Australia Ramsar wetland
Hosnies Spring
96 bird species recorded; the most from November to December.
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
This month here
51 species in January.35 species in February.39 species in March.38 species in April.37 species in May.28 species in June.30 species in July.35 species in August.49 species in September.37 species in October.65 species in November.69 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
VU
VU
VUVU
VUVU
VUVU
VUVU
VUVU
VUVU
VUVUVUVU
VU
VUVUVUVU
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
96 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 96Speciesrecorded more than once
- 35Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 6ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 12,342Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 5Raptors
- 2Owls
- 21Waders
- 17Gulls & seabirds
- 1Ducks & geese
- 15Herons, ibises & grebes
- 17Songbirds
- 18Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 96 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Nankeen KestrelFalco cenchroides
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Brown GoshawkAccipiter fasciatus
- Crested Honey BuzzardPernis ptilorhynchus
- European HobbyFalco subbuteo
Owls2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Christmas BoobookNinox natalisVU
- Northern BoobokNinox japonica
Waders21 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- Oriental PratincoleGlareola maldivarum
- Greater Sand PloverCharadrius leschenaultii
- Pacific Golden PloverPluvialis fulva
- Pin-tailed SnipeGallinago stenura
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Pied StiltHimantopus leucocephalus
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Australian PratincoleStiltia isabella
- Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
- Oriental DotterelCharadrius veredus
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
- Gray-tailed TattlerTringa brevipes
- Little CurlewNumenius minutus
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- RedshankTringa totanus
- Red-necked StintCalidris ruficollisNT
- Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminataVU
Gulls & seabirds17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-footed BoobySula sula
- White-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon lepturus
- Great FrigatebirdFregata minor
- Christmas FrigatebirdFregata andrewsiVU
- Brown BoobySula leucogaster
- Red-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon rubricauda
- Anous stolidusAnous stolidus
- Abbott's BoobyPapasula abbotti
- Lesser FrigatebirdFregata ariel
- Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
- Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
- Lesser Crested TernThalasseus bengalensis
- Antarctic PrionPachyptila desolata
- Wedge-tailed ShearwaterPuffinus pacificus
- Phaethon aethereusPhaethon aethereus
- Tropical ShearwaterPuffinus bailloni
- Common TernSterna hirundo
Ducks & geese1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosa
Herons, ibises & grebes15 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Reef HeronEgretta sacra
- White-faced HeronEgretta novaehollandiae
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Striated HeronButorides striata
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Egretta intermediaEgretta intermedia
- Malay Night-heronGorsachius melanolophus
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Australian White IbisThreskiornis molucca
- Little Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostris
- Chinese Pond HeronArdeola bacchus
- Nankeen Night HeronNycticorax caledonicus
- Japanese Night-heronGorsachius goisagiVU
- Cinnamon BitternIxobrychus cinnamomeus
- Purple heronArdea purpurea
Songbirds17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Christmas White-eyeZosterops natalis
- Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Java SparrowLonchura oryzivora
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Turdus poliocephalusTurdus poliocephalus
- Eastern Yellow WagtailMotacilla tschutschensis
- Citrine WagtailMotacilla citreola
- Brown ShrikeLanius cristatus
- Asian House MartinDelichon dasypus
- Red-throated PipitAnthus cervinus
- Blue-and-white FlycatcherCyanoptila cyanomelana
- Dark-sided FlycatcherMuscicapa sibirica
- Tiger ShrikeLanius tigrinus
- Oriental Reed WarblerAcrocephalus orientalis
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
Other birds18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Christmas Imperial-pigeonDucula whartoni
- Christmas Island SwiftletCollocalia natalis
- Common Emerald DoveChalcophaps indica
- Red JunglefowlGallus gallus
- White-breasted WaterhenAmaurornis phoenicurus
- Cave SwiftletCollocalia linchi
- Common KoelEudynamys scolopaceus
- Glossy SwiftletCollocalia esculenta
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Pacific SwiftApus pacificus
- Red Collared DoveStreptopelia tranquebarica
- WatercockGallicrex cinerea
- Oriental DollarbirdEurystomus orientalis
- Oriental CuckooCuculus optatus
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
- Sacred KingfisherTodiramphus sanctus
- Black-eared CuckooChrysococcyx osculans
- House SwiftApus nipalensis
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species from November to December.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan28°/27°168 mm
- Feb28°/28°169 mm
- Mar28°/28°184 mm
- Apr29°/28°152 mm
- May28°/28°101 mm
- Jun28°/27°77 mm
- Jul27°/26°49 mm
- Aug26°/26°16 mm
- Sep26°/26°21 mm
- Oct26°/26°39 mm
- Nov27°/27°74 mm
- Dec28°/27°128 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Hosnies Spring.
Christmas Island wetland
Hosnies Spring is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Australia.
96 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 12,342 open records.
The most recorded are the Christmas Imperial-pigeon, the Red-footed Booby and the White-tailed Tropicbird.
23 species come for the summer, 10 for the winter and 2 only pass through.
6 are threatened worldwide, including Christmas Frigatebird, Christmas Boobook and Grey Plover.
The most species are recorded from November to December.
Get there and watch
- Grants Well Camp Sitecampsite · 4.3 km · 1 within 10 km
- Christmas Island Lodgeplace to stay · 6.3 km · 4 within 10 km
- Flying Fish Covenearest town · 6.4 km in a straight line
- Christmas Island International Airport (XCH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 3 km in a straight lineCar hire at LEA airport (Exmouth)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1viewpoints within 5 kmMargaret Knoll
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 1restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 1campsites within 10 kmGrants Well Camp Site
- 4places to stay within 10 kmChristmas Island Lodge, Cocos Padang Lodge, Coconut Cottage and 1 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Hosnies Spring.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas19 mountains within 25 kmHanitch Hill · 3.5 kmGannet Hill · 4.7 kmRoss Hill319 m · 5.3 kmAldrich Hill · 6.4 kmBean Hill · 6.4 kmFerguson Hill · 6.5 kmCamp Hill · 10 kmMurray Hill, Christmas Island361 m · 12 km
Coastya11 beaches within 10 kmGladys Beach · 0.4 kmLily Beach · 2.5 km↗Greta Beach · 3.2 km↗Dolly Beach · 5.1 kmMargaret Beaches · 5.4 kmIsabel Beach · 6.4 km↗Rhoda Beaches · 7.3 kmDorothy Beach · 7.8 km
Darkskyas2 dark-sky places within 30 kmChristmas IslandBortle 1 · 7.1 km↗Murray Hill, Christmas IslandBortle 1 · 12 km
Cascadyas2 waterfalls within 15 kmGrants Well · 4.1 kmThe Waterfall · 7.1 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Other places nearby.
Hosnies Spring
Australia
- 59Birdyas Score
- 96Species
- 35Migrants
- 6Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q5908164) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 12,342 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Coastya, Darkskyas, Cascadyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
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