19 have their breeding spread out, and there is a constant supply of chicks, juvenals and adult birds for such a laboratory. From having worked with avian physiology before I can say that the supply of birds here excels anything I have ever worked with or heard about. Skinned several birds in the afternoons, and hunted for an hour each day with no success. 10/4-63 Bill and I today began the whole-hearted construction of an observation platform on the Radar tower to the South-West of the buildings. Bill ( aliases the human fly ) clamored about at the top of the tower, while acrophobic me hoisted lumber et.al.up to his precarious perch. I admire his guts. The basics of the platform we completed before dinner and on the way in saw another Erolia which was then collected and turned out to be a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. In the evening in spite of some persistent showers and scaveola, with the help of the Coastguardsmen we went Frigate and Red-footed Booby banding. Although we had grave difficulties in the Scaveola we tagged over 140 of the larger birds and about 200 in total. While the moon is down we expect to get at it once again. 10-15-63 This AM we finished the Radar tower's platform just before the rains came. The platform now rests about 60 feet above the ground, and about 70 feet above the sea level. From it we can see the whole island, and with the spotting scope should be able to monitor bird activities over the whole atoll. I also should be able to get some excellent pictures of bird behavior with the 6x telephoto on the 16mm. Also, with the birds flying by very closely there will be opportunity to photograph in flight behavior. Skinned the Sharp-tail this AM also. In the afternoon while Bill presented an information lecture to the men on the station ( my turn in two weeks ) I repacked the skins in the trunk with plenty of moth balls, and fumigated them. After Bill was finished we went to North end of the island to work on a tower there: after an hour we were rained out, and so retired to recoup energy and spirits for the remainder of the day as it was already dinner time. The wind again shifted to the North East at 15 - 30 knots, and it looks like another siege of bleak weather. Perhaps we shall see some new accidentals brought on this storm.