Discover one of the South Pacific’s last true frontiers on an extraordinary bird photography expedition to the Reef Islands of the Solomon Islands. Exceedingly remote and rarely visited, these pristine coral atolls rise from turquoise seas and remain virtually unchanged by modern tourism. Here, seabirds such as frigatebirds, boobies, noddies and terns breed in remarkable numbers, offering unparalleled opportunities for close, natural photography in an environment of breathtaking beauty. The focus of this Bird-Photo-Tour is immersive, respectful access to thriving seabird colonies where behavior, flight, and interaction can be captured against the dramatic backdrop of palm-fringed atolls, luminous lagoons, and endless ocean horizons.
Our journey will traverse a number of spectacular atolls each with its own character and photographic rewards. Working slowly and sensitively in these wild places, we maximize time with breeding seabirds while enjoying the rare privilege of staying within the atolls themselves, surrounded by nature day and night. This is a trip for bird photographers seeking adventure, authenticity and abundance: a chance to document seabird life as it has existed for centuries, far from crowds, in one of the least explored and most beautiful corners of the Pacific.
Frigatebirds, Noddies and Boobies: Lesser Frigatebird / Great Frigatebird / Black Noddy / Brown Noddy / Brown Booby / Red-footed Booby
Terns: Blue-billed White Tern / Greater Crested Tern / Bridled Tern / Black-naped Tern
Waders: Bristle-thighed Curlew / Wandering Tattler / Pacific Golden Plover / Ruddy Turnstone
Kingfishers: Guadalcanal Dwarf Kingfisher / Ultramarine Kingfisher / Pacific Kingfisher / Sacred Kingfisher
White-eyes: Grey-throated White-eye / Sanford’s White-eye / Santa Cruz White-eye
Fantails: White-winged Fantail / Brown Fantail / Rufous Fantail / Willie Wagtail
Monarchs & Flycatchers: Chestnut-bellied Monarch / Vanikoro / Steel-blue / Melanesian Flycatchers
Myzomelas and Starlings: Guadalcanal Myzomela / Cardinal Myzomela / Metallic Starling / Polynesian Starling / Rusty-winged Starling
Fruit Doves: Claret-breasted Fruit Dove / Red-bellied Fruit Dove / Yellow-bibbed Fruit Dove
Imperial Pigeons: Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon / Island Imperial Pigeon / Pacific Imperial Pigeon
Others: Melanesian Megapode / Polynesian Triller / Coconut Lorikeet / Guadalcanal Boobook
Note 1: Includes the cost of chartering boats throughout the whole course of this Bird-Photo-Tour
Note 2: Includes the cost of a US$800 return flight journey from Guadalcanal to Temotu Province.
Guiding Fees / Ground Transportation / Accommodation / Meals / Entrance Fees / Tipping for Drivers, Boatsmen, Hotel and Restaurant Staff.
International Flights / VISA Fees / Travel Insurance / Tips for Local Guide / Alcohol / Laundry / Items of a Personal Nature
Days 1-2 Guadalcanal Province, Guadalcanal Island, Honiara Township [1N, 0D, 1S]: Arrive Honiara International Airport [Overnight: Honiara].
Days 2-11 The Reef Islands [9N, 9D, 19S]: Domestic flight 2-hours [Overnight: Various Atolls amongst The Reef Islands].
Days 11-12 Guadalcanal Province, Guadalcanal Island, Honiara Township [1N, 0D, 0S]: Domestic flight 2-hours to Guadalcanal Province [Overnight: Honiara] [END].
[Key: N: Night / D: Full Day / S: Session / Half-Day]
Nick Ludovic Green has been living in Asia for over 15-years and in this time has conducted over 125 bird photography trips across the whole of the Asian continent ranging from Kazakhstan in the west, through India and China to Japan in the east, and from the Kamchatka coastline in the north to as far south as Indonesia. In China alone Nick has photographed to portrait-quality standard over 1,200 of China's bird species taking him to all of China's provinces as well as most of those nations bordering China. These bird photography trips have ranged in length from a few days to many months, including a three-month bird photography expedition to China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region, becoming quite possibly the most travelled foreigner in this region over the past decade. Nick has also conducted a four-month bird photography trek across the Himalayas, ranging from the Indian States of Ladakh and Kashmir in the west, into the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, then onto the Indian States of West Bengal and Sikkim, ending in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the eastern Himalayas. Nick has had his images published across numerous media channels including the BBC and Chinese state-owned media outlets, various bird magazines and journals including the Oriental Bird Club's BirdingASIA. He has his own website on the Birds of China and his book 'Portraits of the Birds of China' is due for publication in 2026. Furthermore, Nick has presented films on photographing birds both in Asia and Europe, has his bird images published across many social media platforms within and outside Asia, and has led a number of bird photography lectures and walks, particularly targeted at children. Consequently, Nick has accumulated significant experience of photographing birds within the Asian continent and this expertise has formed the backdrop to setting up Bird-Photo-Tours Asia, trips designed by bird photographers for bird photographers.
(i) The guesthouses are all in close proximity to the bird photography locations (ii) Walking is at a light pace (iii) There is no requirement to hike (iv) None of the locations are at altitude (v) Two of the locations have no guesthouses and requires staying with locals (vi) two islands involve chartering a boat for a 2-hour journey on the open sea. Summary: as two of the locations requires staying with the locals and as these guesthouses are basic, and as this trip involves two 2-hour journeys on the open sea using 60-horsepower overboard motor boat, it is for these three reasons that this trip has been graded as 'Medium'.
