Midway Ranger

I"m Back!!!

2008-07-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Yay! My blog has been restored. Took long enough! What's new? Wow, let's see. We had another sail boat come in. Named the Minnow believe it or not. I sent out a photo from one of the folks on the boat that showed a Tiger Shark trying to eat a Laysan. Very cool photo. They went diving in the lagoon and had a bunch of other sharks start gathering around. The safety person who was still on board said she saw a huge amount of bubbles coming up as they came back. Don't blame them, I would have spit out my regulator!

Anyway, I'm back. Spread the word! I'll get my act together and get some pictures downloaded soon.

Video

2008-06-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to reading some of the directions on the camera I've had for the last 4 years. Have never got around to trying video with it, but, after Sara gave me so much shit about wishing I had a video camera out here (she reminded me in her oh, so subtle way that my regualar camera probably DID shoot video and what do ya know, she was right) ANYWAY, lets' see if I can upload a quick one I shot of our trip to Eastern with all the Sooty Terns.

I'm Back

2008-06-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm alive and well. Man, that was some nasty bug! It was some kind of fever. No nausea. Just this fever and never-ending fatigue. No idea what it was, but, glad it got gone right about the time Sara got here. We had a lot of fun, but, wish she could have stayed longer.

The major bummer about being sick was that I pretty much missed the 66th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway. I spent a lot of time helping plan it, went to Hono to meet the group and come out with them, and promptly went home and passed out after I got here. Seems to have gone pretty well. The whole thing is just kind of a surreal memory to me.

Did I tell you I have geckos in the house? One just ran across the wall and caught my eye. Pretty good trade; clean up a little poop once in a while in exchange for him eating bugs around the house...

It's actually quiet around here for the first time in a long time. No visitors, no dignitaries, no special events. Just us island folk, doing our thing. I'm still researching. Got a 1943 photo from one of our visitors showing his father and a bunch of other guys in front of a Quonset hut over on Eastern Island. Looking at two others I have, one from 1941 and one from 1942, I think I can pinpoint where the photo was taken. I'll try to remember to put two of the photos on here. Amazing how different the islands look now.

Weather has been rainy, but, the birds are loving it. Not many adults left now; just an occasional one coming in to feed a chick. They are really stretchig their wings when the wind blows. They know the time is near when they must learn to fly away and find food, or, they will die. They are really fun to watch. It's like watching a child learning to walk. They both toddle, they fall, they get up, they try again. Some are actually lifting off a few feet, then they crash and look startled. "Whoa, what just happened? It sorta feels right, but, I think there's more to it." Hilarious! I stop for a while every day to look, smile, laugh, and cheer them on.

This guy lives outside my back door. I left my flip flops outside and he decided to steal one. Good thing we came out or I might never have found it.

Brent, our volunteer who left a couple of weeks ago, came on one of my tours and took a few photos. So, here's one of me in my spiffy new Fish and Wildlife uniform. OK, the hat isn't quite uniform, but, I'm tired of getting skin cancer and it looks pretty good.

Peace,

Murray

Guest Post by Sara

2008-06-13T00:45:00.001-07:00

Murray is alive. Shortly after his last post on May 29th, he came down with something. He told me he was sick, but after seeing everyone's reaction on the island of him walking around, I think it was much more than "I am sick". He required several IVs and upon my arrival in Honolulu, my voicemail had two messages from him indicating he was possibly being flown off the island. As he put it "I'm being voted off the island". But he came through it and I arrived on Friday, June 6th at approximately 9pm. Upon arriving, he greeted me at the plane in a full sweat so there was a possibility of us leaving on the flight the next day. The plane was being held overnight because of a big wig on the flight. But he made it through the night.

My post won't be as articulate as his, but I will try my best. As we drove back to the house, it was obvious there were some birds here. The next morning I found out just how many...500,000 pairs of albatrosses. That is just the adults and doesn't count the chicks and sub-adults. I watched the movie the Birds when I was way too young and so you should know how I was feeling. I have gotten over the shock, awe, and holy shitness. But still there are like a million birds (and that is just the albatrosses). AHHH!!!

I am sure Murray has told you about the island...it is 1.8 x 1.8 miles long. I still can't figure out the layout either. Honestly, it would be easy to get lost on the island. I had to laugh the first day when Murray said we would tour the town first. I figure we could tour the entire island in one day, but honestly that just isn't possible. Each day, I have had a specialized tour of either the buildings or the trails. I have added 16 birds to my geeky life bird list. I have learned a little about the history of the island. Transportation consists of golf carts, bicycles, and foot traffic. My tours have been on a bicycle, one that has a faulty chain, but otherwise it is grand. Riding is like driving through an obstacle course with all the birds.

