Birding Southern Queensland

Please click on thumbnails for larger versions

This trip was conceived in the early part of 2008 with the intention of making the most of the cheap airfares from Brisbane to Fiji. We found that by travelling by air from Nadi to Savusavu on Vanua Levu (second-largest Fiji Island) we could then take the passenger-ferry MV Suilven (Bligh Water Shipping) from Savusavu to Waiyevo, on the island of Taveuni (a 4.5 hour trip) Taveuni is one of the last-remaining mongoose-free islands in Fiji so there is still some pristine forest and two ‘must-see’ species, the Silktail and Orange Dove. Both species are still present on Vanua Levu so we decided to include three days at Savusavu.

We flew from Brisbane to Nadi on Pacific Blue on the 1st June, had a stop-over near the aiport in Nadi (Travellers Rest Resort, Newtown) spending the evening celebrating her birthday with a nice curry, wine and Fiji Gold!

On Monday morning we spent a couple of hours before the next flight wandering around the beach and resort area, and we found several species of endemic bird, this was a pleasant surprise as we hadn’t recorded many on our previous visit the year before. (Fiji Woodswallow, Goshawk, Parrotfinch, White-rumped Swiftlet, Wattled and Orange-breasted Honeyeater, non-endemics Pacific Swallow, White-faced Heron, Red-vented Bulbul, Red Avadavat, Jungle and Common Mynah)

In the morning we then caught a Pacific Sun flight in a Twin-Otter, the flight was smooth and in about one hour we were flying into the amazingly small palm-fringed airport at Savusavu. The airport at Vanua Levu’s second city was little more than a shed and the community is based on a sheltered harbour that must have been ‘discovered’ by yachties as there was a plush marina there.

The town is basically one shopping-street with a couple of banks, supermarkets and restaurants. In the block that houses the Bula Re cafe is the Bligh Water Shipping Co office and it is here that you can book ferries to Taveuni or other ports (you can also contact them online) One unexpected sight on the grey beach was steam rising out of ‘fumaroles’ from volcanic activity.

We stayed at the Daku Resort, a couple of kms from town and were ‘upgraded’ to a very nice ‘bure’ which looked across the bay, apparently we were sharing the resort with a (mainly) Australian writers workshop-group who were studying ‘memoir-writing’. We were greeted by the Fijian -manager Kenny who soon integrated us into his ‘family’ and helped us find our way around.

One evening he organised some polynesian-dancing by his children and this was very entertaining, some definite ‘Stars-in-the-making’!

Birds were fairly plentiful here but it wasn’t until the second day that Kenny told me that there was some good habitat up the hill behind the resort, Fiji Goshawk, Swiftlet, Woodswallow, Parrotfinch, Collared Kingfisher (ssp vitiensis), Barking and White-throated Pigeon, Vanikoro Flycatcher, Polynesian Triller, Silvereye, Streaked Fantail, Orange-breasted and Wattled Honeyeater and the aurantiiventris race of Golden Whistler were all recorded along with Red-vented Bulbul, Jungle and Common Mynahs. Kenny also suggested that as he was taking several guests to the Waisali Falls that he could drop us at a rainforest-walk along the way, this we duly did although as it was late-morning we failed to see Orange Dove but did get poor views of Red Shining-Parrot. Streaked Fantail, Silvereye, Scarlet Robin and Lesser Shrikebill were also seen along this trail. He also suggested that he could take us to a spot just outside Savusavu and would arrange a taxi and accompany us to the site, again (due to his managerial commitments) we didn’t arrive there until mid-morning and subsequently failed to track down the Orange Dove, however we did manage to see our first Blue-crested Flycatcher (for Vanua Levu) and many Barking Pigeons, Golden Whistler and Streaked Fantail. Marie joined a group snorkelling from a boat around the reef near the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort.

