10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2011

I mentioned last week, while talking about rails and the Pacific, that Tonga is not a particularly birdy birding destination. Tonga is still a fun place to visit, particularly if you’re a poor PhD student anxious to escape the Austral winter. According to the guides it is a forest bird in Fiji (and an elusive one, I never saw one in my week there in 2005) but in Tonga I saw it in the towns and country gardens. Birding Pacific Pacific birds Tonga

Tonga 165

Tonga 2011 Fiji New Zealand 165

Green Prophet

MARCH 9, 2012

The tiny kingdom of Tonga in the south pacific has just signed a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi based company Masdar for a 500 KW solar project to be built on the island of Vava’ in Tonga. Like many isolated Pacific Islands Tonga’s electricity consumers have long been dependent on diesel generators. During the oil price spike in 2008, Tonga’s economy screeched to a halt” says Climate Progress.

Tonga 63

Tonga Solar Powered Solar 2012 63

Celsias

JULY 26, 2012

The name, ‘Maama Mai’, chosen by His Majesty King Tupou VI, means ‘let there be light’ More than 260 delegates attended the celebration, including the Tongan King and Prime Minister, New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Murray McCully, and representatives from the project’s alliance partners − the Government of Tonga, Tonga Power, Meridian Energy and the New Zealand Aid Programme.

Tonga 40

Tonga New Zealand Solar 2012 40

Green Traveler Guides

DECEMBER 11, 2014

Africa Cape Verde Chile Cuba Dominica Ghana Grenada Lithuania Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Palau Samoa South America The Americas Tonga Vanuatu best developing nations to visit ethical travel ethical travel 2015 Ethical Traveler

2015 153

2015 Ethical Cape Verde Vanuatu 153

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2011

I certainly did when I visited the two southern islands of Tonga a few years ago. The two endemic species found in Tonga are not found in these islands, and the other species present are also found on more traditional destinations of Fiji and Samoa. And it is found in Tonga today, darting across the road being the usual view you’d get of these small rails. Southern Tonga had its own flightless Gallirallus rail (an undescribed species).

2011 151

2011 Tonga Samoa Fiji 151

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

All the way back in 2011 I wrote about the confusing taxanomic enigma that is the Collared Kingfisher , a species that ranges from the Red Sea to Tonga in a bewildering variety of forms. Subspecies sacer , ‘Eua, Tonga. I’m happy to report that an analysis of the species and some relatives has found that, as suspected, it isn’t a single species.

2015 179

2015 Tonga Vanuatu Micronesia 179

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2014

The Wattled Honeyeater is a species, or now more accurately a genus, found in eastern Melanesia (Fiji) and in western Polynesia (Samoa and Tonga). In spite of the bird extinctions that have plagued the islands of the Pacific, it doesn’t seem to have suffered that much; I saw it in gardens in both Fiji and Tonga. Photo from ‘Eua, Tonga.

Tonga 166

Tonga Fiji 2014 Samoa 166

Green (Living) Review

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

by Michael Smith (Veshengro) The tsunami that struck Samoa and Tonga in the South Pacific in the last days of September 2009 has been blamed by some on Climate Change. I have to say that now I have about heard it all. Tsunamis are not triggered by Climate Change or Global Warming but by undersea earthquakes. But some forces are trying to make this out to be a result of Climate Change as well.

2009 109

2009 Climate Change Tonga Samoa 109

Eccorazzi

AUGUST 18, 2011

“I went diving with whales in Tonga, and when they sing, your whole body vibrates — it’s an emotional experience, and we want that to be transmitted to the viewers.

2011 74

2011 Tonga Ocean Extinct 74

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2011

The Collared Kingfisher isn’t the most widespread kingfisher in the world (a distinction that would probably go to the Common Kingfisher or the Pied Kingfisher ), but it is close, ranging from the African coast of the Red Sea through to Tonga and American Samoa. Subspecies sacer , ‘Eua, Tonga.

2011 168

2011 Vanuatu Samoa Tonga 168

Green Prophet

MARCH 12, 2012

But like many island nations, they currently depend on expensive imports of traditional diesel and heavy fuel oil to run generators for electricity, (see why Masdar just brought solar power to Tonga ) leading to an unexpectedly heavy carbon footprint. Not content with their ambitious achievements in Abu Dhabi, now Masdar is spreading clean energy worldwide.

2012 65

2012 Tonga Wind Farm Madagascar 65

Green Prophet

APRIL 19, 2013

The government-backed company is already building a wind farm in the Seychelles, owns part of the world’s largest wind farm in England, the London Array, and recently confirmed plans to take solar energy to Tonga. Situated even deeper in the desert than Morocco and prone to locust swarms , Mauritania’s topography consists of the “ mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara ” – as the CIA puts it.

Mauritania 76

Mauritania Solar Tonga Planting 76

Green Prophet

OCTOBER 27, 2012

Before the two ladies could be moved to Tonga Terre d’Accueil sanctuary in Saint Martin la Plaine, France, a host of measures had to be taken beforehand. Animals Lebanon rescued two striped hyenas that had been captured as pups in the wild and they are now safe in their new home in southern France. Five year old Rita was living in the Ansar Zoo, which was bombed in 2006 and left to ruin. Sara, just two, spent her entire life in a cage the same size as her in a private garden.

