I've been here a month!

(Sunset on Tern)

I've been here a month last Friday. My how time flies.

(Spotted eagle rays off the Coast Guard dump)

R.I.P. Bilbo 3/17/09. Tuesday morning was a little rough for me -- the one bird that I've named died sometime between Monday afternoon and Tuesday when I checked the temperatures. He seemed to be doing fine -- and then he was dead. I will not name another bird while I'm here.

(I'll miss this little guy! Bye Bilbo!)

Another bird has been finding its way to Tern Island -- the Christmas shearwater. They are secretive birds, hiding in dense bushes with their mates, coming out in the early morning and at dusk. Once a week, Dave has been having us get started a little earlier than 8:30 a.m. (our regular starting time in the morning) to find these birds, check their bands, and mark them. It's really funny to watch 6 adults stalk these poor little birds. We walk around the island, slowly checking underneath all the bushes, using our chick sticks to poke away some of the branches so we can see clearer. Someone spots a shearwater and silently points down to where it's poked out. The rest of us slowly sneak up to the bush and surround it. Then selected people use their sticks to gently herd the little guy to a side of the bush that has a waiting pair of hands to scoop it up. Success! The bird is caught, taken care of, and painted. Hopefully, without a finger getting gnawed on.

(Melinda and Dave with a Christmas shearwater)

I've been having Jim and Cindy help me with the red-tailed tropicbird mark-recapture. They are both so nice to help me out! I only have 150ish birds to catch before I hit the 600 mark (the project states that we need to catch 600 birds, or stop the mark-recapture on May 15th, whichever comes first). I'm pumped!

(Cindy with a RTTR)

Wednesday we boated out to Trig Island, a little sand island that usually has albatross and masked booby nests. The day started out nice enough, but as soon as we got there, the sky dumped on us. It was cold and rainy the whole time we were out there. We got done with the count quickly though -- a storm had come up earlier in February and washed away the albatross nests, so there were only some albatross adults and masked booby nests. I saw a little monk seal when I was counting eggs. He looked up at us, and blubbered (imagine that word literally -- it is the only way I can think to describe how a seal moves on land) his way towards us. He slunk his little head down like he didn't care what was going on. But his curiosity got the better of him again, so he blubbered a little closer and watched us unashamedly. Cute little guy.

(Trig Island, looking towards Tern)

(The curious monk seal)

When we finally got back to Tern, the rain had hit there too. The runway was completely flooded and the albatross chicks looked like angry wet llamas. Yeah, I said llamas.

(See the llama-ness?)

Saturday, the Kahana came and brought 4 new bird volunteers and 2 maintenance men. The Kahana is a ship that delivers goods (and people!) up and down the Northwestern Hawaiian Island chain. When it stopped at Tern on Saturday, it anchored out a little ways from the island. The crew used a smaller boat to bring 4 loads of food, maintenance equipment, fuel, and people to the island. They put straps around the supplies, and that's where I came in. I used my little controller to lower a hook and chain. Jim B. used a rope to pull the hoist (which the hook and chain were connected to) towards the target load. I lowered the hook, the men hooked up the strap and load, and I raised the hook so that the load would clear the boat and the dock. Jim B. then used his rope to pull the hoist and load onto the dock, where Dave was ready with the tractor to haul the load away. It seems easy, but there was a lot of pressure! The hook mechanism is slow anyway, and if I wasn't on the ball, it would be slower, making the unloading go slower, making everything take longer... you get the picture. (Besides, my thumbs started hurting after awhile.) But it was really neat to be a part of the dock work. Even if I only pushed a button.

(The Kahana)

(Me, in my work clothes)