tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17036514362882565442024-03-12T23:03:34.410-11:00Eighteen Months on MidwayIn April of 2016 I accepted an 18 month position working as a restoration ecologist on Midway Atoll. This blog was created as a way of sharing experiences and information learned on this assignment.Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-77188471251590875042017-10-31T19:29:00.001-11:002018-04-19T06:33:49.163-11:00Farewell Midway / A Hui Hou<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On a sunny morning late last month, I boarded the Gulfstream
G3 and left Midway Atoll, this time maybe for good. Eighteen months had gone by
pretty quickly and my brain swirled with a flurry of hard-to-pin-down emotions
as I peered out the window of the plane at the little cluster of islands that
I’d called home during that time. Sure, I was glad to be heading back to my
home in Enterprise, Oregon to reconnect with my wife and friends there after
being gone so long; and I was also relieved to be able to leave what had become
a toxic work environment due to the malfeasance of a couple of people. But I
also knew that there was something very precious about having had the
opportunity to live in such a remote and (literally) fantastic place where
wildlife not only abounds but also show no fear of humans, thus allowing one to become a part of </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">their
world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this blog, I’ve written about some of the spectacular wildlife
species that live on Midway (yes, I know that albatrosses were possibly
favored) and also detailed other aspects of the natural and human history
there. But there are so many interesting things I haven’t gotten around to
writing about so I thought, for this final entry, I’d at least try to touch on some
of them briefly. I offer this to you as an alternative to some sappy, poorly conceived, summary of my experiences there. If nothing else, it will be easier to write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Death on Midway</b> –
People have met their demise on Midway in a variety of ways. Some were famous
and gave their lives to an important cause. This was the case of Marine <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._Cannon">Lt George Cannon</a> who,
despite severe injuries, continued at his post as Japanese warplanes attacked
during WWII. Others lost their lives in less noble circumstances. Take the case
of the fisherman who blew his arm off dynamite fishing on the reef. Or the <a href="http://www.midway-island.com/mdy-stories/john-cameron/john-camerons-odyssey-chapter-9/">infamous
Captain Jorgensen</a> who, after wrecking his ship, began killing off his crew until
they built a boat and sailed off without him. I also heard the tale of a
physician on the island who developed appendicitis and died after attempting to
remove his own appendix. There is a small cemetery on Midway known as the
“Doctors Cemetery”, which was the final resting place for a half dozen or so
physicians that lived on Midway. Why
only physicians? Because if someone died, the physician (typically there was
only one), would embalm the body so that it could be shipped back to wherever
it was the deceased person had come from. But what if you were the physician?
Then this option was not available and the unembalmed body had to be buried on Midway. No one
plans to live out their last days on Midway. In fact, to go there, you typically
have to be in reasonably good health so as to avoid emergency medical
situations. Given this, nearly everyone that meets their end on the atoll does so in a
tragic way. Just a few years back, a
recently hired worker (one of the many men from Thailand) decided to try out
kayaking but had been given no safety training. He drowned right off
the beach when his boat capsized and, because he had strapped himself into the boat, could not right himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Red-tailed tropicbird on nest</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red-tailed
tropicbirds</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> – These are amazing seabirds that, for some reason, have two very
long, thin red tail-feathers and are known for their ability to fly backwards –
something I read about long before I actually saw them do it. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_tropicbird" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red-tailed tropicbirds</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">,
sometimes called “Bosun Birds”, nest on the ground under shrubs or trees and,
although – or perhaps because –</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">they are
very strong fliers, they can’t really walk.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, when a tropicbird decides to take to the sky it has to haul itself
out into the open, using its wings like seal uses its front flippers, where it then launches itself into the air with brute force. When a
tropicbird needs to land, it does so by making a very steep descent, feet
first, and then makes what might best be described as a “controlled crash
landing”.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you walk too close to a
tropicbird that’s sitting on the ground, it will give an extremely loud, harsh
cry, which can be so startling as to make your heart stop. But my favorite
thing about the tropicbird is the sublime color of their feathers at the start
of the breeding season. During most of the year they appear entirely bright
white except for their tail. When they first return to the atoll in the spring
though, the white in their feathers seems to be infused with a pearly, pink
luster which makes them exceptionally beautiful.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sand painting by Nai DeGracia</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hidden Talents</b> – Midway
has a pretty small population of semi-permanent residents that is made up of a
mix of about 35 to 40 longer-term residents (mostly Thai men) that work for the
contractor, <a href="http://www.chugach.com/">Chugach Alaska Corp</a>, which
basically runs the place. Added to this are 10 or so Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) staff and volunteers whose terms last 6 months to a few years. Hidden
within this tiny community are a remarkable number of diverse, and surprising
talents, many of which are revealed only well into an evening of reverie. Narongkorn
Tassananggulla, also known as Ae2, is an electrician by day, but in the evening,
you might find him playing the guitar or ukulele. He does a very convincing
rendition of Neil Young’s song <i>Heart of
Gold </i>for which he also sings and plays the harmonica. That beautiful
painting of an albatross on his golf cart? He did that! Meg Duhr-Schultz was a
biologist at Midway but also possessed exceptional mixology skills and frequently hosted
cocktail parties where she’d test out her recipes on guests. She employed local
ingredients, such as Thai basil and chile, to make infusions and bitters. I
remember one cocktail made with duck-fat butter, bourbon, and herbs. Nai
DeGracia, a FWS volunteer who ran the native plant nursery, was known for her
excellent tattooing skills and many a visitor left with the image of tropicbird
or albatross on their skin. Preecha Songserm, aka “Sam”, was a weed control
technician who was also, ironically perhaps, a master at flower arranging and a
fabulous Thai cook. For special occasions, JR Roberson, the Logistics Manager,
would always arrive in some fantastic, colorful outfit composed from his
extensive and diverse wardrobe. Eric
Baker, another FWS volunteer, was not only a very capable seabird biologist,
but also a fantastic photographer (he shot only film) and also a superb painter
and scientific illustrator. On weekends, Surasak Fakkaew (known as “Sak”) takes
a break from his regular job to cut hair at Midway’s barber shop. Writing a complete account of all the amazing talent on Midway would be a serious undertaking!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Snorkeling at the sunken water barge</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Lagoon and the
Reef</b> – Midway Atoll is probably 95% ocean, though I’m guessing that over 90%
of my time there was spent on land and my blog posts had a decidedly terrestrial
focus. Beyond the three small islands land there is extensive lagoon – a shallow, turquoise, crystal-clear
sea bounded by the remnants of an ancient coral reef. It is a color so powerful
it can turn the clouds above it from white to emerald green. Snorkeling the
reefs of Midway certainly was a highlight of my time there. Some coral is purple, others yellow or orange. Swimming among the corals were dozens of species of fishes, large and small,
and in an amazing array of colors. An occasional
lobster, eel, or seal made things even more interesting. And then there was the
“Water Barge”, wrecked on reef sometime in decades past, now lying in about 50
feet of water on the edge of a channel. We snorkeled there on a very calm day
in the summer of 2016, diving down to its large anchor – this baby ain’t going nowhere!
On the way back, we might encounter a pod of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinner_dolphin">Spinner Dolphins</a>, which
would often follow the boat for reasons we could only guess at.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Exotic Birds</b> –
Midway has no native songbird species but over the years people have brought in
birds from other places. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_canary">Atlantic
Canary</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_myna">Common Myna</a>
are two species which have become established due to such efforts. Many people
are familiar with canaries, small finchlike birds native to the Canary Islands,
known for their beautiful songs and often kept as pets. A Mr. D Morrison,
purchased some canaries in Honolulu in 1909 and brought them to Midway. These
birds now thrive on Midway eating a variety of seeds from native and domestic
plants and nesting wherever they can find a suitable place. The corner pocket
of a pool table for example! Much could
be written about these interesting birds and how they have acclimatized to this
remote atoll! Mynas came much later, after
World War II. The first things I noticed about these birds was their habit of
picking at the carcasses of albatross chicks. For meat or insects? I have never
been sure. They are also opportunistic with regards to the placement of their
nests – there was a pair nesting in the garage of the office this past summer
and they would sometimes get annoyed with Laysan Ducks that wandered in there
and would chase them around, pecking at them violently. I have also witnessed
brutal fights between mynas in which a group of birds attacked a lone bird,
pecking it and pressing it into the sand so hard I thought they might kill it. The
third exotic bird species at Midway is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_egret">Cattle Egret</a>. How it got
to Midway is anyone’s guess, but the leading theory is that it got there on its
own from the mainland (where it was introduced). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Short-tailed albatross on Midway Atoll</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <b>The Golden Gooney</b> – Of the three species of albatrosses known to nest
at Midway, it is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-tailed_albatross">Short-tailed
Albatross</a>, known also as the <i>Golden Gooney, </i>that is the most rare and holds
the greatest mystique. This albatross nests primarily on islands off the southeastern
coast of Japan – primarily Torishima Island – and has had its numbers decimated
through both human exploitation and having the bad luck to have one of its biggest nesting populations wiped out by a volcanic eruption.
Short-tailed albatross had been seen on Midway since the 1940s, but it wasn’t
until 2010 that <a href="https://abcbirds.org/article/endangered-short-tailed-albatross-nests-in-u-s-for-first-time/">birds
were observed nesting</a>. Unfortunately, one of the birds in the pair died and a single
lone bird returned to Midway in subsequent years but seemed unable to attract a mate.
Last winter this lone bird seemed to have found a friend – perhaps a young female? – and there
is great hope that they will return this winter to raise a chick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Midway's fancy fire truck (called the "Mother Green" by some) is a critical piece of aviation safety equipment</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Henderson Air Field</b>
– Midway Atoll is a wildlife refuge, a national historical monument, and an
airport capable of landing a 747 at any time. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henderson_Field_(Midway_Atoll)">Henderson
Air Field</a> is the only public airport for over 1000 miles and is used as an
emergency landing site for commercial aircraft that get into trouble while travelling
en route from Asia to North America. The last time this happened was 2014 when someone
smelled smoke on United Airlines flight UA-201 on its way from Honolulu to Guam.
It’s also used by the US Coast Guard for training missions, sometimes to allow the pilot to practice landing without any runway lights. Just four people
keep the airport going at Midway, doing everything from spraying weeds on the
runway to conducting emergency response drills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Each year tons of plastic debris washes up on the shores of Midway Atoll</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Plastic Problem</b>
– Every day garbage washes up on Midway’s reefs and beaches. Most of this is
plastic which has found its way into the ocean and swirls around in giant “garbage
patches” until it finds its way onto land. <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/explainers/what-is-marine-debris" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Plastic isn’t just an aestheticproblem. It is ingested by all manner of ocean creature, including albatrossesand other seabirds</a>. Plastic ends up in the stomachs of fast-growing albatross
chicks and may constitute over 90% of the indigestible material that they consume.
How plastic affects the health of albatrosses or other marine organisms is not
known but the fact that some albatross chicks are literally filled with plastic when they die is in indicator that the situation is not good. How much plastic do you throw out? Would seeing an albatross regurgitate
a toothbrush, or a hypodermic needle, make you rethink your relationship to
plastic?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKs021HqXcbL2DDB_N6S7xBqFvQ1w4_ufgm1QHaiWvtieoZy7b8sI_CTzSW20FSGqXJB3S58qE6rwnsD8wPGx9s_gk9FtVLo3zSLJKcAqVrFaVmzhkbFNPdB1UmW6UwnQvTBysA_hLwKg/s1600/20171013-Midway+Habitat+Restoration-Invasives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKs021HqXcbL2DDB_N6S7xBqFvQ1w4_ufgm1QHaiWvtieoZy7b8sI_CTzSW20FSGqXJB3S58qE6rwnsD8wPGx9s_gk9FtVLo3zSLJKcAqVrFaVmzhkbFNPdB1UmW6UwnQvTBysA_hLwKg/s400/20171013-Midway+Habitat+Restoration-Invasives.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Sand Island created for tourists visiting Midway on the China Clipper in the 1930s.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Clipper Era</b> – The early twentieth century was one of rapid change on Midway, and a period of time I find especially interesting, especially the mid to late 1930s when Pan-American Airways established a tourism site on Midway, which was one of several stops along a Trans-Pacific route that included Honolulu and Guam. Passengers crossed the ocean in large, luxury seaplanes called “<a href="http://www.clipperflyingboats.com/china-clipper">Clippers</a>”. Various facilities were built for the tourists including a hotel with a restaurant (the “Gooneyville
Lodge”) and tennis courts. The only other human inhabitants of Midway at the time were resident
workers of the Pacific Commercial Cable Company, which, operated the trans-Pacific telegraph
cable station. It is really hard to imagine what it would be like to visit Midway
during those times, but it must have been idyllic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Laysan ducks at "Catchment" on Midway Atoll</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Laysan Duck</b> – No
native duck ever lived on Midway, probably because the atoll had no surface
freshwater. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan_duck">Laysan Duck</a>,
a native of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan">Laysan Island</a>,
which lies about 700 miles southeast of Midway, prospered there until 1894 when
a well-meaning person named Max Schlemmer brought rabbits to the island. The
rabbits did what rabbits do and after a couple of decades had consumed every
blade of grass and anything else they could find to eat. That wasn’t great for
the ducks which were nearly driven to extinction. Decades later, in 2004, the
Laysan Duck was introduced to Midway Atoll as a precautionary measure. To accommodate
the ducks, many artificial ponds and wetlands have been created for them. The
birds have done well at Midway and can be seen nearly everywhere on Sand
Island, though botulism remains a problem. After a heavy rain, it is not uncommon to see a hen with its brood of
chicks splashing around in a puddle alongside a road. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Midway Atoll is a fascinating and complicated place that can
be approached and appreciated in many ways. Is it paradise? Or is a stark lesson on how badly people can screw up the environment? I would say it's a little of both. During my 18 months there I definitely saw the good, the bad and the ugly. If I had to single out one thing that I will take away from the experience I'd have to say it would be a deeper, more intuitive understanding of the life of a wild bird. Living there also gave me a better sense of myself and has helped me understand the things I need to be happy in life. For that, I thank you Midway! </span><br />
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Farewell and </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">A Hui Hou</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rob Taylor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Enterprise, OR</span></div>
Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-58531500766133256872017-09-16T17:00:00.001-11:002017-11-01T18:40:34.288-11:00Real Snowbirds<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My parents retired to Florida some years back and I remember,
during one of my first visits, them telling me about the “snowbirds”, the term
used to refer to folks that spent their winters down in the Sunshine State and
returning to the north each summer to avoid the southern heat. In our modern
world, where one can simply hop on a commercial jet and make the 1,100 mile
journey from New York to Miami in just a couple of hours, maybe even sipping a
cocktail and munching peanuts while you sit in a cushioned seat and watch a
movie, , this is no great feat. The word <i>snowbird</i>
though, has been around for a much longer than Miami Beach – since 1674, according
to Merriam-Webster – and once was used to refer to bird species seen only
during the winter months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike many subtropical parts of the U.S., fall does not
bring with it gray-haired flocks with golf clubs and tennis racquets, but we
definitely do have our snowbirds. And truly fine neighbors they are, so let me
introduce them to you!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ruddy Turnstone on Sand Island, Midway Atoll (Photo by Jon Plissner)</span><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although a variety of bird species occasionally find their
way to Midway during fall migration (which actually begins in late July) four
are very regular and fairly abundant. The </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Akekeke</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
or </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruddy_turnstone" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ruddy Turnstone</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
is a small, stocky, calico-colored shorebird with bright orange legs that
breeds throughout the Arctic – including large swaths of Alaska, Canada,
Greenland, and Russia. After breeding, adults head south and are followed
shortly thereafter by the young of the year where they spend summers on coasts
of every continent on earth, except Antarctica. This is a truly wide ranging
bird species so it’s no wonder we find them here on Midway. Although typical
habitat for turnstones is rocky shorelines, at Midway they are “habitat
generalists”, and you can find them pretty much anywhere on Sand Island. When I
walk to lunch I often find myself being escorted by a few turnstones on the
path. Despite their short, stubby, legs, they are surprisingly fleet of foot. If
I walk too fast though, they take flight, revealing a striking pattern of
black, brown, and white on their backs. Though turnstones feed mostly on
insects on their breeding grounds, during the winter they’ll eat pretty much
anything: mollusks, crustaceans, worms, insects, and even dead fish. The Ruddy Turnstone’s
ability to take so many different kinds of food may be credited to its diverse
modes of feeding which include: routing through seaweed, turning stones with
its feet (hence the name!), digging holes into and probing the ground,
hammering with its bill, and pecking. The Ruddy Turnstone probably finds its
time on Midway pretty relaxing. With mild weather, no chicks to feed, and no
predators to be worried about, they seem to be living a pretty charmed life.
But when spring comes, some biological urge compels them to take to the skies
again and return to their breeding grounds in the Arctic. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adult male Pacific Golden Plover on Sand Island, Midway Atoll. Note that this photo was taken while the bird is in the midst of molting from its breeding plumage to winter plumage (Photo by Jon Plissner).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another regular winter visitor is the <i>Kōlea</i> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_golden_plover">Pacific Golden
Plover</a>, an elegant shorebird with long legs and a short bill that, like the
turnstone, seems to be found nearly everywhere on Sand Island –runways, lawns, beaches.
etc. – where it walks about, stopping
occasionally to eat some insect or other tasty morsel. This species of plover
is somewhat unusual as shorebirds go in that males and females look quite
different, at least for part of the year. During the summer breeding season, male
golden plovers wear nearly black feathers from their face down through their
belly, ringed by white, and the feathers on their backs become tinged with
gold; at this time they are easily distinguished from the more drab females.
After arriving on their winter grounds, both males and females molt and grow
buff colored feathers on their face and breasts while their backs and the tops
of their heads are mottled with brown and gold. At this point they are pretty
much indistinguishable. When darkness falls on Midway, plovers may issue a
fantastic warbling, musical, call before returning to communal roosts where
they spend the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pacific Golden Plovers nest high above the Arctic Circle,
from Alaska to Siberia, escaping the boreal winter each fall by heading south
where they can be found almost anywhere along the western coasts of the America
from British Columbia to Chile. They also make their way to nearly all Pacific
Islands as well as the coasts of China, Japan, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and
Iran. Did I mention northeast Africa? During the winter Pacific Golden Plovers inhabit
nearly half of the globe, and accomplish this by undertaking an epic and
mind-boggling annual migration – sometimes flying thousands of miles non-stop over
open water. Our Golden Plover has two close relatives, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_golden_plover">American Golden
Plover</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_golden_plover">European Golden
Plover</a>, and they sometimes encounter each other at the edges of their breeding
ranges. Sometimes a Pacific Golden Plover will mix in with a flock of its
cousins and travel south with them, taking them far outside their usual winter
range, for example, Europe. This is a bird that really gets around!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two Wandering Tattlers hunt for food in an artificial wetland on Sand Island, Midway Atoll (Photo by Jon Plissner)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">The <i>‘Ūlili</i> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_Tattler">Wandering Tattler</a> is
a stocky, long-legged, grey shorebird that nests in remote montane valleys,
carved by glaciers, in Alaska, Canada,
and the Russian Far East. Compared to other shorebirds, there is scant
knowledge of this species, a consequence of its small numbers (estimated at
10,000 to 25,000 worldwide), cryptic coloration and small numbers. Even if you made
the trek to Denali National Park in Alaska, a place where they are known to
breed, you might not ever see one, due to their solitary habits and secretive behavior.
The Wandering Tattler heads south in August and, like the other snowbirds, fly
to their winter homes in the Pacific Islands – including Hawaii, Galapagos,
Micronesia, and New Guinea – and along the coasts California and Mexico. Here on Midway we are very lucky to be
able to reliably observe this fascinating bird. Unlike the Ruddy Turnstone and
the Pacific Golden Plover, tattlers stick pretty close to water. I often see them on the beach next to the
Cargo Pier and at “Catchment” (an artificial wetland near the runway). They
will even hang out on emergent portions of the coral reef that rings the atoll.
Wandering Tattlers are thought to be territorial in the winter – birds are
typically seen alone and widely and regularly spaced on beaches. They always
seem to be concentrating on finding food, occasionally probing their long,
stout bills in the sand or mud, looking for invertebrates, including crabs,
snails, and shrimp. Because they stick to the water, tattlers probably have a
more specific diet than some of the other Midway snowbirds. Both their English
and Hawaiian name derives from the sound of their call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgKbyt6tUvksICNUP0kaElpdywlkqvGZJaZQ5Zskpydu5uVQHlm9MX7yCLaW0DCEGuJVCdhVXkmmLgpyxeChiH4B1h_oItO83p53wyF9XFv_oElitYtJEyA1ugKiYz_zKJpcpwxXmjAk/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="948" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgKbyt6tUvksICNUP0kaElpdywlkqvGZJaZQ5Zskpydu5uVQHlm9MX7yCLaW0DCEGuJVCdhVXkmmLgpyxeChiH4B1h_oItO83p53wyF9XFv_oElitYtJEyA1ugKiYz_zKJpcpwxXmjAk/s320/Slide1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A Bristle-Thighed Curlew struts its stuff on Sand Island, Midway Atoll (Photo by Jon Plissner)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I have saved my favorite snowbird for last. The <i>Kioea</i> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristle-thighed_curlew">Bristle-thighed
Curlew</a> is a large shorebird that nests
in the Alaskan tundra. It seems to be pretty picky about where it breeds though
favoring just two areas between the Yukon River and the north Seward Peninsula.
After raising their chicks, curlews depart their breeding grounds and head for
the Yukon Delta where they spend some time fattening up for the long trip south
where they escape the Alaska winter on various oceanic islands; from the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the North Pacific to the Pitcairn Archipelago
on the other side of the equator. The distance travelled by these birds during
their annual migrations is nothing short of incredible: over 2,700 miles for
birds travelling to Midway and over twice that if they decide to continue to
the southernmost portion of their winter range. This distance is not far short
of the distance travelled by the Bar-tailed Godwit which holds the record for
nonstop avian flight (7,145 miles). Seeing a Bristle-thighed Curlew for the
first time you might not realize how capable a flier it is, but apparently they
can outfly falcons!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">After the long and arduous journey to its winter grounds,
the Bristle-thighed Curlew begins the long task of replenishing its energy
stores. It very opportunistic with regards to its diet: crabs, spiders,
roaches, moths, carrion, fish, and seabird eggs have all made their way into
the stomachs of hungry curlews at Midway. The Bristle-thighed curlew is unique
among shorebirds in its ability to use tools while foraging, picking up pieces
of coral and using them to smash holes in eggs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Bristle-thighed Curlews begin arriving at Midway in mid- to
late-August and can be seen nearly everywhere on Sand Island, from the backyard
to the beach. When they first arrive in
the spring they seem to hang out in groups but eventually go solo, perhaps even
defending small winter territories. You may see a bird standing on top of a
dune or other high point calling. Who are they calling and for what
reason? I’m not sure but sometimes I
call back with my own whistle and the curlew will usually reply. These birds
are subtly beautiful and very fun to watch as they walk, stealthily, gracefully,
in pursuit of their prey, stopping occasionally to poke their long, curved
bills into the sand or a clump of grass. There is some speculation here that
the groups of birds observed at the end of summer might be just passing
through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Like many migratory birds, Bristle-thighed Curlews molt
their feathers on their winter grounds so as to have a fresh set for their
return flight up north. Bristle-thighed curlews are unusual though in that they
sometimes lose so many feathers at once that they become temporarily
flightless. This would put a bird at a serious disadvantage if it were spending
the winter, say, in Florida. But if your winter home is Midway or another
island without foxes or cougars to bother you, I guess it can be a good way to
go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">After months on their winter grounds, a Bristle-thighed
Curlew, if it has done well, has put on enough fat to return to its summer home
up north. These birds can live for over 20 years, which is pretty long for a
shorebird, and thus might travel over 100,000 miles in its lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">How birds developed the ability to travel such long
distances between their wintering and breeding grounds has <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/the-evolution-of-bird-migration/">puzzled
scientists for decades</a>. One theory, dubbed the Northern Home hypothesis, is
that long-distance migrants evolved from more sedentary ancestors that lived in
temperate areas and they gradually ventured farther and farther south during
the winter to escape the harsh conditions. Others have argued that it’s just
the opposite, and long-distance migrants evolved from tropical ancestors that
learned to take advantage of the seasonal abundance of foods – insects, for
example – found during the summer months in northern lands (i.e., the Southern
Home hypothesis). A <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/33/12115">recent
study by Benjamin Winger and colleagues </a> (seriously, the guys’ name is “Winger!) found
more support for the for the Northern Home theory, at least for songbirds, but
seems to leave us with a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to evolution
of migration in shorebirds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Many millions of birds engage in long-distance migrations
each year. Each bird that suddenly shows up somewhere is a small clue that reveals a little bit about this amazing, global, biological phenomenon. I
sometimes think birders are weird for getting so excited about seeing – what
often seems like – yet another drab shorebird that plops down on midway for a
few days. But while researching the natural history of these snowbirds, I have
come to better appreciate how meaningful these sightings are. And though micro-GPS
units, satellites, and radar are all now used to help decipher patterns of bird
migration, individual sightings made by keen-eyed birders still make a large contribution
to this aspect of science. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">While the human variety of snowbird may not be the most
interesting or impressive thing that evolution has produced, these real
snowbirds that visit Midway each year are not only beautiful and interesting to
watch, but they are also true testaments to the incredible adaptations that
have evolved since they first appeared on our planet some 60 million years ago.
And even though you might not have the good fortune to wake up to a
Bristle-Thighed Curlew </span><span style="font-size: small;">calling </span><i style="font-size: medium;">Chiu-eet</i><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">in your backyard, no matter where you live you probably have your own
snowbirds to enjoy. Learning more about where they live during the rest of the
year and why they travel such long distances can make backyard bird watching
even more rewarding. For me, it has also piqued my curiosity regarding the
places where these birds spend their summers and I am anxious to take a trip
north to check it out sometime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Postscript</b>:
Although I typically like to use my own photographs in this blog, getting good
photos of the snowbirds proved a little bit too challenging for me and my
camera (which is actually a phone). There is a biological explanation for this:
while the seabird species that breed on Midway seem to be unafraid of people,
the winter visitors, all of which breed on mainland North America where they
evolved with humans and other mammalian predators, are much more wary and thus
more difficult to photograph. So rather than include a bunch of blurry photos
that would not do these birds justice, I decided instead to use some terrific
photographs taken by my Midway colleague and friend Jon Plissner. Mahalo Jon
for kindly allowing the use of these photos and also for the great
conversations we’ve had about the avian life of the atoll! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-86310163969444669922017-08-20T21:49:00.000-11:002017-11-01T18:40:51.823-11:00A-hole of the Skies<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If, in reading my previous blog posts, you’ve gotten the impression that birds are inherently noble or good, let me disabuse you of that notion by telling you about the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_frigatebird" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Great Frigatebird (<i>Fregata minor</i>)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimd4VW1jbX_8LV3R_mVJzt3pZrCu1gMVwqIWetF-tm_EazHkdMbXFzkhyphenhypheniHJMAjOpXFPKKKP_lQVYBuhvmBCu-gBbzI-cV4OSRWQ4oIUbSgSQfseF7Lk9rUJ1m18Qp6Z9bpwZl3o-bGLs/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="392" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimd4VW1jbX_8LV3R_mVJzt3pZrCu1gMVwqIWetF-tm_EazHkdMbXFzkhyphenhypheniHJMAjOpXFPKKKP_lQVYBuhvmBCu-gBbzI-cV4OSRWQ4oIUbSgSQfseF7Lk9rUJ1m18Qp6Z9bpwZl3o-bGLs/s400/Slide1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An
adult female Great Frigatebird soars above Sand Island on Midway Atoll.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We generally admire predators, understanding that that they need
to kill other animals in order to survive. After all, everyone’s got to eat and most of us
humans sacrifice the lives of other creatures for our daily sustenance. And
it’s certainly true that most animal species, including our own, sometimes find
themselves in conflict with others of their kind, so when fights break out
between individuals over territory or mates, we tend to shrug our shoulders and
attribute such violence to Darwin’s theory. Albatross, for example, are generally peaceful
creatures but at the start of the <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/11/savage-love-midway-style.html">mating
season</a>, things can get pretty ugly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is it about the frigatebird then that illicits such
negative reactions from people? Why do I often find the word “asshole” forming
on my lips as I watch them fly by? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In terms of public image, frigatebirds face some real
challenges. First, they are very large and kind of scary looking. Cloaked in black feathers and having a wingspan exceeding 2 m (80 inches) and a long hooked beak, they are
imposing looking as they circle above Midway in vulture-like fashion. Unlike
vultures, they are not scavengers, which becomes apparent when they suddenly
burst into rapid flight chasing down a seabird as it returns from a
foraging trip to sea and harasses it mercilessly until it drops whatever food
it's carrying. Then, before the regurgitated fish or squid hits the water, the frigatebird
swoops down and catches the morsel in mid-air. A pretty clever trick, really,
and it sure beats having fly out into the open ocean to catch your own food. In
biological jingo this is known as <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kleptoparasitism"><i>kleptoparasitism</i></a>, a portmanteau of <i>klepto </i>(Greek for stealing) and <i>parasitism</i> (to harm
without killing). The Hawaiian word for this species, in fact, is <i>‘Iwa</i>, meaning thief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Watching frigatebirds engage in their thieving ways must
surely rank as one of the most amazing wildlife spectacles, and on Midway this behavior is
very easy to observe, especially this time of year, when frigatebirds are
nesting and must feed not only themselves but also their hungry chicks. My favorite place to watch frigatebirds is at
the Cargo Pier where you can sit as the sun sets, drink a beer or three, and get
a really good view of the action. Just look for a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-footed_booby">Red-Footed Booby</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_tropicbird">Red-Tailed
Tropicbird</a> heading towards land and there’s a decent chance you’ll get to
see a chase. (Male frigatebirds pursue sooty terns and noddies as well, but for whatever reason this seems more difficult to observe.) For
the victim there’s a lot at stake – losing the food they are carrying might diminish the bird's chance of successfully fledging a chick – so they don’t give in
easily. The result is often a truly spectacular aerial chase in which the booby or
tropicbird attempts every flying maneuver it has in its repertoire. The bird in pursuit flies as fast
as it possibly can, then suddenly twists and turns to evade its pursuer.
