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View From Here - Hawaii Travel Blog - Birdwatching

Total Number of Entries - 73

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Midway Albatross Count: Day 5

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Thu 12/18/2008

Destination: Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu

Today, I debated another member of our team on what day of the week it was. I said Wednesday; she said Thursday. Turns out she was right. I just love it when I lose track of time. Today’s weather: Abyssmal. High 50s. 40 mph wind gusts. Pelting rain. And, still, we counted.
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Midway Albatross Count: Day 4

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Wed 12/17/2008

Destination: Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu

Today, we were supposed to head over to Eastern Island, but blasting wind and stinging rain required us to abort our plans. Instead, we stayed put on Sand Island, our base. When we signed up for this gig, we were warned that we would work every day, no matter the weather.
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Midway Albatross Count: Day 3

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Tue 12/16/2008

Destination: Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu

For some reason, I have taken to the black-footed albatross. So much so that my crewmate Lindsey knows to let me mark the nest sites that fall on the line between us.

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Midway Albatross Count: Day 2

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Mon 12/15/2008

Destination: Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu

The plane may be child size. Cellular service may be non-existent. Internet speed may be the equivalent of dial-up. But you’ve got to hand it to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge: The showers are hot, hot, hot. It helps soothe the sore muscles.
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Midway Albatross Count: Day One

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Sun 12/14/2008

Destination: Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu

Our prop plane touched down at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge under cover of darkness just a couple minutes before 6:00 a.m. local time, nearly 5 hours after we departed Honolulu International Airport.Laysan albatross lined the runway, like spectators at a parade. It was as if they were awaiting our arrival.
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Next Stop: Midway

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Fri 12/12/2008

Destination: Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu

It was another Friday afternoon at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge when a man asked what kind of bird was perched on Moku’ae’ae Island. I lifted my binoculars and spied the profile of a seabird with a dark-colored body. My fellow volunteer Lee asked, “What color is it?” “Dark,” I said.

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Nene Goslings Getting Around

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Tue 12/9/2008

Destination: Kauai

What do I do with these flipper-feet? It’s nene nesting season at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai. That means beware the daddy nene. e guards his family’s nest site of two to five eggs as defensively as a hockey goalie. And he’s not afraid to leave his territory to chase down an interloper like me.
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Albatross Are in the Air

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Sat 11/15/2008

Destination: Kauai

They’re back. The majestic Laysan albatross are returning to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. The males tend to arrive first and await the females who may arrive hours or a day later, but all albatross that nest here at the refuge tend to arrive within a three- or four-day period. Shortly after the pair arrive, they will mate. (Albatross form “pair bonds.”) The courtship, if you will, doesn’t take long and follows a ritualized behavior that goes something like this: Sky moo, head shake, bill clack. Then, the two get down to business.
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Bird Day Afternoon

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Sat 11/1/2008

Destination: Kauai

This is a white-tailed tropicbird chick. When I arrived at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge today, this speckled, little guy (girl?) was sitting on a launch box thinking about what it did wrong the first time it left its nest. It didn’t quite make it out to sea, but someone found it, thankfully, and gave it a second shot at fledging by placing it here, atop the perfect launch pad overlooking the sea.
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Coming In For A Landing

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Mon 10/6/2008

Destination: Kauai

This is what a juvenile Red-footed Booby looks like when it’s about to land on your head. It seems that unlike our other seabirds at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, when a red-footed booby fledges, it actually hangs around its nestsite, learning to fly and returning home to its parents like a college graduate.
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