birdspot

With family, and without a lot of time for birding, I visited the islands of French Polynesia and Hawaii. It was an unexpected trip for me, as I was filling my father’s place, who at the last minute could not make it.

The sea birds were amazing, however, and I saw a good number of lifers despite not having any dedicated birding time. It is a little hard to complain when you have Laysan Albatrosses, Tahiti Petrels, and Red-footed and Masked Boobies visiting the prow of the ship as you sip a martini with happy family around you… and when Brown Noddies are the trash land birds, squabbling on your bungalow roof and flying low over your head as you swim through warm aqua lagoons… Please don’t hate me, and please remember that I have never ever, not even once, had a vacation like this. It’s not exactly the sort of thing that occurs in the life plan of most artists.

Images, top to bottom:
Sunset at Raiatea, Brown Noddy at Papeete, Tahiti, and inside the reef at Moorea.

For more photos, please visit my album on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mydogoscar