Bahamas At Sea - 17 Apr 2024
Today we are sailing between Nassau, Bahamas and Disney’s Castaway Cay.
At 7 am, while Robin and I were at breakfast at Cabanas, a nice male Magnificent Frigatebird made a pass near the the ship. I had the bins with me so I was able to determine that it was indeed a male (all black frigatebird).
I walked the Promenade (level 4) for about an hour between 10 - 11 am but failed to see any bird or marine life near the ship.
After lunch Robin and I returned to our cabin and I immediately saw a Brown Booby soaring just outsiide my balcony. Grabbin the camera I spent the next 30 minutes photographing the soaring / diving bird w/ the Sony a1 and 200-600mm lens.
The bird appears to be an immature based on the smudgy brown on the white belly that would be clean white on an adult. At one point I was able to track the bird as it swept low over the water and dove several times.
Flying Fish were appearing in the breaks and I managed to capture a sequence of the Brown Booby diving to catch one as it ‘flew’ across the water’s surface. The Booby caught the large fish, but was unable to secure it in its mouth, and the fish escaped back to the ocean while the bird had to rise up and shake off its lost meal.
The rest of the day would end quietly with no other sightings.
At Sea between Nassau and Castaway Cay, Berry Islands, BS
Apr 18, 2024 7:00 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments: Disney Dream cruise
2 species
Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) 1 male
Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) 1 Single bird soaring and diving next to port side of ship during mid-afternoon. Estimate distance ½ way between Nassau, Bahama and Castaway Cay. Immature bird based on smudgy brown belly that is all-white on adults.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