Although the island is small, we've been busy every day with something. Some times it is a tour in the morning with a nap in the afternoon. So here is a little list of what I've gotten to do on this small island....

snorkeling, bird watching, turtle watching, seal watching, tour of a NOAA ship, walking the beach, getting to see an albatross chick puke, hanging out with National Geographic film makers (watch the NG channel for Murray and Midway), eating 3 great meals a day (evenings of Thai food), laying on the beach and getting sunburned of course, walking the beach with 12 shades of blue water, seeing buildings from all eras of Midway Island, and hanging out with Shoe.

Hopefully one day others will be able to visit this place. Besides being beautiful in so many ways, the history is amazing as well. When I return to the mainland, I will post my photos here:

Sara's Photos

More Great Visitors

2008-05-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another busy week. The new group came in on the Saturday flight that our last folks left on. It was kinda neat, the group leaving all gave me hugs as they left. We tell people when they get here that they are joining our family, and it's true; once you've been here you are forever part of the Midway family. Case in point. Two sisters who had been here on the late 70's came out on this trip along with their families to share with them a place that had been so special to them. So, almost half of the trip is related to each other. Great folks. I asked the sitsters to share some of their memories of the school they attended. It's gone now, done in by termites, but, it was fun to hear some of their stories. They were the last class to be there as the base was being "mothballed" and dependants were forced to leave. The class left a time capsule buried near the flagpole, so the quest of the week is to find the spot where it might be buried. Stay tuned.

They also have their twelve year old son with them. Wish I'd known earlier that he was coming, would have been fun to have Ben out here at the same time. Good snorkeling at the cargo pier yesterday and out on the reef today. Sara is bringing an underwater camera when she comes out, so, I'm excited to get some fish photos on here. Of course, she's insisting that I read the manual before using the camera. Sigh.....I thought was the LAST thing you were supposed to do. I guess I can understand her point since I've had my present camera for...several years....and still haven't read the whole manual....

Lots of chicks hatching and lots of Laysan chicks losing their down and getting ready to fly. I can't wait to see that. Right now they are flapping their wings, stretching, and getting stronger.

What else... We had a NOAA ship in late last week and there's a Coast Guard ship coming tomorrow. The NOAA ship was supplying the other stations in the island chain, doing some research and dropping off and picking up people. The Coast Guard ship is going to pick up the nets out of our pile of marine debris. We also did a little service on Memorial Day. Next week a 737 comes out bringing a tour group to be here for the anniversary of the Battle of Midway. Once again, for a place so far from anything, we always have something going on around here.

John, in the picture above is headed to Laysan Island for 4 months as a volunteer. He'll be camping out in a tent most of the time. Yep, we have it pretty easy here on Midway.

Later, Murray

Better

2008-05-23T01:43:00.000-07:00

Ya know, there's nothing like a new group of visitors to put me in a better mood! The new folks, 13, plus Wayne, the naturalist for the Oceanic Society, arrived on Saturday night. Great bunch of folks. One of them, Jim, was stationed here in 1958-59. One of only 13 Marines on the island. Their main job was security. It's been enlightening having him point out where things USED to be before being bulldozed into rubble. He lived in a Quonset hut right across from the Midway Mall and they also had the brig right there. He's pretty amazed at the changes to the place. Who wouldn't be? So many of the buildings that were here were taken down by the Navy before they left. Most of them needed to be, I might add. Many were falling apart or had hazardous materials in them. I've been reading all the historical documentation I can get my hands on, trying to figure out where things were and what some of the buildings still left standing once were used for. One of my favorite things to try and figure out is what was done in a building that used to stand down at the south end of the island. Double barbed wire fences and big steel doors. Rumor is that it was some kind of nuclear installation and I found one refence that indicates they were working on nuclear armed anti-submarine torpedoes. Still working to verify that one. Kinda freaky....

Took folks down to Bulky Dump and found the "albino" albatross chick everyone has been talking about. I think she's gorgeous! Not really a true albino, just very blonde. The true albinos don't ever come back and it's thought that they go blind at sea because they have no eye pigment to protect them from the harsh glare. "Blondie" should do OK, 'cause she has dark eyes. There's another chick nearly as light over by the harbor. Maybe they'll find each other one day....

