November 19, 2002

Pindito anchored at Teluk Lam-lam (00° 02' 580" S, 130° 43' 872" E)

Today we anchored in Lam-lam, a sheltered bay on the north coast of Waigeo. The bay is very calm, with a small village at its head. To the southeast are the craggy summits of Mt. Nok and its neighbours.

The vegetation team climbed a ridge above the bay, onto more ultrabasic soils. Here there was a wider range of species than in Kawe, though all the Kawe species were present. Here we found many fertile specimens, which will help us identify these species. There was a big patch of burnt forest here, which leads to the supposition that human action is shaping plant community structures on the ultra-basic soils.

Divers went outside the bay, into an area of impressive rock ridges and canyons. Not a very rich site for fishes or corals, but the two sites inside the bay were very rich in hard-corals. This appears to have been a trend - the sheltered areas are rich in corals, but the more exposed sites are richer in fishes.

In the evening Djuna and Duncan visited Lam-lam village, to meet with Iwein Mauro, a young Belgian bird-watcher who rediscovered the extremely rare Bruijn's Brush-turkey
(Aepypodius bruijnii) on the slopes of Mount Nok. By coincidence, this was his first night in the village for three weeks, and tomorrow he leaves for another four weeks in the forest. Talk about dedication…. ( check out www.worldtwitch.com)