Clinton, Tennessee  USA

This is plan "B" because plan "A" fell through at the last minute. My wife, Dollyann Myers, and I have been trying to organize a trip to Irian Jaya for 3 years now and we thought it was finally going to happen. Wrong! Two days before the trip was to start, we got the word that the Indonesian Government closed the borders to Irian Jaya and a couple of other Indonesian provinces and stopped issuing entry visas. Our guide, Phil Gregory (sicklebill@austarnet.com.au), tried desparately to plead with the government officials to allow us to go ahead with our trip, but they didn't want anything to do with it. Therefore, Phil had 2 days to arrange something else. Of our 6 participants, one had never been to PNG before, but the other 5 of us had. Knowing this, Phil was able to pull some strings and arranged a trip to PNG instead that included 3 places none of us had been to before. The itinerary then became a few days in the East Cape and D'Entrecasteaux Islands, then to the Huon Peninsula, a few days in the Tari area of the central highlands, and finally to Madang and Keki Lodge in the foothills of the Adelbert Mountains on the north side of PNG.

Our group consisted of Howie Nielson from Maine, Dave Klauber from New York, Eric Sticklen from Melbourne, Aust., Trevor Ford from near Brisbane, Aust., Dollyann and me, and Phil Gregory as leader. The small group was a distinct  advantage on the notoriously difficult to bird forested trails of Papua New Guinea. We didn't have the luxury of planning this trip to run during the dry season, so we were pleased that we managed to do pretty well, in spite of some wet weather periods. My final totals were 253 species seen by me, another 16 heard by me (H), 35 species seen by someone in the group other than me (G), 12 species heard by someone other than me (GH), and 1 leader only bird. While these aren't the usual staggering totals ticked by some tours to PNG, we went to some little visited areas and saw some amazing species.

DAY BY DAY ITINERARY

I won't list all the birds we saw every day, just most of the new ones. The full species list will be at the end of this report.

March 6 - We left Cairns, Australia around noon and arrived in Port Moresby about 1330. We were met at the airport by our ground agents, South Pacific Tours (SPT). We were going to be coming and going a lot in Port Moresby and SPT did a great job with the logistics. Our home base when we passed through Port Moresby was to be the Gateway Hotel, which was only about 5 minutes from the airport. It was clean, had internet access, stored our bags for different portions of the trip, and the food was very good. After storing our bags in the rooms, SPT took us by van to the east side of town to the Pacific Adventist University grounds. This is a well known and safe birding location near Port Moresby (about 40 minutes away), where we started our trip with a nice sampling of PNG species. There's a bower of the Fawn-breasted Bowerbird there that has been in use for several years. One of our highlights was a great look at the lovely Orange-fronted Fruit-Dove.

Some of the other species seen here included Pied Heron, Wandering Whistling-Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Collared Sparrowhawk, Brown Quail, Papuan Frogmouth, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, Grey Shrike-thrush, Yellow-tinted Honeyeater, Grey-headed Mannikin, and Figbird. One of the teachers at the university was a guy named Mike Tarburton. He is an excellent birder and a was wonderful help to us while we were there. Night at Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby.

March 8 - We had an early breakfast and then left on the 0610 flight to Gurney, which is on the east cape near the city of Alotau. There we were met by Rita Tarumuri of Milne Bay Magic Tours (vickynev@spte.com.pg), and David Mitchell, an Australian who has lived in PNG for the past 20 years and is the Milne Bay program manager for Concervation International (d.mitchell@conservation.org). Rita and David stayed with us the whole time we were in the area. Rita liased with the local people and was our fine cook. David is an outstanding person who has been doing conservation work in the region for years, and recently has been studying the Goldie's Bird-of-paradise, one of our target birds. From Alotau, we drove for about 2 hours right down to the end of the peninsula, where we boarded our boat (the "Dreamtime") for a 5 hour trip to Normanby Island and the community of Esa'Ala. This boat was to stay with us for our time in the area. We had loads of noddies and Bridled Terns on the trip down, along with a few Lesser Frigatebirds. At Esa'Ala, Rita managed to find a local guesthouse for us to sleep at. This was great, as the other option was to sleep aboard the boat, which would have been hot and probably not too comfortable. The guesthouse was fine and comfortable with sit-down toilets and a shower (a good deal, because it was pretty hot and humid here). We put our gear up there and then went out birding for the rest of the afternoon around the village. This produced our first Curl-crested Manucodes, which turned out to be common in the area and the first new Bird-of-paradise for Phil in many years (after having lived in PNG for 7 years and leading numerous trips there). Some other ticks for the day were Eastern Black-capped Lory, Eclectus Parrot, White-shouldered Fairywren, Varied Honeyeater, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, and Singing Starling. Night at Esa'Ala guesthouse.