Our visitors are kinda unique in another way. They like to work and help out with projects. Not the kind of visitors I'm used to. I rank these folks in the eco-tourist category rather than "general" visitors. This group helped us pull the "evil weed" Verbesina out in the Pan Am field. Pan Am field is where the Gooneyville Lodge was located before the termites decimated it. The Pan American Clipper Ships flew in the 30's and 40's, hopping people from island to island across the Pacific to Asia. Passengers would stay on each island for a couple of days, hanging out on the beach and eating 5-star food. Beautiful planes, from the pictures I've seen. Anyway, with another 14 or so helping hands, we were able to put a big dent in the weeds. Hopefully, the group next week will help us finish it off. Oh, yeah, I seem to be slightly allergic to Verbesina. Itchy eyes and runny nose....sigh....

We took everyone over to Eastern on Monday. I did part of the tour for the first time. Haven't been over there for a few weeks and the the Sooty Terns are back in force. Thousands is a weak way to describe it. And, if you think the Laysans are noisy, you ain't heard nothin'! Raucous and shrill as hell. And they don't put up with any crap from the Laysan chicks. This one wandered too close and the tern pecked him several times until he backed off . Poor little dudes, everyone pecks at them. They are getting ridiculously big now, some look like downy bowling balls. They will actually have to lose weight before they can fledge. Not that that will be a problem. The parents will soon be leaving and it will then be up to the chicks whether they live or die. Many won't make it. But, enough will figure out how to fly and in a few years they will come back and start dancing. Many of them have more feathers than down and are looking pretty comical.

Of course, it would look better if I had rotated it before I posted it, but, I didn't. And I'm too sleepy to figure it out. So, turn your head or pick up your laptop and rotate it. Goodnight and Peace to every one of you....

Murray

A Tale of Two Teeth

2008-05-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this is the last post about my teeth. After going several days of walking around feeling like my crown was going to fall out, I got on the G1 and went to Hono last Monday night. Touched down about 4am and got to the bunkhouse where we stay while in town at around 5am. Thank goodness they changed my dentist appointment from 7am to 9:20 am. Hitched a ride in to the office with John, a guy who's going to volunteer out at Laysan Island for 4 months. Then had to hitch a ride to the appointment 'cause someone needed the truck. When the dentist pulls off the crown, he makes one of those noises any patient hates to hear, a sharp intake of breath. Turns out the tooth is shattered under the crown and there's only a stub left. Shit..... He builds it back up, does all the stuff you have to do to get a crown made and sends me on my way. Thursday afternoon I go in and they put it in. I'm grateful to him for getting me in and taking care of it so fast. I'm grateful to my Moab dentist for covering the cost. I'm pissed at myself for having a crown put on in the first place. How did this all come about? Back in second grade, just when my front tooth was coming in, I g0t it shoved back up into my gums by colliding with a kids head. I snuck up on him playing some kid game and just as I was about to grab him, he turned around and started running. Smack! When the tooth grew back out, it was crooked. In 5th grade, Bryan Freeman was rearing back to throw a rock just as I was bending down and rock and tooth collided. Now the tooth was crooked AND had a corner missing. Sigh....Over the years we kept trying to put a fake corner on it, but it would never stay because I always cracked sunflower seeds with it. Those of you who know me remember the "bag a day" seed habit I once had. Years of therapy and 4 stints in rehab and now I've been clean for a long time....ANYWAY, many years later, in my 40's I briefly had the money and the insurance to get a crown on the chipped tooth. The dentist screwed it up and I was in pain for almost a year. Then it chipped, so I go to a new dentist. He inspires a lot more confidence and he talks me into getting a veneer on the other front tooth so that they match better. I thought it over for quite a while 'cause I'd already taken a pretty good (just not pretty) tooth and messed it up. Vanity got the best of me and I went for it. And they looked great! But, then that veneered tooth shatters (still wonder why?) and now I have two weak-ass front teeth. But, they look good. Shit... So, from here on out, I have to be really careful with what I eat. No biting into apples and other stuff that puts a lot of stress on them. Sigh....

I'm not really impressed with Honolulu. Just another big city. Granted, I only saw a small portion of it, but the traffic was really bad. When I think of Hawaii, bad traffic is not what should come to mind. I'd get off work and stop at the Ala Moana Mall to have dinner at their food court. Remember, I had a temporary crown, so was eating a lot of rice. After dinner I'd walk around looking and doing a little shopping. (Coolie cups and a small soft-sided cooler). I looked at all the choices of stuff in that mall and was just amazed. We as a people in this country have a lot of options on most everything: cars, clothes, food, schools; it's kind of obscene in a way compared to what some folks in the world have to deal with. Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather be here than there. It's just....a lot. Choice is good in so many ways. Choice of where to live, choice of what you want to do in life, choice in who our President is (well, not that much choice, I guess) It got me to thinking about the choices I've made in my life. Boy, I've made some doozies. Some, I really regret. I've done some really dumb things and I know I've hurt some people. I'm really glad I came out here, but, sometimes I wonder if I'm losing my son. Or is it just his hitting that age where he likes to be with friends more than the old man. I know it's a natural progression and it happens, but....it's hard.... He chose to not come visit out here. I think in years to come he will regret it, 'cause it probably is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but, I have to respect his decision. But, it's hard.... So, go hug your kid and tell them you love them, 'cause all too soon, they'll be spreading their wings and going their own way.
Love ya,
Murray

Denied!

