tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43165019286528314102024-03-04T20:46:49.503-08:00Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge VolunteerThis blog will detail the time I spend during the Winter and Spring of 2009 and 2010 on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. I will be volunteering for U.S. Fish and Wildlife who manage the refuge. I am not representing U.S.F. and W. in this blog and any thoughts expressed or mistakes made are my own.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-77096927993577174982015-09-11T12:27:00.000-07:002015-09-11T12:56:00.359-07:00Midway ReportFor a variety of reasons I was unable to publish to this blog as often as a would have liked while I was on Midway. I'm off the atoll now and this synopsis is an effort to summarize my experiences over the past 2 1/2 months.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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What follows is a quick and dirty report of my recent stay
on Midway.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I left
Midway about noon Tuesday and had an uneventful flight. We had intense rain
showers off and on all morning before we left so folks were making good use of
the dryers so they would not be soaking wet for the flight home. We flew out
with the NOAA Marine Debris crew and they were able to identify the atolls that
we saw as we flew along the archipelago. We had good views of Pearl and Hermes
and fleeting glimpses of French Frigate Shoals and Tern Island, where I spent 4
months in 2008. </div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My work
while on island was a mixed bag. Lots of shoveling and hard labor so I could
eat anything that Pong and his wonderful kitchen crew presented. I didn’t
finish the 70 foot flagpole since the paint for the finish coat had to be
ordered. I did get all the scraping, wire brushing and prime coat finished so
it is ready for someone else to paint when the supplies arrive. I measured and
drew a rough plan of the cross on Cross point that had recently fallen. I was
assigned to reinstall another one but it became a job for several people and a
piece of heavy equipment so my role was small. I answered to Bret and he gave
me free rein. I tended to mix my hard labor and boring jobs with less demanding
work and eventually everything that was assigned was completed or well under
way. I did quite a bit of work at the Ave Maria site but was prevented from
repainting the memorial because of lead paint issues. I spent nearly a week
working with the American Battle Monument Commission contractors as they
installed a beautiful new mosaic panel in the Navy Memorial and installed a new
monument at the edge of the Inner Harbor honoring all who served during the
battle. I expected something specific to the submariners but that is not the
case. There has been no official announcement of either of these monuments as
the commission hopes to have an official unveiling later in the year. We were
asked not to publish anything about them until after their announcement. I cleaned
up around the Japanese fisherman’s memorial, removed the old broken down
plastic chain and installed 4 black floats to delineate the area. I think it
looks much better. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I re roofed the sign
at the old Galley in 2 stages, one side in early July, and the other side in
September after a White Tern chick was large enough to move out of the way
while I worked. Early in July there was a large die off of adult Laysan
Albatross. I didn’t hear an exact count but about 500 adult LAAL died, mostly
concentrated along the old runway near the 3 large water tanks. This kind of
die off is not unprecedented, but this particular die off and other similar
events in the past are unexplained. I pressure washed many sidewalks and drive
ways to clean up after the albatross chicks. On 2 different days I spent
several hours on Eastern and time on Sand trouble shooting the STAL nest camera
but was not successful at returning it to operation. I had a phone conversation
with the builder who offered many ideas but my work was not successful. The
climate and remoteness of Midway make the upkeep of outdoor electronic devices
very difficult. I witnessed the shorebird migration as birds arrived in groups
of a 100 or more from their nesting areas in Alaska. One day I made multiple
trips to the tarmac area in front of the old hangar for work and on the last trip
of the day a mixed flock of more than 100 shorebirds had landed. They had been
flying for 36 hours or more over water and landed on Midway. What a feat! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I continued the work that V began on the
composting project. The chipper shredder arrived and I used it to grind light
cardboard and vegetation and with added waste from the greenhouse I produced a
large compost pile. I worked on this project for several hours most weeks. My
compost piles were heating and working well when I left. There is still much to
accomplish if the compost operation is to reduce the waste stream on the
refuge. I taught Origami on Monday evenings and had from 3 to 8 students.
