Bird Watching Tours
Our Birds
One of the first things visitors notice about Christmas Island is the abundance of birds everywhere you look. On the land and sea, Christmas Island is home to a unique assemblage of birds found nowhere else in the world. Most are endemic (found only here) and many are considered rare and endangered. Best of all is that you don’t have to creep around in a forest for hours with camo-clothes to spot a rare bird. The birds are so happy in their environment here, that it is possible to have extremely close encounters without ruffling their feathers.
Our Tour
Whether you are a hardcore twitcher or just a curious amateur, we can tailor the tour to suit your level of experience and interest. Our basic ‘Birds of Christmas Island’ tour aims to give you an overview of our land and sea bird species, both in the nest and on the wing.
This tour covers a lot of ground and it is possible to tick off most of our resident birds in a single afternoon. Your guide will take you to the best vantage points to best appreciate the individual characteristics/habits of each species, filling your head with fabulous facts about their behaviour and ecology.
Highlights are the rarest species found on Christmas Island, the Abbotts Booby and Christmas Island Frigate.
Schedule:
Any day, on request, depending on availability.
- Time: Approx. 4 hours; early morning or late afternoon is best. [Negotiable]
- Numbers: Minimum 2 people. Maximum 5 people.
- Includes: Cold drinks; Tea/Coffee; snacks.
NEW SEABIRD TOUR!!
See the seabirds going about their daily life, from the water! Cruise around the coasts looking for Brown Booby chicks on the nest, looking for rare vagrants (visitors) and watching the young Frigate birds play in between fishing trips. Contact Us to find out more.
When is the BEST TIME for Bird Watching?
Time your visit to coincide with the onset of the dry season in April to catch the spectacular frigate bird displays and the tail end of the land bird breeding season.
Or visit the island during the wet season when all the land birds breed, secreting their nests among the branches of Christmas Islands spectacular rainforest. Anytime is a good time for bird watching on this emerald isle.
Read on for more information about our beautiful birds.
Sea Birds
The Abbott’s Booby Papasula abbotti is the worlds rarest Sulid and was once found throughout the tropical Indian Ocean. Now only 5000 remain, all on Christmas Island. It can nest only at the top of the largest primary rainforest trees, fortunately much of Christmas Island is National Park, protecting much of the old growth forest areas and the nesting trees of the Abbotts’. The Abbotts Booby feeds several hundred kilometers to the north along the Java Trench. Views of Abbotts Boobies along Murray Road are a highlight of this tour.
Christmas Island Frigate birds also the worlds rarest Frigatebird, nesting in two small colonies along the northern coast of Christmans Island. the total nesting area would not exceed ten hectares along the northern shore. It is believed that the Christmas Island Frigatebird spends at least part of its year feeding as far away as the South China Sea. Since it takes a breeding pair over 18 months to raise the single chick, most successful breeders will only attempt to breed every second year. Recently it was found that female Christmas Frigatebirds also possess and utilize a small, tennis ball sized gula sac when approaching males on nests. This is a rare sight indeed .
The Golden Bosunbird, also known as he White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus fulvus) is famed for its startling golden plumage. This colour morph, unique to the island is found in most of the White-tailed Tropicbirds on the island. Their calls and stunning aerial display flights are a daily event usually after 1100am, when adult birds return from their foraging grounds, where they feed at night on squid. These birds nest in elevated shaded cavities in cliffs and tree hollows. Several thousand Red-tailed Tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda westralis also breed on Christmas Island.
The best time to see the spectacular seabird colonies on Christmas Island is during the dry season, when most species are in full swing. Large colonies of Red-footed Boobies dot the tree tops with their nests, side by side with the Great Frigatebird Fregata minor whose spectacular displays by breeding males with their inflated red gula sacs continues on into June.
Brown Boobies construct large nests of sticks on the ground, and is a common sight abutting the coastal sea cliffs, nervously fiddling with their nesting material.
Brown Noddies nest atop coconut palms or often on ledges on the faces of the seacliffs.
Landbirds
Landbirds breed during the wet season (November-March). Three of the seven native land birds on Christmas Island are endemic, as well as four endemic subspecies. These are the Christmas Island Imperial Pigeon Ducula whartoni, The Christmas Island Hawkowl Ninox natalis and the Silvereye Zosterops natalis. Whilst the pigeon and the silvereye are common, it is rare to catch a glimpse of the Hawkowl although their calls may be heard at night.
The Christmas Island Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus natalis is the islands largest bird of prey, occasionally found following visitors along walking trails or observed perched on low branches on roadsides. A curious bird and quite unafraid, some of the best bird encounters on the island are with this species.
The spectacular Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica natalis is a highlight of the tour, its plumage of brilliant green contrasting with its delicate orange bill.
The Christmas Island Thrush is another curious forest bird, jumping from branch to branch in the hope of picking off a stray insect disturbed during your walk.
Glossy Cave Swiftlets Collocalia esculenta natalis nest in caves and dart beneath the islands fig trees foraging on tiny flies.
There are also some interesting introduced species as well as vagrants. Of note also is the Java Finch Padda oryzivora, now rare across their native range in Java. These birds were introduced as pets to the island and the small flocks are seen regularly in the settled areas. White-breasted Water Hens Amaurornis phoenicurus are a recent arrival from Java, and now small numbers breed on Christmas Island. The brightly coloured Common Kingfisher has also been a frequent visitor of the island.