on Atiu the Island of Birds Finding Nirvana
By Cathy Casey
Enthusiastic amateur bird photographer Cathy Casey finds her nirvana on the Island of Atiu in the Cook Islands where she goes troppo trying to sight and photograph three of the rarest birds in the world. As a keen bird photographer, when I found the Island of Atiu on my internet search of the Cook Islands, I knew I had to go. The reviews were unequivocal - Atiu is the best bird watching site among the 13 Cook Islands: “If you love birds, you should head to the island of Atiu, which literally means ‘land of birds’. There are more species there than on any other Cook Island, including some of the rarest in the world. The Rarotonga flycatcher, which is endangered and the kopeka or Atiu swiftlet of which there are only about 500 are two of the species that you could see. (1) In 1980 there were eight land birds on Atui and two of those - the kopeka (Atiu swiftlet) and the kakerori (Rarotonga flycatcher) - were at that time critically endangered. (2)
the rarest birds in the world. It nests in the recesses of two very dark caves on the island and like a bat, it navigates its way in and out by sonar. Once out of the cave the kopeka is an aerial feeder around Atiu, catching insects in the air and gathering nesting material without landing. I found very few photographs of the kopeka, presumably because of difficulty in reaching its cave nesting sites. I had booked a cave tour to Anatakitaki, the home of the kopeka but I was not at all sure whether I would even be allowed to take photos in the cave. The few photos of the kopeka that I found were taken in the cave with flash. To do likewise, I would need to carry my camera gear. Relying as I do on a hand-held DSLR camera and lighting from a torch, head lamp and my camera’s internal flash, I wasn’t sure I had the the recipe for a successful dark shoot.
I focused my internet search on the three rare species that Holyoak had identified on Atiu -the kopeka (Atiu swiftlet), chattering kingfisher and kakerori (Rarotonga flycatcher). Each bird posed its own photographic challenge:
Chattering Kingfisher The chattering kingfisher on Atiu is a subspecies of the chattering kingfisher that populates both the Cook Islands and the Society Islands. The Atiu bird has unique colouring differentiating it off from its near neighbour on the island of Mauke, the adults of the Atiu population have the top of their head mostly white. In immature Atiu birds the top of the head is blue-green.
Kopeka (Atiu swiftlet) The kopeka has an estimated population of 400, it is one of
In New Zealand, the kōtare (sacred kingfisher) is one of my favourite birds to photograph. I also know it is a shy bird that spooks easily. I was hopeful that Birdman George might help me with locating its Atiu cousin.
The bird that graces the cover of Holyoak’s book is Atiu’s chattering kingfisher. The colouring of the Atiu kingfisher is unique to the island.
72 • Escape Magazine
