Tag Archives: Ultramarine Lorikeet

My Top Thirty Bird Sightings Of 2014

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Most other years this would be a top ten, but with 3 major birding trips this year I am struggling to make it a top thirty!  If you want to see last year’s birds click here.   There is no way I could single out one top bird with so many to choose from so they are being presented in chronological order.  I haven’t finished blogging the Queensland road trip or the African Adventure so I have to cheat a bit with the photos.  They are my photos but just pasted in.

1.  Carnaby’s Cockatoo – seen at several places in Western Australia, Feb 2014.

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2.  Western Rosella – seen at Dryandra and Stirling Range in Western Australia, Feb 2014

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3.  Purple-crowned Lorikeet – seen near Fitzgerald National Park, Western Australia, Feb 2014

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4.  Western Bowerbird – seen at Nallan Station, Western Australia, Feb 2014

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5.  Splendid Fairy-wren – seen at Yanchep, Western Australia, Feb 2014

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6.  Orange-bellied Parrot – seen at Melaleuca, Tasmania, March 2014

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7.  Eastern Ground Parrot – seen at Melaleuca, Tasmania, March 2014

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8.  Swift Parrot – seen on Bruny Island, Tasmania, March 2014

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9.  Major Mitchell Cockatoo – seen at Bowra Station, QLD, March 2014

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10.  Cockatiels – seen at Bowra Station, QLD, March 2014

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11.  Satin Bowerbird – seen at Girraween, QLD, March 2014

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12.  Ultramarine Lorikeet – seen on Ua Huka, Marquesas, French Polynesia, June 2014

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13. Rimatara Lorikeet – seen on Rimatara, French Polynesia, June 2014

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14.  Cape Parrot – seen in King William’s Town and Magoebaskloof, South Africa, Nov 2014

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15.  Lilac-breasted Roller – seen in Kruger Park, South Africa, Nov 2014

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16.  Echo Parakeet – seen at Black River Gorges, Mauritius, Nov 2014

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17.  Vasa Parrots – seen at Ankarafantsika, Madagascar, Nov 2014

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18.  Schlegel’s Asity – seen at Ankarafantsika, Madagascar, Nov 2014

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19.  Hoopoe – seen at Ankarafantsika, Madagascar, Nov 2014

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20.  Paradise Flycatcher – seen in Kakum National Park, Ghana Nov 2014

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21.  Red Malimbe – seen in Kakum National Park, Ghana Nov 2014

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22.  African Grey Parrot – seen (fleeting glimpse) in Kakum National Park, Ghana Nov 2014

Didn’t click fast enough!

23.  Senegal Parrot – seen in Shai Hills, Ghana Nov 2014

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24.  Tacazze Sunbird – seen at Addis Ababa Hilton, Ethiopia, Nov 2014

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25.  African Red-bellied Parrot – seen at Tarangire, Tanzania, Nov 2014

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26.  Cordon Bleu Waxbill – seen at Tarangire, Tanzania, Nov 2014

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27.  Meyer’s Parrot (Brown Parrot) – seen at Tarangire, Tanzania, Nov 2014

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28.  Red-and-yellow Barbet – seen at Tarangire, Tanzania, Nov 2014

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29.  Superb Starling – seen all over Tanzania, Nov 2014

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30.  Lovebirds – seen in Madagascar (Grey-headed), Tarangire (Yellow-collared) and Ndutu (Fischer’s).  Just couldn’t choose between them!  Nov 2014

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These aren’t necessarily the rarest birds but they were birds that made a major impression on me.  Maybe for their rarity, maybe for their beauty or maybe for their behaviour! Apologies for not having profiles up on about half the birds but I still have a lot more to blog about!

Last Chance Birding – Ua Huka

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After a wonderful birding excursion with Geoffray, we returned back to our bungalow……..and we weren’t alone!  Much to our surprise, a pair of Ultramarine Lorikeets followed us all the way to the tree outside our room!

IMG_0446 IMG_0446a IMG_0448a IMG_0453aWe spent a lazy afternoon just hanging out watching the other birds.  Goeffray waved goodbye as he walked to his house just down the hill.

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These Chestnut-breasted Mannikins are called “vini” by the locals which is confusing as the lorikeets are scientifically called “Vini ultramarina”.IMG_0463 IMG_0464 IMG_0464a

Pictorial – Birding From The Pension, Ua Huka

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Lazy birding is kind of my thing and there is nothing better than kicking back on a peaceful verandah with a cold drink watching exotic birds fly by!  OK, seeing them up close is better, but still!  Here’s an idea of what to expect if you stay at Maurice & Delphine’s pension, Ua Huka.  The Ultramarine Lorikeets mostly just whizzed by in the valley.  You can see how far they were by how much I had to crop the photos to get them enlarged.  My husband had gotten up for an early morning walk and was chatting to some locals while I was looking for birds before breakfast.  Sorry about the blurry shots, I tried to hold the camera as steady as possible!