2008-05-07T00:39:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous day today! Sunny, not too hot, water in the lagoon smooth as glass. Matt, Pete and the volunteers went snorkeling out at the wrecked water barge (hmm, not sure I've told you about that....). And I didn't go. What? Murray pass up a chance to go into the water? Surely you jest? Nope, it's true. Earlier in the day that crown that I chipped a few days ago darn near fell out! It bent forward and I thought it was coming out. Ended up grabbing hold of it and shoving it back in place. Nope, don't think it's going to hold for very long. Sooo, what does one do on an atoll 1250 miles from the nearest dentist? You go to the dentist. Looks like I'll fly in on the 12th and come back on the 16th. I have to call my dentist in Moab again tomorrow and tell him to order up a replacement and get it shipped to Hono in a hurry. Major bummer 'cause I had the thing put in

right before I came out here. He's going to make it right, so that helps. Makes me wonder at myself though. I went most of my life with that crooked tooth and it never seemed to hurt my social life. Both teeth were fine except for being crooked and having a chip out. Vanity won out, though at the ripe old age of forty-something. Kinda goofy. Oh, wait! Maybe that's why I've been divorced three times! Gads! I finally figured it out! It was because of the tooth! Whew! I've been wondering for so long....

Let's see if I can find a good picture...

Later,

Shoe

Not Much...

2008-05-05T02:13:00.000-07:00

going on the last few days. Just trying to learn several Adobe programs to use on exhibits. Did go out and help on "Chainsaw Friday" cutting down Ironwoods. Began to rain on our party, though and gave it up after getting drenched.

The wind was really blowing the other day and as I was standing up by the Clipper House watching the Laysans soar, I got to thinking about an exersise we did in an interpretive writing class one time. It was a fill in the blank deal where you tried to come up with a simile or metaphor. I sat there thinking about how I'd fill in this: Albatrosses soar on the wind like___________. Came up with a few, but, it's one of those things that doesn't make a lot of sense, unless you've seen them. They truly are amazing. They can go for miles without flapping a wing. On a windy day, the sky is covered with them as they seem to joyfully take to the skies.

Mail has been delayed for quite some time and is causing a bit of discontent. One flight got cancelled due to a mechanical problem, then the Navy jet that came wouldn't bring it for us and now our next flight is so full, they can't bring any. Good thing there is Internet out here...

Quiet day today, too. Spent most of it just reading a book as the weather kinda sucked. Finally got better and went for a walk just before dark. Found a couple of roads I hadn't been on yet and an old bunker behind the Marine Barracks. I'm amazed at the amount of stuff there is here that I haven't seen yet. Still a lot of buildings to explore, though I'll wear a mask in some of them to avoid the mold.

Let's see. What shall I post for a picture? How about a White Tern?

Just heard on TV about a site called.... getmortified.org I'm going to log off here and take a look at it. If you have a shoebox in a closet full of old stuff from junior high or high school, you should check it out. Sounds kinda fun.

Later,

Murray

Snorkeling and Banding

2008-05-01T00:55:00.000-07:00

OK, don't hate me too much. Yesterday, all day, my job was to go find a new snorkeling spot to take visitors to. One of the places we currently take them is just too shallow and fragile, so we went looking for a deeper place. First three places weren't great for coral, most of it was dead. First one had some monster lobsters, though. Second two had great parrot fish and big Bird Wrasses. Took our boat right up to the beach in front of the Clipper House and hopped out for lunch. Told everyone that it was probably the closest we'd all come to being delivered to a secluded beach by yacht. After lunch found a pretty good spot. Big coral heads, deeper water, space between the coral and lots of great fish.

Watched the volunteers (Dana, Kristin, and Brent) band Tropicbirds the other day and today I learned to band Laysan chicks. The Laysans tend to come back to where they were hatched to raise their own young. Kinda cool to look at a band and be able to find out how old the bird is. Their are plastic bands with bigger, easier to read numbers that last about 10 years, and a metal one that stays on forever. The metal ones are hard as heck to get on right. Really have to squeeze hard to get it on and you often have to tweak it. Definitely a two person job, 'cause those chicks don't like to be banded and their beaks are sharp. I've got a pretty good scratch down one leg.

