Monthly Archives: December 2012

Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana) Aka Tahitian Lorikeet

Posted on by
1

Today is my day to blog about Vini Lorikeets!  It just didn’t seem right to do such a comprehensive post about Rimatara Lorikeets without doing one about their cousins, the Tahitian Blue Lorikeets.

Tahitian Blue Lorikeet

These birds have a somewhat larger distribution area and can be found in around 8 islands: Motu, Manuae, Tikehau, Rangiroa, Aratua, Kaukura, Apataki, Aitutaki, and possibly Harvey Island and Manihi. Its plumage is mainly dark blue and it has a white area over its upper chest, throat and face.

This species qualifies as Vulnerable (rather than endangered) because it has a small and fragmented island distribution and is likely to continue to decline owing to ongoing predation by black rats and, to a lesser extent, cats.

The easiest place to see them in the wild is on Aitutaki in the Cook Islands where the locals affectionately call them “Kuramoo”.

Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana)

 

Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana) bonded pair

 

Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana) checking me out!

 

 

Tahitian Lorikeets

Kuhl’s Lorikeet (Vini kuhlii), Aka Rimatara Lorikeet

Posted on by
3

This is one of my favourite parrot species and I have made two trips to see them in the wild in Atiu, Cook Islands.  The first time was in 2008 and they had only been released less than a year and everyone was caught up in the excitement about having the beautiful little birds back on the island after so many years.  The actual name of the species is Kuhl’s Lorikeet or Kuhl’s Lory but they are much better known as Rimatara Lorikeets.  In their native lands, they are called “Ura in French Polynesia and Kura in the Cook Islands.

UPDATE:  I have also been to see them in their original native land, Rimatara!  I have been blogging about this trip taken in June 2014.

Young Rimatara Lorikeet

New photos taken in Rimatara.

IMG_1412 IMG_1345 IMG_1333 IMG_1353 IMG_1230 IMG_1005 IMG_1159 IMG_0844

There are only four places where these highly endangered little parrots can be seen in the wild.  Of course one is their original homeland of Rimatara, French Polynesia and there are a few in Kritimati Island.  Then there is their new home of Atiu, Cook Islands and a few of the Atiu lorikeets flew off to Mitiaro, Cook Islands and have been breeding so there is a small population there.  Out of all these places, the easiest to get to on airline miles is the Cook Islands, then you need to fly on Air Rarotonga to Atiu.  You can also fly from Papeete to Rimatara on Air Tahiti.

LEARN MORE ABOUT RIMATARA LORIKEETS

Wikipedia

Word Parrot Trust & Magazine Article

Birdlife

Birdguides

Manu

Cook Islands Bishop Museum

VIDEOS

This is where I get to sit back and take it easy because to tell you the background of the Rimatara Lorikeets and their story is much easier to do with a collection of videos.  So sit back, relax and enjoy!

A much less professional production is my own visit to see them in 2008.  It does give an idea of what to expect from your own eco-tourism experience if you go to see these birds in the wild!

Best Marriott Hotels For Eco-Travelers And 2000 Free Points

Posted on by
4

Using hotel points strategically can save you a lot of money in gateway cities so it’s a good idea to study them carefully to see which programs can best suit your travel plans.  This week, let’s look at the Marriott chain.  They have 3840 hotels around the world.  If you are a business traveler, you may already be getting free points from you employer-paid trips.  Lucky Americans can get a LOT of free points with the Chase Marriott Visa Card (not an affiliate link, just information) and meeting planners can get 50,000 points by planning a meeting at a Marriott Hotel.

Award nights start at 6000 points for a “Pointsaver” at a Category 1 hotel (which are pretty rare).  Marriott has a referral program by which members can earn up to 50,000 points per year by referring others to the program.  You can only do this 5 times per year so only give your referrals to people whom you know are going to stay at a Marriott within a year.  I still have my 5 referrals for this year so I would be glad to refer new members,  just use the Contact Form to send me your email and I will send you an invitation.  Once you are a member, you will then be able to invite 5 people on your own account!

OK, so how do we find the best options for eco-travelers?  Let’s have a look at the hotel directory and see what places have a Marriott property.  Most birders will be drawn to tropical places in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia.

 

AFRICA – Out of these 4 countries, Rwanda would possibly have some birding including a couple Poicephalus species but it’s much better known for the mountain gorillas……but keep an eye on the safety issues in Rwanda.

