moon was by now allowing us a ]_most an hour r s darkness before rising. Banded until 
late . 
20 November 
Embarked Jarvis 0800 and spent 24 hrs on the ship. Sorted and wrapped 
fish and prepared gear. Horrid movie. 
21 November 
Ship was aptly greeted at daybreak by several Christmas Island shearwaters. 
Arrived at Christmas 0820 and rode in luxury aboard the launch, towing our 
battered raft behind. Spent some time sitting around while landing permission 
etc. were established with the commissions. Fred and Paul set out on a long 
range survey of the main island via Sand Rova and bicycle while Doug, Dick, 
Bob, photographer and I arranged to hit the three major lagoon islands with 
the raft. 
Puttered off for Motu Upua around noon and landed far from capsite due 
to low tide - flats of powdered dead coral stretch for half a mile E and S 
from the island and a rise in tide of about a foot covers it all. 
After arranging camp I made a shorebird count while the others surveyed 
the interior. Found moderate numbers of wandering tattlers and golden plovers 
and curlews, a few turnstones, and as unusual birds. Saw three crested terns, one 
sitting on the flats. Many black-tipped sharks less than 2 ft. cruised about 
the flats and morays waited in tiny pools for the tide to rise. The area was 
rich in sea cucumbers, and pelecypod life was apparently flourishing and diverse 
from the shells washed up on shore. Many ? especially. 
Tropicbirds were nesting at the base of a high percentage of Scaevola 
bushes - found one egg and banded some nestlings. Christmas Island shearwaters 
were also in all stages of nesting and often in the same areas as tropicbirds. 
Phoenix island petrels were not nesting axdxx£texKxxxkk^ , with 
one or two exceptions. Fairy terns and blue-gray noddies were present in 
moderate numbers and there were about 15 0 red-footed boobies and less than 
100 greater frigates. Neither were nesting. 
Began blood sampling in the afternoon and continued until one am with time 
while the moon had not risen spent banding. Sampled 55 Phoenix Island, 55 
Christmas Island, 20 red-footed boobies, 10 greater frigates. Banded Phoenix 
Is. Pet. and Christmas Is. Shearwaters. 
22 November 
Alarm rang at 6:45 and we moved off shortly afterward, back to base camp 
near Loudon. The commissioner had awarded us two rooms in the officer's 
quarters and the use of shower etc. We had a conference with the others who 
had returned by Land Rover and handed over Bob Long who wanted to collect 
plants on the main island as the smaller islets had been done quite thoroughly. 
Six Shearwaters and Petrels had not survived blood sampling and one white- 
throated storm petrel had been collected and Doug and I skeletonized these 
under rather luxurious circumstances, on the porch of the officer's quarters. 
We finished in early afternoon and then had to wait for Dick to be brought 
back in from the ship where he had been running the blood samples. Due to 
poor transport agreements we waited In mid-channel off Loudon until 1600 
