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Birdquest Detailed Tour Itinerary: The Solomon Islands
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
Main Tour Duration: 15 days
Makira & Santa Isabel Post-Tour Extension: 13 days
Group Size Limit: 6
Tour Category: The main tour is easy for the most part,
occasionally moderate (one optional demanding hike). The
extension is mostly moderate to demanding.
Black-faced Pitta (Nik Borrow)
Scattered in a loose oval
to the east of New Guinea,
the Solomon Islands are a
quintessential South Pacific
idyll, combining a classic
landscape and tourist-free,
easy-going island life with
exotic endemic birds. The
nation is an archipelago
of volcanic islands, still
largely cloaked in luxuriant
rainforest, sweeping down
to golden sand beaches and
fringing coral reefs. Who
else has a national flag
symbolizing sea, sand and
forest?
The environment is still
remarkably pristine as most
Solomon Islanders pursue
their traditional life of fishing
on the reefs and tending
lush gardens hidden in the
forest. Few tourists have
discovered this Eden, and the
Solomon Islanders remain
overwhelmingly friendly and
generous to visitors whilst
retaining much of their
cultural heritage. Beyond the
central island of Guadalcanal,
famous for some of the most
heroic battles of the Second
World War, and Gizo, a
fledgling scuba-diving
destination, we may well
encounter no other visitors.
During our journey
through the Solomons we
will visit nine of the largest
islands, allowing us the
opportunity to find the great
majority of the Solomons
endemics. The Solomons
form a chain of islands
stretching out beyond Papua
New Guinea into the deeper
Pacific. They are close enough
to retain a reasonably high
bird diversity yet isolated
and fragmented enough to
enable an amazing level of
speciation of endemic birds.
Here, islands only eight
kilometres apart have evolved
their own endemic bird
species!
The central Solomons
is the richest ‘Endemic Bird
Area’ in the world, with 62
completely endemic species.
Combined with Rennell and
the Santa Cruz islands, the
Solomons have a total of 73
endemic birds plus another
20 endemics shared only with
other isolated Melanesian
islands. Many more species
are due to be recognized in
future if current concepts of
species limits are applied.
Whilst searching for many of
these incipient species, we
will marvel at the subspecific
variation between islands and
come to our own ideas about
species limits! Still yielding
undescribed species and
rediscoveries of birds long
feared extinct, this region has
truly been overlooked both
by scientists and birders.
This exciting tour aims
to see as many as possible
of the accessible Solomon
Islands endemics. While the
main tour involves nothing
out of the usual, and has
mostly easy walking, the
extension involves some
quite demanding treks into
the mountains and very basic
village accommodation
at times, so will definitely
appeal to the more
adventurous birder!
We will begin our
explorations from the small
and quiet capital town of
Honiara, where the local
forests hold such endemics
as Pied Goshawk, Ducorps’s
Cockatoo, Solomon
Boobook, the attractive
Ultramarine Kingfisher,
Chestnut-bellied Monarch,
Steel-blue Flycatcher, Midget
Flowerpecker, Brown-winged
Starling, and the uncommon
Black-headed Myzomela.
Next we will fly far to
the south to the remote island
of Rennell, a raised coral
atoll that is a World Heritage
Site and holds no fewer than
five single-island endemics,
Rennell Fantail, the beautiful
Rennell Shrikebill, Rennell
Starling, Rennell White-eye
and the weird Bare-eyed
White-eye, as well as the
slightly more widespread
endemic Silver-capped FruitDove.
After a brief pause in
Honiara we will fly to Gizo,
where the endemics include
Yellow-vented Myzomela, the
smart White-capped Monarch
and Splendid White-eye.
From here we will make
a day trip by boat to the
islands of Ranongga and Vella
Lavella, each with endemic
white-eyes and the chance
of Heinroth’s Shearwater en
route.
Afterwards we take
a boat to Kolombangara
(or Kulambangra), a steep
volcanic cone with a series
of exciting endemic birds
including the magnificent
Solomon Sea-Eagle, the
flightless Roviana Rail,
Buff-headed Coucal,
Pale Mountain-Pigeon,
Meek’s Lorikeet, the
beautiful Duchess Lorikeet,
White-winged Fantail,
Kolombangara Monarch,
Solomon Cuckooshrike and
Solomon Islands White-eye.
For Kolombangara LeafWarbler and Kolombangara
White-eye we will have to
trek up into the highest moss
forest.
