We would like to congratulate our first team of intrepid young birders for completing their field expedition to Papua New Guinea. Casper, Cornel, Danny, and Joep successfully documented three lost birds: New Britain Sparrowhawk, White-naped Lory, and New Ireland Friarbird. Species lists made across multiple elevations now provide valuable baselines in an area with scant ornithological data, which is being heavily impacted by foreign logging operations. Several other poorly-known species were recorded like Beck’s Petrel, Yellow-legged Pigeon, Bismarck Kingfisher, New Ireland Myzomela, and the undescribed “Bismarck Flyrobin”. Below is their recount, detailing some challenges associated with travelling in remote Papua New Guinea and perhaps also giving insight as to why these birds remained lost to science for so long.

Ornis Birding x Lost Birds Grant Program

Blog: Three Lost Birds Rediscovered in PNG

Written by Cornel Schepers, with Casper Leygraaf, Joep Duijvestijn, Danny Bregman.

eBird Trip Report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/510505

The first Ornis x Lost Birds Young Birder Grant team has returned from Papua New Guinea! Our goal was to arrange an expedition deep into the Hans Meyer Range, New Ireland’s southernmost and highest mountains, to search for four lost birds: White-naped Lory, New Ireland Friarbird, New Britain Sparrowhawk, and Bismarck Island Thrush. We had prepared by closely examining satellite footage from the mountains, and brought nine backpacks from home filled with camping equipment, medicine, and supplies for two weeks.

As we had been warned, arranging logistics and finding the right people to help us was indeed a challenge. Sadly, we had to confront the fact that logging and mining has found even these far reaches of the Bismarck Archipelago, destroying not only habitat but also the way of life for many remote villages. However birding in the beautiful region was truly exciting.

Four of us arrived in Port Moresby on April 25th, unfortunately our fifth team member Lonnie had to cancel due to a fungal infection contracted in a cave whilst looking for bats. On a Dutch-built Fokker 70 we flew onwards to Kavieng, New Ireland’s largest town. We arrived late at night, thankfully having already arranged transport for the long trip down south the next day. We were planning to travel to Taron, beyond the southern end of the island’s main road: the Boluminski Highway. Some of our contacts had never been so far south despite living on the island their whole life!

We did some birding around Kavieng Airport in the morning. The tall grasses here are home to Mottled Munia, an incredibly range-restricted bird occurring only in the northern half of New Ireland. We quickly found a group of fifty, as well as the island’s first eBird records of a Tree Martin and three Oriental Pratincoles. Seeing two island rarities within two hours made us realise how undervisited this place is by birders. We also discovered that when birding in New Ireland, you always have an entourage: a dozen local kids shadowing us and giggling. They knew to stay silent for the birds, and were quite fun to have around.

After inevitable delays (we quickly learned that planning more than one hour ahead was next to impossible), Kavieng was finally put behind us around noon. We did not stress, as traveling would take two days no matter what, since we wanted to arrive in Taron during daylight. Arriving in the dead of night hardly signals good intentions to a community that has likely not received foreign visitors in a decade! Just south of Namatanai that afternoon we saw some of the first Bismarck endemics such as Yellowish Imperial Pigeon and Knob-billed Fruit Dove, as well as a flock of Purple-bellied Lories, the lowland counterpart of our target White-naped Lory. At dusk we tried to see New Ireland Boobook without luck, but next morning at 3AM, we saw the bird perched on a branch while we were packing the car. By 7AM, we reached the small settlement of Muliama at the highway terminus. After explaining to a very interested local populace about our intentions, we were provided with a 7-metre long banana boat to take us the rest of the way to Taron.

Surrounded by both Greater and Lesser Frigatebirds, Black-naped Terns, and a lone Beach Stone-curlew, we arrived in Taron after two hours. Our translator introduced us in Tok Pisin, PNG’s lingua franca. Taron and the surrounding villages speak mostly Lak, a language unique to southern New Ireland. It was a warm welcome from the women of Taron, as most of the men were out hunting or working at a nearby logging company. Thankfully, some spoke sufficient English for us to be able to communicate. It would later turn out that some time during the middle of the day a few of our belongings were stolen, which was to become a bigger issue later. From here on, we were on our own in one of the most remote corners of PNG.

