Samoa

The 14^th November was a travel day from Fiji to Apia in Samoa. We left the Rainforest Eco-lodge at 7am, everything went according to plan & two flights later we landed in Samoa on a beautiful sunny afternoon! What a change from the heavy rain in Fiji (or so we thought)!

The airport was bright & very modern, custom & immigration formalities a breeze, & we stepped outside into the sunshine. Our taxi was waiting & we slowly drove along the coast, passing brightly colored & very neat looking houses along the way.

This lodge is in a fantastic location!

We are here!

 Soon we started to climb up into the hills & we arrived at Dave Parker’s Eco-Lodge, which is often referred to as Cloud 9.

The room from our room down to the coast.

The view from our room, looking inland.

However, often the view looked like this!

Our room.

Inside, quite spacious but kind of spartan.

This lodge has been around for a long time & it shows on the lodge buildings. However, it is set in an unbelievable scenic location looking down across natural forest to the coast. It is a favorite stop for birders & that is why we were here.

Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove

Eastern Wattled Honeyeater

Samoan Starling

After settling in, we birded casually from our balcony & recorded five new world birds:

Crimson-crowned Fruit-Dove; Blue-crowned Lorikeet; Eastern Wattled Honeyeater; Samoan Starling & Royal Parrotfinch.

Cheers!

Goodnight!

It was a lovely evening so tonight we will just relax! After a pleasant evening meal, we retired to bed early, eager to start birding at dawn.

That is going to hurt our birding!

White-tailed Tropicbird

Seen from our balcony!

Wonderful to see such majestic birds

 flying below us!

White (Fairy) Tern

There was torrential rain all night, sometimes so heavy it woke us up! And as dawn broke on 15^th all we could see was mist & rain! And rain it did throughout the morning for hours on end. Through the gloom, both White-tailed Tropicbirds & White (Fairy) Terns could be seen circling far below among the dense forest. 

Samoan Myzomela

A Samoan Myzomela flew by flashing it’s outrageous crimson & black plumage.

A nice little stream runs through his property.

In the early afternoon the rain finally relented & we went for a walk down the hill to explore Dave Parker’s land, which is a mixture of farmland & forest patches. 

Flat-billed Kingfisher

Mao

Eastern (Polynesian) Wattled Honeyeater

Buff-banded Rail

Male Samoan Myzomela; stunning birds!

Samoan Starling.

A Flat-billed Kingfisher showed well on the wires. A Mao was heard calling & briefly seen. Several Eastern Wattled Honeyeaters were in the garden. Buff-banded Rails were scratching around. A few Samoan Myzomelas showed brilliantly, including a stunning male. Samoan Starlings were everywhere & a Royal (Red-headed) Parrotfinch flew over.

White-tailed Tropicbird nesting in a giant tree fern.

All the while White-tailed Tropicbirds & both White Terns & Brown Noddies flew overhead & are breeding in trees in the forest patches. The evening was spent sat on the balcony overlooking the forest, but little new was seen & the rain fell once again with a vengeance!

Robert Louis Stevenson's house.

Quite a grand affair!

Pacific Golden Plover

Quite a common migrant in Samoa, 

found in many open spaces even in the town.

It rained throughout the night but as dawn broke the rain stopped! We got our gear together & visited the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum & adjacent nature reserve on 16^th November. 

The adjacent nature reserve is well set out &

 the authorities are conducting tree planting.

Samoan Whistler

A common species here, 

but surprisingly scarce around the lodge.

The place was a delight & the forest was excellent. However, the birding was hard going. Samoan Whistler proved to be the commonest species in the forest & we had multiple encounters.

Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove

Samoan Starling

Polynesian Starling

  Crimson-crowned Fruit Doves were around & we saw both Samoan &Polynesian Starlings high in

the canopy.

We managed to return before the rain started & enjoyed a nice lunch in Apia. The rest of the day was a wash out, as it never stopped raining!

It rained again during the night but dawn on 17^th November was reasonably sunny & dry! I did some birding from the balcony with coffee in hand hearing Samoan Fantail singing below on the edge of the forest. Didn’t manage to see it though! A walk around the lodge garden produced yet another Samoan Fantail singing, but still I couldn’t find it!

I then birded below the lodge slowly going down the steep hill & looking carefully at all the forest patches. Delana stayed home as she had work to do. I still had three Samoan endemics to find: Triller; Flycatcher & of course the Fantail! I spent a long time playing the tape, but nothing responded. Then I heard a Triller calling & right at the top of the tree was a washed out brown Samoan Triller complete with pale bill! Had decent views of it, but didn’t manage to obtain a photo. In my opinion this was the most difficult of the trio to see. 

Blue-crowned Lorikeet: 

Normally seen flying fast over the forest canopy.

Ebird told me the Samoan Flycatcher was commoner along forest edge below 200m, so down I went. Found a group of five Blue-crowned Lorikeets feeding in a tree. This is a difficult species to get good views of & even though my photos were not the best, I was pleased to get any photos at all!

