On Hōlanikū, even the calmest weeks can end in surprise—enjoy the latest field blog from Kayla!
If you had asked me what my blog was going to be about 2 hours ago, I honestly could not have told you. We’ve had a relatively anticlimactic week over here on Kure. Workwise, we started a new scheduler, or full transect of the island, so GRAs this week have been relatively easy. CASFIL, the parasitic vine, has again been prevalent on the North side of the island, filling up most of our time. Other projects include: Dwight continuing work on the Main House roof, rearranging some of our watercubes to make LADuties (or LADU (Laysan Duck) duties) more efficient, and taking inventory of supplies around camp in preparation for the October resupply. All the excitement was saved for Saturday…
We woke up on Saturday, September 27 in the cheeriest of moods. Already a gorgeous day with clear blue sky, we had plans to film some educational videos (more to come on this). As a treat, Nick prepared a lovely breakfast of bacon to set the special mood of what would hopefully be a great day.
Our team has been hard at work brainstorming ideas for future outreach projects. Last week we got some footage while we removed marine debris from the shoreline, and I hope all our supportive followers enjoyed a little snippet of a day on Hōlanikū. We hope to bring you more of these and answer any questions that avid blog readers may have!
Back to our Saturday… on his way to the Main House, Nick saw a vagrant bird: a Lesser Yellowlegs! Any day with a new bird brightens the island mood, in this case further adding to our productive morning. Filled with glee, Nick cleaned the Med Room, most importantly getting our “couch” back into sitting shape, and then got right to work editing together the videos. The rest of the team busied themselves with laundry, dishes, and reading. A calm afternoon was turned upside down when a radio call came through from Jordan.
“Vagrant duck! Vagrant duck!” echoed through the Main House. Nick and I whipped our heads. Jordan continued, his voice filled with excitement “Black and white duck! Right outside the Bunkhouse!” Dwight, Nick, and I hustled over to the Bunkhouse where lo and behold there was a gaggle of ducks with one vastly different from the others. While it wasn’t black and white, a gorgeous brown and gray Northern Pintail casually roamed, surrounded by Laysan ducks who seemed equally as intrigued as us humans. It was quite the sight.
You may be thinking, “wow what a perfect Hōlanikū day” but wait it gets better. Two new birds!! A beaming Nick was also on dinner duty this Saturday evening and he had big plans. After enlisting Jordan to bake bread, Nick cheffed it up making what might be the top Kure meal thus far this season. Inspired by his time in Texas, we were absolutely treated to the delicacy named Cajun Girl Poboys. Even with the propane running out mid dinner preparation, nothing could dampen the mood today. Oh, and Nick made Keylime Pie which we have yet to dig into but is guaranteed to taste delicious.
As the sun sets, our little crew unwinds to the sounds of Bonins and Noddys. Tonight we will be watching The Big Short, as recommended by Jordan. It really has been one of my favorite days on Hōlanikū.
Other highlights of the week: Dwight saw a large jellyfish at the beach! Jordan is almost finished with his book “Infinite Jest” which has posed quite a thought provoking read. We have been watching Ted Lasso which is a very funny, heartwarming watch.
Bird observations: Brown Noddy chicks are hatching, Bonin Petrel numbers are increasing, and our two vagrants: a Lesser Yellowlegs and a Northern Pintail.