Laysan Duck

There aren't a lot of places you can go and see four endangerd species all in the matter of one day. Midway happens to be one of those places. The Short-tailed Albatross, the Hawaiian Monk Seal, the Green Sea Turtle, and the critters in the picture, the Laysan Duck. Technically they are the Laysan Teal but they are a duck all the same. These guys were down to 12 individuals at one time and now number well over 200 on Midway alone. There were none on Midway until 2004 and 2005 when the Fish and Wildlife Service dug several small ponds on both islands and brought ducks from Laysan Island. They brought 22 one year and 20 the next and apparently they love it here because their number have increased dramatically. They are really cute ducks and like a lot of birds here they have little fear of humans so it's easy to get close and watch them.