We spent two days on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). We were part of a bird watching club on the Maasdam which was chaired by the on-board Naturalist, Martin Cohen. We went to lectures by the naturalist and marine biologist prior to arrival on the island. Afterward the group would gather and share their photographs and bird counts.
Rapa Nui is an interesting place to bird watch as it is so isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was also the place of a man made ecological disaster. The Polynesian People came to the island and brought the Norway rat with them. The rats decimated the bird populations and most birds currently on the island were introduced by humans.
The first bird we saw was the Common Diuca Finch, which is an introduced species. These were common across the island.
Common Diuca Finch
We also saw some house Sparrows, which are also an introduced species. They were not as common as the previous finch.
House Finch
We saw one bird of prey, a Chimango Caracara. This was a smaller species of caracara than we saw in Costa Rica. This bird was plentiful across the island. This bird is also an introduced species.
Chimango Caracara
The Chilean Tinamou is an ancient grouse like bird. We only saw one small group of them. They are also an introduced species.
Chilean Tinamou
The red tailed tropic bird is the only native species we got a picture of. There are were also frigate birds but I didn’t get a picture of one on Rapa Nui.
Red Tailed Tropic Bird
Livestock on Rapa Nui was often free ranging. There were horses and cattle and large numbers of chickens. Chickens are not native but human introduced
Chicken
There were also mechanical birds in the sky.
Airplanes
We enjoyed the birding on the trip. The Massdam bird club was a lot of fun.
Mark, Wink, Meg and Kate-Lynn