I'm Full Of Pills And Smoke And Booze...

A Black-footed Albatross glides in from someplace far, far away.

I've almost finished reading Carl Safina's "Eye Of The Albatross", and as a result I can't help but fixate on my time at Midway Atoll last year.  What a fucking awesome place.  There's no other way to describe it.  Some of the activity in the book took place there, and practically all the wildlife mentioned (aside from the epic Southern Hemisphere albatross species) is what is found on Midway.  I posted a lot of pictures here on BB&B while I was out there, but that was only a small fraction of some of the shots that I really like.  So here's a few pictures from back in Y2K9 that bear viewing today....

A Brown Booby beckons.

The book, on the whole, is pretty much on the money.  Carl lofts some vague, insightful-sounding yet dubious generalizations into what various birds are thinking and feeling at any given time.....but hey, you and I are in no better position to do this accurately, so why not?  I did not expect the book to focus so heavily on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, (he spent time at French Frigate Shoals, Laysan Island and Midway), nor did I expect large portions of the book to be dedicated to monk seals, tiger sharks, sea turtles, and an Alaskan fishing trip......but I gotta say, it's a pretty good book.  I can see why so many people who run in the Northwestern Hawaiian circle have asked me if I've read it.  I have to give him credit for teaching me a lot about species I spent months working and living with in close quarters.

What appears to be a nuclear Laysan Albatross family together at Bulky Dump, Sand Island.

My list of books I've read recently is a bet eclectic......Eye Of The Albatross, Breakfast of Champions (Vonnegut), Travels With Charley (Steinbeck), and the still yet-to-be-finished The Family (regarding the history and influence of an exceptionally powerful group of Neo-Christian politicians and businessman).  I'm going to have to score some new material soon for Buldir.....

A Bonin Petrel ponders the irony of being dwarfed by a baby......albatross.

Last year's Sangkrahn (Thai New Year) parade, which is generally the only parade going on anywhere in that part of the world.  Lots of Laysan Albatross provide quality spectators.  Photo courtesy of Scott Allen.

Jesus.  Books???  Who wants to read about that?  So much for that shit.  By Friday morning I will be rolling in to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, and I'm pretty stoked.  Blue-footed Booby is one of my nemesis birds (for you nonbirders, a species I've never seen, even though I should have by now, despite repeated attempts) and I will once again going to to blue toe with this beast, which has done a remarkable job at evacuating the area whenever I am nearby.  And if Sula nebouxii doesnt want to dance, there should be plenty of frigatebirds and tequila nearby.

Your Perseverance May Outlast My Ambition

Do you know what sucks? The tropicbird chick and the petrel chick that are pictured in my last couple blogs are already dead. Talk about a bummer. The cause of mortality for both is probably Laysan Albatross. Its not that they eat bird chicks, they just don't give a fuck. They like playing with stuff. Theyre like cats.....bird cats. Not catbirds though....that would be confusing. Yeah. Anyways. Someone mentioned yesterday that they saw an albatross walk up to a White Tern chick, grab it, break its neck, toss it aside and walk away. Bizarre. Well at least it is the albatross doing this, who have probably been doing this for many thousands of years.....it would be much worse if rats were the culprit. The government spent millions of dollars on eradicating rats from the atoll, and the huge jump in seabird numbers since then has shown that it was well worth it. I don't even want to think of what will happen if they somehow get introduced out here again....it would be an ugly scene.

Next week is Gary's last full week here. He got here the same time I did (he is the other volunteer here), but is leaving several weeks earlier. I'm not sure whats going to happen when I am the only volunteer here........I might institute some "migrant surveys" (aka go birding) or something if left unsupervised. I'll probably be too busy though.



This turtle was left stranded on the reef by a low tide.

I watched Sideways today. Great movie. I recognized a lot of where that movie was shot. Amusing that they had a scene in it from Oxnard. But I think the Oxnardness inhanced the scene. And why, why, is it called Oxnard? Its a terrible name for a horrible city. You know, if they named it "Tealtown" or "Dendroica" or even "Bushtit", there would probably be no homicides or gang warfare at all. What does Oxnard mean anyway? All the cities around there have very obvious Spanish-sounding names (Port Hueneme, San Buenaventura, Santa Paula, Camarillo).....Oxnard does not fir the motif. Oh well, at least it gave birth to "Nardcore" and the 2006 Man Of The Year, Carlos.

Too much wind this weekend. No bueno. It makes me restless and think about migration. Whats the point of talking about the woes of Oxnard anyway? Sheesh.



One of my few Bonin Petrel flight shots. It's a hard picture to get, since they are usually only around after dark.

The Home Front

We're finally getting warm weather. The albatross chicks are panting and looking for the nearest shade. I, of course, am looking for the best spots for some serious nude sunbathing. Kiss those tanlines goodbye, you know what I'm saying? Just kidding.....there are more important things to worry about......like The Pedes!!!! Yes, there are tiger sharks (apparently, there is one that lives directly under the pier people jump off of to go swimming) and unpredictable humanoids here, but I dread The Pedes. I have already had a brutal Night-terror about them, and I am surprised that I did not go straight in to a catatonic state of despair as a result.



The front of the house, with lots of Laysan Yardatross chicks in the yard. Literally, The Home Front.



This is part of the backyard.....aka "Tucker Field". Many yardatross of two species here.

The Pedes, of course, are the (allegedly) gigantic centipedes that were brought here in the soil from Guam a number of years ago. They have a venemous, painful bite, and they give me The Fear. Reaching into damp, dark petrel burrows (which is sometimes required) is not a very calming experience.....but so far so good. I have not experienced The Wrath Of The Pedes yet, but Im sure they will call my number in the not too distant future. I have already found a pile of roaches in my duffel bag though......the various critters that live in buildings here are interesting. There are house mice, several species of geckos, roaches, Pedes, Giant Death-Spiders, black widows, brown recluses......good stuff. I like the geckos though. One particular Laysan Albatross in the backyard has thought about walking in to the house a couple times (I held the door open for it) but decided to pass.

Outside, we have a lot of Laysan Albatross and Bonin Petrels, with some Black-footeds nesting on the "ridge", "out back". White/Fairy Terns sit on the wall to our shed type thing in back, as well as on my windowsill and on my air conditioning unit. They are the first thing I hear in the morning. A Pacific Golden-Plover is usually around somewhere, sometimes on the roof. On our "street" there are also Ruddy Turnstones and Black Noddies flying around gathering nesting material. A Red-tailed Tropicbird thought about nesting next to our front door, but I think it passed. They are usually flying around though, and sometimes Great Frigatebirds as well. Oh yeah there are mynas and canaries around, but they are not native here.



This is one of the Bonin Petrels from the front yard.

In other news.....I think I may have found a Grey-tailed Tattler this afternoon and its stressing me out. How embarrassing.