On the Thursday morning we arose at first light and one of the writers group Andrew, kindly drove us to the nearby ferry-port where we boarded around 7am for the 4.5 hour trip to Waiyevo in Taveuni. I was very excited about the prospects for this voyage with the possibility of seeing some unusual sea-birds, as over the whole-region the outlook for many species is grim with the spread of rats, mongoose and other pests, the island of Taveuni however, is still reasonably pristine. The trip turned-out to be fairly uneventful with showers and an overcast sky with a couple of Black-winged and Tahiti Petrel, Red-footed Booby and some unidentified ‘Sooty/Bridled/Grey-backed’-type Terns however I did see a couple of large feeding-flocks but far too distant to specifically identify anything.

On our arrival at Waiyevo, Taveuni we were greeted by a cab-driver who offered us a reasonable fare for a 20 km trip to Matei, this we accepted and met our ‘chauffeur’ for the nest 10 days, Sukh Lal.

Sukh is a genuine character, very knowledgeable, fair and punctual and we would recommend him to anybody planning to do a trip to Taveuni. He can be reached on 8880517 or 974899 (mobile).

(If he is unavailable there are other taxis and there is a cheap bus-service, but usually only about three on a weekday.)

We arrived at our destination Bibi’s Hideaway, threw our bags in our ‘Bure’ and met the owner James (Jim) Bibi, a very likeable Fijian with a nice family who made us feel very ‘at-home’, their property is full of fruit-trees such as Coconuts, Paw-paws, Passion-fruit, Oranges, Cumquats and Bread-fruit and Jim’s daughter Paulina told us that we were free to help ourselves! We could order a curry from a nearby local, Chris Prasad and go snorkelling just down the road at Beverley’s Beach. Paradise?….pretty close!

Despite the garden-nature of Bibi’s we recorded twenty-two species in our ten days there, the highlight probably being a Many-coloured Fruit-Dove which I found after hearing it calling, Collared Lories were plentiful but seldom came down low enough for photos but on one occasion I spotted a pair almost at eye-level and was well rewarded! I also found several Polynesian Starling, a species which I had only a very brief encounter with at Abaca in 2007, here they were a daily sighting.

On one occasion Jim and I spotted 8 Lesser Frigatebirds flying in a line low over the Coconut-palms on the property but despite it being a fantastic view, Jim thought it was probably a sign of impending rough-weather, which was certainly the case a few days later!

Whilst planning the trip we had read many trip-reports and some had some interesting contacts, Jon Hornbuckle who visited Taveuni in 2007 had mentioned that he had visited Bobby’s Farm in the south of the island and had seen Orange Dove very easily. Bobby has now created a website and we contacted him from Matei enquirying about birding-tours of his property, I was very surprised when he agreed to show us around but not before three in the afternoon. As Marie was keen to snorkel he told us that if we arrived earlier we could swim from his jetty, have lunch and then go birding. After lunch Bobby told us that he seldom sees the Orange Doves for long in the early-morning but after three they often come close to the homestead. He took us for a walk indicating many useful bush-medicine and told us how his grand-parents had bought the land after coming to Fiji from India as indentured labour many years ago. He also indicated to us that his property is the only one remaining on Taveuni with native-forest all the way from the higher-ground on the island down to the sea, as the vast majority of the lower-slopes had been cleared for cultivation. It was a very impressive education and we hope that his dream of hosting international birding-groups comes to fruition, he is currently fixing up a dormitory for guests. We wish him well and hope to return in the not-so-distant future. Oh and BTW, the Orange Doves were superb, as were the great views of Many-coloured Fruit-Dove and Red Shining-Parrot!

Several trip-reports that we had read mentioned a bird-guide called Isaki or Sake who could show Silktail from the village of Vidawa in the Bouma Heritage Park on the eastern-half of the island, so we travelled there on the friday and asked at the park reception if it was possible that we could speak to him, the villagers told us that he did, indeed reside in the village and took us to his home. Isaki invited us into his house where we joined him for lunch , however he was rather unwell with ‘flu and told us that as he was in his late-sixties unable to take us on a hike to the rainforest but would contact his protege Ben, who was away from the village planting Dalo (Taro potato). Miriama, Ben’s wife spent time with us explaining how the villagers preserved the park to keep alive their culture and not lose their land to development. We were very enamoured with the way all the generations looked after each other and lived in harmony, something lost to our western-’civilization’. She explained the concept of saying ‘chillo’, something akin to ‘excuse-me’ in western-society. The village children were lots of fun and we hope Paolo turns into a birder like his dad, Ben.

