New Crew on Tern

Welcome to our new crew on Tern!  The Kahana arrived on Monday with the new summer crew:  Summer Manager Meg Duhr Schultz, and volunteers Catherine Fox, Ryan Potter, and Megan Juran.  The new and old crew will work together over the next 10 days, passing the torch.  The winter crew will be leaving when the Kahana comes through on its return trip to Honolulu, and Meg will be taking over the blog.

Offloading supplies and getting new crew:  Left to right:  Dan Rapp, Ryan Potter, Morgan Gilmour, and Abram Fleishman.  Photo by Sarah Youngren.

Abram Fleishmman and Megan Juran stack milk in the food room.  All food must be labeled with date of arrival and stored in its proper place.  This food will last the crew -- plus folks from NOAA's seal and turtle crews this summer -- until October, when the next crew switch-out occurs.

Biologically, the honu (Hawaiian green sea turtles) are starting to show up in slightly higher numbers -- from 0-1 per day on Tern in mid-winter, to more than a dozen per day now.  (It will be more like 100/day on Tern later, and double that on East Island in peak season.)  We're seeing a few turtle 'rafts' or 'dog piles' -- a bunch of males vying for a female turtle's attention. 

Basking honu on Tern Island

'Old style' metal tag, #G692.  We were lucky to happen to see the first female turtle of the season digging high up on the beach, checking out good spots to nest later in the season.  She was last seen nesting in 1996 and 2002. 

 We also saw two red-footed boobies (ʻĀ wāwae) with signficant oiling in the past month.  One had about 15% of its body covered, and another had about 30%.  We've spotted a handful more with small (quarter-sized) spots.  The oil looked to be old, but we collected feather samples, just in case the oil needs to be analyzed. We'll be keeping a sharp eye out for additional oiling, and are starting to photograph the 'small spot' birds in order to assess how many birds have actually been affected.

Sarah Youngren finds a returned invasive -- sandbur -- under the clothesline.  It was probably accidentally reintroduced by people coming back from East Island, where the weed reappeared four years after 'eradication' -- perhaps due to old seed bank being exposed by record-breaking turtle nesting activity last summer.  Bird, seal and turtle crews will have to be particularly careful not to accidentally move these sticky seeds around more; right now we're hoping to keep re-eradicate the weed in the next several years.

The only bummer news for this week is that because Paula (the manager) has to go back to Honolulu to work in the office, and won't be staying or returning this summer, the benthic monitoring project we were planning to start this winter (but hadn't yet because we had no working boats) will not be carried out.  Of course Paula is very sad to miss out on all the summer actvities (particularly the benthic plate project, as well as helping out the turtle and seal crews), but Meg will be carrying the torch high and proud, and all the other activities will carry on under her guidance.

Dakshina Marlier (USFWS), Abram Fleishman (USFWS), and Morgan Gilmour (UCSC and USFWS) will also be sadly returning to Honolulu, but they have great plans after that!  Dakshina will be moving on to a summer biking position in Alaska, and Abram and Morgan have wildlife jobs in California.  Morgan may be entering graduate school, and if she gets the permits, returning to Tern next winter to continue tagging albatross and boobies, and working on her dissertation tagging great frigatebirds!

More good news is that Sarah and Dan will be staying on at Tern to work on Paula's data quality project, funded by the USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Project, so we can get some of the 30 years of bird monitoring data.  They'll also be able to complete their work on acoustics, plastics, burrowing seabird habitat, working alongside Meg, Megan, Catherine and Ryan.  Yeah!!!

Neighbors.  Snorkeling photos by Abram Fleishman.

Ka Hiapo, our eldest mōlī  (Laysan albatross) chick.  Notice his nice new 'wrist-bracelet' -- a flexible poultry band used to identify chicks.  Ka Hiapo, a.k.a. Goliath, is also the heaviest of our chicks, and part of Dan Rapp's study looking at the effects of plastics on chick growth.  Photo by Sarah Youngren.

Dakshina Marlier, enjoying the sunset.  Photo by Abram Fleishman.

Measurements before applying a geolcator tag to a red-footed booby ('a), as part of Scott Shaffer's (UCSC) study.  The tag will provide us with a map of where the booby goes to forage.  From left to right:  Abram Fleishman, Sarah Youngren, Morgan Gilmour.