And, of course, there are a lot of "cute chicks" around.The one about is a very young Tropicbird, probably just a couple of days.

Check out mom cuddling her chick and keeping it warm.

Love y'all,

Murray

Deputy Secretary

2008-04-28T02:01:00.000-07:00

For such a small place, it sure seems like something is always going on here. The Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Lynn Scarlett, was here last week for a few days. She and the Monument Management Board came out. What's a MMB? (I'm having to learn a whole new alphabet soup with the FWS!) The Monument is run by the FWS, the state of Hawaii and NOAA. They just completed a Draft Monument Management Plan for the new Monument. Did it in less than a year; it normally takes two or more. I read the Concept Plan for Midway and hope I live long enough to see half of it completed. It's a great plan, but, it's going to take millions to complete, mainly because of logistics and decay in structures. The Visitor Center exhibits I'm working on will only be temporary, the permanent VC will be in the Midway Mall. The plan is to re-use as many structures as possible or build new on existing concrete pads. Why? To avoid impacting potential wildlife habitat. Great idea!

We took Lynn over to Eastern and toured around. She also planted some Erigrostis, the native bunchgrass. Found a Wedge-Tail Shearwater trapped in the one small building on Eastern. John got it out and let it go. Kinda sat there dazed for a couple of minutes, then flew off.

She also found the first Christmas Shearwater we've seen this year. Tough to get a picture 'cause it's hiding out, nesting.

And, of course, the male Frigates were doing their thing. Amazing what a guy will do to get laid...

Saw the Spinner Dolphins on the way back and finally got a picture or two of something other than blue water. I'll keep trying for somthing better. We have over two hundred who hang out in the lagoon during the day and go out to open water to feed at night. They love to ride the boat's wake, and get bored quickly if you stop and just sit there.

Got a little rain yesterday and saw this Laysan chick and adult getting a drink from the water running off our roof.

Went for a walk yesterday after the rain quit and saw that a lot of Tropicbirds are on eggs right now. Some have already had chicks. Check this one out; it's gotta be several weeks old!

Getting late and tomorrow is Monday and back to work. Be well, everyone.

Murray

Marine Debris

2008-04-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

John sent me a comment a while back about marine debris out here. He'd seen the BBC spots that were broadcast from here. These BBC guys came in on the same flight I did and were great guys. They broadcast thre different spots that were seen by an estimated 90 million viewers. Unfortunately, I was still in my "I don't know anything about this place" phase and didn't get to do much with them. But, basically, the problem is that a HUGE amount of debris ends up in the ocean, causing a lot of fatalities with wildlife and then much of it ends up washing up on reefs and beaches. Nets, floats, lighters ropes, bottles, cans; you name it, it shows up. Rope and nets are especially a problem as they often entangle and kill wildlife. At one time, a lot of stuff was just tossed over the side of ships, but, with stricter laws and more awareness that problem seems to have decreased. A lot of the stuff seems to wash into the ocean from the land. Think about it. That dead lighter laying on the street could end up washing onto the beach at Midway! The reason I mention lighters is because the damn things are ALL OVER out here. The BBC guys picked up something like 40 in about 20 minutes. The amount of stuff out there is truly amazing and hard to imagine. You have to see it to believe it.

There are piles in many places on the atoll. We hold cleanups and gather it off the beaches and out of the water, but, then what? Some is burnable, but not all. Brent, one our volunteers, is making a hammock out of some of the fishnet. Cindy, a volunteer who also is an officer with the Friends of Midway, makes necklaces out of little floats. Winia, one of the Thais, does some amazing etchings on Japanese glass floats. Maybe we should start a little cottage industry "Midway Arts and Crafts."

Yesterday, I was asked to go fill a box with a representative sample of debris. Y'all know me, I always have to know "why". Evidently it's being shipped to Japan to be burned. The idea is to see if it can safely be burned and used as an energy source. Hmmm.....it would certainly help with our problem of disposal, but, I think you'd have to have some really good scrubbers installed to take care of the toxins.

Another problem with the plastics is that the albatrosses eat the stuff. The way they feed is to hang out on the ocean's surface and just grab what comes by. Mainly they are after squid, but they often end up with floating pieces of plastic. I've found countless bird skeletons or near skelotons, full of plastic. One had a piece of plastic pipe six inches long in it. The estimate is that nearly 10,000 pounds of plastic comes onto the island each year from adults regurgitating it into their chicks.

Plastic is a great material and has lots of great uses. But, do me a favor. Don't use it unless you have to...

