A fast-moving and rewarding week in the Indian Ocean with a number of vagrant species sighted.
First bird was green jungle fowl. In fast succession came white-breasted waterhen, nankeen night herons, and little egrets. Western and eastern reef herons were foraging at the tidal flats at north end of runway, along with a single pied stilt, a single eastern curlew, whimbrels, and striated heron. Lesser frigatebirds were present in good numbers, with only a few great frigatebirds.
Then a run to the quarantine station where we flushed 10+ pin-tailed snipe (thanks to the detailed tip from Pam Jones from Dorys café). We were to see these snipe several more times, and later found a single bird near the airstrip. Then in fading light we went to the swamp where we immediately saw a single Eurasian teal. We were to see this bird on several subsequent visits to the only substantial freshwater body on the island.
Also seen on West Island was a large-hawk cuckoo at the north end of the quarantine station and several frustrating views of cuckoos/koels around the Cocos Beach motel area of settlement. A single watercock was flushed at the lime plantation near the swamp.
A trip to South Island on motorized canoes was a birding highlight, giving tremendous views of 10+ Saunders terns, one gull-billed tern, six grey-tailed tattlers, 40+ ruddy turnstones, sanderling, red-necked stint, and both greater and lesser sandplovers. Common noddies were seen on the trip back to West Island.
The next side-trip was to Home Island, where one member of the group (Scott) had views of a Hodgsons hawk-cuckoo. We flushed a single snipe on several occasions over a two-day period. Notably, this bird did not make any calls prior to or during flight, in contrast to our experience with the pin-tailed snipe on West Island.
Next came Horsburgh Island, which gave us feral chicken, Christmas Island white-eyes, an immature masked booby and white terns.
Special thanks are owed to Rohan Clarke, Mick Roderick, Richard Baxter, Mike Carter, Lisa Preston and Pam Jones.
Tim Faulkner
Operations Manager
Australian Reptile Park & Devil Ark
P. O. Box 737
Gosford, NSW 2250
Phone: (02) 4340 8614
Mobile: 0415 904 710
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