For those that are interested detailed below is a day by day account of
our recent voyage to Raine Island a special thank you is due to all of
those that made this trip a success by offering help with localities etc
and indeed a special thank you is in order for the captain and crew of
the "El-Torito" for being so patient and making our trip so very
comfortable.
Passengers included: Mike Carter, Rob Farnes, Barbara Harvey, Neil
Macumber, Pete Milburn, Rory O'Brien, Tony Palliser and Tom Smith.
Day 1 20-July
Departed Horne Island at noon passing the tip of Cape York late afternoon.
Surprisingly bird species were sparse with a few Black-naped Terns and one
or two Frigate birds being the highlights. We continued on through the
night heading south east towards Raine Island a strong head wind (The SE
Trade winds) made the seas uncomfortable. Even Mike Carter was reported to
be seasick.
Day 2 21-July
Arrival at the sheltered waters behind Raine Island at 8.00am was welcome
relief from the night before. With everyone feeling Healthy again and
enjoying a hearty breakfast in readiness for the excitement ahead. The
number of birds present was outstanding. Landing permission without a
permit was is not allowed however to achieve our goals a landing was not
required. Only a few minutes passed before the First Red-footed and
Masked Boobies appeared. Large numbers of Brown Noddy, White-capped Noddy,
Sooty Tern and Red-tailed Tropicbird?s were present throughout the day.
Mike pointed out that Pterodroma's if present were most likely to appear
late in the afternoon. The wait was agony! Then it happened one bird was
briefly sighted at about 2.00pm circling over the Island soon to be
joined by another and commence in a series of aerial displays. You had to
be there to appreciate the excitement. I'm sure the captain, who was on
the veranda thought the boat was sinking! The difficulty was that the
views were distant. We decided to head out beyond the reef into deep
water in the hope of a better view and perhaps some storm petrels. We
didn't find any storm petrels and turned back towards Raine Island when
Pete came to the rescue and picked up a Herald Petrel flying straight
towards us for an excellent view. To top that we saw even more birds
back at the Island with several individuals even close enough for a
photograph. In all at least 10 Herald Petrels were counted.
Day 3 22-July
An early start heading south west towards the Charles Hardy group of
Islands for a breakfast stop and then on to Haggerstone. The number of
birds on these Islands was surprisingly low and in complete contrast to
that of Raine Is. We moved on to Forbes Island a most picturesque
island, excellent post card material. A late afternoon foray soon
produced Pale White-eye. Ian Venables information was spot on, the
White-eye's were indeed common all over the Island. Other goodies
included Broad-billed Flycatcher and Rose-crowned Fruit Dove.
Day 4 23-July
Time for a spot of snorkelling for some and another foray ashore for
others. Tom whipped out his tape recorder and pulled in Mangrove Golden
Whistler on demand. Lunch time had us anchored off Quoin Island. A very
different small Island full of life. The reef was amazing as were the
nesting Frigatebirds. One individual flying overhead was noted to have
white easily extending down to the feet could it have been a Christmas
Frigatebird? It was odd to see a number of Nankeen Night Heron and
Banded Rail on such a small remote Island. White phase Reef Egrets were
seen to fly in from a coastal direction. Small numbers of Bridled and
Black-naped Tern were observed just off shore. The rest of the afternoon
was spent heading for Portland Roads.
Day 5 24-July
Our last five star breakfast before going ashore. A scan around the boat
produced three species of Dolphin (Spotted, Spinner and Indo-Pacific
Humpback ) behind the prawn trawlers also anchored in the sheltered
waters of Portland Roads. Time for a wet landing, good-bye's, farewells
and some mainland birding around Iron Range.
Species List
Herald Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Red-footed Booby, Masked Booby,
Brown Booby, Great Frigatebird, Lesser Frigatebird, Red-tailed Tropicbird,
Reef Egret, Nankeen Night Heron, Sooty Tern, Bridled Tern, Common Tern,
Black-naped Tern, Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, White-capped Noddy,
Common Noddy, Silver Gull, Buff-banded Rail, White-breasted Sea Eagle,
Turnstone, Whimbrel, Rose-crowned Fruit Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Sacred
Kingfisher, Welcome Swallow, Barn Swallow?, Pale White-eye, Olive-backed
Sunbird, Mangrove Golden Whistler, Leaden Flycatcher, Broad-billed
Flycatcher, Olive-backed Oriole, Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike, Dusky
Honeyeater, White-breasted Wood Swallow.
Its worthy of note that Roseate Tern, Tahiti Petrel and Storm Petrels were
absent. Once again thank you to all of those that helped to make this trip
such a great success.
Regards
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Tony Palliser Phone +61 2 9900 1678
Fax +61 2 9900 1669
Email
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