118. 23 Feb. (cont.) in the area. This is a drop of about 500 from our calculation earlier. Perhaps reflected in the figures is the high number of birds that had been handled yesterday, birds [illegible] that may still have been hanging around the area. After dinner I checked the NAF and SAF for the same thing, and found 71 of 232 birds counted painted. This is 31 per cent of those birds present. We have painted to date 817 birds in the area; [illegible] calculation thus provides us with a figure of at least 2700 birds using the area. If these figures are anywhere near accurate, there may be 5,000 birds using the two areas, plus those S. of the runway and those ringing the north beach. I saw old Laysan in the same part of the NAF today - the location he has always been in when seen. This is the bird with the checkerboard neck, caught originally in Dec. with an old worn band. Bob and Alan chased down more Laysans in SAF and NAF this evening, and banded an additional 61 birds. Rat trapping will continue tomorrow. I hope that I don't get bitten again. We saw three Fairy Terns flying over the NAF during the trapping. One injured Fairy Tern was found, its wing ripped off. It could not be bled. 24 Feb. Rat trapping all Am., finished by 1135. We only caught 98 rats, and of these 17 were new, we are now up to Cl43 on the new rats. There were very few in the A-B area, more as we progressed East. The cloud cover we have been having finally broke, and the last hour was in clear, warm weather for a change. After lunch we split up, Bob banding in the Central Roost, Alan and I getting blood samples from 8 Black- feet, McBee card data on 6 of them. We are collecting ectoparasites the new way - a vial for each main body region - head, body, wing. [illegible] Alan and I do the 1st seal pup - it has grown to the following dimensions: Wt: 53 lbs; TL (snout to tail tip) 43" - (snout to flipper tip) 50"; T 3"; FF 9"; HF 8.5" inside, 10" outside; width, stretched 14"; Girth 33". Still no teeth A new seal pup, born this AM, was found this afternoon, measured, weighed, and tagged No. 373. It is larger (wh) than the 1st pup was at birth, as follows: Wt. 37 lbs; TL (to tail tip) 40"; FF 9.5"; HF inside 9.5