Siripong was folding constantly when I left so it is fun to leave that kind of
activity behind. On 7-25 I mentioned in my journal that 4 weeks seemed a long
time when I was on the Townsend Cromwell but I’m just getting started here on
Midway. Each time I’ve been back the veteran Thai guys welcome me with open
arms and I have a set of old friends instantly. I read more on Midway than I do
at home and my reading this time included: The recent Steve Jobs biography, The
Warmth of Other Suns, Kent Haruff’s , Where you Once Belonged, Grandma Gatewood’s
Walk, Bill Bryson’s Neither Here Nor There, Dan Brown’s Inferno, My Beloved
World, a reminiscence by Sonia Sotomayor, and Secret Daughter, by Shilpi Somaya
Gowada. Not having much TV helps to increase my reading. There was a large
outbreak of Botulism among the Laysan Ducks and I had 2 of the seeps to check
most mornings, 7 days per week. The sick birds can be caught and usually rehabilitated
successfully and picking up the dead birds helps prevent the spread of the
toxin. We had 3 hurricanes to keep track of at one point in time but managed to
avoid all 3. We had a short but intense rain and wind event in the middle of the
night as one storm was at its closest, which was impressive, but caused little
damage. I snorkeled almost every weekend but the visibility was consistently
bad. Interestingly enough the clearest water we saw was during a windy day that
saw impressive choppy waves under the pier but visibility in the water was at
least 30 feet. There was a group of large Jacks under the pier most days and
Ulua to at least 4 feet circling and watching these strange mammals in the
water. Also large turtles were seen most days. I saw an event under the pier that
was laughable but rare. A turtle fart!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My work included an ongoing effort to remove hazards to the albatross. I
coordinated filling with sand, a large vault near the old fuel farm. The cover
had failed and several dead albatross were found inside before we filled it. I
also removed many pieces of rebar sticking up out of the sand in various areas
on Sand Island. I left a list of hazards that were too large for me to remediate without heavy equipment and I hope they are completed before the
albatross return. The Bonin Petrels, which fly at night, were back in huge
numbers. You could sit in a comfortable spot before sunset and as the sky began
darkening the Petrels began flying. When it was just barely bright enough to
see them there would be thousands in view. As the evening progresses they land
and begin uttering loud, moaning calls. A flashlight is mandatory after dark to
prevent stepping on one, or ridding over them with your bicycle. My favorite
project was building a trail around the Cable House building. As part of the
MOU to remove the 3 structures that were falling down a plan was agreed to that
included replanting the area with native plants and building an interpretive
trail. Bret had a rough plan and I laid out the trail and started work alone.
It included laying plastic mesh fencing, and burying the edges 1 foot deep or
more to prevent petrels from digging underneath. After this shade cloth was
laid over the top and nailed down with 12 inch spikes. The last step was
pushing/pounding 6 inch staples thorough both cloth and mesh about every foot.
I had the help and advice of a 3 man Thai crew on 3 different days. We
shoveled, raked, and pounded alongside each other for days but occasionally
they wanted to carry something or in other ways respect the old guy. They were
a great, hard working crew. For a few years the trail will be a lasting
reminder of my visit. For part of my stay I lived in one of the Officers houses
with 2 women who were my housemates in 2010. It was fun to be back together and
share stories of the past 5 years. Megan and Ann have both continued to
volunteer/work in bird colonies in the NW islands and beyond. The social time I
shared with the Thai guys has always been fun. Even though we don’t share a
common language I still consider several of them as loyal friends. Riding my
bike home from work one Friday afternoon several friends and acquaintances were
working at a table in the garden plot so I stopped to see what important work
was happening. I was immediately offered a beer. This became a regular Friday
afternoon ritual. It often included an invitation to Aree House for dinner. E,
one of the men I spent days working with on the trail, was an excellent cook.
He prepared, from scratch, wonderful meals that were beautifully presented.
Because I was the old guy, I was pampered to the point of embarrassment. While
4 or 5 of us ate communally around the coffee table a poker game would begin
with 6 or 7 other familiar faces. On a bike ride to Clipper House for dinner
one afternoon I was stopped by Go, one of my Thai friends, and he put an iphone
in my hands. On the other end was his wife in Thailand via Skype video. I
uttered the only greeting that I know in Thai, Sa va de kap, and smiled a lot.
