New Caledonia Species List

Breaching humpback in Canal Woodin

Pacific Black Duck
Tahiti Petrel
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Wilson’s Storm Petrel
Little Pied Cormorant
Lesser Frigatebird
Red-footed Booby
Little Green (Striated) Heron
White-faced Heron
Pacific Reef Heron
Eastern Osprey
Brown Goshawk
Swamp Harrier
Whistling Kite
Peregrine Falcon
Buff-banded Rail
Purple Swamphen
Pacific Golden Plover
Wandering Tattler
Silver Gull
Black Noddy

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Great Crested Tern
Sooty Tern
Black-naped Tern
Fairy Tern
Pacific Emerald Dove
Metallic Pigeon
Coven-feathered Dove
Red-bellied Fruit Dove
Spotted Dove
Coconut Lorikeet
Glossy Swiftlet
White-rumped Swiftlet
Sacred Kingfisher
Marred Honeyeater
Grey-eared Honeyeater
New Caledonian Myzomela
Cardinal Myzomela
New Caledonian Friarbird
Fan-tailed Gerygone
White-breasted Woodswallow
South Melanesian Cuckooshrike
Long-tailed Triller
Melanesian Whistler
Rufous Whistler
Grey Fantail
Streaked Fantail
New Caledonian Crow
Yellow-bellied Flyrobin
Pacific Swallow
Silvereye
Green-backed White-eye

White-breasted Woodswallow

Small Lifou White-eye
Red-vented Bulbul
Common Myna
Striated Starling
House Sparrow
Red-throated Parrotfinch
Common Waxbill

Bottlenose Dolphin
Omura’s Whale
Humpback Whale
Dugong

Green Sea Turtle
Loggerhead Turtle
Band Sea Snake

We originally took this whale for a Bryde's. It turns out we were wrong!  There are no extra ridges on its rostum (top of the head) and it has a white lower jaw (it's assymettrical, like a Fin Whale, white on one side and dark on the other). After consulting with experts that know more about whale identification than we do, we've determined that it was an Omura's Whale, which has only been photographed in the wild once before, and not in this area of the world.  This species was only described in 2003.  We were pretty excited when we learned all this!

Omura's Whale in the southern lagoon

Suwarrow (Suvarov), Northern Cook Islands – Fish Species List

Manta - check out the cephalic fins!! (near the mouth)

After three months in French Polynesia our fish ID skills are improving. So we thought we would share a list of fish species for Suwarrow.  This in not a complete list as there’s always those that you don’t see well enough to ID, or you can’t remember everything that you see while snorkeling and our field guides don’t always have everything for this area.  This list does illustrate the wonderful diversity of species on the reef.  The ones marked with (*) were delicious!

Unidentified Dascyllus - any ideas out there??

Threadfin Butterflyfish	Chaetodon auriga
Redfin Butterflyfish	Chaetodon lunulatus
Teardrop Butterflyfish	Chaetodon unimaculatus
Raccoon Butterflyfish	Chaetodon lunula
Dotted Butterflyfish	Chaetodon semeion
Reticulated Butterflyfish	Chaetodon reticulatus
Speckled Butterflyfish	Chaetodon citrinellus
Saddled Butterflyfish	Chaetodon ephippium
Dot-and-Dash Butterflyfish	Chaetodon pelewensis
Pacific Double-Saddle Butterflyfish	Chaetodon ulietensis
Fourspot Butterflyfish	Chaetodon quadrimaculatus
Ornate Butterflyfish	Chaetodon ornatissimus
Pennant Bannerflyfish	Heniochus chrysostomus
Longnose Butterflyfish	Forcipiger flavissimus
Lemonpeel Angelfish	Centropyge flavissimus
Regal Angelfish	Pygoplites diacanthus
Orangeband Surgeonfish	Acanthurus olivaceus
Achilles Tang	Acanthurus achilles
Convict Surgeonfish	Acanthurus triosegus
Whitecheek Surgeonfish	Acanthurus nigricans
Pacific Sailfin Tang	Zebrasoma veliferum
Bluespine Unicornfish	Naso unicornis
Spotted Unicornfish	Naso brevirostris
Orangespine Unicornfish	Naso lituratus
Moorish Idol	Zanclus cornatus
Humbug Dascyllus	Dascyllus aruanus
Blue-green Chromis	Chromis viridis
Pacific Half-and-half Chromis	Chromis iomelas
Onespot Snapper	Lutjanus monostigma
Blue Damsel	Pomacentrus pavo
Black Snapper	Macolor niger
Bluefin Trevally	Caranx melampygus
Rainbow Runner	Elagatis bipinnulatus
Peacock Grouper	Cephalopholis argus
Coral Grouper*	Cephalopholis miniata
Greasy Grouper*	Epinephelus tauvina
Camouflage Grouper	Epinephelus polyphekadion
Arc-Eye Hawkfish	Paracirrhites arcatus
Bullethead Parrotfish	Chlorurus sordidus
Steephead Parrotfish	Chlorurus microrhinos
Bicolor Parrotfish	Cetoscarus bicolor
Pacific Longnose Parrotfish*	Hipposcarus longiceps
Red-breasted Wrasse	Cheilinus fasciatus
Bird Wrasse	Gomphosus varius
Sixbar Wrasse	Thalassoma hardwicke
Threespot Wrasse	Halichoeres trimaculatus
Checkerboard Wrasse	Halichoeres hortulanus
Redlip Cleaner Wrasse	Labroides rubrolabiatus
Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse	Labroides dimidiatus
Bicolor Cleaner Wrasse	Labroides bicolor
Big-scale Soldierfish	Myripristis berndti
Spotfin Squirrelfish	Neoniphon sammara
Twotone Dartfish	Ptereleotris evides
Goldsaddle Goatfish	Parupeneus cyclostomus
Manybar Goatfish	Parupeneus multifascialis
Trumpetfish	Aulostromus chinensis
Cornetfish	Fistularia commersonii
Orange-lined Triggerfish	Balistapus undulatus
Picasso Triggerfish	Rhinecanthus aculeatus
Indian Toby	Canthigaster solandri
Mahi Mahi*	Coryphaena hippurus
Gray Reef Shark	Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Blacktip Reef Shark	Carcharhinus melanopterus
Whitetip Reef Shark	Triaendon obesus
Giant Manta	Manta birostris

