Christmas Island & Cocos Keeling – Savanna Nightar

Hi all, Just over a week ago I got back from Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling have sorted out my photos and done a couple of blogs so I think the trip is finally over. I do enjoy how trips start weeks before I depart with planning and ends well after I get back with writing up a trip journal and blogs and sorting photos. Best bird for the trip? This is always hard but this time it was the Savanna Nightjar on the CI golf course. I have wanted to see this bird since I first heard of it possibly being on the island in 2010. I saw just 25 species on CI and 37 on Cocos Keeling which was fine because Cocos, to my eye, is just such a beautiful island it is worth the effort even if there were no new birds – well, almost, maybe (smile). People who hadn’t been before saw 8 to 10 new birds each. I saw 2 new birds, Savanna Nightjar and Blue and White Flycatcher. There was even a pelagic trip this time which calmed my pelagidipphobia a bit and hey, how many pelagic tragics can say they have done a pelagic to the north of the Cocos Islands? Best bird on the pelagic was a Masked Booby but back in 2010, as we returned from North Keeling, we saw Bulwer’s Petrel, Jounanin’s Petrel and an unidentified storm petrel so the potential on future trips is very good. My thanks to Richard for organising the trip and to everyone else on the trip for making it such fun. cheers and best wishes to everyone for the festive season and 2014 Jenny http://jenniferspryausbirding.blogspot.com.au/