It is not hard to smile in a situation like that. So goes cultural life on
Midway. As the botulism outbreak intensified I spent several days helping
Megan, my housemate from 2010, doctor sick ducks. What a privilege to handle
and help a bird that has a world population of about 1,000 individuals. Because
of Midway’s isolation supplies for various jobs are difficult to come by. I am
a person that scrounges constantly at home to supply materials for my various
projects. Even though scrounging doesn’t appear on my resume it certainly was
put to good use on the atoll. I spent hours in the bone yard looking for
materials. By the time I left it was like going shopping, because I would
remember seeing something from past trips and drive my cart to the right spot
and pick it up. After each trip to Midway: 3 ½ months in 2009, 3 ½ months in
2010, a month for the albatross count in winter 2011/12, a month for the
albatross count in 2012/2013 and now 2 ½ months in 2015 I’ve expected not to
return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kathy asked me at breakfast
Tuesday if I was looking forward to getting back to civilization. My answer was,
that I can easily live with Midway civilization but I miss Jan and will be very
happy to see her again. Leaving Midway is always bitter/sweet.<br />
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<br />gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-85056454591098386332015-09-11T12:08:00.000-07:002015-09-11T12:29:09.111-07:00Cable House Trail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Cable buildings on Midway were built in 1903 by the Commercial Pacific Cable Company who were responsible for laying the first round the earth communication cable. Midway was a relay spot for information being sent over the cable and the company built 4 buildings that housed the employees and were used for any necessary equipment. The cable company employees were the first permanent residents on Midway. Hawaiian lore suggests that native Hawaiians visited Midway but did not chose to live here. The buildings were lightly built and over the years of various island managers they fell into disrepair. The building pictured is the only one of the 4 buildings left and it is in poor condition. The biggest project I took on while a maintenance and monument volunteer was a trail around this remaining building. The trail consists of construction fencing laid on the sand with 1 foot buried on each edge to keep the petrels from burrowing under the trail and undermining the walking surface. Once the plastic mesh fencing is stretched out and its edges buried, heavy shade cloth is laid over the top and nailed down securely with 12 inch nails every 4 feet and 6 inch wire staples every 8 or 10 inches. Lots of shoveling, hammering and stretching of cloth and mesh. I worked intermittently with a crew of Thai workmen: Sam, E, Ek, and Sak were tireless workers and brought knowledge of the building process that I was missing. I never could have accomplished the project without their help. There has been an effort to use plants native to Midway in areas such as the cable compound and the trail snakes through these plantings. If you look closely at the pictures you will notice an isle of low plants leading to a circle of plants. This circle is approximately where the cistern was located during cable company use of the island. gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-88950497482310136782015-08-09T16:26:00.000-07:002015-09-11T11:55:42.056-07:00August and December on MidwayThis is my 5th time to Midway in the past 6 years but the first time I've been here when the albatross are not here. There are still a very small number of chicks and most days I see 1 or 2 adults but within a week or 10 days there will be no albatross on Midway. From August until November the atoll is a very different place. The following 2 pictures were taken in August and December and show approximately the same area of Sand Island.<br />
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<br />gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-16618589953217896142015-08-02T20:01:00.002-07:002015-08-02T20:01:57.025-07:00Only on MidwayThere is only 1 place on the planet that these 2 pictures could be taken at the same house. A Laysan Albatross chick on the front step and a Laysan Duck on the back step. Something similar is possible on Laysan Island, and Kure, but for arguments sake, only on Midway.<br />
