CHRISTMAS ISLAND a photographicessay

Photos/SidneyBahrt, Photo Captions/Elizabeth A. and Ralph W. Schreiber, Text/Susan R. Drennan

All of the exotic appeal of a tropical island paradise can be found here-- along with many seabird species and a wealth of sea life.

What landlocked,stuffy banker doesn'tdaydream now black and white sandbeaches, exotic fragrant and again about Paul Gauguin painting ultra-beautiful flowers,crystal-clear, ultramarine lagoons,and the people on Tahiti? Which film buff doesn't think palm-shadedorhundreds oflush-green yearspeople islands haveof dreamed the South ofSeas. the wistfully about escaping to Page Page after seeingSadie Along with thosedreams go fantasiesof warm, Thompsonportrayed in the film "Rain" or actors hospitablenatives, and the remanticizedpossibility of Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard in "Mutiny on the escapingto one of thesehavens to spendthe rest of Bounty?"Anyone with the most rudimentary one'slife surroundedby magnificentscenery, knowledgeof anthropologyknows that Margaret Mead unsophisticatedand delightful recreation,totally depicted life on Samoa Island as tension-free,peaceful, conqueredby the spellof the islands.Does this sound and guilt-freeamong dignified, warm, highly intelligent, like paradise?More than one travel-jadedtourist has and virile natives,unaffected by contactwith other journeyedto Oceaniaafter Herman Melville, Somerset civilizations,and covetingnothing. Which of us has Maugham, Robert Louis Stevenson,Joseph Conrad, or neverhad a yen for the dazzling beauty of an "instant James Michener touched his or her seed of wanderlust. paradise"?

388 American Birds, Fall 1986 Tree (Beach) Heliolrope (Messerschmidia argentia)provides shade in fronl of lhe Cap- lain Cook Holel and is' lhe bush in which lhe Chrislmas Island Warbler (Acrocephalus aequinoctialis),lhe only islandendemic. and lhe only land bird presenl.builds ils nesl. In lhe heal of lhe day /he gertlie sea breeze comes in over the ocean and makes lhe shade of lhe BeachHeliolrope along lhe beachcresl an ideal place/or a siesla.

Land crabs (Cardisoma sp.) commonly inhabil the moisl land regionsof the alOll, wherethey spendthe day under waler in burrows,coming above ground and Ohiothe roads whenthe lemperalurecools around sun- sel. Many are killed by aulomobileira/tic and Lesser Golden-Plovers(Pluvialis dominica) and olher land crabsmake fid/ use of lhe meat.

Innumerablehighly saline lagoons cover large porlions of lhe aloll, and lhe smallislets in lhemprovide safe nesting locations for mostof lhe speciesof seabirdsnesling on ChristmasIsland. Cals and rals inhabillhe restof lhe islandand prey on eggs,nesllings, and adull birds.These isletsare crilicalfor lhe survivalof mostspecies o/birds on lhe atoll.

Volume40, Number 3 389 Bottomleft: Gray-backed (Spectacled) Terns (Sterna lunata) lay their eggson sand and do not builda nest.This small relativeof the Sooty Tern (S. fuscata) is also much less commonon the atoll, probablynumbering fewer than 3000 pairs. Gray-backedsdo nest in very small coloniesof only three to ten pairs, mostly on small islets. Very little is knownabout the biologyof this species. Lowerleft: Crested Terns (Sterna bergii) nest only in one colonyon C7•ristmasIsland, the easternmostnesting locale for this species that isfound commonlyin the westerncentral PacificOcean. About 300 pairs lay their sin- gle speckledegg in May or June. This'species feeds primarily along the reef top and was not apparently affected by the El Nino- Southern Oscillation in 1982-1983. This is the largesttern on the atoll and the eggs'and youngare camouflagedand difficultto find& Adultsare noisyand roostin severallocations on the main island&

Below: Black (White-capped) Noddies (An- ous minutus)nest only in trees'in large,dense colonies.They lay oneegg in a platformnest that the pair constructsJkom seaweed. Most feeding is done during the day and large flockscan be seenflying awayJkomthe colony in the morning and back to roostaround twi- light. The egg is speckledlike all tern eggs White(Fairy) Terns(Gygis alba) are the mostphotogenic birds' on the islandsince their and the younghatch with a full, black,downy curiositybrings' them close overhead when humans visit the main nesting colonies. coal.

