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Bird Photo Tours by Destination

10th - 21st Sep 2026 12 Days
Group Size 2 - 4
Activity Level Easy
Price Per Person US$6,950
Tour Leader Nick

Introduction

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 population means many of its habitats are undisturbed thereby making it a fabulous destination for the bird photographer.

Photographic Highlights

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.



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Pricing

Price Per Person US$6,950
Single Supplement US$575
Deposit US$2,000
Bird-Photo-Tour Asia Inclusions:

Guiding Fees / Ground Transportation / Accommodation / Meals / Entrance Fees / Tipping for Drivers, Boatsmen, Hotel and Restaurant Staff.

Bird-Photo-Tour Asia Exclusions:

International Flights / VISA Fees / Travel Insurance / Tips for Local Guide / Alcohol / Laundry / Items of a Personal Nature

Itinerary

Days 1-2 Dili District [1N, 0D, 2S]. Arrive Dili International Airport, drive 20-minutes to hotel. Photographic Targets: Timor Coucal / Flame-breasted Sunbird / White-bellied Bushchat / Timor Oriole / Helmeted Friarbird / Red-chested Flowerpecker / Arafura Fantail / Timor White-eye / Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher / Orange-footed Megapod / Scaly-breasted Munia / Spectacled Monarch.

Days 2-3 Manatutu District [1N, 0D, 2S]. 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 Bushchat / Timor Sparrow.

Days 3-5 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 5-8 Lautem District [3N, 2D, 5S]. Drive 2-hours to Lautem District. Photographic Targets: Timor Oriole / Timor Coucal / Sunda Zebra Finch / Shining Bronze Cuckoo / Timor Barred Dove / Pacific Emerald Dove / Asian Emerald Dove / White-bellied Bushchat / Arafura Fantail / Rose-crowned Fruit Dove/ Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher.

Days 8-11 Lautem District [3N, 2D, 5S]. Drive 3-hours. Photographic Targets: Timor Coucal / Flame-breasted Sunbird / White-bellied Bushchat / Timor Oriole / Helmeted Friarbird / Red-chested Flowerpecker / Arafura Fantail / Timor White-eye / Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher / Orange-footed Megapod / Scaly-breasted Munia / Spectacled Monarch.

Days 11-12 Dili District [1N, 0D, 1S]. Drive 8-hours to Dili District for international departures the following day [END].

[Key: N: Night / D: Full Day / S: Session / Half-Day]

 

 

Nick

Nick Ludovic Green 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 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.

Easy Activity Level

(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'.