Papua New Guinea: Bensbach Extension Aug 25—30, 2010
Posted by Dion Hobcroft
Dion Hobcroft
Dion Hobcroft has been working for VENT since 2001. He has led many tours to Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Bhutan, India, Southwest Pacific, Philippines, Cambodia, Th...Related Trips
Victor Emanuel Nature Tours operates birding trips in far away locations, but few could be as remote as the Bensbach River in the Transfly region of Papua New Guinea. Three hundred kilometers from any major service center with no road access, few people visit this location except for barramundi fishers and birders. Its remoteness contributes to the abundance of wildlife in the area. Many participants remarked on the similarities to both the Pantanal and Llanos areas of South America. Birding largely by flat-bottomed boats seated in lounge chairs with cold drinks at hand is very comfortable. The Bensbach Lodge is quite comfortably appointed and a perfect base from which to explore further afield.
We took our leave from the rest of the group completing our main Papua New Guinea tour in Mount Hagen and spent the night at the wonderful Rondon Ridge Lodge. Our birding exploration here turned up some rarely seen species including superb views of a male Wattled Ploughbill, an irruption of Papuan Parrotfinches feeding on Castanopsis fruit, and Orange-crowned Fairywren, while a nighttime walk resulted in a Feline Owlet-Nightjar. Quite remarkable!
After a final morning of birding we transferred to Mount Hagen, met up with our pilot, Sylvester, and loaded up the PAC 750 for our two-hour flight to Bensbach. We flew through some heavy rain showers just prior to landing and it soon became apparent that Bensbach had enjoyed a mighty monsoon, being lush and green with extensive waterholes and lagoons visible on the floodplain.
The first afternoon boat trip took us a few kilometers downstream. Our quest was for the enigmatic Fly River Grassbird—a species that has not been seen for more than two decades! Having failed to find it last year when conditions were remarkably dry, I was not holding out great expectations. When we landed to get close views of the sparse White-spotted Munia, I heard a mournful call emanating from flooded grassland. Wading in and whistling the call, up popped the grassbird, complete with unstreaked chestnut crown and long white supercilium. A few sound recordings later and the Fly River Grassbird was back on the world birding map. Bob even managed some photos with his compact digital!
The next day we explored the Bensbach River upstream. Birdlife was everywhere with Great-billed Herons roaring like lions, Rufous-tailed Bush-hens donkey-braying in dense cover, and Black Bitterns skulking around like naughty schoolboys. Perhaps the major highlight was a good view of a pair of Yellow-legged Brush-Turkeys, a species that is easy to hear, but certainly diabolical to observe. Brolgas and Black-necked Storks, perched Greater Streaked Lories, Collared Imperial-Pigeon, numerous Glossy-mantled Manucodes, secretive Rufous Fantails, and the spectacular endemic Spangled Kookaburra were amongst the many bird highlights. Reptile-wise, nearly ten mangrove monitors, a floodplain monitor full of bravado, and a good sighting of the rare New Guinea crocodile were notable. While the unseasonal rain continued, we enjoyed the cooler conditions that kept the bird activity constant with often four to five species perching in one tree. The biomass of birdlife in this region is extraordinary.
The following day we explored the vast floodplains downstream from the lodge. Here the conditions were quite different. Thousands of egrets and herons worked the receding shallow pools for small fish. We bumped into several flocks of Magpie Geese exceeding a thousand birds or more. Brolgas and a sprinkling of Black-necked Storks maintained a constant presence, the former seen dancing in courtship display. Spring migration was underway with Sharp-tailed, Curlew, Common, and Wood sandpipers, Red-necked Stint, and dapper Australian Pratincoles looking good in breeding plumage, with Gull-billed and Whiskered terns also enjoying the fish frenzy. Hundreds of Rusa deer and agile wallabies dotted the grasslands. Some of the scarcer birds encountered on this day included point-blank views of Australian Bustards; feeding Palm Cockatoos; two Papuan Frogmouths; some great ducks including Rajah Shelduck, Green Pygmy-goose, and Wandering and Spotted whistling-ducks; and no shortage of raptors including good sightings of Variable Goshawk, Collared Sparrowhawk, and Pacific Baza amongst the dozens of White-bellied Sea-Eagles and hundreds of Whistling Kites.
Some nocturnal spotting turned up sightings of Marbled Frogmouth, Large-tailed Nightjar, and an incredible Little Kingfisher. An extended walk produced sightings of the scarce large-eared flying-fox, while following up a local lead turned up a colony of dusky leaf-nosed bats. Masked Owl, Barking Owl, and Bush Stone-Curlew were heard in the vastness, while the rainy conditions had six species of tree frogs out and about.
Our final morning birding in the immediate lodge area in the extensive monsoon vine forests provided an abundance of smaller forest birds with fine views of Spotted Catbird, Mimic Meliphaga, Fairy Gerygone, Lesser Cicadabird, and Brown-backed Honeyeater, while a Noisy Pitta tantalized us from dense jungle.
Our time was up, and a smooth flight in spectacular clear conditions took us over thousands of square kilometers of pristine jungle until the central cordillera highlighted by the peaks of Hagen and Giluwe dropped us into the basin of the Western Highlands. What an adventure!