Ascension Island
Our day began with an early morning Zodiac cruise along the sheltered side of Bosun Bird Island. Thousands of noddy terns, tropic birds (bosun birds), frigates and boobies nest on this off shore island and we enjoyed excellent views of many on their nests. This small island has become the last nesting place for all of these seabirds since cats introduced to the main island have made it unsuitable for ground nesting birds. Hopefully a cat eradication effort, now underway, will allow the main island to again be re-colonized by nesting seabirds. We did visit a colony of nesting sooty terns whose numbers are so great that even the cats have not been able to reduce their population.
A misty day greeted us during our tour of Ascension Island. The islanders were thrilled with the rain and although it rained most of the day it failed to dampen our visit. It was pleasantly warm, and there were occasional dry periods that let us dry out between showers. We traveled to the wet and green top of the island where constant mist and clouds create a very lush environment. Many tropical plants have been grown here and the moist environment was in marked contrast to the otherwise desert-like landscape of the rest of the island.
After an early dinner we returned to Long Beach, near the town of Georgetown, for a wonderful two hours of watching a nesting green sea turtle. We were able to enjoy the entire process from the time she laboriously crawled ashore through the surf, to her excavation of the egg chamber, and finally the laying of the egg clutch. Ascension Island is one of the most important sites in the world for nesting green sea turtles. Throughout our evening ashore, we were treated to a beautiful lightning display, which we were told by the locals was a rare event indeed.
Our day began with an early morning Zodiac cruise along the sheltered side of Bosun Bird Island. Thousands of noddy terns, tropic birds (bosun birds), frigates and boobies nest on this off shore island and we enjoyed excellent views of many on their nests. This small island has become the last nesting place for all of these seabirds since cats introduced to the main island have made it unsuitable for ground nesting birds. Hopefully a cat eradication effort, now underway, will allow the main island to again be re-colonized by nesting seabirds. We did visit a colony of nesting sooty terns whose numbers are so great that even the cats have not been able to reduce their population.
A misty day greeted us during our tour of Ascension Island. The islanders were thrilled with the rain and although it rained most of the day it failed to dampen our visit. It was pleasantly warm, and there were occasional dry periods that let us dry out between showers. We traveled to the wet and green top of the island where constant mist and clouds create a very lush environment. Many tropical plants have been grown here and the moist environment was in marked contrast to the otherwise desert-like landscape of the rest of the island.
After an early dinner we returned to Long Beach, near the town of Georgetown, for a wonderful two hours of watching a nesting green sea turtle. We were able to enjoy the entire process from the time she laboriously crawled ashore through the surf, to her excavation of the egg chamber, and finally the laying of the egg clutch. Ascension Island is one of the most important sites in the world for nesting green sea turtles. Throughout our evening ashore, we were treated to a beautiful lightning display, which we were told by the locals was a rare event indeed.