ASIA – India has some good possibilities.  From Bangalore you can get to Coorg where there are Malabar Parakeets and others, same goes for Kochi which is near Thattekad.   From Jaipur, you can get to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary which has both endemic and migrating birds.  Indonesia is mostly resorts in Bali or city hotels that would do for gateway cities to other birding hot spots like West Papua and Seram.  You would pass through Manila to get to Palawan for Red-Vented Cockatoos or Subic Bay for Philippine Hanging Parrots.  Singapore has good birding in the Botanical Gardens which makes a nice detour from a shopping or business trip.  There are also good birding spots in Thailand and Malaysia.

AUSTRALIA AND PACIFIC ISLANDS – From Brisbane, you could make the long but worthwhile drive to Bowra Station or Lamington National Park which could also be accessed from Surfers Paradise.  From Melbourne, you could head up into the Dandenongs.

CARIBBEAN – Of these places, Aruba, Cayman Islands, Domincan Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela all have good birding.

CENTRAL AMERICA – there are 6 Marriotts in Costa Rica and 5 in Panama.  As I wrote in the Carlson Hotel, Panama post, there is the Soberania NP and Metropolitan NP both in less than an hour’s drive from the city.  In Costa Rica, San Jose is the gateway to great birding destinations like Selva Verde, Arenal, Monteverde and Savegre.  Herradura is not too far from Carara NP, famous for Scarlet Macaws and Guanacaste also has great birding!

SOUTH AMERICA – all the Marriotts are in large gateway cities which will come in handy as the birding and ecotourism destinations are pretty far flung, requiring domestic flights or buses to reach.

The one thing for sure is that you can save a bundle if you use hotel points in the right places but you do have to be a good planner and maximize any other hotel stays you may have with business or family trips to save points for your big eco-adventure!

My Carry-On Bag-Backpack

Posted on by
Reply

Some aspects of travel are just not as much fun as others.  The one thing I absolutely HATE is checking bags.  Some airlines will even charge a fee for this.   And then you have to wait around at the destination for it to come out of the carousel–IF it comes out of the carousel!  I just prefer to carry on my bag even if my free award ticket allows me to check a bag for free.  This is the bag my husband and I have been using for the last 2 years and we both love them!

It’s amazing how much you can pack inside one of these Motherlodes!  I can easily get my camera, lenses and usual clothing inside and have room left over for souvenirs!  They are on sale now and come in 7 colours.  I like the green one as it’s so easy to keep track of.  It really makes things easy when we are hiking on a small footpath to get to a jungle lodge.  They also have a laptop pouch in the back which is very well hidden from a potential thief as it sits between your back and the main section of the bag.  It’s very versatile and converts from a bag with a handle to a backpack.  I’ve always preferred backpacks and I don’t care if people stare at me in the lounge.  When it comes to mobility, this bag just makes it so easy to escape the airport and deal with public transport at the destination.  The dimensions (9 x 22 x 14 inches; 4.4 pounds) are designed to maximize your carry-on allowance and be as light as possible, no wheels to add weight, although they do make a similar product with wheels which you can see if you click on the link.

Since most flights also have a weight restriction with the carry-on, I use this bag in conjunction with a Scottevest and put the heavier items in the Scottevest.  Once on the plane, I can easily put the Scottevest along with it’s contents in the Motherlode.

***Please note that this link gives me a small commission at no additional cost to you.  For more information about the Scottevest, please click on the links in this post or on the right side banner ad.  I am happy to answer any questions you may have about these products as I use them in all our trips.

Why Even Innocent Eco-Tourists Should Be Careful

Posted on by
Reply

Is anyone else addicted to the Nat Geo series “Banged Up Abroad” aka “Locked Up Abroad“?   I am!  In most cases, the people locked up are involved in drug trafficking and deserve their punishment.  But sometimes, even innocent eco-tourists can stumble into a bad situation, so take a lesson from these Orchid Hunters (who were traveling in Panama which is also a birder’s haven) and be careful where you travel to!

 

Animal Of The Week – Echidna

Posted on by
Reply

This week, let’s have a look at one of our Australian animals, the Echidna.

Echidna

They are fairly common across Australia including Tasmania, though higher density populations are found on islands where foxes do not occur (e.g. Kangaroo Island and Tasmania).  You can learn more about them on this website.  Tasmania seems to be one of the easiest places to see them.  And finally, here’s a short video clip about echidnas.

 

Purple-Crowned Fairy-Wren (Malurus Coronatus)

Posted on by
2

You may see the lovely little Purple-crowned Fairy-wren (Malurus coronatus) if you are birding in the Northern Territory.

Purple-crowned Fairy Wren

 

Purple-crowned Fairy Wren Habitat

 

Although they are very pretty little birds when viewed from the side, they become really spectacular when viewed from above in pairs.  Predators will think the eyes belong to some large creature instead of a fragile little bird that might otherwise make a tasty snack.

