“This was something we had never expected to occur. Mice preying on adult albatrosses simply hasn’t been recorded here.” From the surface, Midway seems like a pristine place; but a closer examination reveals a colorful past and layered landscape. Restoration of this island system has been an ongoing (and challenging) activity since Midway’s transfer to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1996. Islands are dynamic places, quick to change and quick to respond. But, in the winter of 2015, something unexpected happened on Midway.
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Mention of Midway brings to mind myriads of birds. But, there's more to Midway...
On Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, change is ever-present. However, to those of us who are fortunate to live (and have lived for some time now) among the species that define this place, these changes are somewhat subtle. Transitions between seasons seem seamless and it is sometimes only in retrospect that we become aware of just how much has transformed over the course of several days, weeks, or even months. What was once overwhelming (Laysan Albatross around each and every corner, Bonin Petrels taking to the sky in the thousands at dusk), now seems normal. And yet, these familiar avian staples of Midway are changing. Spring is afoot, a time of growth and renewal, and we find ourselves at the edge of the breeding season for numerous seabird species. Life is about to explode on Midway.
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About MeWieteke Holthuijzen: budding environmental scientist, passionate birder. Archives
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