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New Caledonia

Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus ŠJeff Blincow http://www.northamptonshirewildlife.co.uk/images/kagu.jpg

You will notice that there is no introduction to this section yet.

I would like to fill this gap with an introduction from a local birder [or someone who is a frequent visitor] for every on of the geographical pages. The many thousands of birders now regularly using these pages prefer to read something written by someone who can see the place from an insider's point of view. They know the best spots, not just the ones that first time overseas visitors usually visit or that are on the normal birding trip itineraries.

Each introduction carries the e-mail address of the contributor so that birders can get in touch with them if, for example, they are planning a trip [unless the contributor is unable to do this].

Please get in touch if you feel you can contribute an introduction to this page - you don't have to be an expert; I'm not!

numbers

Number of bird species:134
National Bird - Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus

numbers

Number of endemics:14
New Caledonian Lorikeet Charmosyna diadema New Caledonian Owlet-Nightjar Aegotheles savesi Cloven-feathered Dove Drepanoptila holosericea New Caledonian Imperial-Pigeon Ducula goliath Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus New Caledonian Rail Gallirallus lafresnayanus White-bellied Goshawk Accipiter haplochrous New Caledonian Myzomela Myzomela caledonica Crow Honeyeater Gymnomyza aubryana Barred Honeyeater Phylidonyris undulata Yellow-bellied Robin Eopsaltria flaviventris New Caledonian Whistler Pachycephala caledonica New Caledonian Cuckooshrike Coracina analis New Caledonian Grassbird Megalurulus mariei

useful reading

Field Guide to the Birds of the Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

by Chris Doughty, Nicholas Day & Andrew Plant Softcover. A&C Black, 1999.
ISBN: 071364690X
Buy this book from NHBS.com

useful information

Proact

Coordinator: none (why not apply?) see http://www.proact-campaigns.net/coordinators
Members: None yet!
Join us at http://www.proact-campaigns.net/team

clubs

Société Calédonienne d`Ornithologie

http://www.endemia.nc/organismes/sco.htm
Protection des oiseaux de la Nouvelle-Calédonie...

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you cant find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page give them a try!

1998 [August] - South East Australia and New Caledonia - Richard Fairbank

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/australia/aus-ncal/se-aus-newcal.htm
Nick Preston and I had wanted to see Kagu on New Caledonia for many years. The prospect of being able to do so became very much to the fore when, in New Zealand in August 1996, we met a French doctor and his girlfriend who were doing National Service in New Caledonia. Although not birders, they had seen Kagu by the Grand Kaori tree at Riviere Bleu with ease. A trip in 1997 was not a possibility but one in 1998 was and we planned a trip around Kagu, Plains Wanderer (another bird we had wanted to see for some time) and a good selection of SE Australian species (both of us had been to Queensland before). John Cooper was soon recruited and he and Nick decided to stay on for another week after I left (to go to Darwin). Gary Edwards signed up a month before departure, for the whole trip, giving us a full compliment, but disaster struck 4 days before we were due to leave when Nick Preston was taken into hospital.

1998 [October] - Jan Vermeulen

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/new_cal/newcal4/newcal1.htm
This report is based on a trip undertaken by my Belgian friend Vital van Gorp and myself from 30th September to 3rd October 1998. We decided to visit New Caledonia as a spin‑off from a trip to Papua New Guinea due to its close proximity...

1998 [October] - Trevor Quested

http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/tripreports/NewCaledonia98.html
There are 122 bird species recorded. The most interesting is the Kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus), a large flightless bird with silky-grey plumage, a large crest, reddish bill and legs. It is the sole member of its family. There are 15 endemics including the two white-eyes on Lifou. There are cracking pigeons, a blue Goshawk, 2 species of Cuckoo-shrike, a Triller, 2 parakeets, 5 honeyeaters and 2 parrot-finches...

1999 [July] - Barry Wright & Neil Bostock

http://worldtwitch.com/new_caledonia_barry_wright.htm
As part of a one-year birding trip, Neil Bostock (NB) and myself decided to remain behind following a trip with others to other parts of Melanesia and visit the islands of Vanuatu and New Caledonia...

2000 [December] - Phil Gregory

http://www.cassowary-house.com.au/nctrip1.htm
A brief break gave us a chance to take a look at New Caledonia, where I was very surprised at the chronic deforestation in evidence, seemingly a legacy of years of nickel mining that has left most hills and mountains in the south denuded. Nouméa was a large French provincial town, where all major necessities were readily available at a price...

