found at Taste of New Guinea 1 and Taste of New Guinea 2.
Locally there were some day tours around the Tablelands and Cairns area
Upcoming Tours
These tours still have places available. Click on the tour name to find out more.
2011
January
January 21st - 26th Tasmania - a great photographic opportunity for the Tasmanian birds and iconic mammals. Can be combined with the tour below.
Southern Seamount Pelagic- a deep sea pelagic down into sub-antarctic waters and the Cascade Seamount, an area where large numbers of seabirds rarely seen in Australian waters can be found. This tour can be combined with the tour above.
February
February 5th - 19th Japan In Winter - the best of winter birding in Japan with expert and experienced Japanese speaking guides. Dancing cranes, gigantic owls, sea-eagles and snow monkeys.
April
Sulawesi for photographers visiting some of the top sites in Northern Sulawesi with photographers in mind. Kingfishers, Owls and so much more.
West Papua - the other New Guinea visiting the hot spots of West Papua. From the Snow Mountains to the coastal islands to see Birds of Paradise, Kingfishers and the exciting avifauna of this less frequently visited half of the island of New Guinea.
May
A Taste of New Guinea 1 A short introductory tour visiting the area around Port Moresby and the area around Kumul Lodge in the Highlands near Mt Hagen. Can be combined with Taste of New Guinea 2.
A Taste of New Guinea 2 A short introductory tour concentrating on the low altitude rainforest areas around Kiunga and the mid-altitude forests of Tabubil in Western Province. Can be combined with Taste of New Guinea 1
July
July 23rd-28th New Britain- New Britain birding plus an exciting pelagic for Beck's petrel and Heinroth's Shearwater.
August
Bougainville- an exploration of areas of this fascinating island that have not been visited by birders since the 1980s.
Birds and Culture - a trip to some of the best birding spots in PNG and a chance to explore some of that countries fascinating and diverse culture including attendance at the spectacular Mt Hagen show.
August/September
August 30th - September 17th The Eastern Seaboard - Australia top to bottom down the Eastern Seaboard.
September/October
September 21st - 29th Seabirds, Cetaceans and Sea-Snakes of the North West - If you are only going to take one pelagic then this is the one. A fantastic journey out of Darwin with the chance of 15 species of cetacean, 6 species of sea snake, 3 species of turtle and at least 35 species of sea bird.
October
New Caledonia for Photographers - this South Pacific Island is home to the Kagu. In a family of its own this iconic bird offers great photographic opportunities.
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