Birding in French Polynesia - Tahiti Iti - Day 16

Birding in French Polynesia XVI

16 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. Birds in italics indicate lifers.

Friday Jan 16 2026 - Day 16

Today, we went to Tahiti Iti, a smaller peninsula south of Tahiti Nui, the main part of the island, and where we are staying. 

Tahiti Iti, indicated by the red placemark

After an hour and a half of driving, we arrived in the small village of Teahupoo, famous for hosting the Olympic Games for surfing in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Despite not seeing the “legendary wave”, we saw some Pacific Reef-Herons and Brown Noddies.

Olympic Rings at Teahupoo

After this, we went to the city of Taravao, at the land bridge between Tahiti Iti and Tahiti Nui. Here, there is an intersection, with a tree, that hosts a nesting colony of Black Noddies. Having only seen them at a distance and without getting good photos, we decided it would be a good idea to visit the tree and get some better views of this species.

Black Noddy Tree

Me photographing Black Noddies

To my surprise, they were very used to humans and cars, and would even land on the busy nearby roads, to get nesting material. 

Black Noddies nesting

Black Noddy in flight

Collecting nesting material

Adult Black Noddy sat on nest

After getting great photos of Black Noddies, we went to Tautira, on the north side of Tahiti Iti, where a sacred archaeological site is found.

Statue of a Polynesian God

At this beach, we enjoyed a beautiful, albeit cloudy view.

View over Tahiti Iti