We arranged for Sukh to pick us up at 5.30 am on Tuesday morning and despite the wet-weather headed down to Vidawa, spotting a Barn Owl on the powerlines. On arrival Ben met us and asked if we thought that it was too wet and whether we wanted to postpone, we thought about it for a minute then told him that we wanted to go ahead, setting off up the mountain in the rain. Ben showed us where his ancestors had fought with Tongan invaders and showed us the ‘Basket’ where the enemy were thrown-down the sides of steep defensive banks., we saw the original villages on the slopes where the houses were built close-together so that the approaching enemy would not hear them as they evacuated and also the ’sacrificial-stone’ where enemy prisoners were killed. Soon we arrived in pristine-rainforest and the rain eased, Ben spotted a Red Shining-Parrot and Marie found a superb male Orange Dove, it seems that here the rainforests species form loose aggregations and once one species was seen many others would be in the same area. It wasn’t too long before I spotted a small black bird staring down at me from a branch and I squawked ‘Silktail!’ It disappeared down a gully but Ben kept on it and pointed it out, I filmed it with my handycam but all I could see was the ‘dayglo’ white tail bobbing-around! At the same time we had great views of male Golden Whistler of the torquatus race and were amazed at the display of a male Blue-crested Flycatcher, with it’s neck outstretched and red-bill pointing sky-ward. In the same area we saw Streaked Fantail, Slaty Monarch, Lesser Shrikebill and Wattled Honeyeater. We returned to Vidawa wet but very happy and were treated to lunch with Ben, Miriama and her friend (who had both contracted ‘flu and were rather unwell) The half-day tour was good value at F$40 and was well worthwhile, hopefully helping to keep a culture alive.

After this exciting day the heavens opened for the remainder of the week forcing us to consider snorkelling as the only alternative to birding, however the fresh water flooding into the reef made the under-water visibility poor so we were forced to do domestic chores like washing and writing-up notes! One day we walked to the nearby Tramanto Restaurant (IMHO one of the best sea-watching spots that I’ve ever visited, cheap but fantastic-grub, beer and sunsets to die-for!) Marie called me over and from the clifftop she had seen a sea-snake, (a Yellow-lipped sea krait Laticauda colubrina a species which had given her a fright whilst snorkelling nearby a few days earlier) after the elation of seeing this I spotted a lone Collared Kingfisher and took a couple of shots, then realised that it’s partner was next to it, I had been searching for this image to show the strong sexual-dimorphism that occurs in this species in Fiji, however the light wasn’t very good so the pictures aren’t as useful as I would have hoped. In the same area we found the Vutu tree with it’s beautiful flowers that only come out at night, fall into the sea and drift off. Apparently these flowers were used by local fisherman to act as ‘floats’ to attach their caught fish to.

On Friday afternoon the wet-weather appeared to be easing so we arranged for Sukh to pick us up early Saturday morning and take us to the base of the De Voeux Peak track, where we hoped to hike up through the cultivated land to the rainforest area near the peak and try and find some our last remaining Taveuni species, Island Thrush, Giant Forest Honeyeater, Shy Ground-dove and Black-faced Shrikebill. Fortunately on arrival the weather was perfect and we set-off, though I soon realised that my ill-fitting boots were going to cause me problems (I’m still recovering from the blisters as I write this!) As we worked our way through the farmland we got nice views of Fiji Goshawk, Wattled Honeyeater, Red Shining-Parrot, White-rumped Swiftlet, Orange-breasted Honeyeater, Polynesian Triller and heard the curious ‘tok-tok’ call of the Orange Dove on several occasions. However as we entered the undisturbed forest area Marie spotted a bird on a rock above a stream which I failed to pick up…she had great views of an Island Thrush. A few metres further up I saw a large green bird land on the flowers of some native-ginger (or something similar) with it’s pale-bill we soon realised that it was the viridis ssp of the same Giant Forest Honeyeater that we had seen (and heard) at Col-I-Suva in Viti Levu the previous year, however that one had a dark-bill and had a ‘kookaburra’-like yodelling-call which all the literature says is absent in the Taveuni one. As the bird fled from it’s food-plant it called with a very similar yodelling-call, so it appears that this conclusion may be just due to infrequent observation.

