2025
Timor Leste is a small country in South East Asia with a population of just over one million, the only South East Asian country in fact that is entirely south of the equator. The country is also one of the newest in the world having won independence from Indonesia in 2002 just over twenty years ago. Of interest to the bird photographer is (i) Timor-Leste’s 240 bird species reflecting both the country’s wide range of habitats and also its geographic location with a mix of birdlife from both the Asian and Australian regions (ii) Timor-Leste’s 13 endemic birds (iii) Timor-Leste's pristine diverse habitats, from vast empty beaches, to mangrove forests, tropical rainforests and mountains up to 3000m in altitude and (iv) Timor-Leste’s limited poulation means many of its habitats are undisturbed thereby making it a fabulous destination for the bird photographer.
Dili District: Photographic Targets: Pheasant Coucal / Flame-breasted Sunbird / White-bellied Bush Chat / Timor Oriole / Helmeted Friarbird / Red-chested Flowerpecker / Arafura Fantail / Spot-breasted Heleia / Cinnamon-band Kingfisher / Scaly-breasted Munia / Spectacled Monarch.
Manatutu District: Photographic Targets: Savanna Nightjar / Red-capped Plover / Paddyfield Pipit / Australian Pratincole / Blue-tailed Bee-eater / Rainbow Bee-eater / Timor Friarbird / Pied Bush Chat / Timor Sparrow.
Baucau District: Photographic Targets: Sunda Zebra Finch / Black-faced Woodswallow / Paddyfield Pipit / Pale-headed Munia / Scaly-breasted Munia / Zitting Cisticola / Golden-headed Cisticola / Pied Stilt / Barred Dove / Little Tern / Common Greenshank.
Lautem District: Photographic Targets: Timor Oriole / Pheasant Coucal / Sunda Zebra Finch / Shining Bronze Cuckoo / Barred Dove / Pacific Emerald Dove / Asian Emerald Dove / White-bellied Bush Chat / Arafura Fantail / Rose-crowned Fruit Dove/ Cinnamon-band Kingfisher / Flame-breasted Sunbird / Helmeted Friarbird / Red-chested Flowerpecker / Arafura Fantail / Spot-breasted Heleia / Orange-footed Scrubfowl / Scaly-breasted Munia / Spectacled Monarch.
Manufahi District: Photographic Targets: Spotted Crake / White-browed Crake / Tricoloured Parrotfinch / Black-banded Fruit Dove / Rose-crowned Fruit Dove / Timor Cuckoo Dove / Sunda Teal / Wandering Whistling Duck / Comb-crested Jacana / Striated Heron / Black-crowned Night Heron / Little Pied Cormorant / Whimbrel / Far Eastern Curlew / Australian Darter / Cinnamon-band Kingfisher / Fawn-breasted Whistler / Northern Fantail / Supertramp Fantail / Timor Boobook / Black-banded Fruit Dove / Rose-crowned Fruit Dove / Tawny Grassbird / White-breasted Waterhen / Comb-crested Jacana / Australian Darter.
Guiding Fees / Ground Transportation / Accommodation / Meals / Entrance Fees / Tipping for Drivers, Boatsmen, Hotel and Restaurant Staff.
International Flights / VISA Fees / Travel Insurance / Tips for Local Guide / Alcohol / Laundry / Items of a Personal Nature
Days 1-4 Dili District [4N, 3D, 7S]. Arrive Dili International Airport, drive 20-minutes to hotel. Photographic Targets: Pheasant Coucal / Flame-breasted Sunbird / White-bellied Bush Chat / Timor Oriole / Helmeted Friarbird / Red-chested Flowerpecker / Arafura Fantail / Spot-breasted Heleia / Cinnamon-band Kingfisher / Orange-footed Scrubfowl / Scaly-breasted Munia / Spectacled Monarch.
Days 4-5 Manatutu District [1N, 0D, 3S]. Drive 2-hours to Manatutu District. Photographic Targets: Savanna Nightjar / Red-capped Plover / Paddyfield Pipit / Australian Pratincole / Blue-tailed Bee-eater / Rainbow Bee-eater / Timor Friarbird / Pied Bush Chat / Timor Sparrow.
