We have some photos from a new contributor, Jessica Drew, who got to participate in a nice wildlife census:
I thought you would like to see some pictures from my trip to Midway Atoll to participate in the annual albatross nest count. Every year during a three-week counting period, Fish and Wildlife Service volunteers systematically count every nesting pair of black-footed and Laysan albatross [Phoebastria nigripes and P. immutabilis, respectively] on the atoll. It was extraordinarily fun work. Every sunset, we had the totally magical experience of seeing thousands of Bonin petrels leaving their burrows and flying above us! Aside from the albatross, we had the pleasure of seeing Laysan ducks, White terns, Frigatebirds, masked, brown and red-footed boobies, Golden plovers, and Bristle-thighed curlews! Here are a few of my favorite pictures. Enjoy!
Remember that the 64-year-old bird, “Wisdom,” who produced a chick this year, was also a Laysan albatross.
Red-footed booby (Sula sula):
White tern (Gygis alba) flying over my head:
White terns being adorable with each other!:
As lagniappe, a bird from Diana MacPherson:
It’s a blizzard here as the rain turned to snow & the wind kicked up so the birds are eating a lot of seeds & taking shelter nearby in the Weigela bush, like this male house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus).
I have seen many White Terns in the Seychelles. They really are extraordinarily pretty. On nature reserve islands such as Cousin, they are pretty tame, so you can get close to see them.
I imagine its a pretty good life as an Albatross ,skimming the waves all over the World, soaring on Thermals,of course you have to get by the Tiger Sharks on first take-off, other than that seems ok to me.
That Midway Atoll trip sounds amazing, like a dream come true. Maybe I should look into volunteering some year!
You should! They are always looking for new people to volunteer every year (they like to do 1/3 experienced folks and 2/3 new volunteers). It always takes place through the holidays, around mid-December through the first week or so of January. It is TOTALLY a dream come true and worth the time. Check it out: http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Midway_Atoll/what_we_do/get_involved.html
The bird in the first picture looks worried. Like it’s saying,”Are you sure there will be fish to eat when we get there?”