Merauke, Papua, Indonesia
30 August – 4 Spetember 2007
After arranging a travel permit (surat jalan) for Merauke I took the 1 hour Merpati flight from Sentani and landed in Merauke at noon on 30 August.
I took a taxi straight to the WWF-office as they can help arrange birding trips in the area. No one answered the door, so I checked in at a hotel. From the hotel I tried to phone WWF again several times – but no one answered. This was not really according to my plan as there were no local guides mentioned in the literature I had.
 I decided to go out the next morning anyway and chartered two motorbikes (one for my luggage and one for me and the camera) to take me to Wasur NP – towards the savannah.
We stopped in a local village and I asked the village head(kepala desa) if it was OK to stay there for a couple of nights. No problem, the local people are always friendly.
This is bird heaven! Large flocks of cockatoos flying by the hundreds over my head. The land is flat, so no tough trekking and good light for photographing.
For four days I birded the area together with the kepala desa, who also was my guide.
Day 1: We went out walking after lunch. It was incredibly hot and short rain showers and  we still managed to see many bird species this first day. We went to a wetland where we saw many Australian species; Black-necked Stork, Australian Pelican, White-faced Heron, Glossy, Australian and Straw-necked Ibises, Royal Spoonbill and Australian Pratincole.
Day 2: We decided to visit the paperbark swamps and the nearby patches of rainforest and set off at 05 in the morning. The weather was still not good, with grey rain-clouds hanging over us. On our way we passed through a Pandanus-forest and I have never seen so many Palm cockatoos congregate. I could count to at least 20 individuals. They were eating the Panadanus-fruits. Bar-shouldered doves were also very common in this forest and 6 Brolga flew over and landed in the grassland behind us. The first species we saw when we entered the paperbark swamps was a pair of Rufous-bellied Kookaburras. Spangled and Blue-winged Kookaburras were also easily seen. A small flock of Grey-crowned Babblers were feeding noisily in the Paperbark trees. Flocks of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos were feeding on the grass between the trees. All of a sudden I was stopped by my guide and he pointed at a snake only 2 meters away. It was resting in the high grass, but I managed to get a couple of photos. This is most likely a Taipan (I'm no reptile expert).
There are both Taipans and Death Adders in Wasur NP, so it is important to be careful and not wander off from the trail and guide.
Day 3: I really wanted to see the Little Corella. The kepala desa told me that we had to go by motorbike to a much drier area to see them, so we set off around 05 in the morning. After an hour on the motorbike we came out to dry savannah. It was the same kind of flora as in Australia and we also could see Agile Wallabies. We also got Black-backed Butcherbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Whistling Kites, Sulphur-crested cockatoos and Little Corellas in mixed large flocks. Fawn-breasted Bowerbirds  were seen several times, but we didn't manage to locate a bower. Close to the waterholes we got Azure and Forest Kingfishers. From a distance we could also see 2 Australian Bustards and Black-necked Storks (again). The kepala desa told me that these two species are hunted for their meat and are very nervous.
Day 4: I headed back to Merauke and decided to spend the afternoon birding close to the village Yanggandur in the Trans Fly. I birded the patches of forest and I managed to see a female Greater Bird of Paradise. They are heavily hunted and not easy to see. I also saw Trumpet Manucode, Orange-breasted Fig-parrot, Red-winged Parrot, Blyth's Hornbill, White-winged Triller, Spectacled Monarch and Red-headed Myzomela to name a few.
Many thanks to John Hornbuckle for the Irian Jaya 1991 trip report. Most of the information in his trip report is still accurate and it's a good help while birding this region.
Bird list:
- Little Black Cormorant – Phalacrocorax sulicirostris
- Little Pied Cormorant – Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
- Darter – Anhinga melanogaster
- Australian Pelican – Pelecanus conspicillatus
- Great Egret – Egretta alba
- Cattle Egret – Egretta ibis
- Little Egret – Egretta garzetta
- Pied Heron – Ardea pacifica
- White-faced Heron – Egretta novaehollandiae
- Rufous Night Heron – Nycticorax caledonicus
- Black-necked Stork – Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus
- Glossy Ibis – Plegadis falcinellus
- Sacred Ibis – Threskiornis aethiopicus
- Straw-necked Ibis – Threskiornis spinicollis
- Royal Spoonbill – Platalea regia
- Yellow-billed Spoonbill – Platalea flavipes
- Long-tailed Buzzard – Henicopernis longicauda
- Black-winged Kite – Elanus caeruleus
- Whistling Kite – Haliastur sphenurus
- Brahminy Kite – Haliastur – indus
- White-bellied Sea Eagle – Haliaeetus leucogaster
- Swamp Harrier – Circus approximans
