We are relaxing before supper, tired but happy.  We are sweaty and sticky but will not shower until after an owl hunting expedition tonight.  That will happen after supper.  So goes a birding tour.  I’m sipping a beer to make my body more comfortable.  We hiked about five miles today up a mountain in the tropical warmth and humidity.  Scored some great birds and passed by rural homesteads, cacao, banana, taro, yucca, pineapple, and bean fields, and through tropical rain forest.  Our local guide spoke of suffering malaria two or three times a year.  A helper chewed betel nuts and spit.  Children walked down the jungle trail as if they were at home.  We lunched in a little slash and burn field planted in taro at the edge of the jungle.  

 

We have two international guides.  One is  relatively laid back.  He will lead our next tour starting the day after tomorrow.  The other is an intense young Dutchman.  He reminds me of our former neighbor, “Mile More Bob” who always wanted to go farther on a hike.  This afternoon there was a near mutiny.  Another participant said he would go no farther.  I provided support pointing out that my water was near empty.  The guide relented, told us to stay, and went even farther up the volcanic peak before turning back to join us going back down the mountain.

 

The intensity is good for finding the birds.  People think it is easy finding birds in the tropics.  There are so many and they squawk.  Well, many kinds are uncommon and secretive.  Obtaining views is a great challenge and takes time and perseverance, especially in the heat with malarial mosquitoes.  This evening we can say that we have seen the Black-capped Paradise Kingfisher.  I doubt that a thousand people in the world can say that.  

 

Yesterday, we birdied by van and on foot at various locations.  We joined breakfast at five a.m. and were on the road at six.  We returned to the lodge at almost eight p.m. total exhausted.  The exercise was not so bad, but the roads through the palm plantations were horrendous.  The van would variously hit bottom and bounce about.  What a trek.  But in the evening we stopped along a river as the day birds went to roost and the night birds and owls came out.  What a sight.  Nicobar pigeons flapped over.  Swifts filled the air over the river.  Micro bats made passage under the palms.  Giant fruit bats paddled slowly over the trees.  Synchronous fireflies flashed from bushes near the water.  Crocodiles, our guide said, waited for any splash along the river to pounce.  It is a different world here.

 

Tomorrow we go out on the water to bird.  Was windy today, hopping it will be calmer.  Our last day here at Walindi.  Then back to Port Moresby where we will stay to bird Variata National Park before flying to Mt. Hagen deep deep in the main island.