A Summer of Change on Hōlanikū 
As the summer field season comes to a close, our team reflects on the incredible changes across Hōlanikū. From shifting seabird colonies and flourishing native vegetation to marine debris removal and everyday life at the field station, it’s been a busy season!
A big shout-out to this amazing crew for all their hard work, dedication, and care for Hōlanikū!
Enjoy this latest field update from Summer Crew Lead Dwight as he shares his observations, highlights, and reflections from the past few months.
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Aloha!
As the team and I count down our last few days of the summer field season, we also reflect on the changes we’ve seen on Hōlanikū over the past few months.
This summer, we have seen massive Sooty Tern (ʻewaʻewa) colonies form and thousands of their chicks hatch and grow. Now, these colonies have dwindled down to just a handful of juveniles. Gray-backed Terns (pākalakala) have also left, and now, instead of seeing and hearing Christmas Shearwaters (ʻaoʻū) fill our morning skies, we see their chicks, nearly fully feathered, coming out of the naupaka. Black Noddy (noio) and Brown Noddy (noio kōhā) chicks grow older, and we frequently hear their calls demanding food from their parents. On rare occasions, we still see some brand-new hatchlings. Curious juvenile boobies fly close over our heads when we walk down the beach. The Wedge-tailed Shearwater (ʻuaʻu kani) chicks that we saw as eggs at the start of the season are now growing in their flight feathers.
With the island far quieter during the day since the departure of the albatross (mōlī and kaʻupu), our evenings have been filled with thousands upon thousands of Bonin Petrels (nunulu), one of my favorite sights each season I’m here. As night falls, they begin to waddle on the ground, often in pairs, as they prospect and dig new burrows to prepare for their upcoming nesting season.
Another recent highlight was having the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project crew stop by for a day at the end of September. We greeted their team of 16 on the shore by the pier and enjoyed having in-person interactions with people who weren’t us. Together, we removed nearly 10,000 pounds of washed-up netting and lines that had been collected and staged around the island over the past year.
It was a wet summer, and we saw massive growth of native vegetation. The naupaka, alena, kawelu, pōpolo, ʻāweoweo, and nohu are BOOMING! Only in the last couple of weeks have we finally begun to see some of these plants die back as autumn settles in. Now, in October, we enjoy cooler weather and stronger winds, while sometimes dreading the cold showers that await us.
Hōlanikū experienced relatively minimal impacts from Hurricane Nolo. Gusts barely exceeded 30 mph as the hurricane passed by us to the south. The swells brought water up to the vegetation line on the eastern beaches, while the narrow southern spit of the island was washed over. However, even with this, the sand holds strong, and Hawaiian monk seals (ʻīlioholoikauaua) can still be seen resting on its banks.
Marsh and I recently watched ‘Coyote vs. Acme’. I definitely recommend giving this a watch if you love Looney Tunes shenanigans. Coyote is a genius!
We recently played some classic Mario Party 2 and had at least half a dozen hootenannies that got us out of our seats. I spent all my coins on those instead of stars. Yeeeee-haaaaawwww! Totally worth it!
Spencer spoils me with brownies, and Diane makes the whole team bomb smoothies! Marsh has also been making some amazing cornbread, too!
It’s been a pleasure spending the season out here with such an incredible crew. We had some curveballs thrown our way, especially with prepping for the storms and keeping extra tabs on our Laysan Ducks (koloa pōhaka), but the team got so much done, and I couldn’t be prouder.
Thanks for tuning in. I hope you enjoy the attached photos taken by Diane, Marsh, and Spencer!
Mahalo,
Dwight