Arc-Eye Hawkfish

Dot-and-Dash Butterflyfish

Pilot Whale Vocals

In the deep waters around the San Lorenzo group in the Northern Gulf of California we have had a couple of fascinating encounters with pilot whales. Some of them swimming upside down checking out Narama's bottom and others vocalising.  The clip attached has the vocals of a group slowly travelling, the second sound bite is a different occasion when two groups met with far more excited calls.  The pictures are a mix of Pilot whales, Long-beaked common dolphin, Bottlenose dolphin, Whale Shark, Sperm whale and Bryde's whale.

For better picture quality use this link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyiFt50DFMQ

Turning South… sans Vaquita

Vaquita Statue on San Felipe's Malecon

We spent two weeks anchored inside the breakwater of San Felipe. A lot of that time was spent wandering the beautiful beach at low tide (looking at shorebirds of course) and ticking little projects off the perpetual “to do” list on Narama. But our main goal was to try and sight Vaquita marina (“little sea cow” in Spanish; Phocoena sinus is its scientific name). This tiny cetacean has the dubious distinction of being the world’s most endangered marine mammal and it only lives here in the very far north of the Sea of Cortez.

To learn more about Vaquita follow these two links:

http://www.vivavaquita.org/

http://vaquita.tv/

We weren’t very optimistic about glimpsing it due to these dwindling numbers (current estimate is 250 animals left) and it’s incredibly shy behaviour (most sightings are from the deck of a ship using 20x binoculars), but the weather certainly didn’t help either. We really only had 2 and a half days of good conditions for sighting. How much time should we spend without another decent anchorage for over 100 miles? When the next northerly was forecast we took it and ran south. Our only sighting was the bronze statue on the San Felipe malecon.

This was a significant decision as we won’t likely head north again until we arrive in Australia, which is another year at least. The Sea of Cortez has been a beautiful, year-long detour on our voyage, one that we don’t regret. It will still take us a few months on our southern course to leave the sea, but as the latitude in our logbook slowly dwindles towards the equator we get more excited about sailing on to new places. We wish the Vaquita well, it’s going to need some luck to survive.

Sights and Sounds of Marine Mammals in the Gulf of California

We have been really lucky with marine mammal encounters, so here's a link to share some of the sights and sounds from these animals that we have seen and heard on the way north inside the Gulf of California.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVqDnebitYk

Whales in La Paz

Whilst Heidi is hard at work watching the real thing in frigid waters of the Southern Ocean, Stephen has found a local museum full of whale curios and who were only too happy to let me play with skeletons that still needed cleaning. See http://museodelaballena.blogspot.com/ . I also continue with boat projects that we started before Heidi took off. Varnishing, polishing, sewing(kayak cover and spinnaker), engine maintenance, resealing toe rails, making rat lines, strops to lift dinghy, painting………. And so it goes on. Carnival has just ended what a spectacle it was and the dozens of competing musicians have abated and sleep returned. At least until fish knocking the hull in the wee hours of a morning to get at the growing wildlife forced me into action and take the boat out to a nice secluded bay to destroy this thriving under water ecosystem, emerging from the water covered in what I am sure was now pissed off tiny crustaceans. Had fun taking the whale museum folks for trip out into La Paz Bay, we were fortunate to find 5 humpbacks and had a sail, something a little different for them. And finally the boat is slowly sinking again under the weight of victuals that are slowly accrued by back pack on each outing ashore. The guys in the hardware store are starting to make fun of me as I empty there shelves of “Alcohol Industrial” for use in our stove. I real don’t think they believe me. As I write another 25kn northerly is howling through the anchorage. They seem to come through a couple of days of each week and make for some damp rowing conditions in wind against tide.

