Balcomb, Kenneth C., 1966

LISIANSKI ISLAND 16 - 19 JUNE, 1966 WE ARRIVED AT LISIANSKI ISLAND SHORTLY BEFORE LUNCH ON THE 16TH AND LOADED UP THE RAFTS WITH OUR GEAR. AFTER PARTAKING OF LUNCH, WE ALL PILED IN THE RAFTS AND HEADED FOR THE BEACH. CAMP WAS SET UP AND EVERYTHING ORGANIZED FOR OUR FOUR NIGHT ASSAULT ON THE BIRDS OF LISIANSKI. WE ALL RETURNED TO THE SHIP FOR SUPPER AND THE THINGS WE HAD FORGOTTEN ON THE FIRST TRIP IN. MOST OF US WERE GETTING A LITTLE BIT PUNCHY AND FORGETFULL AFTER 6 LONG, HARD, SLEEPLESS NIGHTS OF BANDING & BLEEDING, ETC. OUR PRELIMINARY CURSORY SURVEY OF THE ISLAND SHOWED THAT THERE WAS AN ABUNDANCE OF NESTING SCOTY TERNS ON LISIANSKI, AND THAT WE SHOULD HAVE NO TROUBLE BANDING OUR 30,000. THE FIRST NIGHT WE EACH DID 500 SOOTYS AND THEN BLEED 102 WEDGETAILS TO BRING US TO DAWN. EVER SINCE THE SECOND NIGHT ON LAYSAN I HAD BEEN GOING BAREFOOT, AFTER PHIL HAD FOUND IT FEASABLE, SO I WAS VERY PLEASANTLY SURPRISED THAT ONE COULD GO BARE- FOOTED HERE IF CARE IS TAKEN IN THE SCARVOLA AND TRICULUS AREAS. DURING THE DAY WE ALL GOT A FAIR SLUG OF SLEEP AND TWO GOOD MEALS, SO BY THE TIME WE RETURNED TO THE ISLAND I FELT PERKY ENOUGH TO TRY TO SMASH CROSSINS RECORD. I BROUGHT TWO BAGS OF CHOCOLATES, A JAR OF HONEY, AND MY BOOTS TO THE ISLAND WHEN WE RETURNED AFTER SUPPER. WE WORKED FOR A WHILE PUTTING UP THE SIGNS THAT FISH & WILDLIFE HAD ASKED US TO PUT UP, AND THEN, AT 1845, I GRABBED UP 5,000 BANDS AND LACED MY BOOTS, AND HEADED FOR THE SOOTYS. I PACED MYSELF FOR A LONG NIGHT, NEVER DOING OVER 450 BANDS AN HOUR. IT WOULD TAKE 3 MINUTES BETWEEN 500 BAND UNITS TO RELOAD MY CANTEEN CASE BAND HOLDER AND WOLF DOWN 3 MOUTHFULS OF CHOCOLATE. AFTER EVERY 1500, I TOOK A TEN MINUTE SIT DOWN BREAK, DRINKING SEVERAL TABLESPOONS OF HONEY, THREE MOUTHFULS OF CHOCOLATES, AND WATER TILL FULL. I FELT AS GOOD AS NEW UNTIL 3500 BANDS WHEN I BEGAN TO TIRE AND RUN OUT OF BIRDS. I WASTED TWENTY VALUABLE MINUTES JOGGING TO THE SW CORNER OF THE ISLAND WHERE I THOUGHT THE BIRDS WOULD BE BETTER. THEY WEREN'T, BUT I COULDN'T AFFORD TO GO BACK. AT 4400 BANDS I BLEW MY COOL AND STARTED SHREDDING SOOTY TERNS AND SCREAMING OBSCENITIES AT THEM. THE SUN HAD LONG SINCE RISEN AND I WAS AGAIN PICKING BIRDS OFF NESTS AND LEAPING OVER ARIGOSTRIS CLUMPS TO CATCH THEM AS I HAD THE NIGHT BEFORE. I WASN'T QUITE AS SWIFT NOW AND, AS A RESULT, I SUFFERED MANY BITES AND STABS ON THE HAND. BY 4500 I WAS ALMOST GOBBING WHEN A BIRD ESCAPED ME. I GAVE UP THAT AREA AT 0545 AND WENT BACK TO