Soon we realised that we would have to start heading back down the mountain as we had arranged to be picked up by Sukh at twelve-noon, so after getting some reasonable views of Fiji White-eye I tried again (in vain) to see the Island Thrush at Marie’s creek-spot. We finally reached the main road at 12.30pm where we were picked up and taken back to Matei with Sukh and spent the rest of the day recovering our poor feet!

Saturday morning saw us saying our goodbyes and taking ourselves to Matei Airport for the flight back to Nadi, we would love to say thanks to all who made our trip such a memorable-one, but a very special one to Jim, Paulina, Moses and Eleanora at Bibi’s, Chris Prasad at Matei, Ben Miriama and Paolo at Vidawa, Bobby at Nabogiono Farm, Sirilo from Kanacea, Terry Allen and the staff at Tramanto Restaurant, Kenny and his family at Daku and the man himself, Sukh the cab-driver!

Hope to see you all soon,

Tom & Marie Tarrant, Brisbane 2008

List of Species Seen

PROCELLARIIFORMES: Procellariidae
Tahiti Petrel Pterodroma rostrata From MV Suilven off Vanua Levu between Savusavu and Waiyevo.
Black-winged Petrel Pterodroma nigripennis From MV Suilven off Vanua Levu between Savusavu and Waiyevo.

PELECANIFORMES: Sulidae
Red-footed Booby Sula sula From MV Suilven off Vanua Levu between Savusavu and Waiyevo.
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster From MV Suilven off Vanua Levu between Savusavu and Waiyevo.

PELECANIFORMES: Fregatidae
Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel Common daily at Matei.

CICONIIFORMES: Ardeidae
White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae Nesting at Nadi
Pacific Reef-Heron Egretta sacra Seen at Savusavu and Matei

ANSERIFORMES: Anatidae
Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa Seen at Savusavu and near Qeleni, Taveuni.

FALCONIFORMES: Accipitridae
Swamp Harrier Circus approximans Seen at Nadi Airport and over Matei, Taveuni.
Fiji Goshawk Accipiter rufitorques Endemic Seen virtually daily at Nadi, Savusavu and Taveuni.

GRUIFORMES: Rallidae
Buff-banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis Seen once near Qeleni, Taveuni.

CHARADRIIFORMES: Charadriidae
Pacific Golden-Plover Pluvialis fulva Heard at Matei Airport.

CHARADRIIFORMES: Sternidae
Black Noddy Anous minutus Seen off Taveuni Coast from MV Suilven.
Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus Probable couple of birds photographed off VL coast. Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana A couple on mooring outside Waiyevo, Taveuni.
Great Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii Seen most days at Nadi, Savusavu and Taveuni.

COLUMBIFORMES: Columbidae
Rock Pigeon Columba livia Introduced species Savusavu.
Metallic Pigeon Columba vitiensis Seen at Savusavu, Matei and Bobby’s Farm.
Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis Introduced species Seen at Nadi, Savusavu and Taveuni.
Many-colored Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus perousii Seen at Matei and Bobby’s Farm, heard on De Voeux Peak track.
Orange Dove Ptilinopus victor Endemic Seen at Vidawa, Bobby’s Farm and heard at De Voeux Peak track.
Peale’s Imperial-Pigeon Ducula latrans Endemic Seen at Savusavu, Vidawa, Bobby’s Farm and De Voeux Peak track.

