Midway Finale

Veni, vidi. No vici. I came to Midway to see, to hear, to smell, to touch, and to taste nature. (If any one asks, the sand was gritty.) At Midway one could conceivably conquer an albatross or two, but there would be no glory in conquering a million of them. In leaving Midway, I was able to humbly say that I left Midway in a better state than I found it. I planted thousands of plants and banded for science and posterity numerous red-tailed tropic birds and albatross. In working on habitat restoration I worked to stem the tide of invasive species. Through a lot of sweat and dirt I manually pulled thousands of non-native cowpen daisy and worked to remove a couple of acres of Ironwood trees. Yet my time on Midway was not about the final results, it was about the process. It was in the process that I was able to appreciate the natural beauty of Midway.

As I write this final blog, I am sitting and listening to a quiet summer afternoon in Minnesota. Crickets are chirping and house finches flitter around in the trees. On Midway, it was never truly quiet. There was always a chorus of birds. However, the musicality of albatross or tropicbirds is not immediately apparent. The chicks of those two species tend to have raucous continuous cries as initially comforting as nails on a chalkboard. White tern adults seem to have continuous boisterous parties amidst the tress. Both the black and brown noddies have a tendency to indignantly scream over heads and malevolently dive bomb individuals. Last but not least, both sooty and grey-backed terns are extremely noisy and nest in large colonies with thousands of cries of righteous indignation over human disturbance. At night the music did not end and in addition to the nightly calls of terns and albatross, shearwaters and petrels added multi octave calls that were both incredibly eerie and insanely serene.

So, where was the music? Surely only the parents of those noisy chicks were the only ones appreciating the cries. (That statement may be debatable) The music was in the harmonious relationships between the various bird species’ calls. None was the same and yet the multi octave music seemed to ebb and flow as the day wore on. After the initial shock (or deafness) left, I could instantly appreciate the novelty and the beauty in the multi species chorus. Mix in the sound of crashing waves and it was the perfect background noise for a nap.

What else can I say about my time on Midway? I could dwell more on the natural resources. I could delve more into the cultural heritage of Midway and the military influence on Midway. I could dally about the people I worked with and the friendships that form on an island that is about two miles long and one mile wide. Or, I could detail the future of Midway amidst the near-certainty of sea-level rise, global warming, coral bleaching, and changing oceanic pH. (Not really rosy.) Unfortunately all those topics would involve much more writing and surely deserve more consideration than one last blog entry.

In the end, I ought to echo my beginning words of this blog. I went to a small island in the northwest Hawaiian island chain with limited baggage, a computer, and a camera. Although accommodations were not truly primitive, the island was and still is. I cannot say enough about the amazing beauty of the reef and the diversity of life that is under the waters of Midway. The land and water remain as natural and primitive as one can find anywhere in the world. The organisms here do not necessarily care about what happens on the mainland of the U.S. or the mainland of any continent. In the end, all that matters to them is space and time. Give nature enough space over enough time and Midway will always be an oasis of life in the middle of the Pacific. I was surely blessed to have lived amidst such beauty.

Last but not least, thank you all for reading my rambles and looking at the pictures I’ve posted. I’ve loved hearing from so many people and friends while I was gone. One hundred thank yous to everyone who has read this blog.

Sights and Sounds of Midway

Courting sub-adult Laysan albatross



The sound of wedge-tailed shearwaters.



A plane departs and young albatross test their wings.

