Aloha all! Enjoy the latest blog from Delia šš
Last week, we started scheduler 4, continued staking the Verbesina points, hacked away at some washed-up marine debris, and conducted our regular biweekly shorebird survey and ground-nesting Booby monitoring. We also had our monthly individual check-ins with our Field Station Manager, Naomi, which is always a breath of fresh air. This weekend, we started Tristramās Storm-Petrel (TRSP) monitoring project using our new burrow shoes! This required creating a 3 m Ć 3 m quadrat and observing which burrows are occupied by TRSPs in randomly generated plots. Our hope is to determine a more up-to-date estimate of the breeding population of Tristramās on the island. Nick thinks there are thousands.
We have been very fortunate lately to see many rainbows, with the weather being intermittently rainy and sunny. A small honu (Hawaiian green sea turtle) was spotted on the beach in sector 4, as well as more washed-up man-o-wars around the island. Jordan found two dead fish on the beach, surprisingly intact, and scared me with them. He wanted to keep them inside the bunkhouse, which Kayla and I quickly vetoed. After transecting Route 7.1, Kayla spotted new Tristramās predations, which suggests the pueo (Short-eared Owl) is still around. During our shorebird survey, we spotted āakekeke (Ruddy Turnstone), kÅlea (Pacific Golden-Plover), ‘Å«lili (Wandering Tattler), hunakai (Sanderling), and a kioea (Bristle-thighed Curlew). After months and months of missing it, Jordan finally saw the Black-bellied Plover! He was thrilled!! Also, during our shorebird survey, Jordan emphasized the difference between the balloon and sail jellyfish washed up on the beaches (we are still working on identifying those). For shorebird surveys, Jordan and I usually monitor the southern beaches of the island while Kayla and Nick monitor the northern beaches. We counted 160 kÅlea, 184 āakekeke, 1 kioea, 1 hunakai, and 8 ‘Å«lili.
We started two new shows last week: Jury Duty (which weāre finishing season 1 tonight) and Invincible. We also watched Deadpool, Wolverine, and Zodiac, all of which we appreciated. The team played poker and an interesting game of telestrations, which everyone enjoyed. Kayla made some delicious pumpkin cinnamon rolls this weekend, and I made rosemary focaccia that didnāt rise properly. Nick made some pesto pizza, and Jordan made fried rice tonight. I also made some baked faro, which Jordan enjoyed.
Nick has been going through old Kure notes from the 60s, which heās been thoroughly enjoying today. Here are some findings from a March 1964 bird survey: 14 Black-footed Albatross, 135 Laysan Albatross, 5 Pacific Golden-Plovers, 10 Ruddy Turnstones, and 1 Bristle-thighed Curlew. A lot has changed since then!
Hope you all have a great week! š
Mahalo ~ Delia
