A few days ago I guided Carolyn, a visitor from the United States on a butterfly watching and birding tour in Manado city of North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. We started at around 10:00 in the morning by walking along the farm forest that was filled with coconut trees, lime trees, aren trees and a lot of other tropical plants that grow along the side of a small stream. We saw various species of butterflies and birds.
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| Ideopsis vitrea |
For butterflies, there were The Clipper (Parthenos sylvia), Lime Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus), Common Birdwing (Troides helena), Blanchard's Ghost (Idea blanchardii), Blanchard's Tree Nymph (Ideopsis vitrea), Celebes-banded Swallowtail (Papilio gigon), Australian Lurcher (Yoma sabina nimbus), Brown Pansy (Junonia hedonia), and Pale Blue Tit (Hypolycaena sipylus). There were some other butterflies which I could not identify.
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| Papilio gigon |
Birding Walk
We also watched some birds such as: Sulawesi Crow (Corvus celebensis), Sahul Sunbird (Cynniris frenatus), a juvenile Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja), Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica), Pale Blue Monarch (Hyphothymis puella), White-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus), Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta), Sulawesi Hanging Parrot (Loriculus stigmatus), Barred Rail (Galliralus torquatus), Hair-crested (White-eyed) Drongo - (Dicrurus hottentottus leucops), Gray-sided Flowerpecker (Dicaeum celebicum), Yellow-sided Flowerpecker (Dicaeum aureolimbatum).
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| Pacific Swallow |
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| Sahul Sunbird |
I brought my bridge camera, the Fujifilm HS50EXR. With this old photographic device, I could take some pictures of birds and butterflies.  |
| Yellow-sided Flowerpecker |
At around 13:30, heavy rain started to cover the butterfly watching site. We could not continue our activity and had to return to Sam Ratulangi Airport. There, I said Good Bye to Carolyn. She would fly to Singapore by Scoot Air and then continue her trip to back to the United States.
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BUTTERFLY WATCHING AND BIRDING TOUR IN SONDER TOWN OF MINAHASA HIGHLAND
The Subdistrict town of Sonder in Minahasa highland is a recommended destination for visitors who are interested in watching butterflies, and birds of Sulawesi especially those that live in higher elevation forest.
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| Manado Yellow Tiger (Parantica menadensis) |
The farmland and forest around Sonder town is the habitat of a lot of species of butterflies and birds. If we walk around the agricultural land, we will be able to see such butterflies as Lime Swallowtail, Common Birdwing, Manado Yellow Tiger, Blanchard's Ghost, The Clipper, Celebes Leafwing, and a lot more. Butterflies like to gather in flowering plants to collect their nectar. Visitors could see a lot of flowering plants in Subdistrict Sonder.
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| Yellow-billed Malkoha in the Tounelet slope forest of Sonder town |
Birdwatching is another interesting activity which visitors can enjoy while exploring the farmland, rice paddy and forest of Sonder town. A lot of birds could be watched using binoculars and spotting scope. Some of them are listed below. |
| Crimson Sunbird |
- Black-crowned White-eye
- Warbling White-eye (also called Japanese White-eye)
- Hair-crested Drongo
- Sulawesi Drongo
- Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker,
- Sulawesi Hanging Parrot
- Pygmy Hanging Parrot
- Sulawesi Crow
- Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher
- Sulawesi Myzomela
- Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker
- Yellow-sided Flowerpecker
- Gray-sided Flowerpecker
- Green Imperial Pigeon
- Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove
- Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon
- Zebra Dove
- Sooty-headed Bulbul
- Scaly-breasted Munia
- Chestnut Munia
- Black-faced Munia
- Little Egret
- Cattle Egret
- Cinnamon Bittern
- Buff-banded Rail
- Barred Rail
- Isabelline Bush-hen
- White-breasted Woodswallow
- Sulawesi Myna
- Finch-billed Myna
- Sahul Sunbird
- Black Sunbird
- Brown-throated Sunbird
- Crimson Sumbird
- Sulawesi Scops Owl
- Yellow-billed Malkoha
- and etc.
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| Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker in Tounelet Slope Forest of Sonder town |
Where is Sonder? And How to go there?
Sonder is a small subdistrict town in Minahasa regency of Indonesia.
- To reach it, visitors need to fly from their own countries to one of the major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Denpasar, Surabaya, Makassar, Balikpapan, Sorong and Ternate. After that they could continue their trip to Manado city by taking a domestic flight served by Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, SuperAirjet, TransNusa, Wings Air. It takes around 1 hour by car from the Sam Ratulangi International airport of Manado city to Sonder town.
- Visitors could also take a direct flight from Singapore to Manado city by Scoot Air.
- There are direct flights between Guangzhou in China and Manado city served by TransNusa and China Southern Airlines.
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| Flight routes between Manado city and some major cities in Indonesia |
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| Car route from Manado city to Tomohon town and Sonder town and from Manado city to Tangkoko Nature Reserve |
If you are interested in taking a butterfly watching and birding tour both in the suburb of Manado city and in Sonder town of Minahasa highland, please, contact us by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.
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