March 9 - The focus today was to find the Goldie's Bird-of-paradise, a little seen BOP with a total world population of only about 500 birds. Normally these birds are up on some low ridges around Normanby and Fergusson Islands (endemic to these 2 islands) at about 300m elevation and above, but David said he had found a small population that was at sea level and this is where we were headed. We left early and went to Sebutuia Bay on Fergusson Island, about 1.5 hours away by boat. We got there, met with the local people to explain what these crazy people were interested in, got permission from them to cross their land, and then went into the forest. It only took us about 30 minutes walking to find the first bird. It was a young male. We heard several others calling so we stayed in the area and eventually found 3 young males calling and displaying in a tree right over our heads. At one point, we were only about 20 feet away from them.

It was an awesome experience and yet another new BOP for Phil. We stayed and watched them for about 30 minutes and then left them alone to go find other birds. There were also several Curl-crested Manucodes in the area. A few other species we found in the area were Grey Imperial Pigeon, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Papuan Spangled Drongo, and Hooded Butcherbird. After birding, we spent a bit of time with the local clan and they were as nice as can be; truly lovely people. Rita even managed to buy some yams from them for supper. It was very hot and humid on the island, but the boat ride back to the guesthouse was nice and breezy. Night at Esa'Ala guesthouse.

March 10 - Today we went to Dobu Island (a smallish island between Normanby and Fergusson) to see what else we could find. After meeting with the locals and arranging for one of them to accompany us around the trails, we birded the entire morning on the hillsides above their village. Some of the species seen there were Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove, Buff-faced Pygmy-Parrot (by some), Leaden and Shining Flycatchers, and Red-capped Flowerpecker. In the meantime, Rita had arranged for the local villagers to fix a lunch for us and we felt like honored guests. They put out a spread that we couldn't possibly eat all of (though we tried!). We were leary of drinking the water out of a pitcher, but as it turned out, it was rain water and none of us had any ill effects at all from the meal. This was to be true of all the water we drank in PNG. Most places used rain water and it was fine for drinking and never gave us any problems at all.

We then went back to the guesthouse for a short mid-day lie-in. After our nap, we took the boat back across the bay to Fergusson Island. There we gained permission from the local people to walk their trails and then birded our way to the Deidei hot springs. Some of the finds along the way were Papuan Black Myzomela and Dwarf and Pygmy Longbills. Night at Esa'Ala guesthouse.

March 11 - Pretty much just a travel day. A 5 hour boat ride back to the East Cape, then a drive back to Alotau, then our flight back to Port Moresby. Night at Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby.

March 12 - Now it was on to the Huon peninsula. We first flew to Lae, where we picked up our charter flight on North Coast Aviation to the village of Wasu, on the northern coast of the peninsula. This was a small village of only about 500 people and only a few vehicles. We were supposed to have access to the local official's vehicle, but not totally, as it also serves as the local ambulance and other functions. Our plan was to ride up the mountain and over a pass at about 6,000 feet and down to a village called Kabwum. We did indeed do this, but the guesthouse in Kabwum proved to be in lousy condition and we were not sure about a vehicle for the next few days. In light of this, we decided to go back over the mountain and back to Wasu (about 2.5 hours driving over a very rough road), where we were able to use of their guesthouse. It worked out fine and the guesthouse had running water and a shower.