Swimming with Whale Sharks!

“Ready? Jump!”
With just the two of us onboard we had to get the routine down. One would steer alongside (about 20m away) a whale shark, the other would be waiting with mask and fins then leap off the side of the boat and start swimming. The sunlight dappling on the light-coloured spots on the dark body had a mesmerizing effect. Or perhaps it was the sheer size! The largest we estimated to be 6-8m (easy comparison since it was over half a boat length). The crescent-shaped tail looked underwater to be over a meter tall. The first time you swim toward one of these beautiful giants your heart seems to skip a beat and you have to consciously remind yourself that they only eat plankton and small fish. Then you have to concentrate on swimming and you realize this fish seems to be travelling fast without actively moving its body. There’s a lot of other small fish and Remora along for the ride. To see this animal in its element was an experience of a lifetime!


Stephen swimming alongside a Whale Shark.

Sea of Cortez Species List

(as of 5 February, 2010)


“What was the shape and size and color and tone of this little expedition? We slipped into a new frame and grew to be a part of it, related in some subtle way to the reefs and beaches, related to the little animals, to the stirring waters and the warm brackish lagoons. This trip had dimension and tone. It was a thing whose boundaries seeped through itself and beyond into some time and space that was more than all the Gulf and more than all our lives.”
John Steinbeck – Log from the Sea of Cortez.

Mammals
Bottlenose Dolphin
California Sealion
Short-finned Pilot Whale
Killer Whale
Bryde’s Whale
Black Jackrabbit
Antelope Squirrel


Birds
Laughing Gull
Brown Pelican
Yellow-footed Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Osprey
Belted Kingfisher
Double-crested Cormorant
Brandt’s Cormorant
Reddish Egret
Snowy Egret
Caspian Tern
Magnificent Frigatebird
Tricoloured Heron
White Ibis
Whimbrel
Turkey Vulture
Willet
Great Blue Heron
American Golden Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Blue-footed Booby
Eared Grebe
Brown Booby
American Oystercatcher
Common Raven
Northern Mockingbird
Lesser Goldfinch
Cassin’s Finch
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
Gila Woodpecker
Black-throated Sparrow
California Gnatcatcher
Red Cardinal
Costa’s Hummingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Heerman’s Gull
Violet-green Swallow
Black-capped Night Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
Verdin
Golden Eagle
Spotted Sandpiper
Canyon Wren
Black-vented Shearwater
Peregrine
House Finch
Little Blue Heron
Great Egret
Lesser Scaup
Red Billed Tropic Bird
Craveri’s Murrelet
Lesser Nighthawk
White-crowned Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Green-tailed Towhee
Western Scrub-Jay
Ladder-backed Woodpecker



Fish
Yellowtail Surgeonfish
Bicolor Parrotfish
Leopard Grouper (including a golden phase)
Manta Ray
Green Moray
Moorish Idol
Guineafowl Puffer
Cortez Rainbow Wrasse
Giant Damselfish
Scissortail Damselfish
Flatiron Herring
Blue-and-Gold Snapper
King Angelfish
Barberfish
Sergeant Major
Pacific Beaubrummel
Mexican Hogfish
Longnose Hawkfish
Yellowfin Surgeonfish
Finescale Triggerfish
Coral Hawkfish
Cortez Damselfish
Mexican Goatfish
Rainbow Runner
Pacific Sierra
Spotted Porcupinefish
Yellow Jack
Convict Tang
Machete
Banded Guitarfish
Spotted Green Puffer
Threebanded Butterflyfish
Diamond Stingray
Wounded Wrasse
Spottail Grunt
Cornetfish
Bumphead Damselfish
Cortez Garden Eel
Blunthead Triggerfish
Cortez Grunt
Graybar Grunt
Panamic Fanged Blenny
Orangeside Triggerfish
Jewel Moray
Bullseye Stingray
Yellow Snapper
Barred Pargo
Blue-and-Yellow Chromis
Zebra Moray
Sunset Wrasse

I can already hear the invertebrate taxonomists that I used to work with “where’s the invert list!!??” But this really is a place of fish, although the coral warrants mentioning. Also looking at this list it seems that I need to learn how to identify the beautiful reptiles here! More books required….

Photos: Short-nosed Rock Lizard, Short-finned Pilot Whale, Bottlenose Dolphins, Green Turtle, Yellow-footed Gull, Immature Brandt's Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Speckled Rattlesnake, Wilson's Plover, California Sealion, Espiritu Santo Striped Whipsnake