Small island birding (1 Viewer)

[01101001]

If you were to be stuck on a small island (with limited bird diversity) till the end of your life, which island would it be and why, bird-wise? (It doesn't have to be a tropical island.)

I think maybe Fiji (but I've hardly had a proper look at other contenders) because of

Golden Dove - BirdForum Opus

www.birdforum.net

Orange Dove - BirdForum Opus

www.birdforum.net

Fiji Parrotfinch - BirdForum Opus

www.birdforum.net

(beauty)

Friendly Ground Dove - BirdForum Opus

www.birdforum.net

Fiji Bush Warbler - BirdForum Opus

www.birdforum.net

Long-legged Thicketbird - BirdForum Opus

www.birdforum.net

(interesting and skulking)

(+) relatively few bird species but of many diverse genera
(+) many endemics
(+) not too many similar raptors
(+) just one swift
(+) two different species of white-eyes
(+) some migration and vagrancy potential

(-) just one kingfisher
(-) too many seabirds

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I'd probably go migrant island rather than endemic island e.g. somewhere like Fair Isle, Heligoland or Hegurajima. There's always potential for something new to turn up and things change everyday.

 

[Mono]

Lundy

 

[THE_FERN]

Is Jamaica "small"?

 

[DMW]

From a purely birding perspective, I can't think of any greater hell than being stuck on a small tropical island! Once you done a couple of circuits and seen almost every species you will ever see there in the first morning, what then?!

I would definitely go for a migrant trap. Corvo would be an option, although I guess the action there is a little concentrated into a couple of months.

 

[lgonz1008]

Give me an island close to a flyway with vagrants potential at this point.

Top contenders I can think of are probably Bermuda or Lanyu.

 

[JTweedie]

How would define a small island? Somewhere like Fiji is an archipelago over an area of > 7000 square miles. Arran is 167 square miles.

I think I'd go for an island on a migration route too.

 

[Mark Lew1s]

Give me Ouessant please!

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Give me Ouessant please!

Not Sanday?

 

[delia todd]

e.g. somewhere like Fair Isle,

I was going to say Fair Isle, but I'll go with either Iona or Skomer. Though if I wanted somewhere warm, it would have to be Kangaroo Island off South Australia.

 

[Mark Lew1s]

Not Sanday?

No - I think Ouessant is better. Better seawatching, vismig, more birds, more rares. Less good for wildfowl and waders though.

Also, the sun shines a little more on Ouessant…

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Palawan... Early am birding, snorkelling afterwards, couple of beers, afternoon kip, then a few hours night birding.

 

[01101001]

I'd probably go migrant island rather than endemic island e.g. somewhere like Fair Isle, Heligoland or Hegurajima. There's always potential for something new to turn up and things change everyday.

It wasn't a very premeditated choice, but--now that I think about it--Fiji lies within the wintering grounds of species breeding as far as north as Alaska (Bristle-thighed Curlew - BirdForum Opus) and as far south as New Zealand (Long-tailed Koel - BirdForum Opus), and it has had vagrants from both the southwest (White-winged Tern - BirdForum Opus, Southern Giant Petrel - BirdForum Opus) and the northeast (Solitary Sandpiper - BirdForum Opus, Laughing Gull - BirdForum Opus), so anything might occur.

It also has an endangered and poorly known endemic passerine (Long-legged Thicketbird - BirdForum Opus) and petrel (Fiji Petrel - BirdForum Opus), plus 3 endemic genera (Category:Prosopeia - BirdForum Opus, Category:Meliphacator - BirdForum Opus and Category:Lamprolia - BirdForum Opus).

Surprised no one mentioned South East Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, ...), which has migration routes of its own.

(EDIT: Palawan was mentioned as I was writing this post.)

 

[Larry Sweetland]

As others have said though, if you can have Fiji you could have, eg all the Shetland islands, or even all the Canaries. Do you just want a single island? Or does an island group (like Fiji, Shetland, or Canaries) count?

 

[01101001]

One of the Fiji islands could do (preferably the one with the most interesting endemics), but feel free to pick archipelagos if they're not ginormous.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

One of the Fiji islands could do (preferably the one with the most interesting endemics), but feel free to pick archipelagos if they're not ginormous.

Well if you pick a single Fijian island with Orange Dove you'll not get most of the endemics 🤔

 

[Jacana]

I'd choose Öland. I've spent many happy months on that island and I could spend many happy more.

 

[01101001]

Vanua Levu is pretty good.
https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Orange_Dove, https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Fiji_Goshawk, https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red_Shining_Parrot, https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Natewa_Silktail, https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Long-legged_Thicketbird, https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Fiji_Bush_Warbler, https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Layard's_White-eye
& other less interesting endemics

(most interesting absent birds would be Golden Dove and breeding Fiji Petrel)

Why let reality spoil the fun, though?

EDIT: A pity I didn't think about the food!

In the end, I think I'd prefer Viti Levu (the biggest island) because Golden Dove is unmissable. I don't care about Fiji Petrel; three other petrels/shearwaters breed on virtually all islands, anyway--this one included.

Golden Dove - BirdForum Opus, Fiji Goshawk - BirdForum Opus, Masked Shining Parrot - BirdForum Opus, Red-throated Lorikeet - BirdForum Opus (last seen more than 20 years ago?), Long-legged Thicketbird - BirdForum Opus, Fiji Bush Warbler - BirdForum Opus, Layard's White-eye - BirdForum Opus, Pink-billed Parrotfinch - BirdForum Opus
& others

It used to have even more cool birds, but, then, humans arrived.

 

[pbjosh]

I’d also go for a migrant trap and I’ll pick largely based on food and climate so that is going to put me in the Mediterranean most likely. If it had to be a tropical island I’d still make sure it had good food and migrants

 

[Merlin]

Lundy

I agree, as long as Marisco's is also open.

regards
Merlin