Hi all,
Since the last that I have posted we have had some changes here at Tern Island. Earlier today Laura a fellow volunteer left the island to head home to Montreal. She will be missed. On the up side the flight that she left on brought us fresh fruit and vegetables and letters from loved ones. Thanks to my family and Lindsay for sending along some letters and packages. Also arriving on the flight was an electrician to work on setting up a new bank of batteries to store the power from our solar panels. It is an ongoing struggle to maintain a field site as remote as this one.
Previously in the week we had the opportunity to take an outer island trip to Trig Island. After a quick bird survey and sighting the first Hawaiian Monk Seal pup for the season we weaved our way through a maze of shallow waters to reach Serendipity. A secluded area of coral well protected from the breakers, Serendipity lived up to its name. We snorkeled this beautiful spot until even the hardiest Canadians called it quits due to being cold. Hopefully we will be lucky enough to return to Serendipity later in the season.
Life on Tern has been plugging along. The Sooty Terns are here in full force and hardly a bare patch of ground remains. The sound coming in the open windows is loud enough to make even the loudest talkers have to yell to communicate efficiently. It is weird though, soon it all fades into background noise and becomes just life. A lot of Tristram's Petrels are starting to fledge. Just in time as it is getting almost impossible to work with the burrow cam around all the nesting Sooty Terns. The time has been going by fast but I do miss certain things, Scrappy, Beer, Red Sox games and Spice Cake.
Hope all are doing well, Tim.
