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.

You're Wanted In Surgery

The monumental Gray-backed Tern, on it's way to do something outstanding.

I'm looking out the window at a Laysan Duck with a bunch of brand new ducklings. Hold on. Sweet. Heart attack sweet. Diabetes sweet. 8 little ducklings! Probably only a couple days old. Adorable. I don't know what they're doing in "town", but I wish them the best of luck. Last I saw of them it looked like they were heading off to Smash Imperialism....an unlikely feat but a good way to go, in the scheme of things. Maybe they were protesting the poor, poor, poor Supreme Court decision that was just handed down in California....they seemed a bit rambunctious.



Behind of the house, the third and final White Tern chick has hatched. She shall hereafter be known as "Betty", completing my personal bartender hall of fame..........manifested by tern chicks. As you all (should) know, Betty was a refugee of Toby and Jack's in Arcata, and ended up next door at Everett's, where you can still find her today. Halsey is a big girl now, in the awkward teenager phase. Lourdes is holding it down in the shed, and Betty still has her egg tooth and may have just hatched this morning. Of course I have no way to prove the sex of any of them, but if that's the case I can feminize all of them and no one can prove me otherwise.

As of today I've only got a week left. Time to maximize "Fun Time" and soak in The Atoll Of Youth, you know what I'm sayin? Enhance the tan. Drink the whiskey. Have vision-quests in the sauna. Find that vagrant. Word.

Oh yeah the above picture documents the first and last time an Against Me! song was and ever will be played on Midway, hehe.



Wedge-tailed Shearwaters are attentive and affectionate lovers, unlike most people I know.

I'd Love You Forever If I Ever Loved At All

Just another raging Thursday night with The Chugach Band.

The island is being overrun with young people. I don't know what is happening. There are even girls here, which is really confusing and disorienting for everyone. Until you are in a remote, relatively peopleless place like this, its hard to appreciate, or even understand, what I am talking about. Instinctively, I feel like I should just start panicking and take it from there.

Last night's plane was probably the best one since Ive been here. It brought some cool folks in (sweet), took some cool folks out (bitter), and brought me a couple of awesome packages from my colleagues in California. I now have snake tattoos and Philz coffee.....what more can a man ask for? So thank you to Misty, Andrea and Jameson for being the brave, courageous, incredible individuals that they are.



Speaking of brave and courageous, Halsey the White Tern chick is growing up so fast. She is the master of her domain (i.e. the top of the wall), much like her namesake. She has withstood rain, wind, and the drastic temperature swings that have killed hundreds of petrel and albatross chicks in the past week. From what Ive seen so far, she is strong enough to outlive all of us. The longevity record for her species, by the way, is about 35 years old. Not bad for a dinky seabird that is famous for nesting in bad places (they don't make nests).



North Pacific Albatross Trifecta (i.e. Black-footed, Short-tailed and Laysan Albatrosses).

We have one Short-tailed Albatross left on the atoll currently. Fortunately, it is the friendly big male that's here on Sand Island that is usually seen passed out next to the bike trail on the south side of the runway. It's getting late in the season for them to be here, so it is a privilege to still be graced with his presence. He doesn't really do anything, which I can appreciate. Occasionally he will stare down a Black-footed Albatross, which he inevitably wins because he is a big, big bird. Black-foots are generally regarded as being the most ill-tempered bird out here, and most people who have worked with them have some scars to show for it. Ive gotten some reluctant nibbles from them (getting a nibble from a Laysan Albatross is the gooney equivalent of a handshake), but most would rather rip out my eyeballs given the opportunity. So its funny to see them getting bullied by the dinosaur-like Short-tailed Albatross.




Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. They arrived a few weeks ago, and you can usually hear them moaning and groaning on certain parts of the island.