2002 [July] - Dave Klauber

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/new_cal/newcal5/NC-jul-02.htm
From July 20 29 I did a solo birding trip in New Caledonia as part of a 3-month trip to the region (Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand). It should be noted that this is not the best time to visit, as many birds are quiet during this season, and the seabirds are out to sea (Tahiti, Gould`s, Black-Winged Petrels). Some of these pterodromas can be seen from land at night returning to their burrows in breeding season, although I was unable to get specifics...

2003 [June] - Kevin Vang, Wojciech Dabrowka

http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/trips/caledonia-kv-0604.html
The Southern Province of New Caledonia (Province Sud de Nouvelle-Calédonie) occupies the southern half of the main island of Grande Terre. It includes the capital of Nouméa and the famous Parc Provincial de Rivčre-Bleue, which is the main preserve of the endemic kagu and holds all of Grand Terre`s other endemics...

2004 [April] - Ron Hoff

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/new_cal/newcal6/new-cal-04.htm
... In that time we spotted Glossy Swiftlet, Metallic Pigeon (the large bird that had flown over), a pair of soaring White-bellied Goshawks, Dark-brown and Barred Honeyeaters, Long-tailed Triller, Melanesian Cuckoo-Shrike, Striated Starling, and Silver-eye. A bit earlier on the way down, I got a glimpse of a New Caledonia Crow...

2004 [November] - Paul Noakes

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/new_cal/newcal7/newcal-nov-04.htm
...This is a report on a trip that Chris McGuigan and I did to New Caledonia from the 22nd to 27th of November 2004. It was part of a longer birding trip to see the endemics of Fiji and Hawaii as well as New Caledonia. We also had a few days at the end in California before returning to the UK...

2005 [October] - Richard Thomas

http://www.birdquest.co.uk/tripreports.cfm?trip=447
The October 2005 tour to the island archipelagos of New Caledonia and Fiji was the most successful Birdquest ever to this magical part of the South Pacific. In 2003, Birdquest became the first tour company to record all known 21 extant endemics on New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, and this feat was emulated in 2005. Highlights included stunning views of the notoriously skulking and elusive New Caledonian Grassbird, superb views of male Cloven-feathered Doves and Crow Honeyeater, and all topped off by the incomparable Kagu. Our visit to Fiji recorded 22 endemic species...

2006 [December] - Mathias Bergström

http://www.club300.se/Files/TravelReports/NewCaledonia2007_MB.pdf
This trip was part of a longer trip to New Zealand that I did in November 2006. I saw a total of 64 species during my week stay. One whole week is plenty of time to see all important species. Because of the costs I decided to skip Lifou Island and therefore missed out on the White-eyes...

tour operators

Cheesemans

http://www.cheesemans.com
We`ll fly back to Honiara and take an international flight to La Tontouta in New Caledonia, via Port Vila, Vanuatu. In New Caledonia the big highlight is the endemic Kagu, which thrives (maybe 500 birds) in one location at Parc de la Riviere Bleu...

Kiwi Wildlife Tours

http://www.kiwi-wildlife.co.nz/southpacific_birds.php
Birds & birdwatching in the South Pacific Islands...

places to stay

Accommodation in New Caledonia

http://www.hideawayholidays.com.au
A list of clickable links to various hotels in a number of locations.

Kuendu Beach Resort

http://www.hideawayholidays.com.au/nou_kuendu.htm
Tucked away in a secluded bay, on an island just ten minutes from Noumea over a causeway, Kuendu Beach Resort is a beachside haven which has just about everything for everyone. The resort has 21 air-conditioned, thatched-roof, bungalows and just metres from the beautiful beach and lagoon, as well as several brand new romantic overwater bungalows...

Biodiversity

http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/new_caledonia/?showpage=Biodiversity
New Caledonia is one of the world`s smallest hotspots, yet it is very diverse and, like the other members of the ancient super-continent Gonwanaland, Madagascar and New Zealand, supports high levels of endemism...

Natural History

http://faculty.vassar.edu/kahart/New_Caledonia.html
New Caledonia became isolated about 100 million years ago when Gondwanaland separated into various continents including Australia. Its plants and animals are highly distinctive and unique. It is recognized by biologists as a cradle of evolution, a storehouse of faunal and floral antiquities...