Birding in French Polynesia I
1 January 2026
Over the next 28 days, I will be spending my time birding on Tahiti and Mo'orea, two islands in the Windward Islands, an archipelago belonging to French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France.
Thursday Jan 1 2026 - Day 1
Today, we took the coach to London Heathrow Airport, we left around lunchtime, in order to arrive on time for our flight to Los Angeles International Airport, famously known as LAX. While we were there, I set up my scope facing south, looking out to the hills of Surrey, a county I have never birded in before. Therefore, I was looking for some species to complete my English eBird species map. After seeing a Carrion Crow and a couple Woodpigeons, I managed to add Surrey to my ever-increasing English county list.
Surrey encircled in red
After a bit of time, it got dark, and we boarded a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9. The aircraft was reasonably comfy, compared to the over planes we've taken to Hungary and to Spain. Most importantly for me, it had screens, which kept me and my sisters entertained for the whole 11hrs.
Flying over Greenland
After our flight, we took some time to pass the customs, after which, I was desperately searching for some birds to add to my USA list. I have been to the United States before, to San Diego, however, I was only a year old, and no birder, therefore I do not remember any of the birds I saw. Even a very common species in this part of the world could be a lifer for me. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to see any birds during our 3hr layover.
We then boarded our next flight on an Air France Airbus A350-900, to Fa'a'a International Airport, on Tahiti. This flight was to last 8hrs, however despite getting much improved entertainment - better games, better shows, better map quality, and even a live camera from behind the gears and from the tail fin - I found myself feeling worse than on the previous flight.
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