PSITTACIFORMES: Psittacidae
Collared Lory Phigys solitarius Endemic Seen near Savusavu, Matei and De Voeux Peak track.
Red Shining-Parrot Prosopeia tabuensis Endemic Seen at Naqara, Vidawa, Matei, De Voeux Peak track and Bobby’s Farm.

STRIGIFORMES: Tytonidae
Barn Owl Tyto alba Heard at Matei, seen near Qeleni.

APODIFORMES: Apodidae
White-rumped Swiftlet Aerodramus spodiopygius Seen at Nadi, Savusavu and Taveuni.

CORACIIFORMES: Alcedinidae
Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris Seen at Savusavu, Matei, Vidawa.

PASSERIFORMES: Hirundinidae
Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica Seen at Nadi Airport, Waiyevo, Naqara and Matei, Taveuni.

PASSERIFORMES: Campephagidae
Polynesian Triller Lalage maculosa Seen at Nadi, Savusavu and throughout Taveuni.

PASSERIFORMES: Pycnonotidae
Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer Introduced species Seen at Nadi and Savusavu but not on Taveuni.

PASSERIFORMES: Turdidae
Island Thrush Turdus poliocephalus Seen by Marie on De Voeux Peak track.

PASSERIFORMES: Rhipiduridae
Streaked Fantail Rhipidura spilodera Seen at Waisali, Savusavu, Vidawa and on De Voeux Peak track.

PASSERIFORMES: Monarchidae
Slaty Monarch Mayrornis lessoni Endemic Seen at Savusavu, Matei, Vidawa and Bobby’s Farm. Fiji Shrikebill Clytorhynchus vitiensis Seen at Waisali, Savusavu, Vidawa and on De Voeux Peak track.
Vanikoro Flycatcher Myiagra vanikorensis Common at Savusavu and throughout Taveuni.
Blue-crested Flycatcher Myiagra azureocapilla Endemic Seen at Savusavu, Vidawa and on De Voeux Peak track.
Silktail Lamprolia victoriae Endemic Near-threatened Seen only at Vidawa.

PASSERIFORMES: Petroicidae
Scarlet Robin Petroica multicolor Seen at Waisali and heard at Savusavu, not encountered on Taveuni.

PASSERIFORMES: Pachycephalidae
Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis Seen at Savusavu, Vidawa and on De Voeux Peak track.

PASSERIFORMES: Zosteropidae
Layard’s White-eye Zosterops explorator Endemic Seen on De Voeux Peak track and probably at Savusavu.
Silver-eye Zosterops lateralis Common at Nadi, Savusavu and throughout Taveuni.

PASSERIFORMES: Meliphagidae
Orange-breasted Myzomela Myzomela jugularis Endemic Seen at Nadi, Savusavu and Matei.
Wattled Honeyeater Foulehaio carunculatus Seen at Nadi, Savusavu, Vidawa and De Voeux Peak track.
Giant Forest Honeyeater Gymnomyza viridis Endemic Seen only on De Voeux Peak track.

PASSERIFORMES: Artamidae
Fiji Woodswallow Artamus mentalis Endemic Seen at Nadi, Savusavu, and Matei.

PASSERIFORMES: Cracticidae
Australasian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen Introduced species Seen at Matei and near Qeleni.

PASSERIFORMES: Sturnidae
Polynesian Starling Aplonis tabuensis Seen only at Matei and De Voeux Peak.
Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus Introduced species Common throughout.
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Introduced species Common throughout.

PASSERIFORMES: Estrildidae
Red Avadavat Amandava amandava Introduced species Seen at Nadi and Savusavu.
Fiji Parrotfinch Erythrura pealii Endemic Seen at Nadi, Savusavu and along De Voeux Peak track.

As 2007 was our ‘milestone’ year (lots of anniversaries!) we decided to use the new cheap-fares as an excuse for a short-trip to Fiji. Although birding was our main priority we also felt a need to explore the undersea world of the coral reef and go snorkelling, basically we were going to retrace the steps of the famous explorers (…and friends) Harry and Eleanor Zawacki.

