An Adventure to Pitcairn and French Polynesia

John Clark will give an illustrated talk with photos of many of the 70 endemic bird species encountered on a five-week long birdwatching expedition in September-October 2019. Starting in Tahiti, the capital of French Polynesia, they flew 1000 km to Mangereva where they joined a small converted cargo ship, The Braveheart. From there, they sailed east to Pitcairn, Henderson and Oeno Islands, before returning west towards the Tuamoto Islands and then back to Mangareva. While the ship sailed 1000 km north to the Marquesas Islands, they returned to Tahiti for a couple of days before flying out to the Marquesas to rejoin the ship. Here they visited six different islands before sailing back to Tahiti via some of the Society Islands. Having finished their tour of the British Overseas Territory and French Polynesia, they flew to Rarotonga to spend a few days in the Cook Islands before returning home through Auckland.

John has been birding since the late 1960s when a teenager, mostly in Hampshire, where local birding remains a passion. He co-edited Birds of Hampshire published in 1993 and wrote Rare Birds of Hampshire published in 2022. He was County Recorder from 1993-2010. He got interested in world birding from the 1980s and on taking early retirement from teaching in 2008 he was able to travel extensively and has now seen just under 9,000 species.

BOC indoor meetings are usually quite well-attended by local birders and bird-enthusiasts. Non-members are very welcome to attend this free event, which is suitable for anyone interested in wild birds and conservation - you don't have to be an expert.

Come and join us in Room 109, Palmer Building, Whiteknights Campus, University of Reading for a friendly and enjoyable evening.