- Grey Goshawk – Accipiter novaehollandiae
- Collared Sparrowhawk – Accipiter cirrhocephalus
- Brown Falcon – Falco berigora
- Magpie Goose – Anseranas semipalmata
- Wandering Whistling Duck – Dendrocygna arcuata
- White-headed Shelduck – Tadorna radja
- Common Scrubfowl – Megapodius freycinet
- Brolga – Grus rubicunda
- Australian Bustard – Ardeotis australis
- Comb-crested Jacana – Irediparra gallinacea
- White-headed Stilt – Himantopus leucocephalus
- Bush Stone Curlew – Burhinus grallarius
- Australian Pratincole – Stiltia isabella
- Masked Lapwing – Vanellus miles
- Grey Plover – Pluvialis squatarola
- Lesser Golden Plover – Pluvialis dominica
- Whimbrel – Numenius phaeopus
- Little Curlew – Numenius minutus
- Common Sandpiper – Tringa hypoleucos
- Terek Sandpiper – Tringa terek
- Black-tailed Godwit – Limosa limosa
- Red Knot – Calidris canutus
- Whiskered Tern – Chlidonias hybridus
- Crested Tern – Sterna bergii
- Feral Pigeon – Columba livia
- Peaceful Dove – Geopelia striata
- Bar-shouldered Dove – Geopelia humeralis
- Wampoo Fruit Dove – Ptilinopus magnificus
- Pied Imperial Pigeon – Ducula bicolor
- Rainbow Lorikeet – Trichoglossus haematodus
- Yellow-streaked Lory – Chalcopsitta scintillata
- Red-flanked Lorikeet – Charmosyna placentis
- Palm Cockatoo – Probosciger aterrimus
- Sulphur-crested Cockatoo – Cacatua galerita
- Little Corella – Cacatua pastinator
- Orange-breasted Fig Parrot – Cyclopsitta gulielmiterti
- Red-cheeked Parrot – Geoffroyus geoffroyi
- Eclectus Parrot – Eclectus roratus
- Red-winged Parrot – Aprosmictus erythropterus
- Brush Cuckoo – Cacomantis variolosus
- Fan-tailed Cuckoo – Cacomantis flabelliformis
- Horsfield's Black Cuckoo – Chrysococcyx basalis
- Common Koel – Eudynamys scolopacea
- Channel-billed Cuckoo – Scythrops novaehollandiae
- Pheasant Coucal – Centropus phasianimus
- Masked Owl – Tyto novaehollandiae
- Barking Owl – Ninox connivens
- Papuan Frogmouth – Podargus papuensis
- Large-tailed Nightjar – Caprimulgus macrurus
- Uniform Swiftlet – Collocalia vanikorensis
- Australian Paradise Kingfisher – Tanysiptera sylvia (Heard only)
- Rufous-bellied Kookaburra – Dacelo gaudichaud
- Spangled Kookaburra – Dacelo tyro
- Blue-winged Kookaburra – Dacelo leachii
- Forest Kingfisher – Hacyon macleayii
- Sacred Kingfisher – Halcyon sancta
- Azure Kingfisher – Alcedo azurea
- Blue-tailed Bee-eater – Merops philippinus
- Rainbow Bee-eater – Merops ornatus
- Dollarbird – Eurystomus orientalis
- Hooded Pitta – Pitta sordida (heard only)
- Singing Bushlark – Mirafra javanica
- Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica
- Tree Martin – Hirundo nigricans
- White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike – Coracina papuensis
- Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike – Coracina novaehollandiae
- Cicadabird – Coracina tenuirostris
- White-winged Triller – Lalage sueurii
- Grey-crowned Babbler – Pomatostomus temporalis
- Clamorous Reed Wabbler – Acrocephalus stentoreus
- Zitting Cisticola – Cisticola juncidis
- White-shouldered Fairy-Wren – Malurus alboscapulatus
- Beccari's Scrub-Wren – Sericornis beccarii
- Large-billed Gerygone – Gerygone magnirostris
- Mangrove Gerygone – Gerygone levigaster
- Rufous Fantail – Rhipidura rufifrons
- Willie Wagtail – Rhipidura leucophrys
- Spectacled Monarch – Monarcha trivirgatus
- Leaden Flycatcher – Myiagra rubecula
- Shining Flycatcher – Myiagra alecto
- Restless Flycatcher – Myiagra inquieta
- Lemon-bellied Flycatcher – Microeca flavigaster
- Black Sunbird – Nectarinia aspasia
- Olive-backed Sunbird – Nectarinia jugularis
- New Guinea White-eye – Zosterops novaeguineae
- Brown Honeyeater – Lichmera indistincta
- Dusky Myzomela – Myzomela obscura
- Red-headed Myzomela – Myzomela erythrocephala
- White-throated Honeyeater – Melithreptus albogularis
- Blue-faced Honeyeater – Entomyzon cyanotis
- Meyer's Friarbird – Philemon meyeri
- Little Friarbird – Philemon citreogularis
- Helmeted Friarbird – Philemon buceroides
- Noisy Friarbird – Philemon corniculatus
- White-spotted Mannikin – Lonchura leucostica
- Grey-crowned Mannikin – Lonchura nevermanni
- Black Mannikin – Lonchura stygia
- Crimson Finch – Neochmia phaeton
- Metallic Starling – Aplonis metallica
- Yellow-faced Myna – Mino dumontii
- Olive-backed Oriole – Oriolus sagitatus
- Yellow Oriole – Oriolus flavocinctus
- Spangled Drongo – Dicrurus hottentottus
- Magpie Lark – Grallina cyanoleuca
- White-breasted Wood-Swallow – Artamus leucorhynchus
- Black-faced Wood-Swallow – Artamus cinerius
- Black-backed Butcherbird – Cracticus mentalis
- Australian Magpie – Gymnorhina tibicen
- Fawn-breasted Bowerbird – Chlamydera cerviniventris
- Trumpet Manucode – Manucodia keraudrenii
- Greater Bird of Paradise – Paradisaea apoda ( just females)
- Torresian Crow – Corvus orru
Other Wildlife:
- Agile Wallabies
- Greater Flying Fox
- Taipan
- Water monitor
- Frill-necked Lizard
References:
Birds of Indonesia by Morten Strange
Irian Jaya 1991 Trip Report by John Hornbuckle
Birds of New Guinea by Beehler, Pratt & Zimmerman
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