Birding

/ˈbəːdɪŋ/

the observation of birds in their natural habitat as a hobby.

I am not sure how exactly my love for birds started, but it was certainly driven by my photography. Back in Germany, birds were the most readily available wildlife to photograph, and I somewhat naturally gravitated towards them. This curiosity has turned into a passion (maybe obsession?), and today, I am a birder through and through.

A smiling man with a beard taking a selfie outdoors in a tropical setting with lush green trees, a thatched roof building, and a large bird of prey perched on a red cooler in front of him.
Two men in a canoe on a river surrounded by trees, with one man taking a selfie and holding a camera lens, others holding a fishing pole.
Three men smiling, taking a selfie outside a small wooden hut in a jungle setting, with green leaves and vines around.

While I have photographed hundreds of species across the world, I want to share just a few images here as examples of my work. For those interested in diving deeper into the world of birding, viewing more sightings and finding additional info on my birding activities, head to my eBird or Inaturalist profile, two citizen science platforms I regularly use and highly recommend.

The first photo ever.

The New Britain Goshawk.

In 2024, while on assignment for WWF-Pacific in Papua New Guinea, Tom made history with one of his photos. For the first time ever, he photographed the New Britain Goshawk, a rare bird that was on the “Lost Species” list. This great conservation news went viral and where shared by dozens of news outlets across the world, garnering hundreds of millions of social media impressions.

Read the WWF Press Release here.

Get your POCKET GUIDE TO FIJI’S BIRDS

After more than five years of birding across Fiji, I realized something was missing: a sturdy, water-resistant field guide I could actually take with me outdoors. Since no such guide existed, I decided to create one myself.

In collaboration with a talented artist, I designed and produced this foldable bird guide, which is now available at various locations around Fiji as well as online through the Projects Collective Shop.

This durable, water-resistant guide is the only resource of its kind currently available in Fiji. Unlike older and now out-of-print guides, it is up to date and specifically designed for field use. Each bird illustration was hand-drawn, and the guide took nearly a year and a half to develop.

With nature tourism steadily growing and more families spending time in Fiji’s great outdoors, this affordable guide is designed to be a practical companion for both locals and visitors—something you can slip in your pocket and take on any adventure.

Brochure Specifications

  • Size: 10 × 20 cm

  • 11 extendable pages printed double-sided

  • 68 bird species, with English, Fijian, and Latin names

  • Includes basic birding tips

A printed guidebook titled "A Pocket Guide to Fiji's Birds" featuring a mountain landscape on the cover, with two inner pages showing illustrations and information about various bird species.
A fold-out informational chart displaying various bird illustrations categorized by habitat, including ocean edge, forest edge, forest, urban areas, and open fields, with labels and descriptions for each bird species.

Fiji’s Birds 

From the moment I first arrived in Fiji in 2015, I found myself drawn to the country’s remarkable birdlife. What began as a casual interest quickly grew into a deep passion, and a few years later, I launched Project Manumanu Vuka—an ongoing personal mission to photograph every bird species found in Fiji.

My professional assignments have taken me to remote corners of the country, and whenever possible, I carve out time for birding—sometimes hours, sometimes just a few minutes. To date, I have photographed nearly 70 species, including several endemics found only on specific islands. Many species are still missing, but the collection is already shaping up to be one of the most complete visual records of Fiji’s birds.

Importantly, I only count images that meet a high standard of quality—the same level you see in the examples below.

FIJI Bird Posters

These two posters are the first of their kind in Fiji. One is focused solely on endemic bird species found only in Fiji and nowhere else on Earth.

The other birds also include Common bird species.

Poster Specifications

40 x 60 cm

Birds are shown with their common English names, their Fijian names and Latin names

Two framed posters of birds from the Fiji Islands hanging above a dark wooden cabinet with decorative vases and a bowl.
A framed poster titled 'Common Birds of the Fiji Islands' displaying illustrations of various bird species native to Fiji, with their names labeled.
Educational poster titled "Endemic Birds of the Fiji Islands" showing illustrations of various colorful bird species native to Fiji, with their names labeled.

Finding Fiji’s rare Pink-billed parrotfinches

The elusive Pink-billed parrotfinch (Erythrura kleinschmidti) is only found on Fiji's largest island Viti Levu and had never been filmed. Thanks to Fiji's leading ornithologist, Vilikesa Masibalavu, who had previously identified an active nest in the Sovi Basin in Fiji's Naitasiri Province, we were able to capture many stills and video of two individuals tending to their nest at about 9m height in an African Tulip tree. The pink-billed parrotfinch is listed as 'Vulnerable' on IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, mainly due to increasing deforestation and resulting habitat loss in its small distribution area on Viti Levu.

Where is Fiji’s Kulawai?i

This film documents the quest of Fiji’s first local Non-Governmental Organisation NatureFiji-MareqetiViti to find a long-lost bird that is of national importance. Last seen more than 20 years ago, the Kulawai (red-throated lorikeet) is a small, elusive parrot that might still be located in areas of Fiji’s vast and dense forests.

Screenings & Awards:

2023 - ‘Highly Honoured’ at Nature’s Best International Photography Awards

2021 - Wildlife Conservation Film Festival - Official Selection

Papua New Guinea Birds 

Samoa Birds

Australia & more Oceania Birds

South America Birds