Chronic Infatuation

The phantomesque Christmas Shearwater.

Good Friday to ye, birder. How was your week? I thought I would resurrect some of the good times at Midway Atoll, specifically the two species of shearwaters that breed there, since they don't get as much attention from visitors as the albatross, tropicbirds, boobies, terns, etc.

Christmas Shearwaters arrive in March on Eastern Island (one of three islands there....they are probably on Sand and Spit as well but I did not see them there). Early in the morning you can see them taking low, circular flights over patches of vegetation that look like good nesting spots. Often they will do this in pairs, which I assume is some sort of courtship flight as well. They nest under naupaka and heliotrope bushes and are usually hard to find during most of the day....if not for the hilarious sounds they make. They sound like children pretending to be ghosts....except much cuter. Sometimes they will do this during their courtship flights, and its hard not to smile when a fluttering shearwater goes by saying "wooo...hoooooooo....WOOOOOOOOOO!". Despite their drab, unicolored appearance, they are some of the most endearing birds out there.

This Christmas Shearwater sports some fashionable USFWS jewelry.

Praise the bird gods when Christmas Shearwaters land out in the open. 

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters are most active at night, hobbling around looking for mates and burrows.

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, rare visitors off the California coast, arrive later in the spring and are quite a bit more common than Christmas Shearwaters, also being widespread over Sand Island, which is where everybody out there lives. They are not quite as inconspicuous as their dark relatives, and somehow manage to be even louder. Wedgie calls, however, sound substantially more evil, and have a lot of range. My favorite Wedgie call is the "crying baby". The nonbirding population of Sand Island are not infrequently creeped out by the Wedge-taileds, as they generally vocalize after dark where there aren't a lot of people around. With all the ghost stories Midway has, this isn't surprising.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater, aka Muttonbird in some circles. Who would want to eat something with a face like this?

Wedgie Love.

A typical scene on Sand Island in February. Yes, that's a lot of Laysan Albatross.

Friend Against Friend

A male Red-footed Booby, making the world a better place.



Christmas Shearwater, about to unleash the holiday spirit.



I am Beastmaster. Or, SOOTYTERNMASTER.



This pillbox (fortunately) never got to perform its original purpose, which was to defend the island against a Japanese troop landing. Now its a hangout for Brown Noddies.



This is the oldest Red-tailed Tropicbird chick from any of the study plots. I wish it my best.



The classic Laysan Albatross "handshake".



This Black-footed Albatross chick is close to fledging.



Since this one was given The Mark Of The Beast, I'm sure it will live a long, sinister life terrorizing squid and future albatross chicks.



Pure gratuity. That's Kate, she is an algaestar.



My ceiling tile from the All Hands Club. My stuff is in the upper right corner.

I'm back in San Francisco now, trying to adjust to life where just about everything is the opposite of what Ive been experiencing since I first got to Midway. It's not the smoothest transition, but its great to be around friends again where I can feel free to be my loathsome self.....or anyone else, for that matter. So far, so good.

Below is my bird list from the atoll....I think its a pretty good list. It has every species known to currently breed on Midway, some migrants, some vagrants, some wintering birds......I think it's pretty great. Sure its not a massive list by any means, but Out There its quality, not quantity, you know what I'm saying? I might add that the Lesser Frigatebird was spotted on my birthday, and I didnt even use binoculars with it. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Here is an identification tip for you that isnt really emphasized in the i.d. books Ive gotten my hands on....the LEFR really is substantially smaller than the many Great Frigatebirds that are out there. Its pretty obvious. That doesnt help if the bird is by itself, but if its mixed in with a big frigatebird kettle like mine was, they stand out pretty well.

I'll post some more pictures in the near future......until then, you can find me getting reacquainted with an old friend (Jameson).

