French Frigate Shoals Atoll, Tern I. is up north
The first spot we went to were "the Gins." There is Little Gin and Big Gin, little Gin is actually bigger than Big Gin, but Little Gin looks to have water cutting through it so maybe it isn't bigger.....Confused? Folks, these are basically tiny sand bars and at times they are a-changin'. Oh, and lots of blue all around.
Some birds as I recall, Brown Noddys, a Black Noddy flyover, Ruddy Turnstones, and some seals.
We then motored over to East Island. East Island is where NOAA or NMFS or some government acronym has set up "turtle cam." Don't know where one can tune into turtle cam, or if one can. But it is there. East, like a very small Tern Island. Some vegetation. Sand and dead coral, glass and plastice ocean trash from all over the Pacific Rim. Anyone lose a plastic lighter, or a whisky bottle written in Japanese? I may have found it.
our ride..the safeboat anchored at East Island
SGTMaj.(Ret.)MWYork, this ship probably isn't as large as the ones you guys road on out here. Industuctable craft though, and I could feel every wave. I'm still feeling it as I type this.
On East I., we did another full avian species survey, and due to vegetation there were a few more to see. Great Frigatebirds, Masked Boobys, Red-footed Boobys, Ruddy Turnstones, Pacific Golden-Plovers, both Brown and Black Noddys, even a couple of Gray-backed Terns, one of which was on an egg....
Myself and a co-worker stumbled upon a hatchling HI Green Sea Turtle just out of the sand in the bottom of a pit, or nest really. It takes them 2-3 days, I think I've said, after hatching to dig themselves up. Well one turtle turned into two, three, 24, 45, 62 and finally it was 63 little sea turtles we dug out. We each picked up three or four, sent them on their difficult watery journey in this life. We decided to run to get our cameras and run back to this pile of 60 sea turtles. Well, the hatchlings came to realize they were out of the sand and now it is go-like-heck time. Those suckers were scooting all over that part of the island. Think of one of those big skyrocket fireworks on the 4th of July. The little orange, pin-point tracer that shoots into the air....that's our pile of sea turtle hatchling. Now thing of the full-blossom firework post-explosion....that's our pile of sea turtle hatchlings upon returning with camera.
I don't have pics. A co-worker took one of me, and I'll receive it at some point. We were busy forming a large perimeter and scooping up as many turtle hatchlings as possible.
Whenever I find them on Tern, they have been out much of the night. They are tired, drying out, nearing an earliest of what might be an early fate anyhow.
But these guys where fresh out of the sand. Incredible difficult to grab a lot of. Wiggly little suckers, that active.
Great Frigatebird, doing what one rarely sees, unless on a remote isle..perching
We finished the days surveying at La Perouse Pinnacle. I believe you can find a picture of it on the sidebar to the right of the main postings, that one being from ABC and at sunset. This, the remains of an ancient volcano. It is just a rock, straight up from the ocean like the jagged toothe of what was once a fine set of pearly whites.
Here's a closer picture I took...
the white isn't snow
I have only seen La Perouse from Tern Island, about an inch high above the watery horizon. Ever present at my bedroom window, but just an inch.
We were allowed to snorkel around La Perouse. I took some pictures with a disposable underwater film cam. We'll see how anything turns out. Lots of variables to work on at the time such as floating/swimming in the middle of the Pacific, next to this big rocks, riding the waves, trying to remember how to purge the saltwater out of my snorkel and mask...all the while turning this dial on the camera until I hear/feel a click. Ready to shoot, now. Put the viewfinder up to my slightly fogging-over now mask hoping to get a shot, ane what exposure am I on? Look up above the surface, where are my other snorkler's and the boat?? Ah...
It was fun. It was exhausting. And so, safely back on Tern I., I'll leave you with another picture of "Good Tired" and wish everyone happiness, safety, and health...
Red-footed Booby at sunset, Tern I.
...good evening.
Peace.
Go Bows.
3 comments:
Matt,
Again, reading your new entry was a treat. Amen and thank you.
BD
I loved the description of the turtle hatchling fireworks! JLY
A bunch of turtles have more energy to fight for their survival thanks to your help when they were just little sparks of "independence day" happiness.
Thanks again for all your writing and pics! Much enjoyment from them. --cousin Kim
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