Day 5-7 Baucau District [2N, 1D, 3S]. Drive 2-hours to Baucau District. Photographic Targets: Sunda Zebra Finch / Black-faced Woodswallow / Paddyfield Pipit / Pale-headed Munia / Scaly-breasted Munia / Zitting Cisticola / Golden-headed Cisticola / Pied Stilt / Barred Dove / Little Tern / Common Greenshank.
Days 7-10 Lautem District [3N, 2D, 5S]. Drive 2-hours to Lautem District. Photographic Targets: Timor Oriole / Pheasant Coucal / Sunda Zebra Finch / Shining Bronze Cuckoo / Barred Dove / Pacific Emerald Dove / Asian Emerald Dove / White-bellied Bush Chat / Arafura Fantail / Rose-crowned Fruit Dove/ Cinnamon-band Kingfisher.
Days 10-13 Lautem District [3N, 2D, 5S]. Drive 3-hours. Photographic Targets: Pheasant Coucal / Flame-breasted Sunbird / White-bellied Bush Chat / Timor Oriole / Helmeted Friarbird / Red-chested Flowerpecker / Arafura Fantail / Spot-breasted Heleia / Cinnamon-band Kingfisher / Orange-footed Scrubfowl / Scaly-breasted Munia / Spectacled Monarch.
Days 13-17 Manufahi District [4N, 3D, 7S]. Drive 8-hours to Manufahi District. Photographic Targets: Spotted Crake / White-browed Crake / Tricoloured Parrotfinch / Black-banded Fruit Dove / Rose-crowned Fruit Dove / Timor Cuckoo Dove / Sunda Teal / Wandering Whistling Duck / Comb-crested Jacana / Striated Heron / Black-crowned Night Heron / Little Pied Cormorant / Whimbrel / Far Eastern Curlew / Australian Darter / Cinnamon-band Kingfisher / Fawn-breasted Whistler / Northern Fantail / Supertramp Fantail / Timor Boobook / Black-banded Fruit Dove / Rose-crowned Fruit Dove / Tawny Grassbird / White-breasted Waterhen / Comb-crested Jacana / Australian Darter.
Day 17-18 Dili District [1N, 0D, 1S]. Drive 4-hours to Dili District [Overnight: Dili]. Day 18: International Departures.
[Key: N: Night / D: Full Day / S: Session / Half-Day]
Nick, a UK National, has been living in Asia for over 15-years and in this time has conducted over 125 bird photography trips across the whole of the Asian continent ranging from Kazakhstan in the west, through India and China to Japan in the east, and from the Kamchatka coastline in the north to as far south as Indonesia. In China alone Nick has photographed to portrait-quality standard over 1,200 of China's bird species taking him to all of China's provinces as well as most of those nations bordering China. These bird photography trips have ranged in length from a few days to many months, including a three-month bird photography expedition to China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region, becoming quite possibly the most travelled foreigner in this region over the past decade. Nick has also conducted a four-month bird photography trek across the Himalayas, ranging from the Indian States of Ladakh and Kashmir in the west, into the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, then onto the Indian States of West Bengal and Sikkim, ending in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the eastern Himalayas. Nick has had his images published across numerous media channels including the BBC and Chinese state-owned media outlets, various bird magazines and journals including the Oriental Bird Club's BirdingASIA. He has his own website on the Birds of China at www.BirdingInChina.com and his book 'Portraits of the Birds of China' is due for publication in 2026. Furthermore, Nick has presented films on photographing birds both in Asia and Europe, has his bird images published across many social media platforms within and outside Asia, and has led a number of bird photography lectures and walks, particularly targeted at children. Consequently, Nick has accumulated significant experience of photographing birds within the Asian continent and this expertise has formed the backdrop to setting up Bird-Photo-Tours Asia, trips designed by bird photographers for bird photographers.
(i) The guesthouses are all in close proximity to the bird photography locations (ii) Walking is at a light pace (iii) There is no requirement to hike nor climb. (iv) None of the locations are at altitude (v) There is no camping Summary: for these five reasons this trip has been graded as 'Easy'.
