Laysan Island - Bird Sightings - Sep 2013

Below are on-island sightings, and general commentary, from a recent trip to Laysan Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

TRIP GOALS
The main goals were to secure camp for an extended shutdown, conduct a Botanical Survey of Laysan, collect native Hyposmocoma moths, and get as much birding in as we could.

AREA COVERED
We were able to get to most parts of Laysan during our stay, though we were predominantly on main trails.

TIME
We were on-island from Sep. 10-18, 2013. Birds were active all night and day.

WEATHER
Warm to hot, temperature high 80's to low 90's . Wind mostly light, 2-10 mph, from the NE. Scattered passing showers, some heavy, with occasional thunderstorms.

NUMBERS
The numbers, which may at times be grossly inaccurate, include what we personally saw / heard, insights from on-island researchers, and the best guess at number of birds as reported in Morin and Conant 1998.

NIHOA MILLERBIRD
A life bird for us. Heard and seen, albeit very briefly. An elusive small bird with a slender bill. This recent introduction to Laysan is doing quite well. 50 birds have been translocated to Laysan from Nihoa, and at last count the population on Laysan was up to 122 birds. The Millerbirds are currently restricted to the north part of Laysan where they have found nesting habitat amongst the thickets of short-statured naupaka shrubs. We likely would not have seen this bird if it were not for the help of NIMI biologist Michelle Wilcox, who took us to a known male territory and taught us the bird's call, kind of a high-pitched kissing sound. Apparently only the males sing, and as soon as we started making the calls it called back. By stuffing our heads deep within the tangles of naupaka branches and continuing to call, we could hear the bird getting closer, and soon enough it was just a couple feet away. Once it realized we weren't what it was looking for it quickly went on its way. If the trend continues, this bird will likely become much more abundant on Laysan.

LAYSAN DUCK
Observed a few hundred. Commonly found wandering around camp, along the Lake margin, and near the coast on the SW part of the island. They are relatively small and quiet ducks, occasionally uttering a faint "quack". We would see a dozen or so at the beach in front of camp each night as we showered in the ocean. Their flight is very labored, almost comical, especially when being passed on all sides by swift flying seabirds. Population varies, but generally around a few hundred.

LAYSAN FINCH
Abundant on all parts of Laysan, hundreds to 1000+ observed. This bird is always trying to get into everything. If you sit still for too long, the bird will start jumping on you and take test nibbles. Fond of vegetation, we witnessed Laysan Finches eating a myriad of native and non-native plants, from the flower buds of newly planted maiapilo (Capparis) to the seed capsules of wild tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). These finches also eat seabird eggs, a number of eggs we passed had been fed upon by Laysan Finches. Approximately 11,000 birds reported by Morin & Conant (1998).

LAYSAN ALBATROSS
We had never previously been in the NWHI while the albatross were all at sea, but such is the case in September. The only Laysan Albatross we saw were recently dead birds, mostly around the margin of the lake. A number of unexploded rotten albatross eggs were also strewn about the lake margin, waiting for an unsuspecting passerby to make a misstep. 105,000-132,000 pairs normally present.

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS
The black-foots are also at sea in September, and the only evidence of their presence on Laysan during our stay were a few dried up carcasses in the Northern Desert. 14,000-21,000 pairs known from island.

BONIN PETREL
Observed flying, especially at dusk. Apparently on eggs this time of year. Burrow nester, we rarely came across this bird during the middle of the day. The one close look at an adult was a bird having trouble getting out of a greenhouse, that we later dismantled, on the sand berm above where the large coconut grove used to be. 50,000-75,000 pairs.

BULWER PETREL
A crevice nester, there was one chick about ready to fledge under some guano rocks on the way to the lua. Also observed similar staged chicks between large blocks of beach rock near the coast. 1,000-2,000 pairs.

WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATERS
It was hard to ignore the extremely loud moanings of these birds a few feet from our heads all night. The vast array of burrows across the island was also a pretty big clue that we were in wedgie country. Estimating colony size of seabirds is tough, especially burrowing birds, but there had to have been 10's of thousands of this species on Laysan. The shearwaters dig burrows in the sand, often in areas of the native bunch grass (Eragrostis) that dominates most of the island. During the day there were a number of raft like congregations of a few hundred birds on open land, especially the NW portion of the lake margin. At dusk a haze of innumerable shearwaters and other procellarids comes streaming in off the ocean, returning to the burrows. At night, along with the incessant moaning, the shearwaters are all over the paths through camp, and likely in similar settings across virtually the entire island. 125,000-175,000 pairs.

CHRISTMAS SHEARWATER
Dozens observed. Nesting under shrubs, or elevated tents, we came across a number of almost ready to fledge chicks of these dark shearwaters. 1,500-2,000 pairs.

TRISTRAM STORM-PETRELS
No sign of Tristrams underneath the dead coconut leaves at the north end of the lake. Back in Feb. 2011, a very large rain flooded the Central Lake well beyond its normal border for many months, resulting in the death of many birds and the large coconut grove that had stood in this spot for 50+ years. We helped plant some native loulu palms (Pritchardia remota) in and near the old coconut grove. 500-2,500 pairs.