Our final island during
the main tour will be Malaita,
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Birdquest Detailed Tour Itinerary: The Solomon Islands
Solomon Sea-Eagles (Craig Robson)
where we will be seeking the
endemic Malaita White-eye
and the endemic Red-bellied
Myzomela.
As this ground-breaking
tour unfolds, the presence
of large flocks of parrots,
especially the raucous
Ducorps’s Cockatoo, and
many large pigeons, remind
us just how unspoilt these
wonderful islands still remain.
During the optional
extension, we first explore
Santa Isabel, where we
aim to see some of the
most spectacular Solomons
birds, concentrating on the
recently-described Solomon
Frogmouth and the recently
rediscovered Black-faced
Pitta at its single known site.
Other endemics include the
flightless Woodford’s Rail,
Scarlet-naped Myzomela,
White-billed (or Guadalcanal)
Crow, Solomon Cuckooshrike, Black-and-white
Monarch and Yellow-throated
White-eye, not to mention
the enigmatic Imitator
Sparrowhawk and the rarely
seen Fearful Owl.
On Makira (or San
Cristobal), we will trek into
the highlands where a very
distinct array of endemic
birds includes the attractive
White-headed Fruit-Dove, the
bizarre Crested Cuckoo-Dove,
Chestnut-bellied Imperial
Pigeon, Sooty Myzomela,
San Cristobal Melidectes,
the shy San Cristobal Thrush,
Shade Warbler, San Cristobal
Leaf-Warbler, White-collared
Monarch, Ochre-headed
Flycatcher, Dusky Fantail,
San Cristobal Starling, Greythroated White-eye and
Mottled Flowerpecker. This
is the only island where
we stand a good chance
of seeing the little-known
Yellow-legged Pigeon.
Birdquest has operated
tours to the Solomon Islands
since 1996.
Itinerary
Day 1 The tour begins this
evening at Honiara, the
capital of the Solomon Islands
and situated on the island of
Guadalcanal, where we will
stay for two nights.
Day 2 The name
Guadalcanal is still
synonymous with huge air
and naval battles and bloody
jungle warfare, for some of
the fiercest fighting in the
Pacific between Japanese and
Allied forces took place on
and around this island. Relics
of that great struggle can be
found littered throughout
the island and its offshore
waters, a stark reminder
of darker days, when for
a brief period in history
Guadalcanal was thrust to
the forefront of the world’s
stage. Now largely ignored
and forgotten by the rest of
the world, Guadalcanal, like
the rest of the Solomons, is
a sleepy backwater which
receives few visitors from
the outside world. Pacific
Swallows, Willie Wagtails,
Olive-backed Sunbirds,
Singing Starlings and
introduced Common Mynas
are conspicuous around
Honiara and Brahminy
Kites are often seen at the
airport. We will spend most
of our time at nearby Mount
Austen. As we walk along
an old road through patchy
forest we should encounter
such Solomons endemics as
Pied Goshawk, Ducorps’s
Cockatoo, the attractive
Ultramarine Kingfisher,
Chestnut-bellied Monarch,
Steel-blue Flycatcher,
Midget Flowerpecker and
Brown-winged Starling,
and we should also find the
uncommon Black-headed
Myzomela, which is restricted
to Guadalcanal. We also have
a fair chance of finding the
rather elusive Guadalcanal
form of the endemic Solomon
Boobook (or Solomon
Hawk-Owl). There is also
a slim possibility of finding
the very rare White-eyed
Starling amongst the many
Metallic Starlings and Longtailed Mynas (the latter split
from Yellow-faced). More
widespread species include
Buff-banded Rail, Rufoustailed Bush-hen, Claretbreasted, Superb and perhaps
Yellowbibbed Fruit-Doves,
Glossy and Uniform Swiftlets,
and Grey Fantail. We will
also visit the Betikama
wetlands, haunt of Little Pied
Cormorants, White-browed
Crakes and Australian Reed
Warblers.
[The remote highlands
of Guadalcanal hold the
beautiful but almost unknown
Moustached Kingfisher
(endemic to Guadalcanal and
Bougainville), as well as the
endemic Guadalcanal Thrush
(split from San Cristobal
Thrush) and the endemic
Guadalcanal Honeyeater, but
this difficult-to-access area
remains off-limits to visiting
birders.]
Day 3 Today we will take
a flight to Rennell, a World
Heritage Site. Landing on the
rough grass airstrip, we will
disturb numbers of Australian
Ibis which are remarkably
tame and widespread across
the island, behaving almost
like farmyard chickens. We
will stay on Rennell for three
nights at a basic guesthouse.