Unfortunately for boobies and tropicbirds, the frigatebird possesses
exceptional flying skills, a consequence of its large wing area to body mass ratio as
well as a very long forked tail which makes it incredibly agile for its size. Frigatebirds also often attack in small “gangs”, making it even less likely the
bird being pursued will succedd in escaping.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkV5BJ7AYrKoCGg4SUV13h3EUxksXwvMpPSXTkklRX83i0Z6UtWngaVguEjvwkpT8-mRGPS-J4LJ9wNtp1EZlQxVh2-0o_TP4dZFGARf35LRrBnLZC2xsXyQAHGK722JsIEs_z-CNJLRg/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="473" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkV5BJ7AYrKoCGg4SUV13h3EUxksXwvMpPSXTkklRX83i0Z6UtWngaVguEjvwkpT8-mRGPS-J4LJ9wNtp1EZlQxVh2-0o_TP4dZFGARf35LRrBnLZC2xsXyQAHGK722JsIEs_z-CNJLRg/s400/Slide2.JPG" width="345" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Frigatebirds
soar high among White Terns scanning the skies for their next “victim” from
which to steal a meal</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reasons to despise the great frigatebird don’t end there. These
birds have an unsavory habit of eating eggs or small chicks (especially terns
and noddies) when a nest is left unguarded.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’ve seen them flying with </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sooty_tern" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sooty Tern</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> chicks in their
bills on Eastern Island. They apparently will engage in cannibalism too,
stealing eggs or chicks from other frigate nests. Frigatebirds may also attack vulnerable fledglings when they are trying to learn to fly. I once watched two frigates
torment a young </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonin_petrel" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bonin
Petrel</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> that was floating in the water off West Beach; they dove at the
petrel repeatedly for several minutes, sometimes grabbing the fledgling, flying
up a few feet, and then tossing it violently. Eventually the frigates tired of the game and left the petrel there in the water, looking much the
worse for wear (I’m guessing it died).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Frigatebirds thieving ways are not limited to stealing
food. Both male and female Great Frigatebirds work together to construct their
nests; the male gathering the nest material and bringing it to the female who does
the bulk of the building. Sometimes though, a male will find it easier to steal nest
material from other birds rather than collecting it himself. Red-footed boobies, which often nest in very
close proximity to frigatebirds, are a common victim. The situation is even
worse if you’re a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_noddy">Black Noddy</a> though, as the frigatebird is known to steal their entire nest! Then there is the issue
of the nest itself which, because the frigatebird chicks lack the ability to eject their feces away, becomes covered in shit and quite stinky as time goes on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIocdbB2u6C2-bMAhA6T17amgq6tZZUmk28E7DgPrY2Fxh4XDKJXoGLjfZEY31YTHkl9YG9Ww0THm1saFQPW4d6545WqcnRlzQWpKzSwOw4P73YlbslS_j2nGEgMM02rdQtrI-WP5aos/s1600/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="803" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIocdbB2u6C2-bMAhA6T17amgq6tZZUmk28E7DgPrY2Fxh4XDKJXoGLjfZEY31YTHkl9YG9Ww0THm1saFQPW4d6545WqcnRlzQWpKzSwOw4P73YlbslS_j2nGEgMM02rdQtrI-WP5aos/s400/Slide4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Great
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Frigatebirds</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> prefer to nest in shrubs or trees. On Eastern Island at Midway Atoll they find suitable habitat atop tree heliotrope (</span><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Tournefortia</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">argentea</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">).</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So is the frigatebird really an avian A-hole? When I the idea of writing a blog post about the Great Frigatebird was hatched in my mind (sorry!), I was pretty convinced that this was so. But as I was researching this species I discovered that the story was much more complicated.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Frigatebirds, it turns out, share some of the same admirable traits possessed by albatrosses. Parents are monogamous (at least during a given breeding season), engage in interesting, if not completely endearing, courtship behavior, which include various postures including the male’s display of its gular sac. Both male and female equitably share in the incubation, brooding, and feeding of their one and only chick. This is no small feat as it can take over six months to raise one. Great Frigatebirds might even hold the record for avian parental dedication. Unlike albatrosses and many other seabirds, whose care of their chick ends at the time of fledging, adult frigatebirds continue to feed their slow-growing offspring for up to a year after they leave the nest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55ozfCVw8TYRURik398t4ca2SJjAWcvIAXgP-Hv8uQpZcQAFzlmROY7SeZL0jsnD-x8HqFiBreJpRVRqUr5zArhkZI7BWeZ4I_HYzMEmCVNpMa_RRp7Df-Kbrnm5rKnTn913QEcx0530/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="810" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55ozfCVw8TYRURik398t4ca2SJjAWcvIAXgP-Hv8uQpZcQAFzlmROY7SeZL0jsnD-x8HqFiBreJpRVRqUr5zArhkZI7BWeZ4I_HYzMEmCVNpMa_RRp7Df-Kbrnm5rKnTn913QEcx0530/s400/Slide3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A
male Great <span style="font-size: 11pt;">Frigatebird</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
displays its gular sac in an attempt to attract a female</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, maybe you’re saying "so sure they are good parents but
what about the stealing bullshit?". Having grown up in a neighborhood with a lot of
mobsters I know what you're saying. Some of them were good parents too when they weren't out stealing and killing!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well it turns out that kleptoparasitism
accounts for just a small part, by some accounts just 5%, of the Great
Frigatebirds diet, meaning that they obtain the bulk of their food – squid and
flying fish, primarily – by (anthropocentrically-speaking) honest means. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Frigatebirds certainly should be admired for their
incredible flying abilities. Here on Midway you can often see them hovering
very high in the sky, like large black kites, riding the air currents and
rarely flapping their wings. Like albatrosses, they engage in a flight technique
known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_soaring">dynamic
soaring</a>, a sophisticated means of using differences in air speed to fly
quickly and efficiently; frigatebirds cruise nearly effortlessly at speeds of
up to 50 km / hr (30 mph). The frigatebird’s aerial prowess has enabled them to
colonize a large swatch of the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean, from the
South China Sea, to the Great Barrier Reef, and to Mexico and Christmas Island
in the South Pacific. Some populations are even migratory. Midway lies just about at the northern extent of their
range. This hyper-adaptation to a flying lifestyle does not come without a
cost. The Great Frigatebird’s small legs and feet create difficulties for them
when trying to take off; they don’t land in the water because if they did they
might get stuck there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Living around frigatebirds is definitely a
unique opportunity and I feel a little embarrassed at not having taken the
effort to look beyond the stereotypes and appreciate their other
behaviors until now, over a year since beginning my assignment here. It makes me
wonder how much stereotypes and lack of information, limit my appreciation of
other species (or even my fellow humans!). An important reminder, I think, to question your
assumptions and spend more time questioning and learning and less time judging.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><i>Additional reading for the exceptionally curious:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">Gilardi, J. D. 1994. Great Frigatebird kleptoparasitism: sex-specific host choice and age-related proficiency. <i>Condor</i> <b>96</b>:987-993.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-77472249771004321172017-07-31T19:23:00.001-11:002017-11-01T18:41:14.586-11:00Wandering Glider<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If I told you there was a species that flies thousands of
miles each year, stopping at Midway each spring to breed at Midway Atoll, you’d
probably think I was talking about something covered in feathers. And you’d be
wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Among the insects are some species known for their long
migrations. The famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly">Monarch
butterfly (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Danaus plexippus</i>)</a>, for
instance, travels back and forth each year from breeding areas in northern
Great Plains to their overwintering sites in southern Mexico. The Monarch seems
to have never made its way to Midway and, in fact, just a single species of butterfly
can be found on the atoll, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_lady">Painted Lady (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vanessa cardui</i>)</a>. The amazing insect
voyager that I want to tell you about, though, isn’t even a butterfly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Wandering Glider, known also as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantala_flavescens">Globe Skimmer (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pantala flavescens</i>)</a>, is a large dragonfly
species that occurs across a wide swath of tropical and temperate areas of the
Americas, Asia, Australasia, and Africa as well as oceanic islands. The wide
distribution of this species was not fully appreciated until recently when it
was discovered that they make incredible, long-distance migrations. The “population”
studied, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052594">migrated
each year from India to Africa, stopping in the Maldive Islands along the way</a>,
following the monsoon rains and then returning via the approximately same route.
It is part of an elaborate, multi-generational, movement that may exceed 18,000
km (11,185 mile) in total distance and which requires individual insects to
journey over 6,000 km (3,728 mi), including a 3,500 km (2,175 mi) non-stop leg
over the open ocean. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How do they do this? By following the winds. This is not a
simple thing to do though as often winds are blowing in the opposite direction
that they need to travel. So they exploit weather fronts, often flying at altitudes
exceeding 1,000 m (3,281 ft). Their large, long wings make them very strong fliers; they've even been seen in the high mountains of the Himalaya at elevations exceeding 6,000 m (19,685 ft). The globe skimmer, it turns out, has the longest
known migration of any insect! </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYr2T_2pCmX6VAI_Jac7d0Sc17fEp60N4QY3oyNkdtPpF559BOJcChgM8DthIFkWpKkhk4PFuaHuXH2wsKIrqLmnNVoU3fvcMrDGmCQOFm0tSuz4sh0rz0dV7AwNe__WCjZnq6YSw4bM/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="695" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYr2T_2pCmX6VAI_Jac7d0Sc17fEp60N4QY3oyNkdtPpF559BOJcChgM8DthIFkWpKkhk4PFuaHuXH2wsKIrqLmnNVoU3fvcMrDGmCQOFm0tSuz4sh0rz0dV7AwNe__WCjZnq6YSw4bM/s400/Slide2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Globe Skimmer in Oahu, Hawaii (Photo credit: Forest and Kim Starr)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remember how surprised I was when I first saw dragonflies
on Midway last summer hovering and chasing each other just outside my house. It led me to do some research on them which turned out to be extremely enriching.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Decades of inadvertent introductions
of exotic insect species – arriving in food, plants, soil, or other items brought to
the atoll – have had significant effects on the arthropod fauna of Midway. Over
a dozen surveys of insects and other arthropods have been conducted at Midway,
beginning with a study done by Henry Palmer and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>George C. Munroe in 1890, creating a long-term record of the extensive introductions (and even some extinctions) that have occurred.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No dragonflies were encountered until <a href="http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pdf/op68-04.pdf">Gordon Nishida noticed the
Globe Skimmers while conducting an extensive arthropod study in the late 1990s</a>.
Because of this I had thought, at first, that the skimmers probably weren’t
a native species but Nishida listed them in his report as being “indigenous”, which
is basically to say that they occurring here at Midway naturally. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All dragonflies need fresh water in order to reproduce. Globe
Skimmers traveling between India and Africa sometimes stopover in the Maldives
and other islands that lack freshwater, perhaps to rest before moving on.
Are the Midway skimmers breeding here or are we just a stopover site? Two pieces
of evidence suggest the former. That the Globe Skimmer was not known at Midway
until 1998, combined with the fact that this date corresponds well to the
introduction of Laysan Ducks to Midway, an effort that required the construction
of artificial freshwater seeps and ponds, argues pretty well that they are
breeding on Midway. This shouldn’t be too hard to verify – just some aquatic
invertebrate surveys. I will admit to not having put enough study into the
situation. An hour long sit-down down by one of the ponds might be enough to yield
an answer as Globe Skimmers, like many other dragonflies remain connected to
each other during their mating flights.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And if these dragonflies are breeding
on Midway in manmade ponds, does that really mean they are native as was
suggested by Nishida? I guess it depends on your criteria, but in either case
it is a good illustration of some of the existential challenges faced by
biologists working in these kinds of island ecosystems.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1vz23B2tMVeM8O6TRfOZsdkSDVrABE81gWcIt0lbU_ZvFZ-Pu2VZzWoU5pEH87xGnFjwIn4mFAPsnN4F_KzbBZjWuQwWWm-fSqkrwWckY4_R09c7PhU2ThlnaI8MwhLsLXvTTWYi56c/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="458" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1vz23B2tMVeM8O6TRfOZsdkSDVrABE81gWcIt0lbU_ZvFZ-Pu2VZzWoU5pEH87xGnFjwIn4mFAPsnN4F_KzbBZjWuQwWWm-fSqkrwWckY4_R09c7PhU2ThlnaI8MwhLsLXvTTWYi56c/s320/Slide1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Globe Skimmer has been featured on postage stamps from several nations, including Botswana and the remote Pitcairn Islands, a British Territory in the South Pacific.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0148949">recent
genetics study by Daniel Troast and others</a> showed that the peregrinations
of Globe Skimmers are so extensive that it may represent a single worldwide population
among which genes flow freely. A truly global insect! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two additional dragonfly species have been recently observed
at Midway by Forest and Kim Starr, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_darner">Green
Darner (Anax junius)</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_saddlebags">Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata)</a>.
Both of these species are also known to migrate long distances but probably
never stopped for very long at Midway prior to recent times when surface
freshwater ponds and seeps were constructed. Similar to plants, the insects of
Midway tell a story of continual change and illustrate how effectively species
can discover and adapt to changing conditions, abilities that will be as
important as ever in a time of rapid environmental change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Postscript</b>: If
you are interested in learning more about the Globe Skimmers I recommend you
check out the <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_anderson_discovers_dragonflies_that_cross_oceans">TED
Talk by Charles Anderson</a>. Also, this is the first time I've posted a story without a single photo that I've taken. Turns out my photographic skills and patient were not sufficient to capture a decent image of one.</span></div>
Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-28824925533789584552017-06-19T22:43:00.000-11:002017-06-19T22:46:37.835-11:00One Good Tern Deserves a Noddy<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_ONxas844jemUdQ5BHlzFx9B01uOpnG-22jadlj3vBQnwQ6RPjkEMhpMmgN_YTRTA4x2IUNQbfvsC0Heea86V1y9bD9DZtxdSx-OckUSplofVyG2gAcv3kWZOvo6J716neqPMsFX5No/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="800" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_ONxas844jemUdQ5BHlzFx9B01uOpnG-22jadlj3vBQnwQ6RPjkEMhpMmgN_YTRTA4x2IUNQbfvsC0Heea86V1y9bD9DZtxdSx-OckUSplofVyG2gAcv3kWZOvo6J716neqPMsFX5No/s400/Slide1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An adult white tern on Midway Atoll </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not long after arriving at Midway I had an un-nerving
experience.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was walking down the road
when I suddenly realized that I was being followed. Not by a person but by
several small, brilliantly white, birds with long blue bills. Their wings beat
quickly as they flew just a foot or two over me making hoarse “wreck wreck
wreck” sounds. They seemed to want to land on my head or my shoulder and so I
extended my hand to see if one would light, but they didn’t seem interested in
getting quite that intimate. This is typical behavior for </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">manu-o-Kū</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> – the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tern" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">white
tern</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">White (sometimes called “fairy”) terns are small seabirds
found across a wide portion of the tropics including the Atlantic, Pacific, and
Indian oceans. They occur throughout the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands but if you are visiting the main Hawaiian Islands
you will find them only on the south shore of Oahu where a small population persists
around Honolulu. At one time, white terns probably also occurred on the other
main islands (e.g., Kauai) before cats, rats, dogs and other predators wiped
them out. Unlike many seabirds that nest on the ground, white terns like to
nest up high in shrubs or trees. And they don’t actually build a nest, they
simply find a place that they think will hold an egg securely (the female lays just
one) and “nest” there. On Midway typical nesting sites for white terns include
ironwood trees and shrubs like plumeria and tournefortia, especially where a
branch forks creating a small depression. But they also nest on air
conditioners, windowsills, garbage can lids, utility boxes, and other odd
places. After a short fall hiatus, “tern season” begins in December with the
first chicks born around March and peaking during the warm summer months of
June, July and August.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The white tern holds a special place for the Hawaiian people
which is reflected in its native name (<i>manu</i>
means bird and <i>Kū</i> is one of the four
great Hawaiian gods). Moreover, the Hawaiian people have likely had a close relationship
with this bird for hundreds if not thousands of years. Ancient Polynesian voyagers
used white terns to navigate as they are one of the most reliable indicators of
land. Compared to albatrosses and other far-ranging seabirds, white terns stick pretty
close to home (within a hundred or so miles). Like a suburban commuter, terns
leave their islands each morning to spend the day at sea foraging, returning each
evening. If the navigator of a canoe wanted to find land, he’d look for white
terns flying and, depending on the time of day, either head in the direction
they seemed to be coming from (morning) or follow it back towards land
(evening). Terns follow us and vice-versa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My experience with white terns at sea is mostly limited to
swimming where I often find myself being followed by a small, raucous flock.
What is it that makes the tern want to follow people whether on land or in the
water? I’m not sure anyone really knows. It could be that they are just very curious creatures. This would jibe with one
of their other interesting behaviors which is to sit on a windowsill looking
inside towards the occupants. Many a morning I have eaten breakfast under the
dark black, watchful eyes of one or two white terns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A pair of white terns investigating me from the windowsill of my house</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have also enjoyed watching white terns forage from my
favorite relaxation spot out on the cargo pier. Terns fly low over the water
looking for small fish near the surface and then swoop down quickly to capture them
in their bills. When foraging to feed their chicks they have to gather several
fish at a time and somehow they are able to do this – catching fish when they are
already holding one or more crosswise in their bills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everything about this bird seems surreal. Its pure white
plumage punctuated with blue beak, legs, and feet. It’s habit of fluttering
around you like some spirit animal. Like most other native birds on Midway,
white terns have virtually <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/close-encounters.html">no
natural predators and as a result do not seem to have much fear of people</a>
and, thus, can be approached at very close distance allowing you to really feel
a part of their world. This extends to their sex life as well and it is common
to see birds engaged in either foreplay or copulation, the former of which
consists of intense, alternating, preening of one another. White terns are
thought to pair for life, which can mean a very long time and courtship
behaviors – which includes high altitude “couples flights” help maintain their pair
bonds. And then there are the chicks. One day there’s an egg on your windowsill
and the next you find a tiny white and brown ball of fluff with oversized,
webbed, feet. The parents share equally
in both incubation and feeding. Parents fly out to sea and return with a
beakful of a whole fish which seem impossibly large for the chick to swallow
but the little fluff ball somehow always manages having what seems like insatiable
hunger. As the chick grows, the size of the fish brought to it increases
commensurately.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGu1iMA4IfEzd9dP7XmSm_yRzMIU7aBmyUdWGuCuivcqSVX4-7zcUwhRWsLGtkU9CUeetb25ncbDlLsAv6cjrgHfEE8ieeDgsrzvvUNucIJojX1jxjAtb9JAnr1keH1hoHuO8S9pig4Q/s1600/One+Good+Tern-Portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGu1iMA4IfEzd9dP7XmSm_yRzMIU7aBmyUdWGuCuivcqSVX4-7zcUwhRWsLGtkU9CUeetb25ncbDlLsAv6cjrgHfEE8ieeDgsrzvvUNucIJojX1jxjAtb9JAnr1keH1hoHuO8S9pig4Q/s400/One+Good+Tern-Portrait.jpg" width="383" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It takes about 48 days after hatching before a chick is ready to fly. Clockwise from upper<br /> left: White tern egg on windowsill; a newly hatched chick; 2 week old chick; 1 month old chick.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the summer it’s sometimes necessary to relocate a chicks and raise them in captivity. This happens when some project – for example, tree removal
– eliminates the chick’s “nest site”. As the chick's parent can no longer find it, the chick must be fed by hand. Each day volunteers make three trips to the “white tern nursery”, located just down the road from
the office, where branches have been affixed to large ironwood trees to create safe
places for the chicks. Volunteers then feed the chicks regular meals of Great
Lakes smelt, by hand, three times a day until the chicks are big enough to feed
on their own. This is, without doubt, one of the best jobs there is on Midway
as when the chicks get big enough to fly they actually follow the lucky fish
dispenser back and forth from the office begging for treats.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7CUBFRkOrQHuhuaU8nOSMIqwuKcWBAw92t2AaiV3w7ZojnMn8LhSskAK-2UnP2qbaLByeZNIq-IneM3-GE0bH13IaUKjGwnWbA1z0_vNLxijhBKWuuLkoagWXzIs92Er7Qu9TDNjt5M/s1600/Aisha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="785" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7CUBFRkOrQHuhuaU8nOSMIqwuKcWBAw92t2AaiV3w7ZojnMn8LhSskAK-2UnP2qbaLByeZNIq-IneM3-GE0bH13IaUKjGwnWbA1z0_vNLxijhBKWuuLkoagWXzIs92Er7Qu9TDNjt5M/s400/Aisha.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fledgling white tern chicks swoop down to take smelt from the hand of <br />Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer Aisha Rickli-Rahman</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems that nearly everything about the white-tern lends
itself to superlatives; and even the scientific name of the species – <i>Gygis alba</i> – reveals the sublime effect
this bird seems to have on the imaginations of those lucky enough to spend time
around them: the genus, <i>Gygis,</i> is a variation of the ancient
Greek word “guges” which means “mythical bird”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So maybe at this point you’re wondering where the “noddy”
ties into this story or, maybe, you’re even cynically thinking that in the
title of this post I have crassly sacrificed good natural history for the love
of bad puns. Fear not! Another name for the white tern is “white noddy”, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_(tern)">noddies</a> being a
collection of taxonomically-disparate, fork-tailed seabirds in the family <i>Laridae</i>.
White terns are not the only noddies on Midway as we are “blessed” with
both brown noddies and black noddies not to mention several species of terns –
sooty tern, gray-backed tern, little tern, and least tern. Clearly, I don’t
have time to do justice to all of these species here but maybe I can at least
provide a proper introduction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Black and brown noddies, as the name would suggest are most
similar to white terns in terms of habitat and behavior. Both are common at
Midway and, if they were easier to tell apart, I might be able to tell you more
about how they differ. My understanding is that the black is less common as it
is an obligate-tree nester while the brown noddy can nest in either tree or on
the ground. Brown and black noddies are more likely to form small flocks than
is the white tern and gangs of them can often be seen on the beach this time of
year. These birds seem to share the predilection of white terns for following
swimmers and they also often accompany me on swims. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A brown noddy perches on an old ironwood stump on Eastern Island (Midway Atoll)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me also tell you about the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sooty_tern" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sooty tern</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">! These easily-riled birds are not common on
Sand Island but are found in astonishing abundance on the other two islands of
the atoll where people are scarce. Sooty terns are gregarious ground nesters
that form large colonies on Eastern and Spit Islands. During their nesting
season – which lasts from April until October – they blanket areas of the atoll
and must be avoided at all cost. Should you fail to be pay proper attention and
happen to walk too close to one of their colonies you will trigger them to take
off, creating a swarm of thousands of screaming birds. You may be temporarily
deafened and notice that one of them is now swooping down and try to take a
piece of flesh from your face! You may then also suddenly find yourself walking
among their well-camoflaged eggs and
praying that you don’t accidentally step on one. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectacled_tern" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gray-backed (or
spectacled) terns</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> are rarer than the Sooty tern, but no less easily
agitated and tend to nest around the edges of the sooty tern colonies. They
must also be treated with extreme caution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the final two terns on our list, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_tern"><i>little</i></a> and the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_tern">least</a> </i>(seriously, who comes up with these names), they are both pretty rare and exciting to see. Being the mediocre birder that I am, I have
little to report but a few random sightings that I probably would not have even
noticed were it not for the astute observations of others. But they are here and the breaking news is that the least terns are currently nesting!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are a regular reader of this blog you may have
thought, until now, that Midway was all albatrosses and petrels. I hope that this short detour into the lives
of other important and interesting seabirds that inhabit the atoll</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> gives you a more complete appreciation of the bird life here. And there is more! You can look forward to a couple more bird-related blog posts in the future.</span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-67850018592611069252017-05-21T19:56:00.001-11:002017-05-22T21:19:50.299-11:00The Moaning Birds<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With less than six months to go here, I am feeling some
urgency and want to be sure I have the chance to share with you more
observations of the incredible wildlife of Midway Atoll. I've written quite a
bit about albatross, touching on their <b><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/11/savage-love-midway-style.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fascinating courtship and breeding</a></b> and also the <b><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/babys-first-bolus.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">precarious early lives of the chicks</a> </b>and their <b>coming
of age spectacle. </b>In other posts I've written more broadly about the <b><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/04/why-midway-birds.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">birds of Midway</a>, </b>the <b><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/close-encounters.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">behavioral consequences of isolation</a></b>
and touched on some of the amazing <b><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/sharks-turtles-and-seals.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">marinecreatures whose lives reach onto the edges of the atoll</a></b>. But there is so much more! So beginning with this post, my plan is to
write a series of short pieces on Midway's wildlife so you can better
appreciate the unique nature of this place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While albatrosses and, in some locales, terns dominate during
the daylight hours on Midway, once the sun sets, it is the petrels and
shearwaters that rule. <b><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/close-encounters.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bonin Petrel</a></b> and <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge-tailed_shearwater" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wedge-Tailed Shearwater</a></b> are nocturnal, burrow-nesting seabirds that
have, since time immemorial, made their home on remote, uninhabited, oceanic
islands where their nests are safe from rats, cats, dogs, snakes, and other
predators. Like albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters are long-lived seabirds that
spend most of their time in the open ocean returning to land only to breed. It
is only there that I, a terrestrial organism, have the opportunity to observe
them and so whatever information I am able to glean during these interactions is
woefully incomplete. Their lifestyles also make them difficult subjects for
scientific study so even today there is much that is simply not known about them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Bonin Petrel Season" begins in August when the
birds make their way back to Midway from their maritime home in the Central
Pacific Ocean to begin their long breeding season. Their frenzied courtship
season lasts for nearly six months during which birds also attempt to establish
a territory around their burrows. During this time, petrels – numbering in the
hundreds of thousands - fill the sky every evening just as the sun begins to set.
They fly high and low, circling, swirling in a way that reminds me of the huge
"clouds" of Mexican free-tailed bats I used to watch during my summer
at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Here on Midway, one of the only places in
the world you can observe this, the phenomenon is known locally as a "birdnado"
(bird X tornado). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At dusk each day in the fall and winter the skies on Midway <br />fill with thousands and thousands of Bonin Petrels.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Powerful and agile fliers, the petrels occasionally engage in high-speed chases. They seem pretty good at avoiding crashing into one another but not so much when it comes to "foreign moving objects" such as a human being out walking or, worse, riding a bike. This is both annoying and dangerous (for both human and petrel). Imagine getting hit in the face by a robin-sized bird flying at great speed as you pedal your way through the pitch black darkness on a pot-holed road! You can increase your chances of petrel-impact by wearing a headlamp. Often I've had to make the difficult choice of trying to navigate in nearly complete darkness without a light against the risk of getting "cold-cocked" by a petrel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">After the sun goes down the petrels continue to fly, enabled by what must be excellent night vision. Unlike bats, whose flights are mostly quiet, the Bonin petrel punctuates its flight with rather disturbing moaning, growling and screeching sounds. "Kukuer", "tititi" or "kikikiki", "kikooer", and "churr" are just a few of the ways these calls have been described though I'm not sure these really convey how un-melodic they sound. Better you listen to the sounds yourself by clicking on this </span><a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/BTOFEKXFGW/XC120997-LS110913.MP3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">link</a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A pair of Bonin Petrels court near their burrow</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">As the night progresses, birds make their way to the ground
covering the "lawns" and obstructing roads and walkways. Birds may be solitary or be seen in pairs
engaged in their various and courtship behaviors which include moaning, biting,
preening and chasing. In addition to the birds, you may notice sand flying out
of a hole in the ground. Petrels dig their burrows by picking at the soil with
their bills and then kicking backward out of the burrow with their feet.
Petrels are pretty open-minded about what is "habitat" and do not
limit themselves strictly to the outdoors. I often encounter petrels in the
garage at the office where the space between the chest freezer and the wall
seems to be a popular "dating spot".
When I arrived last year, there was a freshly hatched petrel chick
hidden behind a garbage can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By morning the petrels have disappeared. Where did they
go? Some birds are probably out at sea
while others remain in their burrows. But even though the birds themselves aren't
apparent, their numerous burrows, which seem like they might have been made by
tiny badgers, make them impossible to ignore. Anywhere the sand is deep enough
to allow it, a petrel has likely constructed its burrow and a large portion of
Sand Island is perforated by them. Unlike a badger's burrow which you can
typically walk over without collapsing it, petrel burrows are shallower and the
sand and coral substrate makes them very unstable. Walking in an area with
petrel burrows – that is, walking pretty much anywhere off an established road
or trail – brings with it the high risk of falling into one. Like human-petrel
collisions, this is also bad for both parties. People twist ankles and knees;
eggs are crushed and birds become entrapped. Proper protocol after stepping
into a burrow is to get down on your hands and knees to free any birds that
were buried and to reconstruct the nest as best as possible. Walking across
areas with petrel burrows is a learned-skill and someone who doesn't learn it
well may be called, derisively, a "burrow crasher" (though not
usually to the person's face). Obviously, a person's weight probably plays a
role in whether or not they tend to fall into burrows so I wonder if this might
too be a backhanded way of making fun of those, like me, that aren't exactly
slender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once the nest is established and the single egg is laid
things calm down a bit and the daily birdnado seems somewhat diminished. Like
albatross, both male and female share in the incubation of the egg as well as
the feeding of the chick. Nesting in a burrow apparently makes a lot of sense
on a subtropical island as underground temperatures are cooler during the
daytime and relatively warm at night. Predation of eggs and chicks by frigate
birds and other aerial predators is also greatly reduced. Bonin Petrel chicks,
round balls of gray and white fluff, begin hatching in March and they just
might be the cutest thing you've ever seen. As they get bigger they learn to
beg and one evening I was treated to the sight of a chick that had come outside
its burrow being fed by its parent. Like
albatrosses, petrel parent feed their chicks by regurgitating stomach oil into
the chick's bill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQ30jc23o6mO-T3f3IMlICHZoQXTrFA7lgrqTR-POLkOPa7cclzYoBbkCjl5AZLzWRNF7ejC3FQQ0DcYNh5jWllTqZKaX19KmaDlgvnEc6jfkjTwPffJSZiIJRyw9J-exBA9csVeVllU/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQ30jc23o6mO-T3f3IMlICHZoQXTrFA7lgrqTR-POLkOPa7cclzYoBbkCjl5AZLzWRNF7ejC3FQQ0DcYNh5jWllTqZKaX19KmaDlgvnEc6jfkjTwPffJSZiIJRyw9J-exBA9csVeVllU/s400/Slide2.JPG" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A young Bonin Petrel chick</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In late May petrel chicks begin to fledge though I will
admit I'm not sure I've ever actually witnessed this as the fledglings look
very similar to adults. After fledging, there is a brief period of time when
Bonin Petrels are absent from Midway which provides a short window of
opportunity for people on the atoll to get any projects done that require
excavation or the movement of any heavy equipment off roads. Late summer and
early fall is thus a very busy time for contractors here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Though much less abundant than the Bonin Petrel, Wedge-tailed
Shearwaters are hard to ignore during the times of year they are present here
at Midway. The shearwaters don't seem to spend much time flying around over the
island and, in fact, I hardly ever see them and have never seen one of their
underground nests or a chick. Although I've read that they have a "musky
odor", I will also admit to never having had the chance to verify this
with my own nose. So what could I
possibly even write about? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The breeding season of Wedge-tailed shearwaters is distinct
from that of the albatrosses and petrels beginning with first egg-laying in June
and culminating in the fledging of chicks in November. I wonder if this has something to do with the
geographic range of the species which encompasses broad swaths of the Pacific and
Indian Oceans both south and north of the equator (from Mexico to Japan and
from New Zealand to South Africa!). As you might expect, breeding begins with
courtship which takes place near the pair's burrow entrance and includes what
might be the creepiest moaning sounds uttered by any bird. The sound, produced
using their throat as well as a "gular pouch", is composed in two parts,
a "OOO" made while inhaling and an "err" that is exhaled.
