CHRISTMAS ISLAND BIRD WEEK
Lasy year I attended the first Christmas Island Bird Week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The arrangements were first class with excellent photo opportunities and involvement in ringing and census activities led by a team of experts.
A second birdweek is being arranged this year from 31 August to 6 September 2007. I recommend it to anyone interested in seabirds and/or isolated islands with endemics.
Christmas Island lies south of Sumatra and northwest of Australia in the north east Indian Ocean. It can be reached by Silkair weekly flight from Singapore. It consists of an uplifted sedimentary platform covered by rain forest with controlled mining for phosphates. It is home to 3 species of frigatebirds, 2 species of tropicbird, 1 tern and 3 species of boobies in addition to a number of land-based endemics. It is famous as home to the endemic Christmas Island Frigatebird and Abbott's Booby as well as the golden phase of the White-tailed Tropicbird.
Please contact Christmas Island Travel directly via their website at www.christmas.net.au or myself at chalme rsam@netv igator.com for further details.
Mike