New Caledonia Trip Report September 2015

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1 Caledonia Trip Report September 2015 John Leonard Caledonia Caledonia is a largish island in the Coral Sea, about level with Mackay in Queensland. It is a French overseas possession and its population is composed of native Melanesians ( kanaks ) and the descendants of French convicts sent there in the C19 and settlers, and Vietnamese workers sent there from the then French colony of Indo- China to work in the mines. Caledonia is the largest source of nickel in the world, and copper is also mined, in the C19 and early C20 much timber was exported. The capital, Nouméa, is at the south- east end of the island on the south coast, and the main airport is about 50km north. Noumea is tropical/sub- tropical and quite dry, though it rains heavily in November- April. Originally the island was covered with 70% wet rainforest and 30% dry rainforest, but Melanesian settlement from c2000 BCE saw a beginning to the forest burning that accelerated with French colonisation. Now most of the island, where not converted to pasture &c, is covered in a sort of dry heathy vegetation that looks similar to Australian coastal heath. Only 20% of the original rainforest persists. As Caledonia is very mountainous it has considerable erosion problems. Caledonia must have been the last place on Earth where it might have seemed the age of the dinosaurs still existed: at Melanesian settlement there were a large monitor lizard, a large armoured land tortoise and a land dwelling crocodile. These became extinct soon after. Caledonia, like Zealand, is an isolated continental fragment with a high degree of endemism in its vegetation. It has no native land mammals (only fruit bats and insectivorous bats), though the introduction of rats, pigs, deer, cats and dogs has wrought havoc in the recent times, and no land snakes. It has surviving skink and gecko species and of course the birds. The Kagu is a unique species in its own family, thought to the be close to the South American Sunbittern, though how this works biogeographically is difficult to understand. The remaining birds species represent familiar Australasian groups and are probably more recent arrivals, though some are sufficiently different to be in unique genera. Non-birding matters Caledonia, at least in the southern part I visited, is a safe first- world country with good roads and no visible racial tension (may be different in the north). Of course take the usual precautions re safety, not leaving valuables in the car &c. It doesn t seem to be well set- up for tourism, ie there are few hotels or guest houses or camp- grounds (most hotels are in Nouméa). Car hire, petrol and entry fees for national parks are similarly priced to Australia, but everything else, ie

2 food, restaurants, accommodation, items in shops, costs about twice Australian prices. The culture is very French with little Australian influence, though most people in hospitality &c speak some English. Speaking French is quite well regarded and, unlike in France, if you begin a conversation in French, your interlocutor will continue in French, until difficulties occur. Oh, and make sure to drive on the right! The Birds There are 30+ species of birds on Caledonia which are either endemic, or found here and elsewhere in Melanesia but not Australia. The ones I saw are listed below. I missed the following Red- bellied Fruitdove I heard this at Parc Rivière Bleue (qv), but like other Ptilinopus spp it s not easy to see. Grassbird said to be very elusive, I didn t look for it. Crow Honeyeater now highly endangered, I looked in the recommended areas in Parc Rivière Bleue, but had no luck. The ornithologist at the Park may be able to help you with information (jean- marc.meriot@province- sud.nc). Caledonia Cuckooshrike I don t know why I didn t see this sp, it think I heard it in all the reserves (a whistling call distinct from that of the Melanesian Cuckooshrike, which was easy to see). (There are also a few spp that are assumed to be extinct or in incredibly low numbers for which there are no reliable sites, these include: Buttonquail, Rail (flightless), Caledonia Lorikeet, Owlet Nightjar). Caledonia has some interesting sea birds, including Fairy Tern, Tahiti, Black- winged and Collared Petrels, but I didn t have any information on the best places to see these. There are a group of islands, the Loyalty Islands, north of Caledonia. One, Lifou, has two endemic White- eyes and the group as a whole also has the Melanesian Cardinal Myzomela and Pacific Imperial Pigeon, which do not occur on the mainland. Ouvea has a Parakeet closely related to the mainland Horned Parakeet. There are also a number of familiar Australian species (some of which are unique subspecies), including: Swamp Harrier, Whistling Kite, Osprey, Silver Gull, Crested Tern, Brown Goshawk, Sacred Kingfisher, Eastern Reef Egret, White- faced Heron, Little Pied Cormorant, Black Duck, Emerald Dove, Shining Bronze- Cuckoo, Purple Swamphen, Silvereye, Grey Fantail, Rufous Whistler (and others).