You must hear it to truly appreciate it which you can do by clicking <a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/113088/download">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsLcejv11iQcS2BFICgXC2cgn3rSDP-oaoT13TjgnZA3wMPa6Jjjv03c88d2kluRS_HNMh0A6AhiGZY7ENp18hspgyRE7hyMKe7gQISSvXsv6ObH5cR8gSxaFKayu0USVOmXvl6rY9p4/s1600/Presentation1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsLcejv11iQcS2BFICgXC2cgn3rSDP-oaoT13TjgnZA3wMPa6Jjjv03c88d2kluRS_HNMh0A6AhiGZY7ENp18hspgyRE7hyMKe7gQISSvXsv6ObH5cR8gSxaFKayu0USVOmXvl6rY9p4/s400/Presentation1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A pair of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During this time of year, the sound of Wedge-tailed
Shearwaters are heard nearly every evening. As these birds are not as numerous
as petrels, the moaning is not ubiquitous, but rather emits from specific
locations, often from within a stand of naupaka shrubs or ironwood trees. The
localized, hidden sources of the sounds combined with the near pitch black
darkness of the atoll, add to the eerie quality of the chorus. Here's how FC
Hadden, a resident of Midway in the 1930s, described it:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Any person
taking a walk around Midway in the evening when it begins to get dark, during
March or April, is apt to have a most hair-raising experience. Suddenly out of
the dark will rise the most blood-curdling howls, yowls, moans, and groans. Not
only that, but it sounds as if there must be a dozen tomcats tearing each other
to pieces, from the wild cat-like shrieks that penetrate the ear, then some
woman begins to groan and gasp and moan, as though about to die in the greatest
of pair. All of these various ghoulish noises are so heart rending, so
horrible, that one must indeed be brace to investigate them. What a horrible
experience it must have been for those first sailors who were shipwrecked here
many years ago. Certainly they huddled around their fire trembling and shaking
when they first heard these wild cries.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Early residents of Midway referred to the Bonin Petrel as
the "small moaning bird" and the Wedge-tailed Shearwater as the
"large moaning bird". Unlike
the albatrosses, whose daytime habits, humorous antics and outgoing
personalities endeared them to people, the "moaning birds" were
mostly scorned. Being creatures of the night, one can only imagine that some
thought of them as evil. This was after all one hundred years ago when people
were less scientifically-minded and more superstitious (although these days I
often wonder how far we've actually come). The burrows that they made were also
an inconvenience, not just because they made walking difficult but they also reduced
harvests from the gardens that were established to provide food for the
island's residents (today, there is an enclosed greenhouse). During the Navy
years the petrels and shearwaters continued to be treated badly. Ornithologists Harvey Fisher and Paul Baldwin
visited Midway in 1945 to investigate conditions for the various birds there
and reported <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The "moaning
birds," of which the Wedge-tailed Shearwater was the most dismal-voiced,
were generally disliked by the men. They received little sympathy, burrows were
purposely tramped down and adults were persecuted constantly. This was the only
openly discussed form of deliberate destruction of birds we found, as
irresponsible target shooting was done more or less on the sly and was not generally
approved. Bonin Island Petrels were in areas desired for lawns and consequently
were destroyed. Bulldozing in certain areas must have killed thousands of
shearwaters and petrels in their burrows. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although data are scant, the numbers of petrels and
shearwaters are thought to have declined precipitously on Midway throughout the
years when the Navy maintained its air station. In addition to direct
persecution and destruction of habitat <b><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-rodent-situation-not-your.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">rats,which were transported to Midway by ship sometime in the early 1940s</a></b>, also
took a heavy toll. By the time that the US Fish and Wildlife Service took over
management of the atoll in 1996, populations of these birds were at just a
fraction of their original numbers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today, Bonin Petrel populations appear to have rebounded to
approximately their original numbers – the best guess is somewhere around 1
million birds, although large areas of the atoll, especially Eastern Island are
still covered in pavement and thus inaccessible to them. As this is a species
with a relatively small geographic range, this recovery holds real significance
for the global population (its other strongholds are volcanic islands off the
coast of Japan). For reasons that are not clear, Wedge-tailed shearwaters have
been slower to recover, perhaps a consequence of their more restrictive habitat
requirements. Habitat restoration efforts aimed at increasing the amount of
sand dune and naupaka shrub habitat may aid in their recovery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ydJacC7eF0E9LqB4yoVcAnmTvVrYXTRTN9tTk0BkeGNAPres8x5SyNFwjBBUiRLF1WSIJzleMkAhXBg0RjWSwq6fQymcxnSJcJbnXRZ4XHjpQ9a2HH7HpPzAS08ALwEJ70qBvvHpfJI/s1600/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ydJacC7eF0E9LqB4yoVcAnmTvVrYXTRTN9tTk0BkeGNAPres8x5SyNFwjBBUiRLF1WSIJzleMkAhXBg0RjWSwq6fQymcxnSJcJbnXRZ4XHjpQ9a2HH7HpPzAS08ALwEJ70qBvvHpfJI/s400/Slide4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nocturnal, burrow-nesting birds are in need of good PR. Special events <br />can help educate the public as to the great value of these birds.</span></td></tr>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As an agency committed to the conservation of birds and
other wildlife, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has taken exceptional measures
on Midway to ensure that petrels and shearwaters will continue to thrive at
Midway Atoll. One thing that hasn't changed though is the difficulty that
people seem to have in liking these birds. Some seeking to change public
opinion have created small informational placards that sit next to the salt and
pepper on the tables of the Clipper House. Others have gone as far as putting
on special events in their honor, for example, the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bonin Petrel Appreciation Night</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> that was hosted last January by
visiting seabird biologist Roberta Swift. Maybe the PR is working. After a
year, I can honestly say that after some hesitation I have become a genuine fan of the "moaning
birds" and look forward to proudly displaying a portrait of a Bonin Petrel
on the wall of my living room back in Oregon when my time here is through.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">References</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fisher, H. I. and P. H. Baldwin. 1946. War and the birds of Midway Atoll. The Condor 48:3-15.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hadden, F. 1941. Midway Islands. The Hawaiian Planters Record 45:179-221.</span><br />
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-46713238713074003612017-04-17T22:19:00.001-11:002017-04-19T09:49:14.609-11:00Twelve Down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What a damn cliché it is to say "time flies" but
doesn't it? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been twelve months
since I </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/04/arrival.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">arrived
at Midway</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and probably a good time take stock of the situation. And given
the fact that </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2017/03/36-hours.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my
previous post</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, a sort of mini-travel guide to the atoll which I expected to
have broad appeal, seemed to founder a bit on the internet shoals, perhaps it's
time to spice up this blog with revealing personal details, juicy gossip and perhaps
a couple of scandalous photos thus making it better suited to modern-day social
media. Violence? You'll have to wait for that as I plan on devoting an entire
future post to it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I came to Midway with a couple of goals in mind. To take
break from the responsibilities of the job that I'd had for 13 years and to
expand my professional horizons while gaining some new skills. I also realized
that as the years were passing by, the list of places I wanted to see was growing
faster than the list of places I was visiting and thought spending a chunk of
time out here in the far Pacific Ocean might be a good first step towards my
goal of "seeing the world". I also looked at this this assignment as
a personal challenge. How would I fare living in such a small and remote place
so far from family and friends? Would the isolation -- very limited options for
entertainment and internet that brings back memories of the old dial-up days –
drive me nuts? Or would it compel me to do slow down and focus on low-tech activities
that modern-day, hectic life had prevented me from doing?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"So how's that all working out for you?" you might
be wondering. I'll try to answer this question first from a professional
perspective and then from a personal one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The opportunity to work on island restoration and seabird habitat
issues (as opposed to North American temperate grasslands) has been great. Not
only is Midway Atoll a very different ecosystem from the grassland I had been working
on, but the scale of the work is very different. At Midway we are working to
create habitat basically from scratch (an abandoned golf course, building
demolition sites, etc.) which is in sharp-contrast to the work I was doing on
the Zumwalt Prairie where the focus was on protecting and enhancing habitats
that were mostly intact. The intensive restoration work being done at Midway
combined with the sites extreme isolation requires that plants need to grown right
here in our own native-plant nursery before being planted at restoration areas.
This has exposed me to many new facets of restoration ecology, including seed
collection, plant propagation methods, and detailed restoration site planning.
It's also given me the chance to conduct a variety of experiments, for example,
on best practices for broadcast seeding for different native grass and forb
species.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Restoration at Midway usually requires starting from scratch with plants grown in our own native-plant nursery</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In addition to new skills my experiences here have changed the
way I think about ecology and conservation. Living in close proximity to
millions of albatross with such an intimate window into their lives has given
me insights into nature I could never get from reading books or any other
means. Is nature fragile or is it resilient?
This question is at the heart of many debates regarding the place of
humans in the natural world. If you believe that nature is finely-tuned sensitive
to disruptions, you're probably of the mind that people need to live as lightly
on the planet as possible to avoid doing harm to the plants and animals that we
share it with. The counter-argument, that after billions of years of evolution,
plants and animals have been through it all, leads many to believe that people
are just as much a part of nature as other species and that we shouldn't make
such a fuss. <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/06/not-very-gooney-at-all-actually.html">Albatross
are some of the toughest animals out there</a> and have survived for millions
of years in some of the most challenging environmental conditions the planet
can dish out. The annual survival rate of an adult Laysan albatross is over 95%
and birds don't seem to even age in any conventional sense. The oldest known
wild bird ever known is a 67 year old Laysan albatross that was born in the
middle of a Navy base on Midway and continues to return each fall to breed
within a stone's throw of where she was born. Despite the obvious toughness of
these seabirds though <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-rodent-situation-not-your.html">they
can be taken down in a matter of days by a single mouse</a>. What this says to me is that nature is be both
tough and vulnerable simultaneously and you need to look at each species and
each situation anew and not put too much faith in your assumptions or past
experiences.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Related to this are my thoughts about what kind of knowledge
is most needed if we – humans – are to figure out how to protect the plants,
animals, and ecosystems that make our world such an amazing and hospitable
place to live at a time when our numbers continue to grow and our technology
gives us virtually super-human powers. Almost 25 year ago I gave up a career as
a computer scientist to study of ecology because I wanted to do something that
might help reverse what I perceived as downward trend in the health of the natural
world. In graduate school I learned how to do research and collaborated on
several research projects during the years I worked as an ecologist for the
Nature Conservancy. Scientific research
-- at least some research – is important but the typical study looks only at
how a one or two factors (fire, grazing, etc.) affect one or two other things (the
population size of some species, the amount of some nutrient in the soil, etc.)
over the course of a few years in some particular place. Results of such
studies tend to be very limited and are time and place specific. Research is
also typically designed and conducted by "experts" without a lot of
direct involvement from the people who are supposed to benefit from the
knowledge gained making the results difficult to understand and apply in the
real world. I worked on a really cool project with folks from Oregon State
University on the effects of cattle grazing on grasslands and unlike many studies
we deliberately measured the effects of different levels of grazing across a
wide range of species. But the study only looked at grazing in June and only for
two years. Despite the huge amount of effort put into that research, the
results were complicated and have proven difficult to translate into specific
recommendations for land managers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another way of acquiring conservation-relevant knowledge is
something called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_management"><i>adaptive management</i></a><i> </i>which<i> </i>might be best described as a cross between formal research and old
school trial and error. Adaptive management was developed nearly half a century
ago but started to attract a lot of attention in the 1990s as a way to address the
uncertainties in managing complex systems and provided a means improve what
seemed like a pretty spotty track record of decision making in land and water
management, especially by government agencies. If research provides you with
facts about how nature works, adaptive management gives you a way of figuring
out how to apply that knowledge to real world situations. I feel that what
prevents us from being better stewards of the planet these days is not a paucity
of facts but our inability to apply that knowledge effectively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Several things are required to actually do adaptive
management: setting objectives, monitoring indicators of the species or
ecosystem and then using the data to evaluate how well management is working
and then deciding whether to continue with the status quo or trying something
different. Today, the <i>US Forest Service,
Bureau of Land Management, and US Fish and Wildlife Service</i>, as well as
many non-governmental organizations and private land managers have adopted adaptive
management as their foundation for decision-making. Well, at least in theory,
that is. It turns out that actually <i>doing</i>
adaptive management is pretty challenging. Crafting thoughtful objectives for a
wildlife refuge, national park, or ranch requires discipline and often falls
pretty far down on the list of priorities for a land manager or biologist. Because
the effects of management can take a long time to manifest, monitoring needs to
be done consistently over the long-term, spanning the tenure of personnel whose
responsibility it is to conduct it. Long-term monitoring is much more difficult
to fund than research and often must come out of the core operating budgets
making them very susceptible in times of budget shortfalls. Finally, adaptive
management is not something that a group of ecologists and biologists can do on
their own as it takes coordinated effort across all parts of an organization,
from top-level managers to the folks with their "boots on the ground".
Successful implementation of adaptive management requires that an organization be
capable of executing a well-choreographed "dance" for years if not
decades. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At a meeting of the <a href="file:///C:/Users/rvtaylor/Desktop/ser.org"><i>Society of Ecological Restoration</i></a> some years back Debbie
Pickering and colleagues at the Nature Conservancy presented a paper on how
adaptive management was being used to manage habitat for the rare Oregon
silverspot butterfly at the <a href="https://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/oregon/placesweprotect/cascade-head.xml">Cascade
Head Preserve</a> on the Oregon coast. In that paper I recall her remarking on how
difficult it was to find other examples of anyone actually doing adaptive
management, despite its apparent standing as a best management practice. I took
that as a challenge and spent the next few years working with my colleagues at
the Zumwalt Prairie to reshape and integrate the planning and monitoring we
were doing into an information-driven management program. When I left, things
certainly weren't perfect but I think I can honestly say that we were doing adaptive
management.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the attractions of this job here at Midway was the chance
to take what I'd learned about adaptive management on the Zumwalt Prairie and
apply it to a new system (ecosystem + human organization). According to my job description, my primary
role here is to "set up a robust habitat restoration monitoring system
that can be utilized and maintained by USFWS staff to holistically evaluate the
success of restoration efforts, encompassing and integrating complex and
large-scale weed control and native plant propagation programs" and I have
been working for the past twelve months to do that. While translating my
ecological skills and knowledge from grasslands to islands has been, on the
whole, fairly successful, getting things done within the US Fish and Wildlife
Service has been more of a challenge that I had anticipated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prior to this job, I didn't know much about the inner
workings of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and my work experience with the
federal government was limited to a three month stint I did as a biology
technician at Carlsbad Caverns National Park one summer while I was still in
graduate school. Although I am not actually employed by the government
(my paycheck comes from a non-profit partner organization called the<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/rvtaylor/Desktop/refugeassociation.org">National Wildlife Refuge
Association</a>) my position here at Midway gives me with a quasi-insider's
view of the workings of the agency. I
have met some extraordinary and dedicated staff; true professionals that give
me confidence that our land and its wildlife are in good hands. The volunteer
program here at Midway brings in people of a variety of backgrounds though all
sharing a deep love of wildlife and natural places and a willingness to work
their asses off in exchange only for food and a place to rest at the end of an
exhausting day. It's also been informative to see how the agency approaches
science-based land management and conservation, as opposed to how it was done
by my former employer, The Nature Conservancy. But it's also revealed some real
limitations in the ability the organization's ability to implement adaptive
management effectively at a remote location such as Midway. Two significant obstacles
are staff turnover and communication challenges. Because of its remote location
and the personal sacrifices that are requires, the typical tenure of a Fish and
Wildlife employee at Midway is just a couple of years and volunteers and
interns rotate through every six months. The communication style here is very different
from what I've experienced working for other organizations and tends to be more
towards the "need to know" end of the spectrum and often I feel like
I am out of the loop on things that I should know. Because adaptive management
requires people in all facets of an organization to work closely together good
communication is critical and I have tried to help with that by developing a
set of shared calendars. Midway is also more "complicated" than the
average refuge and staff may be asked to set aside their normal duties for a
day or a week to respond to an emergency or assist with a special event. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Midway has also given me a chance to reflect on the years I
spent working with Nature Conservancy, both in terms of the organization but,
more importantly, the work I was doing on the Zumwalt Prairie. Beyond a couple
of my former co-workers back in Enterprise, I've had surprisingly little contact
with my former TNC colleagues. On the academic side of things are pretty quiet
too. I still enjoy conversations with a
graduate student from the University of Idaho and exchange occasional email
with one or two colleagues from Oregon State. When I left my job with TNC last
year it was with the intention to resume my work on the Zumwalt Prairie in some
capacity when my assignment on Midway concluded and thought I had made that
clear to my colleagues, but I'm not sure that the message got through and I now
wonder how easy it will be to re-connect in the future. And though I felt like
I had developed a good reputation and was kind of a "go to" guy, now
I wonder whether this I was simply the benefactor of the reputation of my
employer. These are the kinds of things you think about on an island.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From a personal perspective, my time here on Midway, despite
some hardships, has been a positive experience, though not in the way I had expected.
Living on an island in the middle of the blue Pacific might sound dreamy to
some people and I guess it did for me, but it's important to keep in mind that,
despite the white sand the blue lagoon, this is not a pristine paradise but an <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/10/pseudo-post-apocalyptic.html">abandoned
military facility</a> still in the early years of recovery that also happens to
be located such that garbage is constantly washing up on its shores (look
closely at the white sand and you'll see fragments of multi-colored plastic). The
atoll is small – less than 3 square miles in total – and though a bi-weekly
plane connects us with Honolulu, you can't leave without permission (I've been
"off-island" twice). For anyone who's become accustomed to the
connectivity that characterizes our modern lives, life at Midway can feel
pretty isolated. I've half-jokingly
suggested getting t-shirts made that say "Midway Atoll" on the front
and "We Can't Google Shit!" on the back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The limited options available here on Midway make life more
simple for sure and I find myself having much more of a "daily
routine" than I ever had previously. I wake up and go to bed at pretty
much the same time every day – even weekends. I swim every afternoon after work
as long as the ocean conditions abide.
Every day, I go to <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/06/food-and-beverage.html">lunch at
the Clipper House</a> at 11:35 am. On Sundays I have made it part of my routine
to break with my daily routine and just try to do things different. I could go
on more but it would be very boring and I think you get the point. What I will
say though is that I find this kind of habitual lifestyle to be pretty
satisfying overall. It's always seemed to me that as people get older they tend
to be more set in their ways and I wonder if life on Midway is easier to adapt
to now that I'm past the half-century mark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Living so far from family and my close friends has certainly
been one of the biggest challenges of this assignment and I am grateful that my
wife, Andie Lueders, has been so supportive of the whole thing. Midway,
however, is a much more social place than most people would imagine. The number
of people living here (there are about 45 as I write this) is just big enough
to make it work and the fact that nearly everyone here is far from home and
family and living in what is basically a small, self-contained village makes it
feel like a real community. The highly skewed sex ratio (of the 45 about 6 are
female and most of those are under the age of 30) and the fact that over half
of the residents are from Thailand creates some interesting and odd dynamics; as
a guy I've often felt utterly ignored by most of the long-term male residents
though I am not sure all of the attention given to those of the opposite sex
would be preferable. Already having a good friend working here on Midway before
I arrived also has made things much easier for me and thank god I haven't
pissed her off too badly yet. Not only has Ann Humphrey been a solid friend but
she has also served as my ambassador to the greater Midway community and makes
sure I know about all of the social events and other activities. The Thai men have also been very kind and
welcoming and despite some language difficulties I have made some good friends.
The Aree house – a residence that is home to several Thai men but also serves, informally,
as a "hang out/party/karaoke spot" -- plays a tremendous role in
maintaining a fun and social atmosphere here. To its residents, who put up with
the parties even when sometimes they'd probably rather be sleeping, I extend a most
sincere <span class="shorttext"><span lang="TH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ขอขอบคุณ</span></span><span class="shorttext"><span lang="TH" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="shorttext"><span lang="TH" style="line-height: 115%;">!</span></span><span class="shorttext"><span lang="TH" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="shorttext"><span lang="TH"> </span></span>Sports
– especially ping pong and pickleball – have also helped me stay busy and make
friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpAZBnuOd62HZLg9odqlCXHAZn28WKgxOOAv9Z4_ig4JhMJAC9HdntxFsGuQXnm38PAgkZFYT4qDmsnteq2waFq6GPiF7L3gROtPGW6IsNNG8Qbhs9YOMTjXjVv2ou1oMDfX88Y8OOvs/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpAZBnuOd62HZLg9odqlCXHAZn28WKgxOOAv9Z4_ig4JhMJAC9HdntxFsGuQXnm38PAgkZFYT4qDmsnteq2waFq6GPiF7L3gROtPGW6IsNNG8Qbhs9YOMTjXjVv2ou1oMDfX88Y8OOvs/s400/Slide3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friends old and new (Apiwat Juethong and Ann Humphrey)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Adding significant spice to Midway's social scene are also the
cohorts of Fish and Wildlife volunteers that arrive every six months as well as
the visiting workers (which include everything from marine biologists and archeologists
to engineers to filmmakers). Although I think the majority of people I have met
during my life are interesting to some degree, the typical Midway visitor is of
a special breed and I've enjoyed many fascinating and informative
conversations, some revealing extraordinary personal connections. I may have
even made one or two new lifelong friends. This is not to say I don't miss my
good friends from home and even find myself sometimes feeling nostalgic for
acquaintances I only ran into occasionally. You might think that in an age
where we can communicate so easily by phone or email that I'd keep in better
touch with friends, but I get surprisingly few emails and even fewer phone
calls. I'm not sure if this is a reflection of the sorry state of my social life
or just that most folks today have replaced direct, personal, communication with
Facebook and other forms of social media. On the rare occasion when I receive a
letter or package in the mail it is a genuine treat – many thanks to those of you
who have been so thoughtful! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbUzhgMWL4bf8P6x_zNijxU6-zrp2AUQNZYNxNh5k1zmvSjGX8MZRet3t5HfpFrM2Zi8YUnJ6suGMlKn37OZwq_0kzrZSKKRdarh_c1ipRiFB-XFmVHrahaavH3bQKD1I4P2X8eiOhqI/s1600/Presentation2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbUzhgMWL4bf8P6x_zNijxU6-zrp2AUQNZYNxNh5k1zmvSjGX8MZRet3t5HfpFrM2Zi8YUnJ6suGMlKn37OZwq_0kzrZSKKRdarh_c1ipRiFB-XFmVHrahaavH3bQKD1I4P2X8eiOhqI/s400/Presentation2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every "care package" is photographically documented before being consumed!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wasn't sure how I would deal with the isolation of being
here and the hundreds of "extra hours" of time that I'd have to
myself. I have not filled my idle hours
reading the classics or becoming an accomplished painter though I have read a
few books and created a few childish-looking drawings. I've heard that one of
the things missing people's lives today, when a smartphone can be turned to
during moments of boredom, is time to reflect. Here at Midway we certainly
don't have that option and I think I've benefited from having more time to think
about the things that make me happy and how I want to spend the rest of my
professional and personal life. Writing this blog has been an important part of
that. I had not actually planned to write a blog prior to coming here but quickly
realized how exceptional and strange a place Midway is and felt compelled to
share my thoughts and experiences. Like a lot of people, I find writing,
especially when I know I'm going to put it out there in public, difficult and
the final edits always makes me a little queasy. Although I wish I was mature
enough to not care what other people think, I guess I still do. Thank you to those
who have taken an interest and shared your reactions, positive or otherwise (my
Fish and Wildlife Service colleague Lonnie recently informed me that I'd
mistakenly referred to a "short-footed albatross' in my last post!). I have just six months still to go on this
assignment but dozens of things that I'm interested in writing about. I hope you keep on reading! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-57587818328473529612017-03-02T10:46:00.003-11:002017-03-27T11:10:19.076-11:0036 Hours<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 115%;">36 Hours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MIDWAY ATOLL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">A remote haven for seabirds and other wildlife set like a jewel within an azure lagoon offering unexpected cross-cultural amenities for the adventurous traveler.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wildlife viewing by bike on the southern shore of Sand Island</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">By ROB TAYLOR</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Getting to Midway Atoll, a small outpost of sand and
coral more than 1,000 miles from Honolulu, isn’t easy but for those intrepid
enough to make the voyage, it can be the experience of a lifetime. Once a US
Navy Air Station, </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/trading-guns-for-goonies.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">now
a wildlife refuge</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> situated within the largest conservation
area on the planet, Midway provides critical habitat for rare and endangered
seabirds – including Laysan duck and and black-footed albatross – as well as
sites of great historical significance including a variety of WWII relics. A
dynamic, perhaps even idiosyncratic blend of custom and culture makes Midway a
unique destination sought after by the world’s elite travelers (</span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/09/potus-midway.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">President
Obama made a quick visit here in 2016</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">) and yet it maintains an
unpretentious charm. Relatively small in area – the three islands that comprise
total less than 3 square miles and travel is done </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/07/go-by-bike.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">by
foot or by bicycle</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> – even the most footloose of visitors can
experience myriad natural and cultural fascinations in just a couple of days.
Currently, travel here is somewhat complicated by lack of commercial flights and
visitor services but not impossible, especially if you’re willing to </span><a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/what_we_do/get_involved.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">volunteer
your time with the US Fish and Wildlife Service</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
to help out with conservation projects. If you can, time your visit during “albatross
season” when over a million large, </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/06/not-very-gooney-at-all-actually.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">somewhat
awkward yet undeniably magnificent seabirds</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, descend on
Midway to nurture their next generation to life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">( 1 ) </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3 P.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> REDONDO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A short golf cart limo
ride gets you and your baggage from the tarmac to <i>Charlie Hotel </i> in a matter of
minutes providing ample time for a quick tour of Sand Island. Arrange to have
your rental bicycle waiting for you to save time then fill up your water bottle
(double-filtered water is available in the small water and ice shack across
from the hotel) and have the hotel staff make arrangements with airport
operations to let them know you’ll be crossing the runway during your bike
tour. Then hop on your trusty cruiser
and head out towards the <i>Visitors Center
and Museum </i>which is located in the </span><a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Midway
Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial
Headquarters</span></a><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Small, yet
informative, the museum covers both the cultural and natural history of Midway
including its importance to native Hawaiian people (the coral reefs here are
thought to be the birthplace of all life) as well as the key role the islands
played during WWII. A new exhibit explains the recent expansion of </span><a href="http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Papahānaumokuākea
Marine National Monument</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> within which
Midway lies. Be sure to check out the green glass fishing floats and the large
scale replica of Sand Island. A table in the back of the museum has albums of
fascinating historic photos and other curiosities, including a 1964 copy of the
<i>Gooney Gourmet</i>, a cookbook written by
members of the Midway Officers Wives Club. Climb back on the saddle and head
south passing by the old orchard and the historic Public Works buildings.
Continue south and as you approach the runway check out the large, cleared area
on your left. Once a forest of the invasive ironwood tree, this area is now a
restoration demonstration site and now hosts various native Hawaiian plant
species, including the rare and endangered <i>Popolo</i>.
Now follow the bike path across the runway to the south side of the island and
head west taking in the waves breaking on the reef just off shore. Continue west
towards <i>Frigate Point </i>(beware of
patches of soft sand in the trail) looking out for the extremely rare
short-tailed albatross between the path and the runway. Eventually the path
doubles back (crossing the runway again) towards town. Your timing should be
just about perfect to arrive at the Clipper House as the doors open for dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fusion dining at its funkiest at the Clipper House</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">( 2 ) </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">5 P.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> FUNKY FUSION</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Clipper House is the
one and only restaurant on the island featuring a funky mix of American, Thai,
and other world cuisines served buffet-style. Chef Pong Wichasawatdi and his
all-Thai staff earned their chops on luxury cruise ships and put their culinary
experience to good use. Menus constantly
change but if you are lucky you might find a steaming pot of <i>Green Chicken </i>or <i>Beef Massaman Curry</i> and <i>Thai-style
Sticky Rice</i>.<i> Larb Moo </i>(spicy pork
salad), <i>Tom Ka Gai</i> (chicken coconut
soup), and <i>Seafood Tom Yum</i> soup are
other Thai specialties executed by the Clipper House to fantastic effect. On
the flip side of the menu look for <i>Steak
Diane</i>, <i>Adobe Chicken</i>, <i>Baked Acorn Squash</i>, and <i>Zippy Shrimp, </i> all local favorites. The salad bar features
locally produced greens and other produce grown in the island’s hydroponic
greenhouse. Thrill seekers can take advantage of the rare opportunity of having
Thai and American dishes side by side in the same hot table. Notable fusion concoctions
have included <i>Thai Red Curry Mac and
Cheese</i> and the incredible <i>Pad Thai
Chicago Dog</i>. For dessert, check out the selection of cakes, cookies, and
pastries and if <i>Kidjarom’s New York Style
Cheesecake</i> is available, don’t even think of passing it up. Otherwise you
might opt for the ever-popular self-serve frozen dairy dessert available in
vanilla, chocolate, and (occasionally) <i>Clipper-House
Coffee</i> flavors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">( 3 )</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> 6 P.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> SHOPPING MADE SUPER SIMPLE <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While shopping options
are somewhat limited at Midway, the Ship’s Store does a fabulous job of
stocking truly necessary items. Forgot shampoo or dental floss? Jack Phosri,
manager of the store has your back! Even more important is the stores selection
of beers, wine and spirits. If you are used to big city selection, you might be
surprised to find only a handful of brands in each category but if you allow
yourself to simply comprehend the fact that this is the only store selling
adult beverages and snacks within a 1,000 mile radius, you can feel absolutely
righteous as you tip-toe out of the store with a couple of six packs of Chang
Lager (US $11), a liter of Johnny Walker Black (US $55) and a jumbo bag of
Tostito Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (US $6). The Ships Store also houses a large
selection of souvenir merchandise offered by the </span><a href="http://www.friendsofmidway.org/"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friends of Midway Atoll</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">including<i> </i>t-shirts,
post-cards, water bottles, and the classic, all metal, Zippo lighter (an
essential gift for anyone you know who uses disposable plastic lighters,
commonly found among other plastic ocean debris that washes up on the shores
here). Be sure to stock up as the Ship’s
Store has very limited hours and this will likely be your only chance to visit.
