Two Fiji petrels caught in Gau

Two Fiji petrels or Kacau ni Gau - recently landed in Nawaikama Village in Gau.

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.

The Fiji Petrel Expedition 2008

This year's mission to try and observe the Fiji Petrel at sea unfortunately had to be aborted after three days due to mechanical problems with the boat. Two chumming sessions on the journey to Gau, the island where birds have been grounded in the past, produced four Kermadec Petrels (only the second record for Fiji waters), a White-necked Petrel (though possibly a Vanuatu Petrel), 20+ Tahiti Petrels, four Collared Petrels and one probable, though brief, Providence Petrel. Of special note was a small 'Cookilaria-sized' dark petrel seen by three of the team, which flew under the Kermadec's giving a direct size comparison.

On the second day at sea we chummed some 16 miles southeast of Gau. Two Polynesian Storm-petrels (the first confirmed in the Fiji and Samoa biogeographical region for 132 years) were observed plus two more Kermadecs. Tahiti Petrels numbered about 16 over a three-hour period and two Collared Petrels were distant. Once more, a small dark petrel was seen momentarily, only to fly into the sun's glare.

Following the boat's technical problems the group decided to fly to Taveuni in the Fiji Islands and try for seabirds there (and the endemic landbirds in any spare time). We could charter only a high-speed sports boat and chummed the first day 18 miles offshore and the second day at the Vuna seamount. The highlight was a White-bellied Storm-petrel (a species never reliably confirmed from Fiji waters) on the first day and three Gould's Petrels on the second. Day totals were 50+ Tahiti Petrels, one Collared Petrel on the first day and 30+ Tahiti Petrels on the second - on our return to the quay at dusk we had a gathering of an additional 50+ Tahiti Petrels, waiting to return to their breeding burrows ashore.

Supplementary species seen during sailings were many Red-footed Boobies and Crested Terns, flocks of both Brown and Black Noddies, Lesser Frigatebirds, a couple of Black-naped Terns and a lone Bridled Tern.

We had two cetacean species; a pod of about 10 Pantropical Spotted Dolphins off Viti Levu and a Dwarf Minke Whale, feeding in the chum off Taveuni.

It is evident, from the records above, the real possibilities for groundbreaking research in this marine area and it was most frustrating for us to have to leave the region prematurely. Indeed, for some species of seabirds our research, and discussions aboard - for example, on identification and taxonomic issues - raised many more questions than answers.

Another sailing next year is already in the early planning stages, and most likely will be from mid to late July, with 10 days intended at sea – this time frame we believe the best for success with Fiji Petrel, based on ageing of the available specimens and grounded birds. We shall have the best type of boat for working these waters and have found a new chum mix that works extremely well with the tubenoses. Already Hadoram Shirihai and Dick Watling have confirmed they will again be on the voyage.

We shall announce more over the coming months for those interested in joining us in 2009. Please monitor the seabird newsgroups or contact me direct (Tony_Pym@hotmail.com). Participants will share equally all onboard costs and NatureFiji-MareqetiViti (www.naturefiji.org) will support the expedition. This continuing seabird survey we believe will confirm yet more exciting species in the local seas and provide further insight on the mysterious Fiji Petrel itself.

Some photographs taken on the 2008 expedition

(Thanks to Hadoram Shirihai for the © photos!)

Left - Tahiti Petrel

Above right - White-bellied Storm-petrel

Below left - Gould's Petrel

FijiPetrelExpedition

Mai Veikau – Tales of Fijian Wildlife

Mai Veikau – Tales of Fijian Wildlife By Dick Watling

Illustrated by Ian Rolls

Soft Cover, Colour & B&W illustrations, 160 pages

An immensely popular introduction to Fiji’s varied wildlife. 30 short stories written in a popular style but factual and informative.

There is no better reference for learning about Fiji’s snakes or why Banded Sea Krait’s should be treated with respect (Fiji’s Snakes: Fact and Fiction).

• Why Taveuni’s stick insect shocked the scientific world (Taveuni’s Mythical Mimimata); 
• some of the most successful biological control work in the world (A Coconut Trilogy) 
• Fiddlers on the Reef; 
• Tombs of the Living Dead;
• When the Vunivalu was bitten.

Fiji’s Natural Heritage By Paddy Ryan

Fiji’s Natural Heritage By Paddy Ryan

First published in 1988 to critical acclaim, the second edition is now out.

This time in a hard cover with a staggering 500 color photos and an enormous compendium of useful information packed into 288 pages.

You cannot get a better introduction to the breadth of Fiji’s wildlife – a masterpiece and labour of love for Paddy.

A Guide to the Birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia

‘A Guide to the Birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia including American Samoa, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna’ By Dick Watling

Hard Cover; 16 Full Colour Plates; Figures, Tables & Maps; 272 pages.

‘A Guide to the Birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia’ is a completely revised and reformatted edition of the widely acclaimed ‘Birds of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa’ and includes, in addition, the atoll nations of Tuvalu and Tokelau. A5-sized, the guide is handy for field use with detailed species accounts for the 173 species with confirmed records in the region and notes on a further 22 species with unconfirmed records.

Every breeding bird and regular migrant is illustrated on sixteen full-colour plates. The guide has the most detailed and accurate distributional coverage of the region’s birds and an up-to-date checklist for each of the countries covered. Included too is a comprehensive listing of local bird names to assist birders at the community level.

Encouraging conservation of birds is a specific objective of the book, and so in a chapter `Conservation’ current information on the conservation status of the region’s avifauna is provided with an overview of past and present threats, and priority conservation needs. Another chapter ‘Ornithology of the Region: an Overview’ provides an informative background to the study of the region’s birds.

Small though they may be, the islands of the region have plenty to offer the interested birder with 54 endemic or near-endemic species (and over 100 endemic subspecies). How to best see these and the other birds is fully covered in a chapter ‘Birding in the Region’.

Pocket Poster Guide to the Birds of Fiji - Sea and Shore Birds.

Pocket Poster Guide to the Birds of Fiji - Sea and Shore Birds. By Dick Watling

Reluctant to take your valued field guide into Fiji’s wet and humid forests or out to sea ? We certainly know the problem !

These could be the answer – a two part, pocket-sized (10x14cm) guide with a tough, laminated cover, cleverly designed and folded to be read as a book and opening out to the desired habitat.

Every breeding bird and regular migrant is illustrated in full colour and each bird has a paragraph of text with local names and identification and size information.

Otherwise fold out these posters to their full AO size for an informative wall chart or interpretive display.

Pocket Poster Guide to the Birds of Fiji: - Landbirds.

Pocket Poster Guide to the Birds of Fiji: - Landbirds. By Dick Watling

Reluctant to take your valued field guide into Fiji’s wet and humid forests or out to sea ?

We certainly know the problem !

These could be the answer – a two part, pocket-sized (10x14cm) guide with a tough, laminated cover, cleverly designed and folded to be read as a book and opening out to the desired habitat.

Every breeding bird and regular migrant is illustrated in full colour and each bird has a paragraph of text with local names and identification and size information.

Otherwise fold out these posters to their full AO size for an informative wall chart or interpretive display.