Coastal Birds of Raja Ampat

Eastern Osprey at the beach of Waigeo island

When I go birding in Sorong, Manokwari and Tambrauw regencies, most of the birds that I see are the ones that live in tropical rainforest. The case is different if I do birding walk along the beach of Waigeo, Kri and Mansuar islands of Raja Ampat archipelago.
There I see sea birds. Some of them include Radjah Shelduck (Tadorna radjah), Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus), Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica), Eatern Osprey (Pandion cristatus), Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii).

Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)

When visiting Raja Ampat, I like to enjoy snorkeling too. There are a lot of beautiful corals and tropical reef fish that I can see such as butterflyfish, moorish idol, anemonefish, surgeonfish, and even black-tip reefshark.
As a matter of fact, birds and fish are not the only animals that we can see in Raja Ampat. There are also butterflies, beetles, lizards and sometimes snakes that we can find among the coastal vegetation.

Piaynemo islets in Raja Ampat

The coral reef of Raja Ampat is very rich of marine life. It is the natural habitat of thousands of species of creatures such as fish, urchin, sea star, mollusc, and mammals. That's why it is not surprising to see that there are a lot of seabirds living in these islands.
If you plan to go birding in Raja Ampat, besides putting your super zoom camera, binoculars and spotting scope into your bag, don't forget to also put  mask, snorkel, and fins into it.
Also read:
Kofiau Monarch
Birding in North-east region of Waigeo island
Birding in Raja Ampat
Birding in Raja Ampat of West Papua
Rainforest Tours in Raja Ampat
Birdwatching and Snorkeling in Raja Ampat