Celebrate your newly acquired purchases with a quick trip to <i>Cargo Pier</i> where you can relax on a
bench and get a good view of Hawaiian green turtles basking on <i>Turtle Beach </i>and foraging for algae
along the pier; you’ll also get a great view of albatross and other seabirds
flying over open water as the sun settles in the western sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get your karaoke on after hours at the Aree House</td></tr>
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P.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> SING YOUR HEART
OUT <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over twenty hardworking Thai
nationals (all men) live and work full-time on Midway maintaining the
infrastructure and providing essential services to all of the island’s
residents. After a long week of labor, it’s time to kick back, and long-term
residents and visitors alike are all welcome at the <i>Aree House</i> where you can always find a cooler of beer and the warm,
hospitality that the nation of Thailand is known for. Though it may be hard to
decipher some of the card and dice games typically played on weekend nights, karaoke
is a popular pastime that anyone can easily join in on. Put in a request for
your favorite tune or just wait until a song inspires you to sing along. <i>The Beatles</i>, <i>Neil Young</i>, <i>ABBA</i>, <i>The Eagles</i>, and <i>Selene Diaz</i> are eternally popular but there is a wide selection of
songs available cutting across a dozen or more genres. Thai pop songs often prompt
the more accomplished local singers to croon. On warm summer nights the garden
with its benches, water features, and attendant albatross chicks make for an
exceptionally convivial and international setting. Charlie Hotel is right next
door, but be sure to bring a flashlight as there are no external lights on
Midway (to protect the birds) and it can get very dark!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> UP CLOSE AND
PERSONAL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With so much to see in a
short time, you’ll want to set your alarm and rise early. Even if you don’t, the albatross will
probably wake you up anyway. Coffee and breakfast await you at the Clipper
House but you’ll want to get your feed on quickly because you need to be at the
Finger Piers at 7 am to meet up with Sam Songserm and his able crew of weed
control technicians. Locally known as the <i>A
Team, </i>Sam and his crew travel by boat
to <i>Eastern Island</i> to wage war with verbesina (a noxious weed) and
there is usually a couple of empty seats available (make sure they’ll be coming
back at lunchtime!). Why drag your sorry keister out of bed so early to go to Eastern
Island? While Sand Island harbors an incredible abundance and diversity, the
presence of man, prevents some species from living there. Uninhabited, Eastern
Island allows the visitor to observe a number of seabird species either absent
or infrequently encountered on the rest of the atoll including <i>Great Frigatebird</i>, three species of <i>Boobie</i> (<i>Red-Footed</i>, <i>Masked</i>, and <i>Brown</i>) and both <i>Sooty</i> and <i>Gray-backed Terns. </i>As<i> </i>it lacks any old buildings or ironwood
forests, the environment and wildlife of Eastern Island also provide an
experience more similar to that of what a 19<sup>th</sup> century shipwrecked
sailor might have had. Pack a spare camera battery to be sure you don’t miss
out on once in a lifetime photographic opportunities!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> ALBATROSS SAFARI<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Hawaiian name for
Midway is <i>Pihemanu</i> which means the
“loud din of birds”. Yes, indeed, these albatross can certainly make a racket
but they also display a rich set of behaviors that can be appreciated only by
spending some serious quality time with them. Both <i>Laysan </i>and <i>Black-footed </i>albatross
are abundant on Eastern Island making for excellent opportunities to better acquaint
yourself with them. The black and gray Laysan Albatross is more numerous and
tends to occur more towards the center of the island while the dark-colored Black-footed
Albatross prefers areas near the shore. Dances of these species, while somewhat
similar to the uninitiated, include distinct and elaborate maneuvers and
gestures. A<i>ir snap, Rapid Bill Clapper, Head
Shake and Whine, and Scapular Action</i> are just a few of the moves you may
see. Pick an area where both occur and take some time to revel in their
exuberance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left: Spinner dolphins are seen frequently in the lagoon. Right: Wildlife recolonized Midway after the closure of the Naval Air Station.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> ( 7 )</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1P.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
REEF TIME<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If the weather abides and
other factors align, a snorkeling trip to the outer reef should be included in
your itinerary. After a lunch at the Clipper House head down to the <i>Finger Piers</i> where you can get fitted
out with gear at the <i>Snorkel Shack. </i>Be
sure to inquire with locals as to the water temperature or check the </span><a href="https://www.weatherforyou.com/reports/index.php?forecast=buoy&stationid=SNDP5"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NOAA Tide Station</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
to see if a wetsuit is recommended. Travelling across the azure waters of the lagoon
is nothing short of magical and you are often accompanied for part of the
journey by the local pod of <i>Spinner
Dolphins</i> whose name derives from their habit of leaping far out of the
water to execute incredible pirouettes. Just a few miles from the harbor is <i>Reef Hotel</i> which, despite the name, was
actually a surveillance post constructed by the Navy during the cold war. All
that remains now are some old rusty steel posts which, along abundant coral
provide a home for a dazzling number of sea creatures. <i>Unicorn Fish</i>, <i>Convict Tang</i>,
<i>Moorish Idol</i>, <i>Giant Ulua</i>, <i>White-throated
Eel</i> and <i>Spotted Knifejaw</i> are just
a few of the species you’ll see. Watch out also for <i>Spiny Lobsters</i> that take refuge in crevices in the coral and the
humongous <i>Sea Cucumbers </i>that laze
about on the ocean floor. Because it is a wildlife refuge no fishing or any
other type of collecting is permitted which allows the animals here grow to
remarkable size.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">( 8 )</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">6
P.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> A SUNSET TO DIE
FOR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After dinner, pack some
refreshments and ride out to West Beach to witness one of the best sunsets the
planet has to offer. A small bike parking area and some old fishing buoys mark
the start of a trail that leads through the local naupaka shrubs to the beach. Although the beach itself is actually closed
to the public, you can find a nice place to sit just before you reach the signs
marking the off-limits area that affords a great view of the western sky. Watch
for the <i>green flash</i> just after the
last drop of sun disappears below the horizon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNei8ccr-heZhPwc6OWX-Tb6bdPCH1T_tagFFoxNcBFwqZaay9a4HifJzB9QxQkt9zaRJw25HQEI5_yboUjdBr4EOEiVgQ4edDXPaXu-jaBL0ssjf7vVqbQeIwK64B2wC8nfa_irhlh_M/s1600/20160603_200035+%25282%2529+%25281280x461%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNei8ccr-heZhPwc6OWX-Tb6bdPCH1T_tagFFoxNcBFwqZaay9a4HifJzB9QxQkt9zaRJw25HQEI5_yboUjdBr4EOEiVgQ4edDXPaXu-jaBL0ssjf7vVqbQeIwK64B2wC8nfa_irhlh_M/s400/20160603_200035+%25282%2529+%25281280x461%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset from Cargo Pier</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> ( 9 )</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">8 P.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> PARTY LIKE THERE’S NO YESTERDAY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Captain Brooks</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
the one and only pub on the island, makes up for its small size with its large
reputation as a great place to cut loose and have a good time on a Saturday
night. Be sure to arrange for the pub to be opened in advance ($30 / hour
minimum purchase) and spread the word to ensure a good turnout. Only beer,
wine, and soft-drinks are served so if you are hankering for the hard stuff, be
sure to BYOB. Pizza, popcorn and other snacks are also available. In addition
to foosball, darts, and board games, the pub’s <i>ring game</i> often draws a small crowd (watch out, it’s addicting!).
Dancing is encouraged, just put in your musical request with the bartender and
he’ll likely be able to oblige you. Don’t
be surprised if you find yourself at the Aree House instead of at your hotel room
after last call as the heat generated at parties on the island takes a while to
dissipate!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> ( 10 )</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">10 A.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> BEACH WALK AND BRUNCH<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sleep in, enjoying the
sounds of albatross courtship through the open window as you slowly awake to
your third and final day on the atoll. The Clipper House doesn’t open until 9
am on Sundays and stays open through the morning giving you the opportunity to
take a leisurely walk on North Beach before enjoying a leisurely brunch. From
the Clipper House walk west towards <i>Rusty
Bucket</i> watching for glass fishing floats among all the other flotsam washed
up on the beach. Or maybe you will find some other treasure among the
toothbrushes, lighters, fishing gear and other random trash? This might also be
a good time to evaluate the impact that you are having on the environment and
to think about how you might reduce the amount of trash you generate. As refuge
regulations don’t allow for the collection of anything living or dead, small plastic
figures or interesting bottles can make for pretty nice keepsakes of your visit
to the atoll. North Beach is also a favored hauling out spot for endangered
Hawaiian Monk Seals. Seals need their beauty sleep too so if you see one
remember keep your distance (at least 150 feet) so as not to disturb its
slumber! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG_tUAQX1_-rdRzTkrHYWsMoNE-PvrNaSediDsV7d1ZgdK1Ra56bESv1lRwuG34ZOOuwkfnK7knlq0FrnX6LcBC_zj-M9L_gA1Z9whHAS59geFM_DjrNq1AD81zUSP2snoL9QEsdKVaM/s1600/20160704_162448+%25281024x576%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG_tUAQX1_-rdRzTkrHYWsMoNE-PvrNaSediDsV7d1ZgdK1Ra56bESv1lRwuG34ZOOuwkfnK7knlq0FrnX6LcBC_zj-M9L_gA1Z9whHAS59geFM_DjrNq1AD81zUSP2snoL9QEsdKVaM/s400/20160704_162448+%25281024x576%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Old Generator Building is one of over a dozen notable historic sites at Midway Atoll.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>( 11 )</b> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1 P.M. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> WWII REMEMBRANCES AND COLD WAR RELICS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before Midway became
famous for its abundant wildlife, its renown stemmed primarily from its role in
defeating the Japanese Navy during World War II and paving the way for a US
victory. Official recognition came in
2000 when Midway Atoll was designated as the </span><a href="https://www.fws.gov/nwrs/threecolumn.aspx?id=2147560557"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Battle of Midway
National Memorial</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. For history
enthusiasts, Midway offers not only a wealth of wartime artifacts but also important
relics from both before and after. Start your tour at the memorials across from
the Visitors Center. Each of the three stone slabs is inscribed with dedications
to the various fighting forces that shaped the war’s outcome. Next, head
towards the Ship’s Store veering right at the intersection to visit the <i>Navy Memorial</i> (also known as the <i>Gooney Memorial </i>for the large wooden
albatross statue that once stood there). The Navy Memorial is located adjacent
to the <i>Midway Mall</i> which was, during
the Cold War years, the hub of social activity for the thousands of folks (Navy
personnel, contractors, and families) once stationed at Midway. Although most
of the facilities have been closed for some time, some – bowling alley,
library, barber shop – are still in use. Check out the now defunct Midway
Theater where Bob Hope once entertained the troops. Continue towards the harbor
and check out the Seaplane Hangar. This giant building was actually once twice
its current size but had to be refashioned after Japanese fighter planes bombed
it during the war. Next stop is the <i>Old
Generator Building</i> where the valiant Marine Lieutenant George H. Cannon
sacrificed his life when he refused to give up his post despite severe injuries
incurred during the Japanese bombing of Midway on their way to Pearl Harbor in
1941. Now head back towards town and
check out the </span><a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/Visit/Tour/Midway_House.html"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Midway House</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> just across from the hotel. This elegant structure,
designed by famed Detroit architect Albert Kahn, was once the home of the Naval
Officer in Charge of the Naval Station. Heading back towards the Clipper House
check out the sole remaining Cable Company Building. Built in 1903 this, along with several other
structures of identical design housed the workforce of the </span><a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/preserving_the_past/Cable_Company.html"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pacific Commercial
Cable Company</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> which selected
Midway as a hub for the communications cable they stretched from San Francisco
to the Phillipines. Your historic tour would not be complete without taking a
moment to reflect on the effect the war had on the Japanese people. Just west
of the Clipper House you will find a small clearing with a black granite stone
resting on a tree stump dedicated in 1999. The inscription, written in <i>Kanji</i> can be roughly translated as
“Rest, the deep blue”, perhaps expressing hope that peace will reign over this
remote outpost into the future. The flight back to Honolulu is a long one so some
point it would be wise head back to the Clipper House for one final, hearty, and
no-doubt eclectic, meal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Postscript: This post was inspired by the "36 Hours" feature of the <i>New York Times, </i>Sunday Travel Section.</span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-61708209188244110822017-01-15T16:13:00.000-11:002020-05-08T08:04:28.643-11:00The Rodent Situation (Not Your Grandfather’s Mouse)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Spawned from undersea volcanoes and thousands of miles
from any continent, the Hawaiian Islands harbor very few indigenous land
animals. Once in a while a bird or insect made its way here – perhaps blown in
by a storm – and over the eons a few survived and were able survive. From these
the entire Hawaiian terrestrial fauna evolved. Most mammals don’t do overseas
travel very well, as evidenced by the fact that the only native mammal in the entire
Hawaiian archipelago is the reclusive <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_hoary_bat">Hawaiian Hoary Bat
(‘ope‘ape‘a)</a>. After human technology developed to the point where people could
travel long distances by boat, the situation changed. Some of the earliest Polynesian explorers
that made their way the shores of these islands in seagoing canoes unwittingly
carried with them the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_rat">Polynesian
rat (<i>Rattus exulans</i>)</a>. When
Europeans began to visit the islands they brought along their own rat: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_rat">black rat (<i>Rattus rattus</i></a><span class="MsoHyperlink">; </span>sometimes called
the “ship rat”). Also onboard were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_mouse">mice (Mus musculus)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBMRMsGb_bmUV8fsM3ByhgLlB1hM6OzlIInIbySvtB7A6B2A7BL_SVLRDmMaPUymAIr3nYb5LWBjuYq6kpkhhzHb2qngK0tqIXC67VJAkFceOgQ2HAN8AOI9vr3V9eRPrzGQOJpd2GEM/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBMRMsGb_bmUV8fsM3ByhgLlB1hM6OzlIInIbySvtB7A6B2A7BL_SVLRDmMaPUymAIr3nYb5LWBjuYq6kpkhhzHb2qngK0tqIXC67VJAkFceOgQ2HAN8AOI9vr3V9eRPrzGQOJpd2GEM/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="545" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Non-native rodents often found on oceanic islands. Top: House mouse (Mus musculus). Photo courtesy of JN Stuart (Flickr / Non-commercial Creative commons license). Bottom: Black rat (Rattus rattus). Photo courtesy Hermann Falkner (Flickr / Non-commercial Creative commons license)</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rats and mice have followed humans around for millennia,
inhabiting our homes, barns, fields, roaming the streets and back alleys of
cities and towns. They are well known thieves of food and have a catholic diet.
Sure, they like cheese and peanut butter, but contrary to Walt Disney, they are
not vegetarians and are known to a variety of animal prey and will even resort
to cannibalism when the situation demands. People have battled with rats and
mice for centuries and the success of the otherwise ornery and not always
appreciated house-cat can probably be better attributed to our distaste for
rodents than for our love of felines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The immediate effects of rodents are pretty obvious: spilled
rice grains on the shelf of the pantry reveal, on closer inspection, a hole
chewed through the bag; small brown droppings foul the silverware drawer. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html">Rats and mice are also
notorious for their role in spreading diseases</a> such as hantavirus,rabies,
and bubonic plague. But because of their sheer number, rodents affect the world
in ways that can be difficult to fully appreciate. In the 1980s James Brown (the
ecologist, not the soul singer) of the University of Arizona conducted a series
of experiments which showed that certain seed-eating rodents could transform a
grassland into to a shrubland. Once Polynesian rats established themselves in Hawaii,
they took to eating the seeds of native fan palms eventually wiping out forests
in places like Ewa Beach on Oahu. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands remained
rodent-free until fairly recently.
Lisianski Island may have been the first to have been colonized when in 1844
a ship visiting from Honolulu deposited some mice onshore. Lacking natural
predators, introduced rodents can increase in number at astonishing rates. Five
decades after their first introduction, John Cameron, captain of the ship <i>Ebon</i>, made shore at Lisianski and found
the island overrun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We settled
ourselves in for an appetizing supper of fresh food when myriads of mice attacked
our meal ravenously and utterly without fear. Drive them away we could not; we
slaughtered them by the hundreds, yet they would not be denied </i>(quote taken from M Rauzon, <i>Isles of Refuge</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rodents didn’t find their way to Midway until decades later.
Despite the establishment of the Pacific Commercial Cable Company Station on
Sand Island in 1903 and the frequent supply ships that brought provisions to
its residents, it was not until after WWII that rats and mice arrived, more or
less at the same time, presumably on a Navy ship. By 1943 the black rat and the
house mouse were noted as present. While the black rat eventually become
established on all three of the atoll’s islands, mice were limited to just one,
Sand Island. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The effects of rats on Midway’s wildlife were noticed pretty
quickly. Harvey Fisher and Paul Baldwin
of the University of Hawaii visited the atoll in 1945 to see how birds were
faring after the war. They were especially interested in two species: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan_Rail">Laysan rail</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan_finch">Laysan finch</a>. Not indigenous
to Midway, these birds had been brought there decades earlier from their native
Laysan Island, where an overpopulation of rabbits had transformed their lush
habitat into a barren wasteland, in what must have been one of the earliest
wildlife translocation efforts ever attempted. Fisher and Baldwin were
extremely disappointed to find that neither the finch nor the rail, which had
thrived after their introductions, had made it through the war. The cause of
the bird’s demise, they concluded, wasn’t bombs or bullets, nor could it be
attributed to the habitat that had been lost to buildings, roads, and runways but
rather it was due to a major infestation of rats. Sadly for the Laysan rail –
and for us – its disappearance from Midway was tantamount to extinction; if you
want to see one you’ll have to settle for an old grainy photo or a stuffed
specimen in a museum. Laysan finches were able to pull through the tough times;
rabbits were exterminated on Laysan Island in 1923 after which populations
rebounded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9aLefT5h19JWJp92Qf3bYzNiQrxL5VAuOtEkUHgbGqauDEXcSlqvBNyP6-74xDucpZR4Op8-HzVr8UUuxwRtFWaGAyZdIbBWI_-B-Cqc1AgazwBSy4d-Us_OmFEreB2paYbA33GKwwk/s1600/Slide2_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9aLefT5h19JWJp92Qf3bYzNiQrxL5VAuOtEkUHgbGqauDEXcSlqvBNyP6-74xDucpZR4Op8-HzVr8UUuxwRtFWaGAyZdIbBWI_-B-Cqc1AgazwBSy4d-Us_OmFEreB2paYbA33GKwwk/s640/Slide2_.jpg" width="457" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Laysan Rail (Porzana palmeri) was introduced to Midway in the late 1800s and thrived until rats were introduced in 1943 after which it quickly went extinct. Top:<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Illustration by John Gerrard Keulemans. Bottom: 1913 photograph by Alfred M. Bailey.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rats had taken their toll on other bird species as well
especially burrow-nesting species such as </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonin_petrel" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bonin petrel</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulwer%27s_petrel" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bulwer’s petrel</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge-tailed_shearwater" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wedge-tailed
shearwater</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> which are especially vulnerable. Numbers of Bonin petrels had
been estimated at about half a million prior to the arrival of rats on Midway; Fisher
and Baldwin counted only about 25,000, a 95% reduction. Rats not only preyed on
the birds’ eggs but also attacked chicks and adults. Capable climbers, rats also
impacted tree-nesting like the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_noddy" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">brown noddy</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As rats were a nuisance to people as well as wildlife, the
Navy made some efforts to control their populations, but impacts to many seabird
species persisted. Albatrosses, may have been less affected by rats than were
other species, perhaps because their chicks are large and are guarded by a
parent for some time after hatching. Which is not to say that it was smooth
sailing for them during those times. Roadbuilding, mowing of lawns, overhead
power lines, collision with aircraft, harassment by people and dogs, and the deliberate
destruction of nests in areas where they were not convenient resulted in steep
declines in their numbers, especially for Laysan albatross which inhabits the
central portions of the islands. Although no reports of rats killing
albatrosses had been made on Midway, there were highly credible accounts of rat
attacks on Laysan albatross similar islands.
While visiting Kure Atoll in the late 1960s, Cameron Kepler of Cornell
University observed Polynesian rats attacking and sometimes killing adult
Laysan albatross. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>[We] frequently encountered
injured Laysan Albatrosses
and noticed dying
and dead adults
with large gaping
wounds in their
backs; 12 such
birds were found
in the 1963-64
breeding season… The open
wounds were always
found on the
birds' backs, either
slightly anterior to
the uropygial gland,
or forward between
the scapulae. Small
holes, one to
two inches in
diameter, were occasionally
found. At this
stage, wounds were
sometimes obscured by
feathers, and the
injury did not
cripple the bird …
More often, sores
five to seven
inches in diameter
were seen. The
thoracic cavity was
often exposed, and
ribs and scapulae,
or even lungs,
were visible through
the gaping hole.
The wings drooped
when the bird
stood or walked,
as a result
of severed muscles.
Birds that had
wounds on their
rumps often limped
or were unable
to walk. The
injuries were often
infested with the
eggs of flies,
and occasionally harbored
maggots. The feathers
surrounding the hole
were caked with
blood, and the
birds' bills were
stained from probing
into the wound.
Birds in these
advanced stages rarely
survived the night
following their discovery </i>(Kempler, 1967)<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Could it be that the Polynesian rat is more likely to attack
albatrosses than the black rat? Or,
perhaps, control of rats on Midway kept them numbers low enough such that they could
subsist on other prey? I’m not sure we’ll ever know, but the rodent situation at
Midway continued to harm seabird populations until the mid-1990s when, in
anticipation of transfer of the atoll to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, rats
were eradicated through a massive trapping and poisoning campaign. The last rat
to be seen at Midway was in October of 1997.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The birds approved. <a href="https://www.fws.gov/nwrs/threecolumn.aspx?id=2147503211">Bonin petrels, which
had nearly been wiped out during the age of rats, returned to the atoll to nest
once again</a>. While numbers are hard
to come by, it is thought that over one million of these birds now breed on
Sand Island alone. Rats on Midway may have been exerting strong effects on
vegetation as well. After their eradication, the native shrub naupaka appeared
to greatly increase in abundance. Rats, apparently, were eating more than just
seabirds and as naupaka plays an important role in stabilizing dunes, rats may
even, indirectly, have been accelerating coastal erosion on the atoll.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With rats out of the picture one might think Midway’s rodent
problems had finally been solved. And so it seemed for a couple of decades.
Though Sand Island still hosted a significant mouse population, they were
thought to be primarily a nuisance to the human residents. During <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/04/arrival.html">my first few days
at Midway</a> last spring, I was a bit surprised at how many mice scurried
across my headlight beam as I rode my bike at night. It was also hard not
notice the dozens of little black bait boxes placed outside of buildings. While
there were certainly lots of conservation challenges to be addressed regarding
the birds of Midway – ingestion of plastic, lead poisoning, invasive species,
and entrapment hazards just to name a few – rodents weren’t high on the list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During the fall and winter of 2015-6, exceptionally warm
water in the Pacific created a particularly strong <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_nino">El Niño</a></i> which, for
this part of the world, means below average rainfall. Black-footed and Laysan albatrosses arrived
from the northern Pacific Ocean around Halloween to begin their long breeding
cycle. Things were going along pretty
much as usual when the team of bird counters arrived in mid-December to do
their annual albatross census. Then, two days before Christmas, several of the
bird counters reported finding five adult Laysan albatrosses with bloody wounds
on their necks and heads. The cause of
the wounds was a mystery. Albatross sometimes engage in fights that leave them
bloodied and occasionally a peregrine falcon or other avian predator finds its
way to the atoll and these possibilities were considered. Fish and Wildlife
Service staff investigated the situation through a variety of avenues. On
January 5<sup>th</sup>, motion-sensing cameras set up alongside nests captured
images that many had a hard time believing. Photos clearly showed mice crawling
onto the heads and backs of albatrosses while they were sitting on their nests disappearing
under their feathers. When those birds were examined, it was revealed that the
mice were chewing through the feathers and skin and then eating their victim’s
flesh. Both Laysan and black-footed albatross were affected though the former
made up the vast majority of the casualties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of the birds succumbed to infection while others
abandoned their nests. Video footage revealed that albatross appeared to be annoyed
by the presence of the mice but did not seem to know how to respond to the
attacks. Perhaps this is not that surprising as animals such as albatrosses
that have evolved for millions of years in the absence of mammalian predators may
behavioral adaptations that would allow them to defend themselves. It is for
this same reason that the <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/close-encounters.html">island
avifauna here and in places like the Galapagos Islands show little or no fear
of humans</a>. Watching the videos is painful. You want the albatross to <i>do</i> <i>something</i>,
turn its head around and snap the mouse in half with its powerful, sharp bill.
Instead the bird is agitated and confused and the mouse returns again and
again, seemingly bolder each time, slowing chipping away at the life of <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/06/not-very-gooney-at-all-actually.html">a
magnificent bird</a> that might otherwise have thrived for decades in some of
the harshest environments that our planet offers. It just seems so wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGam3Qar6T_SXtGE1HVhHexvhK4nLJ3Lin8ureS9_P_R5_fGbrpVYU_UHeaZ86Be1y1IjpIXFgow7e3lNDYIdQYuRQXEBPskxV7hnQDi7-QJwbVnKCo7GH2RktfNTpEQWtBySzgbz6GU/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGam3Qar6T_SXtGE1HVhHexvhK4nLJ3Lin8ureS9_P_R5_fGbrpVYU_UHeaZ86Be1y1IjpIXFgow7e3lNDYIdQYuRQXEBPskxV7hnQDi7-QJwbVnKCo7GH2RktfNTpEQWtBySzgbz6GU/s400/Slide3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mouse attacks on albatrosses were first observed on Midway Atoll in 2015 during the early part of the nesting season. Upper left: A motion-sensing camera captures a mouse crawling on the head of an albtross sitting on its nest;. Lower left: An obvious and severe mouse-inflicted wound. Right: Sometimes wounds can be hard to detect; in this case wet, ruffled feathers hide a bite on the bird’s right shoulder. Photos on left courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service. Right photo by RV Taylor.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The world’s largest colony of Laysan Albatross was under
attack the </span><a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/news/mouse.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fish
and Wildlife Service worked diligently with wildlife experts from other
agencies and organizations to formulate an appropriate response</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. The plan eventually hatched (OK, I know
that’s a blatant and not very clever pun but I thought you might need a little
levity at this point) was to try to reduce the mouse population in the areas
where the attacks were occurring using a combination of traps and rodenticide.
The strategy appeared to work and mouse numbers declined in the treated areas
and fewer new albatross casualties (birds bitten/injured, dead birds, and
abandoned nests) were reported by the field surveyors. Would the mice attack
the chicks once they hatched? No one
knew, so it was with great relief in late January when after checking hundreds of
nests with newborn chicks that no evidence of mice predation was revealed. When
all was said and done though, the impacts were significant: 480 albatross were injured,
57 abandoned their nests, and 52 died. In areas where albatross were seen
attacking mice, nests failed at twice the normal rate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Scientists were dumbfounded as nothing like this had ever
been observed in any of the Pacific Islands. What had precipitated the sudden
change in the relations between albatrosses and mice on Midway? Maybe the El Niño-caused
drought had caused severe food limitations? Or maybe it was a consequence of successful
efforts in reducing the invasive weed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbesina_encelioides">golden crownbeard</a>,
which produces abundant seeds? And most importantly of all, would the situation
repeat itself the following winter? There were many questions but few answers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It turns out, though, that there was some precedent for mice
attacking albatrosses, but you had to go to the other side of the world to find
it. <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Island">Gough Island</a></i>, in the
South Atlantic Ocean, is a globally significant seabird colony and hosts the
largest colony of Tristan albatross in the world. During the nesting season of 2000/2001 a
substantial portion of albatross chicks died of unknown causes. Ross Wanless and colleagues from the University
of Capetown and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds set out to find
the source of the nest failures. As islands go, Gough Island is unusual in
never having had populations of rats, cats, goats, or sheep. The only introduced mammal there is the house
mouse but few believed that they might be the cause. How could a tiny mouse
take down an albatross chick that weighs over 8 kg (17 lb)? Using a combination
of field surveys and motion-sensing cameras they discovered the cause.
Mice! In this case, however, the rodents
were not attacking the adult albatrosses but the chicks. Mice attacked Predation
on chicks by mice reduced halved the breeding success rate of these albatross
during that season. Subsequent monitoring of the Tristan albatross population
on Gough Island painted an even bleaker picture as attacks of mice on albatross
seemed to be increasing over time. A team led by Delia Davies from the
University of Capetown conducted a follow up study during the 2013/2014
breeding season and found that only 5 of 20 chicks they monitored fledged and
of the 15 failures, 14 were due to mice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-lRxqrWBw4a8lYnpc36qOP1d21wurRaFkgMgRo-h0ttsZksVoqup7Liv438pWIR1v44BLR7Gb9zyxXbnrYc6tLOvXHi6g3lEczt-ofwJr27MWmdDYjin8-FsPTlm_YxwIqoBqAVL8P4/s1600/Slide5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-lRxqrWBw4a8lYnpc36qOP1d21wurRaFkgMgRo-h0ttsZksVoqup7Liv438pWIR1v44BLR7Gb9zyxXbnrYc6tLOvXHi6g3lEczt-ofwJr27MWmdDYjin8-FsPTlm_YxwIqoBqAVL8P4/s400/Slide5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i style="text-align: start;">"All attacks happened at night and the initial attack was always by a single mouse, which repeatedly targeted the same site, usually on the chick’s rump, clinging to its down and biting until the skin was penetrated. When displaced by the irritated chick nuzzling its wound, or vigorously shaking its body, the mouse would return to the wound within seconds. Chicks were seldom attacked by more than 1-2 mice at a time, although one chick had up to 9 mice attacking at once (Table 1). The behavior of the mice suggested that this was a well-practiced technique, as they generally climbed directly onto the nest mound and the chick without hesitation </i><span style="text-align: start;">(Davies et al. 2015)"</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The situation on Midway remains unique. On Gough Island,
mice never were observed attacking adult albatrosses, only chicks. And at Midway
the reverse is true. Putting these two facts together probably makes everyone a
little nervous as it suggests that the situation at both of these seabird
colonies could probably substantially worse should mice at either location
discover there might be yet another source of food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Given that mice and albatross had seemingly coexisted for
over half a century on Midway, no one was sure what the 2016/2017 nesting
season would bring. After <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/11/savage-love-midway-style.html">the
albatrosses arrived in the fall</a> and began nesting, we waited and watched
anxiously, hoping that the events of the previous year would prove to be an
anomaly. On December 4, while out checking birds in areas where mice had
attacked the previous year, Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Meg
Duhr-Schultz found several bitten birds, removing any possibility that the
events of 2015/2016 were some kind of El Niño-driven anomaly. Staff and
volunteers were deployed over the next few days to survey other parts of the
island and more attacks were discovered. In less than a week the area impacted
by mouse attacks had exceeded the total area affected during all of the
previous year. And the fact that the mouse attacks were noticed several weeks
earlier was of real concern. Again, the
Fish and Wildlife Service had to quickly figure out what to do and the decision
was made to take steps to reduce the mice populations in the affected areas. The
large area that had already been affected meant that staff and volunteers had
to log a lot of extra hours and additional resources were sent from Honolulu.
The bird counters pitched in too with some remaining an extra couple of weeks
to assist with surveys and treatment. So far the actions that the Fish and Wildlife have taken seem to be having a positive effect. The abundance of mice in the impacted area dropped sharply in areas where rodenticide was applied.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My primary role has been information
gathering and analysis, including mapping out the areas affected, and the
design of treatments using geographic information systems. This latter part is
critical as the rodenticide that is being needs to be broadcast by hand within
a predefined grid and must be done in strict accordance with procedures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiND8C1OVdjMXVxxYEVPza3SLEtdy-o-tw-n8qIq_pYP7-syJS4d-yLDTluABl1Cz8wYGSJATigxqpoyOuAS0pUCg_qS9WLBRaOBCGikS4CO8ulXQ-f8ZH4F4BLG-Igkp3athdV55cMfVc/s1600/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiND8C1OVdjMXVxxYEVPza3SLEtdy-o-tw-n8qIq_pYP7-syJS4d-yLDTluABl1Cz8wYGSJATigxqpoyOuAS0pUCg_qS9WLBRaOBCGikS4CO8ulXQ-f8ZH4F4BLG-Igkp3athdV55cMfVc/s400/Slide4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Caption: A dead albatross found during the attacks of 2016/2017 next to an abandoned nest (Photo: RV Taylor).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As of today, 48 areas totaling 10.5 ha (26 acres) of mouse
affected area has been mapped and over 1,200 bitten birds have been discovered,
211 of which have died. Nearly one thousand abandoned nests have been
documented. Mice may also be having impacts on other seabirds here but it would
be more difficult to detect, especially for the burrow-nesting species. Sounds kind of depressing, huh? It is, but at least we’re not just sitting
back and letting it happen. And although the numbers may seem large they need to
be put into context. This year, the bird counters tallied nearly a million
breeding Laysan albatross across the atoll, so there are still hundreds of
thousands of birds going about their business, more or less, as usual. Add to
that all the non-breeders who liven up the atmosphere here nearly 24 hours a
day with their </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uyjqaBk-0I&t=110s" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">crazy
dancing and “singing”</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and a group of tight-knit community of good people
who recognize how important it is to laugh in the face of adversity.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEc91BHjtmXpNpwfkvV5ZRqKRhUT1eqEUVzpfTL1ldCKWmAwir2oGTSv9PdIa7m4w1W_BvLDQF7o8_zbmpxe1ZZr3Skc1kcNkJb5My8O2MAPd8pLTQi-_y3iwtO9gwzYl_siUhmbzXcI/s1600/Photos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEc91BHjtmXpNpwfkvV5ZRqKRhUT1eqEUVzpfTL1ldCKWmAwir2oGTSv9PdIa7m4w1W_BvLDQF7o8_zbmpxe1ZZr3Skc1kcNkJb5My8O2MAPd8pLTQi-_y3iwtO9gwzYl_siUhmbzXcI/s400/Photos.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Map of areas where albatross have been attacked by mice on Sand Island, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge as of 15 January 2017.Areas with green borders indicate areas where only abandoned nests found but no bitten or dead birds. Red triangles represent individual dead or bitten birds.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another bright spot is that there are plans underway to
address the underlying cause of the mouse problems here at Midway. As the only atoll within the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/08/papahanaumokuakea.html">Papahānaumokuākea
Marine National Monument</a> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">that still harbors lingering populations of
invasive rodents, there have been plans to eradicate mice from Midway Atoll for
some time. The discovery that mice are harming the albatrosses should only strengthen
the case for their removal and expedite the project’s implementation. First
steps were, in fact, taken just last November when a team of biologists and
invasive species experts from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the non-profit
organization </span><a href="https://www.islandconservation.org/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Island Conservation</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
visited Midway begin a study of the project’s feasibility. Although eradicating mice from a place as big
and complicated as Midway is challenging, similar projects have been
successfully completed on other, and in some cases even larger, islands. With
the first-hand knowledge I’ve gained on how damaging mice can be to wildlife, I
think it would be great to be able to play a role in the eradication effort
here. Who knows, maybe there will be an
opportunity? What I am sure of is that after this experience I’ll never look at
Mickey Mouse the same way again.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Further reading</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Brown, JH, and EJ Heske. 1990. Control of a desert-grassland
transition by a keystone rodent guild. <i>Science </i><b>250</b>:1705-1707.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Davies, D., B. J. Dilley, A. L. Bond, R. J. Cuthbert, and P.