Purple-crowned Fairy Wren

 

Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens are divided into two races: – an eastern race (M. c. macgillivaryi) that occurs in the sub-coastal region from the Roper River in the Northern Territory to the Flinders River in Queensland; and – a western race (M. c. coronatus) that occurs throughout the Kimberley region of Western Autralia and the Northern Territory. The two races of Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens never mix and more than 400 km separates them geographically. Sadly, Purple-crowned Fairy-wren populations are disappearing. It is estimated that only about 12,000 breeding birds remain of the western race in the Kimberley.

For more information about this bird, please visit this website.

Destination Hobart, Tasmania (Melaleuca)

Posted on by
14

GETTING TO HOBART

Yesterday, I gave some information about the endangered Orange-bellied Parrot.  Now let’s find out how to get to see them in the wild!   The “A” shows where Melaleuca is in relation to Hobart.

Tasmania is the smallest state in Australia and I am going to assume that if you are coming from overseas, it won’t be your only destination in Australia.  I have another post  about how to get from overseas to Australia on miles.

There are two major airlines that fly from the mainland to the main airport, Hobart (HOB) – Virgin Australia and Qantas.  Virgin is not yet in any major airline alliance and there are few opportunities to use other airline partners on domestic Virgin (DJ) flights.  Aussies can readily get Velocity points from credit cards and other partners.  Here’s an example of a round trip redemption from Sydney to Hobart.   From Brisbane it is the same, from Melbourne a bit less and from Adelaide a bit more.  From Perth, it goes up quite a bit.

 

QANTAS also has a distanced based award chart with a handy award calculator.

Sydney and Brisbane both are in Zone 2.

By contrast, have a look at the award cost from Perth.

Qantas is a member of One World so it often works out cheaper in both miles and money to use their partner American Airlines to book this flight.  AA has a flat fee of 10,000 miles each way no matter where you are flying to and from in Australia so they are a good bargain for longer flights.

 

British Airways has a distance based chart but short distances can be a bargain when booked with Avios.  They start as low as 4500 from Melbourne, 9000 from Brisbane up to 12,500 from Perth each way.

WHERE TO STAY

The flights to Melaleuca leave from Cambridge Airfield which is very close to Hobart Airport where your flight from the mainland arrives.  The purple dot indicates the location of the Quality Airport Hotel.  This runs around $125-ish in cash or since they are part of the Choice hotel chain you can use 25,000 points to book it for free!

 

HOW TO GET TO MELALEUCA FROM HOBART

Only small aircraft that seat 6-10 people fly this route.  Par Avion is the main tour operator that does day trips to Melaleuca and take you to the bird hides to see the Orange-bellied Parrots.

 They can also provide flights for people who want to spend a few days at Melaleuca and camp out.  There are more details on their website.

The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service website has more information.  Be sure to check out the sound clip of the OBP, they are pretty quiet for parrots!

For bushwalkers and those who are able to fly into the Tasmanian south-west, there is a good chance of seeing Orange-bellied Parrots. At Melaleuca, in the Southwest National Park, a bird hide has been built especially for observing the birds. From mid-October until the end of March, the birds are regular visitors, coming and going throughout the day. However the best times to see them are in the early mornings or late afternoons. There are two bushwalkers’ huts with room for up to 20 people.

If you are VERY lucky, you may also see Ground Parrots like this blogger reports!   Tasmania has a wealth of nature reserves that have great birding, so I would recommend spending at least a week here.  I will be doing more posts later about other birding hotspots in Tasmania.

 

Orange-Bellied Parrots (Neophema Chrysogaster)

Posted on by
4

Orange-bellied Parrots (Neophema chrysogaster) are one of the rarest parrots species in the world; and unless something is done, we risk losing them from the planet forever.

I took the photos below on my trip to see them at Melaleuca, Tasmania in March 2014.

Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster)

Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster)

IMG_7315a

Orange-bellied Parrots eating

Orange-bellied Parrots eating

IMG_7376a IMG_7384a

According to this video report, there are only 20 at the traditional breeding grounds at Melalueca, Tasmania.  They are one of only two species of parrot which migrate.  OBPs breed in Tasmania and spend the winter in coastal grasslands on southern mainland Australia. With only 36 wild birds known to be alive after the summer 2011/12 breeding season, it is regarded as a critically endangered species.  This map shows their range.

OBP range

There is extensive information on the species on the Australian Biodiversity site, but I do want to point out the major threats.

