Don't Call It A Comeback (Yet)

Without a doubt, the rarest birds I've ever seen were Laysan Ducks (hen on nest, above, on Sand Island), who are confined to Laysan Island and Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. I'm not sure what their population is right now, but I think it's safe to say that it is less than 1,000 individuals.

Pretty rare right? But despite dwelling on the brink of extinction, there are 2 duck species with smaller populations; Campbell Teal, and even more scarce, the Madagascar Pochard. In some good news, for the first time the world's rarest duck has bred in captivity, which means the possibility of a comeback is exponentially higher than just a few weeks ago. Rejoice!

Allelujah!!!

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.

Liberty Is A Glorious Beast

I'm still in San Francisco, taking in the social scene, great food and questionable people that the city offers. Ive taken a much-needed Haightcation in the last couple days, and things are starting to feel Right again. I no longer am stricken with a sense of Fear and Loathing whenever I encounter large groups of people, although uberhipsters and ultrabros are still a bummer to be sure.

The big news is that I was offered a job with Bat Conservation International in Pennsylvania, which I accepted yesterday. So I will be Eastbound And Down in a few weeks, but until then I can float around in California.....indeed, some sort of human debris in America's Great Western Human Garbage Patch, waiting to be eaten up and fed to the next generation of Americans. A dubious fate to be sure.

Here is another crop of pictures from my last couple weeks at Midway......enjoy!

I Can Barely Play This Thing

"Wow, Midway is way better than Fresno." - Great Frigatebird

"I am sick and tired and my money's always spent, and though their jobs are killing me, their money pays my rent. The fuel of world hate, although it's just a seed, but when it grows and flowers, it becomes the world's greed......" - Choking Victim, Money

I am currently admiring the large blood blister I have on my thumb from a banding incident. Out of the corner of my eye it looks like a huge tick is there, satiated after a massive bloodmeal. The blood is all congealed and black, I am tempted to pop it, but afraid of what might come out.

So I have tentative summer plans at the moment. It involves not making money......again. That stuff is overrated anyways, you know what I'm saying? It's highly addictive....kinda like heroin. Once you get a good hit, you can't live without it. And then it all goes downhill from there. Beyond health care, I don't think it's a big deal, if your not totally broke. Or have children. Or owe someone a lot of money. The money trail is the road most traveled, and that is not someplace I want to spend a lot of time in.....there are many dead ends.



Midway is relatively pristine as far as marine ecosystems go, thus the large numbers of sea turtles, dolphins, sharks and smaller fish.



Even C-130s do not frighten the fearless Laysan Ducks.

Anyhow, in order to avoid jinxing myself, I am not going to mention what I'm planning on doing until it is completely confirmed. That is what I think is best. Gotta keep things interesting, you know?

Of course, it's easy for me to talk about money this way. I'm a privileged middle-class semi-white dude. The "privileged" part is important to not take for granted. Too many people use their privileges to fly a desk, take Star Trek really seriously, play video games, stay in cities, have too many kids, live in Fresno, climb the corporate latter and otherwise plot how to become more privileged. It all sounds like soul-cancer to me. Maybe when I am aging and desperate to cling to something permanent will I throw myself into this mess, but until then I will do my best to stay above the fray. But I will vow here and now to never, ever, live in Fresno. Thank you.




There's nothing like liquefied squid in the morning.

I Prefer The Company of Animals

Laysan Albatross aren't very graceful on the ground, but they know how to look good in the air.

How's that for a title? I pulled it out of a Western Addiction song, but for people here I think its pretty applicable. It's more interesting than "Wind" or "More Wind" or "Steve Isn't Very Good At Bowling", which sums up the last few days. I think I can now say that I've talked to Laysan Albatrosses more than any other species of animal, and I'm pretty proud of that.

Yesterday at another outstanding Klavitter Cocktail Party, we watched an adult tern bring a huge fish in for its chick; the fish was about twice as long as the chick. We all cheered the chick on as it slowly worked the fish down (young terns take their food whole). For about an hour it just hung out with part of the fish sticking out of its bill.....it eventually got the whole thing. An impressive feat of eating.....it would be the equivalent of me trying to swallow a 12 foot anaconda whole. Truly inspirational. They're a lot of fun to have around, I will miss them on the mainland. I'll post pictures when I get around to uploading them........