G. Ryan. 2015. Trends and tactics of mouse predation on Tristan Albatross
Diomedea dabbenena chicks at Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean. <i>Avian Conservation and Ecology</i> <b>10</b>(1):5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fisher, HI and PH Baldwin. 1946. War and the birds of Midway
Atoll. <i>The Condor</i> <b>48</b>:3-15.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hess, SC and J D Jacobi. 2011. The history of mammal
eradications in Hawai ‘i and the United States associated islands of the
central Pacific. <i>Pp.</i> 67-73 in Veitch et al. <i>Island
invasives: eradication and management</i>. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kepler, CB. 1967. Polynesian rat predation on nesting Laysan
Albatrosses and other Pacific seabirds. <i>The
Auk</i> <b>84</b>: 426-430. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rauzon, MJ. 2001. <i>Isles
of Refuge: Wildlife and history of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands</i>. University
of Hawaii Press. Honolulu, HI.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Wanless, R. M., A. Angel, R. J. Cuthbert, G. M. Hilton, and
P. G. Ryan. 2007. Can predation by invasive mice drive seabird extinctions? <i>Biology Letters</i> <b>3</b>:241-244.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-88766800514563607472016-11-25T11:34:00.003-11:002016-11-25T14:30:32.930-11:00Savage Love (“Midway Style”)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a couple of months of relative quiet, the albatrosses
started arriving in the middle of October. The first sighting, a lone
black-footed albatross in a field behind the “Fuel Farm” spotted by Chugach
employee Suriya Hemphumee on October was met with much excitement, not just by
the geeky biologists with the Fish and Wildlife Service, but also by other
island residents. After going to check out the birds, I remember telling “Jack”
(Phosri Kriengsak), one of the power plant operators, that the albatross were
back and he replied with a big smile “Really???”. Most everyone I spoke to
seemed to think the albatross were a little early this year.The first Laysan
albatross arrived about a week later (typical, as black-footed albatross always
constitute the vanguard); a single individual that appeared one sunny, breezy
day near the old water tower. Slowly but steadily more birds arrived until
eventually – over the course of a week or so – it seemed like there were birds
nearly everywhere. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arrival of the albatross as illustrated by repeat photography in a field north of Charlie Barracks on Sand Island, Midway Atoll (one photo taken each day during the period of November 3-22, 2016).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This being my first time experiencing “albatross welcome
week” I was not sure what to expect but will admit that I was not prepared for
what I would witness. Postcards of snuggling albatross couples with captions touting
their long lifespan and monogamous lifestyle had led me astray. Imagine if your
only knowledge of organized crime was a Broadway production of West Side Story
prior to finding yourself in the middle of gang shootout in Compton?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first albatrosses appeared lonely, tired, and somewhat
disoriented. Given that many of these birds had been out in the ocean for
months and had travelled thousands of miles to get here, perhaps, that is to be
expected. It didn’t take them long, though, to recoup their energy. As more
birds arrived, disputes over spacing and territory quickly arose. Albatross don’t
require a lot of space on their breeding grounds but do have preferences as to
where to build their nests and do try to maintain a little space from neighbors
(according to a study by Earl Meseth conducted on midway in the early 1960s,
nests are always separated by at least 32 inches). As it is males that arrive
first, it is among them that disputes over nesting locations seem most
common. These can range from, in their mildest form, two birds sitting low and
thrusting their bills out towards one another while holding their ground, to
full-on brawls that occur when a bird “trespasses” into an area where others have already settled into their territories. As tensions escalate, one
bird often locks down on the bill of the other and shake it violently, leaving one or both bloodied. It
is also common for the aggressor in one of these encounters to wrap its neck
around another bird and attempt to wrestle it to the ground. Fights are
accompanied by loud screams that you would think signal mortal wounding,
though, it seems, they rarely lead to serious injury.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Squabbles erupt among Laysan albatross as they attempt to claim potential nest sites.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If the bro’ fights weren’t bad enough there is the raping.
Is the, perhaps, anthropomorphic term “raping” really the right word? I don’t
know, but honestly, I can’t think of a reasonable alternative. Although
authoritative sources state that the “male rarely copulates with female other
than his mate"</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2</sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> what one observes on the breeding grounds strongly
suggests otherwise, unless there are a lot of single dudes out there. During
the first few weeks, as females are returning to the atoll, they seem to be
constantly harassed by males (you can tell the difference as males have larger
bills relative to the size of their heads). When a female lands, it is instantly
recognized by nearby males which begin chasing her and trying to climb
on top of her. The female often senses danger and tries to escape with its
wings held high but what often ensues are ridiculous pile-ups consisting of
three or more males with a terrified female crushed underneath. Whether or not,
given the anatomy of these birds the male attackers can actually affect insemination during these non-consensual
encounters isn’t clear as </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">males don’t have a penis but instead just an opening (a "cloaca" in technical jargon) very similar to that of the females. After watching albatross have sex several times it would seem to me that the female would have to cooperate for sperm to enter, however </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">scientific studies that might shed light on this question, apparently, have yet to be conducted. Females typically try to defend themselves by biting the attacker but what often ends up saving them are the males themselves, as sexual assault devolves into a testosterone-fueled brawl among the aggressors giving the female the opportunity to escape.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj6YLgwyehztAQWV797_8H8aSuPEYTMjD_Mfr12R6Dd1hHI2ZOkhnW01U8QBiv08ppJVrJAjqXXLeMBoWhyphenhyphenCdcihJZBdGS0uUt-eEobQH6CnnimqsQbFtKvWSMx5rjrksD8xVA9-4ms8/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj6YLgwyehztAQWV797_8H8aSuPEYTMjD_Mfr12R6Dd1hHI2ZOkhnW01U8QBiv08ppJVrJAjqXXLeMBoWhyphenhyphenCdcihJZBdGS0uUt-eEobQH6CnnimqsQbFtKvWSMx5rjrksD8xVA9-4ms8/s400/Slide1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A female Laysan albatross is forcibly mounted by two competing males.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the sex-ratio on the atoll becomes more balanced things
calm down a bit and more socially-acceptable (to humans, that is),
oxytocin-inspired, pair-bond behaviors gradually supplant the testosterone
frenzy. Once mates arrive, male birds spend more time cuddling with their
long-departed lovers and less attacking their neighbors. Preening each other
seems to be a very popular form of love amongst the paired birds with attention
paid especially to the neck and head (makes sense since these are parts of the
body that are not easily reached by an individual). Albatross also just have a
way of assuming very cute postures. Consensual sex is also observed in all of
its clumsy, web-footed seabird glory as males clamber atop willing females to
get the essential business done. This is often followed by dancing and other
courtship behaviors. During this early stage of the breeding season an
amazingly rich collection of behaviors unfolds. In Meseth’s study of Laysan
albatross he detailed at least 26 behavioral elements including the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">air snap, headshake and whine, head flick,
rapid bill clapper, eh-eh bow, scapular action, sky moo, stare and whinny, bob-strut,
bill touch, bow clapper, nest threat, bill thrust, charge, glare, victory cry,
escape run, </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> mutual preen</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Even
though, after six months here at Midway, I have seen these things hundreds of
times, I am still fascinated by them and in my reading about the history of
Midway it seems that I am not unique in this regard. Beginning in 1904 when employees
of the Pacific Commercial Cable Company came to Midway and continuing through
the Navy years and into the present, watching the albatross has always been an
important form of entertainment for island residents.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CqJYxnjZM3dfKgxH8eRRLYmr5gC-sc55CRqtkg2u4en7Axi9UoRKWfOXTswBM3VblA0bT1ZsjpOiTTLntpBwRCDS-KrXExJNIhQRRhdpeOphyphenhyphenuyvTn9qhM9Xq1flo4L5eL0bJbkbVPI/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CqJYxnjZM3dfKgxH8eRRLYmr5gC-sc55CRqtkg2u4en7Axi9UoRKWfOXTswBM3VblA0bT1ZsjpOiTTLntpBwRCDS-KrXExJNIhQRRhdpeOphyphenhyphenuyvTn9qhM9Xq1flo4L5eL0bJbkbVPI/s400/Slide2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Albatross courtship and mating. Clockwise from upper left: A pair of Laysan albatross dance on the breeding grounds; mutual preening; a pair of black-footed albatross enjoy each other's company; Laysan albatross copulating (consensual).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before you know it there are eggs! The first egg seen on the
atoll this year was on November 9<sup>th</sup> which just happened to be my
birthday. Quite the gift! Before laying an egg the female builds a nest, often
with the help of her mate. Some of the nests seem fairly minimal while others
are are much more substantial and well-constructed. Nests are built using just
the bill and have a foundation of sand or soil sometimes lined with dried leaves
or grass. Excavation of material surrounding the nest often results in their being
a kind of moat around it. I have only seen one bird actually lay and egg but it
seemed like an arduous and uncomfortable. Not surprising since they are quite
large, averaging 11 x 7 cm (4.2 x 2.7 inches) in size and constitute nearly 10%
of the females body mass!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWrvYpuofyy8bDS0wq-RpY-LiqOXncYna1qE5QV8Gqfguy4Di5AWXIzdHAQOx8EOiJipsG4KXBk9BursYFG6JJ6LM5tpTtyrfnyrtate-S9dZd7f8ySMdPduYNFACbLBxNy24sjz2W-Q/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWrvYpuofyy8bDS0wq-RpY-LiqOXncYna1qE5QV8Gqfguy4Di5AWXIzdHAQOx8EOiJipsG4KXBk9BursYFG6JJ6LM5tpTtyrfnyrtate-S9dZd7f8ySMdPduYNFACbLBxNy24sjz2W-Q/s400/Slide3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Laysan albatross female with brand new egg.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I write this post the albatrosses seem to be incredibly
busy. Fights are few as most birds are either courting and mating or have already settled onto their
nests and begun the marathon that is reproduction for these species. If all
goes well, male and female, in nearly equal turns, will incubate the egg for
just over 2 months and then care for and feed their chick for about five months
before it is big enough to fly off on its own. For some birds things already
have not gone well. Heavy rain fell on the atoll this week which resulted in the
inundation of some nests and more storms are sure to come. The waves that overwashed the atoll during the </span><a href="http://www.audubon.org/news/tsunami-takes-toll-albatross-populations" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tsunami
of March 10, 2011</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> killed an estimated 110,000 albatross chicks (Laysan and
black-footed combined). Albatross will stick tight to their nests with the most
incredible tenacity but if the egg is lost they have no choice but to put off
breeding until the next year as they lack sufficient reserves to lay a
second egg. Knowing that many of the nests will not succeed can be a bit saddening, but the energy and enthusiasm that albatross possess imbue the atoll with a feeling of vitality and inspiration.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Postscript<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The title of this blog post was inspired by the refreshingly candid and honest newspaper column
<a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove">Savage Love</a> by Dan
Savage. If you have never read it, check it out!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">References</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1 - <a href="http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/156853975x00263">Meseth,
E. H. (1975). The dance of the Laysan Albatross, Diomedea immutabilis. <i>Behaviour</i> 54(3): 217-257.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2 - <a href="https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/layalb">Awkerman, Jill
A., David J. Anderson and G. Causey Whittow. (2009). Laysan Albatross
(Phoebastria immutabilis), The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Ed.).
Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America: DOI:
10.2173/bna.66</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-35696122754797136152016-10-31T23:43:00.000-11:002016-10-31T23:45:41.928-11:00Pseudo-Post Apocalyptic<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In previous posts I’ve given you stories about </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/06/not-very-gooney-at-all-actually.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">dancing
seabirds</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/10/meet-natives.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fascinating
flowers</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/sharks-turtles-and-seals.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">endangered
seals</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, and </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/06/food-and-beverage.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">charming
men from Thailand</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Today though I want to share with you a darker view of
Midway. If you’re the kind of person that has bad dreams after reading
disturbing things, this might not be the blog post for you. And if there are
children in the room, this might be a good time to lock them in the coal closet
(well, at least that’s what my parents used to do when they wanted to get rid
of us for a spell).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Upon <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/04/arrival.html">arriving at Midway</a>
I was struck by the incredible abundance of seabirds which, coupled with the remoteness
of the island and the <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/close-encounters.html">lack of
fear exhibited by wildlife,</a> give the island a surreal flavor for sure. Visitors
to the Galapagos or other remote islands would likely have similar impressions
and feelings. But the strangeness didn’t stop there. Riding my bicycle across pot-holed
roads, among derelict buildings, passing by rusty heaps of scrap metal and old
guns, with not another human soul in sight, I have often found myself thinking
about what it would be like to one of a handful of survivors of some kind of apocalypse.
Some of these buildings are impressive hulks that can even be entered to
consummate the feeling of post-nuclear near-annihilation. The seaplane hangar,
which suffered great damage during a Japanese bombing raid during World War II,
is a great place to do some thinking about the fragility of human societies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Seaplane Hangar, an enormous steel framed building was
bombed <br />on December 7<sup>th</sup>, 1941 and nearly destroyed. Though never repaired, it's still used for storage.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many aspects of life on Midway add to the impression that we
live in some sort of post-apocalyptic world. It is a motley crew out here: a
dozen or so Americans that for whatever reason decided to station
themselves thousands of miles from anywhere. Add to this a couple dozen men
from Thailand that certainly must be escaping something, if only perhaps
pitiful wages in their home country. When away from my desk and computer, it’s not hard
to imagine that this we are the only ones in the world remaining.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although writers and filmmakers have imagined many variations on what the world might
be like should catastrophe come to pass, most agree that motorized modes of
transportation would be scarce as the facilities used in the production of oil and gasoline would be the first targets hit. So if we forget about the birds for
minute we can easily imagine a more sinister reason why Midway’s residents </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/07/go-by-bike.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">travel about
the island on old rusty bicycles</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and golf carts.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-osd9SijqnccB8bml70kIgkKyqxzLNh1TWGSuFfBHdLp5AXZVpSGqRGcmjJgJfkjddAcvTwO1cjUwWD0gAcVzXtoxwR-lT8aQDUN3qAPlQNZmDewlCz0bCmC-nB5UPpd8G6svVp6-0c/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-osd9SijqnccB8bml70kIgkKyqxzLNh1TWGSuFfBHdLp5AXZVpSGqRGcmjJgJfkjddAcvTwO1cjUwWD0gAcVzXtoxwR-lT8aQDUN3qAPlQNZmDewlCz0bCmC-nB5UPpd8G6svVp6-0c/s400/Slide2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Midway's only ambulance seems to be a relic passed on from another, more prosperous time and is an example of the island's tradition of keeping old equipment in service as long as possible.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Folks on the island seem to be pretty much oblivious to things happening in the outside world, including even major US elections<sup>1</sup>. I remember
an occasion last summer when a group of a dozen or so of us argued back and
forth on the topic of when and where the Olympic Games were to be held that
summer. After five minutes of back and forth – in both English and Thai – no
one could offer a definitive answer we weren't even sure if they had already happened or not. It was almost like we were
discussing something hypothetical or imaginary. In the so-called civilized
world, this kind of ridiculous conversation, unlikely as it might be, would
quickly be settled with someone pulling out a smartphone to look it up, but
given the lack of connectivity here at Midway that is not something that ever
happens. It’s not that people don’t have smartphones, most do, but in proper
post-apocalyptic fashion, they seem more like souvenirs from a more
technologically-advanced world that was left behind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Derelict and dilapidated: a few of Midway's pseudo-post-apocalyptic treasures. Clockwise from upper left: The old power plant where WWII hero George Cannon suffered fatal injuries yet refused to leave his post; abandoned office in old Naval Air Facilities (NAF) hangar; massive generators of the old power plant; mysterious cross and refrigerator in room in NAF hangar.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nothing speaks post-apocalypse better than Midway’s “boneyard”,
an assortment of junk piles that covers several acres by the harbor. It is here
– not Wal-Mart – that residents of the atoll go when they find themselves in
need of something. In fact, on Midway, when you say you’re going “shopping”, it
means you’re heading over to the boneyard to find something (wear sturdy shoes and be sure you're up to date on your tetanus vaccinations). Here
I’ve found old, but serviceable, aluminum poles, cricket bats, a functional
cooler, a giant bolt that I use as a stake, snowshoes, and a table and chair. You
could also find wrecked cars, boats heavy equipment (there is, I think, a giant
asphalt-grinding machine), washing machines, refrigerators, satellite
dishes and nearly anything else you might desire. Common household trash
judged to have no value is taken to a giant burn pile on the edge of the island
an on certain days when the wind is right the acrid smoke burns your nostrils
as it blows by. But anything that could even possibly
find purpose in the future is hoarded. There are small piles of possibly valuable
things cached nearly everywhere on the island. Closets are crammed with surplus
clothing, spare rooms in houses piled high with old furniture and nick knacks, and
a drawer in the kitchen of my with dozens of MREs (the famous “meals, ready to
eat” which have caused nearly as many cases of post-traumatic stress disorder as
shell shock). Should materials be needed for the set of the next <i>Mad Max</i> sequel, the boneyard would be a profitable
place to seek them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BodSQB4Wh2adkNCFdnrUXWSUfX0ZlJSLcxJ7WqyGgSM1kxRVwTQ3Mh_dgaiXIkpObXnpbq1KaExn9F1zkqml3LGSG2QCw-AxvH8OTAOFMMHppNHvLyUsnlgMH_3mNG_GYsF1RatBxzQ/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BodSQB4Wh2adkNCFdnrUXWSUfX0ZlJSLcxJ7WqyGgSM1kxRVwTQ3Mh_dgaiXIkpObXnpbq1KaExn9F1zkqml3LGSG2QCw-AxvH8OTAOFMMHppNHvLyUsnlgMH_3mNG_GYsF1RatBxzQ/s400/Slide3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's something for everyone in the Boneyard. At first glance it looks somewhat <br />random but closer inspection reveals considerable organization.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The hydroponic garden, located next the abandoned, former dining
hall, provides fresh vegetables to supplement the island exile’s diet of canned
and deep-frozen foods, and could also be envisioned in a post-apocalyptic
outpost. But as soon as my stomach's rumbling sends me to the Clipper House for
lunch, the illusion falls apart. Whereas my fantasy had me living disconnected
from the outside world and post-civilization, life here on Midway is in reality
completely the opposite. </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/06/food-and-beverage.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Food
grown in various parts of the world is hauled in by ship and by jet</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Thousands
of gallons of fuel are burned each month to keep the lights on and the air conditioners
humming. And even if most island residents ignore the news, they maintain close
communication with family and friends back home and frequently share photos and
stories through social media thanks to our satellite communications system. Maybe what we have here is more like pseudo-post
apocalyptic?</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCuS5BAgiz-blu-bY7z85rpuQYWeaA92hSLZKPFUJf2l_qi-wv3Q40P_gF_zYuQ2B848iwTGsCzl9NDouYha-d3YjhTuyxnfzRAa7KW3ulG7jBAC1BWG7_GhuMQpp_lVhrQoW4ByvR_0/s1600/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCuS5BAgiz-blu-bY7z85rpuQYWeaA92hSLZKPFUJf2l_qi-wv3Q40P_gF_zYuQ2B848iwTGsCzl9NDouYha-d3YjhTuyxnfzRAa7KW3ulG7jBAC1BWG7_GhuMQpp_lVhrQoW4ByvR_0/s400/Slide4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Midway has played a key role throughout US military history including as a surveillance outpost <br />during the Cold War years.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While it is true that many of the things that lend Midway a
post-apocalyptic feel are simply a consequence of its remoteness and decaying
infrastructure, it is hard to escape the historical importance it's held during times when it seemed not too far fetched that the most world's most powerful nations might just bomb each other into oblivion. The Battle of Midway is
famously recognized as a pivotal victory for the US against the Japanese. Less
well known is the role that Midway played during the Cold War. Shortly after the Korean War the Soviet Union began military maneuvers in the Pacific prompting the US to deploy the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Airborne Early Warning Barrier”, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a system to keep track of Soviet planes. Midway was a key resource with over 30 flight crews stationed on the atoll and flights departing the island's airfield every four hours to conduct surveillance across the Pacific all the way to Adak Island in the Aleutians. Midway also served an important function
during the Vietnam war, as a fueling station for ships and aircraft and also as
a base for the Missile Impact Locating System and other weapons programs. Should
things have gone a little differently in this small corner of the globe, it is
hard to say how things would have turned out but it would probably be fair to
say that there were times when apocalypse was a very real possibility.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1 - A notable exception was the recent death of Thai King
Bhumibol Adulyadej which was was met by island residents with deep sadness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Postscript:</i> Popular culture has conjured many visions
for a post-apocalyptic world but none for me has been more compelling than <i>The Road </i> by Cormac MacCarthy. In this dark novel, the
protagonists, an unnamed father and his son (the boy), wander through a world
so ruined that nature as we know it no longer exists. A recommended, though very dark, read!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-21491804493052414542016-10-17T01:28:00.000-11:002016-10-17T20:17:37.283-11:00Meet the Natives<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">In an earlier post (<a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/floral-inflation.html">Floral
Inflation</a>), I described how Midway Atoll went from having just a dozen or
so species of plants to over 200 over the course of about 100 years (the
botanical equivalent to the acceleration of a Lamborghini). And although I
included the names and photos of a few native plant species, I didn’t really do
them justice. I thought I should revisit to topic and introduce you to some of
the beautiful and interesting native plants we have out here and so I began the
task of researching the plants and taking some photos. Little did I know that I
would be pulled, in an ironically-metaphorical sense, “into the weeds”. What
once seemed like a neatly circumscribed topic became muddied with complications.
What is native to this place? And how do we know? What to do about the fact that the very
physical environment of Midway has changed so radically over the decades? It
has taken me some time to extract myself from the thicket but I hope that you
will find what I have to share with you worth the wait.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">Every ecologist is well-versed in concepts of
“native” versus “exotic” and uses this as a way to separate the “good species” from
the troublesome. Back in New Mexico and Oregon it was a pretty straightforward
task to take the list of plants found at a site and split them into these two categories.
Generally speaking, if a plant existed in the area prior to the arrival of white
people it was considered native and if it wasn’t it was exotic (the exact word
used changed over time as folks struggled to find something politically
acceptable and included “non-native”, “alien”, and “invasive”). It wasn’t that the
indigenous peoples of North America didn’t move plants around (for example,
bringing corn from Mexico to the Mississippi basin), but the changes that
ensued after Columbus’ “discovery” were so profound in comparison that dividing
things into “pre-“ and “post-Columbus” has typically proven very useful (check
out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1493:_Uncovering_the_New_World_Columbus_Created">this
book by Charles C. Mann</a> for more on that topic). Ecosystems that still
retained their native species were judged to be more pristine while those
dominated by exotics were thought of as degraded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">So my original plan was to do a little
research into the dozen or so plants I had been told were native to Midway and write
about them. Early on I had noticed a few things that seemed really cool. Even
though there weren’t many native species, they seemed diverse in terms of their
growth forms – which included bunchgrasses, sedges, sprawling vines with showy
flowers, big shrubs that enable the formation of dunes, and delicate
wildflowers – as well as in their life histories – a mix of opportunistic
short-lived plants that produced a lot of seed and long-lived plants with more
complicated ecological relationships. One thing most of them had in common was
the ability to grow from cuttings or to produce large, durable, seeds worthy of
sea voyages – traits essential for establishing themselves remote islands far
from their source populations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">As I was putting together that post though I
also took on the task – as part of my work responsibilities – of compiling a list
of plant species for the atoll. In doing so I relied heavily on the work of <a href="http://www.starrenvironmental.com/about/">Forest and Kim Starr</a>,
botanists based out of Maui who have for decades catalogued and researched
Midway’s flora. They listed not a dozen but 39 native species encountered here
over the years. Digging deeper, I found that while the term native could be
applied to species discovered here during the very first botanical surveys, it
might also include those found on nearby islands or even on one of the main
Hawaiian islands (Oahu, the Big Island, Maui, etc.) but encountered here at a
later date. And what about species that might have been missed on those earlier
surveys or those that were native to the region but only showed up once the
island had extensively modified during “military occupation” or where
purposefully introduced? What did it really mean to be a native plant species
on Midway? This was a question without a simple answer and required that I examine
each species individually using whatever evidence I could acquire which included
research into published journal articles and unpublished works (the “gray
literature”) as well as herbarium records and online databases.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">In the end I
reckoned 22 of the 39 species to be truly native to Midway atoll, meaning, they
were had a very good chance of being here before the <i>Pacific Commercial Cable Company</i> set up operations here in 1903. The remaining 17 species were those that were
native to somewhere in Hawaiian archipelago but probably had made it to Midway
with the help of people – either by them acting as their couriers or by the
changes wrought by them as a consequence of their presence here. My research
also revealed what had been lost. Of the 22 native species, about half had their
entire populations eliminated from Midway as a consequence of the environmental
perturbations that resulted from the island’s occupation (one of these was
subsequently reintroduced and still struggles to survive). Three are now
extinct – that is, vanished entirely from the planet. The 12 survivors are clearly a hardy bunch
and play important roles in the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s efforts to
restore the islands ecosystems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">The first botanical surveys of Midway Atoll
were conducted by ornithologist William A. Bryan who visited these remote
islands for just a few hours in 1902 (a side trip taken while en route from
Marcus Island back to Honolulu). Until that time, Midway had been visited
primarily by bird hunters and a few unfortunates who found themselves shipwrecked
here. Little had been done to modify the
environment at the time and Bryan described Sand Island as a “barren, blinding,
heap of sand” noting also that nearby Eastern Island was much greener, covered
in low shrubs, and more hospitable despite its smaller size and simpler
topography. In his very short time at Midway, Bryan recorded a mere 13 species
of plants consisting of three shrubs, four wildflowers, four grasses, and two
vines but admitted that that he would likely have encountered more species if
he’d been there longer. Eight of these plants are still present on the atoll
and are critical players in restoration efforts here, including <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=BORE4">alena (<i>Boerhavia repens</i>)</a>, <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ERVA">emaloa (<i>Eragrostis variabilis</i>)</a>, <a href="file:///C:/Users/rvtaylor/Desktop/plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=IPIN">koali awa (<i>Ipomoea indica</i>)</a>, and <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SONE2">popolo (<i>Solanum nelsonii</i>)</a>. Unlike some of
the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, there are no plant species endemic to Midway
(that is species that occur here but nowhere else in the world). Of the 13 true
natives, five no longer occur on Midway and of these, two are extinct. One of these is the grass <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CEAGL">Kamanomano (<i>Cenchrus agrimonioides var. laysanensis</i>)</a><i> </i>which was once abundant on several of
the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands but was last seen in 1961 on nearby Kure
Island. The other, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ACSPA2">ʻahinahina (<i>Achyranthes atollensis</i>)</a> was a shrub in
the amaranth family with hairy leaves that grew up to four feet high on sand mounds
and was never seen again on Midway after 1902!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UHuhrajSHMoutkNtt-6qDBllTJWjeKc4xOXaJd3aHqEOejpsYiS6_1KawKD-PD_gVQSIZXEoec5UAsWhAVYS3Zra0jcfQVUMsUPKOJpDyiXseJ40GgdvnL76Pozf5skX3M5PDZQBQKk/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UHuhrajSHMoutkNtt-6qDBllTJWjeKc4xOXaJd3aHqEOejpsYiS6_1KawKD-PD_gVQSIZXEoec5UAsWhAVYS3Zra0jcfQVUMsUPKOJpDyiXseJ40GgdvnL76Pozf5skX3M5PDZQBQKk/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="521" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Undisputed natives. <i>Boerhavia repens</i> (top) and <i>Lepturus repens</i> (bottom) were <br />noted during the very first botanical explorations of Midway. Both of these species have widespread distributions across the tropics and subtropics.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Erling
Christophersen and Edward Caum, travelling with the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanager_Expedition" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tanager Expedition</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">
in 1923-4, were the next to document the flora of Midway and turned up four
additional native plant species. These included the beautiful morning-glory vine
</span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=IPPEB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pohuehue (<i>Ipomoea pes-caprae ssp. brasiliensis</i>)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">,
and the spectacular yellow-flowered </span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SIFA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ilima (<i>Sida fallax</i>)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">. Ilima, which also occurs
on the main Hawaiian Islands has great cultural significance and is the most
desired flower when creating the traditional </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_%28garland%29">lei</a> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">or
flower wreath</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Two of the four species are, however, now gone from Midway. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=Q1H6">Phyllostegia
variabilis</a>, </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">appears to have</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">disappeared
from the planet so quickly that there is no common name for it and virtually no
information about it (try finding anything about this species using Google and
you will surely be disappointed!). </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilotum_nudum" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Moa (<i>Psilotum nudum</i>)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">, is a rootless fernlike plant that no longer
occurs on the atoll but persists across a wide swath of sub-tropical and
tropical areas of the globe and was used by native Hawaiian people to prevent
chafing incurred in the wearing of loincloths!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYEYVTmqXyaAgyPlm9rJjMqrdEYzJtwG6h69Qi5PmXiifHe9bbOnN4jMa4fVp8qN-pM8jI-kjZ7NwrsSRavI3nhaUCyQ0795O1v2ns5xkMH6e-F5m8fRj_SGFUIG27LDC_S1MfpSdAE8/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYEYVTmqXyaAgyPlm9rJjMqrdEYzJtwG6h69Qi5PmXiifHe9bbOnN4jMa4fVp8qN-pM8jI-kjZ7NwrsSRavI3nhaUCyQ0795O1v2ns5xkMH6e-F5m8fRj_SGFUIG27LDC_S1MfpSdAE8/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="555" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Botanists travelling with the Tanager Expedition (1923-4) were able to make a more complete list of Midway's flora adding <i>Sida fallax</i> (top) and <i>Ipomoea pes-caprae </i>ssp. <i>brasiliensis</i> (bottom) to the list of native species.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
1930s and ‘40s were periods of profound change at Midway as the islands became
a tourist destination with the establishment of a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_314_Clipper" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pan American Airways
Clipper station</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> (which included a hotel and restaurant) and then, shortly
after, drew the attention of the US military as global tensions rose and the
atoll was recognized as a place of strategic significance. Buildings were
erected, roads constructed, and runways paved. Occasional visits by botanists documented
the effects that these changes had on Midway’s flora. Johnson Neff and Philip
Du Mont spent a month on the atoll in 1954 to “study bird problems” but also
found time to document the plant life as it existed at that time. Two native species,
</span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=FICYU" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">mau'u 'aki'aki (<i>Fimbristylis cymosa</i>)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PSSAS4" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ena'ena (<i>Pseudognaphalium sandwicensium var.
