Albatross is TWO STORIES tall!

You don't believe me?  Well take a look at this --

During his visit to Midway Atoll NWR, Wyland painted a mural on Charlie Barracks (near L7 on the map.). The video clip above is a time lapse taken during the painting project.  Can you see the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle hovering over some limu, or seaweed, as well as a graceful Hawaiian Monk Seal?  And there they are, a pair of huge dancing Laysan Albatross.  If they were real, I wonder how loud their song would be ?!
(photos: Wyland Earle Midway Atoll 2011)

Midway Tsunami Links: new...and quite old

Aloha!  Rather than write my own update about tsunami-related news, I've decided to link you directly to sources reporting on Midway, as well as other atolls in the NW Hawaiian Islands:

• 3/28, Tsunamis drag newborn monk seal away from mother -- an interview with Cynthia Vanderlip,  Kure Atoll field supervisor and biologist with the Hawai`i Department of Land & Natural Resource
• 3/28, "Tens of Millions" in tsunami damage at Papahanaumokuakea --  Cynthia recounts her night-time, rooftop experience of hearing the tsunami's approach; USFWS ornithologist Dr. Beth Flint speculates that "...the tsunami may have killed every Laysan Finch on Pearl & Hermes."
• 3/28, Interagency Team Conducts Aerial and Ground Survey of Tsunami Damage in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument -- includes the PMNM press release behind the two articles listed above, plus post-tsunami aerial photos of various NW Hawaiian Islands
• 3/27, Getting back to Normal -- Pete Leary, Midway Atoll's resident USFWS Biologist, continues his reporting on the Atoll's tsunami aftermath, sharing wonderfully informative photos
• 3/26, Japanese Tsunami Aftermath on Midway Atoll -- nature photographer, Tony Ernst, recounts his experience as a visitor to Midway when the tsunami hit.  He energetically became a wildlife-salvage-volunteer! 
• 3/26, Wildlife workers still reeling after trauma -- a particularly vivid account about their tsunami experience from volunteers who were on Laysan Atoll

And look at this aerial shot of Midway's main street almost 60 years ago! - photosafaris.com/midway-atoll/post-wwii-history/ --

Midway Island Flooded by 1952 Kamchatka Tsunami Tsunami Generated by Earthquake of Nov. 4, 1952, Kamchatka Peninsula, USSR. Flooded street resulting from tsunami on Midway Island. The tsunami was generated by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake on Kamchatka where it caused severe damage. The tsunami then struck Midway about 3,000 km away, the Hawaiian Islands 5,200 km away, and other areas in the Pacific. Midway reportedly was covered with 1 m of water. Photograph Credit: U.S. Navy.

Update on Midway Atoll's Tsunami

The tsunami washed over the red-shaded areas; USFWS graphic.

Have you heard the unhappy news?  According to the USFWS's press release on Friday, March 18, "Seabird Losses at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge Greatly Exceed Early Estimates."  (When you get to the link, if it doesn't show this title, you may have to put the title into the website's "Headline" box and do a search.)  Briefly, the article reports this news about albatross:

•  "...more than 110,000 Laysan and black-footed albatross chicks – about 22 percent of this year’s albatross production..." have been lost this year as a result of winter storms followed by the tsunami
• "At least 2000 adults were also killed."
• "Wisdom, the 60-year-old albatross that recently hatched a chick, was initially reported as surviving the event because her nest site was not overwashed, but biologists have not been able to confirm her survival."
• Only 4 albatross chicks have been found on the Atoll's smallest island, Spit.  Before the winter storms and tsunami, there had been 1520 albatross nests.
• Although the Short-tailed Albatross has survived all winter storms and the tsunami, the "chick's parents...have not been seen since the tsunami.  Since the chick is incapable of fending for itself, the Service will carefully consider whether hand-rearing this bird is appropriate if it is determined that it is not being fed by its parents."

Read the press release for more information about some of Midway's other birds.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), joins the USFWS and the state of Hawai`i in managing the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, which includes Midway and all of the NW Hawaiian Islands.  It will be NOAA's job in the months ahead to survey the tsunami's effect on the Hawaiian Monk Seal, or `Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, and the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle, or Honu.

There's nothing we can do to prevent tsunamis and other natural disasters.  Even with loss of many individual birds, albatross species have survived these events before, and we expect them to survive this one, too.  

But what we can do is work to prevent human disasters on wildlife.  For example, we can be more careful about keeping plastic out of the ocean, so that albatross don't die from swallowing it by mistake.  Fishing boats can catch fish with gear that doesn't accidentally catch albatross.   

Let's try harder to protect albatross and our Planet Earth!

Dr. Mimi Olry, Monk Seal Conservation Scientist

Interesting people come to Midway Atoll.  One of them is Dr. Mimi Olry, from the island of  Kaua`i in the state of Hawai`i.

For as long as she can remember, Mimi has loved animals.  When she was less than 2 years old, she often sat on the floor next to her cocker-springer pet dog during mealtimes.  At least once Mimi enjoyed sharing a bowl of kibble with her!

