When Kelly called me about doing a couple of research projects on Midway Island, I figured why not. It turned out to be a fantastic three weeks.We went to help with both spinner dolphin and Hawaiian monk seal research projects, but the big bonus was the gooney birds.
Our first day we were surprised at how excited the residents were when the first gooney flew in. The second day there were about 5 birds, then 15, and after that they were too numerous to count. We spent a lot of time on the beach watching them come in---it was busier than the busiest airport.
Every morning when we got up the first thing I did was look out the window to see how many birds were out on the lawn. After ten days the ground everywhere was covered not only with Laysan Albatross but also Black Footed Albatross. Eventually a half million mating pairs had returned home. The inn was full, and we no longer could walk a straight line anywhere!
Midway has the largest colony of Laysan Albatross in the world . Seventy percent of the world’s population of this beautiful, sometimes comical, bird lives here. I did not know the gooney goes to sea in July for four months returning in mid-late October. We couldn’t have timed our visit any better. I really would have been disappointed if we were there while the birds were all at sea
They are absolutely beautiful gliding in the air. The underside of their wings is a beautiful white with black accents and trims. In the air they are most graceful. When landing into the wind, the landing is graceful and upright, but when they misjudge and land with the wind they often make a nosedive landing and the antics are funny beyond description. They were a lot of fun to watch and we spent many an hour observing not only the above but also their intricate mating rituals.
Details about the gooney will follow another day.