We flew into Nadi (pronounced Nan-dee) Airport on Wednesday 6 June and took a cab to Lautoka and checked into the Cathay Hotel. We took a quick look around the bustling town and noted the large numbers of introduced Mynas and Red-vented Bulbuls and found the bus-station. Marie found a very pleasant Indian vegetarian restaurant but were lucky to get a meal before they closed at 05.30pm. After a swim in the spacious hotel pool we turned in and prepared for the new ‘Fiji’ experience. This arrived somewhat earlier than expected when I heard the unmistakeable call of a ‘Tyto’ Owl screeching outside our room at 04.30am!

I surreptitiously crept out with my torch and saw a ghostly white Barn Owl staring at me from a coconut-palm stump, where I’m sure it had young to feed. Fortunately I managed to evade the hotel-security and return to the room without ending up in jail as a deviant.

One of the goals of this trip was to spend some time in the Nausori Highlands at Abaca (pronounced An-batha) in Koroyanitu National Heritage Park, this is one of the last remaining areas of native-forest on the west of the island. For a small charge you can stay in a hostel near a village and (…according to Harry) there is some of the best birding in Viti Levu. Unfortunately the hotel receptionist at the Cathay Hotel informed us that the transport was no longer available and we would have to hire a cab, F$40 was suggested so we walked to the nearby supermarket to buy some provisions and casually asked a cab-driver what he would charge. When he declared he would take us up for ten dollars we were somewhat bemused but after he had taken us back to the hotel to pick up our luggage he had obviously discovered that Abaca was not where he had first thought but said he would take us anyway. After stopping several times to inspect the damage to the taxi we eventually reached Abaca and met Kalesi the village-host in the office. We saw Naren the driver off with adequate compensation for his trauma and hiked up to the Nase Lodge with our bags and saw a fruiting-tree full of Many-colored Fruit-Doves en-route.

 

The area around the lodge was indeed excellent habitat and I started to find new species almost immediately. Vanikoro Flycatchers, Wattled Honeyeaters, Collared Lories and Orange-breasted Myzomela were easily seen.

On the trail to the waterfall I found Fiji Scrub-Warbler, Scarlet (or Pacific) Robin and Peale’s Imperial Pigeons ‘barked’ like dogs in the surrounding trees. I had a very brief view of a male Golden Dove and photographed a Metallic (or White-throated) Pigeon.

Later Kalesi and her family arrived and began to tidy-up the garden and lodge, and cooked our lunch, a delicious mixture of local vegetables and shell-fish. As the afternoon got warmer and birding became less-productive Kalesi told us how Koroyanitu National Heritage Park was created to encourage six villages to maintain the sustainable use of their land and encourage visitors to stay and enjoy their hospitality. In the late afternoon I heard an extraordinary cacophony coming from the back of the lodge and realised that I was looking at several Masked Shining-Parrots, large colourful birds with dark heads and bright yellow eyes, although I managed to get fairly close they successfully avoided having decent photographs taken.

After an uninterrupted nights sleep we waited for the pre-arranged transport to take us back to Lautoka. We then caught an afternoon bus to Suva for F$13.50 each.

The bus took the Queen’s road route which runs along the southern coast of Viti Levu (Guess where the King’s road route goes?) and passes through the Coral Coast, a picturesque journey slightly reminiscent of the Great Ocean Road of Victoria, Australia.

It was low-tide and I was surprised to see many White-faced Heron (listed in the 1987 “Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific” field-guide as a single record for Fiji) though we saw few other birds beside Pacific Reef-Egrets.

We arrived at the busy bus-station in Suva in the dark and took a cab to Raintree Lodge near the entrance to Colo-I-Suva (pronounced tholo-e-suva) Forest Park. By this time it was raining fairly hard so we turned in reasonably early. In the morning we awoke to a nice view from our balcony of the fish-pond.

