Samoa Surprise

We did not really know what to expect when Oliver and I arrived in American Samoa on the morning of December 8, 2023, after flying all night from Honolulu. Reviewing data on eBird, it appears that no birders live in American Samoa. This US Territory is severely underbirded. In eBird, the bird list for American Samoa is just 62 species, derived from just a few hundred checklists. And the number of species reported in December is markedly fewer. Fortunately about half the species present in American Samoa would be new for my Big Year bird list. I hoped to find 20 new species in American Samoa for my quest to observe 900 species in one year. 

By the end of our first day I had added 9 new species. And 5 more the second day, bringing my total number of species to 844. We have four more days here before returning to Hawaii on December 14. 

Incidentally, the main island of American Samoa where we are staying is called Tutuila, and it is ridiculously gorgeous. The scenery is spectacular. Amazingly there is no tourism here. People are incredibly friendly and hospitable. The downside is that everything is quite expensive. We  are spending about $350 a day for lodging, transportation, and food. Oh, if you enjoy life in the fast lane, you might be very uncomfortable here. The speed limit is 25 miles per hour and passing is not permitted. 


These are my new Biggest Year bird species from American Samoa after two days: 

December 8:

831 Buff-banded Rail.

832 Pacific Reef-Heron

833 Eastern Wattled-Honeyeater

834 Pacific Imperial-Pigeon

835 Lesser Frigatebird

836 Pacific Kingfisher

837 Samoan Starling

838 White-rumped Swiftlet

839 Blue-gray Noddy


December 9

840 Samoan Myzomela

841 Crimson-fronted Fruit-Dove

842 Jungle Myna

843 Australasian Swamphen

844 Black-naped Tern


We may try to reach a couple other islands of American Samoa this week. Stay tuned. 





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