An adventure holiday isn’t complete without waking up at 5am to hike one hour up a mountain in the jungle to see a single bird. If that bird happens to be the Wilson’s Bird of Paradise (BOP), which has the honour of being David Attenborough’s favourite bird, that’s exactly what you’ll have to do. But first you’ll have to get yourself to Raja Ampat.
Wilson’s BOP (Diphyllodes respublica) can only be found on the islands of Batanta and Waigeo in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat Regency. In our opinion, the male is one of the most visually striking of all the birds of paradise, but it’s not all about the bling. This bird is known for its elaborate and eccentric courtship display, carried out on a meticulously landscaped patch of forest floor that he uses as his stage.
In order to see Wilson’s BOP, you will need to plan your trip carefully. We chose to stay at Wapnansan Homestay as the owner, Frengki Mambrasar, is known for organising tours that take you straight to Wilson’s BOP. Lucky for us it was good weather but the two Italians that were already staying there had had their trip cancelled in the morning due to rain. If you’re serious about seeing the bird, stay more than one night in case of bad weather.
The morning started with a 10 minute boat ride in the dark toward the starting point, which is a random patch of jungle somewhere further north along the west coast of Waigeo.
We were each given a stick and then started our one hour hike uphill. One guide wore ankle-high sneakers and the other was barefoot, so I assume anything in between won’t preclude you from trekking. However, we would reccomend trainers. By the time we reached the end, the sun had risen and the sound of insects had been largely replaced by the sound of birds that had just woken up. There were also many other sounds that we’ll never get to understand because the guides didn’t speak any English. We had been hiking for a while, to the point where I thought I was going to die, but then the guide pointed to the small bird hide and everything was perfect after that.
Once inside the bird hide, it was clear that it was owned and operated by mosquitoes. Bring lots of deet. Deet you applied at home will not withstand the sweaty walk uphill. Also, you should have started malaria prophylaxis before coming to Raja Ampat.
Back to the point, the Wilson’s Bird of Paradise was sitting there, just waiting for a mate. We saw his courtship dance and he was soon joined by two females, one of which seemed particularly impressed by his display. Females typically reject around 15 to 20 males before deciding to mate, so this was his lucky day.
After all of his effort, the final act lasted less than a second. His recovery was just as quick though, and within minutes he was back on his stage calling into the jungle, eager to woo his next lady BOP. All of this occurred within less than 3 metres of the bird hide and we had unobstructed views of the whole scene. We even got to see him obsessively housekeeping his chosen patch of jungle floor, in preparation for his next display.
We know of at least two other homestays nearby that are also known to take you to see Wilson’s BOP. These are Yenkangkanes Homestay and Warimpurem Homestay.
