The Mariana’s, Day 5 — Tinian

 On Friday, December 22, 2023, Nick Jr. and I caught a commuter flight to the island of Tinian, via Star Mariana Airlines.  But first we checked out a couple of spots around the airport on Saipan. The most productive spot was a pond on the golf course at Coral Ocean Resort. Nick Jr. used his charm to convince the resort manager to provide a golf cart free of charge for us to view both ponds on the property. Both ponds have emergent vegetation. The west pond had good birds. Our checklist included Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Garganey (USA and Territories Biggest Year-Bird #869), Wood Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt (870) and Whiskered Tern. 

The flight to Tinian was a short 10-minute jaunt in a tiny 4 passenger plane. The pilot was a young man from Colorado. Tinian is a small island but big enough to rent cars at the airport. We rented one and drove to the town harbor where we found Gray-tailed Tattler, a gray mid-sized sandpiper that prefers rocky shoreline. There were few birds out and about and even fewer people. However, what the island lacks in populations, it makes up with history. Tinian was once occupied by the Japanese. During World War II, the US Navy fought for it and conquered it.

 We found our target species, the tiny Tinian Monarch (871), an old world flycatcher related to the elepaios from Hawaii. We found it near some limestone caves where Japanese soldiers had made their last defensive stand versus the American invading force. Later in the war, Tinian served as the base where the Enola Gay loaded its cargo of atom bombs destined for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The military presence is for the most part long gone now. 

Despite the somewhat ugly history, the island was very beautiful. Nick Jr. and I found a secluded beach that we had all to ourselves. We took a break from birding to swim in the ocean. When the break was over, we headed back towards the airport with an eye open for Asian bird species that might have settled on the island. 

We were looking mainly for raptors and egrets. There were no ponds or mudflats available for shorebirds. Most of the island was secondary forest scrub. We flushed numerous flocks (>100 individuals per flock) of Orange-cheeked Waxbill, a tiny introduced species of estrildid finch. I thought these would make great snacks for a Japanese Sparrowhawk. When we came to an area of cattle pasture, our search became focused on finding Cattle Egret. The Asian subspecies had recently been elevated to full species status, now called Eastern Cattle Egret. It is longer necked, longer legged, darker legged than its yellow-legged western counterpart. In breeding plumage it sports an orange neck and head rather than a yellow-orange patch limited to the nape and crown. Time was running out on us when I spotted a white egret fluttering near a small group of cattle. Then there were four.  Soon we spotted a tree full of them-fifteen birds in all. We confirmed the field marks for non-breeding plumaged Eastern Cattle Egret (872). 

I was pleased that we found an Asian visitor (Eastern Cattle Egret) in addition to the resident endemic Tinian Monarch for my year list. We arrived back on Saipan at dusk. Next stop—the island of Rota.