MY CACHE OF HONEY, CHOCOLATE, AND EMPTY BAND BAGS AND TUBES. I PUT THE PACK ON MY BACK AND MARCHED TOWARD THE SOOTY TERN COLONY BETWEEN THE CASURINA CLUMP, WHERE MY CACHE WAS, AND CAMP. I PUT 4700 CW AT 0645 AND CALLED IT QUITS. I HAD MY SECOND WIND BY THEN, BUT I KNEW THAT BY 0715 WHEN I FINISHED THAT IT WOULD BE ALMOST TOO LATE TO GET EVERYBODY UP AND OUT TO THE SHIP FOR BREAKFAST. I COULD HAVE EASILY MADE FIVE GRAND, BUT 460/hr FOR TWELVE HOURS SEEMED SUCH A NICE FIGURE TO STOP AT. I SPENT MOST OF THE DAY SLEEPING AND RECUPERATING FROM THE ORDEAL OF THE NIGHTS BANDING. WE BANDED AND BLED AGAIN ON THE NIGHT OF THE 18TH. THE CREW WOULD ONLY LET ME HAVE 700 BANDS WHILE THEY EACH TOOK 1,000. THE EXCUSE WAS THAT THEY HAD TO BUILD UP THEIR AVERAGE TOO. ON THE 19TH WE CENSUSED THE POPULATIONS ON THE ISLAND. PHIL AND I WENT AROUND THE BEACH COUNTING MONK SEALS. WE COUNTED: 52 ADULTS (15) M-37, F-30, ?-8 ; IMM (26) M-10, F-6, ?-10 ; PUP OF YEAR (33) M-14, F-17, ?-2 ; NEWBORN (3) 2-2, 1? 16 ADULTS WERE NOTED TO BE PAIRED. WE PAINTED 34 ANIMALS WITH GOLD PRINT AND WERE SURPRISED TO FIND PAINTED ANIMALS HIGH AND DRY ON THE BEACHES WE HAD NOT YET COUNTED. THIS REMINDED US TO BE CAREFUL IN OUR COUNTING - INACCURACIES COULD DEVELOP. ON THE NIGHT OF THE 19TH WE ALL TOOK VIALS OR TICK JARS AND LOOKED AROUND FOR ECTOPARASITES. WE MADE A 2200 EXODUS FROM LISIANSKI AND HEADED BACK TO LAYSAN FOR THE LAST TWO DAYS OF OUR GIG. NAME CF. RUSSIAN EXPLORER UREL LISIANSKI WHO GROUNDED HIS SHIP THERE ENROUTE FROM ALASKA TO CHINA.

Location LISIANSKI ISLAND, PACIFIC OCEAN Observer K.C. BALCOMB Date 16-20 JUNG Time to Weather LIGHT TO STRONG EAST & SOUTHEAST WINDS WITH OCCASIONAL RAIN ALL NUMBERS CALCULATED EXCEPT AS NOTED SPECIES Abundance Breeding Remarks #10 #100 #1,000 #10,000 Nests Eggs Young Laysan Albatross 1 2,000 LOCALS Black-footed Albatross 1 2,000 LOCALS Wedge-tailed Shearwater 20 30% NESTING , INCREASING Christmas I. Shearwater 0 Audubon's Shearwater 0 Bonin I. Petrel 5 Phoenix I. Petrel 0 Bulwer's Petrel 0 Sooty Petrel 0 Red-tailed Tropicbird 1 White-tailed Tropicbird 0 Masked Booby 2 50 Brown Booby 1 Red-footed Booby 5 Great Frigatebird 3 Golden Plover 6-8 ACTUAL COUNT 56 Ruddy Turnstone 12 ACTUAL COUNT 119 Wandering Tattler 2 ACTUAL COUNT 15 Sanderling 0 Bristle-thighed Curlew 5 ACTUAL COUNT 28 Sooty Tern 100 80% NESTING Gray-backed Tern 15 VERY FEW LATE CHICKS Brown-winged Tern 0 Common Noddy 25 830 Hawaiian Noddy 5 100 5 Blue-gray Noddy 0 Fairy Tern 2 BLACK BELLY PLOVER ACTUAL COUNT 1 SEPARATE REPORT FOR SEALS.