BIRDING IN TOMOHON

The municipality of Tomohon in Minahasa Highland has been an important destination for visitors who are interested in birdwatching. There are several birding sites around Tomohon. Some of them are described below:

• Mount Mahawu. It is a volcano. It can be reached by car or motorcycle for around 30 minutes from the town center. It is still covered by tropical rainforest that is the habitat of birds, insects, small mammals and reptiles. There are paths that lead visitors to its crater. Some wild flowers could be seen in Mount Mahawu. They attract butterflies such as Blanchard's Tree Nymph, Blanchard's Wood Nymph, The Clipper and Celebes-banded Butterfly. For birdwatchers, Mount Mahawu is an important birding site. A lot of tropical birds could be watched along the edge of the crater and along the roadside. There are Warbling White-eye, Black-crowned White-eye, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Superb Fruit-dove, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Sulawesi Pitta, Gray Wagtail, Red Jungle Fowl, and etc.
  Local Minahasan farmers grow food crops along the slopes of Mount Mahawu. They plant carrots, cabbages, red beans, chilli and etc. There are also farmers who grow flowers which are sold to buyers in cities and towns like Manado, Bitung, Kotamobagu, and Tondano.



• Lake Linow is another birding site near Tomohon town. It is located near Lahendong village. Visitors go there to see it's natural beauty from a hill or along the lake side. Various species of water birds could be watched there. Some of them include: Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Purple Heron, White-breasted Waterhen, Sunda Teal, Pied Stilt, Barn Swallow, and etc.
• Pine Forest is a small forest that can be visited by birdwatchers who want to watch such birds as Sooty-headed Bulbul, Sunda Teal, Gray-rumped Treeswift, Collared Kingfisher, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Sahul Sunbird, and etc.
• Sonder Farm Forest is another birding site in Minahasa highland that can be reached by car or motorcycle from Tomohon town. Sonder is an attractive destination for birdwatching. Birds could be found in the hills, farmland, rice field and waterfall areas.

Here are birds that could be watched in the forest and farmland around Tomohon

• Pygmy Hanging Parrot
• Sulawesi Hanging Parrot
• Sooty-headed Bulbul
• Zebra Dove
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow
• Collared Kingfisher
• Scaly-breasted Kingfisher
• Scaly-breasted Munia
• Black-faced Munia
• Chestnut Munia
• Sooty-headed Bulbul
• Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon
• Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove
• Green Imperial Pigeon
• Finch-billed Myna
• Black-naped Oriole
• Sulawesi Myzomela
• Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher
• Snowy-browed Flycatcher
• Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker
• Yellow-sided Flowerpecker
• Gray-sided Flowerpecker
• Sahul Sunbird
• Black Sunbird
• Brown-throated Sunbird
• Sulawesi Crow
• Glossy Swiftlet
• Barn Swallow
• White-nest Swiftlet
• Sulawesi Crow
• Barred Rail
• Isabelline Bush-hen
• Red Junglefowl
• Little Egret
• Cattle Egret
• Purple Heron
• and etc.

This birding tour in the forest and farmland around Tomohon town could be extended to places such as the farm forest of Subdistrict Sonder, Mount Mahawu, and Tangkoko Nature Reserve.

Every day, there are regular flights between Manado city and some major cities in Indonesia such as Denpasar, Jakarta, Makassar, Balikpapan, Ternate.

Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Batik Air, and Super Airjet have got regular flight services to Manado city.

Where to stay in Tomohon?

There are hotels, inns and homestays which visitors can choose to stay during their birding tour in Minahasa highland. As a guide, I could organize your accommodation in Tomohon town for the birding tour.

If you are interested in taking this birding tour from Manado city to Tomohon town and other places in Minahasa Peninsula, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com