sandwicensium</i>)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> were recorded for the first time. These are species
that, though native to the Hawaiian islands, had never before had a place to
grow on Midway but were now found to be growing along paved surfaces. Ena’ena, interestingly,
mostly </span><a href="https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/7121/1/130.pdf" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">finds
its home on lava flows on the Big Island</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> but was thriving in this novel
ecosystem. In 1980 Derryl Herbst added </span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CYPO" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">kaʻa, puʻukaʻa (<i>Cyperus polystachyos</i>)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> to the list of
sort-of-native Midway plants. This widespread and hardy sedge found a niche at
the end of a runway where water pooled during the wet-season and decades later
became a foundational species in creating wetland habitat for the endangered </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan_Duck" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Laysan duck</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">. The discovery
of the succulent </span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SEPO2" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">akulikuli (Sesuvium
portulacastrum</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">) in 1995 by Marie Bruegmann is a bit of a mystery as habitat
for this plant – areas close to the beach that receive salt spray and are
occasionally washed over by storm-driven waves – would seem to have been some
of the least disturbed areas on the atoll.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bgbUm-DoFzojO2DbZP9S42pgH8gFo2H8Xhy7rlS67YDfzopjmWOmYNQW45V0VwVJ_muT_WQ8pxhS8vMn_Hm3EXEM8rugdOJMTFX59YbCB58aZ4FBIbJAmFEfuAmgiOlRyDoCQ9fn4Gg/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bgbUm-DoFzojO2DbZP9S42pgH8gFo2H8Xhy7rlS67YDfzopjmWOmYNQW45V0VwVJ_muT_WQ8pxhS8vMn_Hm3EXEM8rugdOJMTFX59YbCB58aZ4FBIbJAmFEfuAmgiOlRyDoCQ9fn4Gg/s640/Slide3.JPG" width="529" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Extensive modification of Midway's environment created suitable habitat for "new native species" <br />such as <i>Fimbristylis cymosa</i> (top) which grows in cracks in the runways; Although it is likely that the hardy, <br />salt-tolerant mat-forming <i>Sesuvium portulacastrum</i> (bottom) existed on Midway for many centuries it was not discovered until the 1990s.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">When
management of Midway was turned over to the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1996
(see </span><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/05/trading-guns-for-goonies.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Trading
Guns for Goonies</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">) restoration of native plants became a priority. Ten
species of plants native to the Hawaiian islands were either introduced or just
showed up in the years that followed. These included species that were in
trouble elsewhere and needed new homes. </span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CHOA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Aweoweo (Chenopodium
oahuense)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">, a robust shrub in the goosefoot family, and and </span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CYPEB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bryan’s flatsedge (Cyperus
pennatiformis var. bryanii)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> were brought to Midway from Laysan Island, the
former becoming an important species used for restoration while the latter
failed to establish. Efforts to secure the critically endangered </span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PRRE" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">loulu lelo (<i>Pritchardia remota</i>)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> compelled Fish
and Wildlife Service staff to collect several hundred seeds from their source
population on Nihoa island and grow them out in the nursery on Midway. Today,
five of these plants survive adding a some security to the original population.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzG9xGWTLuWq_xbyCHyEfzY4x3o4EzVre3IWN47jbgLcaT_VUBsKfDH4Bxe7doiCcn5Wv-NufL5I2G5TJkidnCy6aJtPPgKcvYQVZS3AEwIbsbqUjPKiFYrpzFJSAvzy1ZYTMNxNSAtE/s1600/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzG9xGWTLuWq_xbyCHyEfzY4x3o4EzVre3IWN47jbgLcaT_VUBsKfDH4Bxe7doiCcn5Wv-NufL5I2G5TJkidnCy6aJtPPgKcvYQVZS3AEwIbsbqUjPKiFYrpzFJSAvzy1ZYTMNxNSAtE/s640/Slide4.JPG" width="635" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Though not native to Midway, the Nihoa fan palm (<i>Pritchardia remota</i>), originall found only on the<br />island of Nihoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is currently being grown on the atoll as <br />part of efforts to secure its global population.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Efforts
to re-establish the native plants of Midway Atoll and to provide habitat for
endangered plants native to other parts of the Hawaiian archipelago are more
concerted now than ever. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has stepped up its
efforts to restore degraded habitat on Midway atoll which now includes a native
seed library, a greenhouse, and a brand-new, 6,600 sq ft shadehouse. Through its native plant propagation program Midway has become an important site for conservation of the popolo at a time when populations elsewhere continue to decline. Exact
definitions of what is native or not no longer seem so important in a world of <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0136773">changing
climate and rising seas</a>. What seems imperative now is to do the most we can
with this 2 square miles of sand and coral out here in the Pacific Ocean with
respect to both the wildlife and the plant life. This will require boldness,
creativity, but also humility. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Of the 22 “original” native
species, half had their entire populations eliminated from Midway as a
consequence of the environmental changes wrought upon the island during the
early part of the 20<sup>th</sup> century and only one of these, <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SPVI3">akiaki (Sporobolus
virginicus)</a> has been successfully reestablished. We need to do better than
that in the future and doing so will require utilizing sound science in guiding
future actions. That and maybe a little luck!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0oGlo6vJv1Pa04_wpumMC6KMeTW9mAibjwJb9yaz2bLL1YZFbvM-YkfY8gv8upNXlfn0i7mnHLDV2E8-1q6m9cIdn_yrLCStA-lcDQGRNGPr1ef1ELEAxr-Y9PJ3sSkICBfrDFuqMu4/s1600/Slide5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0oGlo6vJv1Pa04_wpumMC6KMeTW9mAibjwJb9yaz2bLL1YZFbvM-YkfY8gv8upNXlfn0i7mnHLDV2E8-1q6m9cIdn_yrLCStA-lcDQGRNGPr1ef1ELEAxr-Y9PJ3sSkICBfrDFuqMu4/s640/Slide5.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Currently, 20 species of "native" plants are being propagated by the <br />US Fish and Wildlife Service at Midway Atoll.</span></td></tr>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-58421681822788355622016-09-04T18:14:00.002-11:002016-10-17T20:44:17.087-11:00POTUS @ Midway<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If the title of this post leaves you a little confused, don’t
worry, I didn’t know what POTUS meant until a week or so ago. Before I left the
atoll in late July rumors of a possible visit by the President of the United
States (acronym = </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Potus&redirect=no" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">POTUS</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">)
were pretty thick among the residents of Midway, triggered perhaps by a group
of 30 or so White House staff and interns under somewhat mysterious circumstances
the week before. At least I think they
were staff and interns, no one really seemed to know who exactly they were and
all they did for their day here was walk around, eat, and go out on to the reef
to snorkel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But shortly after I returned to the atoll in late August, it
became official: POTUS was planning a visit on his way from the <a href="http://www.iucnworldconservationcongress.org/">World Conservation
Congress</a> in Honolulu, where he would announce the expansion of the <i><a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/08/papahanaumokuakea.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument</a>,</i>
to an economic summit in China. In fact, flying with me on the plane were some
key staff of the Fish and Wildlife Service who would be representing the agency
during the White House visit and leading preparations. This would be only the second time POTUS
visited Midway, the first being <a href="http://www.midway-island.com/mdy-stories/nixon-at-midway/">Richard Nixon
when he held a secret meeting here President Nguyen Van Thieu of South Vietnam</a>. Evidence that preparations had already begun
were everywhere upon my re-entry. Not a single albatross carcass did I see on
my first day back and the musty smell of dead birds had been supplanted with the fragrant aroma of flowering trees. New park benches sat alongside the
roads as Chugach staff, redeployed from their normal duties, were busy cleaning
nearly everything that could possibly be cleaned and grooming the normally
disheveled vegetation. The island’s only pub, Captain Brooks Tavern, was
renovated in anticipation of a swarm of thirsty visitors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdHMmotip-AZ6tqjaCavQAsQ3gUe-aFpEXC7iA0DB6K8Siys6X_vEquotYlD3EBiK5z0jHBv6ZoZ9UdKe3hIgJ0S-OvZbcdgxmuSpQ-f2D3iyMDYTQzK542bU5EZGM7IHTyiF-iz8Rbg/s1600/Slide1+%2528960x720%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdHMmotip-AZ6tqjaCavQAsQ3gUe-aFpEXC7iA0DB6K8Siys6X_vEquotYlD3EBiK5z0jHBv6ZoZ9UdKe3hIgJ0S-OvZbcdgxmuSpQ-f2D3iyMDYTQzK542bU5EZGM7IHTyiF-iz8Rbg/s400/Slide1+%2528960x720%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A week of intense preparation preceded President Obama's visit to Midway. Clockwise from upper left: Chugach staff mow the "lawn" at the historic Midway House; Yuki Takahashi helps hang new materials in the Visitors Center; Ann Humphrey works on the landscaping at the Midway Harbor Memorial; Savanna Jade and Nai Degracia take a short break after working on new visitor displays.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Within a couple of days more personnel from a variety of
agencies and equipment started arriving. <span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: black;">[Redacted]<span style="background-color: black;"> teams, </span>[Redacted]<span style="background-color: black;">, </span>[Redacted]<span style="background-color: black;">, and a </span>[Redacted]<span style="background-color: black;"> occupied the officer’s quarters that formerly housed our volunteers</span>.</span> The Midway
House, which was in the midst of a substantial renovation, was readied for visiting
White House Staff. The population on the
island doubled during the week prior to the POTUS visit and was expected continue
swelling up until September 1<sup>st</sup>, the day of the expected visit, when 150
people or so people would occupy this little island. Large cargo aircraft,
C-17s, landed at the normally sleepy Henderson Field regularly carrying both
people and supplies. Meal hours at the Clipper House were extended to accommodate
the extra visitors and Chef Pong and his crew worked long hours to meet the
demands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With exception of the refuge manager, the roles that I and
the Fish and Wildlife Service staff and volunteers that I work with were to
play on the big day were vague and uncertain, although we all hoped that we’d
have at least some contact with the POTUS. What was clear was that we would be
asked to help out with the preparations in a big way and each day we met with
the organizers to get the latest news on how many planes might be arriving that
day and what things we could do to help. We were tasked with a variety of menial
duties which included everything from landscaping to cleaning to creating signs for educating
visitors on proper wildlife etiquette. After a day of shoveling sand and
rearranging large paving stones at the Midway Harbor Memorial with co-worker
Ann Humphrey, I worried that I had done some damage to my lower back. The tone
of the island had changed from being relaxed and lighthearted to somewhat
tense and very serious. Maybe it was learning that everyone was being
investigated by the Secret Service and that our phones might be tapped? Or having our usual Friday afternoon social in the community
garden shut down? Or perhaps it was announcement of the curfew? It probably didn’t help that during
the three days preceding the visit, Midway was hit by a series of sky-darkening
storms producing torrential rainfall and flooding roads and low-lying areas. Word
spread that if Hurricane Madeline took a turn towards Honolulu or if storms
continued to batter Midway, the POTUS visit might even be cancelled. What humor there
was on the island was mostly of the dark variety. While helping to hang new
posters in the Visitors Center, I stretched to hold the two ends of a poster as high as I
could against the wall, a posture which prompted a flashback to the fall of 2015 when I was being frisked by Border Patrol agents during a difficult crossing back into the states from Mexico.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Severe storms flooded the islands in the days before the President's visit.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The day before the big event, during an “all island meeting”
it was confirmed that everyone on island, including the incredibly hardworking
Thai guys that keep this place running, would have the chance to greet the
POTUS as he stepped off of Air Force One to begin his tour.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Exciting news for sure, although we also
learned that preliminary plans to involve the volunteers in the president’s tour
(feeding white terns and planting a native shrub) had been nixed after White
House review. Not being a “big wig” and not an employee of the US Fish and
Wildlife Service (I work for the partner group <a href="http://refugeassociation.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">National Wildlife Refuge Association</a>), I don’t know what I'd expected but I will admit to being a
little surprised and disappointed when I learned that, once the meet and greet
was over, I would have to return to my house and stay there the whole day until
Air Force One departed (something akin to "house arrest"). Why does </span><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my</u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> president need to be protected from </span><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me</u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">?
Hell, I even voted for the guy (twice) and helped clean up the island so he’d
have a pleasant visit! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I briefly considered not
even going to the meet and greet as a sort of protest.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3FAYI0wbg_AN_oeyzemhd-TOUJLT7Dg_wxZNMMY_KIa8yv4xrenx8JQNIroVExq5a4CSjhY8gCyyjmxCzpqyuHOCQiRzFojN-gAQZ2SKQWC3-QsoklMks7yUoU6eZybGBQPo1XJaTJ8/s1600/Slide5+%2528960x720%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3FAYI0wbg_AN_oeyzemhd-TOUJLT7Dg_wxZNMMY_KIa8yv4xrenx8JQNIroVExq5a4CSjhY8gCyyjmxCzpqyuHOCQiRzFojN-gAQZ2SKQWC3-QsoklMks7yUoU6eZybGBQPo1XJaTJ8/s400/Slide5+%2528960x720%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A National Geographic Team, which included marine conservationist Sylvia Earl, were invited by the White House to be part of the event. Earl announced to Obama that a deep ocean fish would be named after him.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The night before the big day the storms began to clear and I
went out with oceanographer and marine conservationist Sylvia Earl and a couple of
National Geographic photographers to get some footage of Bonin Petrels at what
turned out to be one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve witnessed here. Clearly, things were looking up for the POTUS’ visit and by next morning skies were blue
again and the island looked and smelled about as fresh as it probably has since Captain Brooks
landed his ship here over a hundred years ago. All of the islands residents
gathered shortly before Air Force One was scheduled to arrive. Seeing the
excitement of my co-workers – and especially the Thai guys – during these
moments made me realize how stupid I would have been to boycott this event.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjseUjmSl4i02LF7FF0yVhy4AaHBeOsnels00YflOgpdDhNvwRB6YCy5Ze6FMhrUqrQwUsJrqeZZhuvt_hire4cjRPxa-XOMi-QSZKwX9jVeCugnaedCtvXQBNEFF_6sfOXl6QuUcYxcdQ/s1600/Slide3+%2528960x720%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjseUjmSl4i02LF7FF0yVhy4AaHBeOsnels00YflOgpdDhNvwRB6YCy5Ze6FMhrUqrQwUsJrqeZZhuvt_hire4cjRPxa-XOMi-QSZKwX9jVeCugnaedCtvXQBNEFF_6sfOXl6QuUcYxcdQ/s640/Slide3+%2528960x720%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Storms exited the area the evening before the big day producing an extraordinary sunset. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anticipation continued to build as we were led to the
greeting area, a small patch of pavement enclosed by sawhorses and dozens of
photos were taken before Air Force One even began its decent to Henderson
Field. When the plane finally landed, a
few dozen members of the press exited the rear door and took up strategic
positions. After not too much delay the front door opened, a staircase was
extended and, after a half dozen or so guards of some sort walked off, down
came Barack Obama, looking casual, relaxed, and decidedly cool. No need to wear
a suit at Midway, some high level wonk had clearly decided! Within moments he
was shaking hands and greeting folks. He even made it a point to ask people
their names, something that seemed pretty down to earth for the POTUS, and then graciously posed for a
photo with all of us. And then he was off in
a motorcade of golf carts flanked by black SUVs (he was in a golf cart) to begin
his tour which included a stop at the Midway Harbor Memorial, the Cargo Pier, Turtle
Beach, and then a trip by boat to go snorkeling at the reef. I went home to
read, sew, clean the house and drink beer. On the way I walked alongside Kidjarom
Wongwei, one of the cooks at the Clipper House, and he was so incredibly jazzed
by the event (he also met </span><a href="https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/03/images/20070301-14_p030107sc-1575-515h.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First
Lady Laura Bush when she visited here in 2007</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">) that whatever residual bad
feelings that I may have still had vanished.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arrival at Midway. From top to bottom: Air Force One just after landing; Obama heads to meet the crowd; POTUS heads off to tour the island in a golf course motorcade.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By all accounts the trip was a success. Fish and Wildlife staff felt like they got a
positive message across, the White House was rewarded by positive depictions of
the president in the media, and Chugach succeeded in having run what could be
considered a “preparation marathon” in record time. When the POTUS departed, the
mood on the island immediately relaxed and folks began taking down all the
things that went up. Last night Chugach generously hosted an “appreciation party” for the residents and the few remaining visitors
and it was a real celebration as guys I’d never seen there before joined in
singing Thai songs and dancing to the karaoke machine. Today, the last C17 took
off and with it the last of the crew stationed here for the visit and things are finally back
to normal. Midway normal that is! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmslpWujkKdNCZxDt-CTqB5Uu6aAg8Vrhp2MBwnFMjcl7J9Bp2vsjWcpkC-CIT3QB96PYf_W9ZHXuxSgi644aTCf_y-RHqMtNY6qYeukeY5eDdj9kvQ8B5Fj-qR05d-IAehlV-uzzA1sQ/s1600/Presentation2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmslpWujkKdNCZxDt-CTqB5Uu6aAg8Vrhp2MBwnFMjcl7J9Bp2vsjWcpkC-CIT3QB96PYf_W9ZHXuxSgi644aTCf_y-RHqMtNY6qYeukeY5eDdj9kvQ8B5Fj-qR05d-IAehlV-uzzA1sQ/s400/Presentation2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">President Obama with US Fish and Wildlife staff and the residents of Midway (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Links to a few news stories about POTUS’ visit:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/02/us/politics/obama-climate-change-midway-marine-monument.html?_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/02/us/politics/obama-climate-change-midway-marine-monument.html?_r=0</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/barack-obama-midway-atoll_us_57c7b799e4b0e60d31dd290e">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/barack-obama-midway-atoll_us_57c7b799e4b0e60d31dd290e</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/08/27/obama-creates-largest-ocean-reserve-takes-heat-for-new-federal-decrees.html">http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/08/27/obama-creates-largest-ocean-reserve-takes-heat-for-new-federal-decrees.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-tries-to-make-a-big-splash-on-climate-change-on-his-way-out/2016/09/01/123e1604-6ed5-11e6-9705-23e51a2f424d_story.html?postshare=6501472752173456&tid=ss_tw-bottom">https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-tries-to-make-a-big-splash-on-climate-change-on-his-way-out/2016/09/01/123e1604-6ed5-11e6-9705-23e51a2f424d_story.html?postshare=6501472752173456&tid=ss_tw-bottom</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/01/politics/midway-obama-preview/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/01/politics/midway-obama-preview/index.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-86777310580540227692016-08-29T21:02:00.001-11:002016-10-17T20:17:37.314-11:00Papahānaumokuākea<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A few days ago President Barak Obama did something pretty
extraordinary when he signed </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/08/26/presidential-proclamation-papahanaumokuakea-marine-national-monument">Presidential
Proclamation 8112</a></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> expanding the area encompassed within the Papahānaumokuākea
Marine National Monument to 582,578 square miles (that’s twice the size of
Texas), making it the largest conservation area on earth. Everyone loves a good
superlative and having worked for in the field of conservation for a few years
I’ve heard my share, some more contrived than others. But this is one is so
hard to comprehend it bears repeating: THE LARGEST CONSERVATION AREA ON EARTH.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before my conservative friends click “close” let me relate
a couple of important facts about the pre-Obama history of this thing. Back in
the days when wearing bird feathers on one’s hat was a sign of status and the
harvest of wild eggs for food was commonplace, ships plied remote corners of
the Pacific Ocean looking for seabird colonies to exploit. Reports of large
numbers of seabirds being slaughtered in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands prompted
President Teddy Roosevelt to establish the <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_1019">first protections
for wildlife there in 1909</a>. Incremental steps were made in subsequent years
but it wasn’t until 2006 that significant progress was made when President George
W Bush signed <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=139">Presidential
Proclamation 8031</a> establishing the Monument although at the time it had a somewhat more bureaucratic
name at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In these times when those who might be labelled “red” or “blue”
rarely have much in common, what is it about this place, the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands, that creates such consensus regarding its importance for
conservation? I think it boils down to three things. First, this is a remote
area of the globe that, aside from a fairly limited commercial fishery, has little
economic importance. In a world where habitat for seabirds, marine mammals, turtles,
and coral reefs has experienced sharp declines, these uninhabited islands
provide critical habitat and are the last strongholds for two species of
albatross (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan_albatross">Laysan</a>
and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-footed_albatross">Black-footed</a>),
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_monk_seal">Hawaiian monk seals</a>,
and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sea_turtle">green sea-turtle</a>).
Moreover, recent scientific explorations have revealed that the area harbors an
extraordinary diversity of marine species – over 7,000 of which about
one-quarter are found nowhere else on earth – which include the longest living
coral species in the world, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_coral">black
coral</a>, which inhabits the deep waters of this region and provides habitat
for various fishes. But of course, the significance of this area has long been known to the native people of Hawaii who have long considered these islands and the seas that surround them the source of all life and which is reflected in the name given to the monument: <a href="http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/about/" target="_blank">Papahānaumokuākea</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, if you have had your head in the sand (or some
other dark place) you may have missed the fact that our earth is changing and
that low-lying islands and the seas that surround them are <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/media-release/sea-level-rise-ocean-acidification-ocean-warming-threaten-papah-naumoku-kea-marine">especially
vulnerable to some of these changes</a> which include not only warming but, perhaps more
importantly, acidification and other impacts. In expanding the area protected
by the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, President Obama has taken an
important step towards ensuring that this area will be able to adapt to these
changes and, hopefully, retain the biological riches that have evolved here
over the past 100 million or so years. Of course this will not be enough as the
ocean is fluid and the new boundary, however large, is rigid. When the President visits Midway this week, I
am hoping that it will inspire him to undertake even greater steps towards
protecting our oceans. We’ll see I
guess!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you have any doubt as to the extraordinary significance
of this area, take a look at this video which provides some fantastic footage
from a scientific exploration made in 2016 by the NOAA research vessel Deep Discover within what is now part of the marine national monument. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-20516165160586084642016-07-18T22:25:00.000-11:002016-10-17T20:44:17.080-11:00Go By Bike!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was weighing the pros and cons of taking on this job there were lots of factors to consider but one of the real attractions was that I’d be living on an island where bicycles were the primary mode of transportation. What I wasn’t aware of was the reasoning behind it. Sand Island – the largest of Midway’s three islands and the only one where people live – is certainly small enough (about 2 ½ miles long and half a mile wide) that one might argue that automobiles just aren’t necessary. But there are lots of places even less expansive where cars rule the roads. Here, it turns out that the sheer number of ground-nesting birds is what makes bicycles and other more nimble modes of transportation more practical. Even if one had a car, it would take forever to get anywhere as during the nesting season it would need to stop every few feet to move birds out of harm’s way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use of bicycles on Midway dates back at least to the early days when the island was a Naval base, I wasn’t able to find any references to their use during the very early days of settlement (records indicate though that in 1904, a certain Dr. Martin Crook, who’s mobility was hampered by having one wooden leg, had two donkeys shipped in to help him get around the island). </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bikes have been a popular way to get around on Midway since the "Navy Days" (photo courtesy Roy Warren).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The only “good pavement” on Midway is the main runway of Henderson Field which is kept immaculately paved according to strict Federal Aviation Administration standards. All the other roads and paths on Midway are much more rustic but serve their purpose well, getting people from their homes to workplaces to the Clipper House and to the (few) recreational facilities that the island provides. From my house it takes less than five minutes to get to the office, the Clipper House, the Ship’s Store, or the beach. More extensive touring can also be had by circumnavigating the island, a total distance of just under 9 miles. I like to do this on Sunday mornings and it’s a great way to re-acquaint myself with parts of the island I don’t typically visit from day to day. Nearly all the bikes on the island are single-speed "cruiser types" with old school "coaster brakes" which took a while to get used to. Visitors are strongly encouraged to rent bikes while long-term residents, such as myself, are given one to use for the length of their stay.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At just around two square miles in area and with a fairly extensive network of narrow roads, Sand Island is easy to explore by bike. Crossing the runway is the only tricky part as the airport must be contacted.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It would be misleading to suggest that bicycles are the only way folks get around out here as golf carts and four wheel UTVs (“utility task vehicles”) are also commonly utilized, most often for work purposes that require the hauling of cargo or tools. A golf cart “limousine” that seats eight is used to ferry passengers back and forth from the airport to “town”. Several very small motorcycle/scooter things are also used by some of the Thai workers. I’ve asked where they came from and how it is just a couple of guys have them but have never gotten a straight answer. In addition there are a couple of trucks and some heavy equipment on the island that you see once in a while. It is quite a spectacle to move a front end loader on one of the small roads as it must go very slowly while an escort vehicle moves ahead to clear its path. The most impressive (and most expensive) vehicle on the island is a super fancy fire truck that is dedicated for airport use and probably worthy of its own blog post someday!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When a bicycle isn't practical, golf carts are commonly used for transportation. Clockwise from upper left: "Congestion" at the community garden; golf carts are "albatross friendly"; it's important, however, to check under the cart before driving off as albatross chicks often crawl under them for shade; the "limo" takes a group of passengers to the airport.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The lack of motor vehicles at Midway definitely adds to the peaceful and quiet nature of the place. It also makes you realize how much space automobiles require both in terms of roads, garages, and parking spaces. Lacking the need for extensive paved areas, our little community here on Midway has a whole different character, the narrow lanes and footpaths lending it a much more intimate feeling. Getting around by bike also puts you into contact with your neighbors on a regular basis and makes it easy to stop and have a quick conversation. And , of course, getting around by bike is a great way to get exercise as part of your daily routine.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bicycles are a great way to get around on Midway and are the primary mode of transport. Clockwise from upper left: the biology crew cycling from one restoration site to the next; a Sunday morning circumnavigation of the island; Refuge manager Bob Peyton (right) stops for a quick chat with Eric Moore who heads up the Chugach operations; bike valet service is provided by a Laysan albatross chick at Charlie Hotel.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’m pretty sure I couldn’t live on Midway forever as the isolation of this faraway place would almost certainly prove too much. But my experience here has me thinking that I would definitely consider sacrificing some of the conveniences that car-centric communities provide if I could live in a place where, like here, people and wildlife take priority over roads and automobiles.</span><br />
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-86797163697893660122016-07-04T23:48:00.002-11:002016-10-17T20:18:17.629-11:00Independence Day<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I really did not want to write two consecutive posts about albatrosses,
but the situation just plain demands it. Let me explain. As I discussed in <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/06/not-very-gooney-at-all-actually.html">my
previous post</a>, the process of raising a young albatross is very
time-consuming and complicated and demands incredible endurance on the part of
its parents. I didn't say too much though about how arduous the process is from the point
of view of the young chick but given what’s going on around here on Midway right
now, I feel compelled to share some of my thoughts and observations about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As is the case for all birds, the life of a chick begins
while it’s in the egg. For a Laysan albatross, this lasts about two months while parents take turns incubating it. After
spending a couple of days pecking its way through the shell, the newborn hatchling is
wide-eyed but small (less than half a pound) and very vulnerable and is thus
brooded and guarded by its parents who ensure that a frigatebird or other avian
predator doesn’t fly off with it in its beak. Next is a prolonged period of rapid growth with occasional feedings by
the parents who travel far into the ocean to procure food for the ravenous
chick. This goes on for about five months until the chick is ready to move on
to its next stage of life for which it must learn to how fly and forage on its own, completely
independent of its parents. As Laysan
albatross begin nesting around the first of the year, early July is an
especially important and exciting time and <i>Independence Day (</i>the rarely invoked but official name of the Fourth
of July holiday) takes on real significance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I arrived on Midway back in mid-April, the chicks were about two months old, downy and plump. Over time, I began to see signs that some were growing adult feathers, usually just a stripe of white visible on the wing from deep below the down. Eventually smooth wing feathers began to develop and the down gradually began to disappear. I remember one day a few weeks back riding my bike to work and doing a double take after I saw a chick wearing a suit of feathers that looked almost exactly like that of an adult. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Various stages in the life of a Laysan albatross chick (clockwise from upper left): Downy chick; Chick showing some adult feathers on wing, Nearly complete molt with only "wig" remaining; Complete suit of adult feathers.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then something really
startling happened. Chicks began flapping their wings! Rainstorms seemed to really stimulate this
behavior, perhaps because it helped them keep their feathers dry. It wasn’t
long before some of the older birds began catching air on days when the wind
gusts provided them with sufficient lift (the design of an albatross’ wing
makes it difficult for even adult birds to take off using just the power of their
muscles). Once a young bird feels the thrill of flight, it figures out that it
can accomplish even more with a running start. And so it’s been for the past month or so with birds making incremental
progress day by day with some leaps and bounds on the windier days.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A young Laysan albatross catches some air during a squall on Sand Island, Midway Atoll. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the past week though, something even more remarkable has
been taking place. Some young birds are
feeling confident (or desperate) enough to leave their nest sites and making
their way towards the shore. This is a
sure sign that their parents are no longer delivering food for them as parents
recognize their young not by <i>who </i>they are but by <i>where </i>they are and once a chick wanders more
than a dozen feet from its original nest location, adults can't find them. Many chicks seem curious about the water and venture
out to swim. Some have been seen making short flights across the open ocean but many
more though have washed up dead on the beach or in the harbor.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many Laysan and a few Black-footed albatross have left their nest sites and converged on Turtle Beach, Midway Atoll.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s a very tense time here on the atoll as young albatross strive
to make it on their own. While it seems like just yesterday the island was busy
with dancing young “single” albatross and parents were frequently seen coming
and going to feed their offspring, now the chicks outnumber adults about fifty
to one, and it is rare to see a chick being fed. When an adult does show up
there’s usually a period of five minutes or more of confusion as it is
surrounded by hungry peeping chicks and it must figure out which mouth among
the many is its actual offspring. Some chicks still look so downy and small
that it’s hard to imagine it will be able to make it and one broiler of a day
could put a lot of them over the thermodynamic edge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The tension rubs off on me
too and I find myself feeling anxious about the fate of all of these birds and can’t help but
feel some despair when I find yet another one dead on the road, on the beach,
or in my backyard. The best way I've found to keep it from getting me down is to simply try to keep my focus on the birds that seem to be doing well and encouraging them on in my
own way. (I also have been known to try to rescue drowning albatross and have a bite mark on my left arm as a result!).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One fledgling Laysan albatross takes a short flight while another dries its wings in the inner harbor of Sand Island, Midway Atoll.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been an intense and interesting weekend and I've spent a lot of it watching the albatross and thinking about the amazing lives they lead and how for many animals the chances of making it from newborn to independent adulthood are pretty slim. In a weird way it's made me appreciate my own life even more and made this </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Independence Day an especially meaningful one.</span></div>
Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-66133873128900658722016-06-16T23:10:00.001-11:002016-10-17T20:18:01.560-11:00Not Very Gooney at All Actually<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An appreciation for
the Laysan Albatross</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The indigenous people of Hawaii call this bird “Moli”. To
scientists it’s <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan_albatross">Phoebastria immutabilis</a></i>.
