Did or Could Seabirds “Halo” Pitcairn Island for Fletcher Christian?

How did Fletcher Christian, leader of the mutiny on the Bounty, find Pitcairn Island when the supposed location was 342 km west of its actual location? This study in applied historical geography explores whether seabirds were the potential navigational beacons pointing to the whereabouts of Pitcairn. Flight distances are drawn from seabird foraging range studies that employed Global Positioning System (GPS) with tracking devices. These data are used to construct foraging range buffers around Pitcairn and the other three islands of the Pitcairn Islands (Oneo, Henderson, and Ducie). The results indicate that seabirds effectively extend island sighting distance and perhaps guided Christian to Pitcairn Island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]