The main current threat to the Orange-bellied Parrot is the loss and fragmentation of its non-breeding saltmarsh habitat. Suitable habitat has been lost to the construction of farmland, industrial sites and saltworks (Ashby 1924b; Brown & Wilson 1982; Loyn et al. 1986; Menkhorst et al. 1990; Starks 1995b; Stephenson 1991; Yugovic 1984). The main factors contributing to the loss of Orange-bellied Parrot habitat are:

  • drainage of wetlands for grazing
  • alteration and destruction of saltmarsh for industrial and urban development
  • grazing of native vegetation
  • vegetation clearance for agricultural purposes
  • changes to land use practices
  • recreational activities (OBPRT 2006a).

Potential threats to the Orange-bellied Parrot population include loss of unknown breeding sites, competition from introduced species, predation, Psittacine Circoviral Disease (PCD), collision with structures, ingestion of toxic weeds and reduced availability of food due to the changed species composition at feeding sites (OBPRT 2006a).

Threat Abatement and Recovery

The current Recovery Plan includes the following objectives:

  • To monitor the population size, productivity, survival and life history of the Orange-bellied Parrot.
  • To identify all sites used by Orange-bellied Parrots and better understand migration.
  • To increase the carrying capacity of habitat by actively managing sites throughout the species’ range.
  • To identify, measure and ameliorate threats, particularly in migratory and winter habitats.
  • To increase the number of breeding sub-populations /groups.
  • To maintain a viable captive population.

How can you help?

Zoos Australia have a captive breeding program and you can help by virtually “adopting” an Orange-bellied Parrot.

Visit their website to learn more about this.

Orange-bellied Parrots are also represented on Facebook and I recommend you like these pages to keep up to date with what is happening with them.

Orange-bellied Parrot Project

Save the Orange-bellied Parrot

 

In spite of their rarity, it is still possible to see Orange-bellied Parrots in the wild at Melaleuca, Tasmania.  In this post I  show you how to get there on airline miles and organize a visit.  They can also be seen in coastal Victoria while they spend the winter there but they are more spread out and more difficult to spot.  I recommend making the trip to Tasmania to see them between January-early March when there are both adults and newly hatched babies around.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT ORANGE-BELLIED PARROTS

World Parrot Trust

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

Polytelis Media has a superb clip from their excellent series on Australian parrots on Youtube.

 

Frequent Flyer Miles Earning Credit Cards – Australian Edition 2

Posted on by
1

Last week in Australian Edition 1 I showed you how to use the various American Express cards to get a nice sign-up bonus to kick start your mileage balance.  You will remember that you could also use AMEX Membership Rewards to transfer to a variety of partners including airlines and hotels.  Before we start, I want to point out that these are not affiliate links, you will be clicking straight off the airline’s website.  If you have been on USA based blogs and forums, you will probably have seen that they can get even better sign up bonuses through affiliates but we don’t seem to have that in Australia……………yet!  The only situation where you get more sign up points  than is offered on the bank/airline site is the Amex referral program.  Please use the contact form if you would like me to refer you for this bonus which I discussed in Edition 1.

Now let’s look at airline specific cards.  These are co-branded cards that automatically transfer your points into the airline each month.  Even if you get the Amex, you should also get a Visa or Mastercard as there are a lot of businesses and government fees where you can’t use an Amex.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA – VELOCITY

When you click on to their website, you will notice an “Earn” tab and a “Specials” tab.

The “Specials” tab will take you to whatever sign up bonuses are running at the time.  Always check this tab before you sign up for any credit card and make sure you read the T&Cs that go with the card so you know what you have to do to earn the bonus.

Now click on the “Earn” tab and select credit cards to see ALL the credit card options that partner with Velocity.  You will see that just about every bank in Australia has a Velocity card or a rewards card that you can transfer to Velocity.

Here are the banks, quite a lot!

Be sure to check out each bank’s website to look for rewards cards that you can transfer to Velocity.  You will also see different transfer ratios for each one so you have to spend some time reading each one to see which card would give you the best value for annual fee vs transfer ratio and what other benefits the card may have like travel insurance.

***********************************************************************************************************

***********************************************************************************************************

QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER

Now let’s look at Qantas options.  From their homepage, go to the Frequent Flyer tab and select Earning Points, then “Pay”.

This page is set up a bit differently from Velocity.  If there are any specials, they will be on this page.  I have highlighted in yellow the bonuses that are current as of this post date.

.

.

With Qantas, it is also worthwhile to check its partner Jetstar because their credit card also has the option to credit the points to Qantas.

No matter which credit card you choose, always make sure you are prepared to pay it off every month because if you incur interest, then the miles and points are less valuable.  Be sure to read the T&Cs of each card, check for annual fees, interest rates and minimum spend within a specified time to get the sign up bonus.  If you haven’t already, you should join both Qantas Frequent Flyer and Virgin Velocity because they will email you special deals that may include targeted sign up bonuses.

In the next post in this series, I will show you (Aussies) how to get miles and points for FREE just from every day living!