Lake Tondano

Lake Tondano

In my last tour around Minahasa, I visited Lake Tondano. There was a road that connected Tomohon and Tondano. However, we did not go through that one. We went there through Leilem. It was a big lake in North Sulawesi. I went there by car and had a tour around the lake. The scenery of the lake was very beautiful. Villages and Tondano town surrounded the edge of the lake. There were restaurants too. I had lunch in the town near the campus of State University of Manado. The temperature in Tondano was quite cool especially at nights.
When traveling in the area, I saw a tall tower. I heard that it was the replica of Moraya fortress which was the battle ground between Dutch colonial troops and the Minahasan people in early 1800s. It was a sad story because during the war, a lot of people were killed including women and children.
During that time Tondano and other Minahasan villages were important rice and spice producers in the region. So, it was not surprising to see how Western Colonial powers of that era such as the Spaniards and the Dutch used their military and economic might to conquer the region.
Until now, farmlands around Lake Tondano still produce rice but farmers have run other businesses too such as running eating houses, and shops.
For tours in North Sulawesi, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.
Also read:
Sonder
Birding in Minahasa

Yellow-billed Malkoha

Yellow-billed Malkoha in the highland of Minahasa

This is the picture of Yellow-billed Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus calyorhynchus) that I saw in Minahasa highland while I was doing a morning bird walk. I saw two birds at that time. However, I could only take picture of one of them. The bird was endemic to Sulawesi island. The forest had never been visited by any birdwatchers. So, it was a new birding site. I also saw several other species of birds including Hair-crested Drongo, Black-naped Oriole, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Scaly-breasted Munia, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Collared Kingfisher, Cattle Egret, Olive-backed Sunbird, Slender-billed Crow, and Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon. 
In the evening, I returned to the same site and I called the Sulawesi Scops Owl. The bird flew closer to me and landed on the branch of a tree. I took some pictures of the owl too. It was a great experience birding in Minahasa highland.
As a tourist guide, I offer birding tour to this region for visitors who are interested in watching birds and other wild animals of North Sulawesi. To share the cost, the number of participants should be at least 2 to 4 people. 
If you are interested, please, contact me by email to: leororing@gmail.com or send whatsapp message to my cell phone number: +6281332245180.
Also read:
North Sulawesi Tour Package
Birding in North Sulawesi

Birding in North Sulawesi

Female Olive-backed Sunbird

I recently visited the highland and lowland of North Sulawesi from Kotamobagu to Minahasa and then to Tangkoko. This province has got beautiful landscape that attracts a lot of tourists every year. Early this month I was traveling in this region with several tourists from Republic of China also called Taiwan. We visited several places including Tomohon, Sonder, Amurang, and Tangkoko. Most of our activities were focused on birding and wildlife watching. We enjoyed birding in Mount Mahawu, Lake Linow, Temboan and the rainforest of Mount Dua Sudara Nature Reserve (famously called Tangkoko). Each tour participant whom I guided brought his or her own binoculars and camera with telephoto lens. So, taking pictures of birds in tall trees or far in a pond was an easy thing to do for each of them.

Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon

There were a lot of birds that we saw such as Maleo, Knobbed Hornbill, Pale Blue Monarch (Hypotimis puella), Grossbeak Starling (Scissirostrum dubium), Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla), Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata), Olive-backed Sunbird, Yellow-billed Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus calyorhynchus), Purple-winged Roller, Green-backed Kingfisher, Gross-beak Starling, Golden-mantled Racket Tail, Slender-billed Cuckoo Dove, Slender-billed Crow, Barred Rail, Lilac-cheeked Kingfisher, Great-billed Kingfisher, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Black-naped Oriol,  Ashy Woodpecker, Collared Kingfisher, Sunda Teal, Black-winged Stilt, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Sulawesi Scops Owl, Ochre-bellied Boobok, and a lot more.
We also saw a lot of butterflies, and dragonflies. In addition to birds and insects, we saw squirrels, Celebes-crested Macaque monkeys, Snake and Cuscus Possum in the forest.
Cultural Tour

Farmland in Minahasa Highland

As a tourist guide, I can combine birding tour with special culture tour for visitors who are also interested in seeing Minahasan people in their daily life. We could visit farmland and see how villagers work in their garden, work in ricefield and fishpond. We could also see the traditional market and see agricultural produce and other products which local people sell and buy.  A trip to see farmers who make traditional liquor from palm sap or palm sugar can be organized too.
If you are interested in visiting North Sulawesi and want me to be your guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180

Also read:

• Birding in Minahasa Peninsula
• Birdwatching in Sonder of Minahasa highland

Knobbed Hornbill in North Sulawesi

Knobbed Hornbill

This is the photograph of Knobbed Hornbill that I saw in North Sulawesi. At that time, I was guiding some Taiwanese tourists on a birding tour in the region. The bird was seen during the day while we were hiking and watching wild animals in Tangkoko Nature Reserve.
It was a nice experience because we could also watch other birds as well such as the Grossbeak Starling, White-necked Myna, Green-backed Kingfisher, Lilac-cheeked Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher, and Red-backed Thrush.
We also saw squirrel, snake and gliding lizard and tens of crested macaque monkeys.
Our trip in Tangkoko was the continuation of our previous tours in Tambun forest, Mount Ambang, and the highlands of Minahasa.
As a tourist guide, I could organize your tour in this beautiful region. If you are interested in visiting Minahasa and other parts of North Sulawesi to see its birds, scenery, and meet its people, and want me to be your private guide, please, contact me by email to: leororing@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Birds in the highland of Minahasa

Chestnut Munia

I was traveling in the highland of Minahasa last week. I visited Tomohon, Sonder, Kawangkoan, and Langowan to explore their surrounding forests. I planned to bring birding visitors to the region. During my birding tours, I saw several species such as Sulawesi Drongo, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Olive-backed Sunbird, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Slender-billed Crow, Chestnut Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia, Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon, Sulawesi Scops Owl, Cattle Egret, and a lot more.
I also had the opportunity to speak with local farmers who make palm sugar, and with ones who own fish, and pig farms.
For birding tour that I offer in North Sulawesi, I can include some additional trips to the volcanic crater of Mount Mahawu or to Lake Tondano. I can organize scenic and cultural trips to places where local farmers in North Sulawesi traditionally make palm sugar, farm tools, and earthenware.
Visitors who are interested in taking the tour could come as a solo traveler or as a group of 2, 4 and up to 8 participants to share the cost of traveling. For further info about the trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: leororing@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.