We were told to wait for the return of Chief Sirel. His relative arrived a lot quicker, however, so we were able to explain our plans to him first. He, and the community, were rather sceptical initially, and wanted to know if we had any connections to the government. We informed them we were just students, and not planning to take anything except pictures. Their previous interactions with foreigners have perhaps been mostly negative. We heard some Germans once visited posing as birdwatchers, but were actually searching for gold. After some time, and a few macho machete threats, they became convinced that we were genuinely there for the birds. We showed them our cameras, binoculars, and handed out two copies of “The Birds of Melanesia” which were generously gifted to us by Helm Field Guides. They were immediately familiar with most of the birds we were looking for, pointing out the different species they knew to occur in Taron.

The next morning, we did a quick round of birding around the village, followed by the usual entourage of local kids, one of whom was carrying around a dead Bismarck Crow. We saw a few endemic birds like Bismarck Pitta, our first Reddish Myzomela, and a bunch of Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeons. Upon coming back, we suddenly heard that our departure to the bush was imminent. We were eager to head up, but in hindsight it would have been wiser to wait for Chief Sirel.

A team had gathered to help carry our bags up the mountain, and we were prepared for the multi-day trip that laid ahead. They would have been able to go up and down, barefoot, in less than a day! Leaving in the midday heat, we first hiked to a river junction to stock up on water. Most of the hike today involved walking through rivers and constantly going up and down ridges without really gaining elevation, very tough for us in the heat. Camp would be at the junction of two rivers only 180 m above sea level, much lower than we were hoping, although a calling Large-tailed Nightjar was one nice bonus.

Next morning we would hike up to the lake. Heading further along the river, we saw several kingfishers flash away. At first glance we wrote them off as Common Kingfishers, but their large size and slightly different call got our attention. As one gave a better in-flight view we saw a creamy white belly and darker, azure-blue back, lacking the bright blue flash typical of Common Kingfishers. At least some of these birds were Bismarck Kingfishers, a bird which was (until last year) also a lost species! Casper managed to get a few record shots of one bird flying past, but in the end we wouldn’t see this species again.

As it turned out, our guides took us to a different lake than we had been aiming for (only 700 meters instead of the planned 1200 metres above sea level). However, while setting up our tent we heard a parrot calling that seemed to match the ‘’whistling’’ calls that were described of White-naped Lory. Danny saw a bright red bird flashing through the canopy, which Joep and Casper managed to find perched up in a huge tree 30 meters away from camp. Our cameras were not within reach however the birds had a red belly, black cere and, white nape! Hopes were high from this point indeed! Less than an hour later, we heard the same calls again and a group of three White-naped Lories flew into a tree on the edge of the lake, starting to forage right in the open! This time they allowed for excellent photographing opportunities, and we had proof that this lost species was still present in New Ireland’s mountains!

The following day we woke up early, and while we picked up some of the commoner species of the Bismarck Archipelago, Danny fell ill. The rest of the group carried on, discussing a route to go higher up the mountains with the porters. We located some good flocks filled with Bismarck and Golden Monarchs, Bismarck Cicadabirds, Velvet Flycatchers, plus Red-breasted and Finsch's Pygmy-Parrots, as well as two more White-naped Lories. Returning around 11 in the morning, Danny had some interesting news for us. John, the chief hunter, and highest-in-rank of our porters, had told him a couple of the guys we took up the mountain had discussed robbing us in our sleep overnight. They had returned down to Taron but John told us they might return. We felt unsafe and decided to make preparations to leave, as we could not comfortably stay eight more nights in these mountains. However Danny was still ill so any possible departure would have to be the next day.

During the afternoon, some new men arrived with several dogs. At first we were wary of these newcomers, but one of them, Eric, spoke English well. We struck up a lengthy conversation with him about logging, the local forests, and both of our cultures. Later on, using a path built into the reeds of the lake where we had a nice overview of the canopy, we saw a few different birds. These included Black Imperial Pigeon and Northern Fantail, but the highlight was a fly-by Yellow-legged Pigeon, a Vulnerable endemic of Melanesia which has seemingly not been recorded anywhere in Papua New Guinea for 20 years. We heard multiple calls but sadly could not get perched views. When going to bed in our tents, we were still apprehensive, but figured there was nothing we could do this deep into the forest. We had already sent a text via satellite phone to arrange a boat and subsequent pick-up back to Kavieng, so trusting Eric and his friends was all we could do.