During the day we did some birding along the road. Some of the species we found were Black-mantled Goshawk, Rufescent Imperial-Pigeon, Papuan Lorikeet,

Vulturine Parrot, Blue-capped Ifrita, Buff-faced Scrubwren, Spangled Honeyeater, and Huon Astrapia. The astrapias were fairly common. We tried hard over the next couple of days to find a Huon Melidectes, but we were only able to get to the minimum of what the book says is their lower elevation limit at 6,000 feet. A couple of people got onto one this afternoon, but we never found another one and not everybody saw this one. Phil had organized with South Pacific Tours to supply us with military day rations from New Zealand. This worked well and we fixed our own food every night. Night at Wasu guesthouse.

March 13 - The plan today was to drive to the pass and then slowly bird our way back down to a village called Satop (about 8 km). There we hopefully would catch a ride back to Wasu on a public vehicle of some sort. The weather was good until about 10 a.m., and then fog and drizzle set in and we struggled to see birds the rest of the day. This was the end of the wet season and it was indeed very wet, with some form of precipitation every day. We did manage to find some new birds such as Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove, Black-capped Lory, Yellow-eyed, White-bellied, and Black-shouldered Cuckoo-Shrikes, White-bellied Thicket-fantail, Black Monarch, Mottled, Brown-backed, and Black-headed Whistlers, Cinnamon-browed Melidectes, Fan-tailed Berrypecker, Great Woodswallow, Mountain Peltops, and Grey Crow. We eventually got back to the village of Satop, where we took a rest, had some late lunch and waited for a vehicle of some sort to come by. We waited for almost 2 hours and didn't see a single vehicle come along. It was about 20 km back to Wasu, so we decided to start walking and see how far we could get. There was no way we could have walked all 20 km, especially before dark, so it was looking like we would have to spend the night somewhere along the road. After about 30 minutes walking, our truck from Wasu magically appeared and averted disaster. We were never so glad to see a ride! All of a sudden, the rough ride back to Wasu didn't seem so bad. Phil managed to sort the transportation out finally and we didn't have any more problems while we were in the area. Night at Wasu guesthouse.

March 14 - The plan today was a repeat of yesterday. Go to the top and walk back down to Satop, birding along the way. The weather held for the first 3-4 hours and then turned to drizzle, then drizzle and fog, and finally an all out downpour for about an hour. We tried to wait out the downpour, but eventually we walked in it in our rain gear. After it stopped, we were able to get in some more birding. One thing we did was to go off the road and into the forest a short way to see if we could find some birds. Not much happened, but somehow I managed to get a small leech in my left eye. I must have caught it soon, because it didn't cause any damage and apparently tried to attach to my eyelid and not my eye. It was the only leech I saw the whole trip. Some of our new birds for the day were Red-breasted Pygmy-Parrot, Hooded and Black-bellied Cuckoo-Shrikes, Island Leaf-Warbler, Black-breasted Boatbill, Black-throated Robin, Sclater's Whistler, Slaty-chinned Longbill, Superb Bird-of-paradise, and most of the group got a quick look at Wahne's Parotia. Night at Wasu guesthouse.

March 15 - The plan today was to go to just above Satop, instead of going all the way to the top. Dollyann and I had missed the Wahne's Parotia yesterday, so we knew today was our last chance for it. We need not have worried. The weather was mostly good (overcast) and it turned out to be one of the better birding days I've ever had. We were about ½ km above Satop when we first stopped along the roadside. In a tree about 100m away on a ridgetop, over about a 20 minute period, we eventually saw a Huon Astrapia, a Superb Bird-of-paradise, a young male Emperor Bird-of-paradise (a complete bonus, as we had not expected to see one), and a beautiful male Wahne's Parotia! What a treefull of birds! 4 species of BOP's in one tree. One of my most productive birding strategies, BDL (blind, dumb, luck), had produced yet again. It never ceases to amaze me.

