Red-Tailed Tropic Birds and Great Frigatebirds
Seasons change, even on a Hawaiian island in the middle of the Pacific.
In the last few weeks, the frigatebirds have started to make it known that breeding season is upon us. Now, it's a regular occurrence for the males inflate their big red pouches, garbling and displaying their pouches and their beautiful iridescent feathers on their backs for the females who are now flying over the colony, looking for the biggest, brightest pouch around. They set off waves of excitement through the colony, with males on one tree after another garbling and shaking their heads as the females pass over them.
The Red-tailed tropic birds have also trickled in, and by now are above the barracks and colony in fairly large numbers. The males and females are both displaying, screaming their loud and obnoxious calls to each other as they hover mid-air, aiming their long red spear of a tail at each other as they fly in vertical circles around each other, like compartments of a ferris wheel. With their pink-tinged white feathers that shine with a pearl-like colour, their bright red bill and tails stand out sharply; especially contrasted are the black of their little, virtually useless feet, which are so far back on their bodies that they can't walk. When they come in to land, they crash onto their chests, and then push themselves with their incredibly short (and cute!) little legs under their chosen bush, flopping along on their bellies. Happily, I've had a chance to help Laura out with her mark-recapture project; we've gone out twice now, combing a certain part of the island for individuals who've landed. Our task is to seek out these individuals, throw a t-shirt over their heads, and pick them up to either read their existing band or put a new band on them, paint their heads red and let them go back under their bush. Sounds easy enough, until you approach them and they start to scream. They make it sound like either you're killing them by just looking at them, or that they're about the kill you! It's a little intimidating at first, but once you get that t-shirt over their eyes, it's like they completely give up - they usually stop screaming, and either just shake their head, or, in most cases, just sit their like there's nothing they can possibly do to get out of the situation they're in! Silly little things!
The albatross are as funny as ever, still dancing and arguing and sitting fast on their eggs. It's looking like we'll miss seeing any of the chicks - the first of the plot chicks are scheduled to hatch about 5 days after we leave. Too bad, but I'm glad we got to see as much of them as we have. I'm going to miss all of these birds!
In the last few weeks, the frigatebirds have started to make it known that breeding season is upon us. Now, it's a regular occurrence for the males inflate their big red pouches, garbling and displaying their pouches and their beautiful iridescent feathers on their backs for the females who are now flying over the colony, looking for the biggest, brightest pouch around. They set off waves of excitement through the colony, with males on one tree after another garbling and shaking their heads as the females pass over them.
The Red-tailed tropic birds have also trickled in, and by now are above the barracks and colony in fairly large numbers. The males and females are both displaying, screaming their loud and obnoxious calls to each other as they hover mid-air, aiming their long red spear of a tail at each other as they fly in vertical circles around each other, like compartments of a ferris wheel. With their pink-tinged white feathers that shine with a pearl-like colour, their bright red bill and tails stand out sharply; especially contrasted are the black of their little, virtually useless feet, which are so far back on their bodies that they can't walk. When they come in to land, they crash onto their chests, and then push themselves with their incredibly short (and cute!) little legs under their chosen bush, flopping along on their bellies. Happily, I've had a chance to help Laura out with her mark-recapture project; we've gone out twice now, combing a certain part of the island for individuals who've landed. Our task is to seek out these individuals, throw a t-shirt over their heads, and pick them up to either read their existing band or put a new band on them, paint their heads red and let them go back under their bush. Sounds easy enough, until you approach them and they start to scream. They make it sound like either you're killing them by just looking at them, or that they're about the kill you! It's a little intimidating at first, but once you get that t-shirt over their eyes, it's like they completely give up - they usually stop screaming, and either just shake their head, or, in most cases, just sit their like there's nothing they can possibly do to get out of the situation they're in! Silly little things!
The albatross are as funny as ever, still dancing and arguing and sitting fast on their eggs. It's looking like we'll miss seeing any of the chicks - the first of the plot chicks are scheduled to hatch about 5 days after we leave. Too bad, but I'm glad we got to see as much of them as we have. I'm going to miss all of these birds!