Heading down in the morning took us about six hours. Upon returning to Taron and finally meeting Chief Sirel, we discovered that the new men were actually his most trusted, and had been sent to check on us and keep us safe. Reminiscing, safely back home, these were some of the friendliest guys we had met on the island. After properly conveying what had transpired regarding our stolen goods and our fears on the mountain, a town discussion - where Chief Sirel threatened to burn one of the houses down if we did not get our stolen goods back - lasted three hours. We sincerely appreciated that most of our supplies were eventually returned. Interestingly, a small female or juvenile Tachyspiza sparrowhawk flew into a nearby tree during this feud, but due to the situation we felt unable to take any pictures or get a closer look! Nonetheless, it was a relief to see an overwhelming majority of the town standing up for us and being disappointed in their peers.

Sirel told us we were not allowed to pay the rest of the porters, which we did not feel good about. In the evening, we had some wonderful conversations with him, enjoying moonshine as he told us about uncontacted “pygmy jungle people’’ in the mountains, which he claimed to have met. He also told us about the mysterious “jet-bird’’, which is rumoured to be the fastest bird on the planet. We first wrote this off as a local legend, as he was unfamiliar with the Peregrine Falcon, but came to hear about this bird from basically everyone we met across the entire island. Certainly a most interesting story, but we were unable to pin down what species they were talking about. Perhaps Beck’s Petrel shooting overhead at night, returning to their burrows? We also convinced Sirel to allow us to pay our remaining porters, who had no ill will towards us and potentially saved us from their more hostile peers.

In the morning we waited for our boat, and played with the local kids. On board, we asked the skipper to head out to open sea, as we wanted to take a closer look at the petrels we had previously seen flying over the bay each afternoon. About 3 km off we started seeing the first Tahiti Petrels and Beck’s Petrels up close. We saw many Pseudobulweria, but were only able to confidently identify a few due to the combination of a small boat and rather large waves. Joep managed to get excellent photos of one bird flying past at close range.

We headed back to Kavieng to make new plans for the days we still had on the island. Using satellite imagery, a logging road near Manga was visible which seemed to reach up to 1300 meters. After two days we were able to depart, later than expected since our planned driver apparently had a hangover. We arranged a new driver, Misah, who would be with us for the remainder of the trip. Patrick, our translator for the first day of the trip and an employee of the wonderful Kavieng Niu Lodge where we had been staying, was a Manga native and a nephew of the chief. He was coming with us to assist.

Upon arrival at a local guesthouse south of Namatanai, we heard one of the women in the house was in labour. They had been waiting for the ambulance to come but it never arrived. We quickly got our bags out of the car, and Misah drove her straight to the hospital. Another surprise experience, but we sadly never got to hear how the delivery went. Next morning we finished the drive south to check if the logging road we had found was still accessible by car. It was not. Thick shrubs and young trees were completely covering everything. We then drove to Manga, where this time we immediately got to talk to the main chief.

After explaining our purpose, again everyone was quite sceptical at first. However enthusiasm and excitement started to appear as everything was explained in more and more detail. Heading up the mountain that same morning we were accompanied by nine porters, even though we had only asked for four. Turns out we would be thankful to have the extra help later on! Once again hiking during the hottest point during the day was tough, but our bodies seemed to have gotten a bit more used to the Melanesian climate. Heading up the mountain, some of the commoner birds were the everpresent, along with endemics such as Reddish Myzomela, various parrots, and an Oriental Cuckoo. At around 600 meters it started to rain hard, and we decided to take cover under a large rocky overhang.

We used the time to get better acquainted with our porters, exchanging stories and jokes. The bird activity did not stop due to the rain however, and we saw another two White-naped Lories from this dry vantage, foraging right in front of us! It seemed this lost bird was not uncommon at all and from this point we saw more every day, where it seemed to be most common from 500 to 1100 meters. A tiny Tachyspiza Sparrowhawk also sped past, which we suspected might have been our second possible sighting of a New Britain Sparrowhawk.