Eastern Island

It really is biologically interesting to visit Eastern Island. On the trip over I potentially see huge manta rays, Hawaiian monk seals, and spinner dolphins. Furthermore, Eastern supports a greater variety of nesting birds than sand island. The cacophony of sooty and grey backed terns is evident even before I set foot on the island. Imagine hundreds and thousands of sparrow size birds with long sharp beaks flying around and screaming calls at you. The island really is amazing. It almost makes me forget the fact that it is such an important historic and cultural monument too. The island has changed tremendously in the last 65 years. During the Battle of Midway, Eastern Island was the home of the runway and most of the human infrastructure. Now, the runway is overgrown with grass and only one small shed remains. Only a monument marker honors those who fought to protect the atoll. Yet, the great biological legacy of Midway hums on. The same birds species that nested 65 years ago, still remain. In fact it is even possible that an albatross witness of the Battle of Midway is still alive and returning to the very same area to nest each year. In any case, it is a treat to head over to Eastern and on this last occasion I was glad to be moving planting supplies (fences, plants, stakes). In the process, these are a few of the pictures I took.

Welcoming reception by sooty terns

The view looking back at Sand Island
Sooty tern chick.


Myself holding a small sooty tern chick.



One of the the three constructed wetlands on Eastern. These wetlands were built in 2004 as habitat for the imported Laysan teal. Which reminds me: if I see a Laysan duck on Midway does it count in the birding world? I'm not on Laysan island, so it may not. Than again, I've seen some of the specific individuals who were brought over. Does that count or is Midway the equivalent of a large aviary? I reckon that is a very esoteric question. Moving on...
About 20 recently fledged ducks were in one such constructed wetland and pond. You can tell they are young hatchiers, because they only have a very small white colored ring of feathers around their eyes. Adults will have very large white rings and in some cases their whole head is a mottled white.

One albatross chick that most likely died as a result of swallowing too much plastic.
I have always heard about the behavior of frigate birds, but was not sure I would ever witness it. Usually their diet consists of gainfully caught fish snatched from near the ocean's surface. At other times they commonly steal fish from other tropic birds or terns in flight. Lastly, they are know to catch and eat the chicks of other seabirds. On this occasion I witnessed a frigate steal a very large sooty tern chick and carry it off. Totally incredible... and rather upsetting since I was only minutes before been holding a similar chick in my hands.

The view heading down the pier to the waiting boat.
Last, but not least. A small endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal that swam over to our boat to check us out. The light was was not perfect since it was still in the shade of the pier. Ah well. They really are cute creatures.

Photos of the day

Flight School on Midway:

Sattelite tagging albatross

(Black-foot albatross with transmitter seen on the back)

I am beginning to miss the albatross. 99 percent of the albatross are gone. Vamooski. I still see quite a few here and there. But compared to the multitude of large birds a few months ago, Midway is becoming rather quiet. Well, maybe not quiet. The wedge-tailed shear waters have returned and the nights are filled with ghastly cries and shrills. The white terns and tropic birds still cry there greetings during the days and nights. Lastly, on a nice day one might also hear juvenile Laysan ducks quack there way across the skies. So, I am still surrounded by birds... and the glorious blue skies and turquoise waters that make island life grand.

The cool news to report is that we tagged nine fledgling albatross about a week and a half ago. We tagged seven black-footed albatross and two Laysan albatross. The really neat thing about all of it is that anyone can go on-line to http://las.pfeg.noaa.gov/TOPP_recent/index.html and see the progress of these albatross. The tagging process was made a little bit more difficult since very few black-foot albatross were around. What could have been accomplished in half a day, ended up taking the better part of two days. We netted the chosen albatross to ensure a catch. Although, as I have said elsewhere, catching an albatross can be simple, we chose not to drag out any potential chase with an albatross that could potentially fly away from us. As proof to the flight potential of these juvenile albatross, one albatross we tagged flew off over the water the moment we released it and another threatened to fly away before we could even catch it. After we caught the albatross, we weighed it, banded it, and placed a transmitter on it. The transmitters themselves are attached to the backs of the albatross by tape. Each transmitter is taped around multiple feathers on the back. Although the method seems a bit primitive, the transmitter doesn't obstruct the flight of the birds and unlike other more bulky methods of attaching transmitters, this method decreases the chance that the bird becomes entangled with any marine debris or fishing lines.