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gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-6142060295766720622015-07-29T01:07:00.000-07:002015-07-29T01:07:33.983-07:00Work WeekThis weeks work has again been a good mix. I've spent time laying out a trail around the old cable house and am beginning to figure what materials will be needed to complete the project. To build trails on the sand requires a strong mesh with a layer of shade cloth on top to prevent the Bonin Petrels from tunneling in the trail. After all that is stretched out, it is nailed in place with 6 inch staples every foot or so, and a 12 inch nail with a 2 in washer every few feet along both edges. It is a labor intensive project and will probably be unfinished when I leave for home. I've also been to Eastern Island to look at a remote camera setup that is malfunctioning. I found a corroded wire and will splice it and waterproof the splice and hope that solves the problem. I've also spent time cleaning in our garage and tool room and trying to bring some order to an area that gets used by many people. I'm experimenting with composting the cut branches and plant waste I generate in my projects along with waste from the hydroponic garden. We have a shredder/chipper that grinds the small branches and leaves so they compost much faster. The goal is to produce compost for the native plant propagation program. Native plants are grown and planted out into areas that have been recently cleared of noxious weeds. I stay busy everyday.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-50922882161343484282015-07-19T23:55:00.000-07:002015-07-20T20:43:10.591-07:00Hard to WatchSome days it is difficult to watch what goes on around us. In a large bird colony such as Midway there are always many dead and dieing birds. It is just part of the life processes that take place in a seabird nesting colony. This time of year, with the albatross chicks learning to fly and making the transition to caring for themselves, is particularly stressful for the birds and hard to watch if you have a soft heart for wildlife. The chicks practice hopping and flying and move toward the edges of the island this time of year because of some inborn plan. If they get to an open beach with the wind blowing toward the beach they make their first flight and crash and become waterlogged and drift back to the beach to dry out and try again. If they happen to fly downwind off the island, land on the water and become waterlogged they drown. If they take their first flight off of some man made precipice, land, and become waterlogged they don't have a second chance and drown in large numbers. I've learned not to look in certain corners that collect these waterlogged and drowning birds, but the death continues. I remind myself that these deaths have gone on for untold albatross generations and this year had a record 660,000 albatross nests on Midway. <br />
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<br />gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-59180952855815604292015-07-19T20:29:00.001-07:002015-07-19T20:29:20.327-07:00Important People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are many talented and important people that keep this island humming along. There are supply people, craftsmen, the hydroponic gardener and laborers that all do their important work to keep us in place at Midway. It is a tall order when the speck of land is so isolated. Among these important people is Pong, our lead cook. Pong and his crew are wizards! They keep us well fed and with amazing variety. When the plane comes we all enjoy the fresh fruits and other goodies but day to day the cooks continue to keep us well fed with good tasting and nutritious food. Attached is a picture of Pong in front of one of our solar freezers.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-67945490876510003132015-07-13T00:14:00.000-07:002015-07-13T00:14:25.778-07:00JobsMy work week was a mixed bag. I'm still using a hand held grinder with a wire brush head to clean and prepare the flag pole for painting. I cleaned, prepped and put a first prime coat on about 50 feet of the main pole and the cross tree. The grinder is hard on my hands so I mix in other jobs and I don't end up with numb hands. I cleaned and raked the Japanese Fisherman's monument and partially buried black floats in the 4 corners to delineate the markers. I also spent time cleaning and raking in the Doctor's Cemetery and the trail to the first gun emplacement past the cemetery. The trail took several sessions to smooth out all the Petrel damage and get a reasonable grade up the steep slope. I started work on the "Ave Maria" monument on Friday.This