New Caledonia, 3rd - 11th June 2008

Richard Rae

Obligatory Kagu Photos….Parc Provincial de la Riviere Bleu, 4th June

2008

This report covers an 8-day trip to New Caledonia by Richard Rae and Emer

Callanan.

We visited New Caledonia during a round the world trip (although it was not

actually included on our round the world ticket) – consequently we were fairly

time-rich but certainly on a budget. For this reason we spent longer than most people do on the main island, but didn’t visit any of the offshore islands such as

Lifou. I saw no lifers after the 5th day.

I thought New Caledonia was great – the birding is pretty straightforward, with a

good number of high-quality endemics and several other Melanesian species that

will be new to most people. Also it is, in places, a very scenic island and a

pleasant place to travel around if you have the time.

It has been mentioned in a number of reports that New Caledonia is an expensive

place. We were actually pleasantly surprised by how reasonable the costs were. The key is to stay in cheap accommodation in Noumea (the Youth Hostel is

probably the most obvious choice in this respect), take a tent with you to use

outside Noumea, and be prepared to cook at least some of your meals yourself

(or make do with baguette and tuna or cheese for a couple of days). Outside of

Noumea it can be surprisingly hard to find any shops to spend money in. We ate one meal in a restaurant and the price was only slightly more than one might

expect to pay in the UK or Australia.

In conclusion, I think it’s important to keep in mind that although New Caledonia

is not a budget destination, neither does it have to be ludicrously expensive and

certainly shouldn’t be ruled out on grounds of cost.

Getting There and Getting Around

We flew to New Caledonia from New Zealand because it suited us best – most

people seem to visit from Australia.

We flew there with Air Calin – flights can be booked on their website. I don’t have

the exact cost to hand but it was approx £250 p.p. for the return flight from

Auckland to Noumea – not unreasonable.

Having your own transport is more-or-less essential in New Caledonia – we

booked a Toyota Yaris through Avis at a cost of £206 for 8 days. This was picked

up from the airport and proved perfectly adequate for our needs. The roads are generally good, and petrol stations sufficiently numerous that you don’t need to

worry about running out of fuel. From memory, I think petrol cost about the same

as in the UK (ie. bloody expensive!) but the distances are not huge.

Finding your way around can be a bit of a challenge at times – being a French

territory the road signage will be familiar to anyone who has driven there i.e.

seemingly designed in such a way as to minimize your chances of reaching your

destination as much as possible ;-) Having said that we managed to find everywhere we wanted to go without too much gnashing of teeth – a GPS and the

excellent report by Dave Sargeant proved very helpful.

Money

The currency in New Caledonia is the Central Pacific Franc (CPF). This currency is used in a number of other French Pacific Territories including French Polynesia.

The exchange rate at the time of our visit was approx CPF150 : £1.

We generally used cash to pay for things – there was an ATM at the airport and

there are also plenty in Noumea. Don’t expect to find too many away from these

places.

Accommodation

We brought a tent with us, which is recommended as a great way to keep costs

down and there are plenty of good campsites in New Caledonia. In Noumea itself

the Youth Hostel is perhaps the best option – it’s cheap, clean and well located. And you can book it via email which is not a bad idea as it’s a popular place. The

cost of a double room was CPF 4100 / night.

Food

Although I am writing this some time later and don’t have the full “menu” to hand, I seem to recall baguettes, French cheese, and tins of tuna figuring quite

prominently. It is certainly worth keeping a supply of this kind of stuff in the car,

particularly if you head over to the east coast because it can be hard to find much

in the way of shops. Beer is widely available. Drinking in bars is very expensive but buying cans from

a shop is pretty reasonable – from memory in the region of CPF 100 per can was

a typical price.

Health and Safety

New Caledonia seemed like a very safe place to us – I’m sure Noumea probably has its dodgy parts like any town but you would be unlikely to end up in these on

a birding trip.

There are no special health concerns, and New Caledonia is Malaria-free.

Trip Reports and Field Guides

There are quite a number of trip reports available for New Caledonia on the

internet – the ones by Dave Sargeant and Petri Hottola are probably the most

useful. It is best to try and obtain the most recent you can find in order to

establish what the latest access information is for Riviere Bleu.

