Sunday, February 22, 2009

Welcome to Tern Mary G

So, I made it! I landed on Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, Feb. 20, 2009. We had an uneventful flight -- the Pacific Ocean view was incredible though.

As the plane dropped us off, and as I saw it fly farther off into the distance, it hit me -- "I am in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with 4 other people. I will not see a plane/ ship for at least two weeks. I am stuck." That was a sinking feeling. Coupled with the lack of sleep, that first day was a blur. Pete (resident manager of Tern Island) showed Jim, Cindy, and I around and gave us a little overview of what to expect. (Jim & Cindy are a retired couple from Honolulu. Big volunteers around HI.) I found out we have to take turns cooking dinner. Yeah, I'm done for. We chose our rooms -- my room has an awesome view of La Perouse Pinnacle. And that night, I went to bed, all I could write in my journal was "What have I done?"

Next day was much, MUCH better though. I am so thankful to be here -- how many people even get to see this place? God is so evident here -- nature is always such a huge reminder to me of how He works and how big He is. I've seen Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles basking on the beaches here. The water glows a turquoise blue. And then, there are the birds. So now, I will talk about the birds of Tern Island.

The guy from The Notebook who said, "If you're a bird, I'm a bird" as he sappily looks at his girl has never been out here. There are literally thousands of birds here -- noisy, smelly, pooping birds. Here's a quick list of those birds: Laysan albatrosses, black-footed albatrosses, white terns, sooty terns, masked boobies, red-footed boobies, great frigatebirds, brown noddies, black noddies, red-tailed tropicbirds, Tristram's storm-petrel. (I will try to get photos of each species on here as I go.) The sounds and noises here can only be described as cacophony -- constant, incessant whistles and shrieks. The birds slack off a bit in the early morning hours, but the noise is everywhere. After only 2 days here, it has become background noise. I hear it but I'm used to it. Everyone told me the smell would be rough for a few days. Well, the way I describe it is that it smells like Gulf Shores. I love Gulf Shores, but I guess it would smell pretty bad to some people.

As for the volunteering aspect, we work 6 days a week, 8:30 - 4:30, with an hour break for lunch. Not too shabby. On top of that, I scooped up an opportunity to make $100/ month checking the weather every day for NOAA. It's not much, but every little bit helps! My job for the NFWS though will be to check on the albatross nests & chicks. I already have my favorite species -- the Laysan albatross. They're so big, but so gentle & sweet. The other person on this island -- Melinda -- is researching their foraging habits, and she has one albatross that she can preen. She says "You'll fall in love." I haven't quite gotten to that stage yet, but it's getting close. Even though these birds were overwhelming at first, they have such personality. These Laysans will just watch you and waddle on up to you. I actually got to hold an adult yesterday. I also got to band some chicks too -- they're so downy and soft, but they try so hard to be mean. Their bites will hurt much more in a couple of months, but for now, I just laugh at them.

I'm shooting for updating this blog on Sundays, around dinnertime for me, bedtime for my main people. I miss everyone. It'll be good times here though.

Our plane to Tern Island, about 5:30 A.M., Hawaiian time










The view from my room
A resting green sea turtle on Crab Beach

An albatross chick

A view of Tern Island