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 birding...

Australasia   (visit this page on fatfisherman.com)
 







Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus ©Ian Montgomery http://birdway.com.au

The Fat Birder would welcome introductions contributioned by antipodean birders. Any pictures you care to contribute to enhance this site would be welcome as would be any information about your local club or reserve; better still if you have a web-site to signpost please let me know.

The Fat Birder has been to Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Cairns, Townsville Common, the Atherton Tablelands, Daintree, Darwin and Broome all in Australia... non-Australian birders are only just beginning to realise that Oz has some of the very best birding sites in the world not to say some of the most beautiful and interesting birds. I have also visited New Zealand a number of times and even managed to drop into Tahiti - but it was dark and I was gone before first light - so no birds on my French Polynesia list!

In New Zealand Tiritiri Matangi is one of the best kept secrets in the world of birds and Miranda`s wrybills a must but NZ has very little by way of birding web sites. Time you started selling yourselves a bit harder you blokes!

Many years ago I went to Fiji but managed to coincide my visit with an eye infection and I arrived the day after a hurricane left. So out of one eye all I managed by way of avifauna was one tropicbird, a cormorant and some sort of honey eater! One day I hope to see a little more of the region...

Whilst the area is vast it is not particularly rich in species numbers outside of three main landmasses [Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand] however, there are some massive seabird colonies and Australasian pelagics come highly recommended...


Norfolk Island Australia Palau New Zealand Northern Mariana Islands Guam Federated States of Micronesia Papua New Guinea Marshall Islands Nauru Kiribati Tuvalu Solomon Isles Coral Sea Islands New Caledonia Vanuatu Fiji Wallis and Fortuna Islands American Samoa Tokelau Western Samoa Tonga Niue Cook Islands French Polynesia Pitcairn Islands

American Samoa | Australia | Cook Islands | Coral Sea Islands | Federated States of Micronesia | Fiji
French Polynesia | Guam | Kiribati | Marshall Islands | Nauru | New Caledonia
New Zealand | Niue | Norfolk Island | Northern Mariana Islands | Palau | Papua New Guinea | Pitcairn Islands | Solomon Islands
Tokelau | Tonga | Tuvalu | Vanuatu | Wallis and Fortuna Islands | Western Samoa

  numbers

 
Number of bird species: c. 1800
This represents approximately 18% of the world total.

  useful reading

 

A Guide to the Birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia

- including American Samoa, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna Dick Watling 272 pages, 16 col plates, figs, tabs, maps. Distributed by NHBS
ISBN: 9829030040
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Where to Watch Birds in Australasia & Oceania

Nigel Wheatley Helm (1998) 0713645431
ISBN: 0713645431
Buy this book from NHBS.com

  useful information

 

Proact


Coordinator: Craig Hopkins
Members: 16
Join us at http://www.proact-campaigns.net/team
Contact your coordinator via mailto:info@proact-campaigns.net

  clubs

 

Australasian Raptor Association

http://www.ausraptor.org.au/
The Australasian Raptor Association was established in 1979 to promote the study, conservation and management of diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey (raptors) throughout Australasia. The region extends east and southeast from Wallace`s Line, and from the southeastern portion of Asia, and encompasses approximately the southwestern quadrant of the Pacific. It includes Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the South West Pacific.

Oceanic Society

http://www.oceanic-society.org
The Oceanic Society has an integrated approach to marine life preservation, combining several initiatives to achieve a single goal...

Pacific Seabird Group

http://www.pacificseabirdgroup.org/
The Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) is a society of professional seabird researchers and managers dedicated to the study and conservation of seabirds. PSG was formed in 1972 out of a need for increased communication among academic and government seabird researchers.

Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association

http://www.sossa-international.org/
SOSSA is a wildlife conservation and research organisation. Its members are dedicated amateurs and professionals who share a common interest and concern for the marine environment and the wildlife of the Southern Oceans. SOSSA organises regular pelagic trips from Wollongong, NSW and Southport, QLD so both members and visitors can view some of the spectacular marine life that occurs off Australia's coast...

The Pacific Islands Conservation Research Association

http://picra.net
The Pacific Islands Conservation Research Association (PICRA) is a US federally recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the mission of advancing knowledge of Pacific species, populations, and ecosystems through unbiased scientific investigations. Our research focuses on improving understanding of islands and the conservation issues they face, and results are used in the development of applied and theoretical solutions to conservation problems. We have ongoing projects focused on endangered and threatened birds in Micronesia and Polynesia.

  trip reports

 

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you can’t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page… give them a try!

2004 - [April] - Dave Klauber - Micronesia

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/micronesia/micro1/micro-ap-04.htm
... Merely getting prices for a proposed itinerary takes a couple of days; schedules take more time. It took 2 full weeks just to finalize a plane schedule for Guam, Chuuk and Pohnpei...

2005 [December] - Ornitholidays and Cruises for Nature

http://www.seabirding.co.uk/SeabirdingSubantarcticIslands.html
A Report on a Seabirding Trip to ‘The Subantarctic Islands’ The Snares, Auckland, Macquarie, Campbell, Antipodes, Bounty and Chatham Islands of New Zealand and Australia Aboard the 'Spirit of Enderby'...

  places to stay

 

Matava

http://fiji-bird-watching.com
Fijis Premier Eco Adventure Resort - Welcome to Fiji Bird Watching, our website dedicated to the birds and avifauna of the Fiji Islands where 27 species were found nowhere else in the world, such as the fabulous Golden and Orange Doves (Bune or Bunako), three species of Shining-Parrots (Kaka), and the widespread Collared Lory (Kula) which is even found in town centres… although some species are now extinct.

  other links

 

Australasia

http://www.montereybay.com/creagrus/australasia.html
Overview of the avifauna...

Pacific Birds

http://www.pacificbirds.com/
Dick Watlings site - for a number of parts of the pacific...

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