Naturelife in Digital Art

Snorkeling is a marine sport that allows us to widen our knowledge about marine environment. I often guide tourists on various snorkeling tours in West Papua. About places where I go with my clients, you could read my previous post Recommended Snorkeling Sites in West Papua . Some Snorkeling Photos of Mine People can enjoy snorkeling at a beach, a river or a lake. I like snorkeling over coral reef areas because they are the natural habitat of a lot of marine creatures. I usually bring an underwater camera to record some videos and take pictures of fish and corals.  Some current or waves makes my body unstable in the water. So, I find hard coral and  with my left hand, I hold it. I could hold my breath for around 1 minute underwater. That's enough for me to take pictures of the marine life.  In order not to break the corals, I position my body and feet floating in the water. After taking a number of underwater photographs or videos, I go up to the surface again.  Later when I h

I often guide tourists on various vacation tours in West Papua province of Indonesia. We enjoy snorkeling in coral reef sites as well as go hiking and wildlife watching in the forest areas. The durations of the tours are between 1 to 2 weeks or even more.  Snorkeling in West Papua There are a lot of coral reef sites in West Papua province of Indonesia. Some of them are described below:  Wondama - This is a regency in West Papua. It has got a lot of big and small islands that are surrounded by coral reefs. Its capital is Rasiei town. Most part of the National Park of Cendrawasih Bay is inside the territory of Wondama. Along the coast of Wondama town there are coral reefs, visitors can enjoy snorkeling over them. The snorkeling tours can be continued further to islands at the tip of Wondama Bay. For visitors who want to see villages to meet local people and explore rainforest to see birds and wildlife, Wondama is a highly recommended destination especially for budget travellers. Raja

Here are some of the many bird pictures that I took while guiding visitors on various birdwatching and wildlife watching tour in West Papua province of Indonesia. The tour is not only limited to birding. In the tours, activities such as swimming and snorkeling over coral reef, traveling to remote islands and visiting villages as cultural interactions with local people are included in the itinerary. If you are interested in taking a birdwatching and wildlife watching tour in West Papua, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Early this month I had two trips to Wondama Bay. I visited a lot of places in the coastal area and in the forest. I brought my binoculars and spotting scope so that I could fully enjoy birdwatching. In the coastal area of Rasiei and Rowi, birds such as Little Egret, Lesser Frigatebird, Grey Crow, Shining Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, and Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker.  Blyth's Hornbill were flying in Wondama's Forest I also explored the lowland and hill forest in its northern region to do general birding. There, I saw Spangled Drongo, Golden Myna, Eclectus Parrot, Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red Myzomela, Hooded Butherbird, Blyth's Hornbill, Lowland Peltop, Common Paradise Kingfisher. At the beach, there are White-bellied Sea Eagle, Little Tern, Olive-backed Sunbird, and a lot more. Eclectus Parrot photo taken at dawn) Wondama is a regency in West Papua province of Indonesia. To reach it, you need to fly from yo

I visited Wondama regency early this month. It was a beautiful destination for tourists who like snorkeling in coral reef areas or hiking in rainforest. The coastal area of Wondama has got a lot of coral reef sites that are suitable for visitors who like snorkeling. I went swimming at Cape Duari. It is a good site for those who want to see parrotfish, butterflyfish, anemonefish, and striped surgeonfish, and a lot more.  In reef flat area, the depths of the water is around 1 to 2 meters. It is a good spot for those who want to see damselfish, sea star, christmas tree worm, urchin, sea grass and a lot of fish of various species.  Most often while we swim, we can see birds such as Lesser Frigatebird, Striated Heron, White-bellied Sea Eagle and Tern flying across the sea to find food.  Snorkeling Tour to Wondama Regency West Papua province - Republic of Indonesia Going deeper into the bay, the coral reef is also rich of marine life. We could see tropical fish such as jacks, sweetlips, hu

I offer birding tour in West Papua for anyone who is interested in traveling to Indonesia. The birding sites will include Manokwari, and Wondama regency. These two birding sites have got different rainforest. The first one, the rainforest in Mount Soyti, is higher elevation forest that is the habitat of such birds as Western Parotia, Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Mountain Fruit Dove, Black Sicklebill, Papuan Flycatcher, Black-breasted Boatbill, Friendly Fantail, Black Fantail, Hooded Pitohui, Plum-faced Lorikeet, and a lot more. Birdwatching Tour to West Papua province of Indonesia In Wondama regency, we will go birding through lowland rainforest. The birds that we can watch include Hooded Butcherbird, Lesser Bird of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, Red Myzomella, Blyth's Hornbill, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, and a lot more.  Visitors who are interested in taking this tour need to bring their ow