Later we will commence our
exploration of the island.
Days 4-5 On Rennell birds
are abundant along the
trails through the forest
which grows on this raised
coral reef, situated far out
in the Coral Sea and very
unlike most of the other
Solomon Islands, which are
mountainous. The Rennell
endemics, Rennell Fantail,
the beautiful Rennell
Shrikebill, Rennell Starling,
Rennell White-eye and the
weird Bare-eyed White-eye,
are generally common and
confiding, but the highly
distinctive local form of the
Golden Whistler (a potential
split) is uncommon. The
other passerines in this forest
include three Melanesian
endemics, Cardinal
Myzomela, Fan-tailed
Gerygone and Melanesian
Flycatcher, as well as Yelloweyed Cuckooshrike and Island
Thrush (the latter found here
at sea-level). As elsewhere
in the country, there is very
little hunting in the extensive
forests and we will see large
numbers of the endemic
Silver-capped Fruit-Dove,
as well as Pacific ImperialPigeon, Mackinlay’s CuckooDove and Singing Parrot. A
highlight is the abundance of
diminutive Finsch’s PygmyParrots nibbling away at the
trunks and branches of the
roadside trees. Other species
likely to be seen are Shining
Bronze-Cuckoo, Moustached
Treeswift and Collared
Kingfisher, whilst this is the
only island in the Solomons
with Brown Goshawk. As
long as the flight schedule
remains the same and we
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Birdquest Detailed Tour Itinerary: The Solomon Islands
Crested Cuckoo-Dove (Nik Borrow)
have to have three nights on
Rennell we will have time to
make a full day excursion to a
more distant part of the island
where a large freshwater lake
holds Australasian Grebe and
an island in the lake provides
a nesting area for Red-footed
Boobies and the only colony
of Little Pied Cormorants in
the Solomons.
Day 6 After some final
birding on Rennell we will
take a flight back to Honiara
for an overnight stay.
Day 7 From Honiara we
take a flight to Gizo for a two
nights stay. While on Gizo
we will walk along a road
through a mixture of scrub,
gardens and plantations
looking for the threatened
endemic Splendid White-eye,
which is often found in mixed
flocks with Yellow-vented
Myzomela, Rufous Fantail
and White-capped Monarch.
Day 8 Today will see us
exploring two of the smaller
islands in the Solomons by
boat. During the crossing
to Ranongga, we will
look hard for the rare and
poorly-known Heinroth’s
Shearwater amongst the more
common seabirds, such as
Brown Booby, Lesser and
Great Frigatebirds, Black
and Brown Noddies, and
Greater Crested, Roseate,
Black-naped, Common and
Bridled Terns. Once we reach
Ranongga we will find the
smart endemic Ranongga
White-eye and the endemic
subspecies of several other
forest passerines. Island
Imperial-Pigeons are usually
conspicuous and the large
Beach Kingfisher frequents
the coastline. Across another
8-kilometre strait, we reach
Vella Lavella, another island
with its own endemic, the
Banded White-eye.
Day 9 This morning we
will travel by boat across
to the volcanic island of
Kolombangara where we
will spend the night in a
basic guesthouse. Our main
target in the Kolombangara
lowlands is Roviana Rail,
a species which was only
described in 1991 but
which emerges onto short
grassland at dawn and dusk
together with Australasian
Swamphens. A goose-like
honking is likely to reveal a
pair of Solomon Sea-Eagles
sparring high overhead or an
individual being mobbed by
an Osprey. Kolombangara,
with its rich reefs and forests,
is a stronghold for this
threatened endemic predator.
Another highlight is the huge
Buff-headed Coucal, and
we will search through large
numbers of Red-knobbed
Imperial-Pigeons for Pale
Mountain-Pigeon, and
through the many Rainbow
Lorikeets for the beautiful
endemic Duchess Lorikeet
and Meek’s Lorikeet. The
endemic Solomon Islands
White-eye is a common
bird here. Other more
widespread species include
Pacific Reef Egret, Striated
Heron, Pacific Black Duck,
Pacific Baza, the dashing
Oriental Hobby, Stephan’s
Dove, Cardinal Lory, Eclectus
Parrot, Sacred Kingfisher,
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike
and Common Cicadabird.
Melanesian Scrubfowl are
frequently to be heard, but
we will need a bit of luck
to see this retiring species.
