Red-footed Boobies looking good for each other. The male is in back; he has more of a sea-foam green tone on his face than the female, and thats his display posture.
Yesterday I officially applied to go back to Midway Atoll for the spring. I'm not going to lie, its a pretty exciting prospect. I loved Midway (yes, more than Buldir) and all its wildlife....and people, of course. It's like a frakkin' Garden Of Eden out there, sans all the marine debris problems and the horrific sex ratio. So we'll see how that all pans out.
A flock of uberendangered Laysan Ducks mingle in a wetland.
For the time being, I really don't have much to do except hang out with friends, see some rad bands...oh and take a short trip to Vegas next week. That said, I am officially going to make November The Month Of The Blog here at BB&B, and attempt more blog entries than I've ever done before in any given month. That means at least 18 blog entries this month people, so check back on the regular. It's about to get really, really nerdy in here. Oh yeah, all these shots are from Eastern Island at Midway Atoll.
People seem to think that most animals are completely driven by instinct and lack any capacity for fun. Most people have not seen a frigatebird with a stick. They go batshit crazy for sticks, let me tell ya. Not impressed? Take your kid's toys away and see what they end up picking up. The adult male Great Frigatebird (top bird) seemed pretty stoked on the big leafy "bough" that the smug-looking immature was proudly soaring around with.
Love the photos... And yeah, my dog will drag a freakin tree off the beach to play with so I believe what you're saying about the frigatebirds!
ReplyDelete1) TOTALLY agree re: perceived vs. actual behavioral and mental complexity in animals. If they can't drive cars or vote, they can't be that smart, right? =)
ReplyDelete2) its so nice to read someone else use sex ratio that way. I was at a meeting before field work last week and I found the sex ratio to be delightful. 1 female presenter, 1 female co-worker, moi, and 9 guys. =) 'course I'm married so it's not critical, but I still appreciate it. Old habits die hard.