As Mimi grew older she learned more and more about all kinds of animals.  For example, she learned to-–

• trim the claws and beaks of pet birds
• put the correct dose of medicine into an aquarium of sick fish
• understand the body language of her horse by sitting quietly on his back in a sunny field and watching other horses in the pasture.

From these experiences, Mimi decided that she’d like to work with animals when she grew up.  She wanted to be a conservation scientist, to help endangered animals, but her teachers advised her to become a veterinarian.  Vet school was haaaard!  Mimi’s area of interest was zoo animals, so guess where she went to work when she graduated?...

…AFRICA!  The African animals she worked with were serval cats, various antelope, and elephants; she also worked with the domestic cattle, goats and camels belonging to tribes people.  Mimi ended up spending a year and a half in various countries in Africa.  But when she began missing her family, she left Africa and returned to Kaua`i.   
Mimi now works for the state of Hawai`i  as the Kaua`i Marine Mammal Response Specialist and volunteer coordinator for the Hawaiian Monk Seal project.  And so, she has become what she always wanted to be…a conservation scientist helping a very rare and endangered seal!  (That's a skull of a Monk Seal to the left of her laptop in the top picture.) 

I wonder what you'd like to be when you grow up?!  You'll find something that fits you exactly right!

Monk Seal Molt

Patches of Hawaiian Monk Seal skin, showing how furry they are!

Two wildlife scientists have arrived on Midway to continue the Hawaiian Monk Seal work. Earlier this week Brenda and Mimi gave a very interesting talk, explaining a lot of different things about the seals. Wow; there was lots to learn!

I learned something about the skin of Monk Seals. They are mammals like us: we have hair growing out of our skin, and they have fur. I had forgotten about this because when you see a Monk Seal from the proper 150 feet distance, their skin looks slippery, not furry. But they really do have fur; it's short, as you can see in the picture.

Once a year, beginning when they're one year old, Hawaiian Monk Seals molt. This means that new skin replaces the old skin. Brenda & Mimi collected some of the molted skin (see picture, with my sunglasses to give size) and showed it to us during their presentation. The fur on the right was colored greenish by marine algae! I wanted to see how the molt felt, so I rubbed it gently on my cheek. It felt like a natural-bristle hair brush!

Monk Seal Morning

Sleep late on a Sunday morning?  Not me; even on Sundays I like to wake up on the early side.  A little after sunrise I was on North Beach walking along the lagoon's edge.  I looked down; there were more crab holes than I've ever seen on any seashore.  This tells me what an undisturbed beach this is; no dogs to bite the crabs!

I looked up and...RIGHT THERE in front of me was a Hawaiian Monk Seal!  It must have come ashore while I was paying attention to the crab holes.  Oh no!  The Refuge -- or anywhere: O`ahu, Maui, Moloka`i...ANYwhere -- requires that we stay 150 feet away from these rare and endangered animals.  Hawaiian Monk Seals are VERY sensitive to disturbance.

I definitely agree with that rule, so I immediately turned around and walked quietly but steadily inland.  When I was far enough away, I slowly sat down and watched through my binoculars.The seal seemed a bit unsettled.  

He (or she) looked around, and then humped further up the slope, dug its nose into the beach and tossed sand over its back.  When it had quite a pile, he settled down. Perhaps the sand will keep bothersome flies away while he snoozes late on a Sunday morning.

Marine Debris Pickup on Midway's Turtle Beach

Petra (holding her data table) has been surveying Midway's Hawaiian Monk Seals and monitoring the births of their babies, called "pups."  Pups is a good name, especially since the seal's Hawaiian name is `Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, which means "dog that runs in rough water."  (scientific name -- Monachus schauinslandi)   

Because the pups sometimes like to play with objects washed up on beaches where the seals come to nurse with their mothers, Petra organized a specialized beach cleanup.  Our goal was to pick up anything that might entangle a playful Monk Seal, as well as other marine animals for that matter.  We worked on Turtle Beach, a favorite haul-out site for the seals.  (Check the "Midway Map" tab at the top of the page; Turtle Beach is along the north shore of Sand Island, to the east of the Old Seaplane Ramp.)  There certainly was a lot of marine debris! You can see Ray and Adam collecting bunches of it.  We piled it high in the vehicle, and Petra drove it away...

...to the marine debris center, where Adam helped her sort it.    Here's a close-up of one of the bins.

It was a lot of work, but we were happy to help, since we all love the Monk Seals, and want to do our best to help them survive!  The nets in the bin will most likely be transported to Honolulu, where they will be cut into smaller pieces.  Then they will be taken to Hawaiian Electric Company's H-Power plant, where they will be burned for energy.

Marine Debris!

Eh, Barb. We get plenny marine debris heah. Whachoo gonna do 'bout it? Look at dis one picha of da poor Hawaiian Monk Seal; da frenz at NOAA* took it.  Check out dere marine debris blog and da Marine Debris 101.

Poor braddah! He mebe starve if no can take 'em off!  Yeah, so Barb: whachoo doin' 'bout marine debris here on Midway?

[*Photo from marine debris blog; taken under MMPA/ESA permit #848-136 by NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center]