After the rain died down, we walked to a place where there was a clear overview of the canopy. Here we saw one of our only two White-backed Woodswallows, several parrots and pigeons, our first White-necked Coucals, and we got better views of Long-tailed Myna, which would become a mainstay in the island’s roster of birds. When we got back, we were surprised to see the porters had managed to catch a large pregnant swine and were preparing it for dinner. It was quite amazing to see them skin, cut, and cook the entire pig in a few hours, something we had never seen before! Our tents were set up and all went to bed beneath a calling New Ireland Boobook (we would hear them every night from now on). This time it was Cornel who got really sick, to the point of throwing up multiple times during the night and following morning. The wild boar might have irritated his stomach or given him food poisoning. The next day the rest of the team waited for him to get a bit better before leaving. The hot part of the day was again exhausting, but we managed to move on until the rain started in the afternoon.

On the way there were tons of White-naped Lories, White-bibbed Fruit-doves, and a Song Parrot. Because of torrential rain, we camped around 900 meters above sea level on a little plateau for the night, which seemed to have been clear-cut due during past logging. After the rain dropped off, we did some birding here. Plenty of Finsch’s and Black Imperial Pigeons, Papuan Mountain Pigeons, and our first Red-chinned Lorikeets. As we returned to camp, the porters had caught another pig. This time we skipped it, returning to our own freeze-dried rice and pasta. Next morning, we headed out at 3AM to get to the top of the logging road. Most of the porters would follow us later to set up our top camp at a junction at around 1100 meters. This morning would prove to be one for the books, as after arriving at the junction at 6AM, Cornel and Casper saw a New Ireland Friarbird fly in on a branch, only to quickly fly away again. We managed to get record shots, but unfortunately Danny and Joep had not seen it. They were busy with photographing the island’s first ever record of an Olive-backed Oriole, expanding knowledge of this species seemingly wintering in the Bismarck Archipelago highlands.

We continued on, and reached the end of the road just shy of 1300 meters. Exhausted, three of us lay down on a logged tree. Danny was the only one paying attention, and he calmly stated he saw a sparrowhawk fly into a tree in front of us. He took some shots, zoomed in and after noticing the rufous collar he yelled: ‘’JAAAA, DAT IS HEM! (YESSSS, THAT”S IT!)’’. The rest of the group asked where the bird was, upon which Danny, still a bit flustered, responded in a frustrated tone:‘’Ja, in die boom daar! (Yes, in that tree over there!)’’ pointing at something which the others can only describe as a million trees. After getting better directions, all of us managed to see the New Britain Sparrowhawk, and we were able to put up the scope to take better photos, and show it to both porters, who joined us in our enthusiasm. They were the two chief hunters, Stanley and Boni, who had already caught another two boars this morning. At the same location, we were able to find White-naped Lory and another New Ireland Friarbird as well, which meant we documented three lost birds in three hours without moving an inch!

We went back to the new top camp to celebrate this success by having our only beer on the mountain. This was short-lived however, as the rain came around rather quickly. The local guys were able to build us a very nice camp this time (during the rain no less) with additional shelter for our tents. They were happy to hear we found the birds. This afternoon we birded around camp, as the day was filled with loads of short showers, and thick mist started to set in towards the late afternoon. We saw more New Ireland Friarbirds, a dozen Bismarck White-eyes and Paradise Drongos, the latter of which is affectionately called Bird-of-Paradise on New Ireland. An early turn-in today as we wanted to set out tomorrow an aim for a 1500 meter plateau to see if we could find the Bismarck Island Thrush. Next morning, we walked up to the top of the road, and continued into the bush by cutting a path with machetes. The walk up to 1500 meters was very steep, and due to the rains also very slippery. We preferred this to a long walk however, as we gained 200 meters in elevation in 45 minutes. Birding was tough as it rained the entire morning, and the mist from the previous day had not disappeared, so we were wet and cold for the entire day.

