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Transcription
Gill, Douglas E.
1964
Tropicbirds. They apparently were nesting in crevices on the sheer lava
drop down to the pounding surf. Larry "took" pictures of the Tropicbirds
and also of four Hawaiian Noddies sitting on ledges. These Hawaiian Noddies
looked much different than those we had worked with on the Southern Islands:
the white cap extended further back the neck was light grey contrasting with
dark brown back, the tail was a conspicuous light grey, and the legs on at
least two were a bright yellow. The birds on the southern island were a
uniform sooty with a gleaming white cap, and I don't remember bright legs,
and they certainly didn't have a conspicuous light grey tail. I wonder if a
racial difference has been described. We continued on until the road went
across a couple of deep chasms or draws which extended as canyons up on
the side of the crater. We decided that one of us should stay below and
listen for Newell's Shearwaters as they go up the canyons and to nesting
burrows on the slopes of the crater, while the other go up the slope to
listen for them, even perhaps a colony. Larry wanted to hike, so did I,
but I decided to let him go up the slope. After he left, I drove the car
several miles further up the road just to pass the time and returned and
parked the car facing the ocean in one of the draws. It was a nice after-
oon so I sat out by the ocean writing my journal and synopsis. Two cattle
trucks drove by and one stopped but I signalled that all was OK. I wasn't
sure whether I was on private property or not, I returned to the car as
I was really bored for there wasn't anything I could really do. At length
duck settled across this waste land so I began watching and listening. I
saw two medium sized black and white shearwaters come in just off the surf