Beyond Myola

Early on 16 October 1987 I was again on my way to Myola, only three weeks after my last visit. Then, Mike Hopkins had reached 3150m to the east of the village. Such was his enthusiasm for this high altitude forest that he had organised this trip in order to return as soon as possible. This time I, and five others, were going to accompany him. We arrived in Myola before 07:00 to be greeted by the now traditional coffee and toast. After breakfast, porters were hired to carry our bags to a campsite selected by Mike on his previous visit. We set off at about 08:30 on the first stage of our trek. The path climbed steeply most of the way and it took us about 4 hours to reach the tree fern forest at 2800m (700m higher than Myola). Towards the top of the ridge some flowering trees were attracting a variety of lorikeets including Papuan, Little Red, Yellow-billed and Plum-faced. Nearby, and moving with contrasting slowness, we saw a male Brehm’s Tiger-Parrot. The hunting trail we were following continued beyond the weird scenery of the tree fern forest but still climbed just as steeply. Orange-billed Lorikeets replaced Yellow-billed but there was much less bird activity during the afternoon or maybe I was just getting to tired to notice. Mike, Peter and Burk pushed on ahead and by the time Bill and I reached the grassland where Mike intended us to camp, they had already set up the tents. Our campsite was on a slight rise in the grassland, at 3150m. Alpine Pipits were common flying from the grass to perch on tree ferns while Island Thrushes and white-winged Robins were to be seen at the forest edge.

As the sun sank, the temperature dropped rapidly and we all opted for the warmth of our sleeping bags. When I woke there was ice on the tent and until the sun climbed above the surrounding peaks it was chilly. A pair of Eastern Alpine Mannikin and a small party of Mountain Firetails, which drew our attention by their mewing calls, were seen at the grassland edge near the camp. Belford’s Melidectes and Crested Berrypecker were common in the forest. After breakfast, and a stand in the sun to warm up, Mike and Peter set of in an attempt to reach the summit of Mount Kenevi (3400m) while Helen and I went in search of birds in the forest nearer the campsite. Three Greater Ground Robins, intent on a dispute of their own, stopped less than 2m from us. Upon realising we were there, one flew for about 2m, never more than 10cm from the ground. This may be the first time this species has been recorded flying. Before returning to the camp for lunch we added Lesser Melampitta and Blue-capped Ifrita to our list. For the latter this c.300m above the extreme upper limit given in Beehler et al (1986). After lunch we ventured to another part of the forest seeing a male Painted Tiger-Parrot climbing moss covered branches, a very cryptic Rufous Woodcock foraging amongst leaf litter and a flock of c.20 New Guine Thornbills flitting through the canopy. Chris went in search of the ground robins and dipped, but did see a male Crested Bird of Paradise. Some consolation! Mike and Peter returned having not quite made it to the top of Mt Kenevi but they did see Mountain Robin, a species that eluded the rest of us. We spent the evening chatting around the camp-fire while watching UFOs glide across the milky way. By the time we turned in there was a hard covering of ice on the tents.

After an early morning birding session around the camp that produced nothing new, we packed the tents and headed back to Myola. Walking up had been hard work but going down was painful and although I was rewarded with a good look at a male Garnet Robin, shining in the sun, I was very pleased to wander into Myola at 16:00. A restful evening in the Myola guest house, with dinner cooked for us, was a nice way to round off the weekend.

As always our thanks to Talair, Pacific Expeditions and, especially the people of Myola. Thanks also to Mike for organising the venture. I enjoyed it and despite the distance walked, the lack of oxygen, the intense midday sun and freezing conditions at night; I think everyone else did too. Isn’t that right Chris? Bill?

People List: Bill Cooper, Chris Eastwood, Roger Hicks, Mike & Helen Hopkins. Peter Lambley and Burk Sharpless.

Species List: Brown Goshawk, Rufous Woodcock, White-breasted Fruit-Dove, Papuan Mountain Pigeon, Goldie’s Lorikeet, Little Red Lorikeet, Papuan Lorikeet, Yellow-billed Lorikeet, Plum-faced Lorikeet, Orange-billed Lorikeet, Brehm’s Tiger Parrot, Mountain Swiftlet, Glossy Swiftlet, Alpine Pipit, Greater Ground Thrush, Island Thrush, Spotted Jewel-Babbler, Lesser Melampitta, Blue-capped Ifrita, Tawny Grassbird, Mountain Mouse-Warbler, Large Scrub-Wren, Buff-faced Scrub-Wren, Papuan Scrub-Wren, New Guinea Thornbill, Dimorphic Fantail, Black Fantail, Friendly Fantail, Black-breasted Boatbill, Canary Flycatcher, Garnet Robin, Mountain Robin, White-winged Robin, Regent Whistler, Rufous-naped Whistler, Papuan Treecreeper, Black Sitella, Mid-mountain Berrypecker, Tit Berrypecker, Crested Berrypecker, Red-collared Myzomela, Black-throated Honeyeater, Rufous-backed Honeyeater, Sooty Melidectes, Belford’s Melidectes, Common Smoky Honeyeater, Mountain Firetail, Eastern Alpine Mannikin, Macgregor’s Bowerbird, Crested Bird of Paradise, Brown Sicklebill, Stephanie’s Astrapia.

First published in Muruk 3(2): 65-67