-----Original
Message-----
From: Darryel
Binns [
Sent: Friday, 17 December
2004 10:14
AM
To:
Cc: 'Gil Langfield'; 'Duddles'; 'Nt Birds';
Subject:
Trip To Cocos Is
Hi, I was part of the Coates
Bird trip to Christmas Is from 29th Nov. to 6th Dec, I
won’t cover that as I believe my fellow birder Gil Langfield has done
that.
I got off on Cocos on the way
home and spent 3 days there until the next plane out on the
9th.
LIST;
Green Jungle fowl, West Is,
plentiful.
Red Jungle Fowl, Horsburgh and
Direction Is.
Red-footed Booby, out at sea.
Great and lesser Booby, at sea and
over West Is.
Little Egret, West Is,
airport.
Eastern reef Egret, all
Islands
visit, including South,( White most common)
Nankeen Night heron, very abundant
on tidal flats off airstrip West is.
White-breasted Waterhen, 4 seen
south end airstrip in sth lagoon area, West Is. Not on the list I had, but found
it in Management Plan, Pulu
Keeling
National Park,
bird list, (Hopton 2003, pers comm.).
Common Greenshank, 1 Horsburgh Is.
And 1 on West Is.
Common Sandpiper, West
Is.
White-winged
Black
Tern, West Is, North Lagoon.
Common Noddy, Inner
lagoon,
White tern, West, South and
Norsburgh Is.
Christmas Is. White-eye,
Norsburgh Is, quite a lot seen.
I identified a Oriental Cuckoo
for the Parks staff that had flown into a window of a residence the day I
arrived, which had expired itself.
This is first record for the
Island, I hope the
senior Ranger, Robert Thorn will lodge the record.
I was planning a trip to North
(Keeling) Is, but the weather cracked up the day we where going and decided not
to risk it in the small boat my offsider had.
I would like to thank, the Met
person Mr John Dudley for getting me to the outer Islands and Coates wildlife
tours for making the trip possible, and there guides, Mr, Rick Curtis and Steve
Dale for the Christmas section.
On my return to Christmas Is while
re-fuelling, I seen on and around the Airstrip 5 Sp;
Oriental Pratincole, Whit-faced
heron, Intermediate Egret, several Kestrels and Christmas Is. Imperial
Pigeons.
Cheers and Merry Christmas and Happy
Birding new Year to all who read this.
Darryel (Biggles) Binns,
Darwin