Flat-billed Kingfisher

Samoan Myzomela

Once again had great views of Flat-billed Kingfisher & Samoan Myzomela. Two Polynesian Starlings gave fleeting views in the canopy before disappearing. It was a hot & sweaty walk, but was elated to see the Samoan Triller! 

Male Many-coloured Fruit Dove

It really is a cracker!

Birded from the balcony & around the lodge garden during the afternoon. Very soft birding but it had its rewards! Best was a superb male Many-colored Fruit Dove perched up in a fairly close tree, opposite our balcony. This really is an amazing looking creature! We also had our best views yet of the elusive Polynesian Starling but no camera with us! 

Delana found a cat!

Then it was drinks on the balcony but nothing further of note. 

Up early & out on the balcony on 18th November. Plenty of activity, including the Samoan Fantail calling! But never got a look at it! Then a run into Apia & a short taxi ride of Palolo Deep Marine Reserve where Delana went snorkeling & I birded from the shore. A colony of 50+ pairs of Black-naped Terns were nesting on a small offshore island & 70 Brown Noddies were feeding offshore. Lots of Noddy sp. feeding far out to sea. 

It was a pleasant walk into town.

This is Apia Harbour.

The famous Aggie Grey building which is now a

Shearaton Hotel

We then walked back into town via lunch at a pizzeria & caught our lift back to the lodge. Light rain was falling so we decided to bird from the balcony again. Nothing new seen.

Looking over the forest towards the coast.

The 19th November was our last full days birding on Samoa & still two endemics to see! We once again got a lift to Apia & then caught a taxi to Malolo'lelei Watershed Reserve. This is an area of forest conserved for its biodiversity & also water supply to Apia, the capital city.

Almost certainly extinct.

 It is also the last place that the almost extinct Tooth-billed Pigeon was seen in 2017. It turned out to be a lovely spot & we slowly walked through the forest birding. Metallic Pigeon flew by & both Brown Noddy & White Terns were breeding in the forest. 

Samoan Triller

All the normal species were present in good numbers & then we spotted a Samoan Triller high in the canopy. This time managed to get some photos of it! We were very pleased with this sighting as Delana had not been with me when I had recorded it before, so it was new for her. 

Polynesian Starling.

Polynesian Starlings were present in good numbers & I managed to get a few photos. This reserve is 2,097 feet above sea level, which is about 900 feet higher than Dave Parker's Lodge with correspondingly different bird species. 

Gotcha ya! Well kind of!

Samoan Flycatcher.

Finally we heard a Samoan Flycatcher & it was high in the canopy in the highest trees. It was a male & we obtained decent views through the binoculars, but getting photos proved very difficult! One endemic down & one still to go! As we descended further into the forested valley we heard a Samoan Fantail below us & then a second individual singing! It took us a while to get a sighting though & unfortunately no photos. However, we were very pleased with the morning. 

We then took a taxi down to Palolo Deep Marine Reserve again, where Delana snorkeled. We then enjoyed a pleasant lunch before catching another taxi back to the lodge. The rest of the evening was spent on the balcony enjoying casual birding.

Up very early on 20th November to watch the Rugby League Cup Final between Australia & Samoa. Ozzie won, but Samoa can be immensely proud of their achievement in getting to the final. We then packed & drove to the airport in the afternoon for our flight back to Nadi on Fiji. 

Our six night stay at Dave Parker's Lodge was an excellent one. The people were fantastic & the view down the valley even more so. We recorded only 30 species in our time on this island, but 12 new birds among them! Samoa has a very laid back vibe & is not really geared up for mass tourism. We saw only a very few other tourists during our stay. It had been a lovely stay here & we would highly recommend it. 

Till the next time Samoa!

Fiji: Rainforest Lodge & nearby Forest Park

 9th November was a tiring travel day, leaving the boat for the last time, lunch in Port Villa & then sitting around in airports for our flights to Fiji. We arrived at Suva Airport on Fiji at 9pm in the pouring rain. Got a taxi & drove up the hill to the Rainforest Eco-Lodge. First impressions were not good & it poured down with rain all night.

At the entrance to the lodge.

The view from the restaurant. 

Excellent in the morning, for the larger species.

It was still raining as dawn broke but it soon cleared up & we explored our surroundings. Our cabin was situated with trees all around it. It was a small forest remnant amid the more open farmed areas. Birds were easy to hear, but not so easy to see! However, we did record a nice suite of Fiji's endemic birds:

Peale's Imperial Pigeon; Masked Shining Parrot; Collared Lory; Duetting Giant Honeyeater (which were calling before dawn & were so loud they woke us up!); Western Wattled Honeyeater; Polynesian Triller; Vanikoro Flycatcher & a superb Fiji Parrotfinch! Under the threat of heavy rain, we then beat a hasty retreat to the restaurant for a well deserved breakfast.