Later,

Murray

Pacific Grace

2008-04-21T02:36:00.000-07:00

The ship that came in was beautiful. An all wood sailing ship. They were on the second to last leg of an a year round trip. The organization is called S.A.L.T.S and they teach kids sailing and life skills. Kids (OK, young adults - most everyone seems like a kid to me these days) can go on one or more legs and they go to some amazing places like Fiji, Tahiti, New Guinea, the Cook Islands, China and Japan. They ran into bad weather and were getting low on some supplies, so asked for permission to come to Midway. Frankly, there was some concern about them being a wild bunch since they'd been at sea for 24 or 25 days, but, they were great. Took 'em on a hike around the island and took a while for some to get their "land legs" again. Had some good volleyball games and the last night, they showed us a brief slide show of all the places the ship had been in the last year.

They gave us a tour of the ship one night. I won't be signing up for a trip soon. Don't get me wrong, it would be a blast, but, the quarters are REALLY tight. Check the picture. That is THREE bunks! Way too much togetherness for me.

The table in the galley has a weight underneath so it stays in place as the ship rocks. I saw a short video showing the seats swaying with the motion of the boat, but the table never moved. What a great idea!

They were only here for about 48 hours and then off to Honolulu. I wish them well.
Later,

Murray

A Few More Signs

2008-04-17T01:49:00.000-07:00

With no visitors here, I'm now starting to work on other projects. For you Parkies out there, the concept of no visitors must seem like a strange thing. Still does to me too. Since Diane was asking, here's the scoop. This program is so new that about the only people coming out are with one organization called the Oceanic Society. I must say I'm impressed with them. They don't just take folks on tours, they get them involved in preservation efforts. The way it stands right now, we don't have have the capability of getting individual travellers out here. There is no regular air service, so we charter a prop plane (don't want to get an albatross sucked into your jet engine) a few times a month. We can't really "sell" seats on the plane, so how do folks get here? That's one of the many tasks I have while I'm here. I'm looking at different models of how to get individual folks out here. SOMEONE has to charter the flight and sell the tickets. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

Our folks, so far, have been great. They fly in at night, when the birds are less active, we put them in golf carts (our version of a Limo) and take them to the hotel (Charlie Barracks) for the night. Next morning they all come over to the FWS office for a mandatory orientation where they hear about history, endangered species, resource concerns, closed areas (there's a lot) distance you have to stay away from the endangerd species (15o feet, and it's hard to estimate, I missed it by 25 feet) and how to dig out petrel burrows if you accidently cave one in. Later we do a history tour. Over the rest of the week they go snorkeling a few times, do lots of birdwatching, go to a few evening programs and just generally soak it in. Most folks like to volunteer to help do habitat rehab. So far, they've been helping us clone and out-plant Erigrostis, the local native bunchgrass. The invasives are horrible here (Verbesina, in the Sunflower Family) and if you don't put something in after pulling it or spraying it, it fills right back in. Sounds a lot like my yard. Oh, and they eat. The Clipper House is the only place to eat and is a social hub.

So, over the next couple of weeks, I need to learn Midway cultural history (Pacific Cable Company, Pan Am Clipper ships, WWII, Cold War, FWS), natural history (plants, animals, fish, endangerd species, life cycles, etc.), put together some programs, figure out how to get rid of mold and mildew in a bunch of exhibits (thanks to Vickie and Eric for the tips), move those exhibits (hopefully in one piece, if not, recreate them some really old files that we can't really open),etc. etc. Frankly, I love it. Overwhelming, but I love it. Oh, and today I learned how to operate two different kinds of forklifts. We use them to get our boats in the water. I drew the line on the large crane, 'cause my little peabrain can only absorb so much in one day. I figure I know just enough about them to be dangerous...

Tomorrow morning a large sailboat is coming in that's low on gas, low on food and low on morale. Thirty-seven people travelling around the world. They'll stay for 48 hours. More on them later.

Game night at Captain Brooks. Sara, I still suck at Boggle...

Here's a couple of the signs at the airport hanger. I'll just keep showing a few now and then as I show you around the island.

Goodnight,

Peace to you all!

SongKran

2008-04-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

What the heck is SongKran, you ask? It's part of the Thai New Year's celebration!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_New_Year

Here on Midway, since most of the people who keep this place running are Thai, we had a fantastic celebration. I had no clue I was going to get a great cultural education while I was here!

We started with a parade. Not many people were lining the streets 'cause we all joined in. And, of course, there aren't that many of us....

Everybody was gettin' down!

A mixture of baby powder? and water was applied to all.

Part of the ceremony is to wash the Buddha and give water to the elders. Uh, I guess I'm considered an elder???? Actually, I feel honored.