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Ultramarine Lorikeet (Vini ultramarina)

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Ultramarine Lorikeet (Vini ultramarina)

The Utramarine Lorikeet or Lory (Vini ultramarina), also known as the lori ultramarin in French, is a species of parrot in the Psittaculidae family, endemic to the Marquesas Islands.  They are called “Pihiti” by the locals.  They are considered endangered as they only exist on the one island of Ua Huka in the Marquesas.

Location of Ua Huka

Manu, the Ornithological Society of French Polynesia is very concerned with conserving them and keeping the island free from black rats.  These rats climb trees and kill nesting birds, babies and eggs.

IMG_0041PihitiUltramarine Lorikeets aka Pihiti are regularly seen in the Hokatu Valley.  I saw them from a fair distance while sitting on the verandah of my bungalow but they were too fast to get a good photo.

IMG_0109 IMG_0114aWe went birding with local Manu-trained guide, Geoffray Sulpice who took us to his plantation where I was able to get closer shots of the birds perched, courting and eating.

IMG_0234a IMG_0288a IMG_0335a IMG_0420a IMG_0436aMore photos will appear in the upcoming posts about the day’s excursion.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ULTRAMARINE LORIKEETS

Wikipedia

Manu (French)

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

VIDEO

This isn’t mine, I found it on YouTube.  Nice close up!

 

 

 

 

Rare Birds & Ramen Noodles – Birding Remote French Polynesia

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Last month, I snuck off to two of the most fascinating islands in French Polynesia for birders – Ua Huka and Rimatara.  Although I was pretty much unplugged for this trip, I did have blog posts queued up for auto posting so no one probably even noticed I was away.  But now it’s time to ‘fess up and introduce you to two amazing islands that most travel bloggers have never heard of, let alone traveled to!

Location of Ua Huka and Rimatara in relation to Papeete and Bora Bora

This map shows where we were in relation to the two French Polynesian islands most other bloggers have been posting about – Tahiti and Bora Bora.

This trip was a bucket list journey for me in which I got to see one of the world’s most beautiful birds – the Ultramarine Lorikeet for the first time………………….

Ultramarine Lorikeet

Ultramarine Lorikeet

……………………and to see the beautiful Rimatara Lorikeet, previously seen in Atiu in their original homeland of Rimatara!

Rimatara Lorikeets

Rimatara Lorikeets

I have many more photos of these gorgeous birds, I haven’t really sorted through them all yet so as this journey progresses you will get to see a lot more………………and yes they will be clear shots!

This is one trip you can’t do totally with miles and points.  I had originally planned to do it in Feb 2015 with AAdvantage miles redeemed on Qantas and Air Tahiti Nui but brought it forward to June 2014.  All the recent devaluations have spooked me a bit and this is one trip that could be vulnerable to the new US/AA merger.  Air Tahiti Nui is a partner of AAdvantage but not US Airways and even then they are only a half partner.  You can redeem but not accrue miles on Air Tahiti Nui using AAdvantage and they are not in OneWorld or any other alliance.  Theoretically, I should have been able to do this trip with Star Alliance partner United or even US Airways before they merged but it’s been over a year since Air New Zealand has released award space in ANY class – economy or business on the Brisbane-Auckland route and space between Auckland and other Aussie airports is extremely limited.  I felt it was a situation of book now or possibly lose my chance to get the flights to Tahiti on miles period!

Once in Tahiti, we still had to get to the islands of Ua Huka and Rimatara.  The only way to do this is on Air Tahiti (not the same as Air Tahiti Nui) and you can’t use miles, you MUST pay cash and these flights are not cheap!  I’ll be going into detail in a later post but now you know why we ate ramen noodles for most lunches (and will be eating them a lot at home for the next couple months)!

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New Birding Guides In French Polynesia

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While gathering information for a future “bucket list” trip to the Marquesas to see the spectacular Ultramarine Lorikeet, and possibly also to Rimatara for Rimatara Lorikeets, I found this article in a pdf version of Air Tahiti’s magazine.  Also see the MANU website.

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This is excellent news as the birds could otherwise be difficult to find given the lush mountainous topography of these islands.  The local guides would know where to find them.

There are very few airlines that get you to Tahiti on miles, only Air New Zealand (Star Alliance) and Air Tahiti Nui (non-alliance partner with American Airlines & Delta).  You need a South Pacific award which falls into the same region as Australia in most cases.

Once you are there, you need to pay full price for the Air Tahiti flight as they don’t have any mileage options…………..and the flights are not cheap!