10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2013

Diving has taken me to places like Belize, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Egypt, places that coincidentally are fun to bird. Goat Island, off New Zealand’s Northland, was an amazing diving location without any birds. Kina, or Sea Urchin. I was a diver before I was a birder. Hiwihiwi ( Chironemus marmoratus ). Nudibranch.

New Zealand 162

New Zealand Goats Vanuatu Fiji 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

As introductions to tropical Pacific birding go, you could do a lot worse than Fiji. More importantly the airport in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) on the main island of Viti Levu is a major air hub and frequent stop on flights between the United States and Australia or New Zealand.

Fiji 171

Fiji Solomon Islands Parrots Los Angeles 171

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2015

I worked with an enormous collection of bird skins in the collection of Te Papa (The National Museum of New Zealand) during my (unfinished) PhD. I remember looking at a single skin of a Long-legged warbler from Fiji, the only known specimen or record of its particular subspecies, the sum total of all knowledge about its kind.

Collecting 231

Collecting Solomon Islands New Zealand Fiji 231

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Here in New Zealand te only potential big tick would be a lost vagrant painted snipe, and we’ve already established that I don’t enjoy that kind of vagrant hunting.

Family 164

Family Wombats Uganda Fiji 164