It is considered good luck for the New Year to get wet. So we did. Over and over and over again, all day long. Started during lunch IN the restaurant (courtesy of Pong (not sure about spelling) our chef extraordinaire, and progressed to 5 gallon buckets pretty quickly. Willie didn't show up for the party, so they loaded a golf cart with buckets, drug him out of his house and nearly drowned him. At that point, he decided it was safer at the party. With the ocean relatively close, some took the Big Ride and went into the surf. Brent was enjoying a moment of quiet solitude, but Kristin snuck up on him and gave him a chilly wake up call.

Matt, the Assistant Refuge Manager (and ex-Parkie) was most definitely not expecting this one from Alex (recent WSU graduate and now airport firefighter).

We barbecued ALL afternoon and were finally informed about 5pm that it was time for DINNER. Gads! The food just kept coming....

Truly an awesome bunch of guys!

A really fun day drawing to a close and as a special treat here's a photo of a Bonin Petrel chick whose burrow got stepped on earlier in the day. (Yep, we have a couple of birds,here). We dug it out, put the little dude back in and covered the top with a doormat to hold him over until he fledges. Oh, Diane, the white bird a couple of posts ago is a Red-Tailed Tropicbird.

Love y'all,

Murray

They're Here, Too!

2008-04-10T02:28:00.000-07:00

Cool! My favorite fish, the Longnose Butterfly Fish is here at Midway! For some reason, I thought we were too far north for them, but, yesterday when we took everyone snorkeling at the Cargo Pier, I saw one. Not sure why I like them so much, there are a lot of cool looking fish, but there's just something about them. Wish I had a digital underwater camera...

Had a wedding reception for Pete and his wife, Dasha, who's been visiting out here. They got married in December, but, Midway never passes up an opportunity for a celebration. Of course, I left my camera a home, so you'll just have to believe me that a good time was had by all.

It was unbelievably windy today. Had to cancel snorkeling, but, went out and watched the Laysans soaring around. Being strong gliders, they love a good wind. The Petrels tonight literally did create a cloud as they flew in. Not sure if it was because of the wind or just where I was standing Have a couple of pictures of the Laysans, but this thing doesn't seem to want to post them tonight. Couldn't possibly be operator error.....Ah, there we go......

Here's one of some of the turtles. They haul up in many places, but especially like "Turtle Beach." I counted 34 there the other day.

And lastly, for tonight, this is the first thing you would see if we landed planes in the daylight. The building is mostly abandoned, but we still use it as the boarding area. The new air-ops center doesn't have a passenger area.

Love y'all,
Murray

Mission Accomplished

2008-04-06T21:43:00.001-07:00

Several cool things have happened in the last few days.

A few nights ago, about a half hour before sunset, I walked down to North Beach and just stood. Lots of Laysan's (I told you we had a lot of birds, right?) flying about, but I was waiting for the Bonin Petrels. I'd been told that if you hung out around sunset, you'd see them coming back into land from foraging out at sea. Sure enough, as the light got lower, they started coming in. I can't say it was a cloud, but definitely a steady, thought provoking influx. I stayed and watched until dark, pondering the power of their homing instinct, then headed home. Seems like it's easier to see just how many are coming in when you have the trees for a background. After dodging the Laysan chicks sitting in the middle of the road, I parked my trusty cruiser bike on the back porch. There are a lot of burrows just off the porch and the birds were out, so I tried a few pictures. They sucked. There's a reason I'm a Ranger and not a photographer. I guess one turned out OK.

The other thing that I was absolutely overjoyed about was seeing a juvenile Short-Tailed Albatross. I know, I know, I posted a picture of an adult, so who cares. The deal is that one of the visitors last week REALLY wanted to see any Short-Tailed. It was pretty much his reason for coming here. Seems a little obsessive, but, hey, each to their own. I find out late in the week, after days of fruitless searching, that his eyesight is really deteriorating and that this could be his last chance. Shit... Then, the last day they are here, Brian, our LE officer, is out on patrol and spots the juvie. Mass rush ensues. Mission accomplished. Yay, Brian (former Parkie)! And I felt ridiculously happy about it....

I've adapted the Pete Leary (my housemate)method of photography, i.e. take a massive amount of pictures and hope for one or two good ones. It certainly works for him, he's taken some amazing photos. So, the other day, took over a hundred of just a few types of birds. Here's a couple.

Off to bowling night. The alley is circa 1965 and looks remarkably like the one I spent a lot of Saturday mornings in while growing up. Bet most of you didn't know I was a "bowling geek."