This is the view of Arfak mountains taken from Rendani airport of Manokwari city. The mountains have been an important destination for visitors who like to see rainforest with its unique tropical plants and animals.  Rendani airport with the view of Arfak mountains There are hundreds of species of tropical birds, insects, mammals, reptiles that live in the forest of Arfak. The mountain range itself is home to a lot villages of the indigenous people. They gather food from forest but also work as traditional farmers.  Lesser Birds of Paradise in Susnguakti forest There is a forest in lower montane region of Arfak. Its name is Susnguakti. It is the habitat of some species of paradise birds including Lesser Birds of Paradise ( Paradisaea minor ), Magnificent Riflebird ( Ptiloris magnificus ), and King Bird of Paradise ( Cicinnurus magnificus ). There are also a lot of other birds such as Brown Cuckoo Dove, Superb Fruit Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Red-bellied Pitta, Hooded Pitta, Fril

Manokwari is the capital of Papua Barat province in Indonesia. It is a coastal city in West Papua. Because it is located near the equator, its beaches have got coral reef. I like swimming and snorkeling over this coral reef and take pictures of the marine life that can be seen there. Coral Reef in the waters of Manokwari The ones that are far from the city are in very good condition teeming with fish, clams, and other marine animals. I usually do some freediving to a depth of 2 to 10 meters to take pictures of them. At these depths, sunlight can still reach the surface of the coral reef.  Reef fish at Bakaro Beach of Manokwari I use Nikon AW300 and Fujifilm XQ2 with its watercase to take underwater pictures and videos of the marine life. They are good enough for fish and reef identification works.  Because I am a tourist guide, I like to organize tours for visitors who like snorkeling. But it is not limited to Manokwari city and its surroundings. I also go to Tambrauw mountains, Soro

I have just watched the blooming of Queen of the Night. These are beautiful flowers that bloom at night. The fragrant scent is similar to jasmine but mild.  Queen of the Night Flower I have seen a lot of flowers in tropical islands of Indonesia from the Queen of the Orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum) to various kinds of hibiscus as well as Rhododendron.  Queen of the Night Flowers (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) For me, Queen of the Night or Bunga Wijaya Kusuma (its name in Indonesia) is a special flower. I am lucky to see them blooming. Because the flowers emit fragrant scent, it has got the potential to be developed as essential oil. So, I do some searches on the internet about essential oil of the Queen of the Night. The result from Google searches show some companies that sell queen of the night. The scent of the oil can create a relaxing atmosphere to those who use it. 

I offer birding vacation tour to North Sulawesi for visitors who like to watch tropical birds of Celebes island. This easy birwatching tour will include trip to a waterfall at the suburban area if the city, a trip to Doloduo for watching birds in Tambun Maleo Conservation area. Tangkoko Nature, Mount Mahawu and Sonder will also be visited.  Sulawesi Hornbill During the tour, participant will watch Pale Blue Monarch, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Red-backed Thrush, Sulawesi Malkoha, Green-backed Kingfisher, Gross-beak Myna, Sahul Sunbird, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Ashy Woodpecker, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Hornbill, and a lot more. Red-backed Thrush After the birding tour to North Sulawesi, the trip can be extended to Raja Ampat islabds in West Papua for visitors to watch Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise as well as other interesting avifauna of mainland New Guinea. For more info about the itinerary and cost, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@g

The world is in a major move to reduce its dependency on fossil fuel. Hydrogen is considered as the fuel of the future. This gas in its liquid form can be stored and used to power factories, cars, trucks, trains, ships, airplanes, and even aerospace rockets . Countries like Japan, Germany, France, the UK, Spain, South Korea, China, Australia, the USA and Russia, and a lot more are doing extensive research in finding the cheapest and safest way to produce and to store hydrogen.  Green hydrogen that is produced using renewable energies (i.e. solar, hydro, and wind power) are considered as the most suitable solution for an environmentally friendly society. But its cost is very high. Large scale offshore wind farms combined with other renewable energy resources through efficient electrolysis can lower the cost of hydrogen production. Still this process is considered more expensive than fossil fuel. A Canadian company called Proton Technologies patented a new technique of producing hydrogen

Before the Covid-19 pandemic reached Indonesia, I often traveled to Raja Ampat islands to guide visitors. We spent between 3 to 5 days exploring the rainforest, the beach, and the islets to watch beautiful tropical birds such as Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Beach Kingfisher, Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Hooded Butcherbird, Spangled Drongo, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon, and a lot more. These birds live in rainforest along the coastal and hill areas of Waigeo island.  Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes respublica) Because Wilson's Bird of Paradise can only be found in deeper forest, we need to leave homestay early in the morning and did long morning walk to its display ground. My favorite site for watching this paradise bird was Zedekiah's forest located at the entrance area of Kabui bay. There is a very narrow beach where speed boat can land for tourists to

