Two Fiji petrels or Kacau ni Gau - recently landed in Nawaikama Village in Gau.
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| Fiji Petrel. First photograph. The Tubenose project. Hadoram Shirihai |
The birds landed exactly a month apart.
For NatureFiji-Mareqeti Viti - the species guardian - this is an extraordinary occurrence - given that the petrels were last sighted in May.
The first bird landed on the night of October 29th.
NatureFiji -Mareqeti Viti Field Manager Eleazar O'Connor inspected the bird and made weight and height measurements.
And - for the first time - a metal tag was attached to the bird's foot with a serial number on it before it was released.
The tag will help identify the bird if it’s found somewhere else.
This was also done to the second petrel which landed on the night of November 29th.
On record - this is the 18th petrel caught so far.
The population of Fiji Petrel is unknown, but believed to be fewer than 50 pairs, and potentially declining due to predation by cats, rats and feral pigs.
The critically endangered species survives and breeds only in Gau - after it was initially found in 1855.
Details:
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There are three species of hawk in Fiji. The most common is the swamp harrier, Circus approximans , which is most commonly seen over the grasslands, swamps and wooded areas. It feeds on rodents, birds and occasionally snakes. The Fiji Goshawk, Accipiter rufitoques , ranges from the coast to inland areas and preys on lizards, insects and other birds. Peregrine falcons, Falcus peregrinus , can also be found in Fiji but are not commonly observed. In the evenings you just might spot a the unmistakable profile of the barn owl, Tyto alba , one of which I used to observe perched on a telephone wire in my old stomping grounds of Lami, outside of Suva. They prey generally on rodents but will sometimes eat bats or other birds.
The white-collared kingfisher, Halcyon chloris , is a striking blue with a white collar around the neck. I’ve often seen them dipping into a friend’s swimming pool in Taveuni. Also seen on Taveuni is the silktail, Lamprolia victoriae . Once thought to be a bird of paradise, it isbirdwatching becoming increasingly rare on other islands most likely because of logging. Paddy Ryan describes it as a deep black with metallic blue spangling on the head and breast.
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