We then birded our way up the road and saw a Black-mantled Goshawk for the 4^th consecutive day. Some of the other goodies for the day (all along the main road above Satop) were White-breasted Fruit-Dove, Little Red (Fairy) and Yellow-billed Lorikeets, Mountain Kingfisher, Papuan Grassbird (macrurus, split by some from Tawny), Variable Pitohui, Papuan Sitella (papuensis, split by some from Varied), Long-billed Honeyeater, Marbled Honeyeater by some, Mid-mountain and Spotted Berrypeckers. A near perfect birding day. It seemed like we were getting a new species about every 30 minutes with great looks at most of them and the weather finally gave us a break (no fog).  The rough trip back down the road to Wasu in the back of our pick-up truck didn't seem to matter tonight (this daily trip was about 1.5 to 2 hours one way). Night at Wasu guesthouse.

March 16 - This was a travel day, but we did a little birding at the Wasu airstrip and picked up an Oriental Hobby, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, and saw a small group of  Blythe's Hornbills. We flew to Lae, and during the layover there, picked up Singing  Bushlark outside the airport in some grassy areas. Trevor also had a Red-rumped Swallow here. We finished up with a nice meal and a good sleep in a comfortable bed at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby.

March 17 - Today it was on to the Tari area in the central highlands. For some reason, the large planes were not being allowed to land at Tari, so we flew to Mendi, and then from there on a charter to Tari. We didn't mind as the flight into Tari (about 30 minutes), took us up over the mountains and gave us some stunning views of the forest and a few waterfalls. We stayed at Warili Lodge, which is about 2 km below the famous Ambua Lodge. This was once a backpacker lodge, but the owner, Steven Wari, has done an excellent job upgrading it to being pretty comfortable. We had a nice room with a bed that was up off the floor and comfortable. The walls are thin, because they are made out of thin bamboo, but that proved not to be an issue. We enjoyed it and Steven is a former chef that had worked at Ambua. The food was pretty good and the "dining hall" was a table for us 7 in one corner of a large room, while in the middle of the room was an open fire area that the cooks used. The fire felt pretty good at night when it got cool. We did a bit of birding above the lodge along the main highway. My wife and I birded this area back in 1998. They have made some improvements in the road, but it's still a bit rough. The ride from Tari town to the lodge is now only about 45 minutes. Back in 1998, that ride took us about 2+ hours. New ticks for the day included Papuan Mountain Pigeons, Brehm's Tiger-Parrot, Australasian Pipit, Papuan Scrubwren, Lesser Ground-robin, White-winged Robin, Black-backed and Smokey Honeyeaters, Tit Berrypecker, Crested Berrypecker,

Mountain Firetail, and Ribbon-tailed Astrapia. We finished off the day by spotting a Mountain (Archbold's) Nightjar at dusk. Night at Warili Lodge.

March 18 - Phil had tried to arrange for a truck to come take us birding up the road from Warili, but it never showed up (just as well, we found out later the brakes had gone out), so we walked about one km above the lodge to a grassy overlook. Scanning the trees on a ridge about 100 m away, we got good looks at a Blue Bird-of-paradise. We then went to bird around Ambua's airstrip, where we spotted a Black Butcherbird. There's a trail from Ambua's private airstrip to the lower end of their property. We birded that and picked up Lawe's Parotia, and Princess Stephanie's Astrapia. No vehicle had yet turned up so we just birded the road back to Warili lodge for lunch. We then found out that one of the guys at the lodge had run back down the hill to arrange for another vehicle for the rest of the day. It took him about 3-4 hours to get down and try to arrange something, and we hadn't even asked him to do that! By the time we finished lunch, we had another vehicle. We headed up to Tari Gap, the high point in the area on the central highway. On the way up we tried our luck at Joseph's Trail, not far from the Baily Bridge. I remember this trail from 1998. It was one of the best birding days I've ever had. It was different this time, as the trail has gotten overgrown. Dave did manage to spot a nice adult Meyer's Goshawk and a Rufous-throated Bronze-Cuckoo. I think someone got onto a few flyover Plum-faced Lorikeets, but I missed them. At the top, we didn't find too much in the way of birds, as there was some light rain, wind, and chilly temperatures, so we went down lower and birded our way back towards Ambua. Birding along the road that afternoon we added Large Scrubwren, Yellow-browed Melidectes, and Blue-faced Parrot-Finch (Eric got onto a Papuan Parrot-Finch earlier in the day), but the find of the day was when Eric spotted a Crested Bird-of-paradise. Wow! What a stunning creature!  Way to go, Eric! After dusk, we made our first try for a Feline Owlet-Nightjar. We went to a place Phil has had them before, but all we could manage was a "heard" by some of the group.  Night at Warili Lodge.