But at some point in recent history someone called an albatross a “gooney bird”
and the name has stuck. It’s not a very kind name, implying <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gooney">foolish, silly, or awkward</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Names matter (just ask anyone belonging to what might be considered a “minority
group”) and over time I think the reputation of the Laysan Albatross has suffered
as people – English speakers at least – have tended to focus on
its less elegant aspects while downplaying the truly astonishing
characteristics that define this magnificent seabird species. Here I hope is
to disabuse you of the notion that these birds are “gooney” at all and tell you
why I think they deserve your respect if not awe.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogli2ix7Tq45nfjCn1D30M6MuksdiAtn5TJyAutNC7xOq_MNtcsE7ytNLhbnHL3UttACBIb3WdLoG-bi1rfl2SAWVrazUDI-d9RIYNxRTB7jVibCSvQQREj4nIKQHU7HKtR3tlcxhMEk/s1600/Slide1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogli2ix7Tq45nfjCn1D30M6MuksdiAtn5TJyAutNC7xOq_MNtcsE7ytNLhbnHL3UttACBIb3WdLoG-bi1rfl2SAWVrazUDI-d9RIYNxRTB7jVibCSvQQREj4nIKQHU7HKtR3tlcxhMEk/s640/Slide1.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laysan Albatross are often called "Gooneybirds" and characterized as being silly or clumsy.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laysan albatross is one of 21 species of albatrosses and
range across a wide swath of the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Mexico. Despite this large range they nest on just a few isolated islands. Here on Midway Atoll, the bird is extremely
abundant with about 450,000 breeding pairs documented at last count, comprising
approximately 75% of the global population.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPAJEZcP61uHhmzHgdo8OxShMqh2zAyjIfjNIlS1li0nkyaGp3Woh0mnYhslOav-vZjsGH1jK-5eTzd6gzmN1StFvd4IbvOm1YNKJ-JZ5v68si5HxfRyj6UehOHouBYhZjXwspsYHNec/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPAJEZcP61uHhmzHgdo8OxShMqh2zAyjIfjNIlS1li0nkyaGp3Woh0mnYhslOav-vZjsGH1jK-5eTzd6gzmN1StFvd4IbvOm1YNKJ-JZ5v68si5HxfRyj6UehOHouBYhZjXwspsYHNec/s640/Slide3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Laysan albatross nest on just a few remote islands but forage across a very wide swath of the Pacific Ocean extending from Japan to California and from the equator to the Aleutian Islands.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Albatrosses have been around for millions of years and have evolved
to do one thing extremely well, to survive by harvesting resources that
are spread across thousands of miles of open ocean.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like all birds though, reproduction requires
dry land. And in the case of albatrosses they require places without mammalian or
reptilian predators because they nest on the ground and their chicks are very tasty (we know this from the records of early sea voyages) and extremely vulnerable to hungry mouths. Well it
turns out that land free of predators is a pretty scarce commodity. Every
continent as well as the islands that lie offshore team with primates (us included), dogs,
cats, weasels, snakes, and the like. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So albatrosses have had to resort to raising
their young on remote islands where no land predator has ever made landfall. For
Laysan Albatross these have included the Hawaiian islands, and a few islands
off the coast of Mexico and Japan. One the Polynesians settled the main Hawaiian islands, the albatrosses were dispatched quickly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It turns out though, by accident of geologic history, that the
only suitable islands for nesting happened to be located in parts of the ocean
that weren’t especially rich when it comes to food. So during the breeding
season (which lasts for months) the Laysan Albatross must travel far to find
the squid, fish eggs, crustaceans, and carrion it needs to survive. To
manage this it evolved extraordinary flying abilities. Albatrosses, have very long wings that "lock" into place and utilize a technique called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_soaring">Dynamic
Soaring</a> which exploits wind gradients and allows
them to fly great distances using very little energy. An albatross can spend
months on end in nearly continuous flight as it pursues food over many thousands of miles of open ocean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKti69GkRl66KV5KVNNIVjPeVJ4CPFEmdvzmWjPIT3zfjUNUXnrnNxOLdyDaPpMIawu775Nm4oIm82sSY1okw7bZI7M-si9SbYVBgH1qCxpxQk7RutoficRHUsbYLTUGUBcpojfeiqAZ8/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKti69GkRl66KV5KVNNIVjPeVJ4CPFEmdvzmWjPIT3zfjUNUXnrnNxOLdyDaPpMIawu775Nm4oIm82sSY1okw7bZI7M-si9SbYVBgH1qCxpxQk7RutoficRHUsbYLTUGUBcpojfeiqAZ8/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Masters of the air! A typical Laysan Albatross flies over a million miles during its lifetime utilizing a technique called "dynamic soaring".</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These abilities come at some cost to the bird when it comes time to land. It's not
uncommon for an albatross to land hard, sometimes even flipping over, if the winds shift suddenly during its
approach. Takeoffs can be tricky too as an albatross cannot generate much
lift by simply flapping its wings and has to get a running start into the wind
to resume flight. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But before you start
laughing at a Laysan albatross after suffers a crash landing, think about the
fact that the bird may have just returned from several weeks or months at sea surviving
gale force winds, rain, and snow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laysan Albatross are very long-lived birds that spend up to their
first 9 years learning how to make their way in the world before settling on a mate and
attempting to raise its first chick. They are monogamous and put a great deal
of effort into finding the “right one” which entails a fairly elaborate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1pJwOnYrs0">courtship ritual</a> involving
of dancing, bill clapping, braying, screaming and other interesting behaviors. People
watching young albatross in the heat of passion often find it “gooney” but ask
yourself this: if an alien being were to
evaluate you solely on your behavior in the bedroom, how do you think you'd come across?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfDXAEoPocHpA4eVnKwWcej0TCtxllt18eOsxtoAWfqTC17Y-Qj7w947tWUzGdijnNhn25WvN-QMu-mTRS6fj4yo8SSdYHweBkzmkANwSVqDquzS6emLcSUb5GpNbvuY6LO9_kzRrR7s/s1600/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfDXAEoPocHpA4eVnKwWcej0TCtxllt18eOsxtoAWfqTC17Y-Qj7w947tWUzGdijnNhn25WvN-QMu-mTRS6fj4yo8SSdYHweBkzmkANwSVqDquzS6emLcSUb5GpNbvuY6LO9_kzRrR7s/s640/Slide4.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laysan Albatross engage in extensive courtship rituals and mate for life.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once a Laysan Albatross finds the love of its life the pair takes on the monumental task of raising a chick. After the egg is laid both female
and male share the task of incubation which lasts about two months. A parent
may sit on the nest for two weeks straight waiting for relief from its mate all the while not eating or drinking. After
hatching comes the daunting task of feeding the ravenous chick. Again the responsibility
is shared by both parents and each undertakes epic journeys far into the ocean to gather enough
food to provision the fast growing nestling. A study of Laysan Albatross using global
positioning systems and satellite transmitters discovered that one female albatross
spent 29 days at sea travelling over 7,500 miles on a <i>single foraging
excursion.</i> And they don’t do this once but many times across their long lives.
The longest living wild bird known is a <a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/wildlife_and_habitat/Wisdom_Profile.html">65
year old Laysan Albatross female living on Midway Atoll</a>. This year "Wisdom" as she has been named, nested perhaps for the 30<sup>th</sup> time (albatrosses lay just one egg and typically
do not breed every year) and is currently raising a healthy chick. Imagine the hundreds of thousands of miles
that she has traveled and the things she has seen across the decades. The dedication that
albatrosses show for their families is impressive and inspiring. The word “gooney” just doesn’t seem a good fit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyhhZMBb_nSBXvBZoNJSXB4ygT9-HwAilPXc9R4ktfzdf6Hv1o6EI2KarER6flQ7-nclnsyYlPaYFOhcrbqeChigZ1FAs1iXwLo7uEt6eFTpSDmbI-7sSwsAOozQxYXS29U_Sc5dnHTs/s1600/Slide5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyhhZMBb_nSBXvBZoNJSXB4ygT9-HwAilPXc9R4ktfzdf6Hv1o6EI2KarER6flQ7-nclnsyYlPaYFOhcrbqeChigZ1FAs1iXwLo7uEt6eFTpSDmbI-7sSwsAOozQxYXS29U_Sc5dnHTs/s400/Slide5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dedicated parents. Both male and female Laysan Albatross travel tens of thousands of miles to find food for their offspring. Partially digested food and oils are regurgitated into the chicks bill.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In all fairness, I think that most people who call
albatrosses “gooneybirds” do so with no disrespect. In fact, when I arrived
here on Midway I used the term a few times thinking it kind of cute.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I also believe it's possible that this
epithet has at times made it easier for people to do things that caused serious harm to
Laysan Albatrosses. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While describing the
myriad ways that albatrosses have suffered at the hands of humans is a topic
too large to tackle here (look forward to that in a later post)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">suffice it to say that when Midway and other
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were being developed for military use,
albatrosses were inconvenient and many were killed to make way for the roads,
building, and aviation facilities that were constructed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe by calling them “gooneybirds” it was a
little easier to ignore the suffering we caused them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe now though it’s time for a more honest reckoning.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If, indeed, Laysan Albatross are “gooney” at
all it’s only when they are on land.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And
since research shows they spend about 95% of their lives at sea
where they are magnificent, graceful creatures then that would mean they are “gooney”
at most about 5% of the time.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not very
gooney at all actually!</span></div>
Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-45083134136042099842016-06-05T23:10:00.000-11:002016-10-17T20:44:17.084-11:00Food and Beverage<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The challenge of staying
well-nourished on a desert island</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is a good reason why Midway Atoll was never settled by
the Polynesian inhabitants of the main Hawaiian Islands. The three small islands
together make up just a little over 2 square miles in land area, have no freshwater
lakes or rivers, are mantled with fine white coral sand not well suited for
agriculture, and are over 1,000 miles from the main Hawaiian Islands (the closest
place that could be considered “civilization”).
The first people to attempt to inhabit the atoll, employees of the
Pacific Commercial Cable Company, were provisioned by ship
and dug wells to provide fresh water (interestingly, small coral atolls though
lacking in fresh surface water often contain a thin sub-surface “lens” of freshwater
that resulting from it having a lower density than seawater). It turned out though that food delivery by ship was
pretty unreliable. During those times Midway lacked a harbor or pier and the coral reefs that surround the islands made landings difficult, especially during inclement weather. Supply ships frequently turned back before making their deliveries or, worse, wrecked, leaving the island's residents hungry and frustrated. It didn’t take long for the
Cable Company employees to take matters into their own hands and soon they were importing soil, plants, and livestock to grow food on their own and reduce their dependence on the outside world for their provisions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite all of the development that has occurred at Midway
since that time, keeping the current residents </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">50 or so folks at any given
time – hydrated and nourished is still a major challenge. The small wells
that provided freshwater to early inhabitants could not satisfy the demand once
the island’s population swelled to several thousand during World War II; during these times efforts were made to capture
rainfall (Midway receives approximately 43 inches a year) and store it in
cisterns. Today, the large runway of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henderson_Field_%28Midway_Atoll%29">Henderson
Field</a> (approximately 7,800 feet long and 150
feet wide) on Sand Island is used for this purpose. Rainwater falling on the runway flows into grates and is then
pumped into three, 4 million gallon water tanks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRT5QzSDm6xONyh3u3ARnjANMbsa-tEoWPfUqiDomNz8Q35a7G30x9QwtP19zYa8sKVuDzURcCpsDIipW_AkCqHFki8u2Vmm-rnkPrZStRo1d4wBD0s5f79zyEaUpsRRbuOTpL093HAyQ/s1600/Slide1+%25282%2529.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRT5QzSDm6xONyh3u3ARnjANMbsa-tEoWPfUqiDomNz8Q35a7G30x9QwtP19zYa8sKVuDzURcCpsDIipW_AkCqHFki8u2Vmm-rnkPrZStRo1d4wBD0s5f79zyEaUpsRRbuOTpL093HAyQ/s640/Slide1+%25282%2529.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Three large tanks allow for storage of 12 million gallons of water on Sand Island, Midway Atoll (Laysan ducks in the foreground enjoy puddles created by a rainstorm).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From there some of the water is sent to an elevated water tank to
for irrigation, fire hydrants, and other uses which do not require the water to
be purified. The remainder goes to Sand Island’s water treatment plant
which uses chemical sterilizers (something akin to chlorine) to purify the
water for domestic use. Though the water coming out of the taps in houses and
offices is potable, many people (including me), prefer some additional purification
before drinking. A small water and ice
house next to Charlie Barracks is open 24/7 providing double filtered water and ice cubes </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> a fabulous
amenity!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What about food? Similar
to residents over a hundred years ago, the folks living here rely almost
entirely on food brought in from the outside world but fortunately the deliveries
are now much more reliable. Food is transported to Midway by both ship and
aircraft. Every six months the </span><a href="http://www.hawaiirg.com/Services/MaritimeServices.aspx" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">privately
operated 185 ft supply vessel M/V Kahana</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, delivers a load of food, fuel, and
other supplies to the atoll. This is how
sacks of rice, canned food, cases of soda pop, and other heavy, non-perishable items
make it out here. Quantities of frozen foods are also delivered in a refrigerated
container. Supplementing this are deliveries made via air. Every two weeks or
so, a small chartered jet makes the round trip from Honolulu to Midway carrying
with it 12 passengers along with mail and various cargo which includes various fresh
foods including fruits and vegetables. The couple of days following a flight
are always exciting for this reason, as suddenly fresh blueberries appear replacing
the previous week’s regimen of canned fruit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As in times past, today’s Midway residents find it worth
their while to raise some of their own food locally. A large greenhouse stands
just to the east of the Chugach building. Inside is a modern hydroponic garden
where Sumeth “Hin” Camseecha raises a wide variety of vegetables, including
lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and Thai chiles. There is also an outdoor <i>Community Garden</i> which serves multiple
purposes. Anyone wishing to grow their favorite foodcrop can plant it here (as
long as it’s not an invasive species) but this is also an important gathering place. This is the source of some key ingredients used in Thai cooking on the island including kaffir lime and lemongrass. On Friday afternoons I always try to stop for a beer when Adoon Sripitak,
the unofficial master of the garden, hosts weekly get-togethers which are attended by a diversity of island residents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKHIur0KGGQYKNymTzJjw1D5UPaXdvtKHRrcwH1SktTswIKkmBeI6VPTGlYKs3H2F9sx90XvszEwFbVm3N-sdftapcQR_ZT7vVxf0aY-liQ41d6oDOiPv9ImjdFwM170-xjwt3vWgESo/s1600/Slide1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKHIur0KGGQYKNymTzJjw1D5UPaXdvtKHRrcwH1SktTswIKkmBeI6VPTGlYKs3H2F9sx90XvszEwFbVm3N-sdftapcQR_ZT7vVxf0aY-liQ41d6oDOiPv9ImjdFwM170-xjwt3vWgESo/s640/Slide1.PNG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Residents of Midway Atoll are lucky to have local, fresh produce to supplement their diet. <i>Top</i>: A bountiful crop of greens being grown in the hydroponic greenhouse; <i>Bottom</i>: Friday afternoon at the Community Garden. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So now you know where the food comes from but how does it
get transformed from raw ingredient to the plate? The </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clipper House</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> is the island’s only and best restaurant. Open seven
days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Pongsakorn “Pong” Wichaisawatdi
and his three assistants cook up a tasty variety of foods appealing to both American
and Thai palletes. It is hard to imagine Midway without the Clipper House as it
is truly the social hub of the island as pretty much everybody takes at least
some of their meals here. It is truly the only game in town but I find the
eclectic mix of Thai, “American”, Italian, and other cuisines to be extremely
appealing and my appreciation for Thai food continues to grow (I am still,
however, very partial to the coconut curry dishes with Chicken Coconut Curry
still occupying the number one spot). Mixing is not uncommon and the other day
I saw someone eating a </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chicago Style
Hotdog</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> with Pad Thai tossed on top as a finishing touch.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEicy4DiNrIVd7NQXXiABkVHft6DJ7nUv0KXGJgx-x8CxYpMEwOWOr_FwUrzA0UONCOKUdHAMl1vOwU51NZTyCzQ_0iIICAoMaiMoA-4h1j-AGci15d8e6IdId6up1cMUBPk2XNt2xo4/s1600/Slide2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEicy4DiNrIVd7NQXXiABkVHft6DJ7nUv0KXGJgx-x8CxYpMEwOWOr_FwUrzA0UONCOKUdHAMl1vOwU51NZTyCzQ_0iIICAoMaiMoA-4h1j-AGci15d8e6IdId6up1cMUBPk2XNt2xo4/s640/Slide2.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Clipper House Restaurant at Midway Atoll where head chef <span style="text-align: start;">Pongsakorn “Pong” Wichaisawatdi serves a variety of dishes to suit the tastes of patrons from both the United States and Thailand. An outside patio with a fine view of the lagoon is popular with US Fish and Wildlife Service staff and volunteers.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The only other source for food on the island is the Ship’s
Store which has snack foods, some frozen foods and most crucially a selection
of beer, wine, and liquor.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately,
the beer selection has not kept up with the times and only </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American Pilseners</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (read </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bud</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">,
</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coors</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">) and two brands of Thai beer are
offered (</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chang </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Singha</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">). A co-worker asked me the other day if I'd noticed the cabinet with the sign saying "fine wines". No I hadn't, I replied. "It's empty" she explained with some disappointment. Those with more eclectic tastes must rely on care packages from home (Oregon
IPA please!). These days with the ease of ordering food via mail, some islanders also
supplement their diet through Amazon.com or other outlets. It is also possible
to special order certain fresh, refrigerated, and frozen foods through the Ship’s
Store and I have taken advantage of this getting fresh fruit and plain Greek yoghurt
for breakfast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While no one is ever going to starve on Midway, the limited
availability of some foods still takes some adjusting. Also a consideration are
the limited hours of the Clipper House which don’t always jibe with when I am
hungry. I have taken to making my own
breakfasts (which includes real, whole-bean organic Arabica coffee mailed
to me from Eugene, Oregon, rice cakes from Amazon.com, and fresh foods acquired from the
Ship’s Store) and doing take out for dinner (5 pm is a little early for me). All
in all though I certainly can’t complain.
Compared to the folks living here a hundred years ago, my food options are
almost unimaginably varied and I have enjoyed the free time I have acquired since coming here that otherwise
would be spent in the kitchen, not to mention the opportunity to sample some very fine Thai food. If anything, life on Midway could lead one to become "overnourished" making it even more important to stay active and get plenty of excercise. That'll be the topic of a future post!</span></div>
Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-27912382985936476652016-05-30T00:17:00.001-11:002016-10-17T20:19:28.091-11:00Close Encounters<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Why
wildlife at Midway Atoll aren’t afraid of people and what that does to you</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the great mysteries of modern biology is how it is
that Charles Darwin knew so damn much. Not only did he correctly explain the mechanism
by which the diversity of life on earth was created (i.e., the Theory of
Evolution by Natural Selection) but as if this was not enough Darwin applied
his genius to a variety of other subjects including the domestication of pigeons, earthworm
biology, and the geology of islands. One of the first stops made by the <i>HMS Beagle </i>made
on its voyage to explore South America was the Galapagos Islands where Darwin noticed
something very strange about the wildlife there. They weren’t afraid of people.
Darwin had an explanation for this, of course. On remote islands where mammalian
predators were absent for thousands of years, there was no advantage for an animal to flee when approached
by one. And if there was no advantage, maintaining that behavior would be a
liability over evolutionary time. It all comes down to this: maintaining any unnecessary feature – anatomical
or otherwise – constitutes a cost to an individual which over time results in
lower fitness compared to an individual possessing only the things it needs to
survive in its environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Had the Beagle sailed for the remote <a href="http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Hawaiian_Islands/">Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands</a> instead of the Galapagos, Darwin probably would have still come to
the same conclusion. Like the Galapagos, these remote islands were never
inhabited by people until very recent times and the native wildlife –
predominantly birds – evolved with no predators. The lack of fear that the
birds of Midway have for people explains why shipwrecked sailors in the 18<sup>th</sup>
and 19<sup>th</sup> century and early feather hunters had such devastating
effects on them. When approached the birds did not flee so anyone wishing to capture them for either the stewpot or the cargo hold could do so
with little effort. Tens of thousands of birds were taken as a result and the populations
of albatrosses, terns, shearwaters, and other species plummeted until regulations were affected by US President Teddy Roosevelt during the first decade of the
twentieth century.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF1wH0thGpm4q3K-HD3nOrIUy4NZwgnr24ZIXymaOefINjgtC2TvoeXR3uuzu6jOfI9YLsZYJPYT6i6qJaarOR3h4Em_80287_zMcI1sQj2mTVB6VsszXJ9NQfLyQlvpWfiy41yJPMXA/s1600/Slide1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF1wH0thGpm4q3K-HD3nOrIUy4NZwgnr24ZIXymaOefINjgtC2TvoeXR3uuzu6jOfI9YLsZYJPYT6i6qJaarOR3h4Em_80287_zMcI1sQj2mTVB6VsszXJ9NQfLyQlvpWfiy41yJPMXA/s640/Slide1.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Laysan Albatross hangs out on the sidewalk in front of the Midway Gymnasium.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As populations began to recover, people began finding
reasons to inhabit these remote islands. The first were personnel hired by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Pacific_Cable_Company">Pacific
Commercial Cable Company</a> to build and operate a <a href="http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/Visit/Tour/Cable_Company_Station.html">telegraph station established on Sand Island of Midway Atoll in 1904</a>. Employees – mostly from the
mainland US – found themselves living among millions of seabirds that seemed to
take little notice of them which certainly must have been perplexing. Despite decades of persecution, the birds still did not fear people. (Darwin would
likely have an explanation for that too!) Laysan albatrosses, the most numerous
birds on the island, built nests out in the open making little effort to
conceal them, left their young unattended on the front porches of houses, and conducted
their elaborate courtship rituals in close proximity to anyone who happened to
pass by. Other species – terns, noddies, tropicbirds, etc. – behaved in similar
fashion. Maybe, by living in such close proximity to such magnificent creatures,
it was inevitable that these early residents of Midway developed a genuine
respect and deep appreciation for their avian neighbors. Early records attest
to this in various ways: from the decision to ban cats and dogs from the island
to the formation of the <i>Goofy Gooney’s
Club</i> which honored "the silent cooperation given them by the curious residents
of the Midway atoll to the new strangers and the hazards they brought”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It wasn't long before the Midway and other Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands were recognized for their potential strategic military importance.
But even as Midway was transformed from a sleepy telegraph station to a prominent
Naval Air Facility, amicable relations between the seabirds and the human
inhabitants persisted. This is not to say that there wasn't an
impact on the birds; habitat was destroyed, antennas, seawalls, and other
hazards to birds were erected, and many seabirds were undoubtedly killed through
collisions with aircraft and other causes. Some species, such as the Laysan
Rail, were not able to cope with the change and went extinct but most were able to adapt. Through it all, the people of Midway seemed to take a certain pride and interest in the birds. The official
insignia of Midway – an image of two Laysan albatross “sky mooing” – eventually
embellished everything from a the island newspaper to the movie theater.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYlKJ1jiTY_9wFHqiaaz4gj7D05ziGCR0uF7Cj2BRD99zP38Q7DTJ-Bt3n-d0j54XYyRDslgKKDx7SYa7p3cmtnK15KE62T3X6W2P8aMivBhXhwJxlwQNfx_35lqqHVSBF0e91UU9Bjo/s1600/Slide3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYlKJ1jiTY_9wFHqiaaz4gj7D05ziGCR0uF7Cj2BRD99zP38Q7DTJ-Bt3n-d0j54XYyRDslgKKDx7SYa7p3cmtnK15KE62T3X6W2P8aMivBhXhwJxlwQNfx_35lqqHVSBF0e91UU9Bjo/s640/Slide3.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Early residents of Midway identified strongly with their avian neighbors and recognized them in a variety of ways. A symbol representing courting Laysan Albatrosses adorned everything from the newspaper to the theatre on Sand Island.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today, the folks living on Midway continue the
tradition of tolerance and respect for their avian neighbors. People dodge
albatrosses every day while travelling to and from work and pick up chicks off
the road when necessary. When the sun sets, windows covered with curtains or blinds in religious fashion lest Bonin petrels, nocturnal seabirds attracted to light, fly into them. In the morning White Terns perch on the windowsill and stare at you through the window. Tropicbirds brood their chicks in the front yard in full view and emit a harsh bark only if you get so close as to risk stepping on them. Laysan’s ducks forage on the patio and parade their chicks through the yard. And people still pay homage. The electrician’s golf cart has an
image of an albatross painted on its side and at a recent evening of karaoke seabirds were displayed along with the lyrics to the songs.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFACPK224k0NfXaDD_S1C_9CEO6DmZEctoWz_4Mva96fzNHadrlqVk2DzA7jpGvPIDMPFlM7GOLjPvWKgTCVAzaIWMpq3SmnNRrwYounYEfgMnt2JQOcGZ2CvgvWYWSwXMOOOkBJsv8qs/s1600/Slide4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFACPK224k0NfXaDD_S1C_9CEO6DmZEctoWz_4Mva96fzNHadrlqVk2DzA7jpGvPIDMPFlM7GOLjPvWKgTCVAzaIWMpq3SmnNRrwYounYEfgMnt2JQOcGZ2CvgvWYWSwXMOOOkBJsv8qs/s640/Slide4.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because the native fauna of Midway don't have any innate fear of people, close encounters with wildlife is common. Clockwise from upper left: A Laysan Duck outside forages outside my house; this newly hatched white tern stared at me intently while I took its portrait; Sooty Terns on Eastern Island lay their eggs directly on the ground in plain sight of no one; a Red-Footed Booby on Eastern Island sits tight on its nest as I walk by.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After being here for about a month and a half, I still can’t
fully wrap my brain around how living so closely to all of these birds affects me. Certainly, I feel a connection to them and affection for them. But it goes beyond that as well. There's something about living in a place where the hustle and bustle isn't about selling something or taking care of people's needs. to be in a place where birds are truly at center stage has a strange effect on a person. I'm not sure I can say much more that that for now, maybe I will elaborate in a future post. In the meantime, I’ll continue to say “good
morning” to the albatrosses outside my front door, beg forgiveness when I
pass too close to a tropicbird’s nest, and continue to learn more about these fascinating animals through these close encounters. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-64714872212084735482016-05-22T22:47:00.004-11:002017-01-31T19:38:16.016-11:00Floral Inflation<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why Midway violates ecological laws and what it means for
conservation in the long-term</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">E.O. Wilson, the avuncular, silver-haired ant biologist, conservationist,
and ambassador for biodiversity is probably the most famous ecologist the world
has ever known, which maybe isn’t saying much. But if you are or were a student
of biology you might remember what put him on the ecology top hits charts
back in the 1960s: a manuscript titled <i><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Theory_of_Island_Biogeography.html?id=a10cdkywhVgC">The<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span>Theory of Island Biogeography</a> </i>in
which he and Robert MacArthur argued that that the number of species found on
any given island was the result of two simple things: the rate if colonization (new
species arriving on the island) and extinction (the rate at which species wink out due to random population fluctuations, disease, etc.). The closer an island is to the mainland, the higher the rate of colonization.
The bigger the island, the larger the populations and therefore
the lower the extinction rates. So large islands close to continents should have
way more species than small islands far from continents. It all makes sense and
the empirical evidence support the theory pretty well. For example, Cuba, a large
island (over 100,000 square kilometers or 42,000 square miles) is a just 160 km
(100 miles) or so from the shores of North America and has a whopping 8,000 species
of flowering plants while the much smaller St. John, Virgin Islands (50 square
kilometers or 19 square miles) sitting far out in the Caribbean far from any
continent has just 1,000 species.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what does this have to do with Midway?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The three islands of Midway Atoll total just under 6 square km
(about 2.25 square miles) and are at least 3,500 km (2,800 miles) from either
Asia or North America and over 1,900 km (1200 miles) from Honolulu. These are
some of the smallest and most isolated islands in the world and according MacArthur and Wilson's theory, one would expect that the number of plant species found here would
be very small. And indeed, this is what ornithologist William Alanson Bryan
found when he arrived on Midway Atoll in 1902. Bryan reported finding just eight
species of plants on Sand Island and ten on nearby Eastern Island. Today, a visitor to Midway could expect to find nearly 200 species of plants! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What happened?</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqewsOpxAVEFw3u-7TNnOo5IXBJxUcuQfmPeUW-xW3Xpqx3fiBPY79TuURvMeeeVNqY44W9vpK4I20o2xm0hqB1422eNeTwWqJvpz3KqoVxmLRanaVL65IABxgi-GKOSnYzhy_z7h01JY/s1600/Slide1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqewsOpxAVEFw3u-7TNnOo5IXBJxUcuQfmPeUW-xW3Xpqx3fiBPY79TuURvMeeeVNqY44W9vpK4I20o2xm0hqB1422eNeTwWqJvpz3KqoVxmLRanaVL65IABxgi-GKOSnYzhy_z7h01JY/s640/Slide1.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Native plants of Midway Atoll. Clockwise from upper left: Nohu (<i>Tribulus cistoides</i>), Emoloa (<i>Eragrostis variabilis</i>), Naupaka (<i>Scaevola taccada</i>), Ilima (<i>Sida fallax</i>).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It all started around the turn of the 20</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
century when the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Commecial Pacific Cable
Company</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> decided that Midway was a critical link in their efforts to establish
a telegraph line across the Pacific Ocean. Once the decision was made to route
the cable through this remote atoll, a station had to to be established and along
with it a small settlement to accommodate the personnel needed to maintain it.
Prior to this the only visitors to Midway were native Polynesians who
occasionally traveled through, shipwrecked sailors, and feather hunters. Never
before had people actually intentionally settled the islands of Midway Atoll!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the cable company began construction of their outpost,
Sand Island was “an uninhabited shimmering white pile of sand” but it didn’t take
long for the newly arrived inhabitants to begin to reshape the island to meet
their expectations. The ships that the cable station with food and other provisions also brought with them soil and plants to
establish vegetation more to the inhabitant's liking. In October 1903 the ship <i>Whalen</i> brought 400 tons of soil to
Midway from Honolulu as well as plants and grass seeds. Plants included coconut,
milo, banana, passion fruit, and banana. Ironwood trees <span class="search">(<i>Casuarina equisetifolia</i>) </span>were
also imported with the intention of providing the new residents shade from
the sub-tropical sun as well as species such as beach morning glory (<i>Pohuehue</i> or <em>Ipomea
pes-caprae ssp. brasiliensis</em><em><span style="font-style: normal;">) which were hoped would stabilize the shifting sands.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwyjzENrwmBI4BriLT3LRP3gZ1o75l3DJmeRVUqz2sSS8YsDs4q2W5e5FbhMXgvAa0LgmyXjyRFdAFXoR2E8j-gAOE2uwNuQGKBehG_zMRK0bbNNkuj9VsuMZpdN4B3wBZ6rq5h40KAk/s1600/Slide2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwyjzENrwmBI4BriLT3LRP3gZ1o75l3DJmeRVUqz2sSS8YsDs4q2W5e5FbhMXgvAa0LgmyXjyRFdAFXoR2E8j-gAOE2uwNuQGKBehG_zMRK0bbNNkuj9VsuMZpdN4B3wBZ6rq5h40KAk/s640/Slide2.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Top: Establishment of the Commercial Pacific Cable Station resulted in the introduction of many introduced species including ironwood (<u><i>Casuarina equisetifolia</i></u>) and Cook Pines (<i>Araucaria columnaris)</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>; </i>Bottom: Exotic grasses such as Bermuda grass (<i>Cynodon dactylon</i>) were introduced to hold down the sandy soils of Midway Atoll and continue to dominate in many areas.</span></td></tr>
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<em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Over the years, many tons of soil and hundreds of plants were intentionally
transported to Midway, including an assortment of vegetables and fruits grown to
enhance the diets of the residents. In addition to desirable plants, some weedy species were brought in inadvertently,
some of which proved to be a real nuisance later on. Midway’s rich history as cable
station, air transport stopover, military outpost, and cold war surveillance
outpost, also made it a hotspot for non-native plant introduction as each new
cohort of occupants brought with them plant species they found interesting or
useful. This has included turfgrasses for golf courses, palm trees for tropical
ambiance, food plants such as papaya, and ornamental flowers for their beauty.<o:p></o:p></span></span></em></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Exotic plants have satisfied appetites, both aesthetic and culinary for residents of Midway Atoll in the past and present. Upper left: Spider lily (<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Crinum asiaticum</i>) though unattended continue to thrive outside the "Midway Mall". Lower right: Well-tended papaya trees (<i>Carica papaya</i>) at the Aree House provide for an occasional Thai green papaya salad.</span></span></td></tr>
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<em><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By importing so many species of plants to Midway over the past 100 years,
residents have “short-circuited” MacArthur and Wilson’s Theory of Island
Biogeograhy. Despite the fact that Midway is about as far from any continent as
it could be, immigration rates (i.e., the rate at which new species arrive) have
been relatively high. The end result is that Midway Atoll has much higher plant
species diversity than would be expected based on purely “natural” factors. Today, Midway has about ten times the number of plant species as there were a little more than 100 years ago when the first inhabitants arrived.</span></span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;">The inflated plant species richness of Midway Atoll has its pros and
cons. Many of the plant species that have been introduced here have proved to
be invasive. That is, they do so well as to dominate areas to the point of causing
problems for native species. A good example of this is <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=VEEN">golden crownbeard (<i>Verbesina</i> <i>encelioides</i>)</a></span></em><span class="search">, a sunflower-like plant which grew so well
here that it covered 70% of the islands soils and degraded habitat for both
Laysan’s and Black-footed albatross. The US Fish and Wildlife Service worked
hard to reduce the amount of this weed and now it covers less than 1% of the
islands. Ironwood has also proven to be problematic as it dominates areas so
completely that nothing can grow in its shade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Some introduced species such as ironwood (<span class="search"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Casuarina
equisetifolia; </i>upper left<i>) prove to be invasive requiring management while others, for example, sea grape (</i></span></span><span style="line-height: 16.8667px;"><i>Coccoloba uvifera; </i>lower right<i>)) appear to be benign or even beneficial.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span class="search"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prior
to the habitat restoration efforts undertaken by the US Fish and Wildlife
Service, vegetation on Midway was nearly exclusively non-native and provided
sub-optimal conditions for seabirds and other wildlife. Over the past 15 years
much progress has been made in bring back the natives. Restoring native plant
species is important not only for wildlife but for the plant species themselves, as
many have seen their populations drastically reduced on other islands through the introduction
of non-native animals such as rabbits and goats. In this new era, Midway Atoll, despite
the fact that it has been intensively utilized for a variety of uses for over
100 years, has the potential to contribute significantly not only in the
conservation of seabirds but also for native plants of the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands. The work to be done here at Midway does not fit neatly into
what might be regarded as “restoration” as the islands have been modified so
extensively over the past century that going back to what once was is simply
not possible. Instead, we are challenged to managing these islands to their
highest purpose, something that requires a solid understanding of the past, an acute awareness of the current needs of both plants and wildlife, and a creative vision
for the future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>Acknowledgements: </u>Thanks to William Alanson Bryan for having
the forethought to visit and document Midway Atoll way back in the early 1900s.