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390 AmericanBirds, Fall 1986 The Phoemx Petrel (Pterodroma alba) builds only a shallowburrow and is the mostactive Procellarid during theday. Most speciesare strictlynocturnal at the nesting ChristmasShearwaters (Puffinus nativitatis) wereoriginally descrioea I,omœ¾•rtstmas colonies. Phoenix Petrels commonly flyin their chattering Islandin1877. They lay one large white egg each season inshallow bltrrows orunder courtship flights over the main colonies during the day. vegetation.Noother nest material isused for the nest. This species isamong themost .4long with the shearwaters, petrelslay only one large activeshearwaters duringthe day while most are rarely seen flying evcept atnight. heavy egg and apparently donot relay ifan egg isbroken. Manyeggs are lost because ofcompetition fornest sites. 4longwith all tropical seabirds, itrequires bothmembers of a pair to incubatethe eggand feed the nestlingsuc- cessfullyto fiedging.

Blue-grey(Grey) Noddies (Procelsterna cerulea) nest on small islets,primarily in the largestland-locked lagoons,but also art, widely scatteredthroughout the atoll. This small, seeminglydelicate species ap- pears to be unsuccessfulin most nesting attempts for reasonsthat remain unclear.Eggs are J•equently coatedwith salt J•om the hvper•alinelagoons and ß this salt may Idll the eggs.Blue-grey Noddies spe- cialize in eatingmarine insectscalk'd waterstriders (Holabatessp.), an unusual•od for a seabird.

TheLesser Frigatebird (Fregata arid), an adultmale shownhere, isfound in many locationsthroughout the centralPacific Ocean. On ChristmasIsland the population was dramatically reducedby cat pre- dation in the late 1960s but rebounded to about 3000-4000pairs by 1980, whenthey begannesting on an islet in a lagoon.During the 1982-1983 El Nino-SouthernOscillation (ENSO) all chicksdied of starvation,but the adultsmay not havebeen af- fected,and. since1984. are reproducingsuccessfully. Thisis oneof thefew speciesthat wasnot drastically reducedby the heavyrains and lack of marinepro- ductivityand fish during the ENSO. They nest in large coloniesonly in Seriana,or salt bush.Incu- bationlasts for about60 daysand bothparents feed the youngwhich fledge in six months.This species undergoesa longmigration away J•om the central PacificOcean to the westduring the non-breeding season.

Volume 40, Number 3 391 Masked (Blue-faced)Boobies (Sula dactylatra) are the largestbirds on the atoll, weighingabout two kilograms. Tho, neston theground in isolated,open areas where Fairy Ternsgenerall_v do not build a nestbut lay a the_vtan usethe wind to assistthem in becomingairborne with a long take-offrun. single, very roundedegg in a slight depressionon ß1pair doesnot builda nestbut a circleof dear dirt is createdaround the eggs as the a level branchof a free. The chick has long claws adalts turn around. They usuallylay two eggsbut havenot beenknown to raise two lhal slick like fly paper and which assisl lhem in young,probabl_v because the adults cannot provide sufl•cient food for both.Both male holdingon to their tree limb. This nestinghabit is andJ?maleactively delend their egg and nestlingJ•om intruders and this is onespecies uniqueamong free neslingbirds and il is amazing on ChristmasIsland that catsprobabl_v do not bother.Pairs probably mate for life lhal lhe eggsdo nol .fall off in the conslantIrade and usethe samenest sites fi•r many consecutiveyears. breeding once per year. The windconditions where they nesl. Theslril•ing while females are distinctlylarger than males and their voicesare also muchmore raucous plumage ts in marked contrastto thetr black skin, rather than a high pitched whistle. probablyan adaptalionto high lemperalures.