Later,

Murray

Eastern

2008-04-03T01:43:00.000-07:00

Took folks over to Eastern Island yesterday. There's only one building there now, and the runways are getting overgrown, but, at one time it was an incredibly busy place. During the Battle of Midway, this is where all the ground-based planes that attacked the Japanese carriers flew off from. Very few returned....

Today, it's bird (did I tell you we had birds here?), Hawaiian Monk Seal, and Green Turtle habitat. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of exotic plants. More on those later. As we pulled up , there was a seal way down the beach, but a couple of turtles swam right up to the boat. Of course, I wasn't fast enough with my camera. I also understand now, why people buy the really fancy cameras with big lenses. It's for stuff like this. We walked past an old gun (hmmm, I THOUGHT I had a picture) went past the only building left on the island (hmmm, I THOUGHT I had a picture) and ended up at the hangout of a Short-Tailed Albatross. OK, I'd never heard of them either. Turns out there are only a couple of hundred of them left in the world, down from millions. "Ours" has been showing up here for a number of years, but there are no others to mate with. This year, a juvenile showed up and they danced, so hopefully next year there will be a nest. (Hmmm, I thought the picture would show up UNDER this text. Sigh...) Which one in the picture is the "Golden Goonie?" Hint: it's not the one with the line around it's neck. All but the middle one are decoys set there by biologists in hopes of attracting other Short-Tails. The real one is evidently pretty lonely 'cause he dances with and preens one particular decoy.

Also saw Frigate birds. Seven foot wingspan and weighs only about three pounds. Notorious for harassing other birds until they puke up their last meal and then stealing it. OK, lets see if I can get a picture underneath here... Nope... I suck at this!

OK, time for bed. Snorkelling trip tomorrow morning to "172" a particularly nice area of the reef. Gads! Not only a ton of new stuff to learn ON the island, but there's all the corals and fish, too! Not a complaint, by any means!!!

Later,

Shoe

Greetings

2008-04-01T02:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, gang,
Took me a while, but here's the blog I promised. I'll do my best to keep it current.

OK, for those of you who didn't get the story about me coming here, here it is. I'm calling it the Perfect Storm of events. Sara had moved to Pinnacles NM to get permanent status. Ben's mom moved him to Colorado, where, I'm happy to report, he is loving life in a little hippie town. And, of course, there was the reorganization at the Southeast Utah Group. And, frankly, much as I love Arches, Moab and Canyon Country, it was time for me to do something else. Soooo, if a person is going to do something new, they might as well do something REALLY new. I saw the job opening for Midway, applied and got hired. It is really an amazing opportunity. I get to re-start the Visitor Services program that was terminated some years ago. How cool is that? Not only is it a challenging good time, but it won't hurt the old job application. And after a week, I can honestly say, "holy moly, there's a lot of work to do here!"

The stressful part was packing up, renting out my house (yikes!) and driving a U-Haul to Phoenix and then to Sara's in California. The local Thrift Store cleaned up on all the stuff I took over there. Special thanks to Sean for helping me pack and to John for setting up my new laptop.

I flew into Honolulu on 3/18 and then put in a full day. The Refuge Manager, Barry, met me and away we went, buying stuff to put on a ship (Kahana) that was bringing supplies to Midway and other island outposts. Over the next couple of days, I also met a bunch of the players in the main office. Still trying to figure out all the relationships between the refuges out here and the new Monument. And, yes, I finally am able to pronounce it (after several days of trying). Spelling it will have to wait.

Got out to Midway on 3/21 and the first group of visitors arrived 24 hours later. Oh, and I was sick as a dog, from some bug I picked up in Honolulu. Needless to say, I didn't know diddly and felt somewhat the fool the whole week. But, I was laughing about it most of the time. It's refreshing to have a whole new history, critters and ecosystem to learn about. We arrived in the dark, the only time planes can land because of the birds. Oh, did I mention we have a few birds out here? Like nearly 2 million of them. The first morning I woke up and looked out my window, all Icould do was laugh. And I haven't stopped. They are EVERWHERE! They dance, they clack bills, they "sniff their armpits." And at night, when the albotross are calming down after dancing all day, the Bonin Petrels come in en masse and clog up the little bit of open ground until they bed down in their underground burrows for the night. Riding my spiffy new bike around at night is kinda scary. It's hard to avoid the chicks all over the road and the petrels are not only pitch black on top, but flashlights kinda freak 'em out. Wearing your headlamp on your head is not a good idea. Better to carry it in your hand and away from you face. But, even though they can be a pain, I'm still walking around every day with a dumb, delighted grin on my face as I watch and ponder their antics.

OK, it's getting late and I'm tired. Headed over to Eastern Island tomorrow. I'll post more later and tell you about.....well, lots of stuff.

Love y'all!!!!