monument is a small structure that protects some artifacts from the church that stood in this location. It isn't a building but an open air backdrop and roof to provide some weather protection for the artifacts. It will be an ongoing project with lots of plastic mesh and shade cloth laid along the concrete to slow the damage created by burrowing petrels. There is also some damage to the small roof that I will need to repair. Friday I did some pruning and looking at what was there so I can decide how to proceed. I also got over to Eastern Island to do a seep check looking for dead or sick Laysan Ducks. The ducks contract botulism and the spread of this disease can be slowed or stopped with seep monitoring and pick up of dead or dieing ducks. The sick birds can usually be successfully treated and released within a couple of days. The Galley sign that I had been working on has a White Tern Chick sitting on the lower portion, so that has stopped work on the sign for a couple weeks.While I put the roof on the front side the adult Tern sat firm on the egg incubating but since it has hatched I need to stay away until it takes off from the ledge where it was hatched. I mentioned earlier that the internet has been very slow and this makes uploading pictures very difficult. I'm going to write more and upload fewer pictures and try to keep you up to date that way.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-66448220944673246312015-07-05T20:54:00.001-07:002015-07-05T20:59:05.660-07:00Commuter trafic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This traffic may be a little different than most of us deal with in real life but this is the traffic reality on Midway. Yesterday I rode past a chick just as it extended it's wings and it caught between the spokes and the frame of my bike. This is the stuff of bad dreams! The chick grabbed my leg and yelled stop and I did. I looked down and it's wing had been drawn into the space between the spokes and the frame. I had visions of how I was going to put down this chick with a broken wing. I backed up slowly and it rattled it's wings and settled them into place and walked away! gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-11059778529523964912015-07-05T20:25:00.000-07:002015-07-05T20:25:35.167-07:00Red-tailed TropicbirdRed-tailed Tropicbirds are breeding and raising young in many areas on Sand Island. They perform spectacular breeding display flights in which 3-5 birds, and sometimes more, fly together in a large vertical circle. Through part of this display they appear to fly backwards and sometimes the bottom of this circular display is close to the ground. While this flight is happening they are very vocal, producing<br />
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loud guttural squawks for lack of better descriptors. These photographs were made from my yard about 2 p.m. today during one of these displays.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-62205141279758103612015-07-05T19:40:00.001-07:002015-07-05T19:40:09.964-07:00Island SmellsAs you can imagine there is quite an odor in a large seabird colony such as Midway. With more than 1.5 million seabirds living and visiting a small space such as Sand Island there is a lot of guano deposited. There are also thousands of decomposing, dead chicks that are part of the natural cycle. When you step off the plane the smell is very strong, and for me was still pretty intense when I got outside my first morning here. Interestingly, the intensity of the odor diminishes over a few days and I rarely notice it now. I've read that our sense of smell becomes desensitized pretty quickly to strong odors, and this beautiful, smelly seabird colony is a perfect example.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-86471747762848710102015-07-03T21:47:00.001-07:002015-07-03T21:47:43.008-07:00White Tern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This White Tern is sitting on an egg. Notice the blue breeding color on the bill. They nest in precarious spots of all kinds including faucet handles, fire hydrants, branches barely big enough to hold the egg but a surprising number survive.