Apparently this area and the larger lake near the restaurant are old quarry-pits and were abandoned as water continually filled them. Now with their raintree backdrop they look very evocative and I saw several Giant Honeyeaters and a pair of Fiji-race Collared Kingfishers around the edge and also heard more Masked Shining Parrots.

Our next challenge was to make our way to Caqalai Island in the Moturiki Channel off Ovalau. We found it easy to get to Nausori by bus (every 15 minutes) but when trying to find the minibus to Waidalice (prounounced wan-da-lith-ey) it was a different story, we were fortunate when a friendly old gent named Manasa took us under his wing and managed to find the bus-stop. Soon we were packed-in like sardines and on our way.

We almost missed the ‘ferry-port’ at Waidalice but this was hardly surprising as the transport seemed to be a rather large dinghy moored under the road-bridge! We were ushered on board and made our way very swiftly up the mangrove-lined river to the open sea. Unlike north Queensland rivers the mangroves seemed devoid of life (which we later found was probably caused by the introduction of Mongoose)

On the open sea I managed to see a few Black Noddies and a Brown Booby and 45 minutes later we arrived at our next stop, the tropical atoll of Caqalai Island, surrounded by Coconut Palms and looking very like a past image from a Robinson Crusoe movie.

We were welcomed as long-lost friends and taken to our ‘Bure’ a small thatched-hut made from coconut-leaves just off the beach., complete with bed and mosquito-net. From the hut to the waterline was probably less than 20m so Marie immediately leapt in and started snorkelling, coming out only to rave at the quality and quantity of the marine-life around the coral-reef so close. In fact though as a rather poor swimmer and snorkeller I soon realised what I was missing and started to add to the fish-list!

After less than an hour I was greeted with the request “Can we add another day here?” ….I duly complied and Marie made the necessary arrangements to extend our stay on the island.

The island’s bird-list is rather small, but I managed to get some reasonable images of Vanikoro Flycatcher, Slaty Monarch, Collared Kingfisher, Collared Lory, Pacific Reef-Egret and Jungle Mynah. We also saw Lesser Frigatebirds, Brown Booby, Fiji Woodswallow and the ubiquituous Red-vented Bulbul.

At low-tide it was possible to walk to the small Snake Island (so called for the Sea-Snakes that were present…..a Swedish lady photographed a Banded Krait whilst we were there.) As it was June there were few waders around but we did get up to 7 Pacific Golden-Plover and a couple of Wandering Tattler. Despite a thorough search I couldn’t find any Grey-backed Terns, only Great-crested.

In the evenings we ate simple but hearty-fare, were entertained by local musicians and enjoyed the ‘Kava’ drinking ceremony…. Bulah!

Sadly all good things come to an end and on Tuesday we left our ‘Island Paradise’ and headed back to Raintree Lodge. Our first night back there was a bit of a sleepless-one as some overseas backpackers were holding a very noisy Kava ceremony whilst watching grass-skirted Polynesian dancers performing on a large-TV screen……but as Marie reminded me in the morning, we were young once!

Before we had planned our trip we received a request from Birdlife Fiji for the use of one of my images and the Project Coordinator Vilikesa Masibalavu (Vili) offered to take us out for a day’s birding in return. This was graciously accepted and he picked us up outside the Lodge at six am. After a quick tour of Suva we took off down the Nadi road, turning into the mountains on a rough-track near Wainedoi and soon found ourselves in rainforest searching for Pink-billed Parrotfinch. This rare species proved as elusive as expected and the only sightings were of the more common Fiji Parrotfinch.

Soon we found a ‘purple-patch’ and had great sightings of Golden Whistler, Blue-crested Flycatcher, Streaked Fantail, Fiji Shrikebill and other forest ‘gems’. We also heard an Island Thrush but didn’t manage to see it. Vili showed us several Golden Doves but whenever he found a male it seemed to fly off just before we managed to get on to it!

He then took us to his favourite site for Black-faced Shrikebill and after I imitated the high-pitched whistle, was amazed that it reacted and came straight towards me. Getting my camera ready, I was too late and the bird flew over my head (however both Vili and Marie managed to get reasonable views!)