Habitat here had changed from lower down, as the beautiful forest consisted of smaller trees with loads of moss and epiphytes in between. The entire morning we saw no big flocks, only noticing Bismarck Whistlers and Bismarck Fantails. We had another encounter with a New Ireland Friarbird, and were able to take better pictures, as well as record its call. As today was also Global Big Day from eBird, we added a few gems to that list-including two (un-)Lost Bird Species, helping it to make it a world record with over 8,000 species recorded in a single day! As the mist cleared, we set up around a small river valley where we were able to see the canopy on the other side. We finally got a big flock, which was filled with New Ireland Friarbirds, Bismarck Fantails, Golden Monarchs, and most excitingly a New Ireland Myzomela! This bird had not been photographed since 2016 and as such, was due to officially become a lost bird in July this year. After we nabbed a record shot, the rain returned. We decided to head back down and were surprised Stanley and Boni had somehow managed to build a fire. We sadly did not find a Bismarck Island Thrush, but it could definitely be present on this plateau as the habitat seemed perfect.

The sun came back after lunch so we did some birding along the road slightly below camp, focused on taking some pictures in the good light. The porters had come up with nicknames for all of us, and we would become known as Kane (Cornel), Jude (Joep), Philip (Casper), and Jungleboy (Danny). The following morning it was time to descend, but before we did so, we managed to fit in some birding. Danny and Cornel started their morning on the top of the logging road, while Casper and Joep found the most special bird of the day just above camp: a pair of Bismarck Flyrobin, a Microeca species that is yet to be officially described. Luckily we regrouped and were able to relocate the bird, recording some calls, and taking some videos. It started to rain again after lunch so we hurried down to the overhang. The rain would not stop until the next morning, and as it got dark, the rain only got worse and worse. During a short window of only fifteen minutes when it finally stopped raining, we quickly pitched up our tents. After dinner we waited for another break in the downpour so that we could get inside them, set up only 10 meters away. This seemed to take forever, and Cornel almost fell asleep before a tiny scorpion (with small pincers and a large stinger) climbed onto his bare foot. Luckily Patrick noticed the scorpion as well, and disposed of it by crushing it with his bare foot. By 9 PM the area was flooded and we had to put our bags on a makeshift wooden bench but too late: water was already dripping out of them. We stood huddled up, and as the rain never seemed to stop, eventually deciding to make a run for it as we dove into our tents hoping they had stayed dry. We somewhat succeeded.

The next morning, after a terrible night, we headed back down the mountain. As could be expected, our vehicle was not on time, so we talked to the townspeople. They told us sad stories of violence in the region, having increased recently as a result of logging and mining operations. We enjoyed some very sweet pineapple, had a more than welcome wash in the sea, and paid the porters. They were more than happy with this, and were most definitely open to more birdwatchers coming to their town. After a few hours, Misah arrived and we headed north to Rubio Plantation, a reliable site for New Ireland Dwarf Kingfisher, which was the last New Ireland endemic we had to see. Unfortunately, we did not find it, but we enjoyed the local chocolate and continued on to Kavieng.

We arrived late in Kavieng and were picked up by Abraham, who took us on a small boat to Tsoi-Lik, a small tropical island off New Hanover. We arrived around 2AM after a two hour trip under a beautiful night sky where we were able to see the Milky Way from horizon to horizon. We saw our first and most important target, Bismarck Black Myzomela, right when we arrived, sleeping on a branch.

After a very short night, we headed out across the island, quickly finding all of our targets: Island Monarch, Yellow-bibbed Fruit-dove, Mangrove Golden Whistler, and many Bismarck Black Myzomelas. We also saw two overflying Nicobar Pigeons, which is just one of those species everyone wants to see, so it was definitely an exciting sighting! We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon looking over the sea, where many Black-naped Terns and Black Noddies were foraging. In the late afternoon we headed out there, as we wanted to see Heinroth’s Shearwater. We quickly found a large feeding flock of around 500 birds, which was filled with Black and Brown Noddies, Red-footed and Brown Boobies plus a few Great Crested and Bridled Terns. We were able to sail right through this group, which was an impressive experience. We did not find any shearwaters here, but the highlight was a huge Pacific Blue Marlin jumping out of the water! We visited a smaller, uninhabited island around sunset, where we found a Melanesian Megapode. During sunset, we went into Tsoi-Lik’s lagoon, where we saw many Beach Kingfishers and an Osprey nest. The next morning we visited a Yellow-bibbed Fruit Dove nest that Abraham had found. He knew quite a lot about the local birds, and we were able to get him more interested in birdwatching.

