Taveuni: Fiji

We flew out of Apia in late afternoon on 20th November & landed at Nadi in Fiji. We had to spend the night here, as our flight to Taveuni only runs in the early morning. Unfortunately, the hotel I picked was a bit of a dump! Early night & get out of town quickly the next morning!

Our little plane, which made for exciting flying!

Despite Delana's concerns, we arrived safely!

A nice modern chalet, with

 excellent facilities & sea views.

On the beach.

The shore next to the lodge.

The cinema in the village. It closed 30 years ago!

The end of an interesting day.

We flew to Taveuni in a small plane, which gave excellent views of the passing landscape below on 21st November. We quickly transferred to the Arora Resort, which is a very pleasant place to be. Think nice chalet by the ocean & excellent food. We are here for seven nights, so we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon & evening.

Koro Levu Island.

Bridled Terns

Sooty Tern

Immature Sooty Tern

After an excellent nights sleep, we were up early to transfer to Koro Levu Island on 22nd November. A small, uninhabited island in the bay. We landed on a small sandy beach with a few Bridled & SootyTerns flying around & sat on nearby rocks.

Vanikoro Flycatcher.

Vanikoro Flycatchers called from the forest & were eventually seen. This was the only passerine species noted on this island!

Coral Reef

Fish diversity on the reef was good.

Christmas Worms!

Blue-green Chromis

Saddled Butterflyfish

Orange-finned Anemone-fish

Scale Finn Anthias

Blue Damselfish

Reticulated Dascyllus

Two-spined Angelfish

This was a snorkeling morning & it proved to be excellent, with Delana getting some excellent photos. 

After snorkeling champers on the beach!

Delana was very happy with the variety 

of marine life here.

In the evening at the resort.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around the resort & getting ready for the big day tomorrow!

Looking from the forest down the hill to the coast.

It was fine at first, but it soon started to rain.

The 23rd November was supposed to be the day! We had hired a bird guide & driver complete with 4x4 & they picked us up at 4am! We drove up the terrible track to De Voeux Peak, parking just south of the gate. We arrived far too early & sat in the vehicle for at least 45 minutes waiting for dawn to break. It was surprisingly cool up here: we were in shirts & shorts, & our guide was in full winter mode! Birds as usual on these tropical islands were slow to reveal themselves. Fiji Bush Warbler & Fiji Whistler were prominent vocalists just after dawn. Azure-crested Flycatcher sang nearby, but remained out of sight. 

The natural forest here is very dense, wet &

 dripping in lichens & ferns.

Walking here is not easy! 

Lots of tree roots & slippery patches.

Chattering Giant Honeyeater

It really is very different from the 

Giant Honeyeaters on other islands.

We then entered the forest & walked down a narrow track. We saw little, but heard quite a few species first of which was the Chattering Giant Honeyeater & I managed to get a shot of its head, the rest of its body remained hidden by the profuse vegetation. Island Thrushes were zipping around but I didn't manage any photos in the poor light. 

Silktail! 

Out of focus, but you can see its silk-tail!

One of my most wanted birds!

The light was terrible & it was raining!

It was quite confiding, as we stood stock still 

watching it flit around us.

Amazing! A true privilege!

Happy or what?

After about two hours we heard & eventually saw a Taveuni Silktail! It was surprisingly large, & also quite confiding. The only problem was the poor light for photos. This was one of our most wanted species & it didn't disappoint!

Possibly the worst photo ever taken of a 

Fiji Shrikebill?

A very secretive bird & difficult to see,

We heard several Fiji Shrikebills, but they remained elusive, until I spotted one stripping bark from a tree trunk. I managed to get a terrible photo! 

Female Azure-crested Flycatcher

We walked back to the road & eventually saw a pair of Azure-crested Flycatchers. This is a tricky species to see & endemic to this one island.

Fiji White-eye

Fiji White-eyes flew overhead in small parties but never settled for long. 

Northern Wattled Honeyeater

We managed to see a couple of Northern Wattled Honeyeaters & how different they are from their near neighbors on the main island. 

Yet again we plunged back into the forest looking for Orange Dove. We heard one far away but despite intensive searching it remained unseen. After a couple of fruitless hours, we returned to the track & heard & briefly saw two Long-tailed Koels. A long distance migrant from their breeding grounds in New Zealand.

Walking down.

We looked hard for

Orange Dove, but failed!

We continued walking down the track looking for Orange Dove but without any success. It was an interesting mornings birding, Silktail being the undoubted highlight. But many of the views of the other species were brief & below par. I am returning in the morning, while Delana is staying at the resort, as she has some work to do. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing in the resort.

Dawn, but lower down on the hill, 

in more open areas.

24th November: a second attempt! Up early & in the car climbing the hill in the dark. Shared the cost with a couple of Danish birders, who were excellent company. Done this before I think! A Barn Owl was at the roadside. This morning we decided on a different tactic. We didn't go as high as yesterday & stopped where the cleared areas meet the forest. 

Red Shining Parrot at dawn.

Immediately we spotted a pair of Red Shining Parrots, but the light was terrible! It seems that this species likes the forest edge & raids the small holdings for fruiting trees. 

Female Orange Dove

Our tactic of staying on the track proved to be an excellent choice when I spotted a male & female Orange Dove high in a tree in the distance. They were soon joined by a second female & a Many-colored Fruit Dove. Luckily the Danish couple had a scope & we all enjoyed prolonged if distant views. Too far for a photo which was very frustrating! Then the rain started & we jumped in the car & drove a little higher up the hill. I spotted a female Orange Dove sat in a tree next to the roadside, but the light was yet again terrible & it was raining! 

Metallic Pigeon

Pacific Kingfisher

Northern Wattled Honeyeater

Vanikoro Flycatcher

Sulphur-breasted Myzomela

Difficult bird to photograph, 

as always high in the canopy.

Fiji White-eye

We were dogged by rain showers throughout the morning & we lost birding time because of it. The Danish couple went into the forest with the guide, while I decided the walk slowly downhill in the hope of getting some photos. It proved a difficult task but it was very enjoyable & to my amazement discovered I recorded a creditable 28 species on the walk!

A short while later they picked me up & we drove back to the resort. I had seen my two target species but didn't get good photos of the Parrot & only photographed a female Orange Dove! That is life!

Adult female Lesser Frigatebird

Spent the afternoon around the resort & two Lesser Frigatebirds flew over, giving excellent views.

On 25th November we both enjoyed a little lay-in & breakfast overlooking the ocean before Delana went off snorkeling to Rainbow Reef. It is supposed to be a spectacular reef, in fact one of the best in the world! I stayed in the resort, sorting out photos & writing my blog.