Special to flyfishers/birders...

Just returned from a week on Christmas Island. As always, I found myself in
awe of the beauty of the place. The blues, greens, and whites of the water,
the stunning variety of marine life, and THE BIRDS...

My guide for the week (Moana Kofe) turns out to be a real authority on the
birds of the Central Pacific. He combines an intimate personal knowledge of
the identification and habits of the birds with the content of "The Birds
of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific," the guidebook I took with me. The
Republic of Kiribati has made a real effort to protect the nesting sites on
the islands inside the lagoon.

Highlight of the trip was several closeup looks at the Bokikokiko, also
known as the Christmas Island Warbler, the only passerine on the island. It
is described in the guidebook as "bold and inquisitive." Its name describes
its song.

Great very closeup looks at Brown, Masked, and Red-footed Boobies. The
immature Brown Boobies would approach in flocks of 15-20 at such close
range it was impossible to cast. We could often reach up and touch the
birds. Moana referred to them as "the lagoon gang," teenagers who run
around all day while the parents are out on the ocean getting food. The
youngsters return to the nest sites each night to get fed.

Lots of Red-tailed Tropic Birds, including many large, raucous youngsters
on the ground nests.

Black, Brown, and Blue-gray Noddy. The Blue-grays approached very close as
we fished the flats around the nest islands. What truly beaautiful birds!
There had been a tremendous die-off of Black Noddy. The best guess among
the islanders was that it was related the 8-10 degree drop in water
temperature due to La Nina causing changes in location of their food fish.

Great Crested Terns and Common Fairy-terns nested on the lagoon islands.
Tens of thousands on Sooty Terns nested on the main island about a quarter
mile from where we were staying. Their calls were much in evidence all
night long. I repeated something I reported here two years ago: watching
these birds circling at night high over the island silhouetted against the
Milky Way. Stunning!

Phoenix and Tahiti Petrals were nesting in holes on the coral islands. Had
a good look at a Polynesian Storm-Petral.

Both Great and Lesser Frigatebirds were in abundance. The Lessers often
approached the boat and followed for long periods.

Shorebirds included Pacific Golden Plover, Wandering Tattler, and
Bristle-thighed Curlew.

Many Christmas Shearwaters. These birds apparently nest only on Christmas
Island and a few small islands in the region.

There is real concern about the future of the now pristine eco-system. The
Japanese, backed by a 30% investment by Boeing (so I was told by local
folks), begin next year building a launch and recover site for
communications satellites. The launch vehicle will be the re-usable type
which will be remotely guided back to a landing on a refurbished landing
strip. Up to 10,000 people will be involved with the project on an island
currently housing 5,000 local islanders. The potential stress on the
island, the lagoon, and the surrounding ocean could be tremendous. It will
certainly be a much different place to visit. There were only 20-30
visitors there last week.

(Bonefishing was excellent, complicated however by seven days of 20-30 knot
winds. The colder water seemed to make the fish much spookier.)




Grant Hendrickson
Redmond, WA
granth at halcyon.com