Red-tailed Tropicbirds (Phaethon rubri- cauda) have an interestingcourtship ritual in whichtwo to ten birds, squawking fly backwardsin vertical circles.The_v may be checkingeach other out to seewho can fly well and will be a good providerfor their chicks.This speciesnests only underbushes wherethere is shadefor the eggsand young. They lay a speckledegg insteadof a white egg as do other members of the Pelecani- formes, and their young are hatchedwith a fidl coatof down.Other Pelecaniformeshatch naked.This tnformation along with the recent data by Dr. CharlesSible_v for DNA hybrid- ization wouldindicate that troptcbirdsshould not be classedas Pelecaniformes.A young tropicbirdspends a minimum of 48 months away Jkom its nestingisland feeding at sea beforereturning to nest.Data indicatetho' mate for life and ,'ill occupythe same nest sitefor many years in succession.

392 AmericanBirds, Fall 1986 Among the South Seasthere still remmns a •slandfreighters bnng•ng supplies and talang families to fascinatingvariety of islandsto intrigue every type of visit each other. They have a population of 2500 people; traveller. Deserted beachesfringed with rustling palms, mostly Micronesians--descendantsof a hybrid fishyand coralline wonders,sun-drenched, secluded Malaysian/Polynesianstock. These people have physical bays,fern-covered mountains, uncrowded, unpolluted similaritiesto the Philipinos and Polynesians. tropical islandspeopled with unspoiled folks, and the Micronesiansare generallycredited with having bonus of duty-free shops,sounds like the worn-out •inventedthe outriggercanoe. Many anthropologists, tourist clich& Of coursethe proof of the publicity is in ethnologists,and marine historiansconsider them the the actual visiting.Very often the clich6is remarkably greatestsailors the world has known. They sailed their correct. Rhapsodicdescriptions do not sufficiently huge,double, ocean-goingcanoes, carrying 100-500 characterize the still-peaceful, lesser-knownislands. Life people,using heavenly bodies, and oceanand wind is not now what it was in the daysof Melville and currentsto navigateto new islands.Their colonization Captain Cook. It is not accuratelyportrayed in the began approximately 1000 B.C. Progresswas slow and Rogersand Hammersteinmusical South Pacific. But the their migration probably occurred over a period of 5000 oceanicisolation, idyllic settings,and gentle tradewinds years.These hardy, brave people settled on the least are the same;the people are hospitableand comfortable hospitable, sometimeshalf-drowned atolls and with their environments.'The pace is relaxed and there miniscule islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. is a noticeablelack of urgencyeverywhere. Services and Someof thepopulations of theLine Islandsare not standardsvary from island to island,but the experience endemicas a goodmany peoplewere broughtin to of visitingone of theseemerging micronations in the work on coconut plantations. The languagesspoken in South Pacific and exploring its mysteriesis an the Republic of Kiribati are English and Gilbertese. The adventure and a lessonin the art of living life for the only exportsof the Line Islandsare dried coconutmeat, simple joy of it. This is "the pacific way." Men have called copra, and fish. mutinied for it. All of the Line Islands,including ChristmasIsland,