Both of us were tired after Melanesia, so we just stayed around our cabin in the woods & in mid-afternoon I ventured out along the main road. The purpose of this walk, was to find the entrance to the nearby Forest Park for the next days birding. It was surprisingly birdy, but the only new species added was Orange-breasted Myzomela, another endemic! 

After a nice evening in the restaurant we retired to bed early eager for the next day.

The main track through the reserve is wide 

& perfect for birding.

11th November, we were up just before dawn. There had been rain during the night but for the moment it had cleared up. After a quick breakfast we were off down the road & entered the Colo-I-Suva Forest Park just after dawn. We walked down the main road, surrounded by nice primary forest. However, the only bird calling was Fiji Bush Warbler & this took us a long time to see. Eventually our patience paid off & we both had great views of yet another Fiji Endemic! 

The picnic area in the middle of the park.

Once inside the forest,

 the paths are narrow

 but well maintained.

Birding is difficult inside

 the forest.

Delana swimming in one of 

the forest pools.

We walked to the picnic area seeing little but enjoying ourselves as the surroundings were excellent. Then we took a forest path to the two kind of natural swimming pools along the river. Birds were sparse but I managed to see a Fiji Shrikebill while Delana was exploring the river! 

Then we both enjoyed views of the endemic Chestnut-breasted Flycatcher & the more widespread Streaked Fantail. 

Back on the main trail we recorded: Peale's Imperial Pigeon; Collared Lory; Orange breasted Myzomela; Vanikoro Flycatcher & more calling Fiji Bush Warblers. 

We then walked up the hill briskly trying to beat the oncoming torrential rain & we just about made it back to the cabin before the heavens opened! 

The afternoon was mostly a wash out, as it never stopped raining! However, it was nice to hear the calls of Masked Shining Parrot; Collared Lory & the huge & very noisy Duetting Giant Honeyeaters!

Around 5pm it stopped raining & I rushed outside to do some birding before dark. I concentrated on the more open areas across the road from the lodge & it paid off big time! A Many colored Fruit Dove shot overhead & briefly perched in a tree. It is a difficult bird to see on this Fijian Island, so I was well pleased with this sighting. 

Peale's Imperial Pigeons & Collared Lorys were feeding in fruiting trees. Orange breasted Myzomelas were dashing around & best of all a pair of Fiji Parrotfinches were on show! It proved to be an excellent hours birding but Delana decided to stay home & work on her fish!

We were up well before dawn on 12th November & walking down the road into the Forest Reserve. Once again it was very quiet & for the first couple of hours we saw very little. However an immature Fiji Goshawk was a welcome sight & we finally found Slaty Monarch & Fiji Whistler. We heard the Whistler yesterday but without getting a view & today was much the same story until Delana got onto a bird high in the canopy. 

We arrived back at our cabin around 11 am & rested for a few hours. It is a comfortable place to be & nice to have internet connection to catch up on all those little tasks.

We ventured into the field again at 3pm. This time we walked across the road & birded the village & then walked down a track with small patches of primary forest. It was quite birdy & after hearing a couple of Golden Doves we finally saw a female perched high in a tree. We celebrated with a bottle of champagne back at our cabin! 

Out at 6 am on 13th November. A very grey morning. Looked like rain & so it proved after a couple of hours. We once again birded the more open area across the road from the lodge. We saw all the usual suspects, including a male Golden Dove which flew across the path! We also saw a Many-colored Fruit Dove flying over. 

Looking for Golden Dove in 

heavy rain!

It was a pleasant morning but then the heavens opened & we got soaked before we made it back to our cabin. The rest of the morning spent listening to rain falling & trying to dry our stuff! It rained for the rest of the day. We spent the time on the computer & packing for the travel to Samoa. Lots of our stuff is still damp, which isn't ideal for travelling. 

First impressions are not always the best ones. We arrived in torrential rain in late evening. The cabin is old & basic, but it proved to be fine for our purposes. The outside decking & excellent wi-fi connection made life a lot easier. The restaurant served OK meals, nothing too exciting, but it was a pleasant place to be in the evening. The birding was quite good. Here on Fiji, there are very few species: we have recorded 27 species in our time here, of which 16 were world ticks & endemics! Quite a proportion! For a lot of our time, it has rained, & mainly grey, overcast skies when it wasn't raining; making bird photography difficult, if not impossible. It appears that we are also leaving in torrential rain! We fly to Apia on Samoa in the morning, before returning to two smaller islands in Fiji. This order transpired because of flight frequency & availability. We have enjoyed our time here tremendously, even though the birding has been tough at times. Long walks in the dense forest with few, sometimes no birds. However, there are some quality species here, top of which are the Masked Shining Parrots, who behave exactly like the Macaws in central & south America. Amazing to think the vast Pacific Ocean separates these two areas. 

Secrets of Melanesia: Vanuatu

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Secrets of Melanesia: Solomon Islands

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