10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2012

It’s a species that I was able to see and photograph while visiting Australia last Christmas, or at least it would have been, had it ever existed. It is one of the many species that went extinct in New Zealand, only for once it didn’t. So what were these Australian birds doing in New Zealand?

New Zealand 181

New Zealand Pelicans Solomon Islands Palau 181

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2015

As a wildlife rehabilitator who has dealt with both the US Fish and Wildlife and our state’s Parks and Wildlife for over twenty years, I half-jokingly asked him what I thought was a “duh” question: “How frustrating is it to deal with governmental regulations concerning wildlife?”. The unique behaviors this mysterious species might exhibit?

Collecting 240

Collecting Wildlife Rehabilitation Solomon Islands Texas 240

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

I quickly got a good view of an Orange-breasted Honeyeater , a local endemic, and the Vanikoro Flycatcher , a geographically disjunct oddity that occurs only in Fiji and the Solomon islands. The species replaces the common Wattled Honeyeater that can be found across the rest of Fiji’s islands, as well as the rest of Polynesia.

Fiji 169

Fiji Solomon Islands Parrots Los Angeles 169

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

And, to give his dream year a little more oomph, he created a grand once-in-a-lifetime goal: to track down and see every pitta species in the world in one year. Black-faced Pitta is found only on one of the Solomon Islands (northwest of Australia). This is the birding adventure book supreme. And mosquitos.

Hunters 196

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 196