Birding in French Polynesia VII
7 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.
Wednesday Jan 7 2026 - Day 7
Today, we decided to go back to the beach we went to yesterday, Plage de Tiahura. On the way, we decided to stop at Moorea Tropical Garden, to see the famous vanilla plantations.
View over Opunohu Bay from Moorea Tropical Garden
At the beach, in terms of birds, we saw Brown Noddies, White Terns and Great Crested Terns. Below the surface, we saw more Picasso Triggerfish, some Vagabond Butterflyfish, Threadfin Butterflyfish, Convict Tangs, many Three-spot Dascyllus and Whitetail Dascyllus.
Three-spot Dascyllus
Picasso Triggerfish
While I was enjoying the fish, my dad left the water and managed to see a Pacific Golden Plover on the grass by the beach. I was very jealous at first, having missed a lifer, however I soon got a brief view when two Pacific Golden Plovers flew past over the water.
My dad's photo of a Pacific Golden Plover
That evening, back at our lodge, we went in the water and realised that the splashing we had been hearing over the past week... had been Blacktip Reef-sharks. This, luckily, is a species that is harmless to humans, and generally doesn't attack. We spent the evening watching them and their dorsal fin, which was the only part of their body above the water.
Blacktip Reef-shark in the fading light
No comments:
Post a Comment