The lads (Phil, Andrew and Nial) arrived from New Zealand on the 24th of February for our trip, which had initially been proposed in September 2014 in New Zealand, just before I departed for the current contract.
After a short pause on the first with a short visit to Betikama wetlands, our destination for the next day was Mount Austin due to its reputation as having good vegetation and good forest birds in close proximity to Honiara. Mount Austin is a good short introduction to bush birds in the area, although once you get to the end of the road at the Lunga River and have scoured the hillsides there isn’t much else to see. The next day was supposed to be an early start but weather dictated that we had to wait till late in the day before the boat could come safely across from Central Province. Once we reached Central Province what surprised me was the beauty of Central Province, I simply never expected it would be such an attractive place. The only things I knew previously was that it had strong links with world war two being one of the key bases for the Japanese, didn’t have much of its original vegetation and is generally by-passed by birders for that reason.
I was pleasantly surprised that the population is still not huge (although there seems a higher population than Temotu and Choiseul) and currently there are no signs of major developments such as mining. The shoreline of the passage that we passed through still had reasonably extensive fringing mangrove. Near the end of the passage close to Siota Provincial Secondary School just before the passage enters open sea, we approached our first destination for shorebirds, a section of rocky reef and low coral banks that have probably been created due to the fringing reefs and ocean currents working together to allow material to build up and form a slightly higher landmass. At this location we discovered a number of shorebirds roosting with scattered Grey plover, Pacific golden plover, Whimbrel, Turnstone, Grey tailed and Siberian tattler and the odd Common sandpiper.
The next day we went to a small site that on the map suggested an intertidal wetland. When we reached Lake Kolaoka we were all elated to find that the site was full with waders, there were Common Greenshank, Eastern Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Lesser Sandplover, Greater Sandplover, Whimbrel, Pacific Golden Plover. As far as I could tell it had a fuller range of migratory shorebirds than has been recorded anywhere else in the Solomon Islands.
On the third day we visited a small Islands about 6-7km offshore. Approaching the Island was a bit tricky as the swell was coming from all directions and it required a bit of calculation to assess the best way to approach the Island. Once we were onshore at the Island it was clear that it had been well visited and there were some camps from people who had stopped over after fishing trips. A significant amount of understory vegetation had been removed, it was because people had cleared the vegetation by hand as well as the occasional uncontrolled cooking fire burning more than it should have. Jerry our host also mentioned that children often will disturb nesting seagulls (terns) and take chicks and eggs when they are nesting. Thankfully it does not appear that there are dogs or cats on the Islands.
The reef at the entrance to the passage is close to a large school site which will be faced with increasing disturbance as people walk out to the reef to look for shellfish or fish. Sea level rise will also impact how often the site is exposed and available to be used.
Lake
Kolaoka, which brought such enjoyment and is probably one of the more
important shorebird sites in the Solomon Islands is close to an area local people told us prospecting for Bauxite is taking place. The edges of the site
are used for gardens so there is also a disturbance element and sediment from
gardens entering the wetland.
The offshore island is a story in itself. It is shared by two communities, which makes the possibility of it becoming a successful marine protected area pretty slim, but with it being used as a nesting site for terns means that it’s important as there are few sites recognised as breeding areas for seabirds in the Solomon Islands. If disturbance increases then the nesting terns are likely to desert the Island for a better spot. The only issue being is that there are fewer and fewer places that terns can nest without being disturbed.
Another story highlighted to me the plight of wildlife here as the population expands. According to Jerry a Solomon Sea Eagle had nested on a remote point not far from his village. Apparently some children saw the nest with a chick and decided they wanted it as a pet. Linking their arms they made a human chain to the nest. The chick was secured by the children and then taken away. I could picture the mother being pretty stressed, calling out and even the defence of the nest must have been pretty vigorous. I have heard Solomon Sea Eagles being kept as pets elsewhere and remember a situation where a bird was being kept in a small cage in western province. In that Instance the bird had apparently caught a fish and was struggling to fly, either it was a young bird or the weight of the fish impeded its flight, either way it ended up in a cage with an uncertain future.
Relentlessly
there is growing pressure on wildlife and habitats and it seems
to be at an accelerated rate, eventually this pressure will become so
great that productivity of these environments will decline and species begin to
disappear, in fact this has already happened in many places. What is important
now is communities start implementing ways to address these issues. It will require
a level of management of these resources that currently isn’t widely practiced
and isn’t sustainably supported by donors or the government. It will also mean
addressing the issue of the growing population through better access to birth
control and reproductive education.
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