The field guide we used was the “The Birds of the Solomons, Vanuatu and New

Caledonia” by Doughty, Day and Plant which proved perfectly adequate. However a quick look on Amazon reveals a new guide called “Birds of Melanesia:

Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia” by Guy Dutson, which I

would imagine is now the book of choice for New Caledonia.

Sound Recordings

I had attempted to get hold of the CD “Songs of New-Caledonian Birds” prior to setting off on the trip but it was out of stock at the places I tried, so I had to

make do with the CD “Birds of Melanesia” which does include quite a few useful

New Caledonian species but doesn’t include the Grassbird.

SITES VISITED

This covers sites that were visited for birding. As we spent a few extra days on

the island, some birds were also seen at other sites – these are mentioned in the

systematic list.

The sites are described in the order they were visited.

Parc Provincial de la Riviere Bleu

The main road through Parc Provincial de la Riviere Bleu

This is the key site on New Caledonia and the only place where Kagu is likely to be seen.

The parc is situated to the south east of Noumea – it took us about 1 hr and 15

mins to get there including one or two wrong turns (which should be anticipated

with most journeys in New Caledonia). The GPS co-ordinates in Dave Sargeant’s report are helpful as the signs are not always great. The entrance fee was CPF

400 per person (I presume this is per day). The parc is closed on Mondays.

In between the entrance and the main bit of the parc is a bridge across a lake

which was apparently rendered structurally unsound by a tropical storm in the early 2000’s, with the result that only official vehicles are allowed across it.

(Some reports mention a causeway next to the bridge that you could drive across

yourself but this was not an option at the time of our visit). There is a shuttle bus

which leaves from the bridge several times a day and takes you into the parc. Get the times from the people on the gates – when we were there the first bus of the

day left at 7.30am. We just missed it and had to get the 2nd bus at 9am. One of

the key areas for birds is around the Grand Kaori tree - the bus will stop here but

does go further. The return fare for the bus was CPF 400.

Most of our birding was done in the area of the Grand Kaori tree, and along the road walking both up and down from this area. We caught the 4.10pm bus back

from the Grand Kaori tree.

During our day at Riviere Bleu we saw some excellent birds – the following of

note were not seen elsewhere during our trip – Kagu, Crow Honeyeater, New Caledonian Cuckoo-shrike.

Mount Khogis

View from near the auberge at Mount Khogis

This montane site close to Noumea offers a number of different species to Riviere Bleu. Directions and GPS are found in Dave Sargeant’s report.

There is a steep road up the mountain, with a lot of hairpin bends, and you park

at the auberge at the top.

We visited this site on two mornings (the second time EC decided to have a lie in - I don’t blame her) and saw a good selection of birds. On both mornings we

parked at the auberge and explored the forest nearby (slightly disappointing as it

was hard to see much) and walked down from the auberge birding the roadside

(which was better). Most of the birds were actually seen around the auberge itself.

We also stopped at various points on the way back down – one of these stops

gave us our only sighting of the exquisite Cloven-feathered Dove.

Farino

Farino has been put firmly on the map in recent years as a reliable place to see

the notoriously skulking New Caledonian Grassbird. It also offers good general

birding and another chance to see some species which may have been missed at

RB or MK.

Directions are in the Sargeant report – I would also mention that getting up to the Grassbird site in an ordinary car is possible, although the road is not great!

Although it could in theory be day-tripped from Noumea, we stayed overnight at the Farino Refuge, where camping cost CPF 600 per person. The owners were

very friendly and there is a pleasant bar area.

To my considerable surprise, given our lack of a tape, we managed brief but good

views of New Caledonian Grassbird at GPS S21’37.623’ E165’45.632’. We

also saw our first New Caledonian Crows on the road up to the Grassbird site,

as well as Horned Parakeet and Red-throated Parrotfinch in the area.

