FRENCH POLYNESIA Society, Marquesas and Tuamotus Islands 19th September – 3rd October 2019 Graham Talbot 1 Introduction I was always quite envious that Bill Simpson had carried on to do the Marquesas Islands and Tuamotu Archipelago after our Pitcairn Island trip in 2018. (https://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport ) I never thought I would ever get there as it was a logistical nightmare and Bill’s efforts were commendable. However it was a sense of Deja vu as one hot summers day I was idly surfing the net and saw that Birdtourasia http://www.birdtourasia.com/ had a spare space on the second leg of their French Polynesia Tour which would cover the Islands Bill went to plus a couple more I ummed and arghed and in the end I signed up. Although this trip would cover most of the remaining Islands there will still be Raiatea or Rimatara left which Bill made it to but I just ran out of time….. There could be French Polynesia 3 coming up one day. Logistics Trying to visit all the Islands where the endemic land birds occur in the Marquesas and Tuamotu Archipelago’s is not easy unless you have your own boat. Birdtourasia had charted the Braveheart for a month-long trip of French Polynesia and I joined the second leg which covered the northern Islands. I had travelled on the Braveheart last year. It is a small boat with 12 berths and is ideally suited for the task. Some of the landings on the more remote islands were on the tricky side to say the least but as usual the Matt and his crew made sure we managed to get on and off ok. We flew from Tahiti to Nuku Hiva where the Braveheart was waiting for us and finished in Moorea returning to Tahiti on the ferry. Although we managed to land on all the islands that we needed to see the endemics, the seawatching from the Braveheart was poor due to the rough seas for most of the two weeks making chumming difficult and hence seabirds were few and far between. Apart from Rob and James from Birdtourasia, Teiki (ww.imikoana.com) a local guide joined us for the Marquesas leg of the trip. He was excellent and appeared to know everybody on the islands and guided us expertly on the uninhabited ones. Route 2 Sites To see all the endemic land birds, we had to visit seven different Islands of which two were un- uninhabited. As is quite often the case with island endemics the difficult part is getting to the island as once there the birds were quite easy to see. This was true on this trip with the exception of Hatutu and Mohotani both uninhabited which required trails to be hacked to the best birding areas. Apart from the regional endemic birds the island held very few other birds and on most it was hard to see more than five land birds in a day. The following is a summary of each of the islands we visited. The birds in red are endemic to that island Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Imperial Pigeon. White-capped Fruit Dove, Northern Marquesas Reed Warbler A large inhabited island with an airport. The airport is on the opposite site of the island to the main settlement and the connecting road rises to 1400m as it crosses the Island. The west of the Island consists of open grassland whilst the east has taller trees. We birded the tall trees adjacent to the road starting at the high point and at other locations as we headed down the eastern side. A stop at Hati Heu Archaeological site was productive with the Imperial Pigeon and Fruit Dove being easily located. We stayed in a hotel for one night at Taioha’e and spent time exploring the costal area which held good numbers of the Reed Warbler and Fruit Dove whilst we waited for the Braveheart to arrive. Hati Heu Archaeological site Roadside Stop for Marquesas Imperial Pigeon Hatutu – Marquesas Ground Dove White-capped Fruit Dove, Northern Marquesas Reed Warbler. An uninhabited island consisting of low bushes with a few patches of tall trees. It’s the last strong hold of the Ground Dove. There are no proper landing areas and no trails, so we had to make our own. We hacked through the low bush to the area of tall trees where we located a single Ground Dove. 3 View of wooded area Hacking through dense vegetation to reach trees Ua huka- Ultramarine Lorikeet. Iphis Monarch, White-capped Fruit Dove, Northern Marquesas Reed Warbler. From the quay at Vaipee it was a ten-minute drive to the Arboretum called Papuakeikahn where the Lorikeet and Monarch can be found without much difficulty. We drove round the Island to the town of Hane where we