TEMPE, AUSTRALIA — “No. Nope, no. No. Sorry about that.” No penguins for you!

It was the information booth at Manly, and I’d asked if there was any way to see the Little Penguins that breed along the shoreline. She wouldn’t divulge any information.

Now, don’t get me wrong — I’m all for protecting threatened wildlife, and that was probably her job. But the woman’s refusal even to discuss the issue with me communicated one message loud and clear: You are an outsider, and outsiders don’t belong.

As if I needed a reminder.

I try not to spill much angst in this blog, but it’s been building up. However glamorous my globetrotting lifestyle may sound (and may, in fact, be), it leaves me a perpetual outsider — a visitor who doesn’t belong and doesn’t get to stay.

I am skipping over the world like a stone skips across the surface of a river.

Every time I touch down, something amazing is waiting for me. I didn’t get to see any penguins, but I watched Black-browed Albatrosses and Australasian Gannets soaring over a magnificent sea. Spectacular — the stuff of poetry and dreams.

But then the water molecules send me spinning back up into space, not sure whether to look forward or backward, wishing I could stay but curious about that next bounce too.

So to all of you who treat me like a friend or even family — or would if you ever had a chance — thank you. And don’t worry about me; I’ll probably feel better in the morning. But in the morning, I’m changing continents again.

PORT VILA, VANUATU — It was nearly three years ago that I visited Vanuatu for the first time. That brief introduction — when I was still quite new to Pacific birding — left me wanting more. Well, now I’ve had more, but of course it’s still not enough.

Vanuatu is not particularly species-rich, but it is rather fascinating from a biogeographic perspective. It shares some species with the Solomons, some with New Caledonia, and some with the Polynesian islands. There are a handful of endemics, but I still haven’t seen any of those. They are found mainly in undisturbed forest on the larger northern islands, but I haven’t been to any of those islands.

My life bird on this trip was the spectacular little black and scarlet Cardinal Myzomela, which is quite common on Tanna. It was nice to see more Red-bellied Fruit Doves and the charismatic Collared Kingfisher, though the latter is extremely wide-ranging. And it was interesting to compare the female plumages of the Melanesian Flycatchers I saw in New Caledonia with the birds here.

I learned more about the songs and calls of the birds here, which is also always one of my goals.

But Buff-bellied Monarch and Vanuatu Megapode? Well, I guess I’ll have to make a third trip someday!

HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS — It’s a cool, gray morning on the ridge overlooking Honiara. Common Mynas, introduced from Asia, are screeching loudly as always. Sunbirds twitter in the frangipanis, and Coconut Lorikeets zip past from time to time.

Birding is tough in the Solomon Islands. Only a few very common, widespread species venture into the towns and villages. Most of these are colorful, or at least charismatic, but the country’s real jewels — the scarce endemics — prefer to stay in the more densely forested areas, which are largely inacessible without a lot of effort.

I was happy to discover that my American host is a birder (serendipity!), and we made a couple of runs up Mount Austen and visited a private property along the coast. These trips were rewarding, with Mount Austen yielding several very nice birds like Buff-headed Coucal (awesome!), Chestnut-bellied Monarch, Claret-breasted Fruit Dove, and the unbelievably minuscule Emerald Pygmy Parrot.

So from my lists for Guadalcanal and Malaita, you can see that we got some excellent birds, but have really only scratched the surface in this remote and fascinating corner of the world.

That seems to be the story of my life though — and now it’s on to Vanuatu!

HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS — I’m in the Solomon Islands now, hoping desperately to have time for some birding before I leave this week. Last month, I was in Australia, and I’ve finally gotten some photos posted.

I started off in Darwin, where I had a great time birding with fellow Birdstacker Fregata and her husband. The couple took me to several sites near Darwin, including Fogg Dam and Charles Darwin National Park.

For more on the trip (which also featured jacanas, Scrubfowl, Magpie Geese, egrets, cockatoos, and Wedge-tailed Eagles), check out Fregata’s Fogg Dam trip list.

More bird, animal, and plant photos are available in my Top End gallery.

From Alice Springs, I flew to Melbourne, where it’s a cold and periodically drizzly winter. I explored the Melbourne suburb where I was staying, and I went birding with John O’Malley of Geelong, who helped me find Rufous Bristlebird, Hooded Dotterel, and many other excellent birds.

I’ll be back in Australia later this month and hope to get a chance to explore even more of that fascinating and very birdy continent. But first, I need to find some birds in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.