Abraham was not too enthusiastic about going to New Hanover itself, as a clan war had been going on for sixteen years which recently turned more violent. We were unfamiliar with this conflict before travelling here, since news coverage from the region hardly exists. We explained to him that we really wanted to see the island’s endemic New Hanover Munia. He knew of the bird and told us that they were also present on Anelaua Island, off the coast of New Hanover and free from conflict. Sceptical at first, we decided to pay a visit to the island, which was home to a boarding school. After less than five minutes we saw the first New Hanover Munias! As far as we know, this is the first scientific documentation of this species away from the mainland of New Hanover, and just the sixth report of the species on eBird! Just off the coast there is a sunken Japanese Nakajima B5N warplane from World War II, where we did some snorkelling. Returning to Kavieng for some supplies, we found the first White-winged Tern reported on eBird for New Ireland, as well as two Indo-pacific Bottlenose Dolphins swimming right beside the boat! We jumped in, and were able to admire these animals for half an hour.

We started our journey to Djaul Island around 3 PM, whilst enjoying some well-deserved beers. First travelling through a small strait between New Ireland and a smaller satellite island, seeing the beautiful mangrove forest which apparently hosts Saltwater Crocodiles. Here we saw Bismarck Hanging Parrots, flashing their beautiful turquoise underwing, and more Nicobar Pigeons flew above the canopy; Abraham told us the Nicobar Pigeons forage in the oil palm plantations. We saw many Wedge-tailed Shearwater along our journey, sitting only a few meters beside the boat. For us Dutch birders seeing shearwaters this close was a special experience, as we normally only see them far out at sea. We arrived at Leion on the western part of Djaul during sunset, and saw Lesser and Great Frigatebirds flying towards their roost. We waited on the boat as Abraham introduced us, and once he did, we had dinner. The people on Djaul were really friendly, and we got a few hours to rest before we held a town meeting during which we would explain our intention. At 8 PM we held the meeting, and explained that Djaul is home to some endemic taxa, which are highly likely different species. The locals were of course familiar with all of them.

We went out at night already to find some birds using our thermal. We found two beautiful Djaul Monarchs, split from Bismarck Monarch by Birdlife International. Next morning (accompanied by the usual entourage), we quickly found (and were able to sound record) the local and very distinctive pulcherrimus subspecies of Golden Monarch which is also endemic to Djaul, as well as a marvelous displaying Pied Cuckoo-Dove. Heading somewhat deeper into the forest, we found the previously mentioned Djaul Monarch as well as Djaul Flycatcher (split by Birdlife International from Velvet Flycatcher), and Bismarck Pitta. Finally, we also found our last New Ireland endemic, New Ireland Dwarf Kingfisher, in this patch of forest! We were satisfied with our trip and said goodbye to Djaul. The chief asked if the next visitors were coming soon, maybe even tomorrow?

Noting no Heinroth’s Shearwater on the return journey, we arrived back in Kavieng just after sundown. Abraham was subject to some unpleasant behaviour on the beach, seemingly instigating some jealous boat owners. Our taxi arrived so we evacuated him with us back to Kavieng Niu Lodge, where we had some celebratory end-of-trip beers with both him and Misah.

Overall the trip was a major success. Despite that bad start at Taron where we underestimated the local village politics, we met some truly wonderful people along the entire length of the island. Manga was certainly the highlight, where three lost birds were common alongside some incredibly underreported and understudied species. All up, we tallied 53 White-naped Lories, 15 New Ireland Friarbirds, and 1 confirmed New Britain Sparrowhawk. Certainly good numbers for species not documented for almost twenty years, and over thirty years in the case of the sparrowhawk. We also recorded all 8 of New Ireland's currently-recognised endemic landbirds, plus most of the 18 near-endemics shared with New Britain and/or New Hanover. We hope our travels will inspire more birdwatchers to visit the Hans Meyer Range in particular, giving the local people a new avenue for modest ecotourism income. In the coming weeks we will be writing a more detailed trip report with more exact information on logistics, contacts, GPS points, and specific species for future birders.