March 19 - Our transport failed to show again, so we walked along the road to above Ambua and managed to pick up a few new birds. Frustratingly, we heard New Guinea Harpy Eagle (we also heard it in 1998), but could not find any place to see where it was calling from, so never laid bins on it (for the second time - drat!). A nice plus for the morning was a Garnet Robin, seen by most. Trip ticks for the day included Black-winged Kite, Buff-banded Rail, and Grey Wagtail. Some group members picked up Modest Tiger-Parrot and Torrent Flycatcher. I finally got onto a Brown Sicklbill. All this was in the morning, so we walked back to Warili for lunch. After lunch, we managed transportation again, so we went back down towards Tari, and went to a place called Balui Teacher's College. It was right next to a large river and we were looking for the Salvadore's Teal. Despite a bit of decent habitat, and try as we might, we could not locate one. We went back up the mountain to try again for the Owlet-Nightjar. We dipped yet again, but it was a good try in awful weather. It was drizzling the whole time while we played the tape, and on the ride back down to the lodge, it poured rain, soaking those riding in the back of our truck. The headlights on our vehicle failed to operate for some reason, so the driver navigated by using our owling spotlight and with his emergency blinkers on. Good thing there's virtually no traffic on the road. The driver did a good job and we got back safely. Night at Warili Lodge.

March 20 - Today our group split up as some of us were interested in birds  below Warili Lodge and others were interested in birds that occurred above the lodge. My group went below the lodge to some land that was owned by a relative of Warili's owner, Stephen. Some of the new species we found there were Great Cuckoo-Dove, Modest Tiger-Parrot, Papuan King-Parrot, Marbled Honeyeater, Western Mountain White-eye, a female MacGregor's Bowerbird, Black Sicklebill, and Blue Bird-of-paradise. The other group went above Ambua lodge and managed to tick Chestnut Forest-Rail, Ornate Fruit-Dove, Goldie's and Orange-billed Lorikeets, Large-billed Cuckoo-Shrike, Ashy Robin, and Black Pitohui. Later in the afternoon the whole group birded the road above the lodge and added New Guinea Logrunner, Rufous-naped Whistler, Black Sitella, and a fly-by Short-tailed Paradigalla. Night at Warili Lodge.

March 21 - Travel day. We left Warili and drove back to Tari for our flights to Mendi and Port Moresby. At the Mendi airport on the way back, we got a great look at a Little Eagle as it soared overhead. We arrived at POM about 1230. After checking in at the Gateway Hotel and some lunch, we went for an afternoon trip to Varirata National Park, east of POM. At Varirata Park we were able to add Red-necked Crake (leader only), some of the group got on a Dwarf Fruit-Dove, White-throated Pigeon, Blue-winged Kookaburra, Forest Kingfisher, Brown-headed and Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfishers, Mountain Myzomela, and Raggiana Bird-of-paradise. Night at Gateway Hotel.