I have just uploaded a video of a male Magnificent Riflebird calling her female partner. I saw him in Malagufuk forest of Klasow valley. It was a lowland tropical jungle of Sorong regency.  This bird is one of the 42 species of Birds of Paradise known to science. It can be found in lowland and hill forest of New Guinea. The bird has got iridescent blue breast mostly black feather. The bird dances on a branch of a tree or vine to attract her female partner for mating.  In addition to the Magnificent Riflebird, visitors who go to West Papua can also watch a lot of other birds including Lesser Birds of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Western Parotia, Red Bird of Paradise and Wilson's Bird of Paradise. To watch them visitors need binoculars, birding camera and a field guide book: Birds of New Guinea: including Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville by Phil Gregory or another similar title Birds of New Guinea by Tha

Cendrawasih Merah ( Paradisaea rubra ) adalah salah satu spesies burung surga yang hidup di hutan hutan tropis Raja Ampat terutama di Pulau Waigeo, Gam dan Batanta. Burung ini memiliki perilaku yang unik yaitu berdansa di dahan-dahan pohon tinggi baik di pagi dan di sore hari. Dalam bahasa Inggris, namanya adalah Red Bird of Paradise. Satwa ini dilindungi sehingga siapa saja tidak boleh menangkapnya.  Seekor Cendrawasih Merah jantan sedang menari di cabang pohon yang tinggi Di Raja Ampat, wisata pengamatan burung Cendrawasih Merah semakin diminati oleh wisatawan nusantara maupun manca negara. Ada beberapa tempat yang bisa dikunjungi oleh wisatawan seperti wilayah selatan (Saporkren) dan utara (Urbinasopen) Pulau Waigeo serta kawasan Teluk Kabui.  Untuk menontonnya, wisatawan perlu membawa binokular. Saya sarankan yang bermerek Nikon (seperti Nikon Monarch 5 10×42mm), Leica, Swarovski, atau Bushnell. Binokular bisa dibeli lewat Tokopedia, Lazada dan Bukalapak. Ada juga yang membawa kame

Wisatawan Amerika Serikat sedang memotret burung di malam hari ditemani masyarakat kampung. Salah satu aktivitas ekowisata yang sangat diminati oleh wisatawan terutama dari manca negara adalah jelajah hutan di malam hari. Sebagai seorang pramuwisata, saya telah melaksanakan kegiatan ini banyak kali, bekerja sama dengan warga kampung di Manokwari, Sorong, Pegunungan Arfak, Tambrauw hingga Raja Ampat.  Burung Large-tailed Nightjar yang dipotret di malam hari di pinggir sungai Hutan Mesirrokow, Manokwari Hutan hujan tropis di Papua Barat memiliki keanekaragaman hayati yang sangat tinggi. Ada burung-burung surga seperti  Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil , Cendrawasih Raja, Cendrawasih Dada Biru (Toowa Cemerlang), Cendrawasih Magnificent  (knang) , Cendrawasih Ballerina (Western Parotia),  Cendrawasih Botak (Wilson's Bird of Paradise ) dan masih banyak lagi.  Ada juga hewan lainnya seperti rusa, kuskus, tikus tanah, lao-lao, ular, serangga belalang, kumbang, kunang-kunang, jangkrik, moth (kupu-

Indonesia sebagai negara kepulauan terbesar di dunia memiliki potensi wisata bahari (marine tourism) yang berlimpah. Menurut wikipedia, ada 17.504 pulau di negara ini  tetapi sampai bulan Juli 2017 baru 16.056 pulau yang telah dibakukan namanya oleh PBB. Karena Indonesia berada di katulistiwa dengan sebagian besar perairannya jernih maka terumbu karang tumbuh di sebagian besar pulau-pulau tersebut.  Setiap tahun puluhan juta wisatawan domestik dan manca negara menikmati aktivitas wisata bahari yang ada di negara ini seperti atraksi nonton ikan lumba-lumba di Raja Ampat hingga olah raga selancar air di Kuta Bali. Ada yang memilih memancing di Pulau Banda tetapi ada yang tertarik melihat Gunung Api Krakatau di Selat Sunda. Wisatawan Australia sedang memotret keindahan alam bahari di Raja Ampat Pemandangan pulau-pulau tropis dan dunia bawah air penuh dengan ikan dan terumbu karang yang berwarna-warni adalah daya tarik tersendiri yang tidak dimiliki oleh banyak negara.  Pencemaran Laut Ke