Green-winged Teal
Laysan Duck
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Laysan Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
Bonin Petrel
Bulwer's Petrel
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Christmas Shearwater
Tristram's Storm-Petrel
Red-footed Booby
Brown Booby
Masked Booby
Lesser Frigatebird
Great Frigatebird
White-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Cattle Egret
Pacific Golden-Plover
Whimbrel (Siberian and American)
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Grey-tailed Tattler
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Glaucous Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Little Tern
Least Tern
Sooty Tern
Grey-backed Tern
Brown Noddy
Fairy Tern
Black Noddy
Common Myna
Canary

The Come And Go

"And I wear it for the thousands who have died, believin' that The Lord was on their side. I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died, believin' that we all were on their side......" - Johnny Cash, Man In Black

Welcome to the special Memorial Day edition of BB&B. It's the first 3-day weekend I've had since I've been here, and since its almost my last I intend to take advantage of it. The almighty Chugach Band is playing Sunday night, and today I will compete in the venerable Red-footed Booby Midway 5K Classic. The possibilities are endless, and this realization just made me choke on my coffee. Who chokes on coffee?



Christmas Shearwater is the shearwater in black.

Of course, Memorial Day isn't really about me choking on things. I'll let the above Johnny Cash quote speak for my feelings on the holiday. Memorial Day on Midway is probably a bit different than the usual drunken irreverence on the mainland, and with the Battle of Midway anniversary coming up soon it could be interesting. I will let you know how it goes.

Not a whole lot new in bird news. The atoll is flooded in a high tide of adorable ducklings. People are keeling over left and right from cuteness-related complications. Pacific Golden-Plovers are few and far between.....most have probably made it back to Alaska by now. A few Ruddy Turnstones, Wandering Tattlers and Bristle-thighed Curlews are still lurking however. Most everything else here is the process of making babies, or just finishing. The clouds of Bonin Petrels that blanketed the sky at dusk have dissipated, and there are noticeably less adult albatross around. Spring seems to be slowly turning into summer......that was quick.

Nothing Else Will Do

There are a few birds here that I know individually. Usually, its because I know where there nests are or they are so rare that they are easy to keep track of. There is the White Tern sitting on its egg outside my back door. There is the lone female Eurasian Wigeon, and her three Northern Pintail (all female) girlfriends at The Catchment. There are the three Laysan Albatross chicks next to the front door, and the Pacific Golden-Plover next to our "driveway".

However, by far the most glamorous bird that I've met in the atoll is the adult male Short-tailed Albatross that lives on Eastern Island. He is smart, suave, sexy, strong, and frankly, not to be fucked with. He is the biggest bird here, period, and possibly the best looking. Most of the world's population (which isnt much) breeds on Torishima Island, off of Japan, and one dedicated researcher has seen to it (for decades now) that practically every bird that is born there receives a shiny aluminum leg band that stays on (theoretically) for life. Each band has a unique number stamped on it, so when someone reads it they can find out when and where the bird was banded and how old it is. Shorty here is 26 years old......exactly the same as myself.



The female, on the right, is less than half his age. Draw your own conclusions.

When I first heard this, I was amazed at the coincidence. I too, am the biggest, smartest, strongest, sexiest and most suave person here. Ok, maybe not. But I am 26, and wonder what sort of existence this albatross has had in its similar lifespan. I think he has been coming to Midway for a few years now, and has generally been relegated to bachelor status due to the rarity of his species. He hangs out in a plot of hand-painted decoy birds meant to lure real members of his species to the area.....much like I am relegated to bachelor status and hang out with a bunch of mannequins meant to lure real members of my species into my living room.



Their age differnce, however, is no obstacle for their love!

Who said that? Er, scratch that last statement.

At any rate, he is one of my favorite birds here (and was a factor in me deciding to come here over another island), and I was happy to see yesterday that he managed to get a female of his own species to do a little dancing with him and to do some mutual preening with. If you are not acquainted, all albatross perform elaborate, multi-step dances with each other (the Laysans are rumored to have 27 steps in their routine) when they are seeking mates, which is pretty funny to watch. Once they are hooked up, or if they are both interested in each other, they will affectionately preen each other for extended periods of time. Its really cute, and not anything like the disgusting PDA (Public Displays of Affection) that I have to endure when I'm watching my coupled-friends grope each other in broad daylight. It was pretty funny watching them preen each other though, because the female probably isn't old enough to breed yet (should we name her Lolita?) and didn't quite know what she was doing, so the old male would frequently snap at her when she did something wrong. I'm sure she will figure it in a year or two though, and hopefully they can start raising their kids here on Midway.



These are Christmas Shearwaters. They live over on Eastern Island, and aside from having a great name they make these weird little moaning haunted-house sounds. They're great.