This week was a blur. I now have had the pleasure to meet Jessica Alba and a random guy named Albert. Kahi, my co-worker, told me he apparently is now dating Jessica, while Albert apparently also is already spoken for. Why do I digress into the social life on the island? The reason is this. Jessica Alba Tross is seen frequently on the Island and Albert Ross is almost as common! You can thank Kahi for the Jessica Alba joke and Kate (from NZ) for the Albert Ross joke. I think the joke may sound better in a Kiwi accent.
Where shall I begin again? I am currently on Sand Island, the largest of the Midway Atoll Islands (1,117 acres). Eastern Island is the next largest island, and is where I will be spending a lot of time as well (336 acres). Spit Island lies betwixt the two islands and is only 15 acres. The entire atoll and surrounding refuge is 581,864 acres, which includes the 15 nautical miles surrounding the atoll.
So far this week I have collected albatross boluses(I'll have to explain this later), collected native bunch grass (Eragrostis), potted Eragrostis, re-planted Eragrostis, pulled non-native ironwood trees, and pulled hundreds of Verbesina (i.e. weeding). The pulling of plants is made easier on the island, as a result of the sandy soil. Why not use chemicals? With so many birds on the island and intermixed native and non-native plants Roundup herbicide and the like are not ideal. In the meantime, I'm sure at least once a week I'll be working with the bunch grass and pulling the other non-native plants.Currently on Sand Island, the albatross chicks are five months old and are about a month away from flying. Although I have seen a few out on the water, so some are already beginning to fly. It really is amazing to see hundreds of albatross all facing into the wind, stretching their wings, and preparing for flight. The next few weeks I will surely be dodging young albatross as they ungainly learn to fly.
Living on a colony of birds is not all sunshine. Adult albatross have poor directional capabilities when landing and have come within inches of knocking me off my bike. White (fairy) terns hover around your head, with sharp two-inch beaks. Think large, white hummingbird, with more curiosity about humanity. Further the potential for a large bird to crap on one’s head is ever present. Although the probability is low, it doesn’t seem pleasant.
Tomorrow, I start up work again. The highlights of last week was saving an albatross from a tree, snorkeling with green sea turtles, chatting with bonin petrels (small burrowing birds), and staring into a night sky with very, very little light pollution. Otherwise, there are enough people on the island such that basketball, volleyball, and other games are quite common. In the meantime I am burning daylight and am heading off to chat with my friend Jessica. : )
Here are some of the other better photos of the week.
2 comments:
I'm glad you have made friends with Ms. Alba and Mr. Ross;) How cool you got to rescue the bird from the tree and snorkel with green turtles! Hopefully you'll be able to dodge the bird poo and landing birds all summer!
Wonderment and Envy - be still!!!
Your jet lag hasn't stopped your photographic or journalistic skills and creativity. I can't wait until you're operating at full strength! I imagine your flight up the chain might have felt like you were traveling past the edge of the known world.
As sometimes people have immersion training in a foreign language, perhaps your journey begins with the engulfment by Nature - with the trppings of "our" civilization something to fade away for the next nine weeks. I'll expect to see a faithful representation of the "beak tuck" "sky whistle" and "bill clacking" when you visit Minnesota.
Thanks for the blog - it brings us closer to you.
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