Nama Diphyllodes respublica diberikan oleh Charles Lucien Bonaparte, seorang keponakan dari Napoleon yang adalah pendukung sejati republik. Ada kecenderungan umum di kalangan para zoologist pada masa itu untuk memberi nama pada spesies baru menurut nama raja, ratu, atau bangsawan tertentu. Ia tidak setuju dengan hal tersebut. Sebagai gantinya, burung surga asal Raja Ampat ini diberi nama ilmiah seperti yang tertulis di atas. Burung Cendrawasih Wilson atau Cendrawasih Botak adalah salah satu spesies burung surga yang hidup di Kepulauan Raja Ampat bagian utara terutama di Waigeo, Gam dan Batanta.  Cendrawasih Wilson Tubuhnya kecil, yang dewasa sekitar 16 centimeter. Yang jantan memiliki punggung sayap berwarna merah, tengkuk kuning, kulit kepala biru bergaris hitam dan dada yang berwarna hijau tua kegelapan. Ada dua antena melingkar di ekornya. Yang betina warnanya coklat biasa dengan dada krem bergaris coklat kehitaman.  Burung ini hidup jauh di dalam hutan hujan tropis Raja Ampat. Pe

Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil atau yang dalam bahasa Inggris dikenal dengan nama Lesser Birds of Paradise adalah salah satu spesies burung surga yang hidup di hutan dataran  dan pegunungan rendah dari Tanah Papua. Burung ini dikenal luas oleh masyarakat karena memiliki bulu yang berwarna kuning keemasan, putih, coklat serta hijau sehingga menjadikannya sebagai salah satu burung tercantik di dunia. Di wikipedia, menurut IUCN status burung ini adalah least concern yang artinya tidak terlalu memprihatinkan. Memang benar bahwa populasi Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil masih banyak di alam karena sebarannya bisa di temukan di hampir semua wilayah Papua Barat dari wilayah Vogelkop, Bomberai, Kaimana, Nabire, Yapen Waropen, Sarmi, Jayapura; hingga ke kawasan utara Papua New Guinea.  Burung Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil di hutan Susnguakti Manokwari Meskipun masih banyak, populasinya burung Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil ( Paradisaea minor ) mengalami tekanan yang semakin besar. Habitat asli dari Cendrawasih adalah

Burung Cendrawasih Raja memiliki ukuran yang agak kecil dibandingkan dengan saudara-saudaranya yang lain seperti Lesser Birds of Paradise, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Western Parotia, Long-tailed Paradigala, dan lain-lain. Burung ini memiliki bulu di sayap, punggung dan kepala yang berwarna merah. Dadanya ada buku berbentuk perisai berwarna hijau. Bagian bawah dada, perut hingga buntutnya berwarna putih. Burung Cendrawasih Raja memiliki 2 antena dengan bulatan hijau di ekornya. Paruhnya kuning oranye. Karena ia sering dilihat orang sedang hinggap di tali-tali atau rotan yang menggantung di pepohonan maka ia dipanggil juga dengan nama Cendrawasih Belah Rotan.  Cendrawasih Raja / King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius) Cendrawasih Raja hidup di pohon yang ada tali-tali rotan menggantung dan melilit batang utama maupun cabang-cabangnya. Kebanyakan di satu pohon berukuran sedang hanya ada 1 ekor jantan. Ia akan berteriak memanggil pasangan betinanya untuk kawin di pagi hari

Burung surga atau yang umumnya dikenal untuk sebutan Cendrawasih memiliki warna bulu indah sekali. Yang paling terkenal saat ini adalah Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil. Kita bisa melihat foto, gambar atau ornamennya di mana-mana, baik di baliho para politisi, baju batik Papua, atau di berbagai logo organisasi, maupun perusahaan di dalam dan di luar Tanah Papua.  Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil ( Paradisaea minor ) Burung Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil ( Lesser Birds of Paradise ) ini hidup di daerah dataran rendah hingga pegunungan rendah dari wilayah vogelkop sampai ke Nabire, wilayah Yapen Waropen, Sarmi, Jayapura sampai kawasan utara Papua New Guinea. Karena sebarannya yang luas sekali maka burung ini poluler di Tanah Papua. Foto Cendrawasih di atas, saya buat di hutan Susnguakti Manokwari. Sebenarnya ada 42 spesies burung surga yang dikenal dalam ilmu pengetahuan. Tidak semuanya memiliki warna kuning emas seperti Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil. Namun setiap spesies cendrawasih yang ada dalam kelua