3 On the introductions front, Spotted Doves and Common Mynahs are common, and Red- vented Bulbuls are common around Nouméa. In some areas the African Common Waxbill is common, I saw several groups near Foa, coming back from Parc des Fougères (qv). For some photos go to Birding Sites I mainly birded in three reserves, spending two days at 1, and one day each at 2 and 3: 1. Parc Rivière Bleue: this about 50km from Nouméa on the road to Yaté on the north coast (well- signposted). Most of the lower part of the park is heath, and you enter the park and drive about 10km to a bridge over an arm of the reservoir of the dammed Rivière Bleue. You can t drive beyond here and you have to walk across the bridge and take a shuttle bus that drives up into the upper park at intervals through the day and returns. It s about 15km to the end of the road and it s a good day s outing to take the shuttle bus to the top and walk back down (or you can wait at various points for the shuttle bus). Bike hire is also available at the bridge. There s an upper forest beyond the shuttle terminus (a footpath going higher), and, coming down, a band of heath, then the lower forest for 10km or so and a final 4km of heath to get back to the bridge. You can camp anywhere beyond the bridge and there are toilet facilities at various points, though no showers. The park is open 7-5 everyday except Mondays. 2. Mt Koghi, this is about 20km from Nouméa, on the road to Dumbéa and Païta (well signposted). You drive to the top of the road and park below the Auberge (a big wooden Alpine style building) and pay your fee there. I found this site rather crappy (even though I did see quite a few birds, including my only sighting of Caledonia Parakeets). There are two trails leading off in to the forest, one goes to a waterfall, but it leads through some uninteresting low forest over very rocky ground and then up some very steep muddy slopes. The other path is even worse, after about 700m the path around the top of a forest gully has been washed away and you are expected to scramble over slippery sloping rocks with nothing to hold on to and a 20foot drop below. I didn t. I spent my day there walking the first few hundred metres of each track and scanning the forest edge opposite the Auberge. I imagine you can stay at the Auberge, though Nouméa is only half an hour away. 3. Parc des Grandes Fougères ( Park of the Large Ferns, ie tree ferns, some are nearly 100 ft high and are in the forest canopy, spectacular). This is a very nice reserve about 1½ hours north of Nouméa. Follow the main highway to the Airport and carry straight on past it. At the town of Foa carry on the main road for a couple of kms and then turn right to Farina,

4 from here the park is signposted. The reserve has a network of walking tracks from the car park and many of these are on upper slopes so you are looking into the middle and upper canopy, the ideal thing in a rainforest reserve. Kagu have been reintroduced here from Rivière Bleue, but I don t know how reliable they are (I saw one). Most of the other endemics are here. I also visited a reserve ( Ouen Toro ) at the endpoint of the Nouméa peninsula. This is regenerated dry rainforest and basically a dog- walking park, but I did see Green- backed White- eye and White- rumped Swiftlet here. I also did sea- watching from near here, but only saw Silver Gulls, Crested Terns and an Osprey. My Observations Species Rivière Mt Grandes Notes Bleue Koghi Fougères Kagu yes n/a yes Easy to see at Rivière Bleue in the lower forest, little fear of humans. Usually goes around in pairs, stops to pose for photos J (probably a hunting strategy, listening for prey on the forest floor). White-rumped Swiftlet no no no Now split from Australia Swiftlet, only seen in a couple of places, inc Ouen Torro. Glossy Swiftlets much more common. Glossy Swiftlet yes yes yes Abundant in all the reserves and outside them. Metallic Pigeon no yes no Also seen in a couple of places outside the reserves. Imperial Pigeon Clovenfeathered Dove White-bellied Goshawk Parakeet Horned Parakeet Coconut Lorikeet Yellow-bellied Flyrobin Dark-brown Honeyeater yes yes yes The world s largest tree-dwelling pigeon. Feeds in the upper canopy, hooting with a very loud, low hoot. Sits in the middle canopy digesting. no yes yes Surprisingly easy to see for a small fruitdove. no no yes I think you have to be lucky to see this sp. no yes (heard) Feeds in the canopy, making chattering ke-ke-ke-ke noises. yes no yes I only saw two birds in total, so I guess it s not that common. yes no yes This is now split from Rainbow Lorikeet, and rightly so. It is a smaller bird with a slightly different call and it has a very red chest band with no orange or yellow. Also seen in urban areas, but not abundantly. yes yes yes Common in forest interiors. yes yes yes But only around the edges of the rainforests in the heaths. Also abundant in settled areas in gardens &c

5 Friarbird Myzomela Barred Honeyeater Flycatcher Streaked Fantail Fan-tailed Gerygone Whistler Southern Shrikebill Long-tailed Triller Melanesian Cuckooshrike yes yes yes Common both in forests and heaths. yes yes yes Spilt from Scarlet Honeyeater, seems a little different. Not abundant, but seen regularly. yes yes yes Pretty common on forest edges, heaths. yes yes yes Forest edges. yes yes yes Common in the forest interior, Grey Fantail around edges. no yes yes Mainly forest edges. yes yes yes In the forest interior, Rufous Whistler in the heaths. yes yes yes Forest interiors. yes no yes Not common, only a couple seen, in the canopy. yes yes yes Common Striated Starling yes yes yes Common, usually in pairs, not flocks. Crow Green-backed White-eye Red-throated Parrotfinch yes yes yes Common in the forests, not common outside in open country. Small, has a high pitched call. A nerdy-looking bird (it s the intelligence superstar of animal researchers, tool-using, puzzle solving &c) yes no no This is the odd thing, the endemic white-eye seems only to be found in the heaths, whereas at Koghi and Grandes Fougères (though not Rivière Bleue) it s the Silvereye that s in the forests. yes no yes Quite common Final Thought All credit to the staff at Rivière Bleue, and other conservationists, for the effort that saw the Kagu increase from a very low population in the 1980s to the larger population today. Let s hope the Crow Honeyeater can be preserved too.