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big bird was the frigate bird

date: 9/9/2009
Author:Nick Brennan

Weather: Sunshine
Air Temp: ºC
Wind: South East 10- 20 knots
Water Temp: 23ºC
Water Visibility: 20m
Sea State: Calm

It was a very pleasant day out here on the rock with lots of beautiful sunshine to soak up and light winds keeping the sea surface smooth.

The glass bottom boat saw two Manta Rays out at the lighthouse bommies gliding against the mild current filtering plankton from the water. Guests were in awe of their size and grace through the water and took some great photos. Guests were very keen to see some sharks today, although they were a little bit nervous despite understanding that they are all very harmless. A couple were lucky to see a black tip reef shark cutting in over second reef before disappearing out into the deep blue. They were amazed!

On the bird watching tour guests had some fantastic questions about the birds they have been seeing. Everybody had observed the white capped noddy flying in to roost on the island at sunset. Guests noticed that they moved very erratically through the air while a much bigger bird hovered menacingly above them. The guide explained that the big bird was the frigate bird and the way that it gets its food is by bullying! The frigate birds harass the noddies and other birds until they regurgitate or drop their fish whereby they swoop down and pick it up. It suddenly made a whole lot of sense why the noddies might be flying so crazily!

In the evening guests came on a night stalk and saw some of the first bridled terns to come to the island for nesting season. The guide explained that these birds come back to the same location to nest each year and some of the places can be quite bothersome. There is one bird that has been nicknamed “Tappy” that lives near the housekeeping building that constructs its nest right in the middle of the floor. The staff put down a cardboard box which becomes Tappy’s house and fence off the whole area so that she can look after her chick. Guests thought this was very funny. They are endearing little birds and it was nice for guests to be able to see them. It was a very clear night, great for star gazing which a lot of guests indeed spent a lot of the evening doing. It was a nice walk and a nice way to end the day.

frigate - Neville Semmler