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Hi all,
Today we went on a boat trip to La Perouse Pinnacle to do an outer island bird survey. After the survey we were allowed some down time to get into the water and snorkel the great reef structure that surrounds the pinnacle. Three of us, Kathryn, Laura, and myself entered the water. After snorkeling around for a while and taking some photos with Kathryn's underwater camera we decided to swim closer to the pinnacle to investigate further. All of the sudden, seemingly out of no where a Grey Reef Shark was upon us. Known for their aggression towards divers and territorial nature all eyes where on the shark. Kathryn, the photographer was able to keep her cool long enough to get some close up photos of the shark. Close enough in fact that some shots cannot hold the whole fish in the frame. Being only a small 4 footer this is pretty close. Although it was small and not posturing we still tried to give the shark some distance. It was not having that. It seemed more curious of us then annoyed and followed closely upon our flippers as we back kicked, attempting to keep our flippers between us and the shark. This must have only last a minute or two before it gave up and swam away. Photos will be posted as soon as Kathryn works on the contrast and tint a little. Needless to say we were all excited and remain so, at least for a little while.

Other than this life on Tern Island has been passing quickly and routinely. The Albatross chicks are starting to lose their down and look a little more like the adults that care for them. We had our first Tristram's Storm Petrel fledge for the year. And we had to remove a Bulwar's Storm Petrel out from under the sink last night. Unfortunately we believe it is back. Removing the Petrel nightly might quickly become another chore. The Sooty Terns, all 75,000 pairs of them, are in various stages of nesting, and while some are still pairing up we expect chicks to be hatching soon. The racket these birds emit is numbing and ear plugs are a necessity while working in the colonies. As always the work is fun and challenging but maintaining a remote field site that is only 6 feet above sea level is a challenge. Everything that can rust will, and maintenance is an ongoing chore. But it is worth it.

Missing you all, hope all are doing well.

Aloha ~Tim.

Sorry, Been Busy

Hi all, for those of you still reading this thing. It is easy to put one foot in front of the next and before you know it a whole week has passed. That is definitely true out here. Time seems to fly by faster than the Albatross. Sorry for the horribly writing, I was a Geography Major in College and despised the creative writing classes I took.

So the past week has offered me a chance to work with some new (to me) technology. Laura, one of the other volunteers, is leaving the island the first week of May, and is in the process of passing on her responsibilities to the other volunteers. I have been lucky enough to take over her Tristram's Storm Petrel plots. Tristam's are small sea birds weighing in at a mere 100 grams. These little suckers dig burrows into the ground to lay and rear their eggs and subsequent chicks. In order to monitor nest, and fledgling success we have to find a way to look into these tiny burrows. In steps the "Peeper 2000". The peeper is a small camera that connects to a long cord, and feeds the image to a sort of virtual reality headset. The observer wears pillow cases to block out the light, extends the camera lens via a cord into the burrow, and documents the findings. Pretty cool. So I got that going for me.

Other than this extremely note worthy addition to my life, all has been going well. One day bleeds into the next making it nearly impossible to even remember dinner from the night before. Well I am off to pizza and a movie (this is actually considered a good Friday night, maybe we will stay up past 11).

Hope all are well, Aloha Tim.

Plane Arrives Safely on Friday the 13th

We had a plane arrive on Friday the 13th. Nothing eventful happened with the flight except it did hit and kill one Sooty Tern and bring us fresh fruit and vegetables and a new volunteer, Kyle. I know I have only been out here for a little over 4 weeks but the fresh fruit and vegetables are a great treat, not to mention the ice cream and candy. Some of the other people on the island have been without fresh stuff for over 8 weeks. Rough life considering we have every other food on the face of the earth at our disposal.

So I have the honors of cooking the fresh tuna that arrived on the plane. I am up for the challenge and plan on seared tuna on a baguette with spinach leaves and grated carrots, accompanied by a salad and roasted potatoes. I am hungry just writing about it. I hope I can pull this one off.

Kathryn received an underwater digital camera on the flight so expect to see some underwater shots posted on the website soon. Thanks Mom and Dad, Grandma and Pop-pop, and Lindsay for sending me mail. It is really nice to know people half way across the world are thinking of me. Plane days can feel like Christmas.

Along with tons of snorkeling and boogie boarding I have been filling my days with birds and maintenance. We banded some Trstram's Storm Petrels and I continue on with my Albatross reproductive plots. We have lost a lot of chicks due to days over 85 with little or no wind. The down covering their bodies is great for the insulation at night but can be a killer on those really hot days. The island has taken on a stink of death, which shouldn't last super long (the heat takes care of the decomposition rather quickly). Although it is a natural occurrence it is hard to see chicks make it this far and die because of the heat.

Well that is all for now, GO SOX!

Aloha, Tim

Happy 85th Birthday Pop-pop

HAPPY 85TH BIRTHDAY POP-POP. WISH I COULD BE THERE TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU. STAY HEALTHY! STAY HAPPY!

LOVE YOU ~TIM

East Island, Big and Little Gin.

Though it has been a busy week so far, it has also been one of the most exciting. We took a boat trip to some of the outer islands to do some seabird censuses. It was a great day on the water, clear skies, cool temp, and seas cooperated with only a slight swell. We first went to East Island. East Island is where the old Coast Guard field station was set up. The Coast Guard lived on the small 12 acre island in a tent city. Now East Island has been reclaimed by the turtles, seals, seabirds and unfortunately flotsam. So much plastic and other debris was piled all over the island. In the summer, during the turtle mating season, East Island has a one resident that lives in a tent, works by night, and monitors the sea turtles nesting on the shores. A large pole also houses a camera that can be maneuvered by computer on Tern Island to aid in the sea turtle monitoring. Our goal for the day was to count the nests and chicks of the seabirds nesting among the marine debris (all told we found 11 glass floats on the island). After a picnic lunch we shoved off and traveled a few nautical miles south to Gin Island and its neighbor, Little Gin. These are small islands that have no vegetation, but plenty of life. The sea turtles and Monk Seals were so thick on both the shores we couldn't risk anchoring. Two people from each of the boats (2 total) had to jump and swim ashore to complete the census of the nesting birds. 3 more glass floats were found for a total of 14 on the day.

I am currently working on uploading more photos onto my webshots website, but it can take a while to get them all up with this satellite Internet connection.

Hope all are well. Aloha ~Tim.

Offload Completed

So for yesterday and today we all worked on a resupply of the Island. Yesterday starting real early in the morning the Oscar Sette, a NOAA ship from Honolulu can to resupply the island. In total we had 19 pallet tubs and numerous fuel canisters. It took the entire day to load all the stuff of the large NOAA ship, onto smaller boats and then onto the island. Today we completed the long hard task of assorting, labeling and putting away all the food and supplies. The food storage room is packed to the brim.

Other than these very eventful days the days have been bleeding one into the other. I have only been here for a little over two weeks and feel like I have been here a couple of months. Not to say the days aren't flying by, because they are. But when you live in close quarters with only 5 other people on an island slightly over 1/2 mile long and not very wide at all you get to know the people and the island rather quickly.

Not much else to report on now. Hope all is well where ever you are.

Aloha ~Tim.