RED-TAILED TROPICBIRD
Dozens observed. This raucous bird was displaying in flight near the lake, and was nesting under naupaka and Eragrostis in camp and elsewhere. Chicks were well along. Still showing banding, but very little downy feathers left. 1,500-2,500 pairs.

RED-FOOTED BOOBY
Very common around camp, with quite a few in and around the ironwood tree. The birds at camp seem especially desensitized to human presence and barely flinch when folks walk the trail within inches of them. Elsewhere on the island, naupaka (Scaevola) is the most common roosting and nesting site, though wild tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and Tournefortia are also utilized. 250-300 pairs reported in 1998. Perhaps we were tricked by the large number near camp, but it felt like we encountered perhaps 10x as many.

MASKED BOOBY
A couple dozen or so adults were observed hanging out around the lake margin, usually in small groups of 1-4 birds. Younger birds were also witnessed, often on a clump of low growing vegetation such as clumpgrass. 400-425 pairs.

BROWN BOOBY
An adult and a couple younger birds were resting on the remains of the shipwreck on the south ledges. Saw a few more along the NW coast. 34 pairs.

GREAT FRIGATE
A couple thousand frigates can be seen roosting on the highest plants and soaring in the sky above Laysan. As with Red-footed boobies, naupaka (Scaevola) is the most common roosting and nesting site, though wild tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and Tournefortia are also utilized. 2,000-2,500 pairs.

CATTLE EGRET
A relative newcomer to Laysan, we observed two cattle egrets flying around the southern portion of the lake.

PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER
Plovers as far as the eye can see is what one encounters when first looking through binoculars at the haze of dots along the lake margin at Laysan. Many congregations of hundreds of birds were observed, perhaps 1000+. Cameron Rutt and Robby Kohley got 1,872 Pacific Golden-Plovers for a high count last year.

RUDDY TURNSTONE
Also super abundant were the turnstones. We counted 600+ ruddys while walking the Lake margin one evening. Cameron Rutt and Robby Kohley got 2,746 Ruddy Turnstones for a high count last year.

BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW
A few dozen kioea were heard and seen foraging along the Lake Margin. A few more were also encountered near the coast, near the beach rock on the SW and NW parts of the island.

WHITE TERN
Angelic, we encountered a few hundred or so white terns on Laysan. Due to the general lack of trees on island, their numbers are limited. Found mostly on ironwood and Tournefortia near camp, though also occasionally encountered far from any obvious large plants. 600-1000 pairs.

SOOTY TERN
Laysan has a fair number of Sooty Tern colonies, mostly in less vegetated areas. However, the colonies seemed more dispersed with smaller numbers of individuals than the relatively continuous colonies we're used to seeing at Eastern Island at Midway Atoll. The chicks were well developed, mostly pau with downy feathers, and sporting a sleek black plumage with scattered white dots. The parents and chicks would call back to each other in flight, sort of like Marco-Polo. 375,000-500,000 pairs.

GRAY-BACKED TERN
We did not encounter any obvious colonies of Gray-backed Terns on Laysan, but did observe perhaps a 100 or so juveniles that had lost their downy feathers. These young birds were mixed in with the shorebirds around the lake margin, generally only one or a few birds at once. They were also observed in flight over most any part of the island, though most common around the lake. 5,000-10,000 pairs.

BLACK NODDY
Preferring to roost and nest on shrubby plants, these noddies have limited habitat on Laysan due to the lack of woody vegetation. Observed perhaps a few hundred. The trees around camp created an oasis effect, attracting many of the island's black noddies, who had learned to live in the presence of humans, and generally paid little attention to us. 1,500-2,500 pairs.

BROWN NODDY
These guys can roost and nest in a wider range of sites than Black Noddies, including under vegetation such as Eragrostis, and were much more abundant on Laysan. A number of Brown Noddies had taken up residence around our tent, including on our steps. They often looked nappy during the day and would often not move as we walked up and down the steps, put out laundry, or otherwise went about our work. At night they would get revenge, with a dozen or so doing some sort of tap-dance on top of our tent all night long while we tried to sleep. There were a lot of young Brown Noddy chicks around, from downy little puffballs to almost fledged birds becoming less distinguishable from the parents. The Brown Noddies at Laysan seem much less aggressive than those at Midway Atoll, where folks used to wear hard hats to do research on them. 10,000-15,000 pairs.

MONK SEALS
Lots of Monk Seals on most beaches, often hauled high up in the vegetation. The largest ones seemed to be on the rougher eastern side of the island. While we were on Laysan a few young seal pups were translocated by NOAA to Laysan from French Frigate Shoals.

Our at-sea bird sightings, while traveling from Oahu to Laysan.
www.flickr.com/photos/forest-and-kim/9938000915/

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Taken on: September 14, 2013

Groups appears in: • Hawaiian Birds • National Wildlife Refuges & State Wildlife Sanctuaries more » • Pacific Fish & Wildlife « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, f/4.0, 1/1250 sec, 6mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX110 IS
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1250)
Focal Length:	6mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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