Site Report: Rangiroa
Blue Lagoon
Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra) - Dark Morph
Great Crested-Tern (Sterna bergii) - Non-breeding
Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana)
Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel)
Great Crested-Tern (Sterna bergii) - Breeding
Black Noddy (Anous minutus)
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)
Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana)
Fairy Tern (Sterna nereis)
Azure-tailed Skink (Lygosominae cyanurum)
Tuamotu Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus atyphus)
Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis)
Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
×
Blue Lagoon
Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra) - Dark Morph
Great Crested-Tern (Sterna bergii) - Non-breeding
Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana)
Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel)
Great Crested-Tern (Sterna bergii) - Breeding
Black Noddy (Anous minutus)
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)
Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana)
Fairy Tern (Sterna nereis)
Azure-tailed Skink (Lygosominae cyanurum)
Tuamotu Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus atyphus)
Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis)
Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
Rangiroa is a coral atoll in the Tuamoto Archipelago. There are a couple of passes good for scuba diving as well as some rare land birds.
Visits
- 2010-07-04: After a overnight in Papeete, we flew over to Rangiroa for a few days. I did a couple of scuba dives in one of the passes. Both dives were pretty good overall, but some of the coral was bleached in the area of this first dive. We drifted through the pass at the end of the first dive, and it was surprising how quickly we were moving under the water. A few of the people on the dive ran out of air and had to start sharing. Some highlights were seeing dolphins, sharks, and a hawksbill sea turtle. Another adventure involved boating over to a smaller lagoon called "blue lagoon". The water was certainly blue, and there were several birds nesting on one of the motus (including the blue lorikeet). After lunch, we jumped in the water with a bunch of black-tipped reef sharks and the leftovers.
Species Seen
Kingdom: Animals (15 records)
Phylum: Chordates
(15 records)
Class: Birds
(13 records)
- Order: Boobies
(1 record)
- Family: Boobies and Gannets
- Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)
- Order: Parrots
(1 record)
- Family: New World Parrots
- Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana)
- Order: Pelicans
(4 records)
- Family: Frigatebirds
- Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)
- Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel)
- Family: Herons
- Pacific Reef-Heron (Egretta sacra)
- Family: Sandpipers and Allies
- Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis)
- Order: Perching Birds
(1 record)
- Family: Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers
- Tuamotu Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus atyphus)
- Order: Shorebirds and Allies (6 records)
- Family: Plovers
- Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
Class: Cartilaginous Fish
(1 record)
- Order: Ground Sharks
(1 record)
- Family: Reef Sharks
- Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
Class: Reptiles
(1 record)
- Order: Lizards and Snakes
(1 record)
- Family: Skinks
- Azure-tailed Skink (Lygosominae cyanurum)