It's good to be back in the Northwest after three weeks in the tropics.
Christmas Island (Republic of Kiribati) is a great place for birds
because of the efforts by government officials to preserve nesting sites.
A couple of incidents might be of interest to tweeters:

Saw nest sites of the Christmas Shearwater, a bird named for that island.

Watched a large group of Red-Tailed Tropicbirds engaged in aerial mating
displays. Fascinating!

Perhaps the most unusual birding experience I have enjoyed took place in
total darkness --- no moon, no air polution, no ground lights. I had
forgotten how beautiful the Milky Way can be. Lying on the beach it was
possible to watch the silhouettes of Sooty Terns against the Milky Way
while they wheeled and cried in the night sky. It was a stunning experience!

It was also interesting trying to cast a fly to a feeding bonefish with a
9 foot flyrod with a Masked Booby hovering six feet over your head.

Two weeks on Guam emphasized the absence of birds there. Got to see a
number of migrating shore birds and saw a number of terns and boobies,
but only Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Black Trogons on the Island.


Grant Hendrickson
ghendric at esd112.wednet.edu