The most iconic tree on Lord Howe Island isn’t a native at all, but an introduced species – the Norfolk Island Pine. Some sailors thought it would be good wood for ship building – and found out too late that it wasn’t.
There are lots of trees on the island, and lots of birds that make their home there. Some birds are frequent visitors, like the sooty tern.
Others are native flightless birds like the buff-banded rail.
This beautiful green dove.
And the most beloved bird on the island, the Woodhen.
With no native land-based predators, the flightless birds just took over the island – until the rats came. Just 10 years ago, the woodhen was endangered as the island was over-run by rats. The island embarked on an ambitious rat-eradication program, which was successful, and now the birds are flourishing. We even saw a few chicks running around.
Static and Silence 
You kept me waiting for a while for the next installment. I love the bird shots. I saw an article recently that said a native cockroach has come back too since the rats were done away with.
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