Gooney Birds

                                                 Fascinating Bird

    The October day I arrived on Midway Island one gooney bird had returned to the island. I couldn’t understand why everyone was so excited.

     At that time I did not know that goonies fly off to sea in July and stay for the next four months. The second day ten birds returned, then 25 on the third day. After that they arrived so fast it was impossible to count them. Each morning when waking I opened the curtains to see how many birds were on the lawn in front of our barracks. When I left the island three weeks later there were a million and half goonies  on the island!; they were everywhere!

     Gooney is a nickname for the Laysan  Albatross, one of the fifteen albatross species. In the air the birds are beautiful appearing to glide effortlessly on thermal air currents.

     Midway is home to  70% of the world’s Laysan population, They mate for life and every year return to Midway to the same spot to await their mate’s arrival. Their mating dance is fascinating to watch and we watched them a lot!

    Mama lays  one half-pound egg each year and both  parents take turns every couple of weeks sitting on the egg. The non- sitting parent goes to sea to fed until it is time for its return to resume parenting duties. It takes both parents to raise the chick and if something happens to one parent the chick cannot survive.

    It is unusual for birds to mate in winter, but the summer is very hot in the Pacific and this may be one of nature’s adaptive behaviors.

    When the chick fledges it goes to sea for 3-5 years before returning to the island of his birth to find itself a mate.

    Landing is another story. They come gliding in like a plane and if into the wind he’ll land like a bird should.   But, if the wind changes or he misjudges it he will lose his balance, nosedive or turn a somersault. It can be very comical and no doubt helped label them as the Gooney Bird. They were a lot of fun to watch come in and land on the beach’ Talk  about being lucky to be able to experience this wonder event!.

MIDWAY HISTORY & TRIVIA

A lucky Visit

We traveled in a small turbo-prop plane from Hawaii 1200 miles to reach Midway Atoll. At that time Phoenix Air had the exclusive air contract for Midway Island. It is the largest operator/owner of Lear jets in the world.

On July 4, 1903 President Roosevelt sent the first around-the-world cable which took nine minutes to complete from this station.

Pan Am Airlines set up a base for its Clipper Seaplane Service on Sand Island in 1935. Midway was a regular fuel stop for Pan Am’s Trans-Pacific route which included Honolulu, Wake Island, Guam, and Manila. This operation, including a hotel and restaurant, was short lived—only 1935-1941.

Before the days of advanced radar, planes on Midway Island were loaded with 4000 pounds of fuel instead of bombs to use the planes for reconnaissance. Generally they flew a 7-mile radius around the atoll and could fly 2700 miles in a 27 hour period. This was their early warning system.

The Halsey-Doolittle bombing raid of Tokyo in March 1942 made the Japanese determined to wipe out US carriers.

Midway was also bombed on December 7,1941, but the Battle of Midway didn’t take place until June 4-6, 1942. Most of the battle took place 100 miles from Midway, but the atoll was bombed again.

During the Korean War Midway played an important role as a defensive outpost in the Distant Early Warning (DEW) System.

During the Vietnam War Midway was a port of call and air traffic center.

Midway now is administered by U S Fish and Wildlife Service. Presently there is no visitation available for Midway.

The Navy spent three years and 80 million dollars cleaning up Midway before they departed in early 1997. Tons of debris were removed from the lagoon. Antennas, a bird hazard, were removed. Lead paint from the buildings was removed because playful chicks would nibble on it. Over 100 fuel tanks were removed. Tons of sand was cleaned of toxic fluids, often pulling 200 gallons a day from the sand for several months.

Midway is one of the world’s most incredible wildlife spectacles. It is a living laboratory and ecosystem under constant study. Island ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to the introduction of non-native and alien species. Native wildlife has not evolved with predatory mammals and reptiles and therefore lack adaptations that allow them to co-exist with dogs, cats, rats, mongoose, snakes, or iguanas.

Millions of birds nest on the atoll. Millions more migrate through the area.

There is a spinner dolphin colony that inhabits the surrounding waters.

Both the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and the threatened green sea turtle live at the atoll.

I feel fortunate to have lived on Midway for three weeks participating in dolphin and monk seal research projects before travel to the island was halted. We were also lucky to be there during the gooney bird mating season.

Midway 's WW II History

                                                More  Midway History

During WW II there were 29 BPY sea planes able to carry a 4000 pound bomb load stationed at Midway. These planes, able to fly only 100 miles per hour, were very slow. Before the days of advanced radar it was decided to load these planes with 4000 pounds of fuel instead of bombs and use them as reconnaissance planes. This way they could fly 2700 miles in 27 hours. Generally they flew a 7 mile radius around the atoll. Since Japanese carriers needed to be within 100 miles of their target this strategy gave the US early warning and advantage of any attack

In March 1942,the Halsey-Doolittle raid bombed Tokyo, which made the Japanese determined to wipe out US carriers. The Battle of Midway took place June 4-6, 1942. Most of the battle took place 100 miles from Midway, but the atoll was bombed again. Both the rebuilt hospital and hanger were again hit. The half of the hanger destroyed was never rebuilt and the hospital for the duration of the war was underground.

The US sank four Japanese air craft carriers plus numerous other ships. Shore artillery hit and damaged two Japanese ships and several aircraft at the atoll. The Battle of Midway lasted three days with the Japanese outnumbering  US forces  4 to 1.  The first Japanese naval defeat in 300 years   was the pivotal turning point of the war in the Pacific. From that point on the Japanese were on the defensive instead of the offensive.

One gun remains

The US lost 307 men, but the Japanese lost 3500 men. We lost the carrier Hornet but the enemy lost a total of 28 ships and 108 planes. Of the 112 American planes sent into battle 40 were lost. 26 ancient WW I planes left Midway, flew over low flying Japanese planes with a good success rate. However, only ten of those planes returned to the island and only two of those were ever able to fly again.

The US had broken the Japanese code and were pretty sure ‘AF’ meant Midway. We sent a false message about a broken water system. When an intercepted Japanese message stated to bring water, the US suspicions were confirmed. Thus the US knew when the Battle of Midway would take place and were off their estimate by only five miles and five minutes!

During the Korean War Midway played an important role as a defensive outpost in the Distant Early Warning (DEW) System, and was a port of call and air traffic center during the Vietnam war.

It was hard to imagine the 1200 acre island supporting 3500 people for three decades!

On Eastern Island we saw what was once a Boy Scout camp/retreat that now has returned to its natural state. On Sand Island the enlisted barracks have been torn down. Only the Bravo and Charlie BOQs remain. Termites ate and destroyed both the chapel and the Cannon school. The Officer in Charge house remains and the Senior Officer housing now houses island staff. By its very nature a golf course is not very bird friendly so is now gone. Most of the operational structures remain.

Memorial to the Gooney Bird

In 1969 President Nixon met secretly with Vietnam’s President Thieu here in the original Officer-in- Charge house. In 1978 the air station became a Naval Air Facility and dependents started to leave.  In 1985 a Pan Am 747 China Clipper II visited Midway to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the first China Clipper flight.

 There are 43 designated historical sites/buildings on Midway. Visitors need to remember that Midway is a refuge and not a resort. A resort puts the needs of its people first and a refuge puts the needs of wildlife first and the needs of people second.

That’s the history of Midway in a nutshell. More about the island and our experience there another day.