Hey everyone! It’s Kayla here to share this week’s blog 
Work this week was CASFIL CASFIL CASFIL!!! Cassytha filiformis is a parasitic vine that is one of our target species on Kure. Personally, I think the vine is one of the coolest plants on the island; it doesn’t have any leaves, instead getting its nutrients by wrapping around and taking from a host plant. Due to its parasitic nature, it can spread rapidly, taking over an entire area, earning its nickname “the danger noodle”. This week, the east side of the island had upwards of 40 Cassytha infestations, ranging from anywhere between 1 to 120 square feet. Over the course of three days, we cut hopefully all of the parasitic vines out of naupaka (unfortunately the only way to control CASFIL is to take out the host plant that it’s on). The idea of cutting out native vegetation is hard, since our goal is habitat restoration, but we can’t have a parasitic vine threatening the stability of our dunes.
Along with the many hours of CASFIL removal in the blazing sun (it was HOT this week), our team was also working on two other main projects. Dwight and Jordan have been hard at work prepping the Main House roof for future painting. Nick has been putting his heart and soul into our presentation for the Hawai’i Island Festival of Birds (big shoutout to him). Nick is also working on removing some of the larger HELFOE (Heliotrope trees) from around the island. I’ve lent a hand in all of these projects wherever help was needed. I’ve also been working on trail maintenance around the island which I find very enjoyable just being able to get lost in the work with my music on. Next week we have the RAMP ship to look forward to which will bring a few fresh faces to the island for a day.
Camp life has fallen into a very similar pattern lately. After finishing Avatar: The Last Airbender (highly recommend for all ages), we have now started binge watching the sequel Legend of Kora in the evenings (big thanks to Dwight for recommending it). The night ends with Nick and Jordan playing ukulele and guitar. The Bunkhouse is filled with joyous melody (THE SAME FOUR SONGS haha) and Nick and Jordan playing over each other as they attempt to come up with new songs. I honestly wouldn’t trade these nights for the world.
Now I would like to share the common man’s bird observations… Nick will most likely add his own after this. There have been quite a few Kōlea / Pacific Golden Plover around camp. They have a very unique call that reminds me of home on the East Coast. The Nunulu / Bonin Petrels are also back, meaning the burrows around camp are starting to increase in multitude. Nick has vigilantly been listening for the ʻOu / Bulwer’s Petrel each night outside the Main House. Jordan also ~allegedly~ saw an egret on Friday morning. Eyes were open for it the entire day and it was not seen again so I guess we will never know.
Nick’s bird observations: white egret sp. reported, Semipalmated Plover on runway this week, Bulwer’s petrel is at 5 days calling from the same location.
Other highlights for this week include Nick and Jordan’s chocolate chip cookies (they were delicious) and my lemon sugar cookies (even more delicious). Jordan, as usual, made a mean curry. Nick and I have also been working on our individual ice cream recipes, which will become a Kure staple once perfected.