Much rarer, but occasionally
seen, are Meyer’s Goshawk,
White-rumped Swiftlet and
Melanesian Cuckoo-shrike.
Day 10 Early today we
will start our ascent of the
mountain. Walking slowly
through primary forest,
we will be hearing forest
birds all the way. Lowland
forest species include three
rather scarce endemics,
White-winged Fantail,
Kolombangara Monarch and
Solomon Cuckoo-shrike,
often in company with
Golden Whistlers. Walking
quietly, we are also likely to
encounter Metallic (or Whitethroated) Pigeon, Brush
Cuckoo, Variable Kingfisher
and Blyth’s Hornbill. In the
stunted moss forest near
the summit, we will camp
overnight amongst montane
species such as Red-breasted
Pygmy-Parrot, Island Leaf
Warbler, Pacific Robin (now
treated as distinct from the
Scarlet Robin of Australia)
and large flocks of endemic
Kolombangara White-eyes.
Day 11 This morning we will
awake to a dawn movements
of pigeons and parrots.
Walking to the top of the
mountain, our objective is
to find the Kolombangara
Leaf-Warbler, which has an
extremely tiny range around
the rim of the volcanic
caldera atop Kolombangara.
Once we have succeeded we
will descend to the lowlands
and take the boat back to
Gizo for an overnight stay
and some well-deserved
creature comforts.
Day 12 This morning Gizo
we will take a flight back to
Honiara where we connect
with an afternoon flight
to the adjacent island of
Malaita for a two nights stay
at Auki.
Day 13 Today we will
explore the forested hills
of the island’s interior.
Malaita is the only island
in the Solomons with heavy
forest clearance and we
will drive between forest
patches. The endemic
Malaita White-eye is fairly
common, but the endemic
Red-bellied Myzomela will
take some time and luck to
find. Other species such as
White-winged Fantail and
Brown-winged Starling have
distinctive subspecies on
Malaita which may soon be
split as full species. We may
also encounter the as-yetundescribed rail that inhabits
the island, perhaps a new
subspecies of Woodford’s
Rail or possibly a distinct
species.
Day 14 After spending the
morning on Malaita we will
fly back to Honiara for an
overnight stay.
Day 15 After some final
birding on Guadalcanal the
tour ends around midday.
Santa Isabel & Makira PostTour Extension Itinerary
Day 15 We will overnight at
Honiara.
Day 16 This morning we
will catch a flight to Santa
Isabel. The airstrip is on
the small offshore island of
Fera, where we will search
for Island Monarch. After
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Birdquest Detailed Tour Itinerary: The Solomon Islands
crossing the channel to the
main island, a steep walk
up into the hills takes us to
Tirotonga village, home of
some of the most sought-after
Solomons endemics, where
we will stay for four nights.
The village is intending to
build a simple ecotourism
facility for visiting birders
and the like, but we will
probably have to sleep in
the village houses, enjoying
some wonderful hospitality.
In the afternoon we will
begin our exploration of the
surrounding area.
Days 17-19 Our prime target
on Santa Isabel will be the
beautiful endemic Blackfaced Pitta, which has been
seen by very few birders.
Although very shy, it is highly
vocal and we should all hear
and with persistence and a
bit of luck eventually see
what may be the least-known
pitta in the world. Whitebilled (or Guadalcanal)
Crow, an endemic species
with an outlandish huge
bill and remarkable calls, is
common, as is the endemic
Yellow-throated White-eye.
Less common endemics are
Solomon Cuckoo-shrike,
Black-and-white Monarch,
Scarlet-naped Myzomela and
the flightless and threatened
Woodford’s Rail. The very
poorly-known endemic
Imitator Sparrowhawk is a
secretive forest raptor that
requires an unusual amount
of luck to get to grips with.
We will also want to find the
endemic Solomon Frogmouth
(split from Marbled, and now
placed in its own genus),
Solomon Boobook (or
Solomon Hawk-Owl) and,
if we are really lucky, the
imposing endemic Fearful
Owl. All are difficult to
see at night, although we
will try hard if necessary,
but our keen local guides
will hopefully have found
us roost sites for these rare
and little-known species so
that we can observe them in
detail in daylight.
Day 20 After some final
birding on Santa Isabel we
will return to Honiara for an
overnight stay.