DAILY DIARY

3rd June - Up very early to catch the Sky Shuttle from our hostel in Auckland to

the airport (NZ$26). Our Air New Zealand flight to New Caledonia left on time and

we were on our way to warmer climes again. The flight took about 3 hrs – as we

approached New Caledonia we could see clusters of small tropical islands fringed by coral and turquoise seas. Arriving at Tontouta airport, we collected our hire

car, took out some cash and headed in to Noumea. After checking in the Youth

Hostel we spent a fairly leisurely afternoon in Noumea, picking up a few

provisions. We prepared an evening meal at the hostel and then headed to be early.

4th June – Another early start, we were up at 5.45am and left the hostel at 6.15 to drive to Parc Provincial de la Riviere Bleu. After a couple of navigational mis-

steps (but nowhere near as many as we would have had without GPS!) we

arrived at the Parc entrance at 7.30. A quick conversation with the staff on the

gate revealed that the bridge at Pont Perignon was still closed and that we would

be reliant on the shuttle bus to get into the more interesting parts of the reserve. Unfortunately we had just missed the first bus of the day and the next one wasn’t

until 9.00. After a look around the visitors centre we drove to PP and waited for

the bus. A Peregrine, several Green-backed White-eyes and a couple of

Barred Honeyeaters kept us reasonably entertained. The bus departed with us and a few other people on it, and we headed into the forest proper. Any concerns

I had about the likelihood of us seeing Kagu (a bird that you really don’t want to

miss, having made the effort to get to New Caledonia!) were quickly allayed when

the bus driver stopped, got out and shouted “Kaaaaaaa-gu!…..Kaaaaaaa-gu!”, and 3 Kagus came running out of the forest giving crippling views to all. Not that

I was complaining, but I would have been prepared to work a little bit harder

than that in order to see them! Having had a good first encounter, and being

reasonably confident that we would see more, we got back on the minibus and headed up to the Grand Kaori tree. The next 6 hours or so were spent on a few of

the shorter trails in the vicinity of the Grand Kaori tree, as well as exploring the

road both up and down from the GK tree. Highlights included another 3-4 Kagu,

most of which gave extremely good views, as well as seconds of the original 3, a

brief Crow Honeyeater, a brief New Caledonian Cuckoo-shrike, 2 stunning New Caledonian Myzomelas, 3 male New Caledonian Whistlers, a lovely

female New Caledonian Flycatcher and a cracking Red-throated Parrotfinch.

All told it was a pretty successful day, the only slight frustration being a briefly

heard Southern Shrikebill which couldn’t be located (and in fact we failed to see this species at all during the trip). We had a small amount of light rain during the

day but it didn’t seem to detract from the birding. We caught the 16.10 bus back

to the entrance and drove back to Noumea. Just as we were leaving the parc, I

caught a glimpse of an interesting looking bird which on investigation proved to be the endemic (and very handsome) White-bellied Goshawk, sat obligingly in

a hedge. We again spent the night at the Youth Hostel in Noumea.

5th June - It was another early start this morning, our destination being Mount

Khogis near Noumea, where we hoped to see a few different species. Finding the

site proved relatively straightforward, although we were again glad to be armed

with the GPS and the co-ordinates from Dave Sargeant’s report. Parking up at the

auberge, we were immediately seeing new birds, including Melanesian Cuckoo-shrike, Striated Starling and Long-tailed Triller. We proceeded to slowly walk

back down the road, although this didn’t prove overly productive due to a lack of

decent habitat. We then to return to the car park, and followed a trail into the

forest, which also proved rather quiet, with the exception of another smart New

Caledonian Flycatcher. A series of frustrating glimpses of what I was sure were

Horned Parakeets then ensued, before the birds in question disappeared and we were forced to admit defeat. After a drink at the auberge, we headed back down

the road, stopping at any good looking spots. At one of these, EC spotted one of

the highlights of the trip in the form of a pair of Clove-feathered Doves with a

juvenile. Definitely one of the best New Caledonian endemics, and probably one of the most attractive doves I’ve seen anywhere.

6th June - Having been foiled in our attempts to get a good look at Horned Parakeet yesterday at Mount Khogis, I ventured forth once again - this time on

my own as EC decided that staying in bed was more appealing - can’t say I blame

her!