<br /><br />gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-40395624261662531032015-07-03T21:32:00.000-07:002015-07-03T21:32:08.711-07:00Work ProjectsThis time on Midway my job will be very different. There are many historic markers and buildings from the early 20th century Pacific Cable Company, through WWII, and the cold war. This environment is very harsh and man made structures suffer from weather, the salty environment rusting iron and steel, deteriorating concrete from the salt air and several termite species. This isn't a complete list but it gives you an idea of the maintenance issues. My volunteer position this time centers on these monuments and structures that can use the help of a painter/carpenter/handyman to help in their preservation. I have been working closely with the Thai workmen from DB<span style="background-color: white;"><span></span></span>SI, the contractor that provides construction and maintenance workers for the island. This past week I spent time scraping and painting the lower portion of a 70 foot flagpole that will be hinged down next week so I can work on the rest of the pole. Lots of scraping, power wire brushing and then 2 prime coats of paint and a top coat of silver colored paint. Once the painting is complete, I will figure out what parts need to be replaced<br />
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while to pole is down and then coordinate with DBSI to get it raised again. The shipping containers behind the pole give some scale to the picture. I also have been working on a sign from the Navy days that stands in front of the old dining hall. I've refurbished the roof structure and am just getting started nailing down new shingles. After that we will talk about paint and protection for this neat hand made sign. This is a new volunteer position and we are building the job description around whatever skills I can provide. I'm tired each night from working in the harsh Midway sun but feel like my accomplishments are worthwhile.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-32874835297738395392015-07-03T19:46:00.000-07:002015-07-03T19:46:15.105-07:00Inquisitive chicksThe chicks are interested in everything. If you stand still very long they will walk to you and give your legs the same once over they are giving my bike. It is best to keep moving though as eventually they will bite down hard to see what you taste like. Ouch!<br />
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<br />gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-14310070717197794072015-06-29T11:19:00.000-07:002015-06-29T11:19:25.807-07:00<h2>
Return to Midway</h2>
I flew to Midway Friday evening and arrived about 9 p.m. I knew most of the guys that were helping with the plane and it felt good to be back. The internet is deadly slow and I'm not sure exactly how much I will be able to post but I will try to post a couple times a week. gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-55724071581995189882013-01-04T12:23:00.000-08:002013-01-04T12:23:02.447-08:00Albatross Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here is another look at a small piece of the colonies on Sand Island. Find me in the red shirt in the middle of the colony. I don't have all the data from the count but in round numbers we counted about 479,000 Laysan Albatross nests and about 27,000 Black-footed Albatross nests. That represents a lot of walking, climbing, crawling, brush crashing work. If I add in 500,00 non breeding adult albatross, 100,000 plus Bonin Petrel and a few thousand other assorted sea birds that means there are more than 1.6 million sea birds on the 1,200 acres that comprise Midway Atoll. I've been in the middle of a lot of sea birds! It was a very energetic group of counters who happily put in the needed effort to complete the work. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to go to Midway again and to participate in a count like this in the largest albatross colony on the planet.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-77849157754402476692012-12-26T23:54:00.000-08:002012-12-26T23:54:26.553-08:00Band Repair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As we were getting ready for our counting this morning I noticed a Laysan Albatross that was limping. I looked more closely and it had an old style band that was made of aluminum and it had worn and opened to the point that it fell down on top of the foot and was cutting into the bird's leg. I captured the bird and one of the other count team members with banding experience used a pair of pliers and opened the band and closed it on the other leg to allow the injury to heal. The island biologist re found the bird later and placed another permanent band that will be much longer lasting and should cause no more trouble for the bird.