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Kouaku is the southernmost little sandy island - Motu - in the Gambiers. The vegetation consists mainly of native shrubs and trees with only a few coconut trees. If you go ashore you are welcomed by lots of noddies and terns, which circle above you. This is because if you wander closer the birds get agitated and circle above after giving a warning signal to the other birds. Especially if it is a nesting area. Normally only a few birds fly around the motu or sit in groups on the sandy beach. We always love to find islands where there are still a lot of birds.

00_Kouaku_from_above
01_View_from_Kouaku_towards_the_main_island_Mangareva
02_White_Terns_are_very_curious_about_us

There are mainly two different bird species on Kouaku, which also use the island as nesting area. The wonderful, brilliant white White Terns (Gygis alba) as well as the Black Noddies (Anous minutus). We also saw some Brown Noddies (Anous stolidus) and Red-footed Boobies (Sula sula). Most seabirds simply nest on the ground, some building nests, others just laying there eggs in a sandy hollow. This was not a problem before people together with their animals arrived on those oceanic islands. Cats, dogs, pigs, goats and rats pose a severe threat to seabird populations. The arrival of humans and their intentional and unintentional introduction of animals now prevent the successful nesting of seabirds in a lot of places, since the eggs and chicks are easy prey for both, humans and animals.

03_Brown_Noddy_(Anous_stolidus-Braune-Noddiseeschwalbe)
04_Black_Noddy_(Anous_minutus)_and_chick_observing_their_surroundings
05_Noddies_hunting_together

White terns and noddies do not nest on the ground but use shrubs and trees. The black noddies look similar to the brown noddies but are a little smaller and have a longer and straighter beak. The name noddy comes from their mating behavior, because they always nod with their heads during courtship. They feed on small fish and squid and usually hunt in bigger groups. If big fish drive a school of small fish towards the surface, noddies will see this and start catching fish from above. As soon as we see a big group of noddies above the water we know there must be a lot of fish around.

06_Noddynests_are_made_out_of_leaves_and_bird_droppings
07_Noddy_chick_waiting_for_his_parents_in_his_nest
08_They_lay_one_egg_per_nesting_season
09_Black_noddy_and_small_chick_in_their_nest
10_A_chick_fell_out_of_its_nest
11_After_some_observation_we_found_that_it_is_still_being_fed_by_its_parents
12_Observing
13_Small_Noddy_chick
14_Noddies_often_build_many_nests_in_one_tree
15_Bigger_chick_waiting_for_his_parents_and_food
16_The_inner_or_western_side_of_Kouaku
17_The_outer_side_of_Motu_Kouaku

Noddies build small nests on branches of shrubs and trees, which consist of twigs, leaves and bird excrements. They use the same nest more than once and always lay only one egg. The chicks look similar to the adults, dark brown with a white cap on their head. Once in a while a chick might fall out of the nest or tree and hide on the ground. Luckily we observed that those chicks are still fed by the parents.

18_White_tern_(Gygis_alba)_sitting_on_the_egg
19_Single_egg_of_a_white_tern_on_a_branch
20_White_Tern_watching_us
21_You_can_almost_not_see_the_camouflaged_newly_hatched_chick
22_Newly_hatched_White_Tern
23_First_their_color_resembles_the_tree_bark
24_They_also_have_highly_developed_feet
25_and_do_not_make_any_sound
26_So_cute
27_Slowly_new_feathers_replace_the_fluffy_chick_ones
28_Parent_bird_watching_over_half_grown_chick
29_Almost_grown_chick_sitting_unmoving_within_the_shelter_of_the_trees
30_Some_look_like_an_owl
31_Seabirds_are_feeding_their_young_with_fish_from_around_the_islands
32_Halfgrown_chick_just_losing_the_fluffy_feathers

In contrast, the white terns also nest on trees but do not build a nest. They lay their single egg simply on a branch. The advantage is that the eggs can not be attacked by nest parasites, but the disadvantage obviously is that the eggs and later chicks can easily fall down in stronger winds. Luckily they can lay another egg pretty quickly if this happens. Therefore the chicks already have highly developed feet to hold on to branches. On Kouaku we can observe everything from eggs to freshly hatched chicks up to almost grown ones. If you get closer to a chick they tend to remain completely still and try to melt into their surroundings. Some look like small owls sitting in the tree. Once in a while you can watch how they are fed with small fish by their parents. If they are freshly hatched they have the same grayish color as the bark of the trees. When they grow, the feathers become more and more white until they are brilliant white when they are grown and often reflect the blue of the ocean surface when they fly. White terns tend to live very long. One individual is known to be be at least 42 years old, which is remarkable for a small sea bird.

33_Another_one_well_camouflaged
34_Once_grown_they_are_really_beautiful_birds
35_One_of_many_Black-tipped_Reefsharks_cruising_in_the_shallow_water
35_White_terns_usually_come_in_pairs
36_and_fly_in_pairs
37_White_Tern_waiting_to_feed_her_chick

In the evenings we usually also see red-footed bobbies (Sula sula) resting in the trees. But if they nest around Gambier we do not know. At least we have never seen nests anywhere. There are also other bird species in the Gambier islands. On some of the southern islands the rats were eradicated and artificial nesting sites created to attract other sea birds (petrels and shearwaters) and give them a safe place to nest.

38_Just_cute
39_Western_part_of_Kouaku
40_Sunset_in_Kouaku

We are glad that there are at least a few places where you can find an abundance of birds. Those islands need some prerequisites like no disturbance through humans (collecting eggs, hunting birds), no or only very few coconut trees, because those can not be used for nesting or as shelter, as well as the absence of rats and other predators of their eggs and chicks. Also, humans are a threat since many still collect eggs. Lately studies have found that bird islands are very important for the health of coral reefs since the birds bring nutrients - in form of fish and squid - from big ocean areas to the islands and improve the growth of plankton through their excrements, which enhances the food supply for fish and other marine organisms close to the island. Bird islands are important for the ecosystem ocean and so we are always happy to find special places like this.