Having visited the site yesterday, finding it was straightforward, making a nice

change for a journey in New Caledonia! My strategy paid off, with excellent views

of 2 Horned Parakeets close to the auberge. Otherwise, most of yesterday’s species were seen again.

Horned Parakeet, Mount Khogis, 6th June 2008

Returning to Noumea, we packed up and checked out of the hostel, before

embarking on the drive up to Farino. En route we stopped off at La Foa and Fort

Teremba for a look round, also adding a few new birds to the trip list although no lifers. We then headed to Farino, where we found the Refuge without too much

difficulty. On arrival we quickly saw one of the remaining endemics, New

Caledonian Friarbird, and (typically after spending so much effort trying to see

one at Mt Khogis!) 4 Horned Parakeets. After pitching our tent we had our tea and then headed over to the very pleasant outside bar area for a couple of drinks.

7th June - Up early for a not-particularly- hopeful quest for the Grassbird. Heading up the tolerable road to the Grassbird site, we finally added New

Caledonian Crows to the list, as well as a stonking Red-throated Parrotfinch.

Parking up at the top, we started slowly walking down the track, pishing (due to

our lack of a recording) for the Grassbird. Somewhat surprisingly (given that even

with tape people frequently dip, and the bird is a notorious skulker), we managed

a couple of brief but good views of a New Caledonian Grassbird - textbook!

Very pleased indeed with this, and with relatively little prospect of any other additional ticks here, we embarked on the non-birding bit of our trip, starting with

a visit to the beach. The beach in question (Poe Beach if you’re interested) was a

pleasant enough way in which to while away a couple of hours (with 7 Grey-

tailed Tattlers a bonus, although I would have preferred Wandering!), although not being massive beach-lovers we were then ready to move on. We headed for

the nearby Roche Percee lookout, which I seem to remember being quite

picturesque, and also had a White-bellied Goshawk circling around.

We camped overnight in a lovely secluded cove called Turtle Beach.

What a hell-hole…….Turtle Beach

8th June - A non-birding day today. Woken up at ca 4:30am by rain,we had to

retreat to the car as our tent no longer had a rainproof outer cover (we ditched it

to travel light, as we didn't think we'd need it any more!). Following a slow start, we headed up to Kone and Voe, where we were unable to find or even see a

single sign for the “famous” heart of Voe. Then we drove across the island,

through attractive scenery, and up the coast to Hienghene where we eventually

found the Babou campsite (400 CPF p.p.). There seemed to be nothing in this

area in terms of shops/eateries, so we had a warm beer on the beach followed by tuna sandwiches. There then followed a truly appalling night’s sleep, for RR at

least, with some locals singing accompanied by guitar until 3:30am, then some

inconsiderate ****s playing music and laughing until dawn. How dare people be

having fun near our tent...

East coast, heading north towards Hienghene

9th June Another primarily non-birding day today. We drove down the east

coast to Canala, where the promise of thermal springs had us intending to spend

the night. On arrival, Canala proved to have nothing to offer, not even an open

shop! We eventually got directions for La Crouen springs and campsite, and eventually found it after getting some provisions at a petrol station. It would be

fair to say that the springs didn’t quite measure up to our expectations, consisting

of little more than a collection of litter-and-moss-filled bathtubs! We stripped off

(not totally) for a token dip in one of the cleaner tubs and then headed on as it was clearly not an overnighter! Heading back west on the road via Sarramea, we

stopped to do a little bit of birding in a decentish bit of habitat between the

junction with RN 3 and the Sarramea turnoff - the recording of Southern

Shrikebill was deployed with predictably little success although we did see a few birds (nothing new). Also near here we saw a recently-expired White-bellied

Goshawk on the road. We then drove on and spent the night in a delightfully

quiet campsite at Bourake Beach back on the west coast.

You know you’re struggling for quality bird photos when you have to

resort to roadkill…..ex-White-bellied Goshawk, nr Sarramea, 9th June

2008

10th June Today we returned to Noumea, where we had an expensive Big Mac

meal, then tried to visit the museum but discovered in was shut on Tuesday, so had a couple of beers instead. In the evening we headed out for a nice meal at La

Chaunesse restaurant - well deserved after numerous tuna sandwiches over the

past week! Overnight in the Youth Hostel in Noumea.