March 22 - This morning we went back to Varirata until 12:30. We birded the "circuit trail" in the park. Some of the new ticks for the day were Variable Goshawk, heard a Black-billed Brush-Turkey, Pink-spotted and Superb Fruit-Doves, Red-cheeked Parrot, White-throated Needletail, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Boyer's and Black Cuckoo-Shrikes, Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler (Wow! What a bird!), Pale-billed Scrubwren, Yellow-bellied Gerygone, Chestnut-bellied Fantail, Mountain Drongo, Spot-winged and Frilled Monarchs, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, Dwarf and Grey Whistlers, Hooded Pitohui, Graceful and White-throated Honeyeaters, and some of the group got onto a Black Berrypecker. On the way up the mountain in the morning, Phil saw a brief fly-by of a Barking Owl. We took a break for luch and then caught a mid-afternoon flight to Madang, on the north coast. Night at Madang Resort Hotel. It was very nice and had good food.

March 23 - Today the plan was to drive to Keki Lodge, in the Adelbert Mountain foothills, about 125 km west of Madang. The drive over wasn't too bad until we got to the final side road that goes up to the lodge. It was only 27 km long, but it took us nearly 3 hours to get there! At times it didn't even look like a road, looking more like a wide walking path, but somehow the driver managed to get 3 of us all the way to the lodge entrance. 3 of us, because one of our two vehicles nearly slid off the road at a narrow place and the other vehicle decided not to try any further at that point. The other 4 group members walked the final 5 km, taking about 2 hours to do so. Once at the lodge, we tried birding around the grounds, but the weather wouldn't co-operate and fog rolled in, wiping out the final 2 hours of daylight. Keki Lodge is fairly basic, but well positioned and well built. It is owned and operated by a guy named Moyang and his wife Ruth. They've done a fine job building it. The rooms proved rainproof as we had a pouring rain all through the night. Although we didn't have much chance to bird on the trip to the lodge, we managed to add Large-billed Cuckoo-Shrike, some in the group got onto a Rusty Pitohui, and Forest Honeyeater. It was a damp, soggy night, but the mattress we slept on was comfortable. We were just hoping it wouldn't be raining in the morning. Night at Keki Lodge.

March 24 - The main attraction for this lodge is a chance to see the incredibly beautiful Fire-maned Bowerbird. They were supposed to be feeding on the fig tree right over our buildings. In the first hour, we saw a pair several times, both near our rooms and at the lodge entrance.

Although my picture isn't that great, they were stunning birds! We had good luck today. The weather was fine and we managed to see quite a few birds. All the birding we did was on the lodge grounds, out front near the entrance to the lodge, and on a trail behind and below the lodge. Some of the new species added were Long-tailed Buzzard, heard Brown-collared Brush-turkey but could never get a view, Stephan's Dove, Ornate Fruit-Dove, some of the group got on a Beautiful Fruit-Dove, Orange-bellied Fruit-Dove, Green-backed and Fairy Gerygones, Eric got onto a Sooty Thicket-fantail, Ochre-collared Monarch, Olive Flycatcher, Green-backed, Tawny-breasted, Spotted, and Plain Honeyeaters (some got on a Dusky as well), Meyer's Friarbird, Red Myzomela, Black Berrypecker, Black-fronted White-eye (the race without a black lore), a couple of female Magnificent Birds-of-paradise, and Lesser Bird-of-paradise. Night at Keki.

March 25 - The plan today was to bird until about 10 a.m. and then start walking back down the road. The vehicles would not try to come all the way back to the lodge, so we would walk about 10 km down to where they would meet us. "Down" the road isn't quite accurate, as the road goes both up and down. The walk back took us about 3 hours, but the vehicles were there and were a welcome sight. Our birding quest this morning before we started back down the road, was to locate the Banded Yellow Robin on the trail just below the lodge. It's a rarely seen species and we heard it well yesterday, but just couldn't get it to show itself. Eric heard one singing so we walked off the trail and into the forest to where we thought the bird was at. It took us about 40 minutes and several scant views, but eventually everybody got at least a brief look of this cryptic skulker. Black-winged Monarch was the only other species we added in the forest. A couple of other species were ticked during the morning by some of the group and these included Buff-faced Pygmy-Parrot, Red-throated Myzomela, and Yellow-bellied Longbill. We drove back and stopped to bird a pond just outside Madang, where we added Dabchick, and Spotted Whistling-Duck. This was to be our last birding for the trip. Night at Madang Resort Hotel.

