Tangkoko, Mount Mahawu and Sonder Forest are important birding or wildlife watching sites in North Sulawesi of Indonesia. It is the natural habitat of various species of birds, mammals, reptiles and insects. Visitors need around 1 week to explore them.
Tangkoko Nature Reserve
Visitors who go to Tangkoko forest to watch birds that live in lowland and lower montane forest. They include Green-backed Kingfisher, Lilac Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher, Great-billed Kingfisher, Green Imperial Pigeon, Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Silver-tipped Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon, White-bellied Imperial Pigeon, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Yellow-breasted Racket-tail (also called Minahasa Racket-tail), Golden-mantled Racket-tail, Blue-backed Parrot, White-necked Myna, Sulawesi-crested Myna, Finch-billed Myna, Black-billed Koel, Sulawesi Cicadabird, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbill, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, and etc.
In addition to rainforest birds, the coastal area of Tangkoko is the habitat of a lot of sea birds such Blue Rock Trush, Common Sandpiper, Pacific Reef Heron, Purple Heron, Terek Sandpiper and etc.
Most visitors who take 1 day trip to Tangkoko Nature Reserve want to see mammals such as the Gursky Spectral Tarsier, Celebes-crested Macaque, and Sulawesi Bear Cuscus.
Accommodation: There are lodges and guesthouses which visitors can choose to stay. The average duration of stay for visitors in Tangkoko is 1 to 3 nights depending on the target of animals and plants that they want to see.
Mount Mahawu
After spending several days watching birds in Tangkoko, visitors could continue their trip to Tomohon which is the main gate to explore Minahasa Highland. Mount Mahawu is the most popular destination among nature lovers who want to see beautiful mountainous landscape of Minahasa highland, crater of the volcano, as well as watch birds and observe butterflies. Birds that could be watched in Mount Mahawu include Warbling White-eye, Black-crowned White-eye, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Superb Fruit-dove, Red-eared Fruit-dove, Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, and a lot more. The main target of observation among birdwatchers in Mount Mahawu is Scaly-breasted Kingfisher.
Mount Mahawu is only around 30 minutes ride from Tomohon town. After enjoying birdwatching and butterfly watching in Mount Mahawu, you could visit traditional extreme market of Tomohon town. There, tour participants could see various kinds of agricultural produces such meat, fruits and vegetables that are traded by local people for consumption. Local vendors in the market in dog meat, snake meat, forest rat meat, freshwater and salt-water fish, as well as poultry meat as source of protein.
Sonder Forest and Farmland
Birdwatchers could continue their birding trip across Minahasa Peninsula by visiting Subdistrict Sonder. Its hill forest is the natural habitat of Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Warbling White-eye (also called Japanese White-eye), Black-crowned White-eye, Yellow-billed Malkoha, Hair-crested Drongo, Sulawesi Drongo, Black Kite, Sulawesi Crow, and etc.
The dry farmland of Sonder are an interesting birding site, the rice field area is the habitat of White-breasted Woodswallow, Collared Kingfisher, Zebra Dove, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Pygmy Hanging Parrot, Pygmy Woodpecker, Brahminy Kite, and etc.
The rice field area of Sonder is the natural habitat of Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Purple Heron, White-breasted Waterhen, Barred Rail, White-browed Crake, Cinnamon Bittern, Isabelline Bush-hen, Pied Stilt, Spotted Dove, and etc.
Tincep's Waterfall is another interesting birding site. Visitors could see Black-naped Fruit-dove, Green Imperial Pigeon and White-rumped Triller in the branches of trees that grow on slopes around the waterfall.
Accommodation: There are homestays in Sonder town. However, most visitors choose to stay in hotels and homestays in Tomohon town. They could do day trips to Sonder by cars or motorcycles.
How to get to Tangkoko, Mount Mahawu and Sonder Forest?
Visitors who are interested in taking a birding trip to Tangkoko, Tomohon and Sonder in Minahasa Peninsula need to fly to Manado city which is the capital of North Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.
There are regular daily flights between Manado and big cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar, Balikpapan, and Sorong.
As a tour guide, I could arrange the transportation, accommodation and the birding program for tour participants. The duration of the tour is 1 week. If you are interested in taking this tour, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.