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-39794894784975812362012-12-23T22:17:00.000-08:002012-12-23T22:32:22.785-08:00Albatross Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYu0VsR5eN0fWto7uKF1mGqu44PBbPpXK7OmcY3MovShOjS8w8zWXARrY5YwzTpVOf1bsTWNAoKDD10uHoH5O3sqGVJTFb7x2yaq6yV_4h9xN7SfC55Z0HB-P12G5qKVpaJ6DMytvZ7lA/s1600/IMG_5936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYu0VsR5eN0fWto7uKF1mGqu44PBbPpXK7OmcY3MovShOjS8w8zWXARrY5YwzTpVOf1bsTWNAoKDD10uHoH5O3sqGVJTFb7x2yaq6yV_4h9xN7SfC55Z0HB-P12G5qKVpaJ6DMytvZ7lA/s1600/IMG_5936.JPG" /></a>The magnitude of the albatross colony here on Midway is hard to comprehend. The 5 of us on the team that I'm part of counted on Eastern Island Thursday and Friday. The landscape is pretty open and there are not many petrel burrows to fall into so our count numbers were pretty good for those days. Thursday the 5 of us counted more than 20,000 nests and Friday we counted about 18,500 nests. There are 3 teams working and it will take 3 weeks to cover the 3 islands that comprise Midway Atoll. There are a lot of nesting albatross here. I've not taken a picture that does it justice but I've included my best effort.</div>
gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-29485969921524560592012-12-17T22:54:00.001-08:002012-12-17T23:03:44.559-08:00Albatross Count Our Internet speeds have been very slow so no pictures today. The count is going well with an energetic group of 17 people counting everyday. Today we woke to heavy rain and wind but we still worked until noon. We are a little ahead of schedule so we were able to take the afternoon off to get all of our things dried out. I can put on dry rain gear in the morning, so that will be good. These birds have many difficulties surviving in the world and add to that some deranged person is shooting what look like darts at the albatross. The best guess is that some bored fisherman in the North Pacific is taking shots at the albatross around their boat with a blow gun. Our group has found 2 Black-footed Albatross with embedded darts, one of which was removed, but the other bird they were unable to catch. If we see 2 that are alive and flying I wonder how many don't live. The Black-footed Albatross is much more rare that the Laysan and it's a shame to see this kind of thing happening. gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-76153932945492192412012-12-14T23:48:00.000-08:002012-12-14T23:48:45.919-08:00Albatross Count<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1ZLRpg3i9zDaW_PSQBZq2Rh8nCMzIk8c3hxIqm0Pmy8zOEIcIUx2SiPh4lQGwhSgaNqRIRJ2JHa_zkzDk5M7UAbtfQcGlqw7HslQa7nyRrrBLyM87SBN-i8STJaAuMciMYV8S43AqIxj/s1600/IMG_2369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1ZLRpg3i9zDaW_PSQBZq2Rh8nCMzIk8c3hxIqm0Pmy8zOEIcIUx2SiPh4lQGwhSgaNqRIRJ2JHa_zkzDk5M7UAbtfQcGlqw7HslQa7nyRrrBLyM87SBN-i8STJaAuMciMYV8S43AqIxj/s320/IMG_2369.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4L-ZJVC3aHe_fJRka2XphZR262ZWD0lfcnqlVG9OZv4B32Kji6GUXwedDpWuNyFRogxBAKQW9wX1PkwV1GNFEgBFwXSaX_uGMdBh0xPqJ7IoRo_0VZe5UAyOzeK9PUfxoWO41tEnZ9QZ/s1600/IMG_2376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4L-ZJVC3aHe_fJRka2XphZR262ZWD0lfcnqlVG9OZv4B32Kji6GUXwedDpWuNyFRogxBAKQW9wX1PkwV1GNFEgBFwXSaX_uGMdBh0xPqJ7IoRo_0VZe5UAyOzeK9PUfxoWO41tEnZ9QZ/s320/IMG_2376.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm back on Midway for the albatross count. Seventeen of us will count every active nest on Sand Island, Eastern Island and Spit Island over the next 3 weeks. There are several different ways the count is accomplished but most of the techniques include putting a small dot of traffic paint beside each nest and then following along the line of counted nests established by the counter nearest you. The total count will probably be somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 nests so we learn a lot about large numbers. The total number of albatross on the 3 islands is about a million nesting albatross and then about 500,000 non breeding adults so there are lots of albatross around us all the time. These 3 island comprise the largest albatross colony on the planet.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-62697700704230751682012-01-20T10:27:00.000-08:002012-01-20T10:33:43.953-08:00Albatross Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNMuYoNrbap6mT3BY1yEGYp3oWe9FiumrbdZC5Ou9LmjUPIr4deJo40X4dnS6GoHe4C7FsfU7QZcOVU7N6_2wz6eCz8w04gdzHEQHZ9w2YL60PHrsZVgC1CjLaBIwX-m6sd7xNUQVKC_v/s1600/IMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNMuYoNrbap6mT3BY1yEGYp3oWe9FiumrbdZC5Ou9LmjUPIr4deJo40X4dnS6GoHe4C7FsfU7QZcOVU7N6_2wz6eCz8w04gdzHEQHZ9w2YL60PHrsZVgC1CjLaBIwX-m6sd7xNUQVKC_v/s320/IMG.