Manu o Kū (white tern) feeding its chick.  Does anyone know if this is a mahi?

A new season

It's the start of a new season, biologically and personnel-wise. 

A rather angry looking manu o Kū (white tern) sitting on its egg.  These guys nest anywhere they can find a flat space -- a ledge, a faucet, a boat trailer, or in this case a cement block left by the building.  White terns nest year-round, so we can always count of a few eggs and chicks around the island.  Most of the seabirds start nesting in December or January, though, so we're just starting up the seabird monitoring for this reproductive season.

We saw the summer crew off on the Kahana this week -- They worked hard and accomplished a huge amount over the past six months. 

Team Tern December 2011:  The whole gang!  Bottom Row (L->R):  Morgan Gilmour (UCSC Researcher/Volunteer), Dakshina Marlier (Winter Volunteer), Erin Kawakami (Summer Volunteer), Sarah Youngren (Winter Volunteer Team Leader).  Second Row:  Kathy Kawakami (Native Plants Expert Volunteer), Barbara Mayer (Education and Outreach Volunteer).  Third row:  Dan Rapp (Returning Winter Volunteer), Meg Duhr Schultz (Summer Manager), Ralph Blancato (SeeMore Assistant).  Back Row:  Abram Fleishman (Winter Volunteer), Paula Hartzell (Winter Manager), Scott Sturdivant (Summer Volunteer), Konrad Schaad (SeeMore Satellite Technician).  This group has produced so much -- Thanks gang!!!

The winter crew, satellite technicians, special volunteers and the crew of the Kahana leaving Tern.

The remaining crew.... Dakshina Marlier, Morgan Gilmour, Dan Rapp, Sarah Youngren, and Abram Fleishman.  (Photo by Paula L. Hartzell)

The ka'upu (black-footed albatross) have all arrived for the most part, but the mōlī (Laysan albatross) are still trickling in.  Looks like a gang-buster year for the ka'upu this year!  We'll have better numbers for you on that soon, as we've started the next adult albatross sweep -- That's where we go through the colony and read every band on every adult albatross across the island.  We'll do this four times over the next month, as part of a mark-recapture study tracking the albatross' breeding populations across the northwestern Hawaiian islands.  The staff at Midway Atoll and Laysan Islands follow the same procedure, so we can compare the results, and get a number for most of this species' populations.

Konrad Schaad helps with an albatross count on Trig Island. The ka'upu (blackfooted albatross) have arrived en force; the mōlī (Laysan albatross) are still arriving. Photo by Paula L. Hartzell.

We have a new double-egged ka'upu nest this week!  Albatross usually have only one egg, but this bird is a super overachiever. 

Sarah Youngren, Dan Rapp, and Abram Fleishman continue work on getting the bird acoustic monitoring system set up.  They've been troubleshooting the electronics, have built frames to mount the solar battery charging panels and microphone, as well as to keep birds from pooping on these.  The tricky part is to get everything to work without messing up the other electronic monitoring devices, like George Balazs's turtle cam -- but persistence pays off, and they're moving forward.  Later on, we'll compare the results from the acoustic monitoring of Tristram's storm petrels with Sarah's burrow monitoring results, to calibrate the methods to estimate number of breeding adults. 

Dan Rapp working on setting up acoustics equipment.  Photo by Sarah Youngren.

Okay, these people are seriously just too excited about bird monitoring.

Weeding, weeding, weeding!  The invasive goosefoot and cheeseweed has begun to sprout up all over the island, but has not yet seeded, so we are starting to spend a significant amount of time pulling these buggers before they go to seed.  Both goosefoot and cheeseweed grow into tall, dense monocultures, creating a barrier to wind and movement, and pose a serious threat to albatross chicks later in the winter and spring, when chicks bake in the heat inside these stands. 

'Ilio o ke kai (Hawaiian monk seals) enjoy the warmth and security of the black pipe placed at the back of South Beach by the summer crew.  This pipe will keep most Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle (honu) hatchlings from crawling into the colony by accident and dying; it should also minimize the amount of wasted energy by adult honu lost in the colony.  As an added bonus, it minimizes our disturbance seals on the beach by delineating the area better, and providing a visual and sound barrier for the seals.  We counted 25 seals in this week's count, one more than the highest count last winter.  Really great job, Summer Crew!

