I believe it is a juvenile Abbott's Booby based on the amount of black on the
wings and tail as well as the darkish bill.
The fact that this bird is on the ground perfectly illustrates one of the major
threats posed by the mining proposal. As befits their unique status, Abbott's
Boobies nest exclusively high in rainforest trees. Young birds take their first
flights from these heights and in the normal course of things would probably
never set foot on the ground.
The proponents of the mining proposal claimed that as the new mining and
associated exploration only involved clearing a few hectares of forest, it
wouldn't be much of a problem. However, the proposed exploration lines that
would be cut through the rainforest, even where they didn't destroy the nesting
trees, they would open up the space adjacent to the forest which among other
things would create wind shear that would blow the young out of the nests.
With the knowledge that this would pose unacceptable risks to the last remining
population of this Critically Endangered seabird, I have seen at first hand the
efforts put in by some of my colleagues at BirdLife Australia to work with a
range of people to try and get this proposal overturned. The birding community
and beyond responded magnificently with over 56,000 signing the BirdLife
petition demanding the island be protected. People's voices were heard, and
backed by a range of robust scientific evidence from many experts has seen the
government listen to reason.
We don’t get such successful outcomes as this too often, especially these days,
so my hearty and heartfelt congratulations to everybody who has been involved
in the campaign. Seeing Abbott's Boobies on Christmas Island is one of my most
cherished wildlife memories and I highly recommend making a trip there to see
these and many other birding gems, not to mention more than a few vagrant birds
to add to your Aussie list. The island needs the sort of ecotourism that
birding visitors can provide and it creates an economic alternative to the
doomed extract everything until nothing is left mentality that has dominated
much of the island's history.
Sean
-----Original Message-----
From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of Alan
Gillanders
Sent: Thursday, 31 May 2018 5:44 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Good news for Abbott's Booby?
Is that really an Abbott's Booby sitting on a rock?
Alan
On 31/05/2018 5:26 PM, calyptorhynchus wrote:
> Christmas Island facing economic collapse as mine expansion rejected
> to save famous red crabs
> <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-31/proposal-to-expand-christmas-is
> land-phosphate-mine-knocked-back/9820382>
>
> Frankly I'm amazed any decisions in favour of the environment are made
> these days.
--
Alan's Wildlife Tours
2 Mather Road
Yungaburra 4884
Phone 07 4095 3784
Mobile 0408 953 786
http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au
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