Sonder, a small town in Minahasa regency, has got several birding sites that are good for birding visitors to see. The first one is Tounelet Forest located at the slope of the town. Birdwatching activity can be done along the roadside, footpath or from the frontyard and sideyard of Charles Roring's homestay. The birds that could be watched in this forest include Black-crowned White-eye (Zosterops atrifrons), Grey-sided Flowerpecker (Dicaeum celebicum) which is endemic to Sulawesi and its satellite islands, Sahul Sunbird (Cinnyris frenatus), Sooty-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus aurigaster), Sulawesi Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia albicapilla), Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis), Grey-sided Flowerpecker (Dicaeum celebicum), Yellow-sided Flowerpecker (Dicaeum aureolimbatum), Pale Blue Monarch (Hypothymis puella), Black Sunbird (Leptocoma aspasia), Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Slender-billed Crow, Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla), Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata), Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus temminckii), Sulawesi Hanging Parrot (Loriculus stigmatus), and etc.
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| Some birds in North Sulawesi |
As usual, the recommended times to enjoy birding at this slope forest are in the mornings (from 05:30 to around 10:30) and in the afternoons from (15:00 to 18:30).
Villagers who live in Sonder work as farmers. They grow maize, rice, vegetables, tomatoes and spring onions. There are also farmers who run poultry farming, fish farming and pig farming.
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| Sonder Town as seen from Tounelet Slope |
Sonder town is surrounded by waters, rice fields, farmlands, and hill forest. They are worth exploring. At the rice field areas of Talikuran village and further to Tincep village, we could see Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Pied Stilt, Gray Wagtail, Collared Kingfisher, White-breasted Woodswallow and White-browed Crake. Behind the terraces of rice fields, birdwatchers could explore the farmlands and forest in the hills which are the habitat of Yellow-billed Malkoha, Hair-crested Drongo, Black-faced Munia, Crimson Sunbird, White-faced Cuckoo Dove, Sulawesi Drongo, Mountain/ Warbling White Eye, Gray-rumped Treeswift, and a lot more.
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| Some birds from Tounelet forest in Sonder town |
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Some birds from the farmland and hill forest of
Sonder town in Minahasa regency |
Birding in Sonder is relatively very easy for everybody. Visitors do not need to walk through densed forest or thick bushes. There are agricultural roads that can be used by visitors. More interesting birds could be watched there. For accommodation, there are homestays in Sonder and Rambunan village. For hotels, visitors could go to the towns of Tomohon and Tondano.
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| Birds in Sonder town |
How to get there?
It is relatively easy to visit Sonder town or Minahasa regency as a whole. The main gate is Manado city. There are regular daily flights between Manado and major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar, Balikpapan and Sorong city. These flight routes are served by domestic airlines such as Citilink, Lion Air, Batik Air, Garuda Indonesia, TransNusa, AirAsia Indonesia. There is also direct flight from Singapore to Manado served by Scoot Air.
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| Flight route to Manado city |
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| Land route from Manado city to Sonder town (approx. 1 hour 30 minutes by car) |
Arriving in Manado city, visitors could continue their trip to Sonder by car for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes depending on the density of road traffic.
Booking
If you are interested in taking a holiday in the highland of Minahasa of Sulawesi and want me to organize your tour, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
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