Juvenile noio (black noddy).  Photo by Meg Duhr Schultz.

East Beach at Tern Island.  The sand has shifted way to the north.  The beach shifts with seasons and storms, but also provides the best winds for gliding seabirds.  (Photo by Paula L. Hartzell)

Life on a Remote Island -- No access!

Aloha kakou!

Sorry there haven't been posts in a while -- internet service has been out at Tern Island for about a month now, is likely not to be restored until December, when two technicians will ride out with us to Tern, to fix the satellite dish.  Unfortunate for those of us waiting on the blog -- tougher on those living on the island!

We want to take this time to thank the folks out there -- Meg Duhr Schultz (manager), Scott Sturdivant (volunteer) and Erin Kawakami (volunteer).  They have been working like mad without a break since June, and will remain on-island until December.  The lack of internet makes life on Tern seem much more remote than otherwise.  They still can contact their families and others via satellite phone.

From left to right:  Erin Kawakami, Scott Sturdivant, and Meg Duhr Schultz.  They've been working very hard to revegetate areas that have been denuded by human traffic.  They've also ramped up our native plant propagation facilities, working on methods to increase our native plant community and shrubs on the island.  This work is extremely important in providing adequate nesting sites and cover for young chicks.

We also thank their families for their patience, understanding, and for sharing these three folks for a six month stint on Tern.  Its always a challenge for loved ones -- We appreciate your sacrifice so that they can do all the good they are doing out there.

They have let us know that they are doing well, and the first kaʻupu (black-footed albatross) have shown up on Tern this week!  The first mōlī (Laysan albatross) should return in the next week or two.  Soon they will have thousands of albatross returned to find their mate, dance their dance, and begin nesting.  A very exciting time!

Ka'upu (black-footed albatross).  Photo by Sarah Youngren (2011)

Meg, Scott and Erin have been busy with native plant work, but also rescuing Hawaiian monk seals trapped behind the seawall, reinforcing the seawall, doing regular seabird monitoring, figuring how to minimize loss of shrubs from turtle digging, and following Erin's white tern research.  We appreciate all their hard work, which will have an impact for years to come.

The next crew is beginning to gear up for the winter season, switching off with the summer crew in December.  This season will be very short:  December to March, because FWS is shifting their schedules from Dec-June to March-September.  We'll have lots of adventures during that time.  Starting next week, we'll begin following this crew's preparation for the island.  It will be the start of many long-term and new monitoring and research projects. 

We'll also be featuring the exploits of our Education and Outreach Volunteer, Barbara Mayer, our NOAA outreach partner Wes Byers, and our classroom partners.  Barb and Wes recently visited Lānaʻi High School, sharing some information about the Monument, talking story, and learning about the student's limu project.

We're lucky enough to work with some truly amazing Hawaiian classrooms, like ʻIolani Elementary School on Oʻahu, and Lānaʻi High School on Lānaʻi.  Our volunteers are matched with each class, and each has their own project -- from following bird nests, to designing artificial nests, to statistical analyses of data.  We're so happy to have this partnership, and the kids really inspire us (and teach us the value of sharing and enthusiasm).  Barb will tell you more about the Lānaʻi trip and our work with other classes as we go along this season.

We look forward to another season on Tern Island -- and more photos for the blog!

A hui hou!
paula

A calm day on Tern

September 6, 2011: For the first time since I arrived to Tern almost 3 months ago, it is still. The Northeast tradewinds, normally a constant presence at the atoll, are almost entirely absent. Without even the slightest breeze, it's oddly quiet today. Not only do we not hear the sound of the wind moving between antennas and solar panels on the roof, but the sound of waves crashing against the shore south of the barracks is absent. The waters outside the lagoon are glass calm and a more subtle shade of blue than we usually see.

The birds have also quieted down substantially and it feels a little eerie out in the colonies. Everybody's laying low because it's HOT out there. Gular sacs are all aflutter (at least among the boobies and frigate birds), the sooty tern flocks are in disarray without a steady wind to orient themselves by, and everybody else has flocked, literally (bad pun fully intended), to any available shade.