Lebanon 77

Lebanon 2012 Tonga France 77

Eco Friendly Daily

JUNE 30, 2017

A day later, two powerful earthquakes struck the South Pacific nations of Papua New Guinea and Tonga. On Sunday, a day after the Indonesia earthquake, the South Pacific nations of Papua New Guinea and Tonga were rocked by two separate quakes—6.2 SINGAPORE (AP)—The Asia-Pacific rim is rumbling.

Papua New Guinea 40

Papua New Guinea Tonga Indonesia 2017 40

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

A large, extinct relative of the (barely) extant Tooth-billed Pigeon described above was described in 2006 from remains found in Tonga ( Steadman 2006 ). The Dodo ( Raphus cucullatus ) — that towering icon of modern anthropogenic extinctions — was a pigeon. Not, as Linneaus thought, an ostrich, nor even, as later scientists concluded, a distant cousin of pigeons deserving of family rank, it was an honest-to-goodness pigeon, deeply embedded within the family Columbidae.

2014 219

2014 Solomon Islands Guinea Mauritius 219

Eco Friendly Daily

OCTOBER 7, 2014

A day later, two powerful earthquakes struck the South Pacific nations of Papua New Guinea and Tonga. On Sunday, a day after the Indonesia earthquake, the South Pacific nations of Papua New Guinea and Tonga were rocked by two separate quakes—6.2 SINGAPORE (AP)—The Asia-Pacific rim is rumbling.

Papua New Guinea 43

Papua New Guinea Tonga Indonesia Guinea 43

Green (Living) Review

DECEMBER 17, 2010

Members: Australia , China, Canada, Cook Islands, European Union, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Chinese Taipei, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States of America, Vanuatu. HONOLULU, HI, December 16, 2010: On Friday, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) concluded its week-long 7th Regular Session, in Ko Olina, Hawaii.

2010 109

2010 Overfished Tuna Fisheries 109

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

These terns are generally subtropical birds of the Pacific (I’ve seen them before in Tonga) and reach the extreme south of their range in northern New Zealand. home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Petrel Paradise Petrel Paradise By Duncan • March 2, 2011 • 4 comments Tweet Share I’ve mentioned before that New Zealand is a great place for enjoying petrels.

2011 158

2011 Tonga Namibia Bahamas 158

Green Prophet

MAY 24, 2011

EcoOcean’s Director Andreas Weil Goes Swimming With The Whales in Tonga. We speak to the Zeina Aboul Hosn, an environmental filmmaker based in the Middle East about sharks, working on the Age of Stupid and the challenges she faces in her work. Shortlisted for the Amnesty International 2008 Media Award for journalists covering human rights, Zeina Aboul Hosn is clearly passionate about the world around her and conveying important messages through her films.

2011 63

2011 Environmental Tonga United Arab Emirates 63

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2011

It was long expected that the fossil record would show extinct members of the genus in the islands between New Zealand/New Caledonia and the Society Islands (places like Tonga, Fiji, the Cook Islands) that had gone extinct before Europeans arrived, but no such fossils have been found. One of the joys of blogging for a widely read blog is that it gives one a platform on which to moan and complain about subjects which interest the blogger and no one else in particular.

2011 145

2011 New Zealand Fiji Tonga 145

Green Blog

AUGUST 1, 2011

years), Samoa (31.3), Tonga (31.3), Morocco (32.8), Senegal (32.8), Albania (32.8), Georgia (32.8), Armenia (34.3), St Vincent & Grenadines (36.1), Kenya (36.1), Maldives (37.9), Kyrgyzstan (37.9), Burkina Faso (37.9), India (40.1), Cook Islands (40.1), Bhutan (42.4), Yemen (45.1), Tajikistan (45.1), Mozambique (45.1), Rwanda (45.1), Burundi (45.1), Lesotho (48.1), Swaziland (48.1).

Emissions 67

Emissions Burkina Faso 2011 Guinea-Bissau 67

Green Blog

DECEMBER 16, 2011

At the 2011 Durban Climate Conference the US, with the help of its climate criminal lackeys Australia and Canada, again succeeded in preventing requisite international climate change action. It was reported that Island States had again pleaded with other representatives to avert “ climate genocide ” but their pleas fell on deaf ears at Durban, as at Cancun, as at Copenhagen.

Burkina Faso 49

Burkina Faso Guinea-Bissau 2011 Sri Lanka 49

Green Blog

JANUARY 25, 2012

Fossil fuel burning yielding the greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major component of man-made global warming. In relation to carbon pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, Net Carbon Debt is equal to the Historical Carbon Debt (from fossil fuel burning since the start of the Industrial Revolution in circa 1750) minus the Carbon Credit (the residual carbon pollution from fossil fuel burning permitted between now and zero emissions in 2050).

Fossil Fuel 47

Fossil Fuel Burkina Faso Guinea-Bissau Saint Kitt 47

Green Prophet

MARCH 2, 2011

After looking at “The Forum of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait and at the Saudi Green Blog, we are continuing our trip through the Gulf… Read more articles » Travel & Nature » EcoOcean’s Director Andreas Weil Goes Swimming With the Whales in Tonga Green Prophet had a rare opportunity to interview Andreas Weil, director of EcoOcean.

China 78

China 2011 United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia 78

Green Prophet

MARCH 4, 2011

Virtually… Read more articles » Travel & Nature » EcoOcean’s Director Andreas Weil Goes Swimming With the Whales in Tonga Green Prophet had a rare opportunity to interview Andreas Weil, director of EcoOcean.

2011 67

2011 United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia Tonga 67