The seabird menace

McKenzie barely escaped with her life. Great Frigatebirds are know for being thieves, they chase other birds (boobies, tropicbirds, shearwaters) and make them throw up their food. Pretty sneaky. They are awesome fliers.


This is a male displaying for females, he looks a little nervous to me. He must be hiding something.

Short-tailed Albatross

There was only one on Laysan and their number in total are right around 2000, maybe more. They have been recovering after being devastated by feather hunters on Torishima Island.

Peregrine Falcon

One visitor we had on Laysan was this Peregrine Falcon. It apparently stopped to refuel on Laysan Finches. It ate a lot.

Black-footed Albatross

Black-foots are awesome birds, a little more feisty than Laysans. Their numbers are about 1/10th of Laysans and they are being considered for the endangered species act. They're pretty special.

The famed "Zombie-tross" of Laysan Island

This is actually just one variation of a Laysan /black-footed albatross hybrid. Brains....brains... I think it looks like a zombie.

More pics of me...

Here's me having fun.

Me and my Alua friend.
Hanging outside on a full moon evening.

Happy Halloween!

This is the fun stuff.

For the fans

Here are some pics of me, working hard of course. First one is us making a water catchment out of marine debris. Recycling at it's finest.

Checking out the sunbathers on the beach, actually we were looking at seals.

Me and my toy gun, marine debris can be useful AND fun.

Albatross Mugshots

It's funny how different they can look, you can make out their individual personalities. The first one is my favorite. It looks like a weasel.

White Tern

These guys are so curious, they will come within a few feet of your head and fly around you checking you out. It's pretty cool.

Albatross like fingers...

Many albatross are so curious and unafraid they will just walk right up to you as if to say "hey, what are you?". It's one of my favorite things ever.

Albatross chicks

These guys are pretty adorable, it has been a lot of fun watching them grow (like weeds).

Albatross

I just can't get enough... I just can't get enough...

Camp pictures

Home sweet home for almost 8 months...

Beaches...

It's an island so naturally, they're everywhere! And gorgeous...

More BIRDS!!!

A male Great Frigatebird, they remind you of an evil muppet... it's the eyes I think.
A young Red-footed Booby on my spotting scope, they are curious buggers, they will even land on your head.

A Black-footed Albatross in flight..

Birds birds birds

A Laysan Albatross doing what they do best, being cute. Actually he looks a little uncomfortable.

Here is young Wedge-tailed Shearwater, we call them Wedgies for short. This guy bears a striking resembalance to... I think it's Benjamin Franklin.

This is a pair of White Terns regularly called Fairy Terns as well. They look a little nervous if you ask me.

A beautiful reflection in the lake, the lake sits in the center of the island and is hypersaline which means it's about 3 times as salty as sea water. Not a lot of stuff lives in it, some brineshrimp is about it. It's pretty shallow except for a few places where is get to 15 feet deep or so.

Wildlife

Here is a Laysan Finch all fluffed up after bathing and preening.

Two Brown Boobies perched on the shipwreck.

And a young Brown Noddy chick enjoying the shade.

Coco Grove

Here is a shot of the coconut grove on Laysan, it's one of the few landmarks that break up the view.

It has been rough...

And by rough I mean completely awesome! The picture says it all, Laysan Island is an amazing place and it's hard to believe I just lived there for 8 months. This is the beach near our camp.