Quack Patrol

photo by Cari

Come along with the Quack Patrol!

In the hot summer months the Quack Patrol conducts almost daily checks of every wetland on Sand Island for deadly bird botulism.  If we find a dead duck, we'll collect it carefully and put it in a ziploc bag with information about where and when we found it.  Then we put the bag in a freezer until a veterinarian can examine it to find out if botulism poison really did kill the duck. 

If we find a sick bird -- good news! -- we wrap it in clean towels and take it into the US Fish and Wildlife Service lab, where the duck is cared for.  You can read more about the care of botulism-sick ducks in the July 3 post "Laysan Ducks: Battling Botulism."

As you can see in the picture, I and my bicycle are loaded down with equipment.  My binoculars, with sunglasses hooked on, are strapped across me.  In my pocket is a pencil...and even a second one, in case I lose the first one.  I'll stuff the clipboard with its data table into the bike basket. The net (for scooping dead ducks out of the water) will be stuck through the basket's handle.  My metal water bottle is already in the bike basket, along with my backpack.  The pack contains clean towels for sick birds...and ziploc bags for dead birds, which I hope we don't find!  

We're ready to ride to the first wetland, called Ball Field Big; let's go!  After seeing the 5-minute video, perhaps you'd like to check out any of these 3 FOAM Activity Pages:  

• Laysan Ducks #1 -- Bands
• Laysan Ducks #2 -- Who's Who?
• Duck Project

Bike Ride to Laysan Ducks from Barb Mayer on Vimeo.

Albatross Checks Barb's Bike

Yo, Barb!  Your bike gettin' flat!  Good t'ing my frien' out at Rusty Bucket wen' check your tires when you not lookin'.

I t'ink you busy wid da Laysan Duck botulism check at Rusty Bucket seep.  Your tires, da pressah plenny low!  My frien fill 'em up fo' you!  Now you good to go on da highways and byways of Midway!!  A hui hou!

Come Along on a Bike Ride

I strapped my camera to the back of my headlamp, put it on, hopped on my bike, and switched the camera to video mode.  Come along as I ride to work!

You'll see LOTS of Laysan Albatross.  Most of the sounds are made by them.  At the beginning of our ride, near my house, there's a chick pestering its parent for food.  Along the way we see many black-and-white albatross chicks stretching their wings and practicing to fly.  We also catch a glance of some white terns; there's a pair that flies ahead of us as we turn the corner toward the island's vegetable garden.  A person going to work in a golf cart waives to us.  As we travel, we have to be careful not to bump into the many albatross that are standing all over.  At the end of the ride, we pull into the US Fish and Wildlife Service garage...and we're ready to go to work!


Midway Atoll Bicycle Ride from Barb Mayer on Vimeo.