Fellow birding-aus-ers,
Life is very tough when you are required to travel to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on business. As I now face this “unpalatable” prospect I would appreciate any tips on birding there. I’ve downloaded a trip report from Bruce Wedderburn from February this year, which has given me some tips, & have also enquired about visiting Takitumu Conservation Area.
I will be hoping to see the local endemic species:
Lilac-crowned Fruit Dove Rarotonga & Atiu Rarotonga Monarch Rarotonga & Atiu Rarotonga Starling Rarotonga
(Yes, OK, I admit it. I’m really just boasting in this posting… 
Ross Macfarlane
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On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 6:58 PM, Ross Macfarlane wrote:
Now that is a sad story 😉
Rarotonga is a very lovely part of the Pacific – remarkably relaxed compared to a lot of other destinations. The birding on the main island is not the best, we had better luck on Aitutaki (the oddly named Vini peruviana was widespread and easily seen – that’s the bird I most hoped to see.) As it’s an oceanic destination, we did see White-tailed Tropicbird, Fairy Tern, Reef Egret and Common Myna, and some common migratory waders. I brought along “Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific.
For the monarch, you’ve already sorted it out: Takitumu or Atiu. The tours in Takitumu weren’t available every day and we didn’t make it. The contact details I’ve got are:
682 29 906 kakerori@tca.co.ck
The snorkeling on Raro is okay down south and there are lots of diving options, if that’s your preference. (We didn’t do any dives but talked with all of the operators. Our take was go with someone that’s making their own air/nitrox.)
Enjoy! ===============================
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