Hey everyone! It’s Kayla here to share this week’s blog 
After a mostly cloudy month, January wrapped up with vibrant, sunny weather and another exciting week on Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll)! In terms of our everyday transecting, we are zooming around the island on the hunt for the continued popping up keiki (baby plants). Although there is still frequent Verbesina, there has been a slight downtick compared to last scheduler, which I like to think is because we did such a fantastic job last go-round haha. We have also been seeing an increased sprouting of other invasives, like Chenopodium murale (CHEMUR) and Solanum americanum (SOLAME). The great news is that Cassytha filiformis (CASFIL), the parasitic vine, has sharply declined in numbers, making some greater restoration areas (GRAs) significantly less time-consuming.
For those interested in our stats, in January we pulled 1,016 of the highly invasive plant Verbesina ecelioides (our #1 target species) and transected 320 acres!!
Now that we are experts at transecting and making good time on the scheduler, we have plenty of time for other projects and activities. Alongside transecting, this week we did ground-nesting Booby monitoring, tackled more marine debris, finished the Pacific Seabird Group 2026 annual meeting video, began a new outplanting site, and worked on our stakes (mentioned below). We also conducted a joint Shorebird Survey, Hawaiian Monk Seal Survey, and Marine Debris Survey on Friday morning. Whew! We have been busy!! All of this work is so rewarding!!
One of our new projects that I’ve been very excited about is deploying more permanent stakes at our active Verbesina points. Our team has been busy configuring PVC pipes with metal tags to better identify the active Verbesina points within each GRA.
To provide some background, when transecting, each team member is equipped with a GPS that contains all active invasive plant waypoints on the island, denoted by a “flag” icon. Each time we transect a GRA, not only are we ensuring 100% coverage of the GRA area, but we are also extra thorough around each waypoint. Each point should also have a physical flag to mark the exact seedbank area, since the GPS has some error, but this is not always the case. In addition, many points may have become overgrown with naupaka and lost over time. It can be frustrating searching a widespread area for a flag and invasive species that may not even be there, hence where our latest strategy comes in.
By staking the active Verbesina points, we hope not only to facilitate our team’s transecting but also to make the work for future teams significantly less problematic. Looking back at old data, many Drop Seed Verbesina plants often occur during the warm summer months, and at the start of a field season, most likely due to new crew members being inundated with tons of new info and having to learn the ropes. Now that we are near our goal of Verbesina eradication, we hope that by deploying more eye-catching and static markers at active points, we can make learning to transect a little easier and help prevent missed Verbesina.
In other news, our mighty crew lead Nick celebrated his birthday on Monday! The island gave him the best gift, with the Gray-backed Terns (Nick’s favorite bird) returning on his birthday. We were also fortunate to see a Masked Booby egg pipping the same day! Along with Nick’s birthday, we have been watching many Nick movie picks: Midnight in Paris, Stuck in Love, The Darjeeling Limited, Old School, and The Wrecking Crew. The theme is predominantly Owen Wilson, if you couldn’t tell.
Before I end, I would like to talk about the Albatross chicks. Both Mōlī (Laysan Albatross) and Ka’upu (Black-footed Albatross) have the absolute cutest, most perfectly little tiny baby puff balls that you could imagine. I wish that everyone could get to see one, but alas they are all the way out here. Our work can definitely be both physically and mentally taxing, especially during the rainy and windy winter months, but these little chicks continue to put a smile on our faces. Seeing their little heads pop out from beneath their parents, watching chick feeding, and hearing the adults “chick talk” all around the island is truly something to behold. Walking around the island has been significantly more leisurely… how could you not stop to appreciate the beauty of new life? It’s truly been cuteness overload!
Highlights: Delia’s chocolate muffins, Kayla’s meatloaf, and new movie projector setup
Bird Highlights: return of the Gray-backed Terns, Slaty-backed Gull, Short-tailed Albatross in Camp
