Solomon Islands 2025 Part 2 – Hills of Santa Isabel: Tiratonga Village & Solomons Frogmouth, Woodford's Rail, West Solomons Owl

 

Solomons Frogmouth

The enigmatic Solomons Frogmouth, endemic to Solomon Islands, is a creature I have long been interested in. It was first described in 1901 but was long regarded as a subspecies of the Marbled Frogmouth (Podargus ocellatus) of New Guinea and north-east Australia. It was not until genetic analysis of a specimen collected in 1998 that scientists realised this was a very different beast, giving the bird its own genus, Rigidipenna, in 2007. It diverged from other frogmouths 30 million years ago; the Smithsonian Institution noted the revelation had “profound biogeographical implications”.

Approaching Santa Isabel from the air

The unlikely go-to hotspot for the bird these days are rainforest gullies around the small subsistence village of Tiratonga, perched in the hills of Santa Isabel Island. It's not easy to get there. After a few days on Guadalcanal , our group flew to Fera Island, the gateway to Santa Isabel. We transferred by boat to the main island and stayed overnight in Ghasiali Resort. The next morning we were driven a few kilometres to the island's small capital, Buala.

Porter lends a hand with a suitcase

There we were met by porters who carried our luggage up the steep track to Tiratonga. Our food for the planned three-day stay was sent up earlier. It took 70 minutes to hike the 2.6 kilometre trail, reaching the village at 570m above sea level – a steep climb on a sometimes slippery slope, but not too difficult.

The climb up to Tiratonga

The village has turned a large house into an accommodation centre - rooms, comfortable beds, a wide verandah from which to enjoy the splendid view of the surrounding hills. The food was plentiful and delicious. The bathroom was downstairs and a tad on the basic side - the shower a cold water tap with flimsy cover. Still, there were birds to be seen.

Tiratonga lodgings

Lunch time at the lodgings

Tracking frogmouths is quite a community event. On our first evening we hiked to a gully near the village edge, with a dozen young men in tow. Many were adept an imitating the bird's peculiar whistling calls. We had a couple of distant replies but nothing more.

Tiratonga Village

The next morning we hiked from the village up a steep and muddy trail, having close encounters with good numbers of White-billed Crow, which was surprisingly scarce on Guadalcanal. Our main goal was to see another north Solomons endemic – the Black-faced Pitta.

White-billed Crow

We heard a bird calling for 5-7 minutes soon after arriving at the gully where most recent sightings have been made. Despite plenty of effort, then and during three subsequent visits, the pitta was not seen or even heard again. Local guides had differing views about how to find it, but no plan worked. Other sites which have yielded pittas in times past were checked without success. 

Rainforest above the village

The guides did, however, track down another key target – a West Solomons Owl at its daytime roost, close to the pitta gully. The bird was flighty and difficult to nail down, but eventually we had good views through thick foliage.

West Solomons Owl

Other north Solomon endemics around the village and surrounding forest included good numbers of Yellow-throated White-eye and heard-only Red-naped Myzomela and North Solomons Dwarf-Kingfisher.

Yellow-throated White-eye

Birds seen regularly from the guesthouse verandah perched in the open included Long-tailed Myna and Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove.

Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove

Long-tailed Myna

A pair of Woodford's Rail of the distinctive race immaculata - possibly a separate species - were tracked down in scrubby regrowth on the village edge, with satisfactory photographs managed of this cryptic species.

Woodford's Rail

The generally uncommon Ultramarine Kingfisher often showed itself around village huts.

Ultramarine Kingfisher

The villagers showed us a juvenile Northern Common Cuscus they had captured. Its mother had been made a meal of earlier. 

Northern Common Cuscus

Plentiful garden vegetables in the village are supplemented by seafood caught or traded for on the coast, and game hunted with large slingshots and bow-and-arrow; guns are prohibited. The scarcity of large birds like large pigeons and hornbills in the area reflected hunting pressure.

Villager with slingshot

Also destined for the pot was a captured Solomon Islands Skink (Corucia zebrata) we were shown. This spectacular and rarely photographed animal is the largest skink in the world.

Solomon Islands Skink

The villagers were keen to explore further opportunities to promote ecotourism in a bid to improve their local economy and living standards. Conditions there are basic. There is no medical clinic and the school operates part-time, largely with the help of volunteers. Visitors to Tiratonga are invited to bring books suitable for small children as much-wanted gifts.

Meeting with the community

The community attended a meeting with our group. We explained why some people were prepared to put effort and money into finding special birds like the Solomons Frogmouth. We told them we were very happy with how welcoming and enthusiastic they had been. Some people had concerns. Birds like Papuan Eclectus can ravage fruit crops, while Woodford's Rail digs up garden beds. Could they still be controlled if birders came more often? We explained that the birds sought by visitors are not the ones damaging gardens.

Villagers at the meeting

On our second evening we opted to try a different site for the frogmouth, this one downhill along the track we had ascended to reach the village. I had a bad fall here in the dark, smashing a good proportion of my body along with my camera flash! The villagers were quick to tend the wounds after I returned to the guesthouse, though the absence of antiseptic of any kind was a reminder to bring a medical kit, which on this occasion I had forgotten. The others heard more distant frogmouth calls at the second site but nothing more.

Wounded in the course of duty

At 1.30am the next morning, we were woken by an excited group of villagers. They had found a Solomons Frogmouth close by. Evidently they had been looking for it all night, following the failure of our earlier attempts. 

Solomons Frogmouth - above and below

We found the bird after about 10 minutes, getting good views of it on an open perch, though the loss of the camera flash meant the images here are not what I had hoped for. My injuries ended plans to look for Fearful Owl on our last night, but to see the frogmouth was enormously satisfying.