Queen Victoria docked in Apia, Samoa on the morning of the 20th Feb. Shortly after, myself, Jo and John (a birder I had met onboard) soon jumped into a taxi and headed south into the hills bound for the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. The former home of the famous author. The museum was going to be interesting in its own right, but the fact that it was situated within a tropical forest and surrounded by gardens boded well for a few birds. Glad to report I was happy with both the museum and the birding.
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| Villa Vailima, former home of Robert Louis Stevenson |
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| A rather well known book |
Before visiting the house John and I did a loop or two around the edge of the garden picking up Pacific Imperial Pigeon. Pacific Golden Plover, Buff-banded Rail, White-rumped Swiftlet and a superb looking Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove.
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Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove, Vailima, 20 Feb 2024
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| Buff-banded Rail, Vailima, 20 Feb 2024 |
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Pacific Golden Plover, Vailima, 20 Feb 2024
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After leaving the museum, we walked the short distance down to the nearby Vailima Botanical Gardens. We firstly looked over a small stream where John picked up a Wandering Tattler, a life bird for me. in the gardens themselves we added Polynesian and Samoan Starlings, along with Flat-billed Kingfisher. Later in a park in Apia itself I added Samoan Myzomela, and Samoan Flying Fox to the trip list.
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| Polynesian Starling, Vailima, 20 Feb 2024 |
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| Samoan Flying Fox, Apia, 20 Feb 2024 |
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Samoan Starling, Vailima, 20 Feb 2024
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Steve C
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