I only have a few weeks left here.......which is a strange thing to be saying. My time here has slowly gone by quickly, if that makes any sense. Next weekend we get three days off though, so I will do my best to make it worthwhile.



Ole Blindy, the completely blind Laysan Duck. I took the liberty of giving him that very original name.

I can't think of a whole lot I want to do before I leave that I haven't gotten to do already. It would be nice to kayak some more. Otherwise......maybe spotlight some ducks with Jimmy, use the sauna, see a Bulwer's Petrel. Some sort of bonus shorebird migrant would be ideal.....but I will take what I can get.



Of course, part of what makes Midway Midway is the people here. I will try to fill up my social calendar for the last few weeks. There are rumors of a marathon next weekend.....I am seriously consider running it. I mean walking it. Let's keep it real, right?

Ok. That's it for now. I miss you all. I will leave you with some wisdom from one of the finest American's that have ever lived. Good night.

It's a strange world. Some people get rich, and others eat shit and die. - Hunter S. Thompson

.......You Are the Harbinger Of Death

Sooty Tern. This is one of my favorite shots Ive taken since Ive been here. It may appear I'm a good photographer but this dude/lady was only a few feet above my head.

Sports are weird. I've never been very good at most of them. That's probably why I turned into a nerd, started watching birds and listening to punk rock. For all these reasons and more, I have always been grateful that I'm not very good at sports. I've been playing a lot of volleyball lately though, and its pretty fun. I play badly enough to claim that I suck, but well enough to justify playing. Good enough for me. Have you ever noticed that a lot of sports players don't have a very artistic side to them? Its like they weren't built for that. These are the people who thought (and maybe still do) that Limp Bizkit was a good band and that Metallica is better than Slayer. Yeah theres a bunch of exceptions, but there's exceptions to everything.



Moby Dick, The Great White Albatross (Chick). He lives next to Sunrise Seep on Sand Island.

Things are mellow here on Midway. Life is good. It would be incredible to get paid to be here and still do field work.....but those chances are few and far between. The monk seal people here fall into that category, and they all seem pretty great. They leave Thursday morning though, which sucks. One of the guys who lives here has mentioned a couple times what a bummer it is to get to know someone and befriend them here, only to have them leave and never see them again. Its a bit depressing, I reckon, and I can see what he's talking about.



There are ducklings all over the islands now. They are very cute, and although they lack predators in the true sense of the word, most ducklings don't live very long. This one was only a couple of days old, and probably got attacked by another duck. Besides getting beat up on by members of their own species, the Laysan Albatross will often grab a duckling given the opportunity. They don't kill them out of maliciousness, they just see them as playthings. Albatross and human children are not all that different from each other....except I would much rather hang out with an albatross.

Nonstop Erotica

Bristle-thighed Curlews debate leaving Midway for the Arctic. Who would want to leave this?
Nonstop erotica, huh? Seems to me that birdwatching and erotica just don't go very well together. They are two very, very different things. I have lead a lot of Audubon trips, and let me tell you, sex is usually not the topic of the day.

But underlying the veneer of abstinence and geekdom is a flowing current of sex. Much bird research, after all, deals with breeding behavior and the various statistics that are somehow extracted from the data we collect.....and that cannot be ignored.

Which is neither here nor there. It is well-documented that birders are capable of breeding, for good or ill. Yes, you are right, I am lacking direction. What am I talking about? I'm obviously not in any position to tell you. Maybe The Island is rewiring my brain.....people here have a terrible obsession with watching Lost.....yes, it's all starting to make sense now.

Highlights of the day: 2 Little Terns (one calling, confirming its non-Least Tern identity), a flock of 200+ Bristle-thighed Curlews, my first Laysan Ducklings of Sand Island, and Hawaiian Monk Seal, Galapagos Sharks and Manta Rays all hanging out at one spot in the harbor. Oh yeah, and having some anonymous bird shit directly onto my eye.



A young male Laysan Duck. Action-quack shot. Ducklings are popping up all over the atoll now.



I am very proud of Halsey the White Tern chick. She is a sweetie. She sits on her wall all day and looks cute.