Night Walking with the Birds

THE NIGHT RANGER AND PAA PETROL PATROL
By Hugh Story
6/17/2010

EGG-SPRESS YOURSELF
A clear night speckled with limitless stars blanketed our Wednesday night and our group was giddy after an afternoon of sifting through albatross boluses and starting our own Olympics-bound Synchronized Cargo Pier Jumping Team. Lookout Slovenia!

Led by U.S.Parks and Wildlife Services Manager Tracy Ammerman, our group set off to complete our mission: Locate a young ‘Ua’u, otherwise known as the Bonin Petrel, during a leisurely night’s stroll through the roads of Midway Atoll.

Although similar in sound, it should not be confused with petrol. The Bonin Petrel or Pterodroma hypoleuca, is an endemic bird to the Midway Atoll. I found it to not a particularly graceful bird when it comes to walking, as the Petrel can often be found stumbling about like a man making his way home after a night of heavy drinking. But still a beautiful bird nonetheless.

The journey started out safe enough but we would soon find out otherwise.
“Crack!”
“Splat!”
“Oh my God! What was that!?”
“Get the light! Get a light!”
An egg had just come out of nowhere and several members of the group just got yoked. We attempted to CSI the situation, putting forth several theories but no culprit was located. It was written off as a prank pulled off by adolescent teenage birds out blowing off some steam. Toilet paper and shaving cream didn’t follow so we continued.

Eureka! We found one. Tracy, our Night Ranger, walks over and scoops up the confused Petrel who must have been dazed with all the onlookers around it. We examined its docile behavior and white, black and grey feathers. It was magnificent. Our mission was a success allowing us to prove once again that a ‘bird in the hand is…” well you know how the rest goes.

THE BARKING BUSH AND AVE MARIA
“Ummm..did that bush just bark at me?”- I inquired to one of my fellow patrolman, certain that I had perhaps ingested too much Orange Tang over the last few days. But that wasn’t so…the bush WAS barking in a way along with a variety of other calls of birds found on the atoll. We had arrived at the sound station designed to imitate the sounds of native birds to assist in pairing. The Bulwer’s Petrel, or Bulweria bulwerii, is known for its distinctive sound to that of a barking dog.
Next to the sound station, was a shrine with “Ave Maria” inscribed on it. That thing too would not be immune to our photography as we began snapping pictures of it in assembly line fashion. I found it all to be a bit surreal…boluses, birds, barking bushes and a Hail Mary but a perfect way to end a magical day on Midway Atoll.

Anyone with information about the recent egging is asked to call us.

Albatross Stroll Module

Day 2- Albatross Module by R. Brennon

Can’t believe its Wednesday already! We’ve been on Midway now for two whole days. It’s my job to blog about our adventures this morning.

We were very fortunate to have John Klavitter, of FWS, talk to us about the albatross (or moli). He’s extremely knowledgeable, and he’s also extremely approachable – a wonderful combination. John has years of experience with the albatross and he happily answered all of our questions. It was good planning to meet with John on our second day on island, in that it gave us a deeper understanding of these amazing creatures we’re all conscientiously weaving around all day (everyone moves for the albatross – the golf carts, the bikes, the walkers –everyone). We learned a bunch of things from his talk. There’s too much to put into a blog, but here's just a couple of the facts that I thought were interesting:
There are 1.5 million albatross on Midway
There’s a chemical in the albatross’s eyes that gives them the ability to see at night
There are four common threads between the courting dances of different species of albatross: spreading wings, standing up on tippy toes, making some sort of call, and clacking their bills
Albatross chicks don’t produce their first bolus until they are about 4 months old…so that means that they collect a LOT of plastic in their gut through feeding

We've been learning about the albatross on our own, as well. We can't help but observe them as we move around the island. They are scattered everywhere, chicks sitting within a beaks reach, juveniles strutting about looking for love, hard working adults landing like jet planes in the middle of a block party. Juveniles erupt in spontaneous dances in groups of two or three or four. An earthen sea of endless somber chicks stretches to the horizon. The chicks look as if they've started getting dressed up in feather boas and wacky wigs, but quit halfway through their preparations. It would be impossible to go anywhere on the island and not look at the albatross.

They are amazingly big birds. Here's a picture to give some sense of scale...and remember, this is a fledgling, not an adult. The chicks sit back on their haunches, raising their feet up like they're lounging in reclining chairs no one else can see. They sit and patiently wait for their parents to bring their next meal. The adults move both through the air and on the ground. They are ungainly on land, waddling around on their big spatulas of feet, but once they hit the air they soar. Sometimes the chicks and adults seem to cuddle, sitting close to each other and touching each other gently.

All day long and into the night, the albatross make me laugh...not at them, but with joy. Their beauty and grace and clumsiness and goofy looks and lack of fear and novel voice all combine to create a creature impossible to ignore. They deserve our respect, and they deserve our efforts to stop impacting them negatively. One small choice by each person who reads this to change their habits in using and buying plastic can make a difference. It WILL make a difference. My choice is never to buy another plastic lighter. I've seen too many here on this island, and I know the path those lighters took to get here.

Cargo Pier Photo Shoot

Cargo Pier by J. Barrett

PAA Blog Post - Day 2: Cargo Pier (J.Barrett)

Wednesday afternoon we had some time to explore the nearshore waters surrounding the Cargo Pier. Aside from the mind-blowing blue hues, the most dramatic feature is the sudden drop-off. Long ago, the area just offshore was blasted and dredged to create a large dock for barges and ships. When NOAA vessels such as the Hi‘ialakai and the Oscar Sette arrive at Midway, this is where they dock.

We donned our snorkel gear and swam out over the sandy bottom, quickly reaching the drop-off. Not more than 30 yards from shore, clear warm water turned to a chilly blue abyss. Due to the depth and poor visibility from brisk winds, we headed for the shelter of the pier. The first piling we encountered was covered with small coral heads overgrown with algae and tangled with marine debris; a sad reminder of the long and complicated history of human impact on this seemingly pristine environment.

Looking deeper, we started to notice the fish. Large schools of goatfish and several species of ulua (a.k.a. Jacks) were the first to catch our attention. Then, further below, the faint silhouette of a large honu (Green sea turtle) headed in the direction of Turtle Beach where half a dozen other turtles were already hauled-out, basking on the beach. As we lingered, more fish began to emerge; nenue (a.k.a. chubs), Moorish Idol, needlefish, whitespotted toby, cornetfish and even a Hawaiian cleaner wrasse station.

This first taste of Midway marine life has everyone eager for our chance to explore part of the atoll’s reef of Friday afternoon!