Nauru is already one of those islands many people have barely heard of, let alone know how to place correctly on a map. And for the travelers who do know it, a lot of them seem to know it for one reason only: the number. Another country checked off, another hard-to-reach island added to the list.

But that was never enough for me.

I stayed five nights on Nauru, despite the heavy hit to my poor travel budget, because I wanted more than just the surface of the place. I wanted time to see what life felt like there. And thankfully, that time paid off. In those few days, I got a small lick of the Nauruan language, met locals who took me into some wild caves, and eventually ended up having one of the most memorable cultural experiences of my time on the island: going Topside to catch noddy bird.

Going Topside with Locals

One of the best things about traveling across the Pacific as reflected in my entire Pacific Island voyage, is meeting islanders, and Nauru was no different. In fact, because the visa process filters out so much tourism, locals often seemed even more curious and enthusiastic to talk to a foreigner.

On my first night eating at one of the many Chinese restaurants on the island, I met a woman who helped me order food. That simple interaction eventually turned into friendship. Later in my stay, she invited me to come over to her home and then asked if I wanted to join her children on their mopeds for a daily routine of catching birds.

To be honest, at first I was just as intrigued by the ride Topside with locals as I was by the bird catching itself.

When I arrived at the house around 6 p.m. like they had asked, I hopped on the back of a scooter and was handed a long wooden pole with netting at the end. We rode for about fifteen minutes before heading back into the pinnacles, the same rough coral-rock interior I had explored earlier in the trip under direct sun. But this time the whole place felt different. More lived in. More purposeful. More like I was being let in on something rather than simply passing through it.

Catching Noddy Bird

Once we got there, everyone got set up quickly. The mopeds were tucked away since, as I was told, people do actually steal mopeds there. Then the guys arranged their poles and netting, which looked like some long island version of lacrosse sticks. After that came the part that really made the method click for me: they pulled out a CD player hooked up to a megaphone with some very sketchy wiring and started playing calls of noddy birds in distress.

That was how they attracted them.

The only problem was, our group was not the only one out there. There were several other groups in the area doing the exact same thing. So on top of everything else, there was also competition.

According to them, it was actually a slow night. They only caught four birds, compared with thirty or more on better nights. Even still, just watching the process unfold was enough to make the whole experience unforgettable.

The actual catching and killing of the birds is not something I need to dramatize. It was direct, fast, and matter-of-fact. Once caught, the bird was handled quickly and killed on the spot. One of the guys told me his first time doing it had made him feel terrible at the sight of blood, but that he got over it fast. Me? Yeah… no. That part definitely was not easy to watch, but it was also part of understanding the experience for what it was.

Eating Noddy Bird

Once it got fully dark, we took the birds back home, and from there the experience shifted from the field to the floor of the house and then into the kitchen.

The birds were defeathered, then singed with a torch to burn off what remained before being prepared for cooking. I had already learned that noddy birds could go for about one Australian dollar on the street, but at that point the value was not really the point. For me, if I was going to be welcomed into this part of Nauruan life and tradition, I had to fully step into it.

Two birds were dropped into a frying pan with oil, almost like chicken wings, and once they were done, a plate was set in front of me while the whole family watched to see my reaction.

All I can say is this: it was horribly… delicious.

It tasted a little like chicken, but somehow better.

Why the Experience Mattered So Much To Me

This is what travel is all about to me.

Taking the time to really engage, embrace, and be part of the life of a place rather than just passing through it. You arrive as a traveler, but if you are lucky and open enough, you leave carrying something of the place with you in spirit.

Catching and eating noddy bird was only one of several experiences on Nauru that showed me that. And it capped off my time before I continued my voyages in Kiribati. As small as the island is, it is huge in heart, spirit, and hospitality and there is always something new to learn and experience. The visa process may be tedious as hell and not always make much sense, but if and when you do make it there, there is real charm to be found.

And for me, this was one of the clearest examples of it.

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