Samoa Ramsar wetland
Lake Lanoto'o
46 bird species recorded; the most in June and in August.
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
This month here
34 species in January.32 species in February.27 species in March.33 species in April.33 species in May.41 species in June.36 species in July.40 species in August.30 species in September.35 species in October.29 species in November.30 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
NT
NTNTNTNT
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
46 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 46Speciesrecorded more than once
- 5Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 5,266Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 751 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 1Owls
- 2Waders
- 10Gulls & seabirds
- 1Ducks & geese
- 1Herons, ibises & grebes
- 17Songbirds
- 14Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 46 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Owls1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Eastern Barn OwlTyto javanica
Waders2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Pacific Golden PloverPluvialis fulva
- Wandering (Alaskan) TattlerTringa incana
Gulls & seabirds10 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Angel TernGygis alba
- White-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon lepturus
- Anous stolidusAnous stolidus
- Anous minutusAnous minutus
- Great FrigatebirdFregata minor
- Blue NoddyAnous ceruleus
- Tropical ShearwaterPuffinus bailloni
- Red-footed BoobySula sula
- Brown BoobySula leucogaster
- Great Crested-TernThalasseus bergii
Ducks & geese1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosa
Herons, ibises & grebes1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Reef HeronEgretta sacra
Songbirds17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Cardinal MyzomelaMyzomela cardinalis
- Polynesian Wattled HoneyeaterFoulehaio carunculatus
- Samoan StarlingAplonis atrifusca
- Polynesian StarlingAplonis tabuensis
- Red-vented BulbulPycnonotus cafer
- Samoan FantailRhipidura nebulosa
- Polynesian TrillerLalage maculosa
- Jungle MynaAcridotheres fuscus
- MaoGymnomyza samoensis
- Samoan WhistlerPachycephala flavifrons
- Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
- Pacific RobinPetroica pusilla
- Samoan TrillerLalage sharpeiNT
- Red-headed ParrotfinchErythrura cyaneovirens
- Samoan FlycatcherMyiagra albiventris
- Scarlet RobinPetroica multicolor
- Turdus poliocephalusTurdus poliocephalus
Other birds14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- White-rumped SwiftletAerodramus spodiopygius
- Crimson-crowned Fruit DovePtilinopus porphyraceus
- Buff-banded RailGallirallus philippensis
- Flat-billed KingfisherTodiramphus recurvirostris
- Blue-crowned LorikeetVini australis
- Pacific Imperial-PigeonDucula pacifica
- Columba vitiensisColumba vitiensis
- Many-colored Fruit DovePtilinopus perousii
- Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotus
- Red JunglefowlGallus gallus
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Pacific Long-tailed CuckooUrodynamis taitensis
- White-browed CrakePorzana cinerea
- Tooth-billed PigeonDidunculus strigirostrisCR
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in June and in August.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan28°/27°258 mm
- Feb28°/27°241 mm
- Mar28°/27°165 mm
- Apr28°/27°169 mm
- May28°/27°128 mm
- Jun28°/26°91 mm
- Jul28°/26°75 mm
- Aug28°/26°56 mm
- Sep28°/26°92 mm
- Oct28°/26°141 mm
- Nov28°/27°213 mm
- Dec28°/27°229 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Lake Lanoto'o.
Apia, Samoa, Inland wetlands, Permanent freshwater lakes
Lake Lanoto'o is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Samoa, 751 m above the sea.
46 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 5,266 open records.
The most recorded are the Cardinal Myzomela, the Polynesian Wattled Honeyeater and the Samoan Starling.
3 species come for the summer, 2 for the winter and 0 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including Tooth-billed Pigeon.
The most species are recorded in June and in August.
Get there and watch
- Orator Hotel Samoaplace to stay · 6.7 km · 120 within 10 km
- Siuseganearest town · 7.5 km in a straight line
- Faleolo International Airport (APW)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 21 km in a straight line
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1viewpoints within 5 kmLanoto'o Viewing Platform
- 120places to stay within 10 kmOrator Hotel Samoa, Mareke Lodge, Apia Oasis and 117 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- campsites within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Lake Lanoto'o.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas21 mountains within 25 kmMount Fiamoe585 m · volcano · 3.4 kmMount Vaea472 m · 8.0 km↗Mount Vailele · 13 kmTafua-upolu · 15 kmMount Fito · 16 kmMount Afolau · 20 kmMount Olomanu · 21 kmMount To'ona · 24 km
Cascadyas2 waterfalls within 15 kmPapapapaitai Falls · 6.3 km↗So'agu Falls · 10 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q27925684) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 5,266 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Darkskyas, Cascadyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit