Well this is it...

my last day. Onward to my next assignment, I'll be working on a sage grouse study in Nevada with even less access to the internet so I may not be posting stuff as often. I'll try. And of course I'll have to change the name of my blog. Thanks for sharing in my "Midway Experience".

Bonin Petrel

We have been helping out a couple of researchers work with these petrels. They typically dig burrows in the ground and in some places there are so many you can't walk without caving them in. Caving them in is especially bad this time of year because they have started laying eggs and incubating. This particular bird on the other had has chosen to build a nest under an old concrete block, it was probably a lot less work and it helped me get a good picture of one.

I'm going to miss these guys...

It's hard to explain how much fun it is interacting with these birds and all these new chicks. They have such interesting personalitites not to mention they are absolutely adorable.

Bicycle Hell

Have you ever wondered where that old bike of yours went? Well apparently they go to where all old worn out bikes go, the hanger on Midway Atoll. RIP bikes.

Spooky Midway

Here is an example of what you can find in the abandonded buildings on Midway. I think this particular office was part of the Phoenix Corporation who used to be the contractor company here on Midway. Anyway, they left in a big hurry at some point and left quite a mess. It's really strange going through these places, even stranger is the really really ugly orange carpet, don't you think?

Storm clouds

It got a little stormy yesterday, as you can tell from the picture. We've had quite a lot of pretty nice days lately which is apparently unusual for this time of year. I'm thankful for it, it gives me lots of time to roam around the island taking pictures and enjoying the albatross chicks and that ridiculously cute White Tern chick.

White Tern Chick

Things don't get much cuter than this guy. The White Terns are really interesting because they don't build nests, they lay a single egg on tree branches, air conditioners, any flat surface they can find. Here's the result, a cute little chick. It looks like it has a lot of attitude.

Sunrise, sunset

Sunrise,
Sunset.

Cute Chick Pictures

Can these things get any cuter? They apparently just get uglier from this point on so we had better enjoy them while we can.

Great Frigate birds

These guys are really cool birds. The males have that large red pouch that they inflate to attract females. There seem to be more and more lately, I'm guessing their mating season is beginning. Last week I watched a couple of these birds chase a Red-footed Boobie, they harass them, bite them in the air, knock them to the water, all in an effort to make the Boobie throw up it's lunch. They are pretty successful at this, at least they were when I was watching. They are the "bad boys" of sea birds out here.

They're getting bigger...

These guys grow like weeds. Yesterday in the hot sun the parent of this chick was just sitting beside the nest so naturally I had to take pictures of it. It was too irresistable.