Hachman, C.D. 1965 Journal 45 February 11 Binnie Island We returned to camp at dawn after getting up at 2 a.m. Ralph + I blood sampled blue-f. Boobies while the rest hauled. After dawn broke we collected some nests for Ralph. After breakfast Dick went out to the ship, Mor + Larry dove for coelenterates on the edge of the reef, Ralph worked on his nets and I did a shorebird count. There has been a tremendous crash in the rat population on Binnie. The species here (Rattus sordana) was as numerous on the previous visit (Nov. 64) it was devastating the island's vegetation cover. In November, at night, rats were encountered every 5 or 6 feet on the entire island. They were so abundant that one person, with a minimum of effort, could capture 35 or 40 per hour by hand. Last night rats were encountered every 50 - 90 feet and it took three people over 35 minutes to capture 17. As the direct result of this decline in the rat population the vegetation is much improved. Previously, the rats had eaten all flowering parts and new growth off of the Portulaca and Boerhavia. Presently both have quite a lot of new growth showing and both are flowering. We were surprised to find a fairly large concentration of Gray-backed Terns nesting on the island in several colonies. This success is or can also, probably, be attributed to the low rat population.