11th June Up at 4:15am for the short, uneventful drive back to the airport for

our flight back to Auckland at 08:00am, the conclusion of a very enjoyable trip.

SYSTEMATIC LIST OF BIRDS SEEN IN NEW CALEDONIA, JUNE 2008

Endemics in Capitals

Australasian Grebe Tachybaptus novaehollandiae

One at Fort Teremba on 6th June.

Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos

2-3 at Fort Teremba on 6th June.

Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa

5+ at Fort Teremba on 6th June.

White-eyed Duck Aythya australis

5+ at Fort Teremba on 6th June.

White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae

10 near Bourail on 7th June.

Pacific Reef-Egret Egretta sacra

3 at Hienghene on 8th June.

Rufous Night-Heron Nycticorax caledonicus

One between Noumea and Mount Khogi on 5th June.

Osprey Pandion haliaetus

One between Noumea and Mount Khogi on 5th June; one near Bourail on 7th June.

Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus

Several seen while driving on 6th and 7th June.

Swamp Harrier Circus approximans

Several seen while driving on 6th and 7th June.

Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus

One at La Foa on 6th June.

WHITE-BELLIED GOSHAWK Accipiter haplochrous

One just outside Riviere Bleu on 4th June, sat in a hedge; one at Roche Percee lookout on 7th June; 2 (plus one freshly dead on the road) while driving near

Sarramea on 9th June. A really smart accipiter.

Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus

One at Pont Perignon in Riviere Bleu on 4th June.

Buff-banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis

Two by the roadside near Bourail on 7th June.

Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio

10+ at Fort Teremba on 6th June.

Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa

One at Fort Teremba on 6th June.

KAGU Rhynochetos jubatus

6-7 seen during the day at Riviere Bleu on 4th June. Extremely good views

obtained at ranges of down to 3m of this unique and charismatic species.

Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes

7 on Poe Beach on 7th June.

Silver Gull Larus novaehollandiae

One near Houailou on 9th June and 5 at Noumea on 10th June.

Crested Tern Sterna bergii

ca 5 at Hienghene on 8th June.

Metallic Pigeon Columba vitiensis

Up to 10 at Mount Khogi, a short way down the road from the Auberge, on 5th June; ca 7 there the following day; one at Farino Refuge on 6th June and several

there on 7th June; 2 near La Fou on 9th June.

Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis

Common around Noumea.

Zebra Dove Geopelia striata

One of this recent introduction was seen at La Foa on 6th June.

Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica

2 at Farino on 7th June.

CLOVEN-FEATHERED DOVE Drepanoptila holosericea

An absolutely exquisite species, only seen once, with a pair and an immature seen very well 1-2 km down the road from the Auberge at Mount Khogi on 5th

June.

NEW CALEDONIAN IMPERIAL-PIGEON Ducula goliath

4-5 seen and others heard at Riviere Bleu on 4th June; 1-2 in forest at Mount Khogi on 5th June; 2 near Sarramea on 9th June. An attractive – and impressively

large – pigeon.

[Barn Owl Tyto alba

One dead on the road near Farino on 7th June.]

HORNED PARAKEET Eunymphicus cornutus

After utv’s at Mount Khogi the day before, superb views of 2 there on 6th June and 4 at Farino Refuge on the same day.

Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus

Common around Noumea.

Glossy Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta

Common and widespread, seen on most if not all days.

Sacred Kingfisher Todirhamphus sanctus

Very common and widespread, seen on most days.

Fan-tailed Gerygone Gerygone flavolateralis

10+ in Riviere Bleu on 4th June; 10+ at Mount Khogi on 5th June; heard at Farino on 7th June; common near Sarramea on 9th June.

Dark-brown Honeyeater Lichmera incana

2 at the Youth Hostel in Noumea on 5th June, 1 at Mount Khogi on same date; one at Paita on 6th June; one at the Youth Hostel in Noumea on 10th June; 1-2 at the airport on 11th June.

NEW CALEDONIAN MYZOMELA Myzomela caledonica

2 males at Riviere Bleu on 4th June; 5+ at Mount Khogi on 5th and 6th June. Stunning.