Christmas Island in the central Pacific Ocean has all are classifiedby geographersas atolls and have an island of the allure of Oceania.Its etherealskies, opalescent height of fewer than 25 feet. Were it not for the 30-40 seasand natural splendorgive way to the dry, scrubby foot coconutpalms, they would appear no more than vegetationof this flat coral atoll. It has, however,a moundless,streamless sandbanks. A shortageof fresh feature that makes it irresistible--birds! Hundreds of water makes survival extremely difficult. Christmas thousandsof seabirdsof eighteenspecies nest on Island has a maritime equatorial climate with an annual Christmas Island. These include five speciesof petrels mean temperature of 80øF (25.7øC). Northeasterly and shearwaters,six speciesof tropicbirds,frigatebirds trade windsblow constantly,except when the E1Nifio- and boobies,and seventern species. Southern Oscillation causes a reversal of the normal ChristmasIsland (2øN, 157øW) is one of the Line pattern. Islands,which group straddles the Line (asthe Equator Christmas Island is the largest coral atoll in the •s sometimescalled). The eight Line Islands(south of world. There are approximately 300 atolls in the the Hawaiian Islands)stretch between Flint Island, 750 tropical Pacific Ocean. Essentiallythese are massivereef miles south of the Equator and Kingman Reef, at 6 ø formations,often horseshoeor ring-shaped,built over a North latitude. This group includesone more, Johnston quietedvolcanic base. The typical atoll is comprisedof Island, at 169ø31'West longitude.This is the site of a a seriesof small coral islets,strung together by often- United Statesmilitary establishmentand is off limits. submergedcoral reefs, similar to beadson a necklace. Most of the Line Islands,along with thosepreviously Theseislets have interior lagoonsthat are sometimesthe known as the Gilbert Islands,have recentlybecome sizeof salt-waterponds or as long as fifty miles and as •ndependentand are now a nation calledthe Republic wide as twenty or thirty miles. Dazzling white beaches of Kiribati (pronounced"kiribas"). The sparsely create a border between the translucent turquoise sea populated Line Islandsare infrequently visited by inter- and the green oasesof coconut forests,scented bushes

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394 AmericanB•rds, Fall 1986 and flowenngtrees. The •nner lagoonsprovide protected unregulatedconsumption of eggsand b•rdshas conditionswhere marine hfe flourishesunhindered; a occurred throughout Oceania, but they are now wealth of sealife can be viewedin a settinglavish with protectedin manyplaces. Habitat 1os• and introduced color and diversity.The surfacewater varies from mammalian predators continue to threaten seabird aquamarineto indigo;pinks, blues,purples and yellows populationsthroughout the islands. of the live coral gardensprovide food and shelterfor On Christmas Island wildlife sanctuarieshave existed colorfultropical fish, whose patterns would sparkthe on the main nestingislets of Cook, Motu Tabu, and imaginationof any naturalist.Clams, mussels, snails Motu Upua for at least 50 years. The Republic of and pearloysters reside along with giantturtles, graceful Kiribati enacted a Wildlife Conservation Ordinance in manta raysand the illusiveoctopus. These marine 1975. This Ordinance forbidsbird-eating and the taking refugesalso hold morayeels, barracuda, sea urchins, of eggson ChristmasIsland• although poachers continue stingray,and stonefish.The atoll lagoonsin the Pacific to take adults and eggs.In 1977, a Wildlife • are usually 150-200 feet deep.Some reefs are physically ConservationUnit wasestablished on ChristmasIsland, spectacularwith abundant marine life on isolated banks withfinancial assistance provided by theWorld Wildlife and shoals close to the islands. Fundand the BritishOverseas Development On Christmas Island, birds are concentratedon islets. Administration. The aim• of the Unit were to provide The burrow-nestingspecies, shearwaters and petrels,are conservationeducation for islanders,enforce wildlife found primarily on isletsalthough the Wedge-tailed legislation,and to controlferal cat and pig poPUlations. Shearwaterdoes nest in largenumbers on the mainland. Since its establishment,the Wildlife ConservationUmt The main prey itemsbrought to the islandby the birds has affectedsome control of exploitation of birds and are flying fish and squid. eggsfor food,and they work at e•adicatingfetal cats and Traditionally,seabirds have provided commercial pigsthat posea seriousthreat to ground-nestingbird benefitsto humansocieties in manynations--from egg species.As the humanpopulation continues to expand gatherit•gand bird eatingand hunting.Eggs, guano, on the island, the courts ultimately will have to enforce down, plumes,and meat are the major products the provisionsof the laws if the bird populationsare seabirdshave and continueto supply.Historically, the to survive.

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