also saw the Lorikeets in the trees along the main street. Tahuata – Marquesas Kingfisher, White-capped Fruit Dove, Southern Marquesas Reed Warbler. We landed at the main town of Motopu and walked along the only road which headed up into the hills. The Kingfisher was seen near the school in the main village with another pair further along the road. Looking towards Motopu Kingfisher Area Mohotani – Marquesas Monarch, White-capped Fruit Dove, Southern Marquesas Reed- An uninhabited island with the ridge covered in tall trees. From the landing spot it required an initial scramble up the rocky cliffs and then a walk up through grassland and then cutting a trail through low trees before we reached the wood area. Once in the tall trees the Monarchs were easy to see. The far side of the island consisted of steep cliffs which no doubt one day in the past held huge numbers of seabirds. There are plans to eradicate the rats and possibly relocate some Ground Doves to the island. One hopes they can find the money to do this. 4 Trees on ridgeline where Monarch is Scramble up from the landing spot Fatuhiva – Fatu Hiva Monarch, White-capped Fruit Dove, Southern Marquesas Reed. There are only 28 Monarchs left and they all occur in a single valley. We landed at the village of Omoa from where it was a short 10-minute drive in a pickup to the start of the valley. It was a short walk up the valley to the first territory but it did involve crossing three streams There is a MANU team on the Island trying to stop the Monarch from becoming extinct through extensive trapping of rats and wild cats but it’s a never ending battle. Crossing one of the three streams Rangiroa – Blue Lorikeet, Tuamotu Reed Warbler, Atoll Fruit Dove. One of the largest Atoll’s in the world being 80km long and 30km wide and made up of over 400 small islands or Motus. We anchored just off the main town of Ohotu where there was good snorkelling and a small island which held numerous Grey-backed Terns. The Lorikeets are located near the Blue Lagoon on the far side of the Atoll a two-hour speed boat ride from the main town. It’s a very famous tourist attraction and no wonder why it’s stunning. The Lagoon is encircled by Motus and it is possible to wade between them. The Lorikeets were easily heard but not so easily seen. We didn’t see the Fruit dove apparently they are not common here. The lagoon held a few waders including Bristle -thighed Curlew. 5 Blue Lagoon Wading to the next Motu Niau – Niau Kingfisher, Tuamotu Reed Warbler, Atoll Fruit Dove. A round shaped atoll with a central lagoon which is surrounded by coconut groves. The Kingfisher was seen easily not far from the main settlement of Tupana. Measures are in place to protect the birds with steel plates fixed to potential breeding trees to stop the rats and cats attacking the nests. Atoll Fruit Dove was also quite plentiful. Coconut planation Kingfisher habitat Makatea – Polynesian Imperial Pigeon, Makatea Fruit Dove, Tuamotu Reed Warbler. The island was once home to over 15000 residents during the peak mining years but now there are only a handful left. Evidence of the mining could be found everywhere with rusting machinery, railway tracks and buildings scattered across the island. Although we heard and eventually saw the Pigeon and Fruit Dove on the road from the wharf to the village the best place to see them was the far side of the island from a viewpoint. Viewpoint from where Imperial Pigeon easily seen 6 Moorea – Society Kingfisher Moorea sub species, Grey-green Fruit Dove – Close to Tahiti the island is less developed though still has some swish resorts. The best area is the road from Opunohu Bay to Belvedere. Birding in the trees was hard going and it was much easier see the Kingfisher by walking along the along the road from the viewpoint downhill. View from Belvedere down valley where Kingfisher can be found by walking along the road Itinerary Wednesday18th September I left Hong Kong on the evening flight to Auckland where I had a 4-hour layover before taking the flight to Papeette arriving late evening of the 18th due to crossing the international date line … most confusing. It didn’t take long to get through the airport and then it was a short but expensive taxi ride to the hotel. Thursday 19th September Having arrived a day early in case of flight delays I decided to go to Moorea on the spare day as it has a race of the Society Kingfisher which looks very different from the Tahiti form and could be a potential future split.