Hi all.

Erik Forsyth, Andrew Sutherland and myself, Glen Valentine, recently returned from leading four mammoth tours to the legendary birding destination of Papua New Guinea – and what an amazing experience we all had on this otherworldly island! The birding was simply superb and we came back with several lifers each. Many new friends were also made and it was great to see several familiar faces as well. Indeed, numerous fond memories were acquired during these unforgettable trips and we’re all keen to get back to this fabulous birding destination in 2012! Some of the many highlights during the two months that we spent here included the near-mythical Papuan Hawk-Owl, an unbelievable five species of Owlet-nightjar, walk-away views of the gigantic Papuan Eagle, exceptionally difficult Forest Bittern, White-breasted Ground Dove feeding in the open only meters away, outrageous Pesquet’s Parrot, gleaming Flame Bowerbird and gargantuan Southern Crowned Pigeon on all trips, the extremely sought-after Shovel-billed Kookaburra, bizarre Wattled Ploughbill, all five Paradise Kingfishers, an incredible 21 species (excluding the two Satinbirds) of spectacular Birds-of-paradise and loads more! To read our trip reports with a detailed breakdown of each tour and all the respective species that were recorded, click here.

Below are some of the photographic highlights of our 2011 tours.

 Hooded Pitta