Already the albatross have gone a long way from Midway. The Laysan albatross fledglings seem to fly the straightest, whereas the black-footeds have a wandering pattern to their flight. The idea and hope is that the tags will last six months to a year until the albatross gradually molt off all the feathers attached to the transmitter. Last year the transmitters didn't last quite so long, but the hope is that they will stay on longer this year and that all the tagged albatross survive.

Photographically the process was as follows:
The netting of the albatross

The weighing of the albatross

Taking the measurements on a black-foot albatross


The placing of satellite transmitters on black-footed albatross.

The placing of a transmitter on a Laysan.
The triumphant release of a Laysan Albatross (individual #67688 if you look at the TOPP website)

Routines

Life on an island after more than a month moves real fast. Routines become set and as it stands each week begins to repeat itself. For example, every Tuesday and Thursday I pull invasive plants (i.e. Verbesina) and do bird surveys. Every Friday is chainsaw Friday and we clear out stands of ironwood trees near the old baseball field. Monday and Wednesday we work in the greenhouse either growing native plants or planting the ones planted. Most recently I have also added to the schedule, Laysan Duck monitoring. And, that is only the work week.


Laysan duck monitoring is great. The Laysan duck or Laysan teal is the most endangered duck in North America and at one point was down to 11 individuals in 1911. To prevent extinction, 42 teals were introduced to Midway between 2004 and 2005. Currently the population on Midway is roughly at 150! Which is why I'm now on Duck duty every Tuesday. The job entails sneaking up to the various wetlands on the island and counting the numbers of ducklings that i see. In the process I write down any tag numbers that I can see on any of the ducks. The ducks are amazingly curious for being threatened. After some length of time the ducks recognize me as an intruder and slowly swim over to see what the heck I am up to. If I move backwards they will even follow me out of the water and sit up watch. They eventually move away after they realize that I am not a threat and go back to their duck business of quacking, swimming, foraging, resting and the like. As for their appearance: the ducklings are small fluff balls and the adults are relatively small with very distinct white circles around their eyes. All in all they are cute little ducks and duck duty is a blast.

Similarly, the ol’ social calendar is surprisingly full. It seems that on islands given the limited options, people plan out their weeks fairly strict. Even if it is merely, ‘hey everybody game night Thursday.’ As a result things start to move pretty fast. Oh, and circled on everybody’s calendar is plane night. It’s like the movie, God’s must be Crazy and the arrival of a Coke bottle. People on Midway are fascinated with the arrival of new people. For some it is the arrival of old acquaintances and for others the plane simply brings along a splash of newness. In either case the plane brings tokens of the outside world, people, mail, and fresh supplies (food included). Of those three, I think I am most excited by the arrival of fresh fruit and other perishable foods. Than again, the weeks I have mail I most definitely change my tune.

Photos courtesy of C

Major blog update withstanding these are a few pictures that my workmate C has taken of me. The reef pictures I certainly appreciate since, I tend not to bring my camera on any boats for fear of wreckage.

The reef photos were taken this last Tuesday. We were part of a combination Hawaiian monk seal patrol and another marine debris clean up.





The trick, as I have said before, on Midway is to try and convince white terns to land on your hand. White terns have the ability to hover like a humming bird and usually only come close to landing on a person. Well, on one rather amazing day one sat on my head and the other on my hand. In the photo the one that was on my head had just taken off. In any case, I think I may add to my resume, tern handler. : )


Free time on Midway is usually involves some sort of appreciation of the outdoors. For instance, snorkeling or swimming is common for most people. Other people jump off piers, watch birds, search for shells (or rare Japanese glass fishing floats) on the beach, or hope and wait for a tiger shark to take out a fledgling albatross. On Midway though, nights are more low key and on some nights people use the pool hall for pool, darts, or ping-pong. Oh, and in case I somehow missed mentioning this. Every Sunday I bowl. : ) I have no clue how long the bowling alley has been present on Midway, but I definitely look forward to Sunday night bowling here. On this occasion (not Sunday) pool was in order.