Visit your favourite destinations
|
Visit your favourite destinations |
| A Report from birdtours.co.uk |
Bougainville, Bismarck Islands, Manus Island, 19 Jan. - 3 Feb. 2002,
Mainly a work trip with Angela Wylie, with some birding fitted in as follows:
Buka Island 19-21 Jan. Mainly the road to the island's interior. One late afternoon, one early morning.
Bougainville Island 21-24 Jan. Arawa area, where Don and Llane Hadden were our kind hosts. A boat trip was made to Anusagaro Island offshore and an islet nearby.
Rabaul, New Britain 24-28 Jan. Forest patches around Gaulim, two hours' drive south-west of Rabaul, and Tomaringa, 30 minutes from Rabaul. Two mornings, a brief afternoon session.
Lihir Island 28-29 Jan.
Kavieng, New Ireland 29-31 Jan. Mainly a swamp forest 20km south of Kavieng - a right turn off the main road just after a well-defined bridge. The road goes through 3km of excellent forest before a branch to the left goes up a logging track, which was also good.
Manus Island 29 Jan - 3 Feb. One late afternoon, two early mornings around Rossun village, just out of Lorengau, and the waterfall nearby. Aaron Joseph, the guide in Rossun, was useful here. A visit was made to Mandrin and Hawei islands offshore.
* denotes lifer.. common names follow Clements
MAMMALS - *Giant Flying-Fox (common on New Britain and New Ireland).
BIRDS
Lesser Frigatebird, Great Frigatebird, Reef Heron, Intermediate Egret (Manus),
Osprey, Brahminy Kite, Pacific Baza, Variable Goshawk (everywhere),
Pied Goshawk (1 on Buka, 1 on Bougainville),
*New Britain Sparrowhawk (1 near Tomaringa, New Britain),
*Solomon Sea-Eagle (1 seen well on Buka in a forested valley, being chased by
Bougainville Crows),
Island Imperial-Pigeon (hundreds breeding on Anusagaro Island, also on Manus
and Buka), Red-knobbed Imperial-Pigeon (common),
*Bismarck [Black] Imperial-Pigeon (1 in hills near Gaulim),
Mackinlay's Cuckoo-Dove (small nos Buka), Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove (small nos
New Britain and New Ireland),
*Nicobar Pigeon (at last. 30+ on Anusagaro Island, breeding with Island Imp-Ps),
*Bronze Ground-Dove (1 on Lihir),
Stephan's Ground-Dove,
*Knob-billed [Red-knobbed] Fruit-Dove (2 on Lihir, 2 on New Ireland),
Yellow-bibbed Fruit-Dove (Mandrin Island), Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove (Buka),
*Pied Cuckoo-Dove (1 in swamp forest on New Ireland),
*Yellow-legged Pigeon (1 flushed from swamp forest floor on New Ireland, it
and a second bird were calling: an explosive, barking 'coo', a jumble of one
or two-syllabled notes repeated in quick succession over several minutes),
Rainbow Lorikeet, Red-flanked Lorikeet, Cardinal Lory,
Duchess Lorikeet (flock at Arawa),
*Purple-bellied [Eastern Black-capped] Lory (common on New Ireland),
Eclectus Parrot, Song Parrot (Buka, Manus), Ducorp's Cockatoo (Buka),
*Blue-eyed Cockatoo (common on New Britain),
Finsch's Pygmy-Parrot (small nos Buka and New Ireland),
*Meek's Pygmy-Parrot (1 descending tree trunk near waterfall on Manus),
Crested Tern, Common Tern, Bridled Tern, Common Noddy,
Black-headed Gull (20 in winter plumage, mostly first-year, in a flock off Lorengau,
Manus, being harassed by frigate-birds),
Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, Turnstone, Wandering Tattler,
Pectoral Sandpiper (singles at airports at Namatani [New Ireland] and Manus;
I have seen this bird also at Solomons airports), Mongolian Plover, Golden
Plover,
Swinhoe's Snipe (1 at Rabaul airport), Beach Thick-knee (1 on islet off Arawa),
White-browed Crake, Red-necked Crake (Manus),
Buff-banded Rail (New Ireland), Swamphen,
*Woodford's Rail (8 in the Arawa area, including one in a disused building and
two seen well by a creek),
*Manus Boobook (1 en route to Rossun, Manus),
Glossy Swiftlet, White-rumped Swiftlet, Uniform Swiftlet, Moustached Tree-Swift
(common), Variable Kingfisher (1 at Arawa), Collared Kingfisher,
Ultramarine Kingfisher (several pairs Buka and Bougainville),
Beach Kingfisher (pairs Anusagaro and Mandrin islands), Common Kingfisher,
Dollar-bird, Common Koel, Oriental Cuckoo (1 on New Britain), Brush Cuckoo,
*Pied Coucal (small nos New Ireland and New Britain),
*Violaceous Coucal (2 in swamp forest on New Ireland),
*Superb Pitta (1 called in on Manus by Aaron, seen brilliantly, others calling),
Pacific Swallow, Cicadabird (Buka, New Ireland), White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike,
Varied Triller, Yellow-eyed Cuckoo-shrike, Australian Reed-Warbler (Rabaul),
Blyth's Hornbill (3 near Tomaringa, New Britain), Spangled Drongo,
*Ribbon-tailed Drongo (2 in swamp forest on New Ireland),
Willie Wagtail, Northern Fantail, Steel-blue Flycatcher (Buka), Island Monarch
(Anusagaro Island), Black-and-white Monarch (Buka), Shining Flycatcher,
*Dull [Lesser Shining] Flycatcher (pair on logging track, New Ireland),
*Bougainville Monarch (1 on Buka),
*Black-tailed [Bismarck Pied] Monarch (1 in swamp forest, New Ireland),
*Admiralty Pied Monarch (1 near waterfall, Manus),
Golden Monarch (common on New Ireland),
Golden Whistler (Manus),
*Black-tailed Whistler (1 on Anusagaro Island, others calling),
Midget Flowerpecker (Buka),
*Bismarck Flowerpecker (1 on New Britain, common on New Ireland),
Olive-backed Sunbird, Black Sunbird,
*Scarlet-naped Myzomela (1 on Buka),
*Ashy Myzomela (small nos near Gaulim, New Britain),
*Black-bellied [New Britain Red-headed] Myzomela (small nos in flowering tree
near Gaulim, New Britain),
Red Myzomela (small nos on New Ireland),
*New Britain Friarbird (common on New Britain),
*Manus Friarbird (common on Manus),
*Bismarck Black Myzomela (common on Hawei and Mandrin islands),
*Yellow-throated White-eye (common on Buka and Bougainville),
*Black-headed White-eye (small nos Manus),
Metallic Starling, Singing Starling, Brown-winged Starling (Buka),
Yellow-faced Myna, Torresian Crow,
*Bougainville Crow (small nos Buka and Bougainville),
Hooded Mannikin (common around Rabaul),
*Mottled [Hunstein's] Mannikin (common on New Ireland, and not just around airport),
*Bismarck [Buff-bellied] Mannikin (several with previous species on New Ireland
logging track).
Total 106, 33 lifers
Why not send us a report, or an update to one of your current reports?