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>To read these graphs you will need to click on them and increase the size like you would with an image. You can also use the screen magnifier in the lower right of your browser window. I could not figure out a way to publish them in a more readable format. It is an interesting look at albatross numbers on Midway. The earlier counts before 2000 are difficult to compare with the last 11 years because they all used different protocols than are used now.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-69648873435180075822012-01-14T18:14:00.000-08:002012-01-14T18:14:04.645-08:00Black-footed Project Completion and Going Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2m9QXgXDiIdUWSh6NR4xAYzVJKbxr-d-JMy-pfI5pnAsJV_Yzvt2UmQ5Zychc2SyzpZ7Hugmvw-ZbyljuPahE2-WLm7_7r5cxgiPliHOlBrvJwv5KaZFs1ZArZDbyfz5X1H_wnOuVp7jx/s1600/IMG_0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2m9QXgXDiIdUWSh6NR4xAYzVJKbxr-d-JMy-pfI5pnAsJV_Yzvt2UmQ5Zychc2SyzpZ7Hugmvw-ZbyljuPahE2-WLm7_7r5cxgiPliHOlBrvJwv5KaZFs1ZArZDbyfz5X1H_wnOuVp7jx/s320/IMG_0419.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPggAw4-BXGWkAbUW2jNv-yLFDEbMnHCEDvvsm7Ag7num6GoIsYAX5H8gZBUlmZzLMxEI9gSLL8MjS9lKp65z9YDN0vxTP4cgua_2RZSoA-PxEF9MPedzFZOxHnmgM0XNbgv3ryMaXcCm/s1600/IMG_0434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPggAw4-BXGWkAbUW2jNv-yLFDEbMnHCEDvvsm7Ag7num6GoIsYAX5H8gZBUlmZzLMxEI9gSLL8MjS9lKp65z9YDN0vxTP4cgua_2RZSoA-PxEF9MPedzFZOxHnmgM0XNbgv3ryMaXcCm/s320/IMG_0434.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I walked my last sector collecting Black-footed Albatross data on Wednesday morning the 11th. We had the rest of the afternoon off and I used the time to return borrowed items and get my bags packed. We flew out of Midway before dawn on Thursday the 12th and I was back to the hotel in Waikiki by noon. It's always bittersweet to leave Midway as I enjoy the residents, my coworkers and the WILDLIFE. But I also miss my family and am happy to see Jan and be with her again. The pictures include the last sector that I worked through and a nesting Black-footed Albatross. One of about 1700 nests that I mapped. It was not a bad place to work!gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-63560234135571331612012-01-06T23:52:00.000-08:002012-01-06T23:52:07.165-08:00Black-footed Albatross Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtfUa-SCw8vvSyhSLKB_906rzWgHqodxwEFaSL-rYcUNo3EBab9WrTfokzRIO3QqKiFoUHfubWWLnV5_Ko16_MwgjeinQSRZHq3FqstmkOQpWfq5XeHnkyXcFx2m9tT4ITkaeQBL0ePIs/s1600/IMG_2409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtfUa-SCw8vvSyhSLKB_906rzWgHqodxwEFaSL-rYcUNo3EBab9WrTfokzRIO3QqKiFoUHfubWWLnV5_Ko16_MwgjeinQSRZHq3FqstmkOQpWfq5XeHnkyXcFx2m9tT4ITkaeQBL0ePIs/s320/IMG_2409.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Yesterday the albatross count was finished without me. The count was close to completion and I had an opportunity to work on a different project until I leave for home. There have been 2 scientists from U.S. Geological Survey here for 3 weeks and they worked with the bird counters until recently. They are collecting data on nest locations for Black-footed Albatross within the Tsunami inundation zone. They didn't finish all the work they had hoped to accomplish and I am going to carry on their data collection while I'm here. It entails using a very accurate and expensive GPS unit to mark all Black-footed Albatross nests within the inundation zone. The unit has mapping capabilities and I can look at the inundation zone as I do my work. I worked with Karen and Crystal yesterday and last night they left for home. Today I was on my own in our first heavy rain since I got here. For one reason or another about 1/2 of my data this morning was useless but this afternoon I did much better. I managed to plot about 350 nests successfully and think tomorrow will be better. I'm tired every night and learning new stuff every day so the fun continues.gary nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789325594390225376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4316501928652831410.post-16198131894955902412012-01-01T22:07:00.000-08:002012-01-01T22:07:44.427-08:00Sunrise on Sand Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-L7n8TDqVkrAclT8yUjI0Fs97BfO0U-zDguoL4m3UIswEMFELLc2LRmMfXv4Yzq5iOlDhlB2DV6_zKyuusvGADaqiC4UbwZh3Ni0_iLuRa1W9eMqScyWQNdan4jOpmaUwSTDaAkJ7SQJ/s1600/IMG_0327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-L7n8TDqVkrAclT8yUjI0Fs97BfO0U-zDguoL4m3UIswEMFELLc2LRmMfXv4Yzq5iOlDhlB2DV6_zKyuusvGADaqiC4UbwZh3Ni0_iLuRa1W9eMqScyWQNdan4jOpmaUwSTDaAkJ7SQJ/s320/IMG_0327.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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