March 26 - We left the hotel in the morning and flew first to Port Moresby. After a short layover, we then flew on back to Cairns, Australia.

Species checklist

Below I list all the species that were encountered on our trip. The numbers behind the species are the dates that species was encountered. No  abbreviation means I saw the species. H = I heard that species. G = someone in the group saw it but not me (as G23 means someone in the group saw that species on March 23). GH = means someone in the group heard that species but not me. I won't use dates if I use one of the following abbreviations: A = abundant, C = common, FC = fairly common.

OTHER THOUGHTS

We were disappointed in not being able to go to Irian Jaya, but Phil Gregory did an amazing job to arrange this tour on 2 days notice. The D'Entrecasteaux Islands part was fascinating and David Mitchell was superb. His knowledge of the area and people was encyclopedic. All the local people in the area treated us very warmly and we encountered no problems. The ladie's guesthouse where we stayed was basic , but totally adequate. Rita Tarumuri and Milne Bay Magic Tours did a great job logistically. Our boat performed well and the crew were great. Finding the Goldie's BOP at sea level saved us a hike in hot, muggy weather up some steep slopes. This whole part was a great birding experience.

The Huon peninsula was very birdy and unique. Phil said he hadn't been there in 10 years. We did experience some transportation problems, no doubt due to only having 2 days to arrange it, but in the end it worked out fine. It was tough riding in the back of a pick-up truck, but it sure beat walking. The weather was a factor for sure at this time of the year, but in spite of fog, rain, and drizzle, I thought we managed to find a nice assortment of species. The Emperor BOP was a total surprise. The village of Satop is supposed to be building a guesthouse, so future birders might be able to stay there and not have such a pressing need for transportation. The morning we had the 4 BOP's in one tree, we were only about 0.5 km above the village. The birding was pretty good anywhere for 5 km above Satop.

The Tari area in the central highlands is famous for having loads of BOP's and other goodies. It was disappointing to hear the New Guinea Harpy Eagle for the second time and NOT be able to locate the bird. We did have some rain here, but it didn't seem to affect the overall outcome of our time there. I can't say enough about Warili Lodge. The accomodations there are fine and he is building a proper shower. The food was good and we slept well on the beds. Yes it's a bit rustic, but at about 1/17 the cost of Ambua, he should only do better as time goes on.

Keki Lodge is a great place, but the road going in is something else. Most groups don't make it all the way to the lodge itself and finish up walking in the final 5 km or so. We got lucky and our driver made it all the way to the top. Hopefully this will improve as time goes on. Moyang and his wife Ruth are hard workers and have built a nice place in a very remote area. Be advised that the food there is plain and simple. We solved that by bringing in our own, along with some peanut butter and a few loaves of bread. This may be the only place where you can see the Fire-maned Bowerbird, and it is worth seeing. What a beauty! Banded Yellow Robins are on the trail just below the lodge, but seeing them is tough.

The water throughout PNG was very good. Many times we drank the local water and had no problems. It's mostly just pure rain water. As in all PNG birding trips, we had to take several short flights to move about the country. A couple of these were on "puddle-jumpers", but the pilots were all very good and we got to see some nice waterfalls and other sights. One memorable moment was clearing the treetops by only about 20 feet on the way from Mendi to Tari. Some day I would like to spend more time in Varirata park, outside Port Moresby. It's just a good birding location and not many locals go there so most of the time it's just you and the birds. Phil told us he has even had a Dwarf Cassowary swimming in the creek on the "circuit trail".

As always, I have tried to be accurate in writing this report, but inevitably errors crop up. If I have made any glaring ones, I'd like to know about it. I hope this report helps people to plan a trip to PNG. It holds some fantastic species that have to be seen to be believed. GO!!!

Great birding to all,

Ron Hoff Clinton, Tennessee  USA