Much appreciation to Forest and Kim Starr who have returned to Midway three
times in the past two decades to document the vascular flora of Sand, Eastern,
and Spit Islands. Meticulous documentation of the plant species growing on
Midway is certainly not an easy or glamorous job but were essential in the writing
this blog post. Thank you all!</span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-35834157757733333552016-05-15T21:58:00.002-11:002016-10-17T20:18:01.556-11:00Baby’s First Bolus<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Miscellaneous notes on the ontogeny of Laysan Albatross</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Prior to my arrival on Midway Atoll, a Laysan Albatross decided to lay an egg on the welcome mat outside of the front door of the house that I’m currently living in. The egg hatched sometime in late January or early February and the chick is now fairly large (6 or 7 lbs) but still not very mobile and still spends a lot of its time either on the doormat or within a few feet it. If I were the naming kind of guy and knew that said chick was a male, I might bestow the name “Matthew” (long form of “Mat”) to this chick but since I’m not and I don’t, let’s just stick with calling it “the chick” for now.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A Laysan's Albatross chick lives just outside my front door</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The growth and development of an albatross chick is a very
long process; it takes on average 165 days for a chick to fledge after hatching. During
that time, the parents – both male and female – fly long distances out into the open ocean to
forage for food for the youngster returning once every few days or so with a
belly full of partially-digested food that it then regurgitates to provision its
offspring. Squid, fish eggs, fish, and crustaceans comprise the bulk of the
Laysan Albatross diet and, unfortunately, plastic debris ends up being eaten as
well as fish and crabs sometimes lay their eggs on these floating objects.
All of this ends up being fed to the chick as well which lead to a problem.
Some of this material – including the squid’s beaks, lenses of fish eyeballs,
pumice, and plastic – is indigestible and builds up in the chick’s stomach.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The amount of effort required by Laysan Albatross parents to raise a chick is extraordinary. For nearly six months, both parents travel far into the ocean to gather food for their chicks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other morning as I was leaving my house to go to work, I
found an interesting mess on the welcome mat outside the front door. The chick that lives there apparently had
regurgitated its very first bolus! <span style="text-align: center;">An essential part of chick development is the regurgitation of a bolus of undigested material. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although it was messy and somewhat gross (though many of the boli I've seen are fairly compact, my neighbor seemed to take more of a "shotgun approach"). I realized that this was a good thing!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why? Because the buildup of all of this stuff in the chick’s gut inhibits its ability to take in new food and also adds to its weight making it more difficult for it to lift off during its critical first flight. So as you can imagine I was pretty stoked for the chick because even though I refuse to name it, I still admit to having developed some affection for her/him and I like to think that the feelings might even be mutual (the chick no longer snaps its bill at me when I enter or exit the house and we seem to have a friendly relationship of sorts).</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Regurgitation of the chick's first bolus is a critical event in its development. Clockwise from upper left (a) Bolus found on my doorstep 13 May 2016; (b) the bolus was comprised mainly of squid beaks and fish eyeballs; (c) fish lay their eggs on plastic fragments which are eaten by adults and then fed to chicks; (d) excessive amounts of plastic can make it difficult for chicks to feed and may prevent regurgitation of the bolus, injury, or even death. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The accumulation of plastic in a chick’s stomach is, of
course, a worrisome phenomenon. In fact, some chicks get so filled with plastic
that they are unable to feed or suffer internal injuries from sharp fragments. Sometimes this even results in them dying from complications. Plastic and other debris that
accumulate in the ocean is an hugely important topic and one that I plan on addressing in a future post but if should you want learn more about this very
important issue now, check out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administrations webpage </span><a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At about four or five months out, the albatross chicks are at an interesting stage of development. It seems like a lot of chicks are “throwing” their first bolus as new ones appear every day on the roads and paths that I travel.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nearly all chicks are also showing some signs of molting into their adult feathers with most seeming to be stuck in an “awkward stage” though some have pretty impressive suits of feathers. Although still very attached to their nest sites, many chicks are now able to stand tall on their legs and even stroll around a bit. They also seem anxious to flap their ever growing wings, especially during strong winds or bouts of rain.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At four to five months of age, Laysan Albatross chicks exhibit a variety of stages of development and behavior. Upper left: Chick at advanced stage of molting showing an impressive suit of feathers; Middle: Many chicks now have the strength in their leg muscles to stand and even walk short distances; Lower right: It is common to see chicks excercising their wing muscles. especially during gusts of wind or periods of rain.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Given how many albatross chicks are around here (literally
hundreds of thousands), it’s hard not to pay attention to them and to
appreciate the progress they show in their continued growth and development. Besides, what else are you
going to do on the weekends here at Midway Atoll?</span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-43446581759165166432016-05-08T23:11:00.002-11:002016-10-17T20:19:28.094-11:00Sharks, Turtles, and Seals <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the bulk of the work I and the local Fish and Wildlife
staff are involved with here at Midway Atoll pertains to restoring degraded
lands to better support wildlife, the place that these small islands hold
within the larger seascape is something that everyone here thinks about daily. In fact, Midway Atoll National Wildlife
refuge is just a small part of the vast <i><a href="http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/welcome.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument</a></i> which encompasses 139,797 square miles. (If you want to know how the name “Papahānaumokuākea”, was chosen, what it
means, and how to pronounce it, click <a href="http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/about/name.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The problem with large numbers is that they can be hard to comprehend,
but 139,797 square miles is a really big area, so big you could fit all the US
national parks within it. Stretching from the island of Nihoa just west of Kaua’I
to Kure Atoll (a distance equal to that of New York City to Omaha), the
monument is mostly deep ocean but it encompasses 11 islands and atolls and
hundreds of miles of coral reef. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sharks, Turtles, and Seals are constant reminders of the
fact that Midway Atoll is surrounded by a big, wild ocean and testimony to the
conservation importance of this place. Of these, I will admit to only seeing
the latter two so far, but since I like to swim and snorkel, sharks are on my
mind a lot and even though I will admit to having some fear about encountering
a shark, I also look forward to seeing some while I’m here. Like many top
predators, sharks are declining worldwide. Highly sought after as food, trophies,
and other uses, and also vulnerable to marine pollution and industrial fishing
practices, <a href="http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/global-shark-conservation" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nearly half of shark species are at risk of extinction</a> though recently sharks have
received more <a href="http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2013/07/7_15_13shark_conservation_us_and_abroad.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">protection in both the United States and abroad</a>. At Midway four shark species are seen
regularly: Galapagos Shark, Blacktip Reef Shark, Whitetip Reef Shark, and Tiger
Shark. Of these the Tiger Shark has the
worst reputation and I am told that if I see one while swimming, I should exit
the water quickly. Some sharks, including Whitetip Reef Sharks, distinguish themselves from other fishes by seemingly resting on the bottom of the ocean for long periods of time. Although I'm keen to see sharks here at Midway I'd be perfectly content if I got to see them while standing on the pier!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtzlZfF8QmmEpv6PidXbN4CoYsV5KNZ9LKoEMOsSkL9497QIzqZCdTwRYThD1oUNJnQyBAQo_kgEpJ1vthqNQWnXiKYVs3Yc-EQeGpOhfuDgE5N9o1zge2VryGiGSs2zBXFohsIdJXKA/s1600/Slide1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtzlZfF8QmmEpv6PidXbN4CoYsV5KNZ9LKoEMOsSkL9497QIzqZCdTwRYThD1oUNJnQyBAQo_kgEpJ1vthqNQWnXiKYVs3Yc-EQeGpOhfuDgE5N9o1zge2VryGiGSs2zBXFohsIdJXKA/s640/Slide1.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Sharks are frequent visitors to the deep water harbor on Sand Island. Swimming is not allowed there!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like the albatrosses, petrels, and terns, sea turtles and
seals lead a dual life, spending time both in the ocean and on land. Although six species of
sea turtle occur in the Pacific, only two regularly occur in the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands: Green Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles. Hawaiian green sea
turtles, a genetically distinct race of the much more widespread </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sea_turtle" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Green Sea Turtle</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> are a
common sight at Midway Atoll. For decades they have frequented a certain beach –
aptly called </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turtle Beach</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> – on Sand
Island which is just a five minute bike ride from my house. I don’t actually
ever go to turtle beach to check them out as they are sensitive to disturbance
and thus it’s not permitted. But because they spend a bit of time foraging on
algae at the nearby Cargo Pier where I go snorkeling, I see them pretty regularly.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Green Sea Turtles throughout
the world have had a hard road for some time. Hunted for their meat, their eggs
taken from their nests to be consumed as delicacies, and entangled in both
fishing nets and marine debris populations are in pretty bad shape. Because of
this many green sea turtle populations, including those found throughout the
Hawaian Islands, are listed as </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Threatened</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
by the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">US Endangered Species Act</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. The
protection seems to be working as </span><a href="http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_green_sea_turtle.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">populations haveincreased by about 50% in the past 25 years</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hawaiian green turtles are large (up to 400
lbs), very long lived (at least 60-70 years), and nest exclusively at a place
called <i><a href="http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/visit/ffs.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">French Frigate Shoals</a></i>, more than 500 miles from Midway!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Watching turtles swim is something I really
appreciate about living here at Midway. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They show an amazing combination of grace,
power, and determination in their movements.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtx_LITzN8j4jr2AnZAfvvoL5n4X3Pzrv8QloflQGjXyaiSEewYz3C4Mdh3EAhpTqPpFFTFVL8fXXSPjbjP14VruKWl_vSecI5Ack0fXrhFuWWlDaCNTZEb6DYurgx65jAcMGUxQ4djOM/s1600/Slide2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtx_LITzN8j4jr2AnZAfvvoL5n4X3Pzrv8QloflQGjXyaiSEewYz3C4Mdh3EAhpTqPpFFTFVL8fXXSPjbjP14VruKWl_vSecI5Ack0fXrhFuWWlDaCNTZEb6DYurgx65jAcMGUxQ4djOM/s640/Slide2.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Upper left: Turtles frequently bask on “Turtle Beach” on Sand Island. Basking allows turtles to conserve energy and regulate their body temperature. Lower right: Turtles often are seen swimming and diving from the Cargo Pier just to the west of Turtle Beach. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The <a href="http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_hms_index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HawaiianMonk Seal</a> is one of just three monk seal species worldwide, all of which
occur in tropical climates. All monk seal species have been exploited
extensively by human hunters and are either endangered (Hawaiian and
Mediterranean monk seals) or extinct (Caribbean Monk Seal). Hawaiian monk seals live only in the Hawaiian
Islands and despite the protection afforded them by the Endangered Species Act
and the Marine Mammal Protection act, still number only around 1000 individuals
today of which the vast majority live in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Monument.
These seals face myriad threats which range from entanglement in marine debris
to harassment by people (seals have even been found dead with gunshot wounds on
the Main Islands!). The latter isn’t a
big deal here in the Northwestern Islands because there are only 50 or so
people and they areas frequented by seals are strictly off limits. Out here
though, <a href="http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_hms_population_threats.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">competitionfor food with fish and predation by sharks are major factors limiting thepopulations</a>. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrRbfOJhfOet0xC1u67U7WX6fJG1CV4ydGawnSF6MB_7RTDLnx-U_M-3Y4T1V68WDtjmR7X_cIyCxf_EbDqyke3F6tAG_nkGjbKdQl3uz7l3tuMtJzZAaX8igV8zIuJ67q8RLr5QA_ko/s1600/Slide3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrRbfOJhfOet0xC1u67U7WX6fJG1CV4ydGawnSF6MB_7RTDLnx-U_M-3Y4T1V68WDtjmR7X_cIyCxf_EbDqyke3F6tAG_nkGjbKdQl3uz7l3tuMtJzZAaX8igV8zIuJ67q8RLr5QA_ko/s640/Slide3.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Upper left: Visitors to Kaena Point (look for blue umbrella
in the rocks) on the island of Oahu ignore the Do Not Disturb signs meant to
protect Hawaiian Monk Seals; Lower right: A mother and pup rest, undisturbed on
a beach on Eastern Island, Midway Atoll.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Living with seals is a real privilege though we must always be
careful as to not to accidentally disturb them. Earlier this week while walking
on the beach, my friend Ann Humphrey and I accidentally came upon a mother with
a young pup hauled out on the sand and had to quickly turnaround and take a
very long and inconvenient route behind the dunes to avoid them. Seals are a
top priority here on Midway and, in fact, two entire sides of the island (including
the former “Officer’s Beach”) are off limits because of their popularity with
the Hawaiian Monk Seal!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Learning about the lives of far ranging, ocean inhabitants like sharks, turtles, and seals makes me wonder about all the amazing places within across the vast area that makes up the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Papahānaumokuākea Marine Monument. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If, like me, you are interested in seeing these places you can take a <a href="http://in%20take%20a%20look%20at%20noaa%27s/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"virtual visit" at NOAA's website</a>. </span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-15210014442102990662016-05-01T19:59:00.001-11:002016-10-17T20:17:37.275-11:00Trading Guns for Goonies<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The recent evolution from Naval Air Station to Wildlife Refuge is just one of many changes Midway Atoll has experienced in the past 150 years. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were for thousands of years an profoundly important place for the native people inhabiting the archipelago even if they were never permanently inhabited. In Hawaiian cosmology, <i>Papahänaumokuäkea</i> (pronounced Pa-pa-hah-now-mo-koo-ah-keh-ah), as this remote area is known, is believed to be the source of all life, all building up from the humble coral polyp. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward to the 19<sup>th</sup> century. Many European
nations as well as the United States were discovering a variety of uses for the
remote islands of the Pacific, from whaling to sugar plantations, and the
harvesting of bird guano to be used for fertilizer. The first known landing of
a Euro-American at Midway Atoll was merchant Captain N.C. Brooks In 1859; in short-order
the US “took possession” of the islands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the turn of the 20<sup>th</sup> century the telegraph was
the primary mode of long-distance communication and although a cable system
spanning the Atlantic was completed in 1866, crossing the Pacific was a more
difficult endeavor. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Pacific_Cable_Company">Commercial
Pacific Cable Company</a>, founded in 1901, took on the challenge and
established a series of cable stations (basically hubs) spanning 6,912 miles across
the Pacific with stations at Honolulu, Midway, Guam, and Manila in the Philippines.
The station on Sand Island at Midway was established in 1903 and only one of
the original buildings still stands. It is a beautiful and elegant building
that quickly engages my imagination, making me wonder what it must have been
like to be here during those times. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnAA6I0hzIcfZB9o-yab_WYiUGi7yXWqqGbQmZBzW9Cds3dmVogm1f15k8rjS_AeY6QSZkkjv8O36vkY0evvglqOxPJsdL1qXPovojGKospd8aCdiUOzf7C4ON4XMV3C8htFtqgNiDT0/s1600/Slide1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnAA6I0hzIcfZB9o-yab_WYiUGi7yXWqqGbQmZBzW9Cds3dmVogm1f15k8rjS_AeY6QSZkkjv8O36vkY0evvglqOxPJsdL1qXPovojGKospd8aCdiUOzf7C4ON4XMV3C8htFtqgNiDT0/s640/Slide1.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Office of the Commercial Cable Company on Sand Island, Midway Atoll
(photo taken 2016)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn’t long before the worth of the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands for wildlife was recognized. In 1909, US President Teddy Roosevelt designated
the islands as a bird sanctuary as a response to hunters who were decimating
populations of the docile birds that bred there to be sold in a lucrative
market that supplied feathers for everything from ladies hats to pillows. My
grandmother once pulled a box of feathers out of her closet that she said
belonged to her mother. Maybe there was a tail feather from a red-tailed tropicbird
in there that was taken at Midway?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With tensions building in the 1930s and the prospect of a
second world war looming, the US Military turned its attention to Midway Atoll due
to its strategic location “midway” between California and Japan. Building of a
runway on Eastern Island began in 1940 and the next year <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Facility_Midway_Island">U.S.
Naval Air Station Midway</a> was commissioned. The base was bombed by Japanese
ships on their way to Pearl Harbor and in late 1942 they mounted an air attack
on the islands. E.H. Van Blaricom, a gentleman who lives in Wallowa County (the
place I call home), was sent to Midway as a young Marine to help fend off the
Japanese attack. I had the good fortune of visiting Van shortly before leaving for Midway and hearing his accounts of that
harrowing time (including having to hop over barbed wire to swim in the ocean) and it is something I think about often during my time here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeuBTlEQi6aXoiY3hpJfiae6kyKtmdpL4OnRizHRyCemtLVCM0YrcdkXE2yvLF6wN1xr0IbmYmIvS5IsseoDx-1Ic8AqCcm0yuS5YHlOOsjZMZynqP7ZT5LHUn479BmLG7tbQztyvGcM/s1600/Slide2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeuBTlEQi6aXoiY3hpJfiae6kyKtmdpL4OnRizHRyCemtLVCM0YrcdkXE2yvLF6wN1xr0IbmYmIvS5IsseoDx-1Ic8AqCcm0yuS5YHlOOsjZMZynqP7ZT5LHUn479BmLG7tbQztyvGcM/s1600/Slide2.PNG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Midway Atoll has played an important role in US miltary history.
Clockwise: World War II era gun on Eastern Island; Veteran E.H.
VanBlaricom at his home in Joseph, Oregon (standing to the right of his
friend, Ralph Swinehart); Naval Air Station greeting area at Henderson Field on
Sand Island).<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Battle of Midway, an epic naval battle between the
better equipped Japanese Fleet and the US Navy took place soon after and was
considered both an important turning point in the war and also one of the most
important naval battles in US History. There is even a Hollywood movie about it,
</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074899/">Midway</a></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">starring Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and John Coburn, and Toshiro Mifune that is
worth watching.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Naval Air Station at Midway not only persisted but
thrived through the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the Korean War and the Cold War
with, at times, up to 4,000 personnel stationed there. But with the falling of
the Berlin wall and Perestroika in the mid-1980s the need for such a facility
became to be questioned. At the same time, the public’s awareness regarding
environmental issues was building and the new science of <i>Conservation Biology </i>provided the needed justification for protecting
Midway as refuge for wildlife. In 1988, the federal government took the first step
towards making Midway a National Wildlife refuge and in 1997 the Navy finally exited
the stage. During the ceremony marking the transition from the Department of
Defense to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of Interior), Secretary
of the Navy Dalton remarked that the nation was “Trading Guns for Goonies” ("gooney bird" being the colloquial term for albatross). Since
that time, <a href="http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/">Midway Atoll
National Wildlife Refuge</a> has been managed solely for the benefit of wildlife.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXSRCO9g9tIjJctgCfNeJvlviCBLhG8mf3ZtPifzyeIg7qJV17kJfdzHEpAkpZ7jZM7f9cGvlaCJPSv_aNPQAAZ4bSC0f9ftgPVuMZOGR9p1cRF53HyKuOzfYuTB5na8SMtiO6KxACCw/s1600/Slide4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXSRCO9g9tIjJctgCfNeJvlviCBLhG8mf3ZtPifzyeIg7qJV17kJfdzHEpAkpZ7jZM7f9cGvlaCJPSv_aNPQAAZ4bSC0f9ftgPVuMZOGR9p1cRF53HyKuOzfYuTB5na8SMtiO6KxACCw/s640/Slide4.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laysan and black-footed albatross inhabit an abandoned runway on Eastern Island, Midway Atoll</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
of the most interesting things about living here at Midway is the rich history
of the place. Evidence of its complicated past is everywhere, from the lone
standing cable station building to the harbor, the old barracks, the war
relics, etc. It’s kind of like a ghost town but not really as many of the
buildings have been re-purposed here to suit the needs of the refuge. The Naval
Commander’s house now serves as the residence of the Refuge Manager, our office
is in what was once a ceramics manufacturing shop, and contractors (mostly men from Thailand) share
houses that were once reserved for Navy officers.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Buildings once erected to serve the Naval Station are now used to run the wildlife refuge. Clockwise from upper left; Refuge Headquarters occupies what was formerly a ceramics manufacturing shop; Charlie Barracks now houses visiting researchers, houses that once were reserved for Naval Officers now house contractors (mostly men from Thailand) and volunteers; The "Midway House" was formerly the residence of the Naval Commander but now houses the Refuge Manager.</td></tr>
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around by the piers I decided to take a look inside the old Harbor Masters Office
and found that it was now a Buddhist Temple.<br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Harbor Office to Buddhist Temple!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;">The myriad ways that Midway continues to re-invent itself is simply fascinating and I can look forward to discovering something new nearly every day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Postscript: Many of the facts and figures included here were
gleaned from the US Fish and Wildlife Services “Visitor Binder”, an excellent
resource whose authors I extend my sincere appreciation.</i></span></div>
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Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-77052296127640820882016-04-24T22:33:00.001-11:002016-10-17T20:18:01.563-11:00Why Midway? (The Birds!)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many answers to the question "Why Midway?" although maybe they are all related. I realized after my <a href="http://18-on-midway.blogspot.com/2016/04/arrival.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">first post</a> that I failed to answer the most obvious one which is "Why am I here at Midway?" so I'll tackle that before trying to answer the others.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On Sand Island with Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm here because I was offered a job with the </span><a href="http://refugeassociation.org/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">National Wildlife Refuge Association</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to work here for 18 months helping the US Fish and Wildlife Service with their habitat restoration efforts at the </span><a href="http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. In short, the Service is undertaking a massive effort here to turn a former Naval Air Station back into prime habitat for a variety of wildlife, including various seabird species, a highly endangered duck, Hawaiian monk seals, and green sea turtles. It's a significant challenge and my role here is to help the refuge staff utilize science to its greatest effect. What exactly this will entail isn't clear quite yet, but will likely include setting up monitoring programs to help them figure out how to best go about converting degraded habitats (think airport runways and areas where large barracks once stood) into thriving, native plant-dominated ecosystems that benefit various, threatened and endangered, wildlife species. And although the decision to leave my job at The Nature Conservancy was difficult, it seemed like after 13 years working as an ecologist on their Zumwalt Prairie conservation project, the time was right to take on a new challenge </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in a totally different environment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So now I'll try to answer the "Why Midway?" question from another angle, specifically, "Why is Midway such an important place?" and "Why is the US Fish and Wildlife Service investing so much effort into restoring it?". The most simple answer these questions is "The birds!". Midway Atoll is one of 10 sites that make up the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and is part of the <a href="http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/wheritage/refuge.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument</a>, an area of exceptional biological significance for both it's marine resources (think coral reefs, whales, seals, fishes, sea turtles) and also for plants and animals that inhabit these remote islands, reefs, and pinnacles. In this latter category are species that are either endemic to (i.e., evolved on and live only on) these small islands or species that may have once inhabited the main Hawaiian islands but no longer occur there because of their long history of human occupation. And while Midway Atoll undoubtedly plays a role in all of this, it is its importance for seabirds that really put makes it stand out as a globally significant area for conservation. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfc7TyMtPeQKkDG0cWj3A6kjq1jIt6J6dJTGWTOa_GR9fmBMh2oUT21QhGQf5E9bC3FYu9YoQAl__0cB1TZm2-Ckxlk8Y1qViZh4w3_lAwC9S98IB4O3u8mrd4cQtqyDGavYwAMLb1H0/s1600/20160413_165859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfc7TyMtPeQKkDG0cWj3A6kjq1jIt6J6dJTGWTOa_GR9fmBMh2oUT21QhGQf5E9bC3FYu9YoQAl__0cB1TZm2-Ckxlk8Y1qViZh4w3_lAwC9S98IB4O3u8mrd4cQtqyDGavYwAMLb1H0/s640/20160413_165859.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thousands of Laysan albatross now nest on the former Naval Station "parade grounds" on Sand Island. These birds breed in the winter and when this photo was taken in April 2016, the chicks, about 3 1/2 months old were brown and flightless.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eighteen seabird breed on the three islands (Sand, Eastern, and Spit) that make up Midway Atoll, including three species of albatross (Laysan, black-footed, and short-tailed); Bonin petrel; wedge-tailed </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">shearwater; </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tristam's storm-petrel; white- and red-tailed </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tropicbirds;</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> masked, brown, and red-footed </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">boobys; great frigatebird; and four species of tern (little, least, sooty, and gray-backed). Many seabirds have long breeding cycles which make their chicks vulnerable to predation. Over the course of many thousands of years, they have adapted to this by choosing to breed on small, remote islands where predators were absent. As we, humans, extended our range to include these faraway places, bringing with us our beloved </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">cats and dogs (and also our less-loved rats!) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">seabirds have suffered. Midway's importance for seabirds is evident in its native Hawaiian name, <i>Pihemanu</i> which means "loud din of birds" and although Midway has had over one hundred years of human use, nearly all of the seabirds have persisted, albeit some in very reduced numbers (other types of birds were not so lucky, but we'll save that for another post). The critical role that Midway Atoll plays for seabirds prompted the US government to designate it a wildlife refuge in 1988.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two species seabirds that seem to really dominate Sand Island, where I spend most of my time, are Laysan albatross Bonin petrel. Nearly three-quarters of the worlds <a href="http://www.fws.gov/nwrs/threecolumn.aspx?id=2147502885" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Laysan albatross</a> breed on Midway Atoll and over half a million nest across the three islands. These very large (80 inch wingspan) and long-lived birds typically don't breed until they are 9 or 10 years old and take mate for life. A single egg is layed each year and it takes 5-6 months for it to grow large enough to fly. Both the male and female share the duties of raising the chick which involves flying out to sea -- sometimes for days at a time and travelling hundreds of miles -- to feed on fish, eggs, squid and such before returning to the island where the food is then regurgitated to feed the chick. The oldest known wild bird in the world is a female Laysan albatross, appropriately given the name <i><a href="http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/wildlife_and_habitat/Wisdom_Profile.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wisdom</a>.</i> She is at least 65 years old and currently is raising a chick just a short distance from my house here on Sand Island. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult Laysan albatross feeding its chick</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While reading about Laysan albatross is certainly interesting, living with them makes you appreciate them in a more complete way. At any given time there are probably fifty to one hundred albatross in my little "yard" and I often have to squeeze around a nestling while trying to get through the front door. As animals that have not evolved around people, they show no fear of us. Sitting outside today during the afternoon I had several adult albatrosses waddle up to me and nibble on my shoe. They also don't pay much attention to vehicles and you have to really work hard to avoid them when riding a bike or driving one of the golf carts we use to transport materials for work. Then there is the noise factor. Although chicks are pretty quiet, adults and sub-adults spend an enormous time in courtship activities, click here to see a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuGF56aJ85s" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">video on youtube</a> to get an idea of what one pair sounds like. Then magnify this by 50 or 100 to get an idea of what it sounds like at my house or at the office. They are incredibly noisy but also very curious and entertaining to be around and I look forward to getting to know them better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's getting late but I need to say something about <a href="http://www.fws.gov/nwrs/threecolumn.aspx?id=2147503211" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bonin petrel</a>, the other species that seems to be everywhere here on Sand Island. This bird seems to be mostly nocturnal and builds its nests in burrows that it excavates. Other than the northwestern Hawaiian islands this species also breeds on several islands in Japan but Midway Atoll hosts its largest population. At night the skies swarm with Bonin petrels and they make a strange shrieking and growling sounds and are attracted to lights. Because of this, all shades must be closed in our houses at night to avoid birds crashing into the windows. It also means that wearing a headlamp outdoors is contraindicated you have a good chance of having a petrel fly into your face!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8bK956x1ae7kkoZQYugaCQU351sEFCP8fVHG2xkqx5ahiEyRTZ617ITcZmWmciQjZNmO6BYC_gMvqCjfMGGqyMlqr6S5AXMhvIwxbcL_2lP5j4UveG9fxgu0J_TqQJw66GCdA1DBW6k/s1600/20160418_204504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8bK956x1ae7kkoZQYugaCQU351sEFCP8fVHG2xkqx5ahiEyRTZ617ITcZmWmciQjZNmO6BYC_gMvqCjfMGGqyMlqr6S5AXMhvIwxbcL_2lP5j4UveG9fxgu0J_TqQJw66GCdA1DBW6k/s400/20160418_204504.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of Bonin petrels outside my house one night</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bonin petrels are out of sight during the day (no one seems to be sure though if they are underground or out at sea) but not out of mind because anytime you leave a paved area you need to be very careful where you walk so as not to fall into one of their burrows. At this time of year, the burrows usually contain a chick so if you step into one you need to find out if you buried a chick and rescue it if you did. This entails getting down on your knees an digging out the sand carefully, handful by handful. Often, you find a very warm gray ball of down that just fits in the palm of your hand. A Bonin petrel chick! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Bonin petrel chick steps out of its burrow on a warm night for some fresh air</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that's a quick introduction to some of the more abundant bird life here at Midway Atoll. In future posts I'll write about other birds but also on other topics as well so stay tuned!</span>Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1703651436288256544.post-83869648841233405872016-04-17T21:19:00.002-11:002016-10-17T20:44:17.091-11:00ArrivalI arrived on Sand Island Tuesday night along with 16 other passengers on a fancy chartered jet. The flight was timed so as to arrive on Midway one hour past sunset thereby avoiding having the plane colliding with thousands of soaring albatross. It worked! In fact, we didn't even hit any Bonin Petrels either, which is amazing given how many of these nocturnal birds were in the air that night. After landing we were given quick a quick briefing on the essentials, such as what do to if the there was a tsunami alert, and then taken to our quarters in golf carts, the drivers continually swerving to avoid running over albatrosses on the small paths we drove upon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHx4CCKASkVp6kQWZePguSpj8-FRajevHCDsDUva2hcBgKGf7qQ37qO6gOZhjnwMvbuQeGgkT7xBGxEKtpIh6jXxknEB23YcEOqRniMzx0llJ590QXVgFm3f5FQZbIGZbcXdfeGrSJyxo/s1600/20160412_210930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHx4CCKASkVp6kQWZePguSpj8-FRajevHCDsDUva2hcBgKGf7qQ37qO6gOZhjnwMvbuQeGgkT7xBGxEKtpIh6jXxknEB23YcEOqRniMzx0llJ590QXVgFm3f5FQZbIGZbcXdfeGrSJyxo/s400/20160412_210930.jpg" title="Shuttling from the plane to the residences on the first night" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Travelling on the island is done on foot, by golf cart or bicycle</td></tr>
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Over the next couple of days I took in my new surroundings but had a hard time making much sense of it. There are just so disparate facets to Midway, each of which telling a completely different story and forcing the observer to confront many different realities. Midway is: a sunken volcano sitting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, three islands (Sand, Eastern, and Spit) enclosed within a huge coral reef, part of a US Marine National Monument, a giant seabird colony that hosts over three-quarters of the world's entire population of Laysan albatross, a former US naval air station with many buildings in various states of disintegration, an important historical site that played a key role in the World War II, and a unique and peculiar community composed of US Fish and Wildlife Service Staff, employees of Chugach Corporation (more than half of which are men from Thailand) that live together in this faraway outpost of civilization.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laysan Albatross on the Parade Grounds</td></tr>
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I wasn't sure how much I'd be inspired to write about my experiences here on Midway. Blogging, I thought, was kinda passe and I figured there is just so much information out there and who really needs more? But after a few days here in nearly total confusion I am convinced that there is an important story to be told, even if I don't know what it is yet! So if you're interested, stay tuned and join me in trying to make sense of it all.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Midway was an important Navy base during WWII</td></tr>
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<br />Rob Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139256144895437026noreply@blogger.com4