21 Mar 2019

Home of the Kagu

An early start was in order today as we sailed into the port of Noumea with a Pilot guiding us through the maze of reefs. Boarding a coach bound for a day at the park known as 'Riviere Bleue' where the 'Ghost of the Forest' or Kagu was at the top of our birders' lists, and it wasn't long until we all had good views. For the next few hours we walked the jeep track which runs through the park and found an excellent selection of New Caledonian endemics and other species. These included some great views of the critically endangered Crow Honeyeater, as well as Goliath (New Caledonian) Imperial-pigeon, New Caledonian Crow, New Caledonian Parakeet, Horned Parakeet, New Caledonian Whistler and Green-backed White-eye.

The arrival back to the ship around 1815 made it a solid day out in the field. It was a productive albeit wet day with intermittent but heavy rain while we were at the park so we were thankful for a shower and dinner upon return to the Spirit of Enderby. With another early start tomorrow most of us retired early to bed.

Image (c) L.Gwynn