Pacific seabirds watching

Kiritimati Island is a seabird refuge and nesting place in the Pacific. Kiritimati supports 18 distinct bird species, including the rare Christmas Island Warbler, despite having very little land in either direction. The island also serves as a breeding ground for the endangered Phoenix Petrel and White-Throated Storm Petrel.

Kiritimati takes its responsibility in assisting these birds very seriously, supporting nine designated protected zones for breeding and nesting of diverse bird species. Kiribati's Ministry of Wildlife and Conservation is in charge of ensuring that the nesting grounds are not damaged. While seabirds may nest and breed all year due to low temperature variation, the greatest breeding seasons are June and December.

Birds found on Kiritimati Island are: phoenix shearwaters, wedge-tailed shearwaters, christmas shearwaters, audubon's shearwaters, polynesian storm petrels, red-tailed tropicbirds, masked boobies, brown boobies, great frigate birds, red-footed boobies, lesser frigate birds, great crested terns, grey backed terns, sooty terns, brown noddies black noddies, blue-gray noddies, and white terns. To organize bird viewing trips, contact your lodging, which may customize a tour to your individual interests.