In the previous Blog Post, I wrote about how we successfully saw a roosting Tanimbar Scrubfowl on Nustabun Island, a small island off the coast of the main island of Yamdena, after Wilbur & Raja returned to look for one after dusk. This had the big advantage that we could start sailing for Babar, our next island, sometime after midnight. This was a better option than getting up & landing on Nustabun Island at dawn for a second search.
It is a journey of around 110 miles and the Lady Denok was probably averaging nine mph (eight knots). The plan was that we would arrive early afternoon, which would give us a bonus opportunity to land on East Babar for a few hours of birding. Had we left the following morning, then we wouldn't have arrived at Babar until after dark, when there wouldn't have been any time for Birding.
One of the pleasures of travelling on the Lady Denok was we were sailing through very calm seas throughout the cruise.
The Lady Denok: Note the glass-like sea
The Lady Denok: Looking back from the bows. We either seawatching from the upper deck or when the sun was too strong, the covered deck below it
Local fishing boat: I was regularly surprised at seeing these small fishing boats many miles out to sea from the nearest islands
Another local fishing boat
The seas were never busy with Birds or Cetaceans, but several times an hour we would see one or more Seabirds and the occasional party of Cetaceans. The commonest Wildlife encounter were Flying Fish will over 1250 seen. Frustratingly, most of the Seabirds were sitting on the water or on floating objects & then tended to flush at a fair distance. The result was few Seabirds came close to allow decent photographs.
Tahiti Petrel: Tahiti Petrels were one of the commonest Seabirds we saw with at least twenty-five individuals seen during the day
Tahiti Petrel: there are two subspecies of Tahiti Petrel with the trouessarti subspecies breeding around New Caledonia & the nominate rostrata subspecies breeding on Fiji, American Samoa, the Society, Marquesas & Gambier Islands. It is not clear whether one or both subspecies occur in Indonesian waters and it is only in the last decade or two that their occurrence in Indonesian waters has been recognised, e.g. there is no mention of the species in the BOU Annotated Checklist to the Birds of Wallacea published in 1986
Tahiti Petrel: Another individual
Tahiti Petrel: A third individual
Bulwer's Petrel: The first of two Bulwer's Petrels we saw on this crossing. Bulwer's Petrels became a familiar sight on the crossings as we headed East
Bulwer's Petrel: Another photo of the first individual. Note, the long thin & angled wings
Bulwer's Petrel: The second of two Bulwer's Petrels we saw on this crossing
Bulwer's Petrel: Bulwer's Petrel have a wide breeding range from the Azores, Madeiran, Canary & Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic, to Round Island in the Indian Ocean and islands off South China, Bonin Island, Hawaiian Islands, Kiribati and the Marquesas Islands in the Pacific Ocean
Bulwer's Petrel: Outside of the breeding season, they wander widely in warmer waters of the Atlantic, Indian & Pacific Oceans
Matsudaira's Storm-petrel: I assumed this was another Bulwer's Petrel when I first saw this individual sitting on the water. But after it flew, some of the Australian based Birders called it as a Matsudaira's Storm-petrel. I carried on photographing it, hoping to be able to figure it out from the photos
Matsudaira's Storm-petrel: It is clearly a very worn individual, but it's possible to see the remnants of the white primary covert bar which is a feature of Matsudaira's Storm-petrel & which helps to separate it from Bulwer's Petrel (which doesn't have a white primary covert bar)
Matsudaira's Storm-petrel: The tail should be forked, but like the secondaries, it is very heavy moult
Matsudaira's Storm-petrel: They breed on the Volcano Islands to the South of Bonin Island. Outside the breeding season, they disperse as to the Indian Ocean, Indonesia & as far South in the Pacific as New Guinea
Matsudaira's Storm-petrel: Another photo showing the remnants of the white primary covert bar
Matsudaira's Storm-petrel: Note the very steep forehead which is far steeper than would be seen on a Bulwer's Petrel. Additionally, the wings are shorter & the primaries are broader than on a Bulwer's Petrel
Wilson's Storm-petrel: Wilson's Storm-petrels were another of the common Seabirds seen with at least eighteen seen on this crossing. Frustratingly, they would all fly up off the water at long range
Wilson's Storm-petrel: They are one of the commonest of all Seabirds with a wide breeding range across the Southern Oceans. The nominate oceanicus subspecies breeds on Crozet, Heard & Kerguelen Islands in the Southern Indian Ocean and Macquarie Island. The exasperatus subspecies breeds on the South Shetland, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, as well as, in Antarctica. Finally, the chilensis subspecies breeds in Southern Chilean fjords, Cape Horn and perhaps the Falkland Islands
Great Frigatebird: Note, the lack of white axillaries which would be seen on a Lesser Frigatebird
Five Brown Boobies and a lone Red-footed Booby
Red-footed Boobies: Adults
Red-footed Booby: Immature
Bridled Tern: Note, the long thin while eyebrow & extensive black crown which is a key feature to separate a lone Bridled Tern from a Sooty Tern. Bridled Terns are also smaller, but size is difficult to judge on lone birds
Bridled Tern: Note, the extent of the white in the underwing on the primaries. Another key feature to separate a lone Bridled Tern from a Sooty Tern
Sooty Tern: A comparison photo showing the darker primaries on the underwing & the broader white eyebrow on a Sooty Tern. Ascension Island (23 Apr 18)
Crested Tern: This was the commonest Tern species that we saw on the Lady Denok during the cruise
Crested Tern: Crested Terns are a widespread species occurring along the coast from Namibia to the Red Sea, through the Indian Ocean to the Indian Subcontinent to South East Asia, China, Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia & islands in the Western Pacific
Little Tern: This is the sinensis subspecies which occurs from South East Russia to Japan, South East Asia, Philippines, Indonesia and New Guinea
I will cover the Cetaceans and Flying Fish in the next Blog Post.
