The Last Days

Today was another Eastern island day.  Possibly the last I'll get.  My eyes were frantically searching the skies today for sooty/gray-backed terns.  I was eagerly scanning every beach for any sign of a gull or perhaps a new shorebird.  Instead, I got some great looks at a wide variety of Great Frigatebird plumages, a good Masked Booby show, and the continuing Black-bellied Plover.  All in all, a good day.  I hope to make it over there for one more trip on Wednesday, but the weather may be too rough for the boat to cross.  Felonious Jive has assured me that Eastern is my best shot at getting another bird before I leave on Thursday.

We still have vagrants on the island.  Here is one of the pintails that has survived the winter.  I would give my left eye to know exactly what happens to these guys when the urge sets in to head back up north. Can't help but wonder if some of them make it.

Here is a Cattle Egret that has very recently fledged from the nest.  Cattle Egrets mostly breed in the short shrubs around the perimeter of the islands.  They're a pretty bad problem for the native birds, as they like to eat eggs.  At one point a few years ago, they had the population down to about 10 birds.  Now, I'd guess it's more like 110.

Eternal Glory

It has finally happened.  I have tied the Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive's Midway Atoll List.  Well, kinda.  I have a very sketchy tick.  My snipe is still unidentified, causing me great distress.  Still, I have a month to go, and I'm counting on a few more species to arrive by Feb.  In any case, as you may have guessed, I got an Island Bird today.  Black-bellied Plover.  I found it while walking along the beach on Eastern Island.  It really stood out after staring at hundreds of golden-plovers over the last 2 months.  I have officially advanced in the Global Birder Ranking System (GBRS).  What a proud day for birders everywhere.

Felonious Jive: 39 species

Green-winged Teal
Laysan Duck
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Laysan Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
Bonin Petrel
Bulwer's Petrel
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Christmas Shearwater
Tristram's Storm-Petrel
Red-footed Booby
Brown Booby
Masked Booby
Lesser Frigatebird
Great Frigatebird
White-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Cattle Egret
Pacific Golden-Plover
Whimbrel (Siberian and American)
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Grey-tailed Tattler
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Glaucous Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Little Tern
Least Tern
Sooty Tern
Grey-backed Tern
Brown Noddy
Fairy Tern
Black Noddy
Common Myna
Canary


Handsome Dan: 39 species


Brant
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Laysan Duck
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Greater Scaup
Laysan Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
Bonin Petrel
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Red-footed Booby
Brown Booby
Masked Booby
Great Frigatebird
White-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Cattle Egret
Black-bellied Plover
Pacific Golden-Plover
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Grey-tailed Tattler
Wandering Tattler
Snipe sp. (probably Common)
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Peregrine Falcon
Short Eared Owl
Brown Noddy
Fairy Tern
Black Noddy
Common Myna
Canary

The Black-bellied Plover, proving that it's a Black-bellied Plover.

Cattle Egrets.  Insufferable pests.  We also came across this nest today.  Aren't they cute?  Too bad they are slated for destruction.