With Tern Island's shrub habitat in decline and roughly 30% of the island taken up by a barren expanse of compacted gravel that does not support native plants (and therefore most of our bird species), shade is at quite a premium on Tern Island. Lucky for the birds, most of the chicks are past their most vulnerable stages in their lives when they lack the physical and behavioral adaptations to handle the heat. Here are a few examples of how Tern's seabirds coped with today's high temperatures.

Frigatebirds (ʻIwa) display perhaps the most diverse (and amusing) range of behavioral responses to heat. Here are just a few of them. There's the open wing posture (apparently this reduces water loss somehow). There's gular fluttering (intensity and duration of flutter typically correlates to how heat stressed a bird is), which really requires video footage for one to fully appreciate (stay posted on this one). And then there's what I've decided to call the 'I give up' posture. C'mon, it's not that hot, is it?

Scott has been steadily amassing a pretty sweet driftwood collection for his study plot in our Active Management Revegetation Zone between the runway and the colonies. Birds are attracted to the wood every day for the perching structure it provides, but today saw especially high interest in Scott's installations for the shade they provide.

When there's a steady wind (which is most of the time) all the sooty terns (ʻewaʻewa) in a flock like this will almost invariably be pointing straight into the wind. Seriously, on a windy day these birds are as effective as any windsock in indicating the wind direction. This is another behavioral response that helps them stay cool. I imagine it also keeps the feathers nice and smooth. You'll see from this photo, however, that on a dead calm day like today nobody quite knew where to stand! A minor detail, I know, but when you share a small island with thousands of seabirds, you notice things like this.

This little dome thing here is a recycled fuel barrel being used as a shade structure. We painted it white so it will reflect heat, drilled a few holes in the sides for cross-ventilation, and then anchored it to the ground. We're still in the early stages with these designs and if you look closely, you'll see a little gizmo on the ground that looks like a thumb drive. This is a temperature logger. We are currently measuring the inside temperature of our shade structures and comparing them to the temperatures under our natural shrub habitat. If these perform similarly, we'll make more and place them out in the colonies in time for the next breeding season.

Even a simple concrete block out on the runway surface makes a difference. We're still not quite sure how this tiny brown noddy (noio) chick made it way out there, but it looks like it's been reunited with its parents and managed to find a good spot to wait out the heat!

Tern Island: Population 3

Okay, okay, you've probably all seen the sign before, especially if you've ever 'googled' us or even been to Tern Island yourself, but I couldn't resist. And true to Tern Island form, note the duct-tape signage updates made on recycled Rite-in-the-Rain paper. Next we'll have to update the airport section to say "temporarily closed due to budget cuts." But that's a whole other story...

Two things first off: a warm aloha from the new crew! Followed by a humble apology for keeping you faithful readers waiting so long for an update. As you may have gathered, things have gotten a lot quieter around here, both inside the barracks and out in the bird colonies. Paula left a few weeks ago to take some much deserved leave after an incredible 9-month tour of duty out here. If you've been following this blog you are well familiar with how much Paula and her volunteers have accomplished over the last year. Just the other week we bid farewell to the NMFS seal crew and every day we say goodbye to more and more birds as they fledge and head out to sea.

And then there were three...

I'm Meg, the new Assistant/Acting Manager until Paula returns in December and I'm out here with two fantastic volunteers: Erin Kawakami and Scott Sturdivant. We're continuing with all the bird surveys and reproductive monitoring that has gone on since this spring (and for the last several decades), but since fall is a relatively quiet period on Tern Island bird-wise, we're also seriously geeking out on plants and soils these days. Lack of shade and shrub habitat is a serious problem on Tern and we're working hard to find ways to propagate native plants out here and increase their survival in the field. And because we all know that the best time to plant a tree (or shrub in our case) was 20 years ago, we're also creating artificial shade and burrow structures, so the seabirds that depend on this habitat have a place to go in the meantime.

So here's us! Stay posted for another blog update soon.

From left to right: Erin, Scott, and Meg (and masked booby chick #151)