Sadly time ran out and at lunch-time Vili was required to return to Suva for a meeting (via a Polynesian Fruit-bat colony on the waterfront in Suva) though we were lucky enough to visit the Birdlife Office and meet the eleven-strong staff and discuss our trip and their goals. One point that was expressed to us was the lack of available bird-imagery throughout Fiji and the islands for publication and exhibitions, if anyone has any good pictures that they would like to donate to a worthy-cause they would love to hear from you.

As time was running-out we thought that it might prove worthwhile to spend the afternoon fairly close to Raintree Lodge at Colo-I-Suva Park. Nearly at the park HQ I spotted a Fiji Goshawk in a large tree, although we had seen a couple of others (one at Abaca, the other in the centre of Lautoka) I was keen to get some images and approached the staff with a request to go into the garden for a closer shot. I managed to take a couple of distant pics but one of the staff, Vindol also asked if we would like to join him for a bird-walk.

On the uphill path to the radio-masts we came quite close to a couple of Masked Shining-Parrots and near some secondary forest Vindol pointed out a male Blue-crested Flycatcher, Fiji Shrikebill, Streaked Fantail and Scarlet Robin. We also had several close encounters with Golden Dove but no views of males so Vindol asked us if we would like to try another trail where he finds them fairly regularly. As we entered the trail from the main-road I was surprised to see a large pale raptor fly up from the side of the track, this was the first time that I’ve seen Swamp Harrier inside forest!

For two ‘weary travellers’ it was a long walk but totally worthwhile as Vindol finally managed to put us on to a lone male Golden Dove, basking in the late-afternoon sun.

We thought that this was to be the final surprise but the following morning whilst awaiting our taxi at the entrance of the Raintree Lodge, four Fiji Woodswallow appeared on the telegraph-wires, and invited me to take their photograph.

So concluded a short but interesting-trip, we intend to return as soon as we can!

A heart-felt thanks to all who made this such a success, especially the wonderful people of Fiji!

Species_List

Fiji Image Gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just returned from a lightning trip to ‘Bowra’ our favourite Outback birding destination for the Easter break. Situated just outside Cunnamulla, it is a 1700km round trip from Brisbane so two days are required for the drive! We were accompanied by Mike and Linda Lewis (birding-mates from the Dayboro area)

 

As most of southern Queensland is suffering from the drought, the area was surprisingly green from february rain and the Warrego and Paroo rivers both were full of water from the north.

Approximately 20kms east of Cunnamulla we slowed-down to observe many Ravens, Brown Falcons and Kestrels on the main road feeding on large caterpillars which were very abundant, and amongst them were delighted to see a pair of magnificent Black Falcons (they were also in the area several days later on our return)

On arrival we met up with our friends the owners, Ian and Julie McLaren and Rob and Diane, birding-friends from Brisbane.

With early starts most mornings (activity was greatest between 06.30-07.30 am) birding was amazing, large flocks of woodswallows (five species were seen) parrots such as Mulga, Red-rumped, Red-winged and Mallee Ringneck. Pink Cockatoos and Cockatiels. Chestnut-crowned and Hall’s Babblers, Brown Treecreeper, Restless Flycatcher, Hooded and Red-capped Robin, Red-backed and Sacred Kingfisher. Noticeably absent though were any species of cuckoo.

On the ‘Stony Ridge’ Marie spotted a Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush with her X-Ray vision but we failed to find White-browed Treecreeper.

On Saturday we took a trip to Eulo and stopped at the Bore where a couple reported seeing Bourke’s Parrot drinking that morning.

Near Carpet Springs west of Eulo we had a wonderful overfly by a Black-breasted Buzzard who appeared to ‘check’ us out.

During three days we managed to see 90+ bird-species between Bowra and Eulo. Must return soon!

More images are available on the ABID

Last weekend we returned to one of our favourite destinations, Lady Elliot Island at the southern-end of the Great Barrier Reef.