My wife and I just returned from a week aboard Royal Caribbean's "Oasis of
the Seas," the world's largest cruise ship. Our ports of call included
Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel, and during each stop we birded as we could
(this was not by any stretch a birding tour) and got a few nice birds with
an endemic or so thrown in.
Equally if not more interesting was the birding from the ship during the
cruising days. Before we left for the trip I did some research to find out
what to expect on the high seas; I must say that there's not much written
on the subject.
The first day or so, therefore, I was not surprised to find empty skies and
seas. The main excitement was the richness of flying fish---these amazing
animals can really fly, and for quite some distances. It was tempting to
put them on my bird list; they could, after all, fly, for Pete's sake.
It was mid-week, after we left Falmouth, Jamaica, that we noticed swallows
around the ship. Two species were in the group: Barn Swallows and Northern
Rough-winged Swallows. It's worth mentioning a unique characteristic of the
Oasis of the Seas: the center of the ship is open at the top. Below is what
they call Central Park. This empty space is about six decks high and the
"forest" has hundreds of living plants and even nearly 40 live trees. We
observed the swallows not only around the ship but in the air above Central
Park, although we never saw them land. At first I thought perhaps the birds
were migrating and were using the ship as a resting station. But oddly, the
birds did not seem exhausted and were flying in their usual styles, as if
feeding.
Near the end of the week, I attended a Q&A session held by the Captain of
the ship, who addressed the issue somewhat. He commented that once the ship
is in port, birds find the open areas, explore them and sometimes remain
when the ship sails on. So it may be that the ship itself could be tweaking
bird ranges, depending on what ends up in the park.
On Friday, several Brown Boobies showed up and flew round and round the
ship. My first theory was that the churn of the ship was stirring up fish
and attracting them, but then I saw something more astonishing: the boobies
were actively pursuing the flying fish in the air and, occasionally,
catching them while on the wing...er....fin. This is definitely something
to watch for if you cruise the Caribbean.
One other special note: also on Friday, with no land in sight, a Peregrine
Falcon appeared and made multiple circuits around the ship. It might have
had an eye on one of the swallows, but that's a high energy bill to pay for
a little snack.
If anyone here on this list has had similar experiences, please share.
Birding on a cruise ship just may be as interesting as birding the islands.
Fred Burggraf
Charles County
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