Day 21 Another flight will
take us to Kirakira on the
island of Makira (or San
Cristobal), from where we
will drive along the few
kilometres of road and then
walk inland to the Hauta
conservation area for a four
nights stay. This is a classic
example of integrating
conservation with traditional
values. The hike takes several
hours and is steep and may
involve one or more river
crossings, depending on the
state of the water levels, but
we will take it easy, enjoying
lowland forest species along
the way. We will see our
first Makira endemics such
as the attractive Whiteheaded Fruit-Dove, Sooty
Myzomela, San Cristobal
Melidectes, White-collared
Monarch, Ochre-headed
Flycatcher, San Cristobal
Starling and Mottled
Flowerpecker, as well as
the regionally-endemic
Yellow-bibbed Fruit-Dove
and Yellow-bibbed Lory.
Makira is the easternmost
limit for several bird species
and groups, including
Common Kingfisher, whilst
this isolation has lead to
divergent evolution of others
such as the distinctive local
form of the Spangled Drongo
(found only on Makira and
Guadalcanal) and the equally
distinctive Makira form of the
Common Cicadabird (which
probably merits specific
status).
Days 22-24 Staying at about
1500ft (450m) in the Hauta
conservation area, we will
enjoy the traditional village
hospitality and skilled local
guides while we explore a
network of trails in pristine
hill and mountain rainforest.
This is the best site in the
world for the threatened and
virtually endemic Yellowlegged Pigeon and endemic
Chestnut-bellied ImperialPigeon, which are both
uncommon but join other
pigeon species in the fruiting
trees. We will trek to the
higher ridges in the area to
search for Shade Warbler in
the dark forest understorey,
whilst the San Cristobal
Thrush is very shy and
requires luck and patience
to see well. Endemics in
the mixed species flocks
here include Dusky Fantail,
San Cristobal Leaf-Warbler
and Grey-throated Whiteeye, together with the more
widespread Long-tailed
Triller. Whilst looking for
thrushes and other birds we
may also encounter Bronze
Ground-Dove. Throughout
our time in the area we will
be listening carefully for
the distinctive call of the
endemic Crested CuckooDove. With time and
persistence we should be
able to lure one into view,
allowing us all to admire this
most bizarre pigeon.
Day 25 After a final morning
at Hauta we will return to the
lowlands and stay overnight
in a guesthouse close to the
airstrip. Here we will have
another chance to catch up
on lowland forest species.
Day 26 After taking a walk
in the lowland forest close
to the airstrip, we will take
a flight to Honiara for an
overnight stay.
Day 27 After some final
birding on Guadalcanal
the extension ends around
midday.
Accommodation & Road
Transport: The hotels at
Honiara and Gizo are of
good standard. The hotel
on Malaita is fairly simple,
although it usually has
functioning air-conditioning.
The guesthouses on Rennell,
Kolombangara, Makira (near
the airstrip) and Santa Isabel
are fairly basic but provide
mattresses, clean sheets,
cold showers and toilets.
Accommodation is very basic
at Hauta on Makira, where
we will sleep communally on
bamboo beds in traditional
village houses, washing
under piped stream water
or in the local river. One
night will be spent in a
basic camp on the mountain
on Kolombangara. Road
transport will be by minibus
and 4x4 vehicle. Roads away
from the Honiara area are
mostly bad, but in any event
we do not travel far on them.
Walking: The main tour
is mostly easy, although
moderate at times. On
Kolombangara the upper
part of the trek to the
summit is quite demanding,
but this hike only yields
two additional Solomons
endemics and anyone who
wants to may return to the
guesthouse at the foot of the
mountain to overnight, rather
than camp. The extension
often involves walking that is
moderate to demanding. The
trek on Makira up to Hauta
and back involves a steep
climb/descent on muddy
trails lasting for a number
of hours (and possibly one
or more river crossings) and
there is also a steep climb/
descent of 2 hours on Santa
Isabel from the coast to our
accommodations and back,
as well as rather rough and
often slippery trails in the
surrounding forest.
Climate: Hot and humid.
Although it is the ‘dry’
season, rain is still very likely
and it can be heavy. Boat
journeys and the camping
night on Kolombangara can
be cool.
Bird Photography:
Opportunities are
worthwhile.
Important: Flight schedules
in the Solomons change
frequently, and delays are
also not uncommon, so
participants need to be aware
of this and have a flexible
and relaxed approach.
Changes to the order in
which the islands are visited
are almost inevitable and
changes to the amount of
time on each island are
also likely. The itinerary has
a built-in safety margin to
allow for such eventualities.