NEW CALEDONIAN FRIARBIRD Philemon diemenensis

Surprisingly, one of the last endemics we saw. 2 at Farino Refuge on 6th June; 1-2 seen while driving on 7th June; 5+ seen while driving on 8th June.

CROW HONEYEATER Gymnomyza aubryana

A rather frustratingly brief view along the road in Riviere Bleu on 4th June – but better than nothing!

BARRED HONEYEATER Phylidonyris undulate

2 in Riviere Bleu on 4th June; 5+ at Mount Khogi on 5th June; 2 there on 6th June

and one at Farino Refuge on the same date.

YELLOW-BELLIED ROBIN Eopsaltria flaviventris

5+ in Riviere Bleu on 4th June; 2 at Mount Khogi on 5th June; one there on the 6th June.

NEW CALEDONIAN WHISTLER Pachycephala caledonica

3 males in Riviere Bleu on 4th June; 3 at Mount Khogi on 5th June. Lovely.

Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris

One male in Riviere Bleu on 4th June; 2 at Mount Khogi on 5th June; several seen on 6th June.

Grey Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa

4+ in Riviere Bleu on 4th June; several at Mount Khogi on 5th June; common at Farino on 7th June.

Streaked Fantail Rhipidura spilodera

ca 5 in Riviere Bleu on 4th June; several at Mount Khogi on 5th June and one there on the 6th June.

New Caledonian Flycatcher Myiagra caledonica

One female taped-in, Riviere Bleu on 4th June; one female in forest at Mount Khogi on 5th June. Stunning.

NEW CALEDONIAN CROW Corvus moneduloides

Not seen until we got to Farino, but from there northwards it proved quite common – 6 in the Farino area on 7th June (including one carrying a stick in its’

bill); 4 seen while driving on 8th June; 5 seen while driving on 9th June.

White-breasted Woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus

Several seen on 7th June.

Melanesian Cuckoo-shrike Coracina caledonica

Excellent views of a pair around the auberge car park at Mount Khogi on 5th June; one at Farino on 7th June; one near Hienghene on 8th June; 7 seen on 9th June

(mostly near Sarramea).

NEW CALEDONIAN CUCKOO-SHRIKE Coracina analis

Rather brief - but satisfactory – views of one in Riviere Bleu on 4th June.

Long-tailed Triller Lalage leucopyga

One male just down the road from the auberge at Mount Khogi on 5th June; 2 there on 6th and one at a roadside stop near Dumbea on the same date; one at

Farino on 7th June; one near Hienghene on 9th June.

STRIATED STARLING Aplonis striata

10+ around the auberge car park at Mount Khogi early on 5th June; also seen there and at Farino Refuge on 6th June; one seen on 9th June.

Common Myna Acridotheres tristis

Lots seen on 6th June.

Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica

One seen on 6th June.

Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer

2 in Noumea on 3rd June, one there on 6th June.

GREEN-BACKED WHITE-EYE Zosterops xanthochrous

5+ in Riviere Bleu on 4th June. I must admit that after the initial sighting I paid little attention to any White-eyes seen, so probably overlooked Silvereye.

However this or Silvereye were noted at Mount Khogi on 5th June and near Sarramea on 9th June.

NEW CALEDONIAN GRASSBIRD Megalurulus mariei

Probably the most missable of the definitely extant endemics, I wasn’t holding out great hopes for this species as I didn’t have any recordings. However old

fashioned pishing payed off and good views were eventually had of a single bird

at Farino on 7th June.

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Noumea Youth Hostel on 5th June, also seen on 6th June.

Common Waxbill Estrilda astrild

Seen at Fort Teremba and Dumbea on 6th June.

RED-THROATED PARROTFINCH Erythrura psittacea

An absolutely cracking species, and not too hard to see, in our experience at least. One in Riviere Bleu on 4th June; one at Farino on 7th June; one near

Hienghene on 8th June; 2 seen on 9th June (possibly near Canala).

